…it’s been all World Cup…and as usual England are consistent….I don’t know how much the so-called expert pundits get…but whatever it is it’s too much. They sit there and go through the details of a match you have just watched…with all sorts of suggestions,,,bottom line WE LOST…AS USUAL. But what I can’t understand is how upset people get…it’s a football match…with a bunch of overpaid sportsmen…that’s all…it’s not the end of the world!! I’m not a betting man but I put a fiver on Germany to win the cup….you can’t bet against them guys …….and you have to laugh…the tennis has the “hawkeye” technology…the rugby has the video playback for the ref…and world football has splashed out on a can of shaving foam. Next we’ve got Wimbledon where Andy Murray will crash out along the way in front of “Murray Mount”….why aren’t Djokovic and Nadal among the constant flow of immigrants into this country…at least they would come in handy…..what gets me every time is we are still going on about the 66 World Cup ……mind you while the schools are told that there must be no winners or losers I can’t see us ever getting anywhere in top class sport unless it’s throwing the bean bag. There was news coverage of a local cricket match whereby some moron went into the changing rooms while the match was on and stole all the mobile phones…however there was a tracker device on one of them so the whole team chased after the culprit and caught him…and handed him over to the police…with a few cricket bat impressions on him I would think ……… Also a classic where there was CCTV footage of a rough looking guy in a bank who was having a bad day and in comes a guy in a crash helmet with a gun…so the bloke at the counter starts yelling at him and realises it’s not a real gun so he goes for him….the bad guy takes off out of the bank followed by Mr.Angry who picks up a fire extinguisher on the way and clobbers this bloke with it….the robber then hits Mr. Angry with his crash helmet but Mr.A’s mate saw all this and joined in….and “apprehended” the bank robber….and got an award from the police…who never mentioned what state the criminal was in. ……and finally….track three on my Doowop CD is “King of the Hop”….this came about when one of the lads on a Wednesday night played Bobby Darin’s “Queen of the Hop”…and I thought there’s never been a KING…so off O went and I’ve given my pal Joe Conroy the honour of being the main man…HOWEVER….you also get a mensh (Vinny was a macho quarterback). Runaround Sue is a number we do occasionally at our weekly jam sessions with the Cheshire Cats so I based the beat on that…..it’s all rock and roll.

.I was watching the Great Ormond Street Hospital Chidren’s Comedy Gala……bearing in mind this is a CHILDREN’S charity the language out of the so called comics was disgraceful. I’m no prude but there is a limit…John Bishop opened the show with every other word being the F word…followed by Lee Evans who did the same…and so on…I turned it off in the end…what happened to FUNNY…the occasional swear word can add to a joke but not all the time…these guys need to get themselves some decent script writers….having said that the audience were falling about which must say something about the next generation….I think we can kiss humour goodbye 2.There is to be a series of programmes on TV about football hooligans…..WHY?...who’s bright idea is that?...if that is entertainment it’s time to pack up…..watching bunches of boneheaded morons going out looking for trouble will only encourage other similar types to do the same…I don’t care if they fracture each others skulls as they will feel no pain…but innocent bystanders end up getting hurt for no reason. All this trash TV demonstrates is how little some of us have evolved. 3.The government are going to quadruple speeding fines on motorways…so all these would be Lewis Hamiltons will get a 4 grand wake up call…of course this has caused an outrage amongst certain members of our society…I can’t see the problem…DON’T SPEED…it’s not rocket science….personally anyone doing a ton down the motorway should be flogged and thrown in jail. 4.There have been doubts as to whether true talent is found via TV…Britains Got Talent…X Factor ..etc…..of course not….the poor contestants are only pawns to line Simon Cowell’s pockets (good luck to him…more fool them)….I once knew a chap who went for an X Factor audition….queud from 7.30 in the morning to 5.30 at night….did a three minute audition and it was “Next!”…..it’s BUSINESS…if you want to make permanent money you have to pay your dues…that’s the reality….before we met I sent a song in for the Op Knocks song contest and got through to the final (a young girl sang my song)…met Hughie ..introduced my song etc….all good experience but somewhat fixed…I didn’t win by the way but it opened a few doors.

