Enough speculation about the GBG; let’s move on to Barbara Dickson in a woolly jumper.
By 1980 I’d got over early fixation with Donny Osmond and was firmly into Scottish punk.
The Skids, BA Robertson and Ms Dickson, whose Mike Batt written “Caravan Song” sat snuggly alongside “Nuclear Device” in my Woolworths singles box.
But it was “January, February” with its challenging and prescient lyrics about Pandemic cabin fever that took her onto Top of the Pops presented by hirstute Radio 1 presenters.
“One more night, another day, another year (without a GBG tick)
It doesn’t seem to matter
‘Cos you don’t seem to care“
I’ve been looking back at January and February 2020, the months before the world changed. Never look back, folks.
Seventy-one (71) pub visitss in February alone. And that felt like a bad month at the time, as only 43 of those were new ticks.
Plenty of targeted GBG county completion;
This is the first week’s pubs and NBSS scores (not for coffee). What I’d give for a week like that now.
The highlight was a lunchtime session in Congleton with Stafford Paul (again), here seen peering through the window of the Rams Head for signs of a handpump.
After that we got the new, nimbler campervan and looked forward to a Spring full of frolics and fun pubs, starting in Devizes.
No table service, queue at the bar, sit where you like, stand up and dance, fall over.
How young we were, how young.
retiredmartin 
The map and highlighter now looks more like a diagram of the virus spreading.
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I always said Martin was THE asymptomatic superspreader.
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Younger and not suffering from mild depression.
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I saw Barbara Dickson in the Blood Brothers musical during 1983.
And with James Bolam in the 1997 film The Missing Postman.
Ah yes, that was a proper lunchtime session in Congleton a year and four days ago.
Maybe I should clarify that “we” in “After that we got the new, nimbler campervan” refers to you and your wife !
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“And that felt like a bad month at the time” –This past year has certainly given us a new perspective on things: we look back on even severely disappointing nights out as some kind of lost nirvana. 😉
I heard an interview with Mike Batt once (without really knowing who he was), but the man certainly dispensed a lot of wisdom about songwriting.
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Mike Batt created the Wombles, who invented Prog in the mid ’70s as well as picking up rubbish. A winning combination. Oh, and Bright Eyes, of course.
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“as picking up rubbish”.
Yes, and then a Prime Minister made that into a photo opportunity.
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To be fair it only felt like a bad month because I had to give up a weekend for a family birthday which cut down my travels !
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“But it was “January, February” with its challenging and prescient lyrics about Pandemic cabin fever”
Over here we’re calling it Groundhog Day. You wake up and it’s the same bloody day (mostly) over and over again. But, with regards to Barb, I think this line is more important:
“Cause you and I are miles and miles apart”
My guess is they’re not literally miles apart, but rather growing apart while being together. Hence the reason every day (or month) seems the same. 😉
“The highlight was a lunchtime session in Congleton with Stafford Paul (again), here seen peering through the window of the Rams Head for signs of a handpump.”
We should chip in and buy that man some x-ray glasses for his birthday. 🙂
“”My life is complete.”
Sigh, kiss of death that was. God took you at your word. 😉
“How young we were, how young.”
We’ve all definitely aged a bit over the last year to be sure!
Cheers
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In any event, I never could figure out how 4 lads from Dunfermline knew quite so much about the existential angst of being a Charlton fan.
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(slow golf clap)
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