1968 – A Wonderful Music Year!

There were so many really good sounds and songs for me to lose myself in, in 1968 (I was 22 after all)!  It was very difficult deciding between Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross, Nina Simone’s “Ain’t Got no ….”, Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Take My Hand For a While” and so many more. However, 1968 was the year that I was introduced to The Moody Blues … and I loved their sound (and still play various tracks regularly). So my choice for 1968:

1966 … a very good year!

1966 really was an amazing year of music for me. The Seekers made a huge impact, as did The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones and Simon & Garfunkel. I have to also mention The Mamas & Papas, The Lovin’ Spoonful, and Marianne Faithful …. where does it end? Well of course it doesn’t end, because there were so many other amazing recordings in 1966.

In 1966 I had started going to a local folk club so, as much as I loved the typical heavy rock sounds, I also loved a simple acoustic performance, hence my initial choice was Joni Mitchell’s “Circle Game”. However, the  more I thought about it, the more 1966 has to be given to Judith Durham and The Seekers.

A musical message from 1965

This was such an easy choice, and it was not because of the selection (lack of) available from my 1965 memories. In fact there were so many really good songs released in 1965, all of which made some impact on 19 year old Colin however, evidence of WWII was still prevalent in England which, coupled with the apparent “stand-off” between the USA and (then) USSR ….. made this a very hard hitting song for an impressionable teen!

1963

1963 was a prolific year of sounds for me. It was probably no different from previous years, but I was now 17 and more receptive to the popular songs. Special mention goes to Richard Anthony “Too Late To Worry”; Brenda Lee “All Alone Am I”; The Shadows – various!; Cliff Richard “Summer Holiday”; The Crystals “Da Doo Ron Ron”; Tornados “Telstar”, but the one that “hit me” more than the others was probably “Wipe Out”. 

“The Odessa Chronicles” – a new review

The following is copied from amazon.com. When a teacher for 31 years can see value in “The Odessa Chronicles” …. perhaps it should be given serious consideration for the upcoming festive season and, bonus …. there is minimal COVID shopping risk as it can be delivered to you! What more could anybody want eh!

“The Odessa Chronicles is a series of quick adventures for Joshua Pebblestone (the man-servant) and his animal friends who live with him at Moonbeam Farm. Joshua’s animal friends consist of Odessa (a wandering barn owl), Jaxon (a jackalope—a furry horned creature with magical powers), and Dewey (an unusual cat). Like any family, things don’t always go smoothly, but they all seem to care about one another genuinely. The one thing they all share in common is a love for adventure. In addition, they enjoy playing tricks on one another, but their tricks are far more playful pranks than anything cruel.

The man-servant and his animal friends have the unique ability to communicate with one another, though Odessa and the man-servant constantly have a humorous time understanding one another. Each of the characters has challenges to overcome at some point, and they are all sympathetic and lovable characters despite their idiosyncrasies.

As someone who taught grades 2-6 for thirty-one years, I know that children in that age group would enjoy this book. I feel it would make a great read-aloud for young children, but I can imagine 5th and 6th graders reading and enjoying this book independently. While the book’s purpose is to entertain, there are also many fine embedded lessons for children to learn. Each of the forty-eight chapters is a new adventure waiting to happen.”