Predictions

OK... I've a couple of predictions for later on today. My heart really wants Heikki Kovalainen to win today's Monaco Grand Prix, but my head says either Felipe Massa or Kimi Raikkonen (front starter's). I'd also like to see either Scott Dixon or Ryan Briscoe winning the Indianapolis 500, with good races also by Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal.
Motor Sport's got a great future ahead of it!!


Deadly,
Leigh

Eurovision 2008

So, Russia won the Eurovision.
Good for them.
Can the Eurovision please fuck off now?
Yes..?
Why, thank you kind sir!!

Current listening:
Leighton P Xavier Proudly Presents... LPX "New Demos and Works"


Sweet,
Leigh

Pin Me Down

A new musical project from Bloc Party guitarist Russell Lissack and singer/songwriter, Melina Mepris, is making its debut on Kitsune next week. An electro / pop / rock / indie (no groans from the back there please) effort called "Cryptic" is the result of the duo's collaboration and is out on June 2nd from the usual spots and whatnots.

Although I'm not the greatest Bloc Party fan, this is quite nice, if easy effort - it's not setting out to do some magic tricks and is all the better for it. I said recently that the the Last Shadow Puppets sounded too much like the Arctic Monkeys and to a degree the same applies here to Pin Me Down (Re: Bloc Party).

However, on this occassion I won't complain as I find musically they are somewhat stronger than Alex Turner's side-project musings and at the end of the day, it's easy to dance to... job done as far as I'm concerned.
Pin Me Down MySpace-a-majig


Grand job,
Leigh

Life and What Else Now

I've been asleep since Wednesday afternoon (or not it would appear) for on Wednesday afternoon, I completed my last ever exam and thus finished 7 years of university. After days of cram sessions (that I think served me well) I collapsed at about 3 in the afternoon.
Although I am preparing the initial drafts of my Masters, I am resolute in that I will not be going back to study for a good while yet; however I cannot help but feel underwhelmed and exhausted - the last few weeks have been heavy courses in writing and word processing. I do have one or two other things coming up to do on the side (a few interviews and articles for this, preparing for Mantua, new EP, etc...), but that stress has yet to hit me yet.

Right now, I'm at work experience staring out the window, just thinking (this weekend is a bank holiday in the UK, so there's not loads to do) and I can't help but want to do nothing. My plans for the moment include watching the Monaco Grand Prix and going to a picnic on Monday (should the weather hold up), but other than that I'm doing nothing...


Oh sweetness and life,
Leigh

The Death of Jim Clark, Part 2

There is finality about death that means for the most part you only need to write about it once - essentially a life has ended and with that, details unfold and slot together to present a story about person's unique visions, feelings and experiences. The finality...... apart from a few exceptions and skeletons, there is rarely ever a second part.

Last month I wrote about the 40th anniversary of the accident that took Jim Clark's life - The Death of Jim Clark. Seen by many as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time, Clark was killed in a Formula 2 race at the old Hockenheimring in April 1968 when his Lotus 48 suffered a suspected tyre failure and collided with a tree (no Armco barriers in the late 60's).

Last night I received an e-mail - completely out of the blue - from an artist called Paul Chenard who responded to original post about the great Scottish driver. To mark the anniversary, Paul painted the beautiful piece to right and you can find this and other wonderful examples at his BlogSite - AutoMobiliArt.BlogSpot.com. The artwork shows Clark on his way to victory at the Solitude Formula 2 race in German on July 19th 1964 and also depicts John Surtees, Graham Hill and the 1964 Formula 1 World Champion, Sir Jack Brabham fighting it out for the win.

On the weekend of the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir last month, SpeedTV presented this tribute to the late Scotsman on their broadcast - shamefully one of very few broadcasters to do so. It contains insights from the man himself, Jackie Stewart, Patrick Head and Dario Franchitti amongst others.




Good stuff,
Leigh

Competition anyone..?

OK, so here's the deal. I'm struggling to come up with a suitable title for my upcoming EP (out in August) and so if anyone can supply me with a decent name to stick (in medium small letterage) on the front cover of the release, please feel free to put them in the comment box and I will send the winner a box of chocolates.

In the meantime, the muzak is coming along nicely with initial demos and recordings to be completed very soon.

Sweet,
Leigh

Patches the Horse

Current listening:
Horace Andy "The King Tubby Tapes"


Uh-huh,
Leigh

That Strangest of Feelings...

As you've probably noticed, I've been somewhat quiet over the last few days. I had an exam yesterday morning and next Wednesday morning will see me take part in my last exam after seven long years of university life. I'm rather tired, but there will be plenty of updates coming over the weekend as soon as I get my head together including articles on latest audio pick-ups, albums, opinions on visualised music and new boots (and the lack thereof).

I've just finished watching Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) and am currently being soothed by the La's, so all is well in that department.
Oh and by the way, the laser beam was invented 48 years ago today by Theodore Maiman - how cool is that??

Current listening:
The La's "The La's"


Grand job,
Leigh

LPX News and Announcements

Just a few announcements to be made;

• A new LPX extended play compact disc will be available from August 1st, via Drunken Lust Records and The Electric Fix. There will be a limited number of CD copies available at live shows, but the mp file will be available from Drunken Lust's website.
• As I've already released last week, I will be playing at the Mantua Festival on August 2nd, but may have shows either side of that date in Dublin (probably) and Cork (not sure yet).
• For this EP (and a possible album later on this year), I am currently going through some new material - samples and stuff will be available closer to the release date
• There may also be a limited number of Irish shows in and around Christmas time.

Fantastic,
Leigh

Lost Weekends and Irrelevant Posts...

This has been a very quite weekend thanks to my close friend, Fosters (see right). I did the whole college ball thing at last - suits, ties and all - something that I've avoided like the plague in the past, but I figure I'll not have the opportunity to do it ever again.
It was an interesting experience, but the point of getting hopelessly smashed was once again lost on me - however I decided to indulge myself and by 2 O'Clock Sunday morning, I was somewhat... inebriated. There was the usual bout of group hugging and proclamations of how much we'll one another (etc...) which for the most part is bullshit. While all very nice people, I have a distinctly poor record when it comes to keeping in contact with people as it is just not something that I can bring myself to do. I do enjoy my clean breaks immensely and I sense another one coming up rather soon.

After a night like Saturday, there's nothing quite like a throbbing hangover mixed in with oppressive heat and wheezing engines. Yes, the only time in the last 15 years that I've missed a Grand Prix was when I was in hospital unconscious (Spanish Grand Prix, May 1997 - I still haven't seen it) and no way in hell was I going to let some shitty little hangover get in the way of this one. Ohhh, but the engines... the engines.......
Come lap 30 I was face down in couch groaning, but still paying attention to what was going down and I must say it was quite enjoyable.

Following on from that, I cooked the perfect Sunday hangover cure - there's nowt like a perfectly cooked roast to settle the belly and calm the ails topped off by a river of tea - fantastic!! Oh and before I forget - yes, it is true that Georgina Moffat is incredibly sexy, but I really hope she doesn't get a Doctor Who spin-off. She's a good little actress, but "chirpy" up for it characters are boring fuckers.

Current listening:
Violent Femmes "Violent Femmes"


Grand,
Leigh

Tom Waits

(cheers to Ian Thrill Pier for this)
If ever genius exists, it only exists here... by the way, this also marks 100 posts!!




Sweet,
Leigh

Writers block...

So, what do people do when they get writer's block? Musically that is... I've had about 23 half written pieces for about four months now, but abandoned everything due to a massive college workload, but now that I'm free again I'm struggling to get my head together.
An lot of time in the last few weeks has been struggling to take things further than slightly structured ideas, but some are close to being partially finished. Anyway, some of the stuff is of the "new direction" variety, but what next..?

Anyway, here's a newbie
Untitled Number One
As you can tell, it ran out of ideas very, very quickly. I've a couple with vocals coming up soon and I'll probably stick one or two others up in a while if I'm arsed.


