Crap Weather For May

[Barry]

Coincidentally, so have I. It started this morning.

Must have picked mine up yesterday whilst I was out in West Hampstead rooting through charity shops looking for LPs. Was successful: found 10 classical LPs in very good condition for next to nothing, but because it had started out fine I just went out in shirt sleeves, which was in retrospect probably insufficient.

And as someone who enjoys disgustingly rude health, the merest 'sniffle' gets me down.

[Marco]

As always, there's a country mile between official and actual.

That was my point. No point in expecting summer weather in May!

If not for the cherry blossoms on me tree, it could easily be October today.

Yes, same here - not the best. However, that's what life is like in the UK: putting up with changeable weather... Doesn't bother me; I just take it as it comes

Oh, and at least it's safe, and free from earthquakes and hurricanes....

Plus, if I have to choose between sweltering uncomfortably in the heat (as is the case when we experience temperatures here approaching 30°C) , in a country not set-up to manage it properly, and feeling a little cold, the later wins every time!

Marco.

[Marco]

Must have picked mine up yesterday whilst I was out in West Hampstead rooting through charity shops looking for LPs. Was successful: found 10 classical LPs in very good condition for next to nothing, but because it had started out fine I just went out in shirt sleeves, which was in retrospect probably insufficient.

And as someone who enjoys disgustingly rude health, the merest 'sniffle' gets me down.

Sorry to hear you've got a cold, Barry, and that's from an empathetic fellow healthy bastard

However, I doubt it was because of going out in shirt sleeves. It's a bit of an 'old wives tale' that you get a cold from being caught in the rain or not wrapping up warmly enough. That might make you more susceptible to catching one, but it won't GIVE you a cold, which is simply virus related - so you have to catch the virus!

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Absolutely. When it's cold, you can always add layers or turn up the heating. When it's too hot, options are more limited, although cold beer usually helps

[Marco]

Absolutely. When it's cold, you can always add layers or turn up the heating. When it's too hot, options are more limited, although cold beer usually helps

Precisely! And yes, the last bit is also true

Marco.

[Barry]

Sorry to hear you've got a cold, Barry, and that's from an empathetic fellow healthy bastard

However, I doubt it was because of going out in shirt sleeves. It's a bit of an 'old wives tale' that you get a cold from being caught in the rain or not wrapping up warmly enough. That might make you more susceptible to catching one, but it won't GIVE you a cold, which is simply virus related - so you have to catch the virus!

Marco.

Yes I know - it was just a figure of speech.

[Marco]

No worries. So it sounds like you've been building up a nice collection of vinyl, raiding all these charity shops

I've had to stop for a bit, as I'm running out of room!

Marco.

[Pigmy Pony]

Barry, you seem to do quite well with charity shop finds in your neck of the woods.

A while ago (around 1977), I lent my copy of "Captain Fantastic" to my grandma. A few months later I went to get it back. "It's on the radiogram" she said. It had so much dust on it, it was matt grey.

"Blimey gran, you've got it a bit dusty!"

"Oh it just needs a quick wipe", and she furiously rubbed at it with the sleeve of her cardigan. The sound of the buttons on her cuff rattling on the disc was not music to my ears. I ended up buying a new copy, and re-lent her the old one. But I never told her why.

Even in those days, with my BSR Macdonald turntable, I still had standards.

That old Elton John record was still ten times better than anything I've seen in our charity shops.

[Barry]

Barry, you seem to do quite well with charity shop finds in your neck of the woods.

A while ago (around 1977), I lent my copy of "Captain Fantastic" to my grandma. A few months later I went to get it back. "It's on the radiogram" she said. It had so much dust on it, it was matt grey.

"Blimey gran, you've got it a bit dusty!"

"Oh it just needs a quick wipe", and she furiously rubbed at it with the sleeve of her cardigan. The sound of the buttons on her cuff rattling on the disc was not music to my ears. I ended up buying a new copy, and re-lent her the old one. But I never told her why.

