T-Shirt Friday 24 !

Cosmic Crofton Park!

It's been an extremely busy time at the T-Shirt Friday HQ, Reasons for this can be read below, hence why there hasn't been any T-Shirt Friday posts for so long... However... that's all set to change as T-Shirt Friday is back to rock your world in more ways then one! Still in it's traditional spot of appearing on Fridays, Still ready to engage you in wondrous tales of the apparel type! So let us not dither any further and jump straight into it, big toe first... the T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conundrum, how did you get on with it? it was so long ago can you remember what the last question was? If your either a Little Feat fan or a Rolling Stones fan you may well have known the answer straight away, if not it may have taken some digging... the famous guitar player that appears on 'A Apolitical Blues' is.... wait for it ..... Mick Taylor! did you get it right? If so how will you celebrate? Perhaps you could crack open a bottle of Taylor's port!

Today's T-Shirt can be found directly here: http://www.101apparel.com

Have you ever found your self lost in the cosmic splendour of music? - perhaps curling back into your own mind, while listening to rainbow streamed guitar sounds - blowing your brain out with riffs of ultimate power that seem to be echoing from psychedelic signals originating from somewhere out there in infinite space and beyond the very stars themselves, causing time itself to fold inwards into black holes that give birth to symphonic universes beyond our human understanding? - If so, perhaps you have also been to Crofton Park?

However you also may have never actually heard of Crofton Park... much like us. Let me take you right back to the beginning, perhaps not as far back as when Dinosaurs stomped around the earth, leaving footprints the size of Brockley. But to around January 2014. After the big event of last year and Miss Russell becoming Mrs Gibbons, we thought perhaps it might be time to start looking for a slightly less multi-staircase'd place to live, So we began our search for a new home. We began by taking my Mum and Dad for a trip to West Norwood and it soon became obvious that we were probably going to be heading in that South Easterly direction. Although perhaps we would branch out from the Norwood area and look around at other neighbouring ones, we spent some very memorable weekends in both Forest Hill and Brockely but there was one Saturday when we set foot in a place that sits in-between the both of them...

Crofton Park, is technically still really in Brockley but way back a little bit after those stomping Dinosaurs, when Steam Trains chugged there way across the landscape in 1892... Another station was opened in Brockley. There were already two 'Brockley Station' and 'Brockley Lane Station' so the third one was given a name that would differentiate it. 'Crofton Park Sation' was a part of the railway line informally known as 'The Catford Loop' the Station eventually gave it's name to the small pocket area that surrounded it. If you go to Crofton Park these days you'll discover both the Rivoli Ballroom and The Brockley Jack, a pub of which Mrs Gibbons and myself would recommend whole heartily, having spent quite a bit of time there (once when we just walked in to use there loo but thought better of it and walked straight back out again!) - It has a Whales shoulder blade bone hanging above the fireplace... The Rivoli Ballroom was originally The Crofton Park Picture Palace. Both places as with Crofton Park in general, are steeped in history...

Our trainers crossed from what was Brockley pavement, to Crofton Park pavement and along with the trainers I was wearing my usual attire, old jeans, un-matching socks and slightly battered old black fleece jacket, there was one thing different though... I was trying out a brand new t-shirt that Mrs Gibbons had very kindly bought me for Christmas! It was in fact the first time of wearing it, 'The Cosmic Dimension Music' T-Shirt was a fantastic Christmas surprise and it felt really good to be wearing it, as we made the momentous crossing into the unknown. As you enter into Crofton Park, one of the first sights is the cemetery and it was at this very point where the incident happened....

I will set the scene. As we walked along past the aforementioned Brockley and Ladywell cemetery we could see in our midst two gentlemen pushing along there children in pushchairs. We came to the corner of the road, that runs around the park area, our paths crossed with them and just at that very moment one of the chaps very gently whispered and to quote "Ace T-Shirt" without even stopping or acknowledging his appreciation any further. They both just continued on there way, as if nothing had happened. Both Mrs Gibbons and myself looked at the back of there heads as they gradually disappeared down the road we had just walked up. We then looked at each other, had the gentlemen really just said that? It was all a bit of a blur, we came to the conclusion that it really had happened, after all we had both heard it (all-be-it, only just) but we had and more over we felt better for it! Warm in the knowledge that a prospective place where we were considering living accepts the 'cosmic' in all of us!

