Gary Watton, the world's least-known celebrity, is a prolific author, commentator and historian of informative, non-fiction reference books. He was born in Fulford Maternity Hospital because there was no room at the inn. An accomplished air guitarist,...
Sunday 18 th December Oh this afternoon I nearly 'lost it'. That's assuming that I ever 'had it' in the first place. I went a-walking for my weekly takeaway fix along Railway Road. I saw a gang of young ragamuffins on my side of the road. Well, I just...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celtic-Fringe-Westminster-Elections-1970-2010/dp/0956272576 SCOTLAND Labour’s two ‘gains’ were merely a case of re-capturing two seats that they had lost in recent by-elections to the Liberal Democrats and the SNP. For all their...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celtic-Fringe-Westminster-Elections-1970-2010/dp/0956272576 SCOTLAND Ordinarily, a loss of fifteen parliamentary seats would be perceived as a catastrophe, but Labour’s representation was drastically cut on account of a boundary...
DECEMBER 1ST Riders On The Storm by The Doors (1971) from the album L.A. Woman 'L.A. Woman' was the last project that Jim Morrison and his Doors completed before the lizard king's mysterious death in Paris several months later. The album has many items...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ashes-1945-2005-Complete-Record/dp/0955575699 The book is a statistical history of the Ashes conflicts from the 1946 tour to Australia through to the 2005 series, though there is also a page dedicated to the 2006-7 whitewash, as...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Guide-Music-1970s/dp/0955575656 The song of the month for January 1977 Isn’t She Lovely by David Parton (peak chart position: No.4) Not to be confused with Dolly Parton, Mr. David Parton took hold of a Stevie Wonder composition...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pop-Revolution-Transatlantic-Music-Scene/dp/0956272533 He Ain't Heavy , He's My Brother by The Hollies Long before the emergence of Madchester or before Manchester became a mecca for the indie/new wave scene, it was the Hollies...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pop-Revolution-Transatlantic-Music-Scene/dp/0956272533 The latter half of the 1960s represented a revolution both in popular music and also socially. As well as being a period of unabated Cold War tension, as demonstrated by the...
One fine Friday morn in late March whilst delaying my departure from the comfort zone of my bed, I decided to browse through a nearby history book. I randomly picked up ‘Six Wives’ by David Starkey. I chose well. I immediately re-acquainted myself with...
Scotland's representation at Westminster increased from 71 to seventy-two seats. Many old seats were laid to rest while new ones were born in the recent boundary review. The new SDP contested 35 constituencies while their partners the Liberals competed...
While the Liberals absconded from a lot of the constituency contests again, this election reversed the swing that characterised the October 1974 election. This time there was a surge in support for the Conservatives, and the SNP suffered a large collapse...
Alone and Asleep: 2011: a Spacer's Odyssey Oh Sam Bin Laden Saturday January the 22nd I've had a mixed bag of a week thus far, but then again, who hasn't? I received an annual statement from the UK Public Lending Right, informing me that seven of my books...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pop-Revolution-Transatlantic-Music-Scene/dp/0956272533 THE BEST 10 SONGS OF 1965? Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey The welsh songbird had previously reached the UK pop summit with the double-A- side 'I Reach For The Stars' and 'Climb...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Internationals-Soccer-Tournament-1946-1984-Complete/dp/0956272541 ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION This book is being published on the 15th of April 2011. This historic date is a day of celebration and infamy on both sides of Hadrian’s Wall...
In this general election, the Scottish Liberal Party fielded far more candidates than it had done in recent elections. There were now only three constituencies where the Liberal Party absented themselves: Argyll, Fife Central, and Glasgow Provan. Was...
Song of the month for January 1970 The Only Living Boy In New York by Simon And Garfunkel The 1970s could hardly have made a more impressive start with the release of Simon and Garfunkel’s farewell project, ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’. The album not...
At the risk of stating the obvious, it is no coincidence that those constituencies with the largest turnout tended to be the ones which were liable to produce the closest results. Put another way, key marginals were the seats which usually provoked most...
Back in the relatively unenlightened time of 1970, women Members of Parliament were few and far between. In Wales, there were none at all, while Scotland merely supplied a couple of ladies to Westminster, namely Betty Anderson (Renfrewshire East) and...
Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin peaked in the UK charts at No.6 peaked in the US charts at No.10 produced by Jimmy Page released in January It was a bizarre coincidence that as the brilliant Cream were bowing out of the rock scene in November 1968, a new...
WHO GIVES A TOSS? Who gives a toss about the toss of a coin at the start of the proceedings? Just how crucial is the flip of the coin in determining the subsequent proceedings? Let’s take a look at the Ashes test matches from 1945 to 2005 then. Well,...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Guide-Music-1970s/dp/0955575656 Song of the month for January 1971 My Sweet Lord by George Harrison (peak chart position:No.1) He may have described himself as an economy-class Beatle, but the quiet one surpassed his...
The purpose of this blog piece is to highlight the state-sponsored terror that was doled out to the populace during the seemingly eventful decades during which the Tudor family sat on the throne. It is not a mere recital of Foxe’s Book Of Martyrs nor...
GENTLE INTRODUCTION When I foolishly went to Aston University at the end of the ‘eighties, I apparently introduced myself to other blokes in my accommodation block as “Me name’s Ga and I like ska.” Well, as someone who has owned and played all the albums...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celtic-Fringe-Westminster-Elections-1970-2010/dp/0956272576 Remarkably, only one constituency changed hands in Scotland, as the Conservatives narrowly secured Galloway & Upper Nithsdale, thereby breathing some semblance of life...