Amsterdam Russ

Also available to watch/download on YouTube as a single file... https://youtu.be/-krEap_FGco

Another uptempo number from Mahalia...

Been a fave for years. I do love a good bit of Gospel and especially this type of style that's a mix of Jubilee and spiritual R&B. This is a great performance - and what an atmospheric set! Also available on a 45 with French and Dutch pic sleeves out there to be found.

This site (which I've never heard of) appears to have them in stock... https://www.gak.co.uk/en/numark-dust-cover-for-turntables/18669 Sorry, false alert. Just seen the small print that says the item is discontinued...

Oh, his practical photography advice is still great. No doubts about it. It's his opinions as an 'independent reviewer' of camera equipment that I'm cynical about. Bearing in mind his dominance in the search engines for anything Nikon-related, he's not going to make much revenue telling people that the standard Nikon kit lens - or whatever - is actually crap.

Yes, I've been in and out of Ken Rockwell's site since I first got a Nikon - a D40 - some years back. Sadly he's become too commercially oriented with his advice and likes - recommends - absolutely everything. And links to retailers are obviously placed in every review at every opportunity. Worse - he still claims poverty and the need for donations to support the "free" service he's offering!

Thanks, Steve. I bought a field guide for the camera and am working my way through that slowly but surely. It's much better than wading through Nikon's own manuals. I've already encountered some things that I don't like, all of which I hope I can get a better understanding of so that I can either make better use of what they do, or avoid them. The first one - and initially I thought there was a fault with the camera - is something called "ISO sensitivity setting". To all intents and purposes it appears to be an override for manual ISO settings. I was trying to get some underexposed landscape sunset shots and even though I had ISO on a manual setting, through the viewfinder it said auto - and it was impossible to under expose the shot as the ISO kept changing to an optimum level based on my aperture and shutter speed. Eventually I found the function for that in the menu and turned it off. Still need to read up on it and see what it actually does. It must serve some useful purpose. Another thing is that the camera sensor seems to be automatically over exposing shots by something like half a stop. And the colour seems to have a light but noticeable blue cast - as if white balance is set for fluorescent light. White balance and everything else can be modified using Camera RAW software settings when the pics have been uploaded to the computer, of course, but I'm keen to know if there is an in-camera setting that's causing the blue tinge - I hope so. All an adventure, I guess, but I'd much prefer to be at the destination rather than on the 'voyage of discovery' - if you know what I mean.

Have been out a couple of times with my new camera. Much to learn about it yet - where functions are, what new things it can do that my previous camera couldn't, and generally getting a sense of how it performs. Give it a month or two and I'm hoping that I'll be as familiar and confident with it as I was the old one. This first batch was taken in the Amsterdam woods early evening when there was a beautiful golden light all around. These were taken earlier today at a Napoleonic water fort, of which there are a good number in the Netherlands.

Another one here that's never had tippex on it.

Off topic, I know, but worthy of a reply, I feel... You may jest, and as comedic as it may sound, living in the Netherlands and occasionally playing records at the Amsterdam Soul Club and other places, that's exactly what I do. I don't have a car and so cycle everywhere. Pannier choice is made entirely with record boxes and 12" vinyl in mind. My bike can take a 120 count singles box on each side. Or I can mix and match with smaller 45 boxes & some 12's if needed. Before moving house last December, the cycle ride to the Amsterdam Soul Club was 8 miles, and half of that's through the pitch dark Amsterdam woods. Now that I've moved it's 11 miles there and 11 miles back - and it's not always a smooth ride, particularly when it's tipping it down and you can't see where you're going. Always relatively easy on the outbound journey, but often a bit tricker after a good few beers at three or four in the morning! It may seem trivial to some, but how to transport records from home to venue is actually of quite some importance to me and to others - hence why this whole discussion about record bags is taking place.

Still looking for a copy...

Here you go, Barry...

Yup, several discussions in the archives on cleaning with wood glue. I find it can work very well. Better on vinyl than styrene though.

Nice! Just bought me a copy…

Records received safely today, Phil. Thanks! And do excuse me - for some unknown reason I thought the Rail Band came out of Dakar/Senegal. Having read the notes on the card that came with the 45, I see now that it's actually neighbouring Mali! Regardless, two great tunes. Cheers!

Artists, musicians, producers, arrangers, song writers, label owners… They're all worthy of recognition and all worthy of a category in any 'soul music' hall of fame. As I said in the earlier post, I think it's a great idea. Not only would it bestow a sort of 'official' accolade/recognition upon recipients, but it would also give tremendous kudos to Soul Source above and beyond the limited boundaries of its members. Top idea, Lorraine!

What an absolutely marvellous idea, Lorraine! Brilliant - and I'm all for it!

This went through eBay a day or two ago. Was it this one or another copy? Here's the link to it... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THE-CHARADES-LP-UNRELEASED-northern-soul-ACETATE-LISTEN-/111398575902?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item19efdf5f1e&nma=true&si=lXHr4i%252BkcIQA%252Bw79P87NHDdpB9Y%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Thank you very much! I'm chuffed that you think so.

We had three great weeks on the lovely Greek island of Lesvos not long ago. I'm just sorting through the holiday snaps now and this one immediately stood out for me. It was taken from the balcony of our apartment. I stood there for ages, camera poised, hoping that one of the many swallows, swifts and martins might cut across the scene of the sun rapidly setting into the Aegean sea. The waiting was worth it!

As a buyer, I actively ask sellers if they would be kind enough to provide feedback for me after I've done the same for them. It doesn't work and to-date I've amassed just one feedback.

Still looking...

It is a lot of money, Steve, and how you spend it is entirely down to you. That goes without saying. I'm sure it will give you great pleasure for a good number of years. It's very much like buying records in many respects. They're all indulgences - and we're very much the lucky ones in that we can afford indulgences; we have the quality of life in the main to do so. That said, stuff the camera - I wish I could afford to spend that amount on a decent lens or two

Under two grand? Good Lord! I just upgraded my aged 10 mega pixel Nikon D80 last week to a 24.2 mega pixel Nikon D3200 for the euro equivalent of £265. And there's a 50 euro cash back voucher with it, so approx £220 in total! Each to their own, of course