...The funniest part about it all is that although we did see a couple of really beautiful houses in cosmic Crofton Park and liked the place very much, we ended up not putting an offer on any house in the area at all but in another dimension altogether...

Well here we are again, it's time for the T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conundrum question, which this week is... 'Cosmic Egg' was an album released by which Australian heavy rock band? and now all that is left for me to do is bid you a very cosmic weekend! until next time....


More info on the Cosmic? - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic
More info on Brockley, Forest Hill &  Norwood - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brockley
More info on Crofton Park - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crofton_Park

T-Shirt Friday 19 !

The Comfort Of... A Well Worn T-Shirt !
Well now... did you get last weeks T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conundrum? You'd probably have to be a bit of a Rush fan to know the answer.... The answer is.... Ayn Rand (Who was famous for her two novels 'Atlas' and 1943's 'The Fountainhead') So all that is left to do is reveal the winner... who this week is Mollie, well done Mollie, how will you celebrate? Maybe by putting on some Rush and turning all your frying pans and saucers upside down and bashing them with a set of spoons in a style not unlike Neil Peart perhaps?


Today's T-Shirt can be found on: http://direct.asda.com/george/clothing/10,default,sc.html 


It's very easy to forget when you have a big collection of T-shirts, that the ones that are really comfortable and you find yourself wearing the most are actually the plain ordinary ones that hang day upon day in your wardrobe or are neatly folded at the bottom of your draw with the moth balls, Not with motifs on, or tour dates printed on the back... Tee's with nothing to shout about... Quietly waiting for you to re-discover them... In fact though, just one said tee can be all you need to help you get through what ever you have to face in life...

Nearly 8 months ago now, I took voluntary redundancy from where I'd worked for the last 13 years. Most of my collection of tees had built up over that time and are certainly influenced by that job... Suddenly I found myself not having to get up on the alarm any more, not following a routine and not really feeling the need to wear any of the rock band and music t-shirts that were... Well... there is no point in saying neatly folded up in the chest of draws because they weren't, let's just say organised into a chaotic pile on the bedroom floor... Time and routines started to spin out of control, "focus is needed" I thought after spending six hours in the flat during the day in just my pants, this same thought was also echoed by Miss Russell, many good friends and family... So with the help of the aforementioned I began to slowly and surely... Well to quote the Pink Floyd song... come back to life, an important aspect of that was job searching but also realising that it would be possible to take on some freelance work.... Work started to come in, trickling to start with and then (never really gushing) but at a level of a constant stream, with all of this going on, I hardly noticed the clothes that I had been wearing and then one day I stopped for some reason to take on board what I had on, as I peered down I found myself in the light green tee pictured below... there it was, an ordinary everyday t-shirt, doing what it does best, silently working it's magic to make the wearer feel comfortable and relaxed, I'd spent many a day lounging around in it and now it was with me while I worked too... As you'll see it's done battle a few times with toothpaste being dropped down it and many ingredients from our kitchen and fridge being smeared and rubbed in... To quote Miss Russell "Many canteen badges" have found there way on to it's well worn surface! What makes it even more special is that it was bought by my Mum and given as a gift along with a pair of rather comfy Asda pyjamas... not for Christmas, a birthday or even pancake day, but just as a gift, that's what makes it such a great t-shirt, it's had the benefit of being a part of that unique process when a loved one just gives you something for no reason, just because they want too...

So there it is, my everyday t-shirt! ... and it's stayed with me ever since, along with Miss Russell sitting up with me through many late nights of designing, writing and finishing projects, helping with my confidence by just being a very wearable tee... It was then that it hit me just how important t-shirts can be to us all and so it was that the slightly battered light green, Asda t-shirt, bought by my Mum, became the catalyst for what has become the very thing that you are reading right now... T-Shirt Friday! 

