Photo a Day

A healthy habit, fatmumslim prompts are followed.

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Music

The very stuff of life. Listenings shared.

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Books

Shit I've read this year, it's a habit that keeps me sane.

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8th January – A good start

8th, Architecture, Beat, Blues, Cameras, Date, Days, FMS Photo A Day, Food, Garage, January 2026, Mod, Music, Photos, Pop, Psychedelia, Ricoh GRIIIx, Thursday, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Day off, plan is to get shit done.  I kinda achieve some of that but do catch a kip.  Didn’t get to the allotment, didn’t get the fridge sorted.  But did fetch meds and get the laundry done.  Big changes at the laundrette, various dryers have been ripped out, but they were the ones nobody ever used.  Bring in the new chromebook and realise I have a whole heap of photoshop learning to do.  Never say never!

Managed to grab pics as I fetched change for the laundrette and grabbed some breakfast.  Weather is driech which helps.  See photos from Aberdeen looks like snow is heavy up there so lord knows what it’s like up near Cal.

Pick C up and we watch Masters of Air.  Then head over to Farm Foods for chips to feed S.  Need to sort car tomorrow and have a car hoover coming which is as well as the carpets are bogging.  Need to wash it too!  Will attempt to get to the allotment tomorrow, failing that it’ll be next Wednesday.

No sign of the bin I ordered.  Not overly impressed am hoping that is the thing that needed an additional £2.50 postage.

Review #8 – The Pussycats – The Pussycats EP

All  four studio tracks from The Pussycats on a single EP. raw and driving, like good garage should be. It’s got great horns and pace, stomping percussion and stinging guitar, and of course those femme fatale vocals….innocent yet sultry, and even soulful!  What’s not to like!

Music

  1. The Pussycats – The Pussycats EP
  2. The Low Spirits – Can’t Love You Back b/w Treatin’ Me Bad
  3. The Low Spirits – Time Will Tell / No More Mistakin’
  4. The Low Spirits – Gonna Make You Cry b/w Shadows Of Your Mind
  5. The Low Spirits – You Lied b/w Never Said I Need You
  6. The Reverberations – Move Along E.P.
  7. The Reverberations – Mess Up Your Mind
  8. The Reverberations – Changes
  9. The Reverberations – Palm Reader b/w Under Your Spell
  10. The Reverberations – Are Outtasite! (West Coast Tour Tape)
  11. The Reverberations – Dreamcatcher
  12. The Reverberations – Lost In Time E.P.
  13. The Reverberations – Half Remembered Dreams
  14. The Reverberations – Yeah Alright
  15. The Sound Reasons – The Sound Reasons (Self Titled EP)
  16. The Sound Reasons – Walk with My Shadow
  17. The Baron Four – Shut Your Mind (Single)
  18. The Baron Four – Outlying
  19. The Baron Four – Yes I Do (7″Single)
  20. The Baron Four – Silvaticus
  21. The Baron Four – Walking Out 7″
  22. The Baron Four – Out Of The Wild Come…
  23. The Baron Four – She Said Yeah (7″Single)
  24. The Baron Four – I Don’t Mind 45

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7th January – Something inspiring

7th, Beat, Cameras, Date, Days, FMS Photo A Day, Garage, January 2026, Mod, Music, Photos, Pop, Psychedelia, Punk, S24, Still Life, Surf, Wednesday, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So today was a bit of a strange one. Systems went down. A HBB and laugh as the systems played up and a heap of cancellation.

Get home and C is on the warpath with Barclay’s.  3 agents in and two dropped calls because I was making the delicate little flowers uncomfortable.

Think Barclays may be getting an introduction to the OED definition of final.

Hare up to the bank and pay off the little buggers on the interest they did not tell us about when giving us a final settlement figure.  Bring back dead thing that I really don’t do justice to.  On the plus side it is done… until they invent something else.

Meanwhile I’m behind on some things I  promised myself I’d try and achieve this year.  Catch up tomorrow.  Nip for a quick pint at the Tom and Gerry, served by my fave barman, Sam.

Review #7 – The Violet Mindfield – Hello Darling

Lots of variety in terms of the feel and mood of the tracks on this album, the album flows as it goes along bringing fuzzy and jangly delight.  Was a great accompaniment to doing the laundry!

