The Stones Age

Whilst apparently ageless, Lord Patel celebrated another year today - deaf friends, wives, mistresses, relatives MI5 surveillance operators alike ignored subtle hints at Christmas - leaving it to my favourite Grand Daughter to get that nice Mr Amazon to send me the Stone's estimable bass player and archivist's, compilation of cartoons - of nearly 45 years !

First the bad news. The pages are said to be designed by Glad Stockdale, who is probably about to complete his NVQ in graphic design real soon now. Shaded tints, graphics set at jaunty angles, and a wretched barely readable faux cursive script for Bill's notes make the thing look like something that gets remaindered PDQ.

Andrew Oldham's foreward is wonderful, and carries on (albeit briefly) where his Stoned and 2 Stoned left off. set totally in lower case with curious punctuation and composed probably on acid and off balance ... "led zeppelin may have played 'stairway to heaven' but it was the stones who climbed it. it must have been frighteningly awesome, playing like the gods while still on earth, almost too heady for what was, after all, only room-serviced mortals......."

Risking the ..."All rights reserved. No part of thus publication etc., etc.," it is impossible at this age and distance not to share this one.

As it was said of Septimus Severus ... Juventum egit erroribus, imo furoribus, plenam ... a Youth full of errors, nay of madness.

Find an undeaf gift giver and request a copy - better still go get a copy.