Well here we are again, and so fitting with the more general feel of this particular piece of apparel, here is a general knowledge question for the T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conudrum this week: Cotton is often used purley or mixed to make t-shirts: Which country is the largest exporter of cottton? Hmmm... That one should get you thinking...

More on Cotton: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton
More on t-shirts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Shirt
Asda? : http://www.asda.com

T-Shirt Friday 18 !

A Rush Job ....

The Joker was an instant classic when it was released... but what year did it come out? That was last weeks T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conundrum! And the answer is: 1973, Dawn and Misaki were absolutely right! well done! The Conundrum badge of excellence is on it's way in cyberspace to you right now! Congratulations! How will you celebrate? You could both wear masks like the one that Steve Miller is wearing on the cover of The Joker and perhaps each try and eat a Knickerbocker glory at the same time? Would you go for Raspberry sauce,  sprinkles or perhaps both...?

Today's T-Shirt can be found on: http://www.rockmerch.com 

It's been a busy week this week so T-Shirt Friday is not only about a 'Rush' T-Shirt but it's been a bit of a 'Rush' to prepare this week too! (Sorry, it might show in the content)... A Rush about a Rush you might say... The hours drift away...

There we were, February 2012... Having travelled up the Victoria line to our final destination, we found ourselves peering into shop and cafe front windows at Brixton Market, until finally we found the very restaurant we were after... It wasn't that we had been recommended the food there or even the place, it was more to do with what was on there wall, hanging high above our heads with pride of place was a print by none other then Miss Russell! We stopped to look at it and take some photo's, it was great to see it in situ, Miss Russell was excited and so was I! Although the Italian restaurant had not been recommended to us, we had also not come by the print on the wall by happy accident either... Miss Russell had taken part in an illustration treasure hunt! where by lots of illustrators had there work put up in many of the cafes, restaurants and bars in and around Brixton market. After getting the photo's and having a chat to the owners of Casa Sibila, we left to have a good look round, we soon returned for a fall slap up meal though! with the shadow of Miss Russell's print casting over us, the meal was very tasty indeed! and we soon began hunting further for other illustrators work... Until finally we not only found their pieces but we found the illustrators themselves too! - It was decided that we would all go off for a drink, so we followed along to a bar in the far corner of the other end of the market and up the stairs to what can only be described as a slightly odd but quirky and very interesting bar/cafe space... Although it was all very pleasant, it was slowly dawning on us that that we really didn't know anyone in the room and it was dawning on me that eyes for some reason were fixating on the tee that I was wearing...

Sometimes you don't really even think about what your putting on in the morning...

In some cases it becomes apparent later that it wasn't a good choice for that particular day (e.g. weather) and in others it's just not an appropriate tee to wear to what ever event it is your going too. In this case it would seem that the 'Rush - Fly By Night' tee was in the former category. To give it it's due the tee perfectly recreates the 'Fly By Night' cover originally painted by Eraldo Carugati and at a Rush gig would be the perfect thing to have on! I love it just as much as I love 'Rush'! However I'd misjudged where we were going that day... We found ourselves amongst many cutting edge illustrators and designers and there I was slumped on a chair with a beer in my hand, with nothing but a slightly out of date prog rock owl jumping out of my stomach...
Then it happened... Two people decided to leave, all the time throughout the drink, they had been looking at the tee and whispering, they came over to say goodbye to Miss Russell and in doing so said "Oh, I like your t-shirt" one of them asked who Rush were, to which I thought it best to answer with "Ah... An old band" (to be honest if you don't know who Rush are it's probably not really worth taking the time to try and describe them to someone....) Without really thinking any further about it all, we settled back in to our drinks, then another two illustrators said there goodbyes, once again comments were made about the t-shirt... What was going on? (We both thought) At this point I was starting to become slightly self conscious about it all and began checking myself to make sure that I hadn't dropped toothpaste or half a kit Kat down my front and on the owl! I decided to put my coat on and zip it up so that the tee was no longer visible, this caused me to sweat profusely as the bar was very warm... oh dear, you just can't win sometimes... Soon we left too and laughed about the whole thing on the way home on the tube, as the t-shirt was being stared at again by a tired business man... We never did actually get to the bottom of what the mystery of the Rush T-Shirt was all about... Maybe it's that the owl image is quite hypnotising? Maybe there was something quite unmentionable down my front? or maybe it's just that it's not a tee that you see around a lot? Who Knows? What ever the case, it was all very strange indeed... it's amazing what a T-Shirt can do!

