Let There Be Light Fittings

…I first “met” this particularly wonderful example of 70s plastic and “gold” plated light fitting when I had the record shop at Chicks Hotel in Port Chalmers…

…I needed to own them…

…but they were attached to the pub…

…I’d drive by and ogle the only other example I knew of when ever I could….it’s a commercial double sized version that hangs in a glassed in stairwell on the side of a warehouse in the South Dunedin industrial area…just down from my favourite DIY materials haunt….

….then…

…having driven past a second hand shop sign outside Ranfurly on numerous occasions and thought “how sad that it had ceased operations on the main street”, I drove thru Ranfurly in the other direction only to discover that I’d been completely missing the other sign that indicated that said shop had moved to the outskirts town….(duh)…..

…The Curiosity Shoppe is now located in a delightfully spacious tin shed next to a converted railways workshop, where the proprietor resides….having met a kindred spirit in said proprietor and during the ensuing tour of the premises, right at the back of said railways workshop, we came upon two large cardboard boxes containing….oh be still my beating heart….not one, not two, but five of the coveted light fittings all separated in to halves and covered in dust….

….bargaining….

…bargaining between second dealer-collectors….

….I bought two….

…and promised photos when I’d got them installed…

…that was months ago, sorry Ali’, but now they’re up….

…in the living room….

…and the library….

….thank you Ali’….

…my life is near as damn complete….

…almost….

All Cleaned Up

…went to Chicks Hotel on Saturday…

 

 

 

…blagged a freebie for me and my good friend Dee…so stood at the back to let the paying punters get the good views…that and the beer are wholly responsible for the quality of these pic’s… …Bill Direen was awesome…haven’t seen him play for years…love the back-porch presentation of old favourites….very warm, welcoming & homey…Hamish Kilgour on Drums was a treat but almost obscured from view….

….big ups to Kane Strang for his set…beautiful voice, nice guitar and great stories in his songs….

…thought I’d get a better view watching thru someone else’s phone…(once watched a football match on TV thru binoculars, for a “live” feel….quantities of booze were involved with that as well)…

 

…thankfully David Kilgour is tall enough to be seen from the back of Chicks without the aid of social networks…(although they do obscure the top of his head)….

 

…Robert Scott is another matter…standing on one leg and leaning to the left I managed to click his hat & nose…
…Matin Phillips jumped in to perform keyboard duties on “Tally-Ho”…

 

…and Pete Gutteridge glowed in the dark for several tunes…

 

…I’m glad I could almost see Hamish when he played with Bill, couldn’t even see the the tips of his sticks during the Clean…

…my good friend Dee played with the buttons whilst Stephen & /or Tex were looking the other way….

…thank you to The Clean for letting me in for free & playing an inspiring set…thank you to Bill & Kane for great sets as well….thank you Tex & Stephen for the perfect sound…first time for ages a live gig hasn’t made my tinitus a prob’ for days afterwards…and thank you Chicks Hotel for continuing to be a damn fine venue…

…and an especial shout out to my good friend Dee who drove there & back …thus enabling me to get rather drunk!

Tiny Pieces Of 8

…if you didn’t make it out to Chicks Hotel on Sunday to experience the official release of my good friend Deirdre Newall’s CD,Tiny Pieces Of 8, you probably won’t be able to fathom what a stunning performance you missed…

…not even by purchasing the CD (orders being taken in-store at Too Tone Records) and looking at these photos  whilst playing it, will you be able to re-capture the ambiance (om-bee-onse)…

….even Chris & Swampy were worshipping at her feet….

…worth the price of admission just see that.

..good on ya Dee…a damn fine musical artefact.

…further info…sound bites etc etc….

https://www.facebook.com/tinypiecesof8

Was He Wearing A Red Wig At The Time

….we may never know…

…David Kilgour, international-dunedin-musician-man-of-mystery, was in the shop the other week to drop in some copies of the  re-released Great Unwashed Lp….

…the only copies he had left had been out to his most recent gig at Chicks Hotel…

…according to David “somebody” had spilt beer in the merch’ box and damaged these must-have artefacts….

…”somebody” then let slip that it was his good self that had perpetrated this unforgivable form of vinyl-abuse…

….how do you get top price for beer soaked goods?

 

….simple, you get the perpetrator to confess in….with a Vivid marker…

…instant collectable….

…that smells of beer.

…(and, you may be wondering,  was David wearing the “compulsory” red wig whilst signing said Lps?…he is a very shy & private person, I respect that & could not possibly divulge that piece of highly personal information….

….for less than a tenner).