Don sent the following... There has been a lot of moaning about the National Anthem being sung by the England football team….it has been said that it is only a song aimed at the Queen and not England, Personally I couldn’t care less…I think the song is so bland and boring it’s time for a new one.It’s supposed to be a NATIONAL anthem but only England seem to sing it…the Welsh and the Scots sing their own tunes…..definitely time to have a nice lively anthem…Don's available for the job…. The UK Education Minister, Mr Gove, is taking a bit of stick since he came out with the idea of scrubbing certain GCSE’s … regarding them as a waste of time and of no value…for example media studies and manufacturing studies and drama…etc…I must admit I have to agree with him…it’s all very well having “qualifications” but if they are of no use in the real world what is the point?...he is also in the limelight regarding extreme religious factions taking over schools…I think this is hyped up by the media…I can’t see it being a problem that can’t be solved. This is classic….it has been announced by our wonderful weather people in the met office that there will be very serious constant flooding in 2100 …. They can’t predict ONE DAY ahead correctly so I don’t think we need to worry too much….mind you I wont need to worry at all…..and on the subject of the media…it’s time they stopped catering for the minority….how many of us in this country are interested in goings on in China and hours spent on American prisoners being swapped for terrorists …and Italian economy…etc…WE DON’T CARE…tell us what’s going on HERE!!!....the BBC News is so BORING and depressing because they seem to think they appeal to the more “intelligent”…they DON’T…they are BORING…hence I’ve switched to ITV where you get a bit of variety in the news. The TV has been giving a bit of publicity to our historic ferry boats….the IRIS and the Daffodil played a major part in the first world war by getting troops to Zebrugge against the might of the German navy…they came back full of bullet holes…repaired and put back into service…gaining the word “Royal” in front of their names…great stuff…also a collection of Dakota planes have made a flight across the channel in memory of their part in the second world war…and I had the privilege of having a flight on one several years ago with Monty Lister…and I have the certificate to prove it…wasn’t too comfortable. I’d like to tell you the story behind Track 1 of my Doowop Days album……”Love At First Sight”….the album took me 6 months to complete and can be obtained from my website......www.donwoods.co.uk

There has been a big outcry against the health and safety dept……in their wisdom they decided that the age old English activity of “cheese rolling” is highly dangerous…this event takes place each year in one of our Shropshire villages and involves chasing a ball of cheese down a very steep hill…..as there have been many casualties the H & S have stepped in … and instead of using cheese they made them use a ball of polystyrene….which was a disaster as the ball wouldn’t roll against the wind…..so the villagers rose up and got their way…so it’s back to cheese and A & E. Vauxhalls have announced they are bringing back the VIVA…..but it wont be like the 60’s one….THANK GOODNESS…I had a Viva SL 90 in my younger days and it was the WORST car I ever had…by far…the differential went west…the front suspension was replaced…I replaced the clutch..and eventually replaced the ENGINE…so I don’t think I will be in the market for another one….the second worst car was a VW Golf…had it from new…heap of rubbish. There is a move afoot to put young drivers on a four year curfew after they pass their test…. They wont be able to drive at certain times at night….this will “cut down on accidents”…can’t see it….since when did youngsters take any notice of anything….let’s hope the police are up for it….good idea but I don’t think so. Oh dear…poor old Kate Middleton is in the news again…..someone took a picture of her with her skirt blowing up in the wind showing her bare backside….it was printed in a German newspaper….none of our papers…even the Daily Mail…didn’t put it in….but only for legal reasons….so the poor girl has been snapped topless and now semi bottomless (so to speak)…..why don’t they leave the poor girl alone. As there is very little of her I doubt whether there is much to see….they should send Harry round with some of his mates to sort the reporter out On the showbiz scene One Direction have been in the news allegedly filming themselves smoking spliffs in a taxi….I don’t know how this stuff gets into the public domain but it’s not good…even though they must be bored senseless with each other they are up there as an example to the youngsters….this isn’t a very good one…..I’ll give then 12 months tops. I was also sad to hear that Bert Weedon died in 2012…I’ve just found out….he was the one who taught us all to play guitar back in the 50’s…I always thought he should have been knighted…but then again he hasn’t got the raw talent of Sir Terry Wogan.