Grand job,
Leigh

Today I Shaved...

The beard is gone... after six weeks of continuous and fluffy growth - this author has been de-haired!! It took approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, but at least my face feels well smooth... There was no electricity at the time (localised power cut), so it was done with freezing cold water and two blades. Anyhoo, a before and after...

Sunday morning














Wednesday evening














Sweet,
Leigh

Super Aguri leaves Formula 1

On Tuesday May 6th, Aguri Suzuki finally had enough - he finally gave up the ghost of a Formula 1 team. After two-and-a-half being propped up by Honda, Super Aguri have decided to opt out of the formula.
Following a main sponsor defaulting late in 2007, 2008 was always going to be a struggle and when they announced that they couldn't test during winter, everyone knew that their demise would be soon. During the early part of this year, the team were in talks with Magma Group for a possible buy out, but when Magma suddenly pulled out in April the writing was on the wall. There was talk of a rushed deal being put in place by a German corporation, but in their heart of hearts, Honda knew they would end up bailing them out too.

While many talk about how sad it is that a team with plenty of heart has disappeared, little has been said of its two main drivers. Takuma Sato (who I simply do not rate at all) will probably get himself a cushy test-role and possibly a race seat with Honda next year (the advantages of being a Japanese driver in a Japanese team), but Anthony Davison (who is a little better) will most like find himself out in the cold - I can't see him getting another seat in Formula 1.
The Super Aguri team leave Formula 1 owing Honda a reported $50 million following low price engines, free technical help and the occasional (cash orientated) helping hand over a 34 month period. And then were just ten teams left...


Gah,
Leigh

Mantua Festival 2008

(cheers to Nialler9 for this)

I've just been confirmed to play this years Mantua Lives Festival in County Roscommon (Ireland). As far as I know, I will be playing on the Alphabet Set stage which a host of other acts (see below). Tickets for the festival are €80 and the line-up also includes;
...from the UK and Europe...

• Clark (Warp)
• Taskforce (MFTC)
• Shackleton (Skull Disco)
• Couds (live) (Nopa, 2nd Drop)
• Cotti (Soul Jazz, Bassface)
• Tek (Planet Mu)
• Datasette (AI)
• Sunken Foal (planet mu) /
• Filaria (Bugklinik, Acroplane)

Meanwhile, the Irish contingent at the festival includes;

• Solen (Alphabet Set)
• Super Extra Bonus Party (Alphabet Set)
• Sarsparilla (Alphabet Set)
• The Wax Ensemble (BE)
• The Infomatics
• Cignol
• Colz & Grizzle
• Nouveaunoise (Alphabet Set)
• Fran Hartnett
• Ed Devane
• Prince Kong fet Jah Balance
• 16HZ & Joanny Oakley
• Vince McMahon
• Worries Outernational
• p77
• Blue Food (Alphabet Set)

This should be a hell of a lot of fun and will mark eight months since I last performed in the Republic, however I am also lining up further shows around the festival and should spring in a Dublin show and probably somewhere else before I fly back here. Although it hasn't been fully updated yet, please check the Mantua website for more information.

Current listening:
Apple "An Apple a Day"


Sweet,
Leigh

The World of Hoaxes in Doctor Who

There are currently 108 episodes of Doctor Who that are missing. They do not exist in the BBC archives - they video tape masters were burned nearly 30 to 40 years ago, with the initial culling of the archives taking place in 1967 - but Doctor Who is not alone in this loss as many shows are lost from the archives.
Entire seasons of Dad's Army, Dixon of Dock Green, A for Andromeda and Z-Cars are all gone with no footage, audio or pictures to represent them and in the case of the mid-1960's football drama United, absolutely nothing at all is present.

For those of you wondering how exactly this happened, let me explain. Basically Doctor Who was made on video tape, it had to be transferred to 16mm film so that it could accommodate many of the television stations around the world that were still utilising that format. Once the copies were made, the masters were stored away - later to be incinerated when the archives became overly full - and the copies floated to various destinations around the world.

