P.M. Adamson

Welcome to the P.M. Adamson Blogging area

Hello and welcome. My full name is Peter Michael Adamson. I am a retired Music Teacher having worked in Secondary Schools from 1978-2000, Special Education specialising in Autism from 2001-2013 and part time EBD from 2013-2019. As a Music Teacher I produced many concerts and shows over many years. In 2003 I founded an annual special needs event which became so successful it had to be moved into The Lowry Quays Theatre in Salford involving over 14 Special Needs Schools spread over two concerts. In 2023 the Together Trust took complete control over the Festival and I was no longer compere. It was very disappointing for me but rather than go into deep depression I decided to reinvent myself. I set up my own Festival at Padiham Town Hall in 2024 which despite lots of administrative obstacles went ahead with Live adult performances and children’s groups on film. Padiham Town hall was really encouraging but having funded the event myself I am now hoping to continue the Festival if I can secure funding... Watch this space as the saying goes.

In addition to my Festival activities, I arrange and record traditional folk songs in a variety of styles under the guise of “Keeping the Old Songs Alive” "