The other month we got this great multi-coloured Bolivian Rainbow Chilli Pepper plant from Herne Hill Market that is now housed in the polytunnel and seems to love it in there so much as we are now getting more great purple flowers. Great stuff!
Thanks to Kit G5KIT in Bristol who sent us these great pictures of his chilli plant and he wrote: “Remember those little chilli seedlings from earlier in the year? We’ve given most of them away, but kept the biggest one – and we took our first crop yesterday. The chillies aren’t very big, maybe 20mm long for the largest ones, but boy do they pack a punch. They’re not called ‘Demon Reds’ for nothing; they’re about 194,000 on the scoville scale of heat!” Wow that is crazy Kit!
Here’s news about the new album from our gardening mate Spike Morschen43 from Le Puy-en-Velay, France called Retour En Force!!!
The set released a few days again on Bandcamp features 12 tracks featuring some heavy guitars, some whistling on Noir Y Voir (which would fit in on the Imaginary Stations WSTL show), a version of MV Ross Revenge For Ever (UK), which initially made us to get in touch with Spike through the pirate radio connection, and a great version of Madtone’s Dark Dread called Dark Dread / Toi … , L’Homme…
Give it a listen and name your price. Cheers Spike!
Strange lighting was the order of the day when we witnessed the partial eclipse of the sun in SE23 around 7.16 pm this evening. The colander was out and reflected said phenomenon onto the fence. Crazy stuff!
The earth didn’t stand still and the birds didn’t stop singing but it was an interesting evening all the same and it was nice when the light went back to normal again.
Here’s an eclipse-related (originally for shortwave) mix from a few years ago called “Can you see Baily’s beads?”
Tracklistings:
A Man called Adam – Moon
Cosmos – Summer in space (Mark’s Harmonic 33 mix)
Cedric Im Brooks – Blackness of Darkness
Cornell Campbell – Stars
The colander is now back in the cupboard until the next eclipse in 2056 or whenever it is, the birds have gone to sleep for the evening and the world continues turning…
Socialism Train – 19 in a socialist reggae style
Big thanks to Steve Barker from the excellent On The Wire on BBC Radio Lancashire for supplying this ace reggae chart for us. On The Wire has been playing the best in reggae, dub, electronica, ambient and all sorts of eclectic business weekly for over 30 years and is available on listen again here.
So here’s the tunes and there’s some crackers on here. If the tune is not featured, click on the links to view on youtube.
Cheers again to Steve for the chart, shouts to Fenny and Jim at On The Wire too. Keep up the good work!
1. Ethiopians – Socialism Train
2. The Mighty Diamonds – I need a roof
3. The Heptones – Equal rights
4. Peter Tosh – Get up, stand up
5. Burning Spear – Social living
6. Abyssinians – This Land is for everyone
7. Derrick Morgan – People’s decision
8. Max Romeo – Socialism is love
9. Dillinger – Crashie First Socialist
10. King Tubby – Big Youth fights against capitalism
11. Freddie McGregor – I’m a revolutionist
12. The Youths – We a socialist (version)
13. Prince Jazzbo – Step forward youth
14. Jeb Loy Nicholls – To be rich (Should be a crime)
15. Still Cool – To be poor is a crime
16. Johnny Clarke – Declaration of rights
17. I Roy – Every mouth must be fed
18. Gregory Isaacs – Working class
19. Screechy Dan – Raise Your Glass Fi Di Working Class
To listen to the wonderful programme that is On The Wire, it is no longer on BBC Radio Lanchashire but check the blogspot here.
It’s also on Totally Radio on Sundays at 6pm here. It’s well worth a listen.
Here’s a great tune that was played on last week’s show from L.S. Diezel & Launch DAT called “Poor Man’s Glory”. There’s even a south London Tai Chi connection with this one!
Cheers to Rich up in the Lake District for the great picture of what the weather was like up there today. Looks a bit cloudy, if you have any rain to spare in those lakes, could some be passed down here as our lawn is looking so blimmin dry.
Someone at work was telling us the other week about their brother-in-law who has a lovely green lawn even during this summer of draught 2026. She was saying “He’s been watering it morning, noon and night and it looks so green, not like mine”. She went onto say, he’s been watering it so much so that Thames Water contacted him and worried thinking he had a water leak on his property as the water bill had shot up so much. How mad is that? Remember big brother is watching you(r lawn).
Cheers for the picture Rich!
Cheers to Maz and Marc from sending us some great pictures from their recent holiday in France. These photos are from in and about Saint-Aubin-de-Cadelech, south of Bergerac.
Just like when you receive postcards a few days after people come back off their holidays, we are following the tradition here. It was very hot over there and one day reached to 43 degrees C in the shade, wow!
Some Mirabelle de Nancy plums that taste very very sweet (above) and some sumac (below).
And a smoketree (below) that we have just read, that is related to sumac.
Here’s a wonderful willow shelter and below is the shady view from inside (looking down to the treeline by the River Dropt), what a great idea!
Big thanks to Maz and Marc for these great pictures! Hope you both had a great holiday.
Here’s a lovely bit of reggae to keep you cool in this mad heatwave we are experiencing in London now. The first is from The Disciples and it is called Living by The Sea mix 3 (previously unreleased) and a wonderful bit of dub. It’s got those keyboard stabs that remind us of Gregory Isaacs and his Rumours tune.
And talking of Gregory, here’s a great one from years ago featuring an extended “jam” of the “Rock On rhythm.” Keep a listen out for a couple of Skybird Jams radio shows coming soon with extended mixes, tracks over 8 minutes long and “Jam” bands aka “Music to increase your attention span”.
This weekend Imaginary Stations bring you the fourth episode in the Downbeat on Shortwave series with Jesse Yuen (from Perth, Australia) and One Deck Pete (from Catford Village, Londres).
Jesse and Pete bring you two 15-minute downtempo mixes each over the hour-long show. Expect some ambient, dub, reggae and downtempo tunes for a chilled-out weekend.
The show is broadcast on Saturday 13th June at 1100 hrs UTC (12 noon in the UK) on 6160 kHz and then again on Sunday 14th June at 1300 hrs UTC (2pm in the UK) on 6160 kHz and 2000 hrs UTC (9pm in the UK) on 3975 kHz/6160 kHz. Thanks to the great Shortwave Gold for beaming those radio waves skywards.
Don’t worry if you haven’t a shortwave radio you can tune in via an online Software Defined Radio here (pre-tuned into 6160 kHz). Just plug in at the right time(s) and experience that shortwave mono sound with all the fading and cross channel interference live.
Here’s the older shows for your listening pleasure!
Programme 1
Programme 2
Programme 3
Thanks to Gerry Hectic for sending us a picture of his first flowering lily in his pond complete with Belfast sink in the corner filled with some water plants. Lovely flower and that water looks a lot clearer that our pond at the present moment too Gerry!
