Mind the Gap | Aye Wonder

When Pigs Fly Across the Pond

On 10.26.09, In Football, Language, Mind the Gap, Patriots, By Mike

Just a quick note today. There are several loose ends I need to tie up before I head off to Scotland.

Yesterday from 1-4 PM, I sat attentively in front of my televesion watching the New England Patriots play the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. It was the NFL’s annual game in London at the Venue of Legends or Wembley Stadium as it is better known. Pre-game coverage was as exhausting as the Democratic National Convention. Some found symmetry in the return of the pre-Tea Party Patriots to the Motherland. In a nation, that like ours, is fascinated by celebrity, the infiltration by Tom Brady and his super model wife, Gisele Bundchen, sent the paparazzi into camera flash overload. It was a home game for Tampa Bay by draw but this was not home for either 40 man squad.

I am an Anglophile. I admit it. But I guarantee that you have never heard me use the expression, “across the pond.” Yesterday, the pre-game and play-by-play announcers used that expression ad nauseum. Its usage almost seemed mandated by the NFL in order to psychologically reduce the distance and time zones of their newest market, London. Transatlantic or overseas sounds too far away. Lets use “across the pond!”

As I sat in front of the tv listening, I heard more “across the ponds” in 10 minutes than I heard in a lifetime. I am leading the campaign to retire that idiom.

And here are some more I hope to never hear again:

Piece of cake
Drop in the bucket
All Greek to me
New York minute
When pigs fly
The whole nine yards
Raining cats and dogs
Heat of the moment
Elvis has left the building

And the rest. Do you have any you hope to never hear again?

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Tagged with: Anglophile • Camera Flash • Cats And Dogs • Democratic National Convention • Drop In The Bucket • Elvis Has Left The Building • Game Coverage • Gisele Bundchen • Heat Of The Moment • Home Game • London • Man Squad • Market London • model • Model Wife • National Football League • New England Patriots • New England Patriots players • New York • New York Minute • Nfl • Patriots Play • Raining Cats And Dogs • Scotland • Tampa Bay • Tampa Bay Buccaneers • Tea Party • Televesion • Tom Brady • United States • Wembley Stadium • Whole Nine Yards

Dum Spiro Spero*

On 10.21.09, In Golf, Golf In Scotland, Mind the Gap, Monarchs House, Scotland, St Andrews, By Mike

A week from today, I will arrive in Scotland for the first time in 28 months. I am hoping to play a round of golf but the primary reason for my visit is to bid farewell to our long time general manager, Angus. Angus is retiring and calls my visit the “hand over.” If you’re a long time reader of this blog, you know that a small group of us have a home in St Andrews called Monarchs House that is rented out to golfers making the pilgrimage to the home of golf. Angus has been looking after the house and all the golfing visitors for 8 years.

St Andrews is not like many other places and very far removed from any town in the States. First of all, it is a magnificently beautiful medieval town. Unlike the U.S., there are no signs of wooden structures; everything is built from stone. Throughout the town, there are ruins that tell of the violence of the Reformation in the mid 1500s. St Rules Tower dates back to 1127. St Andrews also is home to Scotland’s first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world, founded in 1413. But it’s not just the history of the town or even the golf that makes me love St Andrews in particular and Scotland in general. I love the way of life, the people and the topography.

St Rules Tower

Recently, after all my years, I finally came to conclusion about why I love where I live and why I love the other places that I visit. There is a commonality in all of the places I gravitate toward. In Boston’s Back Bay, I overlook the Charles River and I am very close to Boston Harbor. I can also walk to anything that could satisfy my needs; food, drink, shopping, entertainment, open spaces and friends. In St Andrews, I am a 2 minutes from any of the beaches and able to walk the entire town and visit its shops and play golf. Here are a few of the other places I love: Plymouth, Sag Harbor, Newport, Marblehead, Savannah, Saucelito, Puerto Banus and San Francisco. All are water centric and all have lovely walkable old towns. Bring me to the mountains, away from water, and I can feel myself silently die.

