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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 12:22 pm
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I tried a few years ago, to get a copy of that BBC visit but without success.

If you read the Merseybeat newspaper (it's on line) the BBC visit is mentioned.


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Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 1:07 pm
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You can Google it


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Posted: Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:08 pm
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Compelling story, interesting and informative. Love reading this thread, can't wait for more!


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Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:44 am
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Thanks Mike.


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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:05 pm
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Just dropping a note to mention that after almost 2 hours, I've sucessfully read all 15 pages of this thread. Please continue, this is extremely fascinating. :D


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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 5:24 pm
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Thank you Chris

I am working on the next chapter.
Been busy earning a living.


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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 8:28 am
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Hi J.T. I hope things are going well for you.
I just want to say that I was watching the Beatles anthology DVD set that I got as a gift about 4 years ago.
In the early chapters McCartney was discussing how Harrison joined the band. He used the same term as you in referring to "party pieces" when talking about the guitar instrumental show-off tunes that Harrision had under his belt the he used to impress Lennon and get in the band.

It just lent a legitamacy to your posts that he would use the same teminology as you did in your story.
This is just a thought I wanted to share with you to show that we are still reading your thread.

take care,
Bill

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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:52 pm
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Hi Bill
Yes I see what you mean.
I'm not certain, but I think that term "Party piece" is a Liverpool term describing a favorite piece of music, which you have become good at playing on your guitar, piano, or any other lead instrument.
It never occurred to me that it might not be universally used. But after reading your post it got me thinking, I realized that it was probably a local term.
George, incidentally, was one of my favorite Beatles. Fame never went to his head and even after they left the rest of us far behind he was still quite approachable.
I am, at the moment, writing about their first recording "Love me do" and our first booking supporting them when they were now "Recording Artists."

When I have finished that particular chapter I will store it until I come to the part where it fits into the story.

.


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Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:52 am
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Where is the sad part? I think your story is a common experience for every amateur musicians. Anyway, just keep struggling bcoz music is not what you play but is what you are. Regards.


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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 5:51 pm
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After that episode with my old plumbing van I decided to remove the engine and see what the heck was wrong with it.
With the help of my other brother Joe we removed the offending unit and dragged it around the back of our house and into the garden shed.
A couple of days later it was stripped down and the cylinder head was removed.
I saw at once what was wrong.

To any motorheads out there, (My apologies to those who know nothing about engines)

The number one cylinder was the problem.
The piston was attached to the connecting rod by a gudgeon pin and there was a circlip at each end of the pin, which held the piston in place and prevented it from moving left or right.
As even the novice will understand, the pistons in an engine move up and down at tremendous speed so any wrong alignment could cause untold damage to the engine.

What had happened was that one of those circlips had snapped in half and had been traveling backwards and forward through the hollow gudgeon pin and had gradually gouged a groove down each side of the cylinder wall.
This had meant that I only had the use of three cylinders on a four-cylinder engine.
It was no wonder that I’d had so much trouble traveling back from Anglesey.

I decided to strip the engine completely and take the block to an engineering workshop and have the damaged cylinder repaired.

It was about a week later that my engine block was ready and I had rebuilt the engine, ready to go back into the van
I asked Dave (Mr Muscles) to give me a hand to fit it into the van.
I still laugh when I recall that episode.
The only way to fit the engine in this type of van (An Atlas van made in England) was to remove the seats and lift the engine through one of the doors and lower it into place. It was normally positioned between the driver and passenger seats.

What a job we had, the engine felt like it weighed a ton.
As we didn’t have any lifting gear we had to manhandle it ourselves.
After an almighty struggle and a few jammed fingers, we finally managed to get it into position.
As anyone who knows about these things will understand, the difficult part is joining it to the gearbox. Especially in that cramped position.
Dave had to crawl under the van and try to take some of the weight while I tried to lever the engine back towards the gearbox and connect it to the clutch
To make matters worse, it got dark pretty early, in the winter and it was cold as well.
We were using a torch to see what we were doing.
We were both covered in oil and grease.
I began levering the engine using a crow bar from my plumbing tools, while cursing and swearing
Suddenly the engine and gearbox came together with a clunk, and in doing so it crashed down onto the axle with the sump finishing about two inches from my brother’s nose.

