Music matters to me...it always has played an important part in my life even though I remain tone deaf, can't sing to save my life (ask the family about my rendition of the partridge in a pear tree during the Twelve Days of Christmas a couple of years ago), nor have I ever been able to play any instrument (recorder lessons were approached with far and dread every week at school). I'm not even much good at blowing my own trumpet. But I guess its the emotions and memories that go with the music that matters most. That probably explains why since the Olympics, I've barely been able to listen to anything apart from the Opening Ceremony soundtrack...the emotions that went with that were overwhelming. Similarly, I have a very strong emotional attachment to Roxy Music's Avalon which was the soundtrack to one of the happiest periods of my life.
And then there's Andy Williams, whose songs managed to have a similar impact - I think that they remind me of the Sundays when my father drove us to see my grandmother whilst we listened to Family Favourites (BFPO, etc). Of course, it was always exciting and the sun was always shining and when your seven Granny is a goddess. Later on in life, when The Boy was similarly young, he used to listen to my choice of music which ranged from The Stereophonics through to Andy Williams via The Stranglers and it has continued to influence his taste even though he is much more widely listened.
One of my best ever birthdays involved me spending the morning in a flotation tank before going to collect my new car and then coming up to London to see Andy Williams perform at The Albert Hall. It was sublime, even though at the time none of my friends could understand why I would want to see him. It was a great day, a wonderful evening.
I remember being with The Boy one afternoon when we went to The Rainforest Cafe (imagine the Amazon jungle replicated in a basement restaurant) and they played one of my favourite Andy Williams songs. The Boy knew every word and sang along - on reflection it may not have been the most appropriate thing. Anyway, RIP Andy Williams who made my life that little bit better.
I should have guessed, but I hadn't - evidently I have my own YouTube channel...it was 'auto-started' by YouTube themselves. It can be found here and if you look, you'll probably see that if you've posted any videos on your blog you have one too!
I love Marmite...and even more now that they do their regular limited editions. So the rule is that when a limited edition comes out we buy two jars...one for eating, and one for display. The latest, and I can only assume in honour of all the gold medals we collected during the para/o lympics is Marmite Gold. It contains little flakes of gold..it may not be real gold (unlike the bottle of vodka that we have in the drinks cupboard) and will probably taste delicious when we get to open the jar.
In the meantime, here's the complete collection, most of it well beyond its sell-by date:
And in the background is Paddington bear, who at one stage gave up marmalade for Marmite..or perhaps he just got confused.