To save money our wonderful government are cutting down on lollipop people….you know …those people who,unlike themselves,are of value to the community….not only are these folk part of the school runs they are there to prevent kids being injured by the fools on the road…..I see the MPs have just voted themselves an extra THREE week holiday because they haven’t got enough to do…maybe if they donated their inflated salaries for the weeks they are now lazing about it might go towards solving the problem? 2.Apparently the rich are now 15% richer than last year according to the “rich list”…..now I have no problem at all with people who make lots of money but it’s hard to get my head around Jamie Oliver being worth 240 million….what for?...maybe I’m missing something…..when you look at the so called rich list it makes you wonder what they do with it all….old Jamie is always banging on about school meals etc….he should try banging on about those who have to queue for food parcels. 3.What I found very sad this week was the bloke in some firm who was ordered to take the Queen’s photo off his wall…..do these small minded plonkers who are “making a stand” think for one minute that the Queen could care less about what they think…even if she knew….it’s pathetic…are their lives so empty that this is their only way of making a point?....it’s their big moment…that’ll show the royalty!!...get a life lads. 4.Staying on the subject of our leaders Prince Charles was having a private conversation with an elderly lady who was a survivor of the Holocaust…and casually mentioned Putin’s activities as being similar to Hitler’s….bearing in mind this was a PRIVATE conversation….but close by was a piece of paparazzi vermin who scurries off and puts the comments in the headlines of his 10th rate newspaper….so this rat can make a bit of money he has created a situation which could prove very awkward when Charlie meets up with Mr.P………….it’s this sort of unnecessary and stupid activity that causes wars….no matter how “important” anyone is they are entitled to their opinion which does not need broadcasting if it’s said in PRIVATE. 5.Which brings me to something that really got me going this week….the Scudamore affair….this guy sends a private Email to his mate joking about women…and his loyal reliable female secretary catches it on the way through and off she goes to the media…calling him sexist etc etc etc….and no doubt receiving remuneration for her efforts. Now what we have here is a JOKE!!...it’s called HUMOUR!!...something which is slowly dying in this country thanks to the feminists and so called racists etc…..the attitude of women makes me laugh….it’s fine to have a programme like “Loose Women” who ridicule blokes for the whole session … if it was the other way round there would be a huge outcry…but blokes aren’t bothered because they have a sense of HUMOUR…..and another example was on the Academy Awards when some young fit guy goes up to collect his award and the woman presenter sneaks up behind him and rips his shirt off to the waist….imagine THAT the other way round… It was then announced that Scudamore who is on 2 million a year should stand down….what’s his salary got to do with it? It’s time these ladies stepped on to planet earth and got over themselves….and as for Scudamore’s secretary…she is a trainee lawyer…obviously hasn’t heard of client’s privacy….can’t see her going very far after this….I hope not.

.The Eurovision…..what a joke….the winner was like a fairground side show…BUT…and I could be wrong…BUT I get the feeling it was a spoof (Peter Kay and his Irish female alter ego springs to mind)….I’ve heard the actual record which is definitely a girl singing…I think this character is probably a comedian and will announce next year how everyone was taken in….certainly got everyone talking….just a suggestion….because he cannot be serious….I hope. Gary Barlowe has been under fire because of a tax dodge….he was advised how to dodge tax legally….advice which ANYONE would take…but oh no all the do-gooders and honest politicians think he should be stripped of his O.B.E. despite the millions he has made for charity…but Cameron (who is his mate) said he should keep the O.B.E. but pay the tax he owes…you know the tax he saved LEGALLY…perhaps he should be more honest like that prat in the House of Lords who signed in for 20 minutes and gets £300 a throw….or our mate who “fessed up” after making a grand a day for asking questions in Parliament. Good on yer Gary … tell them where to go and where to stick their O.B.E. Mind you to get a knighthood you have to be very talented…like Sir Terry Wogan. Rolph Harris has already been hung drawn and quartered by the media…tried and found guilty by the back street barristers…the same ones who wrecked Freddy Starr’s life and many other celebs. These vermin seem to begrudge anyone who makes money…despite the fact they EARN it….something needs doing about all this it’s a disgrace. There was a local BBC radio DJ in the west country called David Lowe…who unwittingly played the original “The sun has got its hat on” which contained the “N” word…shock horror!!!!....the poor guy was sacked by the Beeb…..then had a nervous breakdown…the Beeb offered to re-instate him but he refused…apparently he had been working for this wonderful organisation for 30 years….I’m sick and tired of all this tripe about “N” words and “F” words…either say what the word is (which is obvious) or put it another way…it’s like listening to Watch With Mother. Speaking of Knighthoods Sir Brucie has finally packed in Strictly Come Dancing….I think the show will go downhill now…although I’m not a hug Brucie fan I do think he has a lot of talent…he has been replaced by Claudia Winkleman…big mistake….I never rated the tall blond girl (I thought Bruce carried her)….but it will now look like Little and Large…may wo

