@derekrobertson's...

A Shuttleworth delight on the train via BBC iplayer

Those of you who know me will know that John Shuttleworth is my absolute hero so it was with great delight that I heard him (thanks to Hamish Budge for the heads up) on Radio 4's Loose Ends programme. In fact, I've just listened to the programme on BBC iplayer on the train home from London. He performed a new song called "One cup of tea is never enough and two is one too many". Yes, I'm sure some kind of reference to Hotmilkydrink is in there...

Have a listen to it and jump to 22 minutes on the clip to hear the master at work. Rolf Harris even freestyles alongside John on the track. What a duo! Another guest on the show then talks about metro sexuals and quizzes John about which skin products he uses. I think John is solely a Brut or Old Spice man and maybe splashes on some Blue Stratos on the odd special occasion.

Finally, John is about to undertake a national tour called The Minor Tour and other Mythological Creatures, beginning in November. I'm going to see him In Edinburgh on December 3rd so get yourself along for an evening of mirth, merriment and the opportunity to punch the air to some his great tunes.

 

Get my hero chartbound!

A question I'm often asked about my blog is, 'Why the name hotmilkydrink?' Well, I'm a huge fan of a comedian called John Shuttleworth, (that versatile singer/songwriter from Sheffield South Yorkshire) and one of the things he likes to have is a hot milky drink. You can even play a BBC John Shuttleworth game that has John's organ packed full of fun rhythms and samples, one of which is the phrase 'hotmilkydrink'.

John has just made a valiant attempt to reach the charts (number 96 in the national charts and number 29 in the indie charts) for the first time ever with the release of his EP, 4 Tasty Tracks. The songs are all superb:

• I can't go back to savoury now: John tells of a teatime dilemma when his daughter does not eat her steak and kidney pudding but as he has started his pudding he can't go back to her savoury dish!
• Tummy Trouble: A cautionary tale about eating too much
• Serial Cereal Eater: A homage to the breakfast cereal and the fact that John appears to be an expert on each one-including that new one Optivita!
• Two Margarines: The turmoil of the buy-one-get-one-free phenomenon in supermarkets comes home to roost at chez Shuttleworth when he finds two margarines open at the one time. Which one should he use to butter his scone?!

Marvel (which can be put in a hot milky drink) at the great performer here as he deliver's an emotional rendition of 'I can't go back to savoury now.'

Do yourself a favour and download these tracks from his site. With a bit of luck we might get John on a guest slot on Pebble Mill at one!

My hero is on MySpace!

The title of this weblog is inspired by Sheffield's finest singer-songwriter and my inspiration -John Shuttleworth. It seems that John is getting to grips with Web 2.0 as he now has a MySpace site that his agent's work experience lad has set up for him! Not related to games and learning but sublime comedy that may tickle your fancy...I recommend that you listen to 'Two Margarines'. Enjoy.

I can't go back to savoury now!

The food at the Handhled Learning 2006 Conference was really quite lovely. The only problem was that the initial helping of the 'savoury' course (lovely thai curry with rice and beautiful sandwiches) left me on the cusp of being sated!

I succumbed and had my sweet only to go back for more savoury! Now you know that this is not done.

It made me think of John Shuttleworth, Sheffield's finest singer-songwriter to date, song of the same name as this title post.

Have a wee listen to Mark Radcliffe interviewing John Shuttleworth and marvel at this beautiful song and relate to my plight!

It is a few minutes into the sound file but well worth the wait.