There was absolute silence.

I turned the torchlight downwards.
All I saw was two staring eyes in an oily white face, with all the blood drained out of it.
Although he had been in no danger, because the axle was extremely strong and there was no danger of the engine landing on him. The shock of that engine crashing within a couple of inches of his face had almost caused him to faint.

“You all right?” I asked.
“All F**kin right” he spluttered
“I thought I was a F**kin dead man”

I couldn’t say anything else because I was by now doubled up almost crying with laughter.
Dave didn’t see the funny side for quite some time, but I couldn’t get the image of his face out of my mind, when the torch lit it up.

The next day we finally got the engine working and took the van for a spin.
It was fantastic. The engine was working beautifully.

I decided to give it a good clean up and put an advert in the Liverpool Echo to sell it.

I was asking for three hundred and sixty pounds for the van.

There were no inquiries for the first two days, but on the third day the phone rang and a guy asked if it would be OK to come and see the van.

He arrived about noon. A tall well dressed, middle aged man with grey hair
He introduced himself as Bob Thompson.

He was a real smart- *ss

He began by wondering around the vehicle, pointing out little dents and scratches. Shaking his head, looking disappointed and saying mmm…. all the time.
He started the engine, and asked if he could drive it around the block.
I jumped into the passenger seat and we set off.
The engine sounded great.

We eventually returned to where we had started, and both got out.
“Well” I said, “what do you think”
He had another little walk around the van.

“I’ll give you two hundred for it now” he said “Cash”
I blinked.
“That’s a hundred and sixty pounds less than my asking price” I said.
He nodded.

“No I couldn’t let it go for that price”
I thought he had a cheek.
“What’s the least you will take for the van?” he asked.
“I would be prepared to knock ten pounds off the price” I said, “but not a penny more.”
“ Will you take Two fifty for it” he asked
I was beginning to get fed up with this guy.
“No, three hundred and fifty pounds is the least I will take.”

I pointed out that the engine had just had money spent on it and was in excellent condition.
“Two hundred and sixty, is the most I am prepared to pay,” he said,

“Not a chance.” I replied.

“OK” He began to walk away. “I hope you sell your van,” he said “but I doubt it”
I could tell that he was expecting me to change my mind and call him back.

I let him go. There was no way I was going to sell it for that price.

I found out much later that he made his living by using his bargaining skills and buying advertised items for as cheap a price that he could possibly get them for, then immediately selling them for a profit.

An hour after he had gone I got two more inquiries.
I arranged for the first person, a woman, to call at three O’clock.
I asked the second caller to ring the next day, in case I had sold the vehicle.

At about ten minutes past three she arrived. She was on foot.
A good sign, because it meant that she was more likely to buy the vehicle
She was much older than me about thirty-eight.
A petite well shaped woman with curly black hair and big brown eyes and I fancied her like crazy.
“Hello,” She said, “I’ve come to have a look at your van.”
She sent shivers down my spine when she looked at me.
Her voice was as sexy as her appearance.
I pointed to the van. “Here it is “I said would you like to take it for a spin.
“What about insurance.” She said.
“That’s OK “ I said, “My insurance covers any driver so long as I still own it.”
I gave her the ignition keys and jumped into the passenger seat for the second time.
As she climbed into the drivers seat I got an eyeful of more of her legs than I should have. They were gorgeous. I’m pretty sure she knew were my eyes were, but made no comment. In fact I’m positive I caught a slight grin on her face.
After about ten minutes driving we were back at my house.
“Well what do you think” I said.
“Yes, I like the van” she said” Will you take three fifty for it”
I put on a show of thinking about it. “OK” I said, trying to sound reluctant. “I’ll let it go for that”.
“What about getting the van home” She said. I won’t be insured if I buy it, because it won’t be your van anymore”.
“ That’s OK, I’ll come with you and get the bus back home”.
“Are you sure you don’t mind” She said.
“ Not at all” I said, “I won’t transfer ownership until we arrive at your house. Then it will be all legal”.

