A place we saw the lights turn low; Jigsaw jazz and the get-fresh flow

I am vaguely planning a scheme. I have loads of vinyl upstairs, long players galore that have not felt the delicate touch of a stylus upon their subtle grooves for years and years. Having said that, I’m not sure I want to play much of it. Plenty of it has been replaced by the new Compact Disc format or the even newer MPEG-Audio Layer 3 files. And plenty of it, it pains me to state, I have no great yearning to play anymore. My eighteen year old alter ego would have scoffed should you have remarked to him (perhaps as part of a science fictionesque time-travelling experiment) that one day there would no longer be any love in his heart for The Smiths but that’s the way it is. I purchased every Smiths recording on the day it was released for several years but, despite an occasional frisson of excitement when I hear This Charming Man, Hand In Glove or What Difference Does It Make? on the wireless, I no longer yearn for this combo’s numbers. I guess the same could be said for a few groups. Time and age have dulled my affection.

What’s my scheme then? I have a turntable and have today placed it (after giving it a ruddy good clean) in the summer house at the bottom of the garden. I’m going to get some speakers and turn this horticulturally-based space into a designated vinyl area. I’m tempted not to play any of my old vinyl but to start building a new collection from - excuse the pun - scratch. I don’t want to buy anything I can’t get on CD or MP3 as it is very convenient to play stuff I really want and admire and dig on my iPod or on the lounge’s hi-fi system. I scoured Gloucester’s charity shops this morning and browsed the vinyl on sale. There were of heaps of easy listening recordings that I’d quite like owning, lots of 80s synth pop and plenty of other so-out-it’s-in treasures. I sense that I only – please excuse the pun again – scratched the surface of what is available too. Car boot sales, eBay, junk shops and the myriad of charity shops that I didn’t visit must house tremendously exciting acquisitions. I’ll report back. I need some speakers first though.