Sam's CSC 2012

[Sam]

So I'm breaking a few rules straight away (was it meant to be September?) but count yourselves lucky because despite all my promises in previous years, this is the first time I've had the presence of mind to take some pictures - and there's a few VG+-friendly favourites so it's all good, I hope. For some reason, I'm too chicken to take photos inside the stores so you'll have to make do with street scenes.

Here is the story in picture and words of when I ventured to Huntingdon. Formerly in its own county of Huntingdonshire, now part of Cambridgeshire, the town's probably most noted for two of its past MPs : Oliver Cromwell, and John Major. More notable for us, there's also been a strong history of quality audio manufacturers in the area, with Quad, Mission and Wharfedale being made there (now all part of the same group, IAG). Oh, and there's always Huntingdon Life Sciences

So let's away!

Rules is rules, and this year we have been told to feature unusual aspects of the transportation. We arrived by car, so no trains or stations for you. But the approach to the parking (Anglian Water's offices, £1 all day on Saturday, very handy) definitely qualifies, as it's one of the few places in the UK where you drive on the right:


From there, cut through NatWest's car park and we find ourselves at our first digging ground - the relative new Oxfam Books & Music.


There's been a change of policy since I was last in here. It was previously a decent range but rather expensive. Now, the majority of the LPs are £1.99 and (have you ever known this happen in an Oxfam?) the guy at the till offered me a bulk-buy discount without me even asking! A nice haul from here (pics follow further down). Plenty of other interesting pieces - I suspect you lot will have it dug over by the end of the week!

Next door, we have the once green, now purple, Scope


Lots of 80s 7" vinyl, a few LPs, nothing that took my fancy (even though singles are my thing, I tend to have all the standard ones by now).

The sun now put in an appearance as we wandered through the centre, past some topical bunting



Niche joke time - the name of this shop is amusing if you're an avid reader of The Framley Examiner.


I did mention Oliver Cromwell, didn't I?





Once we've crossed the market square, we soon arrive at British Heart Foundation.


This branch follows the now bizarrely-typical BHF layout of being stupidly crammed full of clothes rails, with barely any room to move. Happily, it bucks the BHF trend of not having any vinyl, and there's a rack of LPs right at the back. Lots of Top Of The Pops and similar favourites here, but those have never been my cup of tea so I leave them behind.

Like any traditional English market town, Huntingdon has a 1960s bit that it would rather forget. This is where we find our last two charity shops. First up, the original branch of Oxfam.


The two Oxfams mustn't talk to each other, because there are also books and records in here. And unlike the other Oxfam, they're stupidly priced - £4.99 for Brothers In Arms and (my bete noir of charity-shop mispricings) ABBA's Greatest Hits. I leave well alone.

I do like the decorative detail on this building. The typeface for the shop number, and the intricate tiling.



Wouldn't be surprised if this is gone in a couple of years, though - the rest of the block isn't looking great and there's signs of redevelopment. Enjoy it while you can!

The tiles are the shop-front of our final charity shop, Marie Curie Cancer Care.


Sometimes there's no vinyl here. Other times there's an interesting box of LPs for £1 each. Today was one of those lucky days, and the spoils will be shown below.

There is one other charity shop in Huntingdon that I'm aware of, but it's hidden away slightly out-of-town and not open on a Saturday afternoon, so no pics here.

After a spot of lunch (or rather a most enjoyable cooked breakfast at Pop Bellies - recommended) and some non-record shopping (if you can believe such a thing exists), we headed back to the car. As we arrived, I heard the distant strains of a brass band, so wandered over to the park to look.




It's quite a nice park, actually. Giant snakes-and-ladders, anyone?


One final Huntingdon tip - the upmarket confectioner Hotel Chocolat has their factory in the area. And there's a factory shop...



Generally 30% off, also the short-sell-by stuff is up to 70% off. I spent more here than I did on records. Not a good sign...

Anyway, that's the trip - I'm paranoid about losing the post so I'm going to hit the button now and then follow up with pics of the booty in a minute.

[Sam]

So, pictures of the records! I ended up buying two lots.

This lot were from the first Oxfam Books & Music. Should have been £1.99 each but (without asking) he dropped the total to a tenner. So I'll have that as my submission against the CSC rules, please!