This kidnap situation in Africa is unbelievable…200 young girls…and the filthy scum responsible bragging on a video…makes you wonder what the world is coming to….let’s hope the Americans and the SAS catch up with them…see how tough they are then….the authorities over there are under severe criticism but you could never see that coming….let’s hope it gets sorted. It’s Eurovision time again…I’ve seen one of the semi finals….no comment…….They had Bucks Fizz and The Brotherhood of Man singing together on “The One Show”…the latter having beefed out somewhat. I was never a fan of The Brotherhood of Man I always thought they were a third rate imitation of ABBA….and as for their Eurovision “Kisses For Me”..it was a dead rip off of “Tie A Yellow Ribbon”…so much so that we used to go into one from another and see if anyone noticed…..Jay from Bucks Fizz still looks good. They had a programme on Neil Sedaka which was fascinating….and a similar one on Gary Barlowe…and how they went from the top to the bottom very quickly…but what I don’t get is why they complained about lack of money….the royalties for both of them must be none stop with all the hits they had…..what I didn’t know was Sedaka only wrote the melodies…and also when he went down the pan with the rest of them when The Beatles came on the scene he came over here and did the working men’s clubs…just shows you….anyway there both back where they belong. The other week I mentioned the apparent drop in interest in golf….well this week it was announced that the Yanks have noticed this (ahead of our time or what) so much so that they are going to make the game easier by having bigger holes….hmm….15 inches….which would make it easier to play…they have already altered 42 courses… unbelievable….it’s like when they found snooker a bit tricky they invented poole…which is a joke. I’ve just completed an album called DooWop Days…..took me 6 months to make it….it looks back on the golden years of Rock and Roll through the eyes of someone who was there….I’ve sent you a copy…I’m still recovering from the price of the postage…..it’s now over three quid…and to send a LETTER to Ireland its £1.47 (second class)……BUT I can’t see the post office lasting very long at this rate.

Did you see that MP who resigned over cash for questions;.Patrick Mercer;you gotta laugh;what a twit! he came out with I openly admit my wrong doing;I was a soldier and when soldiers get things wrong they FESS UP;.as if this makes it RIGHT !!...the guy was making a GRAND a day;but it's O.K. because he has resigned.should be behind bars !! There has been blanket coverage of the poor teacher who got stabbed to death, a terrible tragedy;but the media don't help going on about how she was in on her day off and how wonderful a person she was etc etc;.it doesn't help in any way.it needs sorting -not used to pad out the papers.it's a horrible tragedy and I'm sure her family don't want it plastered all over the papers every day. The government are trying to get those on benefit cleaning the streets;.HOW DARE THEY!!...my lad teaches kids who come from four generations who have never worked;the outcry is that if they are subjected to;voluntary work; they wont be able to look for jobs;.but I don't think it's voluntary;wouldn't they be EARNING the money they pick up?...like someone who works for it?....surely cleaning the streets IS a job? Good job we've got widescreen as the new ITV morning programme has FOUR presenters sitting in a line;..it's been slated but then again anything new is always slated;personally I find the new blond girl very easy on the eye;more so than the Beeb's Bill Turnbull. And there is a re-make of Dad's Army underway;it wont work;it has to be the originals;.they tried it with Bilko and Popeye;disasters;who come up with these ideas? and finally Richard Madely sat in for Terry Wogan last Sunday on his Sunday morning programme (which was a vast improvement by the way);he interviewed Wilko Johnson of Dr Feelgood;.this guy was diagnosed with cancer a year ago and was give 4 months to live and he's still here;the interview was top drawer radio;very moving and Madely handled it brilliantly;..it was a privilege to listen to it.

