I bought some supplies in a nationally known store the other day. I won’t identify the store, but the words “Marks” and “Spencer” appear prominently in their name. The cashier waved the goods across the barcode reader, and then asked me for £24.13. Unusually for me, I had actual cash money on my person, so… Continue reading £5 worse off
Chez Topsyturvydom, we are very pleased to see Charles Lambert occupying the guest slot over at the mighty Normblog. Charles has chosen Christopher Isherwood’s little known book The Memorial, which I must admit I don’t know. I would be curious to read it though, as Charles has whetted my appetite with this description: “It’s an… Continue reading Woolfpole: Charles Lambert on Normblog
My car is being repaired. The insurance company phoned to say it should be ready on Friday. You might predict that such an exchange would go: Company person: Mr Spence? Just phoning to say your car should be ready on Friday.Me: OK, thanks.In fact, it goes like this:Emily (for it is she): Hello, this is… Continue reading Is that all right for yourself?
It’s a somewhat sobering fact to reflect that I have been a Richard Thompson fan for forty years now. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen him play, but I always come back for more brilliant guitar work, darkly disturbing songs, and a surprisingly well-developed stage patter. His voice has deepened and… Continue reading 1000 years of popular music – in a black cab
News of another death in music today. Orlando “Cachaito” Lopez, the bassist for the Buena Vista Social Club died in Havana. It was a joy to see these superb musicians in concert in Liverpool a few years ago. Sadly, Lopez is not the first of that group to die. I feel privileged to have caught… Continue reading Orlando Lopez
Sad to hear today of the death of Blossom Dearie, whose work I have admired for years. She was still working in her late seventies in a New York club. A very evocative voice, by no means technically brilliant, but somehow appropriate for the songs she chose- and her piano accompaniment was always brilliantly judged.… Continue reading Blossom Dearie
So now there is no excuse for not buying this extraordinary first novel by Charles Lambert. Go on – you know you want to.
I was interested by this article. The poster has been a fixture, and a talking point, in my office for a few years now. It never fails to intrigue the visitor. I saw it on a visit to Barter Books, and ordered it from them, before the avalanche of interest they report. What’s the attraction?… Continue reading Keep Calm and Carry On
This was the top story on BBC News website today. When are we going to get over this obsession with celeb royals?Maybe they should be giving more attention to this. And all hail Ed Stourton, for skewering the desperately feeble “Chief Operating Officer” on the Today programme. That this came the day after the return… Continue reading This Just In: Man Splits up with Girlfriend
Topsyturvydom is proud to hold this leg of the virtual tour for Charles Lambert’s The Scent of Cinnamon. This is Charles’s second major publication, following his novel Little Monsters. First, a biographical note: Charles Lambert was born in Lichfield, in 1953. After going to eight different schools in the Midlands and Derbyshire, he won a… Continue reading Charles Lambert’s Virtual Book Tour: The Scent of Cinnamon