Some of the 16mm copies were destroyed as per contract agreement, while some kept going to different countries. Others simply got lost, stored and forgotten or mislabeled and some ended up in the basement of a Morman Church (true story - episodes 5 and 10 of the Dalek Master Plan were discovered this way).
There are still active searches in a number of African territories, specifically Zambia, although there were a number sent to Zimbabwe, Iraq and a number of other countries that are simply inaccessible at the moment due to political tensions (that have been heavily publisized on other publications).

Hoaxes
Last year, an uproar in the science fiction community was created when a rumour reporting the discovery of the Patrick Troughton serial, "The Web of Fear", was given free reign when it was published on Doctor Who online's news page. This might all seem very silly - that is of course you learn about some of the money involved.
A hoax that took place about 8 or 9 years ago saw episode 4 of Marco Polo ("the Wall of Lies") on eBay getting bids of more than ₤10,000 (about €13,500) within a week of its announcement and it is thought that its worth has skyrocketed since then, as every year the film is missing increases its chance of deteriorating beyond repair.

However, two weeks ago a new rumour surfaced from the BBC Restoration website. Apparently a gentleman has found several episodes in his father's collection including The Tenth Planet; Episode 4 and an unspecified number of episodes from the Galaxy 4 serial. While fans will undoubtedly be delighted to see Galaxy 4 returned, it is not a serial that ever ranks that highly in annals of Doctor Who, however there are many that consider The Tenth Planet; Episode 4 the holy grail of missing episodes as it is the final episode starring William Hartnell - the end of the story sees the Doctor regenerate for the first time.
There are plenty of concerns and scepticism from fandom about revelations of Hartnell's last episode being discovered and it often brings out cries of "hoax". Only time will tell and apparently the world will know for sure by Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning.

There is one episode that we are certain will never be found and that is episode 7 of the Dalek Master Plan - otherwise known as "the Feast of Steven". The episode was broadcast on Christmas Day 1965 and was for the most part superfluous to the plot and even features the Doctor (played at the time by William Hartnell) toasting the viewers and wishing them a Happy Christmas. As a result of this, the episode was not copied (that we know of) and released to other territories.

Of course fans of the show do their best to fill the gap, with homemade recons (reconstructed episodes created by mixing the existing audio soundtrack with still photographs of the characters and scenes) with the main producers being a company called Loose Canon, that create recons for the price of a videotape and postage. Of course there was the animation of two episodes of the 1968 Patrick Troughton story, "The Invasion", but unfortunately further animated episodes have currently been ruled out due to the hefty finances involved.
The reality is that there will always be missing episodes of Doctor Who and other shows and lots of clips that come back from here on in may be of too low quality to repair.

Edit:

After some weeks of silence on the matter, it appears the latest find is not a find at all. Ahh well, maybe next time...

Current listening:
Mini People in Coney Island "Nara Dreamland"


Until later,
Leigh

Kino Digital Video Archive

Going through Thumped.com earlier on, I came across a post listing some live archive material transferred onto the net. Upon checking out Kino Digital Video Archive, I had a gander at some Clash footage from May 1977 that I haven't seen in quite a long time.
Should one be interested in having a gander, there's also material by;

• Buzzcocks,
• The Cure
• La Peste
• Mission of Burma

as well as a host of other artists.
The quality is very good considering the source material - it's well worth a look and can be found at their Archive Portal. Fantastic stuff indeed!!

Currently watching:
1988 Formula 1 World Championship "Brazilian Grand Prix (Round 1)"


Yip,
Leigh

The Chico Hamilton Quintet "El Chico"

Every so often you have an album that you just listen to and listen to, but never really appreciate - an album that you always put on and somehow mysteriously fits into situations, no matter how different. For me the 1966 album, "El Chico" by the Chico Hamilton Quintet, slots right into this category and as a result is one of my favourite albums.
I bought this about two years ago and although it never tops my playlist on a weekly basis, however it is a body of work that always provides me lots of pleasure. But for some reason, it wasn't until this afternoon that I realised quite how fantastic it actually is.