Music

  1. The Violet Mindfield – Your Mind On Violets
  2. The Violet Mindfield – Mammals in Love and Ambivalence
  3. The Violet Mindfield – Odds & Ends
  4. The Violet Mindfield – Stranger In The Mirror
  5. The Violet Mindfield – Hello Darling
  6. The Violet Mindfield – California Burning
  7. The Violet Mindfield – Distorted Portrait
  8. The Violet Mindfield – The Forgotten Streetlamps of Time
  9. The Violet Mindfield – Tell Me / Moonlight Love
  10. The Violet Mindfield – After Before
  11. The Violet Mindfield – Orange EP
  12. The Violet Mindfield – Hard Times, Easy Love / Gimme, Gimme Single
  13. The Violet Mindfield – The Violet Mindfield
  14. The Violet Mindfield – Beautiful Nightmare – Single
  15. Mooon – Safari
  16. Mooon – Hurtin’ My Heart b/w How I Learned (To Say Goodbye)
  17. Mooon – Mooon’s Brew
  18. Mooon – III
  19. Mooon – Mary You Wanna / She Makes Me Feel EP
  20. Mooon – MOOON – EP

 

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6th January – My Shoes Day

6th, Beat, Cameras, Date, Days, Dream Pop, FMS Photo A Day, Garage, January 2026, Krautrock, Mod, Music, Photos, Portraiture, Psychedelia, Punk, S24, Tuesday, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday and the first day of driving C to work.  The roads are truly horrible, icy and bits of snow.  On way to the school we discovered the boot was open.  Pulled in sorted it.  Was tbh a bit stressed by road conditions and the unknowns of getting to work on time (turned out reet!)

Day was ok but full of numptiness.  Home and takeaway tonight because we had suddenly moved to three for tea rather than the pair of us.

Food Plan

  • Pie and Mash
  • Leek and Potato Soup
  • Meatballs

Working the weekend so will need to plan food for then, but at least I have a plan for the next couple of days.

Review #6 – L.A. Witch – Octubre

Spookily moody and with a bit of a psych post-punk vibe.   Very reverb, could come out of Eric’s but is from the States. One for dark early winter mornings or winter nights.

Music

  1. L.A. Witch – Your Ways (Demo)
  2. L.A. Witch – Play With Fire
  3. L.A. Witch – Octubre
  4. L.A. Witch – L.A. Witch
  5. L.A. Witch – Kill My Baby Tonight (Single)
  6. L.A. Witch – Doggod
  7. L.A. Witch – Drive Your Car
  8. Various Artists – One Way Or The Highway
  9. Shadow Show – Silhouettes
  10. Shadow Show – Contessa (Remix)
  11. Shadow Show – Silhouette Acoustic
  12. Shadow Show – The Machine
  13. Shadow Show – What Again Is Real (Acoustic)
  14. Shadow Show – What Again Is Real? b/w Is This a Dream?
  15. Shadow Show – Glass Eye
  16. Shadow Show – Radiant Hue
  17. Shadow Show – Fantasy Now!

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5th January – A Quiet Moment

5th, Beat, Cameras, Date, Days, FMS Photo A Day, Garage, January 2026, Landscapes, Mod, Music, Photos, Psychedelia, Ricoh GRIIIx, Tuesday, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yay a HE.  Felt good, job was a good ‘un and a phone sale out of it too which I’ve not coded.  Brief dusting of snow, the weather is best described as brass monkey’s.  Driving continues to be OK, getting a wee bit more confident.  Home via Aldi to pick up bread products.

Am back on the sertraline full time right now, struggling a bit mentally right now.  Feel a bit more level as a result.

Other than that it’s a quiz night on TV.  Just chill with herself.

Review #5 – The Mike Bell Cartel – The Cartel and I

Fuzzy psych, with organ accents.  Bits remind me of 13th Floor Elevators and any number of Texas Punk bands of the 60’s. or maybe The Electric Prunes are a better comparison.  Think it’s the vocals that are vaguely Ericksonesque.  Some nice Byrdsy 12 string too.  Well worth a listen and fab to drive to.

