Scratching my head, with a smile

The clocks have changed and the nights have drawn in. The signal I think to get some regular Friday night action going again here.

The weekend is here I'm smiling and here is a fun record. Shirley Ellis' Clapping Song is still a great floor filler in my experience. I was struck by how fresh – and irresistible - it sounded when it was played alongside some more obscure upbeat Soul and Northern at a local pub OVO do (original vinyl only) I attended not so long ago. The Puzzle Song was the follow up to that single in 1965. It may not be such a guaranteed mover but is still, as I said, great fun.

Here are some puzzles:

1. Why do I continue to buy records when I am surrounded by ones I haven't got around to playing yet? I picked up this particular 45 ages ago – getting on for a year now possibly - and I have only just pulled it out of a pile and given it some proper attention.
2. The march of technology. My trusty old digital camera gave up the ghost recently. It always took good pictures of spinning 45s without any adjustment needed. I have only just worked out which setting gives me this ability on my “new” camera (it's a hand me down from my daughter so not brand new but much fancier than my old one), but this setting needs to be made each time and even then it's a bit more hit and miss in trying to catch the record at the right angle.
3. This weekend is Premiership football free and I'm looking forward to that because it means I don't have to live in fear of another bad result. Can't remember the last time that happened. How can a team win the Premiership one season and be so bad the next – with basically the same players? (I know, they weren't too hot after Christmas last season but they still ended up champions, relegation is not completely out of the question this season!).

I won't let these puzzles spoil my fun though.

Shirley Ellis – The Puzzle Song 1965