Often when the genre jazz gets a mention, a variation of two things happens;

• some will look upon you with an air of condescendence
  

or,

• others will rave about the genius of Miles Davis (or someone equally obvious) without actually knowing anything about his music or the person himself.
  

Personally I've never really been into a lot of Davis' material, but more to do with the fact that I find trumpets and other brass instruments slightly grating, but like a majority of jazz that I do listen to, Chico Hamilton's recorded works tend to be percussion orientated. It is mainly for this reason that I also find music by Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Buddy Rich and Billy Drummond equally alluring.

Of course no composer like Hamilton can fully realise compositions without the ability of a multitude of session musicians and on "El Chico" there are several notable contributions. Of the players on this collection, Gabor Szabo and Albert Stinson are stand out as the guitar to bass shakedown that run throughout the album are sublime. His quintet series changed players and instrumentation regularly, but for the most part it revolved around a percussion, guitar, double bass, flute (or other woodwind instruments) and cello (occasionally swapped with muted trombone's).
There's no surprise then that while many jazz bands branched out into full blown big band material, much of Hamilton's work maintained a very spacey air about them - almost trance like on occasion. It is only a shame that you can go into "well stocked" stores along the lines of HMV and Zavvi and amongst others and discover that their jazz selections are often limited to Miles Davis and Buddy Rich compilations or pop culture connotations of the genre (see Jamie Callum, etc...)

Hamilton is 86 and still performing and released the album "Hamiltonia" last year and has another album and EP out later on this year, but I'll leave you with my two favourite songs from the album; Conquistadores and People as well as a live video called "Blue Sands" recorded at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.
Enjoy an absolute master at work!!





A frank interview with NBC's "Talking Jazz" from 1997


Currently watching:
Doctor Who "The Poison Sky"


Grand job,
Leigh

Bahrain and Spanish Grand Prix...

Bahrain 2008
I asked last week for an exciting Spanish Grand Prix so that there will be less talk about the Mosley on-going saga and I think we got it, which was a bit of relief considering the Bahrain Grand Prix some weeks earlier. Bahrain really wasn't a good race - it got processional very quickly with interest peaked on momentary occasions, such as the Alonso/Hamilton crash and the Button/Coulthard incident.

I'm going to stick my neck out, but Fernando Alonso did not break test Lewis Hamilton - one of the drawbacks of traction control being banned is that a driver gains excessive wheel spin. Alonso lost traction, gained wheel spin, couldn't accelerate and Hamilton hit him - it would've made no sense for Alonso to brake-test Hamilton when he was on the crest of the points - something that has since been proved by telementary from the Renault team. As for the Jenson Button/David Coulthard collision, it seemed fairly fifty-fifty as Coulthard left a gap, Button went for it, but when the gap disappeared he was too committed to withdraw... bang!! It seemed to be a case of both drivers should have being paying more attention.

Felipe Massa won the race easily from his team-mate, but you could sense that Raikkonen was busy conserving points on a track he openly doesn't like and it is this sort of consistency that won him the 2007 World Championship, however it was a great win for Massa that may see him stick his nose into the championship race.
For me though the biggest point of interest was the speed of the BMW cars, as for the first time really look like they could influence the final points standings come the final race on November 2nd. Whereas the BMW drivers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld may not be race winners, it is their plucking of 2nd, 3rd and 4th places from the top two teams that could dramatically shape the season. Although I was disappointed to see Kubica miss the pole position spot in Australia in March, it was about time that he got it in Bahrain.

Spain 2008
For the first time this season, Renault actually look competitive. A few thought that Alonso may be pushed by the Spanish crowd, but the reality is Piquet Jr also drove much better. The French car appeared stable through corners while maintaining good speeds through the traps around the track, however it was inevitable that Alonso would lose third place to Hamilton during the pitstops once the Englishman was in clear air, but it definitely showcased the improvements that the French team have made since Bahrain. That neither Renault driver finished is unfortunate (Alonso - engine, Piquet Jr. - taken out by Bourdais), but the French team have made a blatant step forward in car development and as such their battle with Williams, Red Bull and Toyota as the best of the rest starts now.