Music

  1. The Mike Bell Cartel – The Cartel & I
  2. The Mike Bell Cartel – Ain’t No High
  3. The Wrong Society – Misery Has Got Me Down
  4. The Woggles – Anyway The Wind
  5. The Violet Mindfield – Evil Eye
  6. The Thanes – Les Thanes
  7. The Sound Reasons – Today’s Another Day
  8. The Smoggers – Please, Never Change
  9. The Sences – Emilia
  10. The Reverberations – Les Reverberations
  11. The Poppermost – Les Poppermost
  12. The On And Ons – Looking Out Of A Mirror
  13. The Night Times – I’m Leaving You
  14. The Low Spirits – Outta Sight
  15. The Maharajas – Just Drink Wine
  16. The Maharajas – Talkin’ To The Man
  17. The Jack Cades – Infectious Covers
  18. The Baron Four – She
  19. Green Seagull – Lightning Girl
  20. The Mourning After – She Left Me Today
  21. The Mourning After – Lately
  22. The Loons – High And Lonesome
  23. The Knight Shades – Why (Baby Why!)
  24. The Crystal Teardrop – Running Out Of Time
  25. The Crimson Shadows – When I’m Going Away
  26. The Crimson Shadows – Even I Tell Lies
  27. The Basements – Feelings
  28. The Bad Beats – Lucy Mei
  29. Shadow Show – Baba Yaga / Spy Balloon
  30. Muck & The Mires – Tripping Out On Love
  31. Mooon – You Got It All
  32. Les Rencards – Boite A Malice
  33. Dom Mariani – Jangleland

 

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FMS_morninglight26

4th January – Morning Light

4th, Beat, Date, Days, FMS Photo A Day, Hot Tub Time Machine, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, January 2026, Jurassic World, Landscapes, Movies, Music, Photos, Psychedelia, Ricoh GRIIIx, Rockabilly, Space Rock, Sunday, Surf, The Aviator, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

FMS_morninglight26So here we go 2,3,4… plan was to nip to the Tom and Gerry, have a coffee, retrieve some extra change, nip to the allotment passing the laundrette proving it was open and back via the laundrette whereupon the laundry would be done.  Along the way there was to be photo’s of the morning light.  The reality was it starts to snow, the geezer who owns the laundrette had failed to turn up, I managed to start driving down a one way street.  On the plus side I did fetch change, grab coffee and take morning light photos.  Rearranged plan, once I’d turned round on a back alley was off to the laundrette at Haydock.  Got there and the place was rammed.  A 30 minute wait for the washing machine, a 20 minute wait for a dryer.

Allotment skipped, but I’m off on Thursday so off to the allotment then.  If the laundrette is open will zap a wash through.  Why?  Just to get on top of the mountain of washing that has mounted up.  We just can’t get the drying done.

Home and it’s time for the dec’s to come down, all done in advance of tomorrow’s twelfth night.  ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.’

Review #4 – The Incredible Sucking Spongies – The Incredible Sucking Spongies

Instrumental surf plus from an Antwerp based band.  Think country & western, sixties classics, mysterious exotica, jazz and obscure TV tunes, all combined to an exciting Surf Cocktail.  An interesting listen.

Music

  1. The Incredible Sucking Spongies – The Incredible Sucking Spongies
  2. The Kryng – Baby, What You Want – 7″
  3. The Kryng – I Don’t Dig These Modern Tymes
  4. The Kryng – Don’t Dig These Modern Tymes
  5. The Kryng – Baby You’re The One
  6. The Kryng – So Many Girls EP
  7. The Kryng – So Many Girls
  8. The Kryng – So Many Girls vol. 2
  9. The Kryng – Twelve Hymns To Syng Along
  10. The Kryng – You Were On My Mind
  11. The Kryng – Going Nowhere
  12. The Kryng – Keep Her In Mind b/w Twenty two
  13. The Kryng – V
  14. Los Robots – Standoff At Planet ‘T’
  15. Los Robots – The Fascinating World Of…
  16. Los Robots – Project World Control
  17. Los Robots – Big Trouble In Outer Space
  18. Los Robots – The Sound Of The Middle East
  19. Los Robots – Do The Robot
  20. Los Robots – 12 Favorites From Planet Earth
  21. Los Robots – Exploring the Boundaries of the Multiverse
  22. The Breadmakers – The Breadmakers
  23. The Breadmakers – Thee Cha Cha Chas Split Tour 2019 EP
  24. The Breadmakers – Night of the Cobra
  25. Child Of Panoptes – Un Petit Morceau De Buvard
  26. Beebe Gallini – Dusty
  27. Beebe Gallini – Pandemos
  28. Beebe Gallini – Beebe Gallini & Cindy Lawson
  29. Beebe Gallini – East Side Story EP

