Weekly Six 8th - 14th October 2007

Item 1: Practical Household Uses For Vinegar Ref. 7.1

An easy way to periodically clean out soap scum and disinfect your washing machine is to pour in 450ml (2 cups) of white distilled vinegar; then run the machine through a full cycle without any clothes or detergent. (1001 Practical Household Uses for Vinegar 2007)

Item 2: The A-Z of Music.

This is another new and hopefully regular item….well at least for 26 weeks! I have recently compiled a list of favourite artists for every letter of the alphabet. It was not easy and some letters ended up with several contenders! This weeks letter is of course A and I am afraid for me there is only one A in the music world……oh pants I just thought of another. Ok but AC/DC aside (sorry guys) this weeks A is ABBA!

Now I don’t feel I can leave it there as I am a big AC/DC fan, both with and Bon Scott and Brian Johnson; although Bon Scott was not the first lead singer with DC, I think most will agree he was the best. But there will certainly be no shortage of rock bands in this A-Z and I hereby pledge to preserve the A spot for DC the next time I do this!

So ABBA. Where to start! I have been listening to ABBA since I was a small child courtesy of my Mum and Dad’s records and have remained a fan ever since. They are kings of pop…in fact I feel their music is almost too good for pop, certainly by todays standards! Their harmonies are beautiful, their rhythms infectious and their songs timeless. All Hail ABBA! (Image Credit: Get ABBA)

Item 3: Song of the Week

As you may have read I saw Rush at the weekend. This weeks song is one of theirs; they played it at the gig and it also encompasses a great love of my life, the radio. Have a read of the words:

Rush - Spirit of Radio

Begin the day

With a friendly voice

A companion, unobtrusive

Plays that song thats so elusive

And the magic music makes your morning mood

Off on your way

Hit the open road

There is magic at your fingers

For the spirit ever lingers

Undemanding contact

In your happy solitude

Invisible airwaves

Crackle with life

Bright antennae bristle

With the energy

Emotional feedback

On a timeless wavelength

Bearing a gift beyond price ---Almost free...

All this machinery

Making modern music

Can still be open-hearted

Not so coldly charted

Its really just a question

Of your honesty

One likes to believe

In the freedom of music

But glittering prizes

And endless compromises

Shatter the illusion

Of integrity

For the words of the profits

Are written on the studio wall,

Concert hall

Echoes with the sounds...Of salesmen. (Lyrics by Neil Peart)

There are many songs singing praise to radio and the faceless DJ who gets us through the day. Pilot of the Airways, Charlie Dore is another favourite of mine.

I listen to Radio 2 throughout the day, every day, especially when I am out on site. I do lots of travelling for work and from Wogan to Evans (Or some days Kennedy to Harris!) it is a real joy. Good DJ's and good music have become an excellent travelling companion and have also got me through some tough times whether I am stuck in traffic or just having a bad day. All Hail Radio!

Item 4: Location of the Week

Sunpat and I usually trek off to Scotland or Wales for our holidays each year. We both greatly enjoy the great outdoors and take ourselves off with tent and supplies to immerse ourselves in it for a couple of weeks.

Last weekend a friend who we went to see Rush with suggested we make the journey to the venue by Snake Pass in the Peak District, a place I have not been to for many years and somewhere Sunpat had never been.

We eagerly took the opportunity to make the journey via such a scenic route and discovered this!

The last time I was here we drove through the pass without stopping. I remember it always being dramatic and beautiful but over the years I had forgotten just what surrounds the pass and this visit has inspired us to make some shorter trips throughout the year to the Peaks to explore further.

It takes approximately 7 hours to get to Scotland and around 4-5 to get to Snowdonia in Wales. The Peak District at a 2 hour journey can provide us with the environment we seek but at a distance that suits the odd weekend away. I am itching to get out there and try out our new tent and get some camping in if we can before winter sets in but I'll have to keep you posted on that one.

The Pennine Way also crosses the Peak District. It is a walk I have long wished to undertake however as you are looking at approximately 3 weeks walking it is a little hard to fit into a normal working year. We have discussed it though and hope to fit it in either next year or the year after.

We have been invited to undertake a motorcycle tour of the arctic circle countries with a friend next year. He has recently passed his motorbike test and is planning a bike and camping trip for a couple of weeks. It is an arranged tour and he has invited us to come along. It would be fabulous and I would love to go. Obviously it means us sitting our bike tests. Another item to keep you posted on....

Items 5 & 6 are going to be courtesy of You Tube this week so I can share my Radio appreciation tracks. I hope you have a moment to listen to them and enjoy them.

As a final note I would like to say today is also an important day of note - Happy Birthday Mum!