Dad Sofa: Recent Episodes
Rob Slater
The fresh fruit song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-IU-NQ8c14
Outstanding achievement award
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkOAUht3G5o
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
The Marriage of Figaro
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mozart+opera+in+shawshank+redemption&view=detail∣=3D73764844CF56C87BAE3D73764844CF56C87BAE&FORM=VIRE
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaning-classic-tribute-Holocaust-Paperback/dp/B0B8P4G8VK/ref=asc_df_B0B8P4G8VK?tag=bingshoppinga-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80470638789791&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584070160850573&psc=1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Choice-true-story-hope/dp/1846045126/ref=sr_1_2?crid=26GF3C16JCDYC&keywords=edith+eger+the+choice+book&qid=1673554791&s=books&sprefix=edith+eger+th%2Cstripbooks%2C68&sr=1-2
Photo byKaroline VargdalonUnsplash
The Norseman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixQWxEwml5g
Tinned Fermented Fish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY-QDBUpzts
BTW if you listen to any of the links: Play loud (but please don’t damage your ears!)
Links
All the Day and All of the Night: The Kinks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6qYstpbNu4
New Dawn Fades Joy Division: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHC2ozNKfYA
New Rose The Damned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUxFQ5QBiYk
Long distance runaround Yes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS-k02hf-hI
Roundabout Yes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPCLFtxpadE
Little fluffy clouds The Orb https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNfjpmvbQG0
Nelly the elephant by the Toy Dolls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m7tPikH0UA
Song 2 Blur: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz4l9_bzfZM
Roots Manuva, Witness the Fitness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltP7L16A8Hs
Rizzle Kicks Prophet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lLyr76L5Ic
Sammy Virji. Daga da: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9nm50vmQks
Stranglers Nice N Sleazy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAEM40UYKeU
Nina Simone My baby just cares for me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZS7iKdRo5Q
Strawbs Part of the Union: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJYbFFFZwdE
Queen The Show Must Go On: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99KH0TR-J4
Amy Winehouse You know I’m know good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-I2s5zRbHg
Grinderswitch: Pickin the Blues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJjFWGd8iPg
Food and cooking and its influences on me, come from the necessity of thrift from the Second World War
Snape is a famous village in Suffolk, England, home to the Snape Maltings, where many famous musicians have played. The Crown is one of the local pubs a 600 year old dwelling still functioning as it did when it opened.
https://crownatsnape.co.uk/
Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash
The Children's Almanac Audio Book is currently on the translations page of the site: https://thecarbonalmanac.org/kids/translations/
At some point in the near future it should have a separate page.
A sad time in the UK whether a Royalist or not, a family member is lost and the UK changes.
A few thoughts about what cars have meant to me over the years from being a teenager to now as I go electric.
Photo by Namroud Gorguis on Unsplash
The Israelites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wSXTN2EfRo
Up the Junction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQciegmLPAo
Twisted Fire Starter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmin5WkOuPw
New Dawn Fades: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXAthCVbnDI
I want to get away: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvuL5jyCHOw
Teenage Kicks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PinCg7IGqHg
What is Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w34vnz_LEX4
Country Death Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwj5_SNWYc8
Walking on Sunshine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK5KhQG06xU
Pink Pink Sunshine by Fuzzbox (NOT THE BANGLES!!!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLdGBDg-WAE
Sweet Chariot Ladysmith Sweet Mambazo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEKXt2EfyLQ
Just Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Abk1jAONjw
Photo by Gajo Romário on Unsplash
Paddington Bear goes to Buckingham Palace
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UfiCa244XE
A song sung by the last of the Bo Tribe, In the Aka Bo language, now extinct:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K3lrMphIHA
Photo of the Toilet Block Art at the Hidden Hut, Porthcurno Beach, Cornwall.
Episode 42 covers more on the Hidden Hut.
A Clip of the 2005 Edgbaston Ashes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiNvL3FfrT8
Curtley Ambrose Ripping through England: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCkC2YUBXpw
If you wish to listen to any of the cited music, here are links published on YouTube
Long Distance Runaround https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jnGEKffN8Y
Roundabout https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udLJlZ07Lcs
Good Times Bad Tiimes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA9Rec1qAFQ
Stairway to Heaven https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkF3oxziUI4
Kashmir https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfR_HWMzgyc
When the Levee Breaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwiTs60VoTM
Sweating without replacing the fluid can lead to further fluid loss through tears. Measuring blood at critical times might be a new answer to improving endurance and even weight control.
I have left a trail of destruction behind me. I hadn't realised until my wife pointed it out to me.
