Hello, I hope all is groovy.

Yesterday it rained. And it kept raining. It is now today and my shoes are still wet. I thought this was a sign for some jazzy rain-based sounds. And so today we have Gene Rains for the #50pFriday album. Who the devil is he you may ask, well apparently he is considered by the person who did his wiki page as the third man of exotica after Baxter and Denny, but they forgot Lyman when they were making the list. So in my opinion he has to be at least fourth and some would say 5th, 6th etc. Anyway, its a good rare album, perfect for all weathers on holiday, and can be found here. 

Jarvis Cocker is also on holiday, so he can't do his radio show and has asked me to be one of his sit ins (get in there!). So this Sunday, the 16th August, while he suns himself somewhere odd, I'm on the Sunday Service wheels of hallowed steel. Yes, in other words the whole Jarvis Sunday Service, on 6 Music (this Sunday from 4pm to 6pm) is me me me for the whole two hours! Tune in or I'll kill myself. 

In other news I am off to Norfolk today for about 48 hours. And I really have no idea why. With a bit of luck I will be having a go on the classic Botton Bros roller coaster in Yarmouth (we called it Bottom, of course), which is where they shot the last bit of the classic Madness video to House Of Fun. You can enjoy the ride without Madness here, apparently it is a rare wooden 1932 triple out-and-back version and has been in operation since it was built. It was one of the highlights of my holidays in the late 1970s. That and the cricket on the TV, watchinhg heroes like the fidgety Derek Randall and unplayable Joel Garner.

Happy holidays indeed. Thanks for listening.

Jonny