RIP Amy Winehouse

Oh …

That’s …

Well, quite a few thing’s, actually …

Calling it a shame seems to be understating things.

Yeah see, the only thing that’s knocked the news of the attacks on Oslo off the metaphorical front pages … ?

Is what’s scrolling down the metaphorical screens, as I write …

Sadly … ?

Sadly, today see’s the death of singer and song-writer, Amy Winehouse.

There’s no official confirmation, as I write …

But plenty of indications, going by the BBC’s news channel.

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Including reports that Amy’s label, Island, weren’t happy with the progress of her third album, both in terms of how long it was taking … and the quality of the material they’d received, thus far …

Hmmm …

Now …

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Gosh, isn’t it surprising how much you can think of to say, when something like this happens … ?

Says I.

I’ll be honest, I’m sort of struggling for words, here.

You see …

I was never much of a fan of hers.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I liked what I heard of her songs.

And, although I don’t know if I’ll go as far as calling her a genius — it hasn’t taken long for reporters and commentators to start throwing the word around — I was certainly impressed with what I heard of Back to Black, her seminal second album.

So, yes, I’ll happily say this is a loss: to her fans and family.

But I have a very strange view of these things.

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You see …

Well …

The main thing I’m thinking, here, is that Amy famously had substance issues.

Or possibly I should say notoriously.

But that’s what gets me, here.

You, I’ll happily confess to having my own issues with the booze and fags over the years.

I’ve also known people who’ve had more serious substance abuse issues, as well.

People who’ve — in various ways — come through them.

And I’ll stress come through them.

And I’m thinking, here, that that’s where the tragedy really lies, in a way.

The recovering substance abusers I’ve met — are for the most part — the first people to admit that their drug use has given them problems, and that it’s taken a long time for them to get into recovery.

And they’d ALSO admit that they’re happier, now, they have been whilst using.

And — here’s the key part — that they’re generally grateful to be where they are, today: in spite of their past.

That’s kind of what I’m thinking, here.

Amy Winehouse is now dead.

And what I’m thinking is the tragedy …

Is that she’s not alive to say “In Spite Of Her Past”, for herself.

Hmmm …

I think that’s where I’ll leave this …

But as a last couple of thoughts … ?

Well, I can’t help but play this to you, only a few weeks after she’d announced she’d changed her mind about this …

And …

Well, leave you with the question, from Valerie … “Why don’tcha come and see me … ?”

The Dog And Partridge …

Oh, now that’s a shame.

It seems that, according to this week’s Brentwood Gazette, the landlords of the Dog and Partridge, in Kelvedon, have decided to break their lease, after a particularly nasty Friday night fight.

I can’t say I blame them; the couple in question had young children, and most of the bar-staff I’ve met over the years are pretty much agreed with my own view.

A pub — especially when something like that kicks off — isn’t the place to raise kids.

Hmmm …

But, at any rate, I can’t say I blame the couple concerned for leaving.

But here’s the email I sent the Gazette …

I’ve got to admit, I was saddened to read about the recent violence at the Dog & Partridge, in Kelvedon, in this weeks Gazette.

Violence that forced the new tenants to give up the pub.

I was saddened, but not surprised.

As a fifteen-year veteran behind various pub bars, I believe alcohol related violence is much more common than those outside the licensed trade may realise. Friday and Saturday night would usually be the worst time, wherever I was working, and more noticeably in areas like Brentwood High Street; but usually was a result of simple arguments getting out of hand, aggravated by the amount that many customers — usually, but not always limited to, young men in their twenties — had drunk.

It’s unfortunate that the Dog and Partridge has lost tenants who sounded like they were making an positive impact on a declining village pub. The part of it I really find saddening is simply that — with skilled staff or experienced management — this sort of violence is usually very avoidable.

However we deal with it, we have to take one thing into account. For anyone working in, or running a pub, alcohol related violence is a simple fact of life.

Going into the trade without that in mind is not an option.

Whether it gets published is a whole other matter, of course.

But having seen the sort of incident the Gazette’s talking about, I think expressing a relevant point of view can’t hurt, now can it?