In St Andrews, I intend on visiting all of my old haunts. They can expect me at the Russell Hotel for dinner and to say hello to Helen the manageress. I will have a drink at the St Andrews Golf Club to say hello to Gordon, Oggie, Alf and the rest of the boys (all over 70). I plan to see my old friend John, the one that always refers to my wife as the lovely Christine. I am going to have a dram with my friend Mike and commiserate about what could have been with Hamilton Hall. But mostly, I am going to breathe Scotland and all that it is to me. I never get excited about travelling until it happens but this trip has me on edge. As I found out 28 months ago, you never know when it will be your last.

* DUM SPIRO SPERO means “While I breathe, I hope” in Latin and is generally attributed to Cicero. The notable origin of the motto is St Andrews, Scotland. It’s attribution to Saint Andrew and his bones (relics) being taken to this small fishing village on the North Sea, contributed to its direct linkage between the saying, the town, the University of St Andrews and the Saint.

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Tagged with: 8 Years • Angus • Back Bay • Boston • Boston Harbor • California; • Charles River • Commonality • Dum Spiro Spero • Fife • Food • general manager • Golf • Golf In Scotland • Golfers • Hamilton Hall • Hospitality_Recreation • John • long time general manager • Marblehead • Medieval Town • Mid 1500s • Mike • Newport • North Sea; • Open Spaces • Pilgrimage • Play Golf • Plymouth • Puerto Banus • Reformation • Russell Hotel • Sag Harbor • San Francisco • Saucelito • Savannah • Scotland • SPIRO SPERO • St Andrews • St Andrews Golf Club • St Rules Tower • Time Reader • Topography • United Kingdom • United States • University of St Andrews and the Saint • Way Of Life • Wooden Structures

Woe is Me

On 04.16.09, In Mind the Gap, Scotland, By Mike

Woe, Woe is MeI really miss Scotland. I do. My cynical friends from England will read this and think I’ve gone off my meds. But England and Scotland have been wedded for just over 300 years and have predictably grown apart (like the US north and south appear to be doing now!). Truth be told, it’s Scotland that is the self sufficient county. They have great cattle, game, fish, poultry, vegetables, ale, whisky and most importantly, oil. Like England, it is a beautiful country but Scotland has a much more diverse topography. The Highlands are breathtaking as are the Inner and Outer Hebrides, an archipelago of islands off of Scotland’s northwest coast. Visit once and Scotland will get into your bloodstream faster than a dram of Glenmorangie. It’s an amazing place and a place that I haven’t visited in 20 months, the longest dry spell since I visited there for the first time 30+ years ago. Go behind the tab for more…

Why I miss ScotlandSometime ago I wrote a post about the 10 Reasons I Love Scotland. You can read part one, here and part two, here. Today, I’d like to tell you, a year and half removed from the country, what I miss the most about Scotland; why after all this time is it a place I think about every single day.

I have considered this scrupulously. I know what I love about Scotland but the reasons can’t entirely be why the country is so under my skin. No, my rapturous love for Scotland is all about the way of life. One of the things about living in America that we take for granted is that everything is so incredibly convenient. We have huge fridges that store a week’s worth of food. We live in a world where the town center is no longer important; the mall is important or the Super Stop & Shop. In Scotland (and England) the town center is the cog of life. I must admit that when I was younger, the town center was even more important there than it is now. But for better or worse (I say worse), the US way of doing things is rubbing off in the UK. I think there’s something really great about walking to the butcher, the fish monger, the produce store, the cheese and bottle shops to pick up the evening’s meal. You see your neighbors, stop for a pint, share a laugh with your pastor or make golf plans along the way. The town center has a pulse, its own life. I positively LOVE that. In St Andrews, where my home is, I can walk everywhere. If I wanted to go out for dinner, I could walk to 25 restaurants and an equal amount of pubs. If I wanted to see a movie, I could walk to the local cinema where three current movies are on offer. I wouldn’t have to jump in the car and drive to the multiplex where there are 15 films vying for my attention. OK, so I don’t have as much of a choice but is that a terrible thing? I could wait until next week when all three movies change. Even though I live today in the middle of a large city, I long for a simpler life. But I don’t want to live in isolation. A small town, where I can walk to everything, suits me. I can walk to golf, the beach, the botanical gardens, the theater or the cafe. Is that available anywhere in the US? Maybe in a resort town but then you are faced with isolation in winter. Scotland has everything I want.

