The Beatles and The Dave Clark Fives unprecedented assault on the American 'pop' scene in the early 1960's heralded a new beginning, amid the gloomy back drop of the austere 'cold war' years. Coffee bars, mini skirts, lambaurettas, buoffant hairstyles became the accepted norms, during the exciting era of the swinging 60's. There was also the new up and coming female singers of the time which included the likes of Lulu, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Sandie Shaw, Mariane Faithful and not forgetting in Bulgaria, Lili Ivanova.

Even before the appearance of Elvis, in the days when Dickie Valentine led the UK charts, music language has been outside of the normal vocabulary. Yet the babyboomer generation invented a whole new dictionary and now much of it has been adopted by the Oxford English Dictionary. Why did we invent new words and phrases? How was it triggered? Why should we care about it? Here's the how and why of it.

The prices of food and other products in the 1960s is often discussed in babyboomer circles. Housing too is one of those subjects where historical prices are talked about. For the information of all those who sometimes wonder what things cost back then, here is a little list.

Manufacturers are making clear progress in reducing the amount of salt in food, but unclear labelling risks misleading customers who rely on the information on food labels to reduce their salt intake.

As a practitioner of the black arts of drumming for some thirty five years it’s now time to rise up and say stop to this facile part of the music biz.

The sight of three overweight fifty year olds dressed as ZZ Top or a Bon Jovi tribute band called Bon Geordie or By Jovi fills me with terror quite apart from the fact that it is an unedifying spectacle. One roadie of my acquaintance mentioned that a mutual friend whose girth has increased over the last few years (as indeed has mine) in his new Glam Rock Garb resembled as he put it nineteen stone of lard in a Charles the second wig. He also told a musical acquaintance when asked for his opinion on his new band (sic) “ you’re miming”. An OBE for him now for honesty.

Well, here we are. Another day another gig for the fifty-somethings comes to a close. This is the moment when one realises that there are various medical conditions associated with age which those at the summit of the music business never have to deal with. I refer of course to such things as the knee cartilage, dodgy since that tackle on the Dog and Duck centre-half (note the terminology. No centre-backs then). The back problem as a result of a fracas with a recalcitrant chaise longue or the incipient prostate condition which results in the last few numbers having a certain urgency to them.

With all the publicity that has been generated recently by the sale of over 4 Billion tickets to this years Glastonbury Festival I was reminded of the first festival that I attended as a callow 16 year old youth back in May 1972.

What is it with 50 year old men who, after years of mild decadence and staying up late still pursue the elusive Rock & Roll dream. Hauling themselves around the bars and village halls of the UK for the price of a set of fancy guitar strings and, if they are lucky - petrol money. An army of middle aged rockers rehearse diligently week in week out for a remuneration that can be earnt by most in the time it takes to deal with the morning's emails. Disposable cash is always useful combined with the blurred distinction between men and boys, and the, thankfully, musical egalitarian age in which we live.

As the heady days of that wedding day become a distant memory, the children are now into adulthood and life begins to take its toll. Suddenly there is just the two of you, living a life that is so busy with work, and the daily chores. That life just seems to drift from one day to another.

The cost of digital imaging has dropped significantly over the last few years. It has become affordable for every home PC user to own a scanner. Scanning is an area of home computing that is full of terminology and may put some people off. This is not a step by step guide, there are too many different types and versions of software packaged with scanners out there, but we hope to give new users of scanning technology a bit of confidence and hopefully give the more experienced a few helpful tips.