Giant steps are what you take..........

The last week or so has seen the passing of two men who had a major impact on my teenage years.

Neil Armstrong died at the weekend aged 82. He earned his place in history as the first man to walk on the moon, uttering the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

When this happened in July 1969 this seemed like an incredible feat to me and even years later I still struggle to get my head round it (Physics never being my strong point at school).

Buzz Aldrin followed him on to the surface of the moon but I always felt a bit sorry for Michael Collins who was left aboard Apollo 11 orbiting the moon whilst Armstrong and Aldrin strutted their stuff down below. I always had it in my mind that Collins set foot on the moon on a later mission but he never achieved that distinction. Only 10 more American astronauts walked on the moon and of them Alan Shepard was the only name I recognised. The last moon walk was in December 1972 so it is now nearly 40 years since man was on the surface of the moon.

Despite the magnitude of his achievement Armstrong led a very private life after he left NASA and was quoted as having said "I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work"

With a doff of the cap to Mr Armstrong I give you my Top10 Moon Related Songs

1. Man On The Moon.......................REM
2. Moon River..................................Andy Williams
3. Moonshadow...............................Cat Stevens
4. Bad Moon Rising.........................Creedence Clearwater Revival
5. Harvest Moon..............................Neil Young
6. Moondance..................................Van Morrison
7. Dancing In The Moonlight.............Thin Lizzy
8. Whole Of The Moon.....................The Waterboys
9. Moonage Daydream......................David Bowie
10. Ticket To The Moon...................ELO

Saturday August 18th 2012 saw the death of Scott Mckenzie singer of the iconic song 'San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)' a Number 1 in the UK in the summer of 1967
It took me until I was 50 but I finally made it to San Francisco in 2004 and it remains the best place in the world I have ever been. Sadly by that time I was a bit too old for wearing flowers in my hair.

The song was written by McKenzie's friend John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas and was reputedly composed for the first pop festival at Monterey just south of San Francisco. It is also reported that the other members of The Mamas and the Papas were none to happy at Phillips giving the song away to his friend.

McKenzie was born Philip Blondheim and allegedly turned down an offer from Phillips to be a member of The Mamas and the Papas when Phillips was forming the group. Instead he chose to become one of the most famous One Hit Wonders ever with a song that encapsulated the 'Hippy Movement' of the time

He may not have been as famous as the illustrious Neil Armstrong but I think he had a more lasting impact on my life. After all I did eventually go to San Francisco largely due to the impression this song made on me as a teenager. It now appears less likely that I will ever make it to the moon

So, as I doff my cap once again, this time to Mr McKenzie I leave you this week with my Top 10 San Francisco Related Songs with an obvious Number 1

1. San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair)........Scott McKenzie
2. San Franciscan Nights...........................................................Eric Burdon and the Animals
3. San Francisco Days..............................................................Chris Isaak
4. I Left My Heart In San Francisco..........................................Tony Bennett
5. Let's Go To San Francisco....................................................The Flower Pot Men
6. Fake Tales Of San Francisco.................................................The Arctic Monkeys
7. I'm Always Drunk In San Francisco.......................................Nancy Wilson
8. San Francisco Bay Blues.......................................................Richie Havens
9. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay.........................................Otis Redding
10. We Built This City..............................................................Starship
      "I'm looking out over that Golden Gate bridge, out on another gorgeous sunny Saturday, not seein' that bumper to bumper traffic. It's your favourite radio station, in your favourite radio city, the city by the bay, the city that rocks, the city that never sleeps"

It doesn't sound like Radio Clyde to me!

There's a time for joy, a time for tears, a time we'll treasure through the years

In recent weeks I have been doing some part-time work as an Exam Invigilator at Glasgow University. This is very seasonal and only slightly more frequent than a job as a Santa lookalike (obviously there is only one real Santa)

The exams take place in December and May with some resits in August

The best part about the job is that you get to enjoy the surroundings. If there is a finer set of buildings in Glasgow then I have yet to see them so this week I give you my personal pictorial record of my time spent at Glasgow University.

These pictures all been taken on my mobile phone so David Bailey is not in any real danger and I don't expect a call from The Tate Modern anytime soon but hopefully they will convey a little of the beauty and splendour of the University

The Chapel, the Cloisters and the Quadrangles

The view from the South Flag Pole overlooking Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and on towards the south side of Glasgow. One of the finest views in Glasgow and not done justice by these photos

The South Tower taken from the Flag Pole. I didn't manage to climb very far up the flag pole so this is taken from a fairly low stance

I have had the pleasure of invigilating exams in The Bute Hall. This is just a fabulous room used for their Graduation Ceremonies and other such grand events. It is just a joy to behold. Magnificent architecture and an aura of pomp and circumstance which, in my opinion, modern buildings just cannot match. Down both sides are stained glass windows portraying notable characters from the past. These are philosophers, scientists, theologians, saints, monarchs and famous authors such as Burns, Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare but surprisingly not E.L. James, maybe next year



The canteen table where Invigilators gather to discuss the rigours of the day

For anyone who has never visited Glasgow University, I thoroughly recommend it. I have only scratched the surface of what can be seen and experienced. Go visit! You will not be disappointed.

