I have a silver knife,
purchased from a stall
on a street market, with the faint
taste of Greenwich tea
hanging in the air
and making the early morning hunger
cripple my stomach.
It is blunt but beautiful,
this market letter opener,
it would do the job on my skin
if pressed.
Ian D. Hall 2016
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
There is point where the general public’s opinion falls into the sphere of boredom, it is not the artist’s fault, it is perhaps though a reflection of the times that there is just too much of too much going on, that the pull on the heart of the ordinary Joe is too huge to truly get to grips with. Yet it has to be understood that in any art, any realm of the artistic, Too Much Is Never Enough.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The world is on a knife edge, a relentless march to its own seemingly assured destruction, one that cannot arguably be stopped and one that has left eminent scientist Stephen Hawking to conclude there may be only a 1’000 years for Humanity to survive and for the planet to be rid of its gorging hosts; perhaps the best thing to do to at least stem the tide is for the population to look deep in its own soul and Make Blues Not War.
Lost: The sense of propriety and its partner decency,
last seen wearing, The Emperor’s new clothes,
or even ragged, dishevelled suit, tramp like holes,
smells a bit off, funny, peculiar…but with a coin
or hundred million quid
in disposable, untraceable notes, watermarked,
wrapped in an old argyle sock with a promissory
note tied around the big toe’s end.
Noticeable features: none, just delusions of grandeur
and bucket loads of self-importance.
If found please contact, England, the United States
of America, possibly France, maybe Germany, Austria,
Hungry or Turkey, or phone the Kremlin
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Language may be a living breathing entity, an important part of what it means to be human, yet it has the despondency, the frightening ability to disappear if not nurtured and cared for. The Cornish language, spoken by so few people in the lands surrounded by the northern waters of Europe was very much in danger of dying out, of becoming as endangered as the once thriving tin mines, yet as the superb Duo that make up The Changing Room, Tanya Brittain and Sam Kelly, note in their third release of the year, The Magic of Christmas is enough to turn any tide and make language loved.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Deacon Blue just keep coming back to the Echo Arena, it would be astonishing if they didn’t turn up at the venue, unlock the door and make themselves several discerning cups of tea, such is the passion for performing in Liverpool and their fondness for the city’s crowd.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It always with an interested eye on the crowd that you take in a new band appearing anywhere in the city of Liverpool, the occasional glance around at the faces, the small ticks and upturned smiles or the corresponding withering looks or confused, abandoned stares that places your trust in the gut feeling you have formed a belief in. It is with an acute ear though that makes up your mind and allows you to know that in many cases the music you hear is sincere, played with panache, a certain style and whilst it could be lost in the big wide space, it most certainly would go down a bomb and be applauded with great honour in avenue size down.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Iain Glenn, Siobhan O’ Kelly, Christopher Fulford, Jack Monaghan, Ian Beattie, Rory Fleck Byrne, Patrick O’ Brien, Cathal Pendred, Deborah Wiseman.
The evil in anyone’s heart can grow, can manifest to the point where they become unrecognisable to themselves as well as to others. The fate of many becoming a secondary thought to the battle that rages between the one who has lost their mind and the person they want to seek retribution against, the Nemesis will claim many lives.
Football on the radio
was always a bonus of Saturday
afternoon childhood,
it filled the void between Tiswas
or the forced trip
to the supermarket,
bored and regretting having to carry the bags.
Now football on the radio,
listening to the Blues,
is a staple of middle age,
now I cannot go shopping
for proper items
worth my soul
inside the club shop.
Ian D. Hall 2016
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Tom Felton, Nicholas Lyndhurst, Laura Carmichael, Jessica Oyelowo, Terri Pheto, Vusi Kunene, Arnold Oceng, Anastasia Hille, Charlotte Hope, Theo Landey, Jack Lowden, Zackary Momoh.
History is made by breaking rules, by defying Government and putting your love for someone above the expected doctrines of faceless mandarins and cowards who will not stand up to racism and prejudice, to intolerance, lies and hate. Love and honour is the catalyst that topples Government and empire and perhaps none more so in recent times than the love between Seretse Khama, the King in waiting of his homeland in Africa and Ruth Williams, the daughter of a former World War Two soldier and somebody who has been tainted by thought of what is supposedly right and proper when it comes to marriages of mixed heritage.