Primark have made huge profits and are taking a bit of stick from our army of do-gooders…they are suggesting people boycott the store because the stuff they sell is made in China by workers who are poor and mistreated…..the stuff they sell in the store is CHEAP !!!....that’s all 99% of shoppers are interested in I’m afraid. My take on this is if Primark can sell cheap so can the big stores…end of. ...I went to see “Dreamboats and Petticoats” on the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton….it was sort of O.K….but not worth 28 quid a ticket….the music which is live was good but the acting let it down…I’ve seen the show before on the Empire which was much better…shame. ...I watched a drama about Tommy Cooper on tele this week (did you catch it?) it was brilliant…the guy who played him was great (David Threlfall?...who was the star of “Shameless” which I never watched)…it was a great insight into the life of T.C. (I was never a fan)…I think the guy will get an award for this…it was excellent. ...I was listening to Boney M on the radio the other day and was reminded how good their records were … great bass player and drummer on the records….the song was “Rasputin” …it took me back to an interview on BBC with one of the girls in the band who said SHE was the only singer on the discs….the dancing fool in the middle couldn’t even sing…his voice was actually the managers voice….another great pop revelation…which reminded me of a guy called Tony Burrows who kidded them all…he was in the original Brotherhood of Man before the Eurovision lot took over the name…he was also the singer in White Plains,Eddison Lighthouse AND The Pipkins…..who all got in the charts at the same time…and appeared on Top Of The Pops…..so the secret was out and he got a ban from the Beeb…classic stuff. ......I am back playing golf and of late the courses have been virtually empty…this is over the last six months…I also have a mate who lives near the Royal Liverpool who will be hosting The Open this year…and he intends to rent his flat out (you can get 10 grand for the 5 days)…but up to now he has had no takers…he has two estate agents on the job and had had to bring the price down….could it be that golf is fading in popularity?...the same thing happened with squash when I used to play in the 70s….interesting.

Britain’s Got Talent is back…..now I KNOW it is very popular (which shows the mentality of the masses)…but WHY subject us to idiots who are happy to ridicule themselves on national TV?...and WHY Ant and Dec?....heaven knows we’ve seen enough of them over the last six months…can’t see the point of them on this show….and WHY the same old format with talentless “judges” playing God and the same old sob stories from the contestants which have NOTHING to do with their act…….bring back Opportunity Knocks I say…at least we were looking at genuine contestants. Great to see Nigel Evans fighting back…the guy was dragged through court … was TOTALLY cleared of any offences…and ended up 130 grand out of pocket….he is starting to kick up a fuss and good on him….he says the CPS should reimburse the cases they lose….and so say all of us !!!! Now we have had a few weeks of nice weather…you’d think we’d all be happy…what with no storms and no floods etc…NOT A CHANCE….the media are straight on to their usual scare tactics….”there’s a hole in the ozone layer which means the sun will be much stronger and we are all going to get burnt…even when the sun isn’t out”….and “scientists” have discovered new creatures from overseas which are a threat to humanity…they EAT our plants…not forgetting the KILLER CRABS who have arrived in the Thames on the hulls of boats…these monsters burrow into the river bank…HELP!!! our country is being eaten away…and all because we have had a bit of sunshine….there will be a hosepipe ban any day now….somebody call Bruce Willis !!!! To add to the tripe on Television which consists mainly of rubbish soaps we are now being subjected to a programme which films sewer workers at their daily tasks….very nice when you are having your supper…this together with “Embarrasing Bodies” where we can see the obese having bits sliced off them makes a good case for listening to the radio…..is Radio Luxemburg still going? and finally….to lighten the mood…I had to laugh at the front page news of Cameron being stung by a jellyfish on his holidays….I would think they will be searching for the said jellyfish to give it a rabies jab….and a little two year old was playing about with his dad’s phone and accidentally phoned the police…..when he cut the call short the police went round to the house and found a load of cannabis plants…OOPS !!..classic stuff…and lastly they have been talking about the fact that kids do not know the true meaning of Easter….they asked a little 4 year old and she said “You have to believe in the Easter Bunny…the more you believe the more eggs you get”…..she’ll go far.