   

I'll show you something to make you change your mind

So, that will be The Olympics for another four years. I have to admit that before they started I was fed up hearing about them, but once the actual events commenced I was hooked and an avid follower for the entire games

There were far too many highlights to do a Top 10 so instead I give you my Top 10 Favourite Olympic Sports and their high points for me during the Games




1. Athletics....What else could it be? Gold Medals for GB from Mo Mo Super Mo, Jessica Ennis and the ginger long jump guy and superb International performances from David Rudisha in the 800 Metres Final and the sprint ladies from the U.S.A. particularly Allyson Felix but the undoubted star of the show was Usain Bolt. We have run out of superlatives to describe this guy. He is quite simply...Bolt!

2. Cycling.....great results and performances from Hoy, Wiggins, Kenny, Trott and several others but a special mention for Victoria Pendleton who was as gracious in defeat as she was in victory. She will be sadly missed

3. Tennis....Gold Medal for Andy Murray achieved with straight sets victories over Djokovic and Federer. Brilliant! ...and a Silver Medal in the Mixed Doubles with Laura Robson for good measure. Also, a fantastic display of power and talent from Serena Williams who added Singles and Doubles titles to those won last month at Wimbledon without breaking sweat

4. Swimming....Not a great tournament for GB apart from an outstanding effort from Michael Jamieson but there was sheer brilliance once again from American Michael Phelps who upped his overall medal total to a record breaking 22, 18 of which have been gold. My favourite moment of the games however came in a race which Michael Phelps lost to Chad le Clos. The reaction of le Clos and his father Bert to the 200M Butterfly victory and subsequent medal ceremony was priceless. The emotion and joy was wonderful to see. As a father of three sons who has shed tears of joy when they scored goals in BB football I can relate to Mr le Clos in what was probably his proudest ever moment

5. Rowing......another strong performance from our rowers the highlight of which was the triumph of Sophie Hosking and Katherine Copeland who after crossing the winning line exclaimed " We just won the Olympics"

6. Shooting.....Peter Wilson wins a Gold Medal for Team GB. It looks like all those years playing Duck Hunt on the Nintendo has finally paid off

7. Gymnastics....I was pleased to see the likable Beth Tweddle win a medal along with other GB gymnasts. I was somewhat confused by some of the apparatus used in Gymnastics though. In Glasgow parallel bars are pubs across the road from one another

8. Triathlon.....Two brothers from Yorkshire in the first three of this gruelling event. What I found incredible was that Alistair Brownlie's time for running 10k was better than some of the athletes in the 10k Final and that was after he swam 1500M and cycled 40k. That's impressive!

9. Sailing.....Not really my cup of tea but total respect to Ben Ainslie for winning a Gold Medal at four consecutive Olympics

10. Canoeing.....Gold medal for GB pair Tim Bailie and Ettiene Stott in the Canoe Slalom and not a Duelling Banjo in sight and Ed McKeever wins Gold in the 200M Kayak Final. Apparently Ed has been called 'the Usain Bolt of kayaking', probably by his mum. I am not sure if Bolt has been called 'the Ed McKeever of Sprinting'

There was also success for Team GB in the boxing ring and at Taekwondo, but if I want to watch Men and Women fighting I can just go up Sauchiehall Street on a Saturday night

Some sports even I found difficult to watch. These would include Handball, Water Polo and Equestrian which is really just posh folk on horses

After the excitement of The Euros the Olympic football was a huge letdown. It was like watching my team Ayr United after watching....well, just about anyone. I have to admit to raising a smile however when England/Wales (sorry Team GB) lost on penalties. Some things you just never tire of.

I though the BBC coverage was mostly excellent. I liked Balding, Foster and Thorpe at the swimming. The cycling commentators were also very good and did their best to explain some of the strange disqualification decisions. Michael Johnson was first rate at the Athletics and Steve Cram's commentary on Mo Farah's 5000M victory was superb

My only real complaint would be with John Inverdale. Someone needs to buy him a new book of cliches because the one he has is all used up. I would have liked to put the sycophantic Mr Inverdale side by side with his odious chum Lord Coe on the 80 Metre line for the Men's Javelin competition. Now I would definitely have watched that

Anyway, a lot seemed to happen in just over two weeks and it gave me something to watch before the start of the Premier League this weekend. Go Team Sunderland!

Pardon the way that I stare, there's nothing else to compare, the sight of you leaves me weak, there are no words left to speak

When I quoted the song 'Galway Girl' in my Blog about Ireland last week I discovered that it was used in the movie 'P.S. I Love You'. I have to confess that I have not seen this film but will probably now try to watch it just to hear the song again and to see it's context within the movie.

