Neil Gits To 13 London Stations

With April now here, that means there are just four or five weeks left of the football season for me to get out and about at Non League grounds around the country and see as many matches as possible to meet my self-set “targets”. So that meant I planned an ambitious Tuesday evening trip to Plymouth this week ! A retired chap has to have a hobby …

Alas, the rainy weather did me no favours and despite also making somewhat provisional plans to meet an old friend who lives in the city these days, there was a distinct possibility I could be taking on a 10 hour plus round trip purely to sleep in a Travelodge and eat at Harvester !! But I put together a decent itinerary and decided to go for it whatever the weather …

Come the day, it wasn’t the rain that scuppered my plans but my car ! Coming home from Gateway on Monday I realized my heater wasn’t working and a check under the bonnet in the morning alarmingly revealed that the coolant tank was empty ! I topped it up , but a couple of strange noises 200 yards down the road and “driver’s instinct” had me pulling over before even leaving my home town to re-check – and it was empty again !!

At 11am last Tuesday instead of cruising down the motorway en route for Devon, I found myself sitting back on the sofa at home, surrounded by bags and a fully packed suitcase, with my car feeling sorry for itself in the local garage, waiting for a new water pump to be fitted. I cancelled the hotel room, sulked for about an hour (!) then inspiration arrived …

I couldn’t drive but the trains were working OK (for once !) and although a £129 return ticket to Plymouth was totally impractical, I did buy a One Day Travelcard and had a very interesting day wandering round London visiting all the mainline stations with my camera, something I’d had in the back of my mind to do for a couple of years, should I ever get bored and restless indoors in retirement – mission accomplished !

As a footnote, the football match I had built my trip around was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, just as I’d feared, and my friend wasn’t able to meet up anyway, so though I wasted £65 on an unused hotel room, I did save nearly twice that on petrol and food. etc … and can try again another week soon ! One thing that did go as planned this week was my show on Monday, which you can hear today (Saturday) at 5pm on the ‘Repeat Play’ or via “Listen Again” any time you like, now or in three weeks time, up to you ! These are the fabulous tracks I selected …

The Tunes – Monday 27th March 2023

Debarge – Rhythm Of The Night
Howard Johnson – Say You Wanna
Jaheim – Roster
Instant Funk – Got My Mind Made Up
Evelyn “Champagne” King – Shame
Groove Association ft Georgie B & Deborah Bell – No Regrets
Janet Jackson – Anytime Anyplace
Rita Ray – No Greater Love
Johnny Bristol – I’m Waiting On Love
Carl Douglas – Run Back
Dhar Braxton – Jump Back (12” Version)
Tony Toni Tone – I Couldn’t Keep It To Myself
James Brown – Cold Sweat
Stix Hooper – Cordon Bleu
Chic – Est-ce Que C’est Chic
Cerrone – Je Suis Music
Dira – Get Through To You
Imagination ft Leee John – The Last Time
Real Thing – You’ll Never Know What You’re Missing
L J Reynolds – Don’t Let Nobody Hold You Down
Michael McDonald – Sweet Freedom
Ronnie Laws – Good Feelings
Soundscape UK – Brand New Day

Feel free to get in touch with your soulful request or just for a mention on the show – put a post on “The Old Gits Soul Show” page on Facebook, text (01268)833978 or message me via e-mail : [email protected].

The Old Gits Soul Show is broadcast LIVE from 7pm–9pm every Monday, repeated on Saturday evening from 5pm–7pm, on Gateway 97.8FM in Basildon & East Thurrock and available nationally via the Radio Player at Sky TV as well as online via www.gateway978.com You can listen on your smart speaker or your phone too … plus you can hear it again anytime you like via the “Listen Again” button on the Gateway website – just search “Cool Soul” !