play that funky vinyl

I love Anna, I really do, but this does not mean I have to share in her (very bad) taste in music. On this we agree to disagree - when I ride in her car I must endure her musical preferences which up until the other day consisted of only 'Angel fm' a local radio station focusing on the war years whose slogan should be: music for OAPs by OAPs. I joke that when we hit an area of static its becasuse the presenter has just turned up his hearing aid. All the adverts are for undertakers which is quite depressing & slightly odd as when their listeners pop their clogs they can't very well arrange their own funeral can they?! The other day I had to endure a two hour gas mask special - I would really like to tell you that I'm joking here (as much as I loved the war effort back in my junior school history class!) She also gets very excited when she solves the daily guess the artist puzzle which I have to say is an impressive feat bearing in mind todays artist of the day was born in 1897! Having said all this at least I know what to expect. The easy jazz numbers are really quite relaxing and I have grown accustomed to the raspy singers & fuzz from the vinyl records - its all quite comforting in a funny sort of way!

"I love how they always sing about romance," Anna sighed, "It's all walks on the beach by moonlight and candle-lit dinners." "Oh, you old romantic you!" I gave her a playful nudge, "I know what you mean though. It's hardly Akon's 'I see you winding and grinding up on that pole' is it?!" This was probably a grandparents moment when they would say, 'Ah, the youth of today.' "That reminds me, my nan came round the flat this morning," I told Anna, as she had been out at the time buying groceries at tesco express down the road. "Oh?" she replied, as she had been out at the time picking up a few groceries from the tesco express down the road. "Yeah, I think she popped her head in for a bit of a nosey round the place, you know," my nan is a bit of a busybody and knows everything about everyone - she is even better friends with our own neighbours than we are ourselves! "She asked if we had a good evening last night and then she went off on one as she does about how things were back in her day - about the dances she used to go to. This music just reminded me of it that's all." "I want to be back in those times when you used to have to sit on the side of the hall waiting for boys to ask you politely if they could have this dance," Anna said her eyes glazing over slightly. "I know. My nan asked me to explain how it all works nowadays and I just didn't no quite how to put it! I think she would be appauled," I exclaimed. "I went with 'snatch and grab' as means of description but I don't think she really understood!" "Probably for the best," Anna retorted, "All that innapropriate groping would be too much for her!"

"Oh and by the way she thinks I have a drink problem!" I told her, laughing. Anna raised an eyebrow, looking for further explanation. "My mum called me up a while after she had left telling me that when my nan was tidying up the place she had found an empty vodka bottle in the bin next to my bed and feared the worst," I explained. "Oh, that's hilarious - she has such a low opinion of you," Anna chuckled, "The poor dear probably assumed you had downed the whole bottle in an alcohol induced stupour before you went off to bed!" "Well you know me," I gave a little shrug, "Can't get through the night without it. It wasn't even vodka that's the thing I'm just not that hard core. It was one of those bigger bottles of smirnoff ice you know left over from the flat warming party. It wasn't even as if I had drunk it all to myself, although that possibly would have made for a better night!" I said, my voice raised in mock outrage. "Ah, that fateful night. . ." Anna trailed off as we both sat there remembering traces of smiles playing on our lips.