Weirdly, I never much enjoyed writing at school. I had ideas – too many ideas – but I’d hurry to get them down on paper. I’d skip words, or write in an illegible scrawl.
Once I became a writer by trade, stopped having to use a pen or pencil, and got better at writing, I learned the value in putting feelings in writing as a form of processing them. There’s something about getting it out of my head in a linear way, that I can read over, that just helps me duri...
2022-08-18 20:08:18 +0000 UTC
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Hello again, you lot. So... I'm not sure we're going to get a Digi out this week. As I think I said yesterday, we've got Sanja's brother and his girlfriend staying, which has further squeezed our already squeezed life, at least for the next week. And we're keeping an eye on my mum for two days from tomorrow.
Bit frustrating, as we've got two Digi videos ready to go, but we are where we are. One of those videos... the below picture will give you an idea of what to expect (the latest in a...
2022-08-16 19:51:27 +0000 UTC
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As many have said already, Cheapshow Live was great on Saturday night. It was exactly what we both needed. I hadn’t expected there to be quite such a pro-Digi crowd. I’m always a little bit wary of Cheapshow’s audience, given that Paul and Eli are very beloved, and the fact that I’m not sure I’m entirely universally loved as a Cheapshow guest! But… it turned out that we were very much on home turf, and there were so many Digi t-shirts, so much crossover in our audiences, that I ne...
2022-08-15 12:25:24 +0000 UTC
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Hello, all.
Hot innit? Well, it is if you're in England or Wales. We're in the middle of another heatwave, and I can't staaaaaaand it.
Just to say, I think we're going to skip a week of BYAMPOD. With the ongoing mum and dad stuff something needs to give somewhere along the line, and the end of Somewhere Else feels like a natural break. When we're back a week from Monday it'll hopefully be with the SE letters (I've yet to confirm a date with Pedanthony, but I'm sure he'...
2022-08-12 14:57:11 +0000 UTC
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Yes... it was under the sofa, just as I thought. Which meant I could finish off compiling the Curtis/Dorothy love letters outtakes. And here they are: a truly bumper selection of deleted footage, longer than the episode itself.
I'll see some of you on Zoom at 7.30pm.
2022-08-11 17:40:45 +0000 UTC
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Behold: even more holes, arguing, and terrible sportsmanship!
I do believe we're scheduled to do a Biffo's Brain Zoom tonight at 7.30pm. If people are still up for that, despite the hellish heat that's rolling in, I'll get you a link this afternoon.
2022-08-11 09:18:37 +0000 UTC
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New Digi vid! And the first with both the Cheapshow boys since last Christmas.
Yes: it's crazy minigolf meets dinosaurs in this special tournament, featuring me and Sanja versus Paul and Eli from Cheapshow! It's 18 holes of cheating, bad language, bad sportsmanship, ill-considered dinosaur facts, and chaos. Whoever wins... we all lose.
FYI... I've still not found the hard drive with the letters outtakes, so I've already edited and uploaded the outtakes for this e...
2022-08-10 16:50:57 +0000 UTC
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Morning all.
Apologies to the upper tiers for not yet getting you the outtakes from the letters ep. Annoyingly, my hard drive containing them has been… uh… well, I don’t know where it is. It’ll turn up though, and I’ll get you them. We’ll hopefully get you something else exclusive this week to apologise.
We’re filming today with Paul and Eli, for the first time in ages. It’s an out-and-about episode, and we’re playing dinosaur mini golf. Expect chaos. That will l...
2022-08-08 09:10:28 +0000 UTC
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Here's one of the letters I don't think we read out on this week's ep. I've not scanned the slighter more risqué one yet, but I'll try and get around to it next week, along with some of the others.
This is, I believe, the most 'recent' (and therefore final) letter we have from Curtis, dated 31st December 1940. It mentions Old House Lindsey (he's reassuring Dottypuss that there's nothing going on there... in spite of "temptations") and The Blonde Around The Corner.