Well it's that time again! This weeks T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conundrum is: The song 'Anthem' from 'Fly By Night' by Rush is inspired by which philosopher? Hmmm... tricky one this week!

P.S. If you do have any ideas as to what the fixation about the shirt is all about, do let me know your thoughts!

More on Rush?: http://www.rush.com

The Album 'Fly By Night'?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_by_Night_(album)

Eraldo Carugati: http://www.kissfanzine.com/2011/05/23/eraldo-carugati-the-man-who-painted-the-solo-covers/

T-Shirt Friday 17 !

... Lost In Space With The Cowboy!

So what 1979 Beach Boys album cover was it that Neon Park designed? Did you have to guess? Or did you already know? Who will win the prestigious green badge of excellence??? Well the answer is: L.A. (Light Album) If you did get it right, then the aforementioned green badge of excellence, will be travelling through cyberspace right directly in to your mailbox! Well done! More importantly though, how will you celebrate? Well... L.A. contains an arrangement of the traditional song 'Shortnin' Bread' by Brian Wilson, so what about a Friday of baking to celebrate? and baking Shortnin' Bread in particular? Or if you don't fancy short bread, you could bake a baguette instead, as they're quite long...

Today's T-Shirt can be found on: http://stevemiller.shop.livenation.com 

Sometimes it can be really tricky to decide which T-Shirt should be the next T-Shirt Friday, to showcase... Very occasionally though something happens and it feels like it might be a sign from someone or something... 

...I'd actually been considering and writing about a completely different t-shirt for this weeks T-Shirt Friday tee and then like a bolt out of the blue! A track came onto Spotify, I stopped at two sentences in, to listen... the track was 'Guilt Trip' by Kayne West, it wasn't so much the track, it was the sample that did it, which was that very well known ascending electronic type coda, from Steve Miller Band's 'Fly Like An Eagle'... the planets seemed to be aligning... I contemplated what had just happened for a little bit and told myself to just carry on with what I had been doing... The Kayne West track had come to a close. "Hmmm... Maybe some Planet Rock to get in the mood", I thought, as I clicked on the 'Listen Live' button, the laid back rhythm and drum work of 'The Joker' beamed out of the speakers... now that is a bit weird isn't it?!

So here we go, the universe is telling us something and so with perhaps some divine intervention or maybe just a very strange coincidence... here is the Steve Miller Band T-Shirt Friday story!

