The Coolest Thing In The World.

I'm a bloke; I like things. It's in my code.

Some of those things might have sentimental value; like my Grandfather's long service certificate from the The Working Mens Club and Institue Union, or the curls from the Wee Guy's first haircut.

But, like most blokes, the things I like best are Cool Things; things no-one else has got. A dinosaur bone. The first Philosophy Football shirt, the one with Albert Camus on the back. A Wittgenstein first edition. A denim iMac. A Philippe Starck juicer. The Scotsman edition reporting the first day of the Scottish Parliament. Et seq.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Harrods Rocks guitar exhibition. The show was comprised of three main topics; the history of the electric guitar; design ideas for the Stratocaster from contemporary graphic artists; and Donal Gallagher's collection of rare, provenanced guitars used on famous [mostly Irish] recordings. Phil Lynnot's Danelectro, Van the Man's Gibson semi, The Undertones' woolies special.

Donal is Rory Gallagher's brother, and in memory of the sadly departed Boy from Ballyshannon, the exhibition included a large screen looping footage of his blistering live performances. While watching this screen I realised that over my right shoulder was a single glass case, apart from the main galleries. Rory Gallaghers infamously beaten up Strat. Bought for a hundred quid in Cork; doctored and modified by Rory; stolen, ransomed, and left in a peat bog for three days; and [jokingly] loaned to the roadies every night to nail the heavy duty amp gear together with.

The coolest thing in the World.

Drew Mishmash