MUSIC

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No matter who you are, you should have a couple of Sinatra albums in your record collection. Your preference may be Rock, Pop,Soul, Hip-Hop, Jazz or Classical, it doesn’t matter, but in there somewhere you must have something by Francis Albert Sinatra, the greatest crooner that ever lived.

When he was at peak ( for me nothing comes close to his time at Capitol Records) and he was working with the likes of Nelson Riddle and Gordon Jenkins, some of his work was and is absolutely peerless.During those Capitol years he was probably at the peak of his career, where everything he touched turned to gold.

Whenever he sang  songs like “Fly Me To The Moon” or “It Happened in Monterrey” Sinatra, offered you a glimpse of the good life, how to relax and dress cool, while visiting and staying at some exotic locations, filled with babes and booze, making you believe that the playboy lifestyle was within grasp.

Sinatra was at his sublime best when singing these songs and no one can interpret a lyric quite like him.He may have had the world on a string, but there was a darker side to him and nowhere does he display this better than on the  album “Where Are You” 

Oh my God, when I am listening to this majestic piece of vinyl, I need to be in a darkened room, smoking a Newport and drinking heavily from a bottle of Jack Daniels.Rightfully  described as one of the first concept albums, this disc sees a distraught Sinatra grieving over a broken love affair. His singing is so breathtaking sublime he literally has the capability to tear your heart out.

Although my research failed to produce any evidence, I suspect this album is about his feelings for Ava Gardner. Ava was just to much of a woman to be happy with one man and it was no different with Sinatra. Once they were married he thought he could control her, but her fondness for bullfighters and especially Luis Miguel Dominguín would tear them apart.

Trying to forget her, Sinatra lays himself bare, each song tugging at your heartstrings, when he sings “I’m A Fool To Want You” you realise just how much Sinatra was in love with Ava, but now he understands it’s over and she ain’t coming back.

I have to say that this is one Sinatra’s greatest ever albums and that’s some statement, Ava may have broke Frank’s heart but in return she made Sinatra a much better singer. Sinatra may never have gotten over Ava but he would console himself by becoming the greatest singer on the planet. Along the way he would he would bed a bevy of beautiful women whilst taking Las Vegas by storm. What, a man what a world, I’m in love.

TV

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John Cardinal

The Frozen Northerner has like many others, spent an enormous amount of time during lockdown watching Netflix.

The range of programmes is unbelievable,  mainstream channels like the BBC and ITV just can’t compete, sadly both parties are cracking under the intense pressure not only from Netflix but also from the likes of Prime and it has to said they are struggling.

But every now and then they turn up a gem of a show that flies under the radar. Therefore I suspect that the brilliant Canadian crime drama Cardinal will be bypassed by the vast majority of punters. Tucked away on BBC 2 on a Wednesday night, season 4 is 4 episodes in and is pure quality, programmes as good as this should be compulsive viewing for anyone that enjoys classy crime drama, it is so good, it must be watched at all costs.  

Cardinal is set in the fictional Canadian city of Algonquin Bay and is  based on the crime novels of Giles Blunt.

The leading characters in this awesome series are Detective John Cardinal played by Billy Campbell ( better known to me anyway as the incomparable Dr Clint Webber in one of the greatest episodes of “Frasier”) and  his partner Lisa Delorme ( Karine Vanesse).

Murder is the name of the game and the two detectives go about their work in a slow methodical way leaving no stone unturned in their quest to catch the maniac that is running amok within their community.

To add to the complexity of each case it is clear that Cardinal is a tortured soul fighting his inner demons, without the support of Delorme you get the impression that Cardinal could crack up at any moment.

I am painting a despairing picture, but solving complex murders is despairing, to make matters worse, this particular part of Canada appears to be constantly cold, so you haven’t even got the weather to cheer you up.

It doesn’t matter, the storyline will keep you riveted as Cardinal and Delorme slowly work together to get the pieces of the jigsaw to fit. Please watch Cardinal you won’t be disappointed, but be warned you will need to wear something warm.

CLOTHES

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Around about this time I would normally be ooing and arring about the clothes I would be buying throughout the summer months.

The essential Ray Bans, half a dozen polo shirts, maybe two or three pairs of chinos add a pair of Sperry Topsiders to the list and you are off and running. 

You may not look like Agnelli stepping off the Agneta somewhere on the Italian Rivera, but you’re sure as hell are giving it a try. But, the problem you have at the moment is that you are currently in lockdown, so there is really not much motivation to buy new clothes.

It’s not necessarily the buying of the clothes that is killing me, it the fact that you cannot go into shops to buy clothes, that‘a the problem. I have spoken previously about buying on the Internet, it’s just not a option for me. Hopefully the lockdown will make people realise the importance of their local high street, it is not just a place for shopping, it’s a place to meet and it brings the social aspect into our lives, which I am sure everyone is missing.

Much as I am keen to socialise again, I am just dying to spend a bit of cash, but only in clothes shops, I may have to wait a while before I can get my hands on those Salvatore Piccolo shirts that I so badly crave, but it won’t be on the internet because for me that’s just not an option.