Given my love of music and movies, this made me think about my favourite scenes using songs in movies so here is my Top 10

1. "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" .....'The Deer Hunter'....favourite scene from my favourite movie featuring one of my favourite songs. Ticks all the boxes. I drank Rolling Rock for years because they drank it in this movie

2. "Secret Garden"....'Jerry Maguire'.......you had me at hello, Brucie

3. "Right Back Where We Started From"...'Slap Shot'....this pounding track from Maxine Nightingale was perfect for the road trips of the Charlestown Chiefs Ice Hockey team

4. "You Never Can Tell"...'Pulp Fiction'...Tarantino rarely disappoints with his soundtracks and Travolta and Thurman dancing to Chuck Berry was one of his best

5. "The Blower's Daughter"....'Closer'....even though the film starred Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman the Damien Rice song was still the highlight

6. "Afternoon Delight"...'Anchorman'....any excuse to throw in some random 'Anchorman' quotes
   "Boy, that escalated quickly...."
   "There were horses, and a man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident"
   "And I'm Ron Burgundy. Go f*** yourself San Diego"
    Brilliant, but I digress!

7. "If There Is Something"...'Flashbacks Of A Fool'.....atmospheric Roxy Music track used to full effect in this underrated Daniel Craig movie

8. "It's Gonna Take A Miracle"...'A Home At The End Of The World'..a strange little movie starring Colin Farrell and Robin Wright but featuring a stunning soundtrack including Dylan, Cohen, Dusty Springfield, Jefferson Airplane, Steve Winwood and Patti Smith. However these are all usurped by the haunting vocal talents of Laura Nyro.

9. "Come With Me"...'Godzilla'....monster track for a monster movie performed by Puff Daddy and Jimmy Page sampling Led Zeppelin's Kashmir

10. "Sounds Of Silence".....'The Graduate'......Paul Simon and Dustin Hoffman at their very best

But for every Yin there is a Yang so here are my Top 10 Worst Movie Songs

1. "My Heart Will Go On"....'Titanic'.....and like the movie the song did go on and on and on

2. "She's Like The Wind"....'Dirty Dancing'....average actor writes and sings really bad song in a really bad movie

3. "Danger Zone"...'Top Gun'...."Revvin' up your engine, listen to her howlin' roar, metal under tension, beggin' you to touch and go". Indeed, Kenny, indeed!

4. "Unchained Melody"...'Ghost'....how to take a fine song and ruin it for all time. I have never felt the same way about my potter's wheel again either.

5. "Everything I Do etc"...'Robin Hood etc'...see comments for number 1

6. "I Just Called To Say I Love You"...'Woman In Red'....I am a huge fan of Stevie Wonder but even I could not excuse this abomination

7. "I Believe I Can Fly"...'Space Jam'...Yes and Michael Jordan believes he can play Basketball with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam and Foghorn Leghorn. I remember taking my youngest son to the movies to see this. I will never get that 88 minutes back.

8. "Wind Beneath My Wings"...'Beaches'...No, I promise you I didn't cry watching this movie, I had a cold at the time. It goes on the list.

9. "Up Where We Belong"...'An Officer And A Gentleman'....How could you Joe?

10. "All For Love"...'The Three Musketeers'....who needs Athos, Portos and Aramis when you have Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting

Sometimes Hollywood is so stuck for ideas that they base a whole movie around a song. Here are my Top 10 Movies Named After Songs

1. My Girl (1991)...named after The Temptations song it does have a couple of redeeming points, namely Jamie Lee Curtis and the fact that Macaulay Culkin dies in it.

2. Stand By Me (1986)...named after the Ben E. King song and based on a Stephen King story

3. California Dreamin' (2007)...strange little film set in Romania during the war in Kosovo and named after the 1960s hit by The Mamas and the Papas

4. Pretty Woman (1990)....the movie that catapulted Julia Roberts to fame named after the song by the late, great Roy Orbison

5. Pretty In Pink (1986)...archetypal 80s movie named after the song by The Psychedelic Furs

6. When A Man Loves A Woman (1994)...disturbing movie starring Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan named after the wonderful Percy Sledge song

7. The Crying Game (1992)...named after the 60s hit by Dave Berry. The ultimate 'twist' movie and I don't mean it's about Chubby Checker

8. Sweet Home Alabama (2002)...Reese Witherspoon does what Reese Witherspoon does in a movie named after the 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd song

9. Jersey Girl (2004)...Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler star in the movie named after the excellent Tom Waits song covered superbly by Springsteen

10. Romeo and Juliet (1996)...Baz Luhrmann's tale of star crossed lovers which I believe is named after the 1980 song by Dire Straits

I read about another couple currently in production. One is based on the true story of Rodney King and will be named after The Clash song 'I Fought The Law And The Law Won'. The other is a sequel to the movie 'The Prisoner Of Zenda' where our hero is incarcerated once again. This is to be named after the Elvis Presley hit 'Return To Zenda'

Right ! That's me! I am off to open a bottle of Rolling Rock and watch The Deer Hunter once again.
All together now "Ba da ba da ba da da ba..........."