Don Woods

Now we are out of the World Cup we can have a change of subject on the T.V. for a change…that is when the Suarez incident has died down…he got a 9 match ban but I think the lad needs help…why not just take all his teeth out?...problem solved. Having said that the Coulson affair has taken over….and as usual the BBC drag it out for 50% of the bulletins….as I have always said the press get away with far too much…they couldn’t care less who gets hurt as long as they sell their trashy papers…..looks like Coulson is taking the hit but if it was up to me they would all go behind bars…..and Cameron hasn’t come out of it too well. Also someone has “come forward” with allegations regarding Jimmy Savile…saying he saw Savile drag a young girl out of a chidren’s home and the girl was later found dead….there is as yet no evidence whatsoever but guess what…headlines in the paper “CHILD KILLER” with a picture of JS….Proof?...who needs proof?...let’s sell papers….something needs to be done. I must say I do enjoy Wimbledo

…it’s been all World Cup…and as usual England are consistent….I don’t know how much the so-called expert pundits get…but whatever it is it’s too much. They sit there and go through the details of a match you have just watched…with all sorts of suggestions,,,bottom line WE LOST…AS USUAL. But what I can’t understand is how upset people get…it’s a football match…with a bunch of overpaid sportsmen…that’s all…it’s not the end of the world!! I’m not a betting man but I put a fiver on Germany to win the cup….you can’t bet against them guys …….and you have to laugh…the tennis has the “hawkeye” technology…the rugby has the video playback for the ref…and world football has splashed out on a can of shaving foam. Next we’ve got Wimbledon where Andy Murray will crash out along the way in front of “Murray Mount”….why aren’t Djokovic and Nadal among the constant flow of immigrants into this country…at least they would come in handy…..what gets me every time is we are still going on about the 66 World Cup ……mind you while

Don sent the following... There has been a lot of moaning about the National Anthem being sung by the England football team….it has been said that it is only a song aimed at the Queen and not England, Personally I couldn’t care less…I think the song is so bland and boring it’s time for a new one.It’s supposed to be a NATIONAL anthem but only England seem to sing it…the Welsh and the Scots sing their own tunes…..definitely time to have a nice lively anthem…Don's available for the job…. The UK Education Minister, Mr Gove, is taking a bit of stick since he came out with the idea of scrubbing certain GCSE’s … regarding them as a waste of time and of no value…for example media studies and manufacturing studies and drama…etc…I must admit I have to agree with him…it’s all very well having “qualifications” but if they are of no use in the real world what is the point?...he is also in the limelight regarding extreme religious factions taking over schools…I think this is hyped up by the media…I can’t see it being a

There has been a big outcry against the health and safety dept……in their wisdom they decided that the age old English activity of “cheese rolling” is highly dangerous…this event takes place each year in one of our Shropshire villages and involves chasing a ball of cheese down a very steep hill…..as there have been many casualties the H & S have stepped in … and instead of using cheese they made them use a ball of polystyrene….which was a disaster as the ball wouldn’t roll against the wind…..so the villagers rose up and got their way…so it’s back to cheese and A & E. Vauxhalls have announced they are bringing back the VIVA…..but it wont be like the 60’s one….THANK GOODNESS…I had a Viva SL 90 in my younger days and it was the WORST car I ever had…by far…the differential went west…the front suspension was replaced…I replaced the clutch..and eventually replaced the ENGINE…so I don’t think I will be in the market for another one….the second worst car was a VW Golf…had it from new…heap of rubbish. There is a mo

To save money our wonderful government are cutting down on lollipop people….you know …those people who,unlike themselves,are of value to the community….not only are these folk part of the school runs they are there to prevent kids being injured by the fools on the road…..I see the MPs have just voted themselves an extra THREE week holiday because they haven’t got enough to do…maybe if they donated their inflated salaries for the weeks they are now lazing about it might go towards solving the problem? 2.Apparently the rich are now 15% richer than last year according to the “rich list”…..now I have no problem at all with people who make lots of money but it’s hard to get my head around Jamie Oliver being worth 240 million….what for?...maybe I’m missing something…..when you look at the so called rich list it makes you wonder what they do with it all….old Jamie is always banging on about school meals etc….he should try banging on about those who have to queue for food parcels. 3.What I found very sad this wee

