Kaituna 95's 1000 pence challenge
Having finally convinced myself to participate in this historic event some thought was put into the actual agenda for the day. Discussions were held with a fellow digger and he would attend to provide photographic assistance and be a model for any good sleeve facing opportunities
All this went a bit pear shaped when he had to do a double shift at work and decided to inform me on the Saturday morning itself - scrap all previous plans.
So left on my own some I decide to abandon the throbbing metropolis of Preston and on my return from work on Saturday morning in Horwich make a detour of the M61 to pay a visit to one of the other cultural hubs of Lancashire and apparent inspiration for some of the TV series League Of Gentlemen - Chorley!
It's been many a year since I have last visited Chorley, the last occasions being in my late teens and hitting the town with a back pocket full of wedge having spent all week wading through radioactive materials for a living because everyone knew that finding a companion for the evening was easy as going with a Chorley girl was like "throwing a sausage down a back alley" as some of my more experienced and worldly wise colleagues imparted
So armed with the required monetary funds and a memorised version of a Yell search based on charity shops (we'll I wouldn't want to look like an American tourist wandering round with a map - although I wasn't wearing a hideous pair of Bermuda shorts or planning on talking overly loudly)
First up straight off the car park was The Children's Society
A quite varied selection of stuff in here with a standard price of 50p for a big one but for me a first - some Studio 2 Stereo material
Never before have I spotted any of these beasts in the larger conurbation of Preston - a guaranteed purchase
Along with "Late Night Piano Melodies" in the hope for some smooth jazzy numbers
and "Pete Shelley - Girls And Places" mainly because Pete here looks like Alan Partridge about to set out on his journey from Norwich to discover both girls and places for the first time
Trying to buy the vinyl was a difficult task as it looked like it was the girl on the till's first day
I could quite clearly see the department button marked Toys & Records (a rather strange association since there was a button for CD's) but before I could point it out to her some guy who quite obviously was a LARPing enthusiast leapt across and tapped it for her, keen to further his assistant’s career development
Onto the next stop with a double whammy of 2 shops together - Cancer Research and local charity for kids Derian House
First off a try in Cancer Research reveals CD's, Cassettes, DVD's and VHS but nothing more vinyl shaped until I see a clutch of suspicious 300mm by 300mm looking items but these only turn out to be a LaserDiscs
Pop next door into Derian House and hit paydirt
A solid 2 crates of stuff to trawl through - from here I pull
"The Hits Of Burt Bacharach" to see if anyone can come as close to Dionne on Walk On By (they don't)
"The Waikiki's - Hawaiian Tattoo" for some possible soundtrack action for the summer barbeque season
"The Return To Steam" for no other reason that it features a recording of the LNER A4 locomotive Sir Nigel Gresley which was the loco featured in my first train set as a child
"Music For Relaxation" - a sister disc to the previous acquisition of "Late Night Piano Melodies"
I know that Gordon's having problems with inflation but prices have ramped up here to a massive 99p per disc but I don't mind seeming as its for a local charity rather than face-less national monster who let dealers cherry pick of the real good stuff
Next up is Age concern
No vinyl here but it does throw up a great objet d'art in the form of a McFly autograph book and pen set
Surely once you have successfully gathered the autograph's of those cheeky chappies from McFly you could annoy other famous musicians by getting them to sign your McFly themed autograph book
The Expedition goes on but no further vinyl is found to fill up the Expedit's in the next 3 shops - a 2nd Cancer Research, Help The Aged and the RSPCA
Again no vinyl in the next stop at Sue Ryder
But they do throw up a good contender for the most boring book of the day
Let's just hope there aren’t too many recipes that involve the opening of tins of ingredients!
So now it's time to start panicking - I'm still £4.04 in credit and time is running out
All hail St Barnardo!
And success - a whole crate of vinyl that looks like it has been left un-rummaged for quite some time due to the amount of dust on it that wields the following mad raers
I can never walk away from any Oscar Peterson disc especially one with him on the cover looking like he should be advertising fried chicken products from an American state
"The George Mitchell Minstrels from the Black & White Minstrel Show" - I bought the mono copy rather than the identical stereo copy they also had because the stereo copy had a much more politically correct cover
"Reilly - Ace Of Themes" - Only because it has the theme to Who Pays The Ferryman? which was before my time but my father in law is currently learning to play it on his acoustic and I wanted to hear if he had cracked it
"Bird Sounds In Close Up - Recorded & Compiled by Victor C Lewis" - After spying this mammoth disc I have had a quick (post trip) check on the Bay of E and further volumes are available for not too scandalous money so the 7th, 8th and 9th recordings of a Sparrow Hawk that I’m in need of look like they too could be in my hands
So that's it!
The journey to the nether regions of Chorley (other than the previous mention of girl's named Jayne) is complete and I leave the city limits with a bag full of shiny discs and only 4 of the Queen's new pence in my pocket
Maybe bringing my own bag was a mistake as it never fully allowed me to have the full Royston Vasey related experience of the being questioned by some elderly charity shop assistant "would you like a bag for that dear....................."
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks