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Tigers at Layer Road
at 21:19 17 Jun 2025

Some television viewing data that may be of interest.

Between 12.30 and 13.00 on weekdays approx 2 million viewers will be watching Bargain Hunt on BBC 1.

During the same time slot around half a million will be tuned in to Loose Women on ITV.

I don't watch either.

ITV are currently planning further cut backs.

It's not surprising that main stream media is in decline....what l find interesting is how the production companies are under growing pressure to attract audience with content.

On the news front GB News is growing its audience, and gaining viewers from BBC and Sky News.

On a local front the Colchester Gazette is not doing itself any favours with a series of spelling errors in headlines and in the opening paragraphs.

The comments section's pick up on this virtually every day.

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 18:22 17 Jun 2025

Doing the artwork / collage page layouts for 'Urban Werewolf'....a mixture of my own photography and that of commissioned works. Then l cut it all up into vertical strips etc and put little kid's stickers all over it....but, l think it looks ok.

The backdrop music for this three hour shift was provided by Hard - Fi and Leftfield.

Some of the collage work includes ripped up clothing and fabric pieces that l kept in a draw for over 20 years.

PS. Colchester United takeover. Quite a bit to get through on this by the sound of things.

Looks likely some of the transactions may run into July and they appear fairly complex.

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 15:12 17 Jun 2025

Intermission to 'THIS OBSESSION'

The following cameo wasn't included in the original - but since everything in 'TO' actually happened here is another snippet.

You broke into my house
Through an open kitchen window
Most likely did one of your
Trade mark body flips
Across the newly laid floor
on entry
Left a chocolate eclair
On the kitchen worktop
Spiked with a cocktail stick
With an orange post - it note
And a blue biro kiss

( I found the biro on the floor )

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 18:56 16 Jun 2025

'THIS OBSESSION' - Cont

A voice called out my name
It's soundwave fluttered towards me
In the breeze
And there you were
Still blonde
And more than capable
Of making my heart race
After all these years
So l was starry eyed
An angel in a first floor maisonette
'Rose tinted glasses' - you once said
Coming down the stairs
Sleek and shy?
And l''m basking
In some Mid Summer Night's Dream

Driving back from Frinton

The sky through the windscreen

Enshrouded in fireworks

All the pretty colours

Reflecting in your eyes

Those early days were magical

Though tainted by your mood swings

It was a small price to pay

I was feeling so alive

Walking in the woods

Your Cherryade kitchen

I bought round the Lush album

You played it for weeks

The streets of this town

They glistened for a while

The sofa in the Coffee House

We made it our own

There were times
When l was winning you over
But l was always prepared
For your change of heart
I cannot say things were easy
Rollercoaster could not describe the journey
But l held the ticket firmly
Blackpool had nothing on this

( TBC ).

[Post edited 16 Jun 18:58]

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 18:03 15 Jun 2025

'THIS OBSESSION' - Cont.

I return at 1am
Treading softly
So not to wake you
Moments later
You are gone
Into the silence
Of the night

A few weeks later
By way of a messenger
Some latter day go between
Your voice on the phone line

You appear in my office
It's just turned 5.30
Was it you or l
Who hurriedly closed the blinds?

In the hours and days that follow
You infiltrate my mind
You are becoming
A control freak
And you don't even know it

A series of impromptu rendezvouses
Would follow

Felixstowe

The black dress incident

Collecting you from hospital
Before you were discharged

Of course
I was much older
But wiser?
Maybe not
Was l chasing you too hard?
When you needed to be free
And anything that might occur
Between us
Would have to be
Strictly on your terms
And on your terms only

You were
By now
Totally in control of me

But....

The impromptu meetings
Became even more impromptu

In fact they were to fade

Then cease

But only for a matter
Of twelve years or so
And it was well worth the wait

( TBC ).

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Castle Park - the place to be…
at 10:44 15 Jun 2025

Watched the closing overs at Buckhurst Hill on my phone....Charlie Fernandes my Man of the Match!

This was another really good all round performance with all the bowlers taking wickets and the batsmen posting a total that was well beyond the means of the home side.

I'm expecting Colchester to win the Hambro Premiership this season. I sense a fortified ambition and belief running through the side and look forward to the key encounters with Wanstead and Brentwood.

Spent a couple of hours at Castle Park yesterday with both Colchester Second and Third sides in action.

I sat in the wooded area to the East perimeter where my dog chewed up most of the small branches that were being blown down in the strong wind.

🦮🙂

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 10:29 14 Jun 2025

'THIS OBSESSION'

Nineteen Ninety
Driving through town
Sun going down
When l first saw you
Standing on the corner
In a crowd
You stood out
From them all
You stood out
From everything
Your face
Somehow frozen in time
X - rayed into my being
Some phantom spotlight
Creating the illusion
Of some alternative
Visual plain
Driving back to my home
Your face
Reflecting
Softly in the windscreen
Flickering in the clouds
Gazing through the moonlight

Then a few weeks later
You appear on my doorstep
In black skintight leggings
Wet hair
And those ice blue eyes
You are the mystery babysitter
For a moment
I am spellbound
I speak to you
And my words turn to echoes

( TBC ).

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 15:08 13 Jun 2025

Just completed a four hour session on some collage work with Rudimental as a sound backdrop -.the entire album on repeat play.

1. Home
2. Feel the Love / FT John Newman
3. Right Here / FT Foxes
4. Hell Could Freeze / FT Angel Haze
5. Spoons / FT Mnek & Syron
6. Hide / FT Sinead Harnett
7. Powerless / FT Becky Hill
8. More than Anything / FT Emeli Sande
9. Not Giving In / FT John Newman & Alex Clare
10. Baby / FT Mnek & Sinead Harnett
11. Waiting All Night / FT Ella Eyre
12. Free / FT Emeli Sande

ALL SONGS WRITTEN, PRODUCED & PERFORMED by RUDIMENTAL!!!!!

Just fab stuff. xxxx

🙂🙂

[Post edited 13 Jun 15:09]

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 18:31 11 Jun 2025

Taken from 'Monster'

TEN PAST MIDNIGHT

When you vacated
The rented property
You just happened to leave
A long trail of potential evidence
For a xxxxxxx head case
Such as myself
To inspect
My failed suicide attempt
Had made me super hyper
My recent purchase
Of a hi - res jacket
Somehow having
The unusual effect
Of making me less conspicuous
While loading my open top truck
With 10 black bin bags
At around ten past midnight
The passing dog walker
Not in the least bit
Suspicious of my actions
Thinking back now
Perhaps l was mistaken
For not wearing protective gloves
Such was my eagerness
To account for each and every item
Thank God this was before recycling
It was a methodical process
New black bin liners
Purchased from Tesco
An hour or so before
Opened up in a black heavy duty
Rubber dust bin
In the centre of the kitchen
Feverishly l began my task
It is not difficult to imagine
The nasty items that are discarded
In the post millennium
It was around bag four
That l discovered a selection
Of some very stylish clothes
Possibly only worn once
And then the joy
Of going through your pockets
Chewing gum
A packet of cigarettes
A train ticket
It must have been around bag six
When l came across the paperwork
A tax demand
Unpaid bills
Bank statements
Unattended doctor's appointments
I was learning more about you
In double quick time
Then the moment
That l dreaded
Photographs of your holiday
In Portugal
So that was him then
Not at all what l was expecting
And then
The letters
That he had written to you
Not to mention
The postcards
And l read them
Every xxxxxxx one

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 17:41 11 Jun 2025

304 Holloway Road....if anyone recalls the stamping sound on the Honeycombs single - 'Have l the right' that is actually Joe Meek stamping on the stairs when it turned at a right angle. Meek was a one off. Genius!

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 10:45 11 Jun 2025

'PREDATOR' - a continuation, as seen from an adjoining property.

I pulled back the curtains

There was an ambulance and a police car next door

Moments later l was aware of more vehicles arriving

I peeped out of the window

They were putting up a police tape

I hurriedly got dressed

There was a knock at the door

Two police officers asked if they could come in

They sat down and said 'Don't be alarmed, but there has been an incident next door and someone will arrive shortly to take a statement'

I made a statement which would have been of little or no use

'Had l seen or heard anything?'

Didn't really know the two girls

Hadn't noticed anything unusual in the past day or so, or in the few months that they had been living there

A bit later, on leaving my house, l was approached by reporter's...who encircled me, and one of them said - 'Did you know the murdered woman?'

That was the first l heard of any murder, but looking around me l wasn't that surprised

[Post edited 11 Jun 13:42]

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 21:22 9 Jun 2025

Just a little explanation to what 'Predator' actually is that might assist folk when l add Part Three.

It is a short film. Part One has the text in mute on screen - as a subtitle might appear. Part Two is spoken by the female Predator ( hence the mute sound of a voice in Part One ). Part Three is an interview style exchange with the neighbour - that will follow at some stage.

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 15:56 9 Jun 2025

Sending a message of deep gratitude to Dr. John Cooper Clarke for his reaction to 'Monster' - really appreciated!!!

I have to acknowledge though that there are other individuals who are concerned by some of the subject matter included...

Currently working on Issue Two.

The idea was is for a trilogy and additional supplements that will eventually be boxed along with the set of three.

Initial reaction in America was really positive but some negative feedback over the weekend.

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 10:28 8 Jun 2025

This is the continuation of 'Predator' -

Coffee?
She said politely
I could never have imagined
Such a scenario
Here, in this two bed semi
That she shared with a nurse
Whom l knew to be working nights
The stage was well and truly set
The digital clock showed 00 : 34
When l felt her hot breath
On my neck....
Then the tip of her tongue.
Running across my upper lip
In this dramatic role reversal
Of unfathomable magnitude
My carefully planned agenda
Had just melted away
The coffee was stronger
Than l was used to
The kitchen had tilted
And the walls took on
A strange curvative
These extraordinary events
Were unfolding to a soundtrack
By Babyshambles
With precision timing
'That girl's out,
Way ahead of the game'
Feeling faint, disorientated
Had l fallen for the sucker punch?
That's when the lights went out...

[Post edited 8 Jun 10:30]

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 20:20 7 Jun 2025

I should just add that as far as l can recall, no one other than myself has seen the second part of 'Predator'. Defo not the third.

I did receive some hostility to some of the subject matter that is in 'Monster' ( in a Colchester supermarket as it happens ).

I relayed this to the guys in the US as it runs in parallel with their concerns.

Sometimes publishers are keen on a love / hate reaction....but the consequences can be quite tricky to negotiate and need to be thought through - it's just the way things are in 2025. No one would have given a xxxx pre millennium - or maybe they would?

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 19:55 7 Jun 2025

I am hoping to post the continuation of 'Predator' later this evening...this first part was originally featured around 15 months ago...l only found the second ( and third parts ) in the past few days.

There is a US based publisher l am working with who is a little 'nervous' about 'Predator' and may be reluctant to release it in book form.

There is also some opposition to it in the UK...l value and consider all feedback - both positive and negative and there is plenty of the latter at times.

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Castle Park - the place to be…
at 19:43 7 Jun 2025

I forgot to mention...as l left the ground there was an unusual sight....a man.clad in medieval dress was standing at the bottom of Catchpool Road with a wild bird perched on his head...initially l thought it a form of headdress but the creature began flapping its wings.

🦆🦆🐒🐒

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Castle Park - the place to be…
at 19:32 7 Jun 2025

Colchester top the Premier League tonight with a victory by way of a reduced run target just before the rains came to Castle Park.

Both Brentwood and Wanstead who were level on points with Colchester had their matches abandoned as the rain spread eastwards across the county.

I attended most of the afternoon.session.during which, for the most part Colchester impressed in the field.

The highlight was a brilliant piece of fielding by 'Faz' with a lightening reaction, pick up and throw from backward point that was county class! ( at the very least ).

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 20:37 5 Jun 2025

An extended ad break that stretched to six minutes was required while the sponge man ( and woman ) attended to the injury....this footage is unlikely to be released but the 'live' reactions from the other two panelists are worth checking out....with no sub on the bench Eamonn managed to recover....

There is a morning presenter who has on occasion read the news in his underpants and with odd socks on....I'm not sure if he ever did this on his previous channel but l did see him throwing a paper aeroplane during an ad break one night ( and taking a string of text messages too ).

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Tigers at Layer Road
at 19:48 5 Jun 2025

Sounds as though Eamonn Holmes has completed a hat - trick....his second strike came 'live on air' at 6.15am during GB News when his chair somehow shot backwards...he is not the first to end up on the floor in the GB News studio.

l had a similar experience last night while taking a call from San Francisco....my dog got way too friendly and as a result l knocked a cup of coffee over some artwork that we were discussing ...🙂🙃🙂🙃🦮🦮

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