.The Eurovision…..what a joke….the winner was like a fairground side show…BUT…and I could be wrong…BUT I get the feeling it was a spoof (Peter Kay and his Irish female alter ego springs to mind)….I’ve heard the actual record which is definitely a girl singing…I think this character is probably a comedian and will announce next year how everyone was taken in….certainly got everyone talking….just a suggestion….because he cannot be serious….I hope. Gary Barlowe has been under fire because of a tax dodge….he was advised how to dodge tax legally….advice which ANYONE would take…but oh no all the do-gooders and honest politicians think he should be stripped of his O.B.E. despite the millions he has made for charity…but Cameron (who is his mate) said he should keep the O.B.E. but pay the tax he owes…you know the tax he saved LEGALLY…perhaps he should be more honest like that prat in the House of Lords who signed in for 20 minutes and gets £300 a throw….or our mate who “fessed up” after making a grand a day for aski

This kidnap situation in Africa is unbelievable…200 young girls…and the filthy scum responsible bragging on a video…makes you wonder what the world is coming to….let’s hope the Americans and the SAS catch up with them…see how tough they are then….the authorities over there are under severe criticism but you could never see that coming….let’s hope it gets sorted. It’s Eurovision time again…I’ve seen one of the semi finals….no comment…….They had Bucks Fizz and The Brotherhood of Man singing together on “The One Show”…the latter having beefed out somewhat. I was never a fan of The Brotherhood of Man I always thought they were a third rate imitation of ABBA….and as for their Eurovision “Kisses For Me”..it was a dead rip off of “Tie A Yellow Ribbon”…so much so that we used to go into one from another and see if anyone noticed…..Jay from Bucks Fizz still looks good. They had a programme on Neil Sedaka which was fascinating….and a similar one on Gary Barlowe…and how they went from the top to the bottom very qui

Did you see that MP who resigned over cash for questions;.Patrick Mercer;you gotta laugh;what a twit! he came out with I openly admit my wrong doing;I was a soldier and when soldiers get things wrong they FESS UP;.as if this makes it RIGHT !!...the guy was making a GRAND a day;but it's O.K. because he has resigned.should be behind bars !! There has been blanket coverage of the poor teacher who got stabbed to death, a terrible tragedy;but the media don't help going on about how she was in on her day off and how wonderful a person she was etc etc;.it doesn't help in any way.it needs sorting -not used to pad out the papers.it's a horrible tragedy and I'm sure her family don't want it plastered all over the papers every day. The government are trying to get those on benefit cleaning the streets;.HOW DARE THEY!!...my lad teaches kids who come from four generations who have never worked;the outcry is that if they are subjected to;voluntary work; they wont be able to look for jobs;.but I don't think it's voluntary

Primark have made huge profits and are taking a bit of stick from our army of do-gooders…they are suggesting people boycott the store because the stuff they sell is made in China by workers who are poor and mistreated…..the stuff they sell in the store is CHEAP !!!....that’s all 99% of shoppers are interested in I’m afraid. My take on this is if Primark can sell cheap so can the big stores…end of. ...I went to see “Dreamboats and Petticoats” on the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton….it was sort of O.K….but not worth 28 quid a ticket….the music which is live was good but the acting let it down…I’ve seen the show before on the Empire which was much better…shame. ...I watched a drama about Tommy Cooper on tele this week (did you catch it?) it was brilliant…the guy who played him was great (David Threlfall?...who was the star of “Shameless” which I never watched)…it was a great insight into the life of T.C. (I was never a fan)…I think the guy will get an award for this…it was excellent. ...I was listening to