For as long as I can remember I've always wanted to see Steve Miller Band, 'The Joker' was re-released famously in 1990 in conjunction with the Hugh Johnson, Levis Advert. I was hooked! It has everything as a track, fantastic lyrics that reference not only Steve Miller's own previous works, but also the 1954 song "Lovey Dovey" by The Clovers. It has a fantastic hook and swagger to it and who can forget the amazing slide guitar wolf whistle! The song also features a neologism with the lyric "pompatus" which has become famous in it's own right (more below on that) The line that always gets me in the song, is the laid back delivery of "I'm a picker, I'm a grinner, I'm a lover and I'm a sinner, playin' my music in the sun" and who wouldn't want to be playing their music in the sun...? Anyway I digress, Suddenly in the very early months of 2012, Steve Miller Band announced that they were playing the Roundhouse in Camden!!! Instantly I booked a ticket, although, unfortunately no one was interested, so just me then... As it got nearer though, it became apparent that it might all become quite difficult as Miss Russell had to go to York on the very same day and needed help taking framed prints of her illustrations, It was a rocky road - with it at one point looking like I wouldn't be able to go, the gig was in jeopardy! But in keeping with the whole theme of this post... the planets aligned and we got back just in time for me to split off to go to the Roundhouse. It was a dream come true, words can't even describe the gig, they played everything, all their hits, plus some really nice obscure stuff too, it was just immense! What was great too was the ease of moving round the venue, at one point I was really close to the band... Sadly like all good things, the concert came to an end, but Steve Miller had rocked us in a way that only he knows how! There were so many good vibes coming from the stage and the music, you could tell as people were leaving that they had been wrapped up in all the warmth, positivity and coolness that Steve and the gang had projected... But then came that ultimate question, the one that greets every fan... normally in the lobby as your leaving the venue... To buy a tee or not to buy a tee, this question is both timeless and has many connotations... Sometimes the tees are cheaper if purchased at the venue, sometimes you can't find the shirts that a band has at a gig anywhere else, as much as you try, goodness knows I have... There is a fine balance to it all, leaving it and purchasing later can sometimes work, but then on the other you're not taking away the memories directly from the gig... It is very difficult and a time consuming thought process often ensues, unfortunately in this case I made a terrible error of judgement and didn't purchase a tee, shock, horror! Just like the reasoning for why this post was written, I should have looked and listened to the signs, I unfortunately shook them off on that occasion though... 

I returned home to tell (and bore, I should imagine) a half asleep Miss Russell (it was gone midnight) of the wonders that were the Steve Miller Band at The Roundhouse... "Did you get a t-shirt?" Miss Russell asked as She turned over to go back to sleep, I realised at that point and after a sleepless night, how far wrong I had gone. The gig was in October and Christmas was looming, unbeknown to myself, Miss Russell had secretly told my Mum of my Steve Miller T-Shirt woes and one was ordered, the idea being that my Mum and Dad would give it to me for Christmas... Christmas came and went, my Mum hadn't received the t-shirt. As has happened before... the shirt had been sent from the US side all fine, but had got caught up with the UK customs department... It was out there somewhere in postal space, orbiting and waiting for it's final landing through our letter box, eventually it did turn up, about 3 weeks later, it also turned out to be quite possibly one of the most expensive t-shirts I own! It's actually only around $15.00 from the Steve Miller band website, but the customs costs pushed it way up to astronomical amounts (sorry Mum!).... It is getting it's moneys worth as I hardly ever take it off, other then of course to swap it for another t-shirt! ... You never know, It may well be the 'completley different t-shirt' that I did two sentences on, that you get to hear about next week... Unless of course, divine intervention suggests differently again!


So it's that time again, here is this weeks T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conundrum! : What year was the album 'The Joker' originally released?

More on Steve Miller Band? : http://www.stevemillerband.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Miller_Band

The Album and Song The Joker: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joker_(album)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joker_(song)

Pompatus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompatus

P.S. Steve Miller Band... not to be mixed up with Ed Miller band or David Miller band, they don't rock as hard!

It's T-Shirt Friday 7 !

Grow Your Own T-Shirt...... 

... and keep it well fed! Here is a question... and it's not the T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conundrum, although that is coming up in about 3 and a bit paragraphs down, the question to contemplate is: how important are T-shirts to you? Anyway while you're thinking that one over, here is the answer to last weeks T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conundrum, the question was: How large in square kilometers is Salar De Uyuni? and the answer is 10, 582 square kilometers! Wow! now that is big! Did you get it right? If you did or actually even if you didn't, why not celebrate anyway? maybe with a nice cool weak cordial drink - the salt flats are not only vast but very hot too!  Also put on some shorts, sandals and make out the summer is already here! Perhaps put on some Beach Boys, Jan & Dean or Mr Gasser & The Weirdos and go surfing in your bath?! Misaki the blogging dog... perhaps you should celebrate (as you got the answer right, almost a week ago) by having a giant jambone and putting on a Hawaiian style shirt?! Anyway I'll stop 'barking', on here is this weeks tee...

