So, I was recommended this book by one of my friends, whom I’d lent a book about Las Vegas. Written by Ted Heller (son of Joseph Heller of ‘Catch 22′ fame) ‘Funnymen’ tells the story of a American show-biz duo called Fountain and Bliss - who are not a million miles away from Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis - through a series of fictional interviews with interested parties, friends, business associates and the like. This is where you can buy it on amazon:

I’m liking it so far. My girlfriend’s trip to Spitalfield Market on Sunday afternoon gave me a chance to actually concentrate on reading it. A far cry from my pathetically slow attempt to finish this new translation of Cervantes’ ‘Don Quixote’ which I tackle of an evening:

I’m enjoying that too, certainly more than when I first read it as a student. In the introduction by the translator Edith Grossman, she explains that most translations try and replicate the actual language the book was written in - in this case, 16th century Spanish - ignoring the fact that at the time, it was in the most modern vernacular, so shouldn’t be treated as a period piece. She’s certainly tried to bring it bang up to date and it has actually started to make me laugh; the previous translation just confused me. Tilting at Windmills, indeed.

Finally, I’ve got a load of time for late sixties music of a somewhat cheerful bias, specifically what the cognoscenti call ‘Sunshine Pop’. Just last week, having realised that paying at least $70 for the original LP would put me a seriously bad mood, I decided that I could buy the CD reissue of Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends album, especially as it comes with a load of extra songs and some very comprehensive notes. The record didn’t sell many copies at the time which is bizarre, (though not quite as odd as the Free Design flopping), and the Circle split before Roger Nichols went on to write some big hits for the Carpenters including ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’ and my favourite ‘Won’t Last A Day Without You’. The Small Circle of Friends album is, my friends, excellent. See here:

Think that’s it for now.