Yet, I am still here.

Here’s a quick joke for you:

What’s one thing you will never hear in Scotland?

Oh that car? That’s the bagpiper’s Porsche.

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Tagged with: Amazing Place • America; • Amp Shop • Archipelago • Beautiful Country • Bloodstream • Butcher • Cog • Dram • Dry Spell • Food • Fridges • Game Fish • Glenmorangie • Living In America • Meds • Northwest Coast • Oil • Porsche • Poultry Vegetables • Scotland • Single Day • Topography • United Kingdom • United States • Way Of Life • Whisky • Woe • WordTwit

The Singer Not the Song

On 11.20.08, In 70s, England, Mind the Gap, Music, United Kingdom, By Mike

In the United States when you ask a young boy what he wants to be when he grows up, the answer is the expected: “I want to be an Astronaut, Cowboy, Fireman or the President of the United States.” Maybe you’ll get the odd outlier who says he wants to drive a truck or something similar but those are the professions of choice at age 5. I’m guessing that in England the response is quite a bit different. I can even imagine that most young boys say that they want to be a singer in a rock ‘n’ roll band. How else could you possibly explain the stories of Paul Carrack, Paul Rodgers and Tony Burrows. Even the Stones knew in 1965’s December’s Childrens (And Everybody’s) that it is The Singer Not the Song. Leave it to Jagger to understand that.

Although he began recording in the 70’s, Paul Carrack enjoys a successful solo career today. His 2003 album, It Ain’t Over, is a gem. But long before Carrack decided to pursue a solo career he was a voice for hire. He sang the megahit How Long for the one hit wonder band, Ace. You could also hear Carrack’s vocal on Mike and the Mechanics songs like The Living Years and Silent Runnings and Squeeze’s best remembered hit, Tempted. He also sang for Roxy Music but there were quite a few egos in that band and Carrack slipped into deep background.

Paul Rodgers’ career path was similar to Carrack’s but he was much more of a creative influence in the bands he was a member of. His guitar playing and songwriting were only exceeded by his vocals for the bands Free, Bad Company, The Firm, The Law and now as a replacement for the departed Freddie Mercury, Queen. I’m certain that you can imagine Rodgers’ vocal in your head for All Right Now, Feel Like Makin’ Love and Radioactive. To this day, Paul Rodgers has one of the greatest and most distictive rock voices in history.

The story that interests me the most is the Roman candlesque career of Tony Burrows. He was truly a voice for hire. He wasn’t the man for the decades of the 70’s, he was the man for 1970. You likely have heard of Paul Rodgers and Paul Carrack but Tony Burrows is another story all together. Tony Burrows is the answer to one of the greatest trivia questions in music.

Who had four top 10 hits on the UK charts at the same time with four different groups?

These songs were all hits in the US. In 1970, Burrows charted with the preposterous novelty tune, Gimme Dat Ding singing for a band called the Pipkins. He also reached a wide US audience with the AM hits, Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) by Edison Lighthouse, The Brotherhood of Man’s United We Stand and finally, The White Plain’s hit, My Baby Loves Lovin’. Tony Burrows was a one hit wonder four times and all at the same time! None of these bands went on to chart another song. And for Burrows, he captured lightening in a bottle one more time. This time it was for yet another band and another one hit wonder, First Class and their number 4 hit, Beach Baby. Tony Burrows never charted or recorded again.

It’s the singer not the song.

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Tagged with: Ace • All Right Now; • Bad Company • Brotherhood of Man; • Career Path • Creative Influence • Dat Ding; • Deep Background • Edison Lighthouse; • Feel Like Makin' Love; • Freddie Mercury • Freddie Mercury Queen • It Ain't Over; • Megahit • Mike And The Mechanics • Mike And The Mechanics Songs • Outlier • Paul Carrack • Paul Rodgers • President Of The United States • Queen; • Rock N Roll Band • Roman Candle • Roxy Music • Runnings • S Paul • Singer Not The Song • Solo Career • Squeeze; • The Firm; • The Law; • Tony Burrows • United Kingdom • United States

When Pigs Fly Across the Pond

Dum Spiro Spero*

Woe is Me

The Singer Not the Song

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