She took an envelope out of her purse and removed ten pounds from it then handing the rest to me she started the engine.
“Have you got all the vehicle documents” She asked.
“Yes in my jacket pocket” I said patting my right breast.

We arrived at her neat little semi-detached house on a smart housing estate.
“Here we are” she said
“Thanks for travelling with me, I’ll have to wait until tomorrow until I can insure the van”
“I’m curious,” I said. “What do you want a van for”?
“It’s not for me, it’s for my son Rob.” She said. “He’s in a band.”
I was a bit taken aback. “What’s the name of the band?” I said
“The Four Tunes.” She said.
I’d never heard of them. I decided not to mention The Hi Cats
“OK. I’ll be on my way, unless you want to invite me in for a coffee”.
There was that grin again.
“Not today” she said, this time with a full smile. Her teeth were beautiful.
“I don’t think my husband would understand”
“OK” I said grinning myself, as I began to walk towards the bus stop.

(If this story was fiction there would been a different ending to this chapter)

It was about a week later that I got a phone call from the son of that lady who bought the van.
Apparently the brakes had failed and she had only managed to stop by using the hand brake.
I couldn’t convince him that I didn’t know this when I sold the van to his mother.

How could I possibly know that they would fail after a week?
Besides replacing the brake liners would be very cheap, because I would have fitted them myself and would have had only the cost of the materials to pay for.
So I wouldn’t have saved myself much money by leaving the old brake shoes on.

I offered to pay for the new brakes, but he just hung up on me.

This episode would feature, very much, later on in this story.


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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 3:23 pm
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I don't know who the biggest tease here is John? You or her :lol:


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Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2009 5:26 pm
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Hi Dave
I could tell stories about exploits with females but I don't think I have the writing skills to tell them without getting thrown off the site.
Besides I don't know who might read them.
Some members of my family now know about this thread.

I took the time to re-read this thread from the beginning and was pleasantly surprised to see that those writing skills did start to improve as each chapter was written.

I might have a go at a kiss and tell chapter or two. Later on.


JT


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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:14 am
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Hey J.T. story is great so far i spent nearly about two and one half of an hour reading it and i thoroughly enjoyed it. It was extremely interesting and in my opinion you should honestly follow through with the book :) I, for one would buy it as i know most other people here would buy it and many others that are interested in musical history as well as just an inspirational tale of a lad tryin' to make it in the musical industry.

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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:05 pm
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bassist18244 wrote:
Hey J.T. story is great so far i spent nearly about two and one half of an hour reading it and i thoroughly enjoyed it. It was extremely interesting and in my opinion you should honestly follow through with the book :) I, for one would buy it as i know most other people here would buy it and many others that are interested in musical history as well as just an inspirational tale of a lad trying' to make it in the musical industry.


Thanks for that.
By coincidence, I have just been talking on the phone to my daughter, and she said exactly the same thing.
She also said that if the book was a success I could pay her mortgage off for her (Cheek).

My profile Email inbox is full of the same advice.

I am seriously considering converting this thread to a book but I know that as it stands it would not be much of a seller.
I would have to do more than just write a series of chapters about gigs that the Hi Cats did. Even if those were with famous people.
I would have to include romantic interludes as well. (first names only) they probably all have husbands.

I feel that I could do justice to that kind of story without making it seem tacky.

That is why I included the chapter about the repair of the van engine in
an attempt to add a little bit of variety to the story.
I would have to add a lot more of that kind of interesting input.

Having read the story so far.
Does anyone reading this thread have any serious suggestions for a title.

If you click on "Merseykid" you can Email me whether you have subscribed to this site or not.
Feedback or advice is appreciated.

.


Last edited by Merseykid on Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:47 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:23 pm
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It wasn't that easy as a 60's band!!

The 60's. We really did work for a living...honestly!

The Beatles era. It wasn't all Rock 'n Roll.

Seriously though. If it was to become a book, you would have to stop publishing right now. Without a great publisher/mind reader it would take months to publish and by then you would have to start this whole thread again.

I reckon you, my dad, auzzie et al should embark on a world tour telling/re-enacting your story that way.

But then my dad would be onto his 4th/5th/6th marriage...love you daddy :?


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