Last Sunday I was sitting on the garden porch of my Bangkok abode grappling with the crossword and watching the birds hopping around the garden. My wife, who was away in Chaiyaphum, had just called and I had reassured her that everything was fine and very tranquil... a perfect Sunday afternoon.
Suddenly the peace was shattered by an eruption from the bushes. The next thing I saw amidst a flurry of trampled plants and flowers was my dog barking his head off in hot pursuit of a large monitor lizard which scurried across the lawn in a state of panic. It resembled one of those old Tom & Jerry cartoon chase scenes.
After a couple of crazy circuits of the garden the dog eventually cornered the lizard and then, rather disturbingly looked at me to take charge. As I nervously approached the lizard it began snarling and swishing its tail menacingly. It was a seriously pissed off lizard and I felt it prudent to make a tactical retreat.
Normally on occasions like this Noi, who looks after our house, would sort things out. However, he had gone out visiting his grandchildren. So for nearly an hour there was a standoff with the dog going bananas and barking so loudly all the local hounds joined in the racket. I was half-expecting a delegation of neighbours to arrive and demand I shut the dog up.
Eventually I reluctantly phoned Noi who fortunately wasn't that far away. He quickly came to the rescue by shaking a broom at the confused lizard which suddenly dashed off, leaping into a drainage ditch at the back of the garden. I had suffered a complete loss of face but didn't care and more importantly Sunday afternoon peace was restored.
I never did finish the crossword.
Garden Kinks
The above incident oddly reminded me of one of my favourite British pop groups, the Kinks. Back in 1966 the Kinks had a big hit with "Summer Afternoon" and I can recall sitting in the garden back in England listening to this nostalgic song on a rare sunny afternoon. Band leader Ray Davies says he wrote the song concerning a fallen aristocrat at a time he was feeling quite depressed, but it works a treat. The melodic refrain of "lazing on a sunny afternoon in the summertime" caught the mood of the country and was enough to make you forget any woes, if just for a few minutes.
Waterloo sunset
Another relaxing Kinks song I always enjoy hearing is "Waterloo Sunset". It is a lovely whimsical number and was voted by an English FM station as "The Greatest Song About London". The working title was actually "Liverpool Sunset" as Davies was fond of the Merseyside city. However, the Beatles had just released "Penny Lane" about a street in Liverpool and it was thought prudent to shift the Kinks song to a London setting.
However, some wordplay might be involved, as there is also a Waterloo district in Merseyside. The only reason I know this is that when my brother attended a bank training course in Liverpool back in the 1960s he played a few games for Waterloo rugby club.
Anyway, if you have a sudden urge to burst forth into song over breakfast, here's an opportunity.… "Dirty old river, must you keep rolling, flowing into the night ..."
More missing guitars
My thanks to a reader for pointing out that Paul McCartney, whose stolen guitar was mentioned in last week's column was not the only member of the Beatles to suffer the loss of a favourite instrument.
John Lennon's main guitar was stolen after a 1963 concert in Finsbury Park London but magically resurfaced in America 50 years later. George Harrison's favourite guitar, a present from Eric Clapton in 1968, was stolen from under his bed in his Beverly Hills house in 1973 by a burglar but eventually returned in exchange for some other guitars.
Harrison had named the red guitar "Lucy" after the red-headed American comedienne Lucille Ball. It's the guitar he played on his famous composition, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
Black Beauty
Many blues and rock stars gave their guitars a nickname just like they were pets. The colour of the guitar often played a role with Neil Young referring to one of his favourites as "Old Black" while an early Eric Clapton guitar was simply "Blackie". Jim Hendrix named one of his favourite guitars "Black Beauty" although another version was called "Betty Jean" after a high school sweetheart.
One of the more quirky names is provided by Rolling Stones' Keith Richards who named his guitar "Micawber" after the ever-optimistic character in the Charles Dickens classic, David Copperfield. A Dickens fan, Richards said he chose Micawber because "it is such an unlikely name".
Trigger
One of the most famous guitars is Willie Nelson's "Trigger" named after Roy Rogers' horse. Willie, now aged 90, is so fond of his ancient guitar it reportedly has its own bodyguard. Nelson has played this guitar since 1969 and it carries autographs of dozens of celebrities and despite its battered state must be worth quite a bit.
He told Rolling Stone magazine: "I don't know what I would do without Trigger. We're both pretty old, got a few scars here and there, but we still manage to make a sound every now and again."
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