Even in those days, with my BSR Macdonald turntable, I still had standards.

That old Elton John record was still ten times better than anything I've seen in our charity shops.

I'm very selective:

The records have to be properly presented (i.e. vertical in a box that is not over stuffed, nor too large so the LPs are leaning against one another at a precarious angle). I won't even look at LPs that are piled one on top of another;

The recording label has to be one I recognise and respect, so most of the major labels will do (Decca, DGG, Philips, EMI etc. plus their subsidiaries, but avoid the 'budget' labels such as SAGA, CfP, and Readers Digest etc.). Sorry I'm a bit of a 'snob' in that regard;

The sleeves have to be in a good, clean condition (not dog-eared, or torn). I don't mind price stickers as they can be removed, but usually avoid LPs where the owner has written on the sleeve or the centre label. I'm not too worried if the sleeve has become unstuck, as that is easily fixed;

I will usually ignore the condition of the inner sleeve as that will be replaced, but if the inner sleeve is missing or crumpled up and lying in the bottom of the 0uter sleeve then I'll most likely reject the LP (for the simple reason as it shows the previous owner has not taken care of it);

Finally I'll carefully inspect the record itself. I'm not bothered by dust as the record will be cleaned, but the surface has to look 'bright' and not dull. Any scratches, no matter how fine (and you need to inspect the record in a good light to see them), will almost certainly cause me to reject the record.



I find that the only records that pass all of the above are of 'classical' music, as previous owners tend to look after them better than owners of more popular genres (bit of a sweeping generalisation maybe, but one born out by experience).

After all that, I may occasionally reject a performance by an unknown soloist or ensemble and/or conductor, but the attraction for me is to experience different performances/interpretation of a composition: sometimes I have stumbled across a recording of a performance by someone unknown to me which has turned out to have been a delightful surprise.

So far, so good - recently I have bought about 30 LPs in very, very good to excellent condition for no more than £1 apiece, but I expect these 'gold seams' will soon be depleted.

[Marco]

I'm very selective:

The records have to be properly presented (i.e. vertical in a box that is not over stuffed, nor too large so the LPs are leaning against one another at a precarious angle). I won't even look at LPs that are piled one on top of another;

The recording label has to be one I recognise and respect, so most of the major labels will do (Decca, DGG, Philips, EMI etc. plus their subsidiaries, but avoid the 'budget' labels such as SAGA, CfP, and Readers Digest etc.). Sorry I'm a bit of a 'snob' in that regard;

The sleeves have to be in a good, clean condition (not dog-eared, or torn). I don't mind price stickers as they can be removed, but usually avoid LPs where the owner has written on the sleeve or the centre label. I'm not too worried if the sleeve has become unstuck, as that is easily fixed;

I will usually ignore the condition of the inner sleeve as that will be replaced, but if the inner sleeve is missing or crumpled up and lying in the bottom of the 0uter sleeve then I'll most likely reject the LP (for the simple reason as it shows the previous owner has not taken care of it);

Finally I'll carefully inspect the record itself. I'm not bothered by dust as the record will be cleaned, but the surface has to look 'bright' and not dull. Any scratches, no matter how fine (and you need to inspect the record in a good light to see them), will almost certainly cause me to reject the record.

That's pretty much identical to my selection criteria, although I've got nothing against recordings produced on the SAGA label; indeed I have some excellent ones, so you might wish to re-evaluate that one!

Have a look at when the classical recordings in question (on SAGA) were produced. If they were before the mid 1970s, especially during the late 50s/early 60s, then chances are they'll be superb. Even the Reader's Digest stuff is worth looking at, if the recordings were produced for them by one of the respected labels you mention, which is often the case, if you real the small print....

Also, I *will* go through records piled one on top of another, as they may not have been stored that way for long, and there could be some hidden gems among them, as indeed I've discovered in the past. No, I search thoroughly through *everything* that's there, so I don't miss anything good

Marco.