Today Red Bull driver David Coulthard was involved in two accident - on the first lap he was clipped by an underachieving Adrian Sutil which inadvertently resulted in Sebastian Vettel's retirement and later on Clock hitting Coulthard in a similar fashion. That Coulthard was involved in two crashes today (neither his fault) has once again opened debates with regards to how much longer he'll be in Formula 1. The main contention with these accidents seem to be that due to newly raised cockpit sides and smaller, repositioned mirrors (ironically in response to an accident caused by Coulthard in Australia last season) makes it next to impossible to see behind, which goes some distance to explain why a majority of the accidents involving Coulthard this year have been identical.
However, even Sebastien Bourdais complained vociferously, following his accident with Piquet Jr., that the drivers simply cannot see anything that is close or alongside them, however they get good views of what's directly behind them over the rear wing. The chances are this is something that might no be solved this season unless it results in a serious crash, but thus far all the accident relevant to this have been fairly low speed.
Apart from one other that happened this weekend....

Heikki Kovalainen was a passenger in what must go down as one of the most frightening crashes in Formula 1 for some time. After a wheel failure, Kovalainen was sent straight into the tyre barrier at turn 9 at approximately 140 MPH and got buried underneath the tyre. For fifteen minutes all that was seen were the marshals digging the McLaren out of the barriers followed by the ambulance service attending the Finnish driver.
That he was removed from the wreck with only a slight concussion and bruising is nothing short of miraculous and another indication of how much safety has come in Formula 1 and other forms of motor racing in the last few decades. Had that happened in the 70's (or even the 80's), the chances of Kovalainen's survival would have been very slim, however the driver was released from hospital on Monday night and pending an examination on Thursday evening coming, he should be driving at Istanbul.

On what must seem like a truly polar day for Finland, Kovalainen's fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen cruised to an easy victory in Barcelona and never looked under threat. It was a slightly strange experience as the Bahrain situation was reversed here, as Raikkonen looked comfortable and Massa sat back and took a second place on a track that he is not fond of - consistency rears its head once again. There are a growing number of people thinking that the points system should be changed again from it's current format to give more of an emphasis on race victory's, as many races are often decided by drivers sitting back and taking comfortable points.
Congratulations also to both Honda and Jenson Button - both of whom score their first points in one-and-a-half years in Spain. After a year of hell in 2007, the team has come together in a stunning fashion to create a much better car and whereas he is deemed to be very influential in knitting the team together at the moment, it won't be until 2009 until the Brawn effect will be fully apparent as that will be the first Honda motor designed under his leadership.
Honda are hoping that Brawn's knowledge and experience will be as effective as it was when he was technical director of Ferrari during the golden years of the early 00's.

Last but not least, can someone please tell what the fuck is up with ITV's coverage of the sport. Fair enough that it's a British television station and that Formula 1 currently has a young successful driver, but canceling out interviews with everyone else and then Martin Brundle announcing him as "Driver of the Day" is taking the fucking piss. He drove a good race, but both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa drove better races and while Hamilton did very well to finish third, he displayed no push after the initial laps (he did get a very good start) and didn't look even close to breaking the Ferrari's at any point.
It was something that was confirmed later when both Ferrari drivers claimed that they were not pushing at 100% for most of the race (they have to make their engines last the Turkish Grand Prix next week), while the McLaren team seemed to be pushing at maximum. In the meantime, it would seem that the Hamilton-lovefest will continue for quite a while yet, which is a shame considering that he is an excellent driver, but his celebratory is quickly becoming an irritant.

Currently watching:
1989 Formula 1 World Championship "German Grand Prix"


Hoopla!!
Leigh

The Daleks' Master Plan

Although I have had the audio-book version of Doctor Who and the Daleks' Master Plan for a few months now, it's only in the last couple of days that I finally got around to watching the Loose Cannon recon version of the story (see the World of Hoaxes in Doctor Who) alongside the three episodes that are currently in the archives.

