Hokey Kokey.

I pulled up at the lights next to an Ice Cream Van this week and was amazed at how little they have changed since my own career as an Ice Cream Man, killing time in the summer holidays. Still on offer was the ‘99’ and the ‘Oyster’. Even the boxes of wafers and cones looked exactly the same. How on Earth can they make a living in these days of marvellous Hagen Daas and Ben & Jerry’s available at all hours from Supermarkets?
For your amusement I have included a picture taken in 1972 of my pal, John Littlejohn, now a U.S.A. resident, and me on the right, with two cameras around my neck. The 35mm rangfinder camera was a Contax 2 and the twin lens reflex a MPP Microcord. I sold the Contax, but the Microcord bounced out of a shopping bag loosely fastened to the rack of a moped in Crete some years later. Gone forever, as have Suncream Dairies, my employer.

The Last Post

In the constantly changing urban environment, that is Queens Road, one thing remains a steady constant. This post box, now at a rather jaunty angle, probably following a dice with a delivery van, has been a link with the outside world since Clarendon Park was first built. Even in this age of super fast internet connections and e-mail, the humble envelope and stamp combination still has its place, be it to send a birthday card to a mate in a far flung place or to partake in the greatest pleasure available to the self employed, sending a clutch of invoices off at the end of a busy month. Odd how we take that red 2 inch x 10 inch slot so much for granted and grumble at a slight rise in cost every year. I actually think its pretty good value to be able to spend 30p and have something delivered to the other end of the country for the next day.... hopefully.

Hot Pork Fat.

Hot Pork cobs with apple sauce and fried onions. Impossible to resist on a crisp, but cold Saturday morning as the aroma wafts down Queens Road ever intensifying as you close in and watch the knife slice through the tender meat. Even a vegetarian would struggle to walk past Archer & Sons, the butchers. Sean roasts a pig outside the shop every now and again. Maybe one he’s got spare, or a cancelled order. Whatever, its usually all gone by 2 o-clock. At £2.50 a cob its money well spent. Part of the business is hog roasts and it keeps him pretty busy,especially in the summer. See: http://www.hogroastuk.com/
Pictured is Simon. Simon is, bizarrely, a hairdresser by trade, though has clearly given up on his own locks.

On All Fours.

We are privileged in Clarendon Park to have a ‘real’ garage, staffed by chaps who have the ability to repair anything from classic to modern. There, in oil stained overalls they toil in all weathers under the watchful eye of Terry, the proprietor. They do MOTs which is very handy, though they are a bit efficient, if you catch my drift. None of that ‘I’ll let it go this time, but get it sorted for your own good’ malarky. The building itself is interesting. I think it was once a tram garage and wears a faded plaque above the door, too eroded to read. Trams did once run along Queens Road and the place would be far better if they still did. Before Terry took it on it was known as Reggio garage, after Reggio in Sicily, ‘Mafia Country’ as Tony, the old Italian owner once confided in me. Tony specialised in Citroens, along with his son, Tony and grandson.... you’ve guessed, Tony. Tony senior had a lovely DS 23 Automatic, which one day he intended to drive back to Sicily. I had a DS 23 Pallas at the time which seemed to spend far too much time round there. In October Tony and other members of the Leicester Italian community used to buy a lorry load of grapes and make their own Italian wine in his garage at home in Knighton. I was invited to witness the event once and sampled a glass, or two. I believe it was an acquired taste!

Light Frost on Queens Road.

Following the great success of the Grand Central Station ‘Big Freeze’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo a scaled down version took place today on Queens Rd. Ignored by most, the event was almost a flop. To star in a flop is always a good career move as negative publicity is no worse than good publicity. The three stars await international recognition. In case you hadn't noticed.... It's a film. Click on the arrow, bottom left. A first amongst the collective I think.

A North African equivalent.

As the Collective have spotted, I’ve been away for a while in The Sahara Desert. I have the great and unprecedented pleasure of bringing you the Libyan equivalent of Queens Road. This is Idri, slowly festering at N 27º 29’ 37” E 13º 04’ 25” if you fancy a look on Google Earth. Idri was out first tarmac since Derj 600 miles further north and a chance to refuel and pick up supplies from the local shops. The local petrol station actually had fuel which is suprisingly unusual in a country that produces the stuff. Electricity is still something of a novelty and the Libyans have not quite mastered the ability to do a neat wiring job, seeing nothing at all wrong with the ‘twist them together’ method. A request for electricity will often be met with the proud presentation of two bare wires and who can argue with them. The litter bin is still regarded with suspicion and largely ignored, rubbish being someone else's problem. Wade through the mess and dust and you find a genuine hospitality in rural Libya and a great desire to practice spoken English with a native speaker.

Christmas Carols.

So far, I’ve not heard Slade’s, ‘So here it is, Merry Christmas’. If I do, and I doubt it will be on Queen’s Rd, that will be the time I roll down the shutters, put the answerphone on and retire from all festivities. That and that bloody Roy Wood, Wizard one really, really piss me off. Gripe over. I do like the effort that the Queen’s Rd. businesses have gone to with all of them having a tree. Must be a sign of improved income as I think this is the first year there has been complete unanimity. Bar Dos Hermanos/Barcelonetta take the biscuit for bewst deco’s, so they will get my hard earned later in the week when I venture out for one to take the edge off. Might have two.