Movies

  1. The Aviator
  2. Hot Tub Time Machine
  3. Hot Tub Time Machine 2
  4. Jurassic World

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fms_habit26

3rd January – A New Habit

3rd, Cameras, Date, Days, Empire Records, FMS Photo A Day, Guns of Navarone, In Which We Serve, January 2026, Movies, Ricoh GRIIIx, Saturday, The Eagle Has Landed, , , , , , , , , , , ,

fms_habit26Struggled with this pic.  Not in the habit of picking up new habits.

Been a day of two halves.  Halve 1 the sensible half, we visit Nationwide and move money around to sensible places.  That’ll be the most grown up thing I’ll do all year!  Come home, get lost as a result of a road accident ahead but muddle through.  Then go shopping.  Gain a task for the next day off (Thursday following the recent shift change) in that I have to fetch meds (well hopefully mine should be ready by then anyway.  Second half of the day a gentle cook a bit of a chase around for photos and a swift ale.

Bit peed off with the shift change tbh. More because it lacked logic in that they’ve dropped a week in the pattern but then shifted the pattern back a week.  So weekend next week is on and we might have a bed arriving.  The whole thing is a pain as a result.

Review #3 – Hipbone Slim & The Kneejerks – Kneejerk Reaction!

You know what your getting whenever you reach into Mark’s back catalogue.  Good time, no messing, garage, surf, rockabilly tunes.  It’s like a set of comfy trousers, reassuringly comforting, supportive in the right places and with the odd dubious stain about it.

Music

  1. Los Straitjackets – The Further Adventures Of Los Straitjackets
  2. Los Straitjackets – Play Favorites
  3. Los Straitjackets – Somos Los Straitjackets
  4. Hipbone Slim & The Kneejerks – Get A Move On
  5. Hipbone Slim & The Kneejerks – Kneejerk Reaction!
  6. The Kryng – Sweet Vibration
  7. Beebe Gallini – Begged, Borrowed And Stealed
  8. Frankie – Strange Tales
  9. Les Robots – Robo Diddley vs The Rockin’ Robot
  10. The Breadmakers – Lonesome Sundown
  11. Child Of Panoptes – Down
  12. Falken’s Maze – Here We Come (EP)
  13. Human Toys – Live At The Poor Cow
  14. Human Toys – Human Toys Demos Feb 2019
  15. Human Toys – Japan Tour demos October 2019
  16. Human Toys – Go Go Alco / Generation Shit
  17. Sino Hearts – Mondo Paradiso
  18. The Capellas – Untamed
  19. The Capellas – Love Prayer
  20. The Capellas – Take Your Chance With The Capellas
  21. The Launderettes – Getaway
  22. The Launderettes – Back From The Sea
  23. The Five Cannons – The Five Cannons
  24. The Five Cannons – The Five Cannons
  25. The Questions – 恋の予感
  26. The Questions – Best Answer
  27. The Questions – Beehive
  28. The Questions – Yoake No Tori
  29. Thee Allyrgic Reaction – S/T
  30. Thee Allyrgic Reaction – Disques Rogue 45
  31. Thee Allyrgic Reaction – Dream About You

Movies

  1. Empire Records
  2. The Eagle Has Landed
  3. Guns of Navarone
  4. In Which We Serve

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My Word For The New Year

2nd January 2026 – My Word For The New Year

2nd, Cameras, Days, FMS Photo A Day, Food, Friday, Hip Hop, Indie, January 2026, Music, Operation Mincemeat, Photos, Ricoh GRIIIx, , , , , , , , , , ,

My Word For The New YearBack to work today.  Team is compact and small.  Tales of folk’s New Year drift in and some horrors have manifested themselves!  Day flows a few Easy Leads but not enough, HBB and a fair few sales.

Drive in via the ASDA to grab lunch and paella mix.  The latter is a complete waste of effort because the personnel due to eat has changed since yesterday.  Pain in the arse, duck out for a takeaway and a swift pint.

Drive home is kinda interesting. Need to learn patience when defrosting windows in the car.  It kinda helps when trying to see the road.  In other news I end up listening to some Bee Gee’s and realising how good they are as a bit of light frothy music.

