We're now a few posts in and it occurs to me that I never provided much of an introduction to this blog. A couple of people have asked me questions about it so I thought I'd provide this handy SAQ - Seldomly Asked Questions. Other pages have FAQ's but I had to settle for a different adverb of frequency since I haven't been asked all that many questions.
What is Lost in Laindon?
It is a blog devoted to the the year my family and I spent in England and my thoughts about the music scene at the time. I post every Sunday. It was a very important year for me: it got me into travel, music and not wanting to live my life just like everyone else. It also gave me my weakness for greasy English food and a soft spot for dreary British towns. I became something of an Anglophile as a result, something which I've never completely been able to vanquish from my system.
Where is Laindon?
Laindon is an area of the town of Basildon in Essex, just east of London. It used to be its own separate town or municipality before it got swallowed up by Basildon. I seem to recall that we usually thought of ourselves as living in Laindon rather than Basildon and I wonder if it was because it softened the blow of being stuck in such a place.
Why is it called Lost in Laindon?
Pretty much because I couldn't think of anything better. I wracked my brain trying to come up with a clever name, preferably one which referenced a line from a song that was popular but I came up with nothing. Lost in Laindon was always the working title so it basically won by default. It refers to the day after we arrived when we decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood and couldn't find our way home for the longest time. I was going to write about the experience in one of the first posts but didn't bother; it was a bit too much of a guess-you-had-to-be-there anecdote - and this blog has more than enough of those as it is.
What do the titles of each entry refer to?
Each post begins with the date from twenty-eight years ago and a line from a song that happened to be on the charts that same week. I was hoping that readers would try to guess each entry's lyric but so far everyone has demurred. I guessing that either the lyrics are too obscure, people aren't interested or because there have been problems with the comments section but you'd have to ask them. You know, assuming they answer you.
I like to think that each title bears some connection to its accompanying blog entry but really only in some cases. More often than not it's whatever lyric I could think of that sounded okay or happens to have a funny connotation. Either that or it's a line that's too stupid not to use for this blog.
I like to think that each title bears some connection to its accompanying blog entry but really only in some cases. More often than not it's whatever lyric I could think of that sounded okay or happens to have a funny connotation. Either that or it's a line that's too stupid not to use for this blog.
When will this blog end?
My stars, I've only just begun and you're already wondering when it will be finished. Well, I'm planning to wrap it up in August, 2017. There will likely be a few follow-up entries just to finish it off but the end is already in sight. I imagine that recreating the year I spent in England will go a whole lot faster than living the year I spent in England.
What's all that stuff in the background image?
It's all stuff I acquired and managed to hang on to from that year. Just prior to setting this blog up I took a picture of it all on my coffee table. You may not be able to see everything but this is the list in full:
What's all that stuff in the background image?
It's all stuff I acquired and managed to hang on to from that year. Just prior to setting this blog up I took a picture of it all on my coffee table. You may not be able to see everything but this is the list in full:
- three cassettes: Kylie by Kylie Minogue, Paradise by Inner City and Now That's What I Call Music 13
- three CD's: The Greatest Hits Collection by Bananarama, When the World Knows Your Name by Deacon Blue and Introspective by Pet Shop Boys (I must admit these are a bit of a cheat since I wouldn't own my first CD - which happened to be Auberge by Chris Rea, which I chose over The KLF's The White Room for some reason - until two years after we came back from the UK; still, I did have these albums at the time on tape which I later ended up buying in the different format so I think they're close enough)
- Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich City football scarves
- a frisbee from Jersey in the Channel Islands
- the Smarties mug I got for Easter
- my class picture
- the Mayflower badge that had been stitched on my school blazer ("that bit of wool on your tit," as Malcolm McDowell's character Mick so memorably described it in the unforgettable film If....)
Where did you go to school?
I went to Mayflower Comprehensive in Billercay. I believe it is now known as Mayflower High School. I was a first year student but that, too, has been changed to year six or year seven. I daresay those aren't the only changes that have taken place since. I imagine there's been a complete turnover of the faculty and, judging by the menu I saw on their webpage, it looks like a slice of pizza with chips and an iced bun is no longer a meal option. Pity.
Why did you spend a year in England?
My dad applied for a teacher's exchange which was accepted. In effect, he swapped jobs, houses and cars with a British teacher. (Kind of like that turd of a movie The Holiday only with a far less comfy and attractive place to live - but without Jack Black around so it wasn't all bad) Trouble was, she got our reasonably-sized house and we got her, well, more fun-sized dwelling. Still, our tiny abode gave us ample reason to get out and visit as much of the country as possible.
Why do you post the Top 40 with each entry?
Basically it just seemed like a nice way to commence each entry. I briefly considered using just the Top 10 but I knew it didn't provide the whole picture. I've always liked the lower ends of the charts and its been cool to rediscover those depths over the past several weeks. It probably goes back to the CBC radio show Finkleman's 45s in which the ever-dyspeptic host Danny Finkleman would introduce a no.34 from March, 1962 by The Cookies. If I'm ever asked to host a Saturday night radio show I'll guarantee that chart bottom-feeders will be the backbone of my playlist.
Where do you get the Top 40 listings from?
While I go have a pretty good memory for trivia and uselessness, it would be a struggle to tell you exactly which single happened to reach no.23 on the third week in February (we'll have to wait and see but it had better be something good). No, I rely on the internet for all my '88 chart info. I'd share the links I've been using but (a) they aren't all that difficult to find (particularly considering that I managed to find them) and (b) I'd rather not spoil the surprise. You know, the surprise of revealing a chart that was already announced twenty-eight years ago.
So, that's about all I can come up with. If you happen to have another questions you'd like to ask then feel free to post in the comments section below. Any other seldom asked questions that occur to me will be added to a re-post of this at some point in the future.
Basically it just seemed like a nice way to commence each entry. I briefly considered using just the Top 10 but I knew it didn't provide the whole picture. I've always liked the lower ends of the charts and its been cool to rediscover those depths over the past several weeks. It probably goes back to the CBC radio show Finkleman's 45s in which the ever-dyspeptic host Danny Finkleman would introduce a no.34 from March, 1962 by The Cookies. If I'm ever asked to host a Saturday night radio show I'll guarantee that chart bottom-feeders will be the backbone of my playlist.
Where do you get the Top 40 listings from?
While I go have a pretty good memory for trivia and uselessness, it would be a struggle to tell you exactly which single happened to reach no.23 on the third week in February (we'll have to wait and see but it had better be something good). No, I rely on the internet for all my '88 chart info. I'd share the links I've been using but (a) they aren't all that difficult to find (particularly considering that I managed to find them) and (b) I'd rather not spoil the surprise. You know, the surprise of revealing a chart that was already announced twenty-eight years ago.
So, that's about all I can come up with. If you happen to have another questions you'd like to ask then feel free to post in the comments section below. Any other seldom asked questions that occur to me will be added to a re-post of this at some point in the future.
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