Blog Archive: November 2025

The Football!
I haven't spoken about THE FOOTBALL on here for a while, partly because I'm not sure that it entirely fits with what people expect from my CORPORATE BRAND, but mostly because it's been bloody awful.

For the past few years I've been fulfilling a long-cheished LIFE GOAL by being a season ticket holder at Peterborough United. Yes, that's right - some people dream of climbing Everest or having their own organic chocolate empire, but I have always longed to spend approximately alternate Saturdays in the East Midlands, complaining.

Actually that's not really the full story - there IS a lot of complaining, especially over the past year or so, but also loads of LARKS and good-times with the Old Boys who inhabit The Family Stand. However, I've always had to miss loads of games, especially midweek ones, so this year I relinquished my season ticket and went down to a 10 game FLEXI ticket.

At the start of the season I thought "That might be TOO MANY" tickets, as the actual matches were AWFUL, but this Saturday just gone something wonderful and amazing happened. FOR LO! it was really really really good and we THRASHED Wimbledon 5-0! FIVE NIL! That's a third of our total goals for the whole season so far! Also, it was dead exciting with SKILLZ and WALLOPING and very little Titting About At The Back (if - WHEN - I am asked to take a role as Director Of Football my first move will be to BAN Titting About At The Back).

It was fabulous, and all down, it seems, to our BRAND NEW Manager, Luke Williams. I say "brand new" because we have previously gone through a rolling programme of hiring Darren Ferguson, sacking Darren Ferguson, hiring Grant McCann, sacking Grant McCann, hiring Darren Ferguson and so forth. THIS time however there is a NEW bloke who seems to have brought some MAGIC POTION with him, possibly from a small village in ancient Gaul, and made everything WORK.

It was AMAZING and I confidently predict that things will continue in this way for the rest of the season. NOTHING CAN GO WRONG.

Afterwards there were loads of disgruntled Wimbledon fans moping about on the platform with me while we waited for the train home. I was shocked by the way they were MOANING - come on guys, support the team! - and was delighted when one chap, about my age, said to his colleagues as the train arrived, "There better not be any Peterborough on this train, I'll tell you that." He glanced up and saw me smiling. "Are you Peterborough?" he asked. "Yes," I replied. "Oh," he said. He looked like he wasn't sure what to do, so said. "Er... after you" and off we went back to London town.

FOOTBALL!

posted 10/11/2025 by MJ Hibbett
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Johnny Domino VS Doctor Doom
I have previously mentioned my great joy in listening to This Are Johnny Domino, a DELIGHTFUL podcast featuring Mr G and Mr S Woodword AKA Giles and Steve from ace band Johnny Domino.

It follows the traditional format of Two Blokes Talking To Each Other, but what makes it GRATE for me is that they're theoretically talking about the songs they recorded together as the aforementioned band, who were very much affiliated to Artists Against Success. Not only did AAS release some of their records but me and The Validators regularly GIGGED with them too, notably on the "Players with Words" TOUR to plug their album Players and our album Say It With Words. Good times abounded and so it is always nice to hear them talk about their AMAZING songs, and also to hear them wander off into other topics, often about other people we both know and what they're doing too.

Even if you DON'T know the ins and outs of The Derby Scene at the turn of the century though, it's also good for the THORTS and the occasional forays into NEW STUFF of various types that they venture into. In the current episode, for instance, they go through a whole BATCH of new stuff to listen to, and also talk about my recent "single" Like Batman But Better.

I say "single" because although technically it IS one, available on all your modern streaming services, it's more of a PUBLICITY TOOL to try and promote the current run of gigs. I hadn't really thought of it as something that you'd want to LISTEN to in and of itself, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear it spoken of as such. INDEED, if you listen to the show, you will find that Giles and especially Steve are a little surprised by it too, considering it to be full of FACTS and more like a lecture - which, in a very real way, it IS!

When I've done these MUSICAL EXTRAVAGANZAS in the past there's usually been a song or two I've been able to EXTRACT for wider use - We Did It Anyway being a prime example, first appearing in Moon Horse VS The Mars Men Of Jupiter, getting re-used in Hey Hey 16K then released with The Validators on Still Valid and played at gigs to this very day. It's lovely when that happens, but the very nature of this show, with its many FACTS, means I've always known it was unlikely to happen this time. I did TRY playing the song at a gig once, at the King's Lock back in February, but it didn't really work on its own to people who may or may not have opinions about Batman, let alone Doctor Doom.

It was lovely of them to play it, and as I say I HIGHLY recommend Liking and also Subscribing to their show, but it did remind me that I need to get on with making some STANDALONE HITS once this is all wrapped up!

posted 2/11/2025 by MJ Hibbett
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