My journey in nutrition is like many a journey but the path is often better than the destination, even if it does not seem like that at the time.
Bricks seem like such simple things and yet they build large structures and there are analogies with building relationships, businesses and your own place in the world. As I start the refurbishment of my new business and we can see the underlying brickwork as the rendering is pulled away, it reminded me of a journey that our neighbour, Henry, took me on. It turns out that he took a lot of other people on that same journey too.
Writer of the song "Beware of the Flowers cos I'm sure they're gonna get you yeah", John Otway was given support by John Peel. I discuss the influence that these two people had on my love for music over the years.
The Maverick in sport, a link to my childhood following of what was then a marginal sport with a small cult following but has grown to be a worldwide sport with huge prize funds.
Formal and informal games have influenced culture for millennia, sometimes restricted by the law. Our lives and deaths are influenced by work and play. What we see as games are sometimes work and sometimes play.
From my mother's home made to sitting in a posh restaurant, I discuss how wine has touched my life in various ways.
The joy of Spring one year wrought havoc with our Garden. I explore why and what happened.
Passing time during the average school holiday by watching children's television but then being dragged out to go shopping for School Uniform for September
The loss of industry in Cornwall has meant the people of this County have suffered. It is on its return with different industries and ideas; an example of how innovation can have huge knock on effects.
Being alone in relation to introversion and how introverts behave. What changes we make in life choices and how we interact with people.
100 years ago this year: an unknown anniversary, a link to a letter written 69 years ago and comic genius.
Supermarkets are always changing, with things to help the consumer but the consumers don't always help themselves or each other.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is a wonderful place with a chequered History in its association with its members.
A Trip to see The Exploited, a band that have had multiple come backs and have a faithful following.
Why do people draw or paint in the way that they do it? What influenced Max Beckman and why would the Barber Institute be interested?
Counting is part of our culture and I explore this in relation to sheep farming and an old system to keep a record of the flock.
A nursery rhyme linked with the plague brings both art and science together.
Photo by Kuma Kum
A Day out to take a walk along the Cornish Coastal Path, as a family. What can possibly go wrong with that?
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
The bonkers race, all over the globe, the thousands training,
The Periodisation, the 10% increase, the coaching, the fueling
Whether or not you’re moving
its snowing or it’s raining.
The 4am get up, I’m in training.
The pick up, The kit, The pack, the club, the inspiration
Representing your nation
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
The travel, the bike bag, the big list to pack
The id, the waiver,
or niggle in the back
I’m feeling tired cos of taper,
The stress of the airport, the baggage reclaim,
finding me bike,
diagnosing the foreign train
Where’s the hotel, the expo, the finish line clock
I Imagine the bliss
I’ve gotta get there I spent 30 weeks training for this
The water,the bike course, the run route the start
I am surrounded by physical specimens, they all look the part
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
The bravado, the fear, the pre race Brief
A breakfast with Paula Newby Fraser
A dream beyond belief
The clank of the scaffold, the tarpaulin flap, the sound check
the wind, the smells, the tastes….
I’m drinking coffee in Klagenfurt, Freezing ice cream in Frankfurt
Pasta in Lanzarote in the Heat
or in the cold of Haugusund a cinnamon cake makes me repleat
The pre race food, decrease fibre, increase carb
The drop in caffeine, im being too fickle
Don’t eat too much, don’t eat to little
Check your bike in, check your bags in, white blue and red
Don’t mix them up their content being critical, this is doin me head
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
Settling to doze, it’s 9 at night
The race is 10 hours off, sleep tight
I awake at 3, feel for my drink,
Then dress, go to the loo and check my kit
Down to breakfast to watch the Farce
Iron warriors, their rigid habits, does it matter
The Fueling dance
Bananas, honey, cereal, white bread
Yoghurt or Juice; not too much
The caffeine buzz to brighen the head.
Each to their own, what’s your daily bread.
I Queue for a bus, am I booked on it
or walk tired through the streets
white street bag and wetsuit, getting ready to don it
I am on my way
no turning back
An inspirational track
Zoning out listening to music
But I feel my heart starting to beat
Walking among the throngs in the dark dark street
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
Approaching transition I hear the PA
The noise of the athletes mumbling away
The headtorches at 5.30 am
The sound of bike tyres being pumped and a groggy yawn
In the hope that the pressure will speed you along
The queues for the toilet, final bike check,
loading it with nutrition, Ah what the heck
I help an athlete do his zip, easy with so many acts of good will.
Let’s get my wetsuit on, in the morning chill
I work to stop chafing by putting on neck glide,
I see the athlete I helped
We look at each other smile, the exhilaration we cannot hide
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
So to the start and we are packed together
1000s of us like penguins
but not standing on ice, between the toes just the feeling of sand or wet grass, nice
The PA, the 10s of thousands of spectators, wow what a roar
The national anthem
Our hearts in our chests or even our mouths, what more can you ask for.
7am, The siren goes and we run, run, as fast as we can like the race is 17seconds not 17 hours
I feel the water reach to my waste, dive in
I’m away… at last just my thoughts, the bar fight and my haste.
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
The rhythm of swim, the sighting, the pace
The pleasure of feeling at one in your space
The Australian exit, then back in without time to thaw
I don’t want it to end, round again once more
As the swim comes to an end,
The distant cheer
The crowd comes into muffled swimcapped ear
And its up on my feet, to transition
To check on the weather, what do we have here?
The heat of the canaries, the rain and lightening of Norway or the Gales in Wales
Whatever it is….
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
So onto the bike and into a spin
Athletes fall off, burst tyres as I try to settle in
The roads are a mix of asphalt, cobbles, tramlines
Hills, some with heat and some with wet slippy spills
The rear wheel slips as you Hit the hill at 100 miles
The sight of a country
You’ve never been in, the marshalls the drafters, the penalty bin.
Or the Wrestlers in Bolton, cheering you on, for an hour my face is one big grin.
Then I feel a bee sting on my leg
As we get to the end I feel sweat drip
from inside my helmet and onto my lip
The legs are tired; I get to the end and drop off the bike, helped by the ironman crew,
in a maze , The scaffolding we call T2
Then the duck waddle starts
Just trying not to think of the marathon ahead. What goes?
A chance to run on the route with the pros.
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
On the run what’s your habit?
Run walk or run run or just eat crisps
Energy gels with salt or carb or caffeine
Or oranges, flat coke or Sandwiches by Greggs
Whether heat or rain, the supporters remain
They’re the real stalwarts, the hard ones
There for you to sustain
The second half of the run is tough enough,
The cage fight, kept light by the kids who high five
I am running out of energy
But the dream’s alive.
Treadwatering sea turtles Kona, big island, where the spirits thrive.
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
To the last mile, for some its dark again
it’s getting late right?
Remember the cut off 12 midnight
The finish shute
Red carpet, the shout “you are an ironman’
The medal the food tent the t-shirt
The cheers and excitement
The realisation of hurt, the soreness the worn out shoe
Wondering did I bite off more than I can chew.
Out to support the people still racing
The Shouts of elation and Fireworks and family embracing.
So what next, there’s always next year
It’s never complete, not a race, it’s a way of life
Another race, another Ironman, another Ironwoman
Ironman Ironman I’m gonna do the Ironman
Children's expectations at Christmas are moulded by the traditions that are created around it. I explore some of the Christmas traditions that have developed over the centuries and how they differ from one place to another.
As a child I had to stay at home with chicken pox. This gave me the opportunity to watch the Apollo Moon Landing and I have been intrigued by space ever since. In this episode I discuss just a few things which are being explored, with some surprises along the way.
The development of technology over the years has led to teams working together to look at ways of consistently making marginal gains to be the best in their field. This is exemplified in the Formula 1 story where the advances are now helping organisations such as Great Ormand Street Hospital, helping to gain improvements in the treatment for Dementia and has the potential to help us in many parts of our lives.
A discussion on how far scientists have gone to discover things that are going on around us and how some gave their lives up to help humanity.
Having had my Ironman Race in Switzerland cancelled I could choose to stop training or aim for something else. I decided to try and cycle 270 miles in a day.
A discussion on the development and potential for AI and how we humans might be affected now and in the future.
Discussion on the Slave Trade, Slave Boats, Migration within the US and how this has influenced an area of New York Today.
What are the differences between generations and are they influenced by our own maturity or when in history we spent our formative years?
The Parallels between Hope Clearwater in William Boyd's novel and the Jane Goodall are set against the backdrop of those of the Human and Chimpanzee population and how we need to consider our environment.
The Excavation of this Burial Ground has revealed a major source of information about Birmingham's Social History and some of what people had to live with during the Industrial Revolution.
A Discussion about the population on Martha's Vineyard, who for 250 years had a large proportion of congenitally deaf people. This led to everyone learning sign language. Deafness was not seen as a disability in any way.
Delving into a bowl of pasta to find out what it is made of, in essence, what anything is made up of!