Don Woods

The election is over.....the Conservatives wiped out Labour with Jeremy Corbyn being blamed...because as we know in this country SOMEONE always has be blamed....so now it seems we are back to where we were all those years ago....and those who voted for Labour still aren't satisfied and on we go....I made one of my rare appearances at the polling booth which is a waste of time on our peninsula as labour always get in...as indeed they did this year....the only time I enjoyed the elections was when I used to be the presiding officer at various polling stations on the day......and I got 60 quid...I wonder what they get these days?

Again we have a bit of racism and misbehaviour at a football match....this time it was the Manchester derby when some idiot threw a lighter and hit one of the players and someone else did "racist" monkey chants.....and what do we get..."It's lack of education"....when will the top brass in football realise you can't "educate" morons who are solid bone from the neck up.....perhaps some of the money they make could be used on modern technology to spot these low life and ensure they are banned forever....I always enjoyed Cantona's answer when he was insulted by a fan and he jumped over the barrier and drop kicked him in the chest....OOH AH.

The London terror attack has been headlining the news....and questions being asked as to why the terrorist,who had been in jail,was released early.....and needless to say the politicians wade in blaming their opposition.. I used to produce demos for people who would send me their rough versions of their songs and I would put them into a presentable state to send to publishers....one of the songs has always remained in my mind... have been watching the TV series of The Crown which Is quite brilliant....it divulges information which I didn't know about which must be able to be made public after so many years.....it is obviously dramatised for TV purposes but the Royals don't come out of it too well. And on the subject of the Crown...the young lady who was allegedly treated so badly by Prince Andrew 20 odd years ago is over here stating how bad his dancing was and how he sweated all over her and how she was "trafficked" over here for sex.. On the music front we are,as always at this time of year,subjected to the same old worn out Christmas songs ....I was asked by my then publisher to write a song for Cannon and Ball so I came up with this one whereby they each sing a verse aimed at each other....

.I am not a fan of Prince Andrew but I find it disgraceful how the media have treated the situation turning it into a witch hunt....at this point in time there is no proof whatsoever as to any wrongdoing on his part....certainly nothing illegal...but the media pile in trying to find something to fill their newspapers or news rogrammes....the latest BIG NEWS is he went riding with his mother...so what...and Nicholas Witchell reporting on nothing from outside the Palace on a dark rainy night which he could have done from the studio...not to mention the film crew.....mind you the BBC have to find ways to spend the 3 billion they get from licence fees.....it really is pathetic...there are far more important things going on in the world....the only thing I've learned from this fiasco is that Andrew is even dimmer than I thought.

Prince Andrew has hit the news headlines after his recent interview on the BBC....where he virtually denies all wrongdoing in the Epstein scandal....an appearance I felt was somewhat misguided.......... The TV Children In Need annual fundraising event has raised over 47 million pounds which will go towards a good cause....however with certain political parties promising to donate BILLIONS to better the country not forgetting intended high speed rail routes going BILLIONS over budget....... On the entertainment front we have the return of "I'm a celebrity get me out of here" which is very popular for some reason....I see they have stopped the killing of small creatures in the "trials" which is........ I was chatting to some friends about strange coincidences which most of us have had....the most unbelievable one I had was when I was working on Radio Merseyside with my pal And on the subject of Radio Merseyside the song this week is a jingle I wrote for Debbie Jones who had a daily competition where listeners had to guess what a certain sound ........

All this tripe about political correctness where you can't say this and you can't say that because it might offend someone, is becoming very tiresome....not to mention the 100 different genders we can choose from...this just proves how polite and tolerant the general public are by putting up with this garbage....when one of these publicity seeking characters come up with,for example, the expression"ladies and gentlemen" possibly being offensive or the many other stupid opinions it needs someone to tell them in no uncertain terms where to go....and when the P.C. brigade rise up-tell them as well....we are being manipulated by a bunch of morons whose only chance of a bit of "fame" is to come up with stupid ideas ....which actually offend ME!!!....but obviously the majority don't count anymore. For me to respect and enjoy entertainment there has to be actual talent....I have nothing against TV personalities making their fortune with very little of it...for example the likes of Jonathan Ross or Graham Norton who I appreciate are very popular but anyone can do what they do and don't get me going on Ant and Dec.....so I was delighted to watch Jeff Lynne's E.L.O. on the BBC live concert....what a great show with wonderful songs and brilliant musicians.....THAT'S TALENT!!! I have been watching a programme on caravanning with Shane Richie who visits caravan sites and raves on about how wonderful they are in a none stop effort to convince people that this is how to spend your holidays...as opposed to going abroad....all very well but old Shane arrives at each site and receives the biggest and best luxury static on the site... I am surprised that the ladies England football team is called the "Lionesses"...which is obviously a female term....are they not suppose to have a choice as to what they are?....perhaps the "England Liongenderfluids"...this would make more sense in our politically correct world.....f.....come on ladies let's start winning the big games. The song this week is one I wrote for my pal Paul Damian and is a track on the album I produced for him which includes the now famous How To Say Llanfairpwll...etc. which has ha 2.2 million hits on YouTube......this one is called The Legend of Beddgelert and is about the demise of a dog,named Gelert, which belonged to Llewellyn,a Welsh Prince back in the 13th century....it is a very sad tale....the dog's grave is visited by many tourists through the summer months in the actual village of Beddgelert (which means grave of Gelert).....since putting it on YouTube it has had 10 thousand hits....and a lot of nice comments....so here it is...hankies at the ready...The Legend of Beddgelert