Start to pull a driving playlist together.  It’s more a case of pissing about than anything else.  Still it’s kinda fun and will baffle herself tomorrow when we nip into Wigan for an appointment at the building society.  That bit of the proceedings will be amazingly grown up…. C is making me do it!

Review #2 – Loose Tooth – New Age

Dolewave album that is reminiscent of the laconic nature of Courtney Barnett.  Melodic, fuzzy and jangly with a girl group vibe.  A pleasant listen on a cold day on the basis that it is in itself in congruent with the weather.  Not an immediate album but a few listens will be rewarding.

Music

  1. Moderate Lovers – Lost City
  2. Moderate Lovers – Lucy’s Gardening Again
  3. Moderate Lovers – Crayon Shades
  4. The Silent Love – Rainy Season
  5. The Silent Love – Painted Feelings
  6. Neshband – Melodi Cinta
  7. Neshband – Dekadensi Cinta
  8. Bee Gees – Saturday Night Fever

Movies

  1. Operation Mincemeat

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1st January 2026 – Something Fresh

1st, Cameras, Date, Days, Food, Indie, January 2026, Movies, Music, One Of Our Dinousaurs Is Missing, Ricoh GRIIIx, The Great Escape, Thursday, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Melons #fms_fresh26January 1st… New Year New Resolutions etc. So this year is an attempt at colour in addition to the monochrome for FMS.  Prompt today was Fresh so Sainsbury’s to the rescue.  Sainsbury’s itself was odd, the place was cold and felt like it was full of zombie shoppers.  Wish the check out lady a happy new year and I get a tirade of all that’s wrong with the world.  Couldn’t figure out if I found it sad or funny.

Cook a Shepherds pie as we start this Dash Diet thing.  Forget to grab the cabbage and cook it – did not go down well.  I get a lecture on the need to stick to the diet and the need for veggies.  The Shepherds pie was coaching with the things!

C seems to think my mood is foul, I seem to think it’s over reacting to tone of voice.  Don’t feel too bad but I am trying to cut down on the Sertraline at the moment.  Maybe it’s having a bigger impact than I think.  C thinks I should see the doctor, I don’t.

Order meds.

Did the top 9 thing on Instagram, it’s not a bad selection, not necessarily my faves but hey, what do I know.

Review #1 – European Sun – School Report

Single in advance of the new album on Skep Wax.  Spoken word listing of the day to a Velvets based background – reminiscent of The Gift.  Very much a description of middle age life that sadly I can relate to!  Brief snippets of school reports.  All of this in a Bristolian accent which I find comforting.

Music

  1. European Sun – School Report
  2. Loose Tooth – Saturn Returns
  3. Loose Tooth – Everything Changes
  4. Loose Tooth – Will You
  5. Loose Tooth – New Age
  6. Loose Tooth – Keep Up
  7. Jacob Freddy – Jacob Freddy
  8. Jacob Freddy – Sports Announcer
  9. Various Artists – The Process / Lonely
  10. People Mover – Not
  11. People Mover – Trying
  12. People Mover – The Joy
  13. People Mover – People Mover

Movies Watched

  1. One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing
  2. The Great Escape

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image by kitschynicki

Stoopid, Stoopid, Stoopid

27th, Cameras, Chuzhao, Date, Days, Monday, October 2025, , , , , ,
image by kitschynicki

…………………image by kitschynicki

OK so have spent some consumer points in a very frivolous manner and bought a Chuzhao camera that I know to be a toy, thank you Spotlight and Amazon!  You can buy it from Chuzhao with a lens kit.  The lenses seem to be 17mm phone adaptor lenses.  They also sell the ring adaptor to fit the things.  In a fit of financial efficiency, the lens adaptor at a £5 purchased and an appropriate lens kit bought from Amazon with consumer points some £16 cheaper than they’d provide.  If it works this will be financial gold.

What was behind the purchase, whimsical stupidity and a desire to try something different.  In other consumer point purchases, some SD cards and some cases for a couple of planned purchases.

In other news some chasing with NHSBA.  Some anxiety from herself and lots more from me!

So today the thing arrived and first pics are here.

Making meatballs for tonights tea, starts with the shallots.

And here is the shallotecide!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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