Sometimes keeping a T-shirt well nourished can have lasting affects! 

Today's T-Shirt is from an old friend : http://www.101apparel.com

Sometime ago now, the below T-shirt was doing what is does best and covering up the parts of me that shouldn't be on show, it's one of those t-shirts that you really, really feel comfortable in, you might say that it's a well lived in t-shirt, if you know what I mean? Anyway I found myself in Paperchase on Tottenham Court Road and about to pay for a couple of items. It was coming up to Miss Russell's birthday and I'd been hunting for a nice card and some wrapping paper. Just as I was about to leave the lady that had just served me, began to ask a question that has been asked (all be it in different forms) many times before "That's a really nice t-shirt, where did you get it from?" it's a tee that just seems to draw out that type of question in anyone that it meets, remarks were constantly being made at work and I've even been stopped in the street by complete strangers and asked about the 'Grow Your Own' t-shirt. In fact there was a time that whenever I put the shirt on I would make sure to memorise 101 Apparel's website so that I had a well rehearsed response ready for anyone that questioned the origin of the shirt. It's also a well travelled tee having been to China, New York and Southend on Sea! and true to form in each place at some stage of the journey, the very same question was brought up... In China, while we were staying in the Monastery at Emieishan, a Monk remarked on the t-shirt and then laughed at my belly! (Both the t-shirt and my stomach were growing!)

Sadly the t-shirt has now been retired of it's duties, for fear of it falling apart completely! It has many holes and has picked up a few dents and creases on the way. It now has a much slower pace of life, living in our chest of drawers, I do hope that it doesn't mind having less attention, but it has grown and climbed higher, reaching out with it's vinyl leaves, blossoming into a t-shirt with a full and varied career! Leaving it's roots in many places. It has been well nurtured and will always be very much loved.
What were your thoughts on the question asked above? Do you you have a t-shirt that is very important to you? a well lived t-shirt? The Grow Your Own t-shirt is possibly one of the most important t-shirts that was given to me (I do love all of my t-shirts but I have a very special affection for this one) It has a unique audio tree design, a really nice message about growing your own music and is just so comfortable to wear, but all of that taken in to account, the real reason why... is that it is the first t-shirt that Miss Russell gave to me.

Well it's time for this weeks T-Shirt Friday Quiz Conundrum, which is: What is the name of the designer that started and created 101 Apparel? A clue is, that he designed innovative covers and t-shirts for Ubiquity Records before setting up what is now 101 Apparel...

New Adventures In Designing For Online

A Tiger At The Vets!

PageTiger have a very interesting system in place, to help companies create there own online magazines and web pages. There website is really worth a good look as they offer so much: www.pagetiger.com The way that PDF's can be used to make an online site is very unique. Interactive elements can be added in as well. Kate Burton, Director of editorial and creative services at PageTiger, briefed me to create and design a template for an online web site for a group of Veterinary practices. We needed to make sure the template was both flexible and versatile so that it could be altered at ease, depending on what each of the three practices requirements were. I came up with the idea of having very specific looking bold pages, that could be shunted around at will and re-built for each template, meaning that you could take more and more away, but still retain the overall original visual look. Film footage can also be brought into PageTigers PDF system - the empty box in the first template denotes were the footage will go. PageTiger and Kate Burton were fantastic to work with, they were there all the way through the project with help and advice. It was a very interesting and engaging experience, something quite different from anything I've done before. They say you should never work with animals but the below ones were very accommodating indeed!

Music Listened to while working on PageTiger Online Veterinary Project:

Waiting For Columbus by Little Feat

American Beauty by The Grateful Dead

Psychedelic Pill by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Man Chest Hair by Various, well worth checking this out: www.finderskeepersrecords.com

One Of These Nights by The Eagles... I know... I Know... but there is that famous story

about Neil Young and the Eagle's supporting him on the Tonight's The Night Tour...

Template One - Westway Vets.

Template Two - Value Vets.

Template Three - Easy Vets.