Bonfire night is upon us once again...so as usual the hospitals will have plenty to do dealing with burns and damaged eyesight...personally I cannot see the point of watching money go up in smoke to the sound of OOOH!... AHH!... from onlookers....but then again I appreciate some folk have nothing better to do ....we have just had the wonderful American import "Trick or Treat" which brought out the youths of certain parts of Merseyside throwing bricks through car windows and throwing stones at houses causing pointless damage....and guess what....there wasn't ONE 70 year old involved. ....we really needed to win that game which would have been a major boost for the sport...as it is we now have to listen to "they did well to get so far" which aint what it's about. ...but as someone remarked on Facebook that they have often required the assistance of a doctor or a nurse but they have never required the assistance of a pop star or footballer....food for thought? I know this is only a minor point and there are far more important things to think about but I watched a programme about people buying property in Spain and the presenter kept wrongly pronouncing Benalmadena.....he KEPT referring to it as "Benalmadeena" and as you know the accent is on the "a" after the "m".......it is therefore pronounced BenalmAdena.... And on the subject of WIRRAL the song this week is one I wrote about it back in the day....it was a follow up to my Wirral Song which the then council made a substantial order.

Why doesn't ITV understand that the viewers want to hear what the presenters on Good Morning Britain and the guests are saying....they don't want to listen to them all arguing and shouting at the same time....it's like an aviary full of crows,,,, I have enjoyed Strictly Come Dancing for many years....I like it because it involves actual TALENT from both the professionals and from the judges....plus the spectacle of athletic guys and beautifully sculpted ladies gliding across the dance floor.with great live music from a fabulous band.......and I think it can wave goodbye to a lot of its viewers. And there is a move afoot to stop the utilising of live insects on I'm a celebrity get me out of here.....I couldn't agree more....there is no need to kill these creatures in the name of entertainment....a better idea would be to scrap the whole thing including Ant and Dec....who are well past their sell by date. The youngsters have decided the over 70s should not be allowed to vote.....and they are out of touch with modern day life....so there you go.....and back in the day I wrote a couple of songs for two editions of "Newsnight" about the Knowsley North Bye Election....one of which was about Derek and I appeared in the programme along with him. Trick or Treating has hit the news.....they are trying bring in a law to ban over 12 year olds going from door to door because it intimidates householders...t....no poor old lady wants to open their door to a 6 foot teenager with a mask ....but again I fail to see the point of "trick or treat"....it's another piece of American nonsense which belongs over there... The song this week is the one which brought you and me together around 1980 when you worked on Radio Merseyside....we marched on the German Embassy with the song after they had criticised the area....this is the updated tribute to my favourite place..."Merseyside"

The BBC have received some criticism regarding their broadcasts from outside Parliament with protesters shouting out around them and waving banners across the screen....the question was asked as to why they do not interview politicians in a studio instead of giving publicity to brainless protesters....and as usual their answer was "because that is how we have always done it"...which is supposed to make it alright......a perfect example was the climate change protester standing on the top of a train making his point....the people's answer was top drag him off the roof and stick the boot in.....not that I condone that but.... I have been watching the rugby world cup which has been somewhat addictive....England were magnificent and the Wales France game was a classic and as I have always said we want WINNERS in sport....not those who "did well to get so far"... Harry and Meghan are back in the news....they are not happy with the constant intrusion into their lives by the media....with poor Meghan not really realising what she was marrying into....."it comes with the territory" is the cry....but really I don't know what to think... I watched a programme on the arrival of rock and roll in 1950s America....it was a fascinating programme and took me right back to those days....I remember the moment it hit me like a ton of bricks....I went to see "Rock Around The Clock" in 1956 and left the cinema with a completely new outlook on music.. The song this week is from my Doowop Days album and is a tribute to a guy I had the pleasure of working with on two occasions....Bobby Vee....and what a great guy he was....

In the world today we have wars going on,we have hurricanes destroying lives,we have increasing knife crime and what do we get on the news....an argument between the wives of footballers Jamie Vardy and Wayne Rooney......and this is NEWS!!..... When will the world realise that we haven't all evolved at the same rate?...there are humans out there still evolving......an example of which were at the England/Bulgaria game causing it to be halted because of their racist chants.. The climate changers are still causing problems in London....still blocking the traffic and utilising valuable police time...not to mention disrupting everyday lives...but of course they are "saving the planet".... After all the hype regarding the film about Elton John....Rocketman........I should have waited for it to come on the telly then at least it wouldn't have cost me ten quid to get depressed.......just sing mate. The song this week is from one of my albums called DooWop Days.I wrote all the songs from my memories of the rock and roll years...I was always a fan of American Doowop music so I made the album in that style...this track ask the question as to what happens to those girlfriends back in the day who you never see again....it is entitled "Whet Happened To Julie?"