It is a grueling story that lasts twelve episodes (thirteen if you include the teaser episode, Mission to the Unknown), with only 1986's Trial of a Time Lord surpassing it in terms of length, but the key to Daleks' Master Plan is the fact that the story warrants this length. Whereas Trial of a Time Lord is an arc that features four separate stories, the Daleks' Master Plan is a truly epic tale that takes in multiple destinations and times during which two companions are killed off.

It is Kevin Stoney's performance as Mavic Chen that truly steals the show. Over the course of eleven episodes (he did not star in Episode 7; The Feast of Steven), there is very apparent character progression from the suave, composed guardian of the Solar System to a manic, lucid leader, driven by greed and lust for power. Whereas during episode 2 (Day of Armageddon) Chen is clearly aware of his position in relation to the Dalek's and cleverly demonstrates this fact to the Master of Zephon during their conversation at the entrance to the Dalek city. Compare this to his attitude to the Dalek's in Episode 12 (Destruction of Time) and the change is stark, however the subtlety of transformation over the course of the story is wonderful. To be honest, this is something that could only really be achieved over a 12 episode span and would most likely be mocked if such a transformation took place over four episodes.

Stoney is often thought of as one of the finest guest stars in the show's history alongside the likes of Philip Madoc and Bernard Kay - Stoney returned in 1968 and 1975 to put in two stunning performances in the Invasion and Revenge of the Cybermen.

Everything else here is on top form. The serial is directed by Douglas Camfield (arguably the shows greatest ever director), Hartnell is perfect (aside from one or two fluff's - common on 1960's television) and the Dalek's are truly threatening for the first time in a while. Peter Purves (Steven), Nicholas Courtney (pre-Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart character Bret Vyon), Adrienne Hill (Katarina) and Jean Marsh (Sara Kingdom) are also fantastic. Even the special effects look excellent, which is an unusual thing to say about Doctor Who. The music is fantastic and is a wonderful composition by recently deceased Tristram Cary.

The deaths of Katarina and Sara Kingdom are wonderfully handled and while their deaths are disturbing (especially Sara Kingdom's), there is a realisation that the threat posed by the Dalek's is much bigger than their lives. It is only at the end of Episode 12 (Destruction of Time) that any time is given to their memories in a moment that is one of the most sombre in the show's history.

For this reason, I am saddened that Destruction of Time is missing from the archives and in my mind it is the episode that I would most like to see returned, but I am also glad that it exists in any format. Loose Cannon do a stunning job representing the destruction of Kembel, the Daleks and the death of Sara Kingdom - it's just a shame that Loose Cannon had to make it in the first place.

Leigh

Today I Saw a Duck...

I honestly cannot remember the last time I saw a duck or if I've ever seen one before, but I opened up the side door at my house to put some rubbish and low and behold a duck was starring me in the face. It was a life changing experience...

Unfortunately I never got a photograph on account of the fact that I don't own a camera, but that shouldn't take away from the joyful experience. I really need to get out of the house more often.

Current listening:
Electrelane "Axes"


Sweet
Leigh

...and so I Took Part in Something Called a "Meme..."

Well, I suppose everyone else is doing one and I have been tagged, thus I had better join in. The internet has officially ground to a halt, so here's to time wasting...

The rules are as follows:

• Link to the person that tagged you.

Tagger

• Post the rules on your blog.

(well, you're reading them right..?)

• Write six random things about you in a blog post.

1. My favourite band are the Clash
2. I want to hear everything, but am constrained by the fact that there are only twenty-four hours in day and that I require plenty of sleep
3. I plan to start writing the Anthology of Music and Technology very soon
4. I have dreams about Daleks, Cybermen and crashed cars
5. I have never had a girlfriend for longer than two weeks and am not that bothered - I only have so much time on hands
6. If I could touch the world, I probably would...
   

• Tag six people in your post.