I'v...
2022-08-04 20:37:33 +0000 UTC
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In this Patreon-only exclusive, we're talking about the 2011 Marillion Weekend, which not only featured probably the longest Marillion gigs of all time... but played a key role in mine and Sanja's relationship...
2022-08-04 14:47:56 +0000 UTC
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In this new BYAMPOD, we're mopping up the last drips of Somewhere Else in the shape of the b-sides; Circular Ride and Say The Word. This takes us into a discussion about whether Marillion are more prog pop than prog rock, Steve Hogarth's Musical Boobs, and the under appreciated genius of producer Mike Hunter.
En route shortly: a brand new bonus episode!
2022-08-04 14:37:30 +0000 UTC
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Hello, you lovely lot.
As you’ll have gathered, it has been a challenging couple of weeks, emotionally obviously, but just on a kind of physical and energetic level. With my dad in hospital – who a month ago was still going to supermarkets and driving – my mum is on her own, and more or less blind. He had been her primary carer. One of my sisters has been in Spain this week, which left the rest of us doing a lot of the running around… both up to the hospital, and for my mum. The...
2022-08-04 06:52:47 +0000 UTC
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Ohhh... I'm proud of this one. It's one of the best (and longest) edit jobs I've done. You won't even realise, because it's not anything particularly flashy. The original footage was over 90 minutes long, and I managed to get it down to around half an hour, almost seamlessly. I don't expect anyone to notice, so excuse me while I parp my own horn!
Matron.
Of course, that does mean an extra bumper crop of outtakes - including several full sequences - for the upper tiers later ...
2022-08-01 21:09:36 +0000 UTC
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In our final trawl through the tracks on Marillion's Somewhere Else - The Wound, Last Century For Man, and Faith - we get buzzed by helicopters, make some unflattering comparisons, and discuss which band member would assault you with a fluffy slipper.
Next week, we're hoping to have a bonus ep for you. Thanks for the support, everyone.
2022-07-29 14:08:02 +0000 UTC
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Before you all tell me... yes I know I just sent that BIFFO'S BRAIN Zoom link to everyone! It's okay. Look upon it as a freebie - you can see what we get up to, if you ever fancy signing up.
The actual BIFFO'S BRAIN people... speak to you in a couple of weeks for another session!
2022-07-28 20:11:58 +0000 UTC
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Good turn out tonight, and a lovely vibe! It was just what we needed. Thank you, gang. And thanks to Kathy for reminding me to press record 20 minutes in... Sorry to everyone else for missing the start.
Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=---dWzYH-fM
2022-07-28 20:10:13 +0000 UTC
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Hello, lovely lot. We're going to get you this week's full-flavour Digi on time due to things. But get this: we did film an ep today, and we also recorded a 20 minute video just for you lot.
Promise: this is a whinge-free zone (mostly)...
Also: new haircut!
2022-07-27 20:17:03 +0000 UTC
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As promised, here's another 20 minutes or so of us figuring out our brand...
2022-07-25 19:14:41 +0000 UTC
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Hello, gang.
Plans for this week… we’ve got some outtakes on the way for the upper tiers, which are imminent once they’re uploaded, then hopefully the usual Digi and BYAMPOD.
Seems all I do at the minute is tell you depressing stuff, but everything is going to have to be somewhat pencilled in, as my dad’s in hospital with Covid complications. He’s in a very bad way, and it feels that things could go one way or another.
I’m a bit pissed off with him, because he â€...
2022-07-25 08:57:47 +0000 UTC
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We've reached our ninetieth episode! And what better way to mark the occasion than with the third part of our retrospective on Marillion's least-loved album, captured on the hottest day in recorded British history? Suffice to say, Paul is grumpy, Sanja's in her bra, and there's some serious Devil's advocating going on when it comes to Make Poverty History.
