Dolly Parton ..and the Swords of a Thousand Men

Memories, may be beautiful and yet, what’s too painful to remember we simply choose to forget – so sang Ms Streisand in 1981 reflecting languidly on ‘the Way we Were’. Reviewing this blog so far you might conclude that I am a bit of a foot fetishist with a specialism in pavements who is stuck on the lyric world of 70s and early 80s pop – and you may well be right. I seem to remember, if not always accurately (as forceably reminded by my sister who is from the anorak side of the family) song lyrics and trivia. Writing this just after the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month prompts one not to forget – so what has been unforgettable so far in my 6 weeks (yes six count them!) in Bangalore – and in my chosen vernacular how would I represent this as a Bangalore top 10 song countdown – for all pop-pickers out there.

Steady at No 10 – not glamorous Gordon – but Chris Rea (of Reas Ice Cream Parlour – Newcastle Haymarket) – ‘The Road to Hell’ (Bangalore Traffic Mix)

Not so steady at No 9 my stomach – Whitesnake – ‘Here I go again on my own’ ( enuf said)

Even less stable at No 8 Bangalore building standards - Unit 4+2 (as featured in the Reiver Wedding of the Year 2007) with ‘Concrete and Clay’ (..begins to crumble)

Reliably at No 7 – Squeeze with ‘Block Coffee in Bed’ (you really can get decent coffee anywhere here!)

Swaggering in at No6 – Tenpole Tudor with ‘Swords of a Thousand Men’ (this is typical of the numbers required to do or fix anything around your house/office)

Buzzing along at No 5 – Meri Wilson with ‘Telephone Man’ (everyone everywhere seems to have a mobile and uses them anywhere- with additional points for using one handed whilst riding a motorbike without a helmet – we even now have 3 mobiles, 3 laptops, one blackberry (oeer get her!), and two landlines)

Steady at No 4 – for the nice little man who cooks Mrs Reiver her comfort mushroom omlette every morning to consistently high standards – Deep Blue Something with ‘Breakfast at Tiffanys ‘(she doesn’t need diamonds at breakfast as she has enough sparkle with me !)

A new entry at No3 – for the new lepidopterally endowed house and garden which might just turn into a home – Dolly Parton with ‘Love is Like a Butterfly’

Just missing out on the top spot at No 2 – Mr Zimmerman with a ‘A Hard Rains Gonna Fall’ – Mrs Reiver had soooo.. much fun sorting out her flooded laboratory

But, as Christopher Lambert said there can be only one, and at No1 (with head still connected) it has to be the Boss with ‘Born to Run’ ( the version junior Reiver 2 and I heard at Old Trafford in May please) – the look on peoples faces as I run around the parks and streets here in the daytime could hardly be more shocked than if I had just emerged from John Hurts stomach!