Ah, TV themes, who can resist! Although I've got most of the individual tracks already on other compilations, I didn't already have these two particular BBC Records LPs.


Some more TV themes (not on BBC Records, though), plus an early Monty Python outing:


Rather pleased with these two : Bernard Cribbins and (following our recent discussion on the campest record thread), John Inman:


An ex-library copy of Basil Rathbone reading Edgar Allan Poe on Caedmon (US issue, I presume):


Unusually for me, only one little 'un - standard Alan Price fare:


Sub-total - £10

The other lot came from the Marie Cure cancer care, all for £1 each.

Two BBC Sound Effects LPs (volumes 1 and 16) - pretty sure I've got vol16 already, mind. (Yes, perhaps now I've done my CSC, I can follow up with a few trades/freebies...


There was something in the rules about duets, wasn't there? Here's a pair of them, old favourites Nancy & Lee - the first album and 'Did You Ever'


Finally, a record that I knew as a kid - a friend of mine had it and we used to jam along to it. (I think he's now a professional concert violinist!) I spent a while looking for a copy on eBay a few years ago, so it was a bit of a shock to finally see it in the wild - the London Philharmonic Orchestra's 'Classic Case Of Funk'. (Yes, it's 'funk', though you can pretend the price sticker is hiding something else if it's not your bag.)


Sub-total - £5

Sam's CSC 2012 total - £15.
50% over, never mind. There's always next year!

[eine]

Good read, thanks. I learnt summin' too.

Oh, and there's always Huntingdon Life Sciences

The audience rocks.

[Sam]

I forgot, I took a video clip of the band!

[JGBollard]

Enjoyed that.

Where to start?

01 - Nice pix of a nice looking town.
02 - That drive on the right pic does my head in just looking at it as it's wrong wrong wrong.
03 - Like those tiles, they'll be demolished/removed within 12 month.
04 - Scope is purple in your neck of the woods? It's usually green/aqua around here. Guess they must be doing it county by county or whatever.
05 - How comes I'm the only VG+er who never sees those Top BBC Themes LPs in the wild? Jealous. I'm missing BBC Sound FX vol 16 as well.
06 - I seem to remember there may be one keeper on that Classic Case of Funk LP but as I junked my copy years ago I can't check. Is it worth reinvesting in?

[Sam]

I'll have to listen to it again, but I remember there is one 'proper funky' track on the Classic Case Of Funk - one of the shorter ones on Side 2, I think. The rest of it is a bit Hooked-on-Classics/Stars-on-45 type thing; it's more of a nostalgia thing for me.

I see BBC Records quite fairly often, but usually the same ones. There's another great collection of sports themes - it's got a face on it made out of sports equipment (bats, racquets, balls etc).

Makes me wonder, do we not have great TV Themes today: or is there just no appetite for recordings of them?

[ROCKPROF]

Nice touch with the video clip too. My fave bit is 23a. A much used typeface from the past.

[giantchicken]

Nice one Sam, enjoyed that. Did you really score both Lee & Nancy albums together? That was a stroke of luck..

Glad to see a few font/typeface fans on here, I can't be certain but I think the one in question is called 'Granada' and is a fifties font well known here in Manchester. The iconic 'Granada TV' sign has been removed from the Quay Street studios (it's going rusty and was becoming dangerous apparently...) but the family run dry cleaning business that was allowed to use the name and the font (presumably in a sweetheart deal for keeping Coronation Street kit in tip top condition) happily continues to thrive....

[Sie Vulture]

Nice work Sam, good to see some pics of Huntingdon up on VG+. I've been there a few times to have a harumph around the charity shops and never found anything worth keeping.



Me and Vulture Jnr did all half-dozen-plus charity shops in Hitchin today and didn't find a decent (or half decent... maybe even quarter decent, if such a term exists) record to report on here in a CSC. meh.

[Col Wolfe]

Good stuff, Sam. Last time I had any luck in that SCOPE was about 4 years ago when I picked up that 'Meadowbank' thing which was comped on Working Man's Soul.

Looks like you forgot the charity shop for the local blind organisation near the antiques warehouse (which, incidentally, had a R&R type selling loads of 45s last time I visited. Upstairs on the left).

