On his first full-length album, Charlie Barath takes the blues into tasty new territory.
Barath treats us to haluski, pierogi, halupki and the smell of kielbasa in the kitchen on High Ball & a Covered Dish, a song inspired by the cooking of his mother, a first generation Polish-American.
Forget the catfish, cornbread, beans and barbecue typically on the lyrical menu of blues songs, Barath s High Ball & a Covered Dish kicks dupa (look it up) with its ode to Eastern European heritage carrying over to his mom wearing a babushka.
The Center Township bluesman s whole Just Me and My Friend(s) album brims with fun and fresh concepts, from the Woody Woodpecker Theme intro and outro to Losin My Mind over You to the quite-literal narrative in She Drives Me to Drink to the playful remorse in Little Turtle Nightlight, the only object the singer has got left after a serial-cheatin , heart-breakin woman does her damage.
Van Morrison music. A bubble for two. Rom-coms and popcorn, waltzes and cha chas, or a ride in a horse-drawn carriage.
COVID-19 can t keep away Cupid this Valentine s Day weekend, as love s eternal spring pours forth with romantic date ideas locally, even during a pandemic.
In one of the only cases these days where social distancing isn t encouraged, lovebirds will celebrate V-Day in many ways.
A few last-minute ideas for couples still searching:
Put your arm around her
Remember date nights at movie theaters?
They still exist at places like the indie Tull Family Theater, which today through Feb. 18 will screen a host of romantic comedies including When Harry Met Sally, Love & Basketball, Crazy Rich Asians, P.S. I Love You and, naturally, Valentine s Day. For serious romance with a teardrop or two, there s always The Notebook.
The Office Manager of non-profit organisation Cumbria Law Centre in Carlisle has been presented with an award in recognition of a lifetime’s dedication to the centre and the provision of legal assistance to the people of Cumbria. Annette Oxley, who joined the Law Centre s team in 2000, said: I was delighted, but surprised. I was presented it by Lord Bach via Zoom. Network director Julie Bishop said: “In this, the 50th anniversary year of the first Law Centre opening, we decided to honour a Law Centre staff member with a Lifetime Achievement award. Many of our staff have devoted a significant part of their careers to Law Centre work. But one who stands out is Annette Oxley.”
IT IS FEARED that the UK could see 100,000 job losses in the event of a no-deal Brexit. As talks between the EU and the UK Government continue, Pete Moran of Cumbria Law Centre fears that the state of paid work is “very precarious.” Failure to achieve an affective trade deal with the EU before the UK’s transition period ends could exacerbate an already difficult situation, he said. Mr Moran said: “We look quite carefully at what the predictions are around the effects of Brexit because we need to understand them for how we fund out services. “The predictions we’ve seen are all very serious.”