A lot of this post is going to be personal and specific to some particular people, but I hope there's also enough in it for those who have no idea who those people actually are. The weather in Edinburgh today has been schizophrenic but along with the hailstones, sleet and rain there has been excitement in the air. The rather wonderful TeaQueen is heading North for a weekend of quiet contemplation and earnest discussion of the issues of the day and how they impact on our daily lives. Oh, we may have a small sherry too to help fuel the conversation.
One of her visits last year saw the birth of the Musselburgh Deaf Society, an entirely ficticious organisation that was the end result of two and a half days of carousing, misheard Scottish accents and a joke involving a deaf bus tour. I'm not going to attempt to repeat the story here, partly because it's hugely convoluted but mainly because it's one of those moments that is the epitome of "you just had to be there." It's one of those in-jokes that can only ever come into being when you're around close friends and is a core reason friendships of that nature are so important and should never be taken for granted. Simply put, they make the world/life a better place to be.
For me, music is another strand that strengthens the bonds of a friendship. It's not just a case of having similar music taste to someone although that is often true, it's something far more fundamental. Music has been a constant in my life, from my parents' choices in the background of my childhood through to my first fumbles around the charts and on to full blown obsession from my teenage years onwards. Music acts as a stimulus and can take you back to an instant in an instant, not always in a good way. It may be a time, a place, even a smell, but more often than not it's a person. This is a topic that could probably justify an entire blog let alone a single post. However, as this is still nominally a blog involving five-a-day I'll stick to the house rules. So, in honour of the TeaQueen's impending state visit and as a belated celebration of the first anniversary of the Musselburgh Deaf Society, here are five songs that will be forever associated with the three main protagonists of that weekend: the Queen herself, The Blonde and The Geordie; and the words/lines that spring immediately to mind.
M.I.A: Paper Planes
Canterbury, Most Haunted, Red wine, after The Tavern
Survivor: Eye of the Tiger
Closing, gin and crisps, Manchester, cock (written on a piece of A4 and stuck to the office wall), "oh look, a bee"
Florence and The Machine: Dog Days
Redhead ("not ginge"), horses, riding hat, lost Bank Holiday Sunday, funter
The Stone Roses: Sally Cinammon
"This is the North, where we do what we like."
Lady Gaga: Bad Romance
Campest straight man ever, Sing Star duet, dance moves spookily down pat
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