Britain’s Got Talent is back…..now I KNOW it is very popular (which shows the mentality of the masses)…but WHY subject us to idiots who are happy to ridicule themselves on national TV?...and WHY Ant and Dec?....heaven knows we’ve seen enough of them over the last six months…can’t see the point of them on this show….and WHY the same old format with talentless “judges” playing God and the same old sob stories from the contestants which have NOTHING to do with their act…….bring back Opportunity Knocks I say…at least we were looking at genuine contestants. Great to see Nigel Evans fighting back…the guy was dragged through court … was TOTALLY cleared of any offences…and ended up 130 grand out of pocket….he is starting to kick up a fuss and good on him….he says the CPS should reimburse the cases they lose….and so say all of us !!!! Now we have had a few weeks of nice weather…you’d think we’d all be happy…what with no storms and no floods etc…NOT A CHANCE….the media are straight on to their usual scare tactics….

Taking kids out of school in term time is back in the news…asking whether there should be some exeptions…eg Police and servicemen. The consensus seems to be that it should be one rule for all…the problem lies in the rise in price of holidays when the schools are off….if parents want their kids educating they can’t have it all ways. I have been watching Wills and Kate in Australia with their new nipper….I must say that Kate is a lovely girl and very photogenic and I think she is doing a great job out there….When she was talking to an old serviceman she held his hand which I thought was really nice and she was great with all the kids who came out to see her…..nice example. I wish the BBC would get someone in the news department who give us SOMETHING of interest on their bulletins…I am sick and tired of the OscarPistorious case taking up so much time with NOTHING happening….we really are NOT interested in this country…all we need to know is the result….as I have always said…there is too much time given to

There is a girl called Judith Hill who is starring in a documentary film called “20 feet from Stardom” and it is about all the great backing singers who never get recognised. She has backed the likes of Michael Jackson and never got a mensh on the credits. Sounds like an interesting film….but that is what the game is all about really…it’s the session guys who go the distance. On the subject of films I watched a Will Smith film called “Hancock”…er….they don’t seem to be able to round films off these days…too much CGI and not enough story…mind you it also starred Charlize Theron who is very easy on the eye..so that helped. We have had the Sahara Desert descend on us…mostly on my car….and there have been pollution warnings….as usual let’s scare everyone….however it has made me a bit throaty and has cut down the visibility …it wont be long before the Government are blamed. There is a move afoot to ban E cigarettes from public places….they reckon it is encouraging smoking amongst the young instead of helpin

It’s disgusting the way the media are covering this missing plane incident….there are poor grief stricken relatives who are in turmoil only to have a camera stuck in their face to broadcast their anguish to the world…what does this achieve?…NOTHING…it doesn’t help in any way…just so some pig of a reporter can get a story without an ounce of human decency…this needs to be sorted. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club are to have a high power meeting as to whether they let WOMEN on the course…heavens above…what is the world coming to?….as you probably know G.O.L.F. means “Gentlemen only…ladies forbidden”…which obviously the R & A and a few other courses still stand by. We have a Golf Club close to where you once lived which is a men only set up…….I think in this day and age it’s time for Golf Clubs to get over themselves…speaking as a guy who has performed (musically) at hundreds of them I can safely say that they are all the same…overloaded with snobs and outdated rules and regulations. If you want to get away fr

The Budget…..Osborne has been holding up the red bag….which has pleased the old folk (prospective voters)….so it looks like our savings will make a bit of interest for a change. However up jumps Ed Balls with his totally negative view on the whole thing….no matter what one side does - the other will disagree with. There has been a programme on the attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne 20 years ago…I can’t remember this can you?...apparently her car was blocked by another on the Mall and her bodyguard got out and was shot three times….he has received an award for his bravery…the guy tried to drag Anne out of the car….what was I doing 20 years ago? There is a programme called “The Big Re-Union” where boy and girl bands are reforming to go back on the road…it’s quite interesting but I think some of them need therapy. It all looks a bit contrived to me…and has a feeling of desperation about it….but good luck to them…I think they will need it. The Northern Lights are back in the news….Carole Kirkwood t