[Brass Monkey]

Me and Vulture Jnr did all half-dozen-plus charity shops in Hitchin today and didn't find a decent (or half decent... maybe even quarter decent, if such a term exists) record to report on here in a CSC. meh.

I miss the bakery by the priory - Quotidienne?? Best sausage rolls in the world.

[Sam]

Nice one Sam, enjoyed that. Did you really score both Lee & Nancy albums together? That was a stroke of luck..

Yes, in the same box, nice condition, too. "Nancy & Lee" I see reasonably often but I hadn't seen "Did You Ever" in the wild before.

Glad to see a few font/typeface fans on here, I can't be certain but I think the one in question is called 'Granada' and is a fifties font well known here in Manchester. The iconic 'Granada TV' sign has been removed from the Quay Street studios (it's going rusty and was becoming dangerous apparently...) but the family run dry cleaning business that was allowed to use the name and the font (presumably in a sweetheart deal for keeping Coronation Street kit in tip top condition) happily continues to thrive....

I'll have to do some font digging and check. I love a good typeface, me. And I was genuinely outraged when they took down the old 'Granada TV' logo (although I'm a Tyne Tees boy) - partly for the font and partly because I have too much of a sentimental longing for the regionalised ITV. It is a typeface very of its time.

[Sam]

Nice work Sam, good to see some pics of Huntingdon up on VG+. I've been there a few times to have a harumph around the charity shops and never found anything worth keeping.
Me and Vulture Jnr did all half-dozen-plus charity shops in Hitchin today and didn't find a decent (or half decent... maybe even quarter decent, if such a term exists) record to report on here in a CSC. meh.

I have to confess, I didn't go out with the idea of doing the CSC in Huntingdon - it was only when I had an interesting haul in the Oxfam half-way round that I went back and took the first few pictures! We go to Huntingdon probably once every 6-8 weeks, that type of thing, and it's usually bare.

Had a friend who lived in Hitchin so that was a place I've shopped a few times. There's a good number of charity shops, aren't there, but generally I've had nothing except for one place, at the north end near Sainsburys (I just had a look on Google streetview, I think it's the Sue Ryder) where they usually have a box of 45s behind the counter that aren't cheap but are interesting.

[Sam]

Looks like you forgot the charity shop for the local blind organisation near the antiques warehouse (which, incidentally, had a R&R type selling loads of 45s last time I visited. Upstairs on the left).

Ah yes... I haven't been there for a while as it seemed to have irregular opening hours (or at least it was never open on Saturday afternoons which is when we tend to hit it). I'll have to check out the antiques barn, too - thanks!

[babycart]

02 - That drive on the right pic does my head in just looking at it as it's wrong wrong wrong.

Or right, right, right. It takes me a while to adjust to driving on the left when I come back, and that would mess with my head completely.

I like the bandstand. Can't remember where I read it, but I came across a fascinating piece that mentioned how important bandstands were in bringing music to the people. With no amplification, brass was most effective in an outdoor situation and bandstands were designed to enhance acoustics further. For much of the 19th and early 20th century they were the only means many people could access music for free, and a lot of popular hits were 'broken' by impressively moustachioed dragoons parping away at the weekend.

[Brass Monkey]

entrance to the savoy hotel is another. think this is to allow the queen to alight from her carriage in an appropriately dignified manner.

[JGBollard]

I see BBC Records quite fairly often, but usually the same ones. There's another great collection of sports themes - it's got a face on it made out of sports equipment (bats, racquets, balls etc).

I find BBC records all the time but mostly those learn to speak Italian records or Welsh Male Voice Choirs or such rubbish. About 18 - 21 months ago I turned up 5 Radiophonic records (Giants of Steam, The Body In Question, Living Planet and mint ups of Out of This World and Sound House) in different shops within 3 to 4 weeks of each other, but I can't see anything like that happening again any time soon.

Actually come to think of it I have a few more interesting BBC records (modern classical, a sound effects LP I'd never even heard of, a shit soundtrack) I need to post in the BBC Records gallery...

I've got that other Sporting Themes LP (and a 7" EP of about the same vintage collecting 4 stray tracks) and think it's a good 'un. Took me a while to find a mint copy though.