2022-07-20 10:05:46 +0000 UTC
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New Digi video time...! This week, we're exploring the world of branding, and investigate ways to re-brand the Digitiser YouTube channel - using online tools to generate slogans, a new brand name... and even new versions of ourselves...
Oh, and I take you on a tour of where I grew up, including my old school, and the place where The Who played their first concert!
2022-07-19 18:43:30 +0000 UTC
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Hello, you lot.
This week... providing we don't all spontaneously burst into flames over the next two days... will be a busy one.
Currently, I'm editing this week's Digi which should be with you tomorrow. They seem to keep getting more complicated and involved, but it's working for us. This week we're looking into re-branding (not really, but y'know).
BYAMPOD will be with you before Friday, and it'll be the final part of Somewhere Else (barring the letters - whic...
2022-07-18 10:51:43 +0000 UTC
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In this ep of BYAMPOD we kick off with our take on the Marillion Weekend 2023 news, before getting stuck into the first clutch of songs on Somewhere Else: The Other Half, See It Like A Baby, Thankyou Whoever You Are... and the notorious Most Toys...
Have a good weekend, everyone. Talk to you next week.
2022-07-15 20:42:45 +0000 UTC
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Thought I’d give you all an update on how our week has gone after the other day. I’m sharing this with everyone, as the previous blog was just for upper tiers, but I know some of you were concerned after I did a bit of an emotion-dump on Twitter yesterday.
So, the short of it is, which you’ve probably picked up from our videos and podcast episodes… I am struggling to find work, for a number of reasons out of my control, have been for a while, and we’re finally broke. Weâ...
2022-07-15 11:52:50 +0000 UTC
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We're not putting out a main video for everyone this week, as we're doing one that's somewhat more involved... but you lovely Patrons still get this, in which we fill you in on... well, everything really. While trying not to sweat to death.
2022-07-13 14:32:56 +0000 UTC
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Hello, you lot.
Digi will be late again this week. Sorry. I had a hospital appointment yesterday, which - once again - meant we didn't get to film when we wanted. Plus, my parents have had Covid this past week (they now seem to be on the mend, as old and frail as they both are), which meant there's been a lot of running around to do for them.
We're filming the next ep today, but as with last week's A.I. video it's probably going to be quite an involved one, and I don't want to rus...
2022-07-13 09:38:41 +0000 UTC
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Thank you for all the lovely comments on my post from yesterday. A lot of you even upped your Patreon pledge, which I really hadn't expected. And a couple made some ludicrously generous offers to help us over this hump. You know who you are. And I hope you know how much Sanja and I appreciate it.
Thank you a million times over. This isn't much of a thank you, but it's the best we've got today!
In our first attempt at exploring everything A.I. has to offer creativity we...
2022-07-12 12:29:12 +0000 UTC
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I’m going to apologise for this in advance. It’s probably going to be a long post. It’s not going to be a particularly jolly one. I hope – I really hope – it doesn’t come across as self-pitying, but it might.
Regardless, I reserve the right to embrace self-pity on my own Patreon, especially given where I’m currently at, so if it’s not something you want to read… please don’t. I’d rather that than you skipped it, than read it and went right off me.
Hopef...
2022-07-11 20:02:04 +0000 UTC
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Apologies that the main ep wasn't playable earlier - it's fixed now (it's also up on all the usual podcast platforms). To make up for it being late... here's a bonus episode in which we discuss the possibility of the band listening to BYAMPOD... and how that would be The Worst Thing Ever!
2022-07-11 16:43:21 +0000 UTC
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Sorry this is late! We've got a bonus ep on the way to make it up to you.
We're finally at the point of talking about Somewhere Else - Marillion's 2007 follow-up to Marbles. It's an album that has something of a mixed legacy, and in this episode we argue that it's a record that deserves better than its reputation. We also explore where it might've gone so wrong - and why Paul may have had something to do with it.
Also, we check in with The Corona Diaries, and enjoy a review of the...
2022-07-11 14:56:25 +0000 UTC
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