Flanger

So Tony Blair thinks he can quell the riot by assuring everyone that he'll step down within a year. Haven't we already heard that from him? And, as a colleague of mine stated yesterday, "that's a hell of a long walk for a lame duck". That vile woman Ruth Kelly was on tv news this morning trying to dig her boss out of the smeg. She really wasn't doing a terribly good job. And it seems Charles Clarke has been fanning the flames with his comments about Gordon Brown. It's all over the news this morning. Well, as far as I am concerned, it's all good news. If he goes, we get someone less corrupt. If he stays, we get to see him destroy his own party from the top down.

Someone left a note here recently saying that Blair isn't corrupt. How can you say that? In my mind he has a history of corruption. He promotes his equally corrupt friends into positions of power even after they have had to resign on issues of dishonesty and misconduct. In the case of Mandelson, he even managed to steer him into a post from which he cannot be removed by democratic action. He remains in the post of European commissioner to this day. He lied about his dealings with convicted con man, Peter Foster. And anyone who really thinks he wasn't trying to mislead the public over WMD in Iraq really wants their head looking at. Corrupt is too small a word.

I learnt today that Steve Irwin expressed a hope some two years ago that, if he were to die at the hands of some wild beast, his death would be filmed. Apparently he got his wish, but the footage is not going to be released. I don't think I want to see it anyway, but I bet it leaks out somehow.

The fuse box in our house is arcing and getting hot, which means that I will have to do something about it this weekend. I called the Electricity supplier this morning and they claimed it wasn't their responsibility. I bet it's expensive. I don't want the house to burn down however, so I'd better deal with it.

I just heard that my son has put on some more weight this week. We were a little worried about him because he hadn't gained anything at his last weigh-in. The crew there seem to think he is about to sprout teeth. God knows how they work this out. I've been poking around in his mouth for ages and I haven't found any evidence.

Now, I have a treat for you all. I'm going to let you in on a sectret from my past. When I was at University I was in a band. We were called "Flanger". Actually, I don't know if I was ever actually "in" the band, or whether I was simply a guest vocalist once. I think they only did two sessions and I was definitely in one of them anyway. We were really awful, but awful in a good way, like the Sex Pistols.

During the short life of Flanger, it operated on the very fringe of the music world. The distinct sound was achieved through a combination of excessive alcohol consumption and total lack of preparation. In short, the guys showed up with a crate of dangerously cheap beer and whatever instruments they could lay their hands on, and then made noise.

Why am I telling you all this? Well I haven't heard Flanger for years, and I'm not sure much footage exists anywhere anymore, but this morning another band member, Fletch, e-mailed me a WAv file. Be warned, it isn't pretty, and probably isn't suitable for work. Click here at your own risk.

That little snatch of noise brought back a few memories and I'm tempted to see if any of the others still have the whole thing. I can't remember much about the night in question. I think I remember some beer getting smashed on the kitchen floor, and I'm sure one of the songs includes a phone call from Dave's girlfriend, now his wife. It was such a great night.