The schools have had to cut back because of lack of money…council jobs are in danger because of lack of money…the hospitals are having a hard time because of lack of money…etc…YET fortunes can be found for blanket coverage of the winter Olympics which I doubt many people are interested in…and 24 hour news which simply repeats 15 minutes of important news. You need a noose to watch the news in this country…unless it’s killings and illnesses and doom and gloom there is no coverage. Scrap the Olympics…have a couple of 15 minute news bulletins (like it used to be)…cancel the bankers 140% payrise… and direct the savings elsewhere…problem solved. On the subject of schools our mate has been in the news again…with actually a decent idea…at the moment if you take your kid out of school without permission you get a fine…which increases if you fail to pay up…old Govey has come up with a plan to take the fine out of the offenders benefit. Oh this has caused uproar…they had one “campaigner” shouting out “they’re MY kids

I went to the Floral Pavilion new Brighton last week to see “Let’s Hang On” which was a tribute to the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons….it was sensational…the quality of the musicians and singers was outstanding.It was a full house and the whole place was on it’s feet at the end…brilliant. I love the Four Seasons stuff and last year went to see “Jersey Nights” on the Liverpool Empire which was also brilliant….the main show “Jersey Boys “ has been on in London for a few years but I’ve heard that will soon be touring…that will be on my agenda. For me the music has to be authentic and this was. We have our song for Eurovision….it sort of came out of nowhere…no judging no pack drill…never heard of the girl singing it but good luck to her. The song is called “Children of The Universe” and is like a million others….the girl singing it also wrote it so let’s hope it gets more than the usual nil pwa….I must say I quite enjoy watching the spectacle but why on earth WE get involved is a mystery to me….I’m

I had a fall and dislocated my shoulder last week and off I went to A & E……I also needed stitches in my ear….the doctor involved was telling me he treated Jimmy Krankie when he fell off the beanstalk during the Glasgow panto five years ago….when I told him that Jimmy was singing one of songs at the time we were both a bit flaggergasted…..small world or what. Reminded me of the time I was invited to form a skiffle group and and appear at a big concert in Finland…I was working on Radio Merseyside at the time with Monty Lister…the show took place in Hankasalmi which is 500 miles north of Helsinki…after which a guy invited us to his restaurant and on the way put on a CD of Rock and Roll…and what comes on…Monty Lister interviewing Bill Haley in 1958……at the precise time I would have been on the radio with him that morning….some co-incidence? The Northern Lights have been on full view in Scotland….can’t see them from here….I once went (with Monty Lister) to Tromso in Norway…the most northern town in the world…t

The Brits went off OK but I got a bit bored halfway through…it’s a sad situation but the music game is slowly going under….technology is seeing to that. I was listening to Andrew Lloyd Webber being interviewed on Radio 2 and he was saying that he once wrote a song for ELVIS and thought he had reached the summit of his career…however he never made a penny!!...as Elvis puts his name in the writers column and Colonel Parker takes over the publishing…so nothing really changes. I remember Elvis asking Dolly Parton if he could record “I will always love you” (with presumably the same set up as Lloyd Webber) and she chased him….nice one Dolly. Now the record companies are blubbering because they are not making money…boo hoo…they have been ripping everyone off for years. I have made a lot of money from music …none of which has come from any publishing or record deal (of which I had several)…I did it myself. Gove is at it again going on about how history should be taught (like HE would know)….saying that pupils

The UK floods down south have been completely dominating the news….they seem to have stopped blaming everyone for the weather and are now trying to sort it all out.I’ve just got back from The Lakes…I’ve never seen anything like it….not sure what the answer is. These kids who do stupid things and film themselves on YouTube have been in the news…after a few of them have died….again everyone is to blame except the parents…”there should be warnings in schools etc…there should be laws against selling legal drugs etc”…the problem is you can’t legislate for idiots…simple as that. I watched a programme on Jim Davidson…very interesting….He had it all but refused to change…whereby I admire him for that I felt he could have toned things down a little bit and he would have been fine…he won Big Brother so somebody still likes him…he needs a bit of good advice but I doubt whether he would listen….shame. Claire Balding has taken a bit of stick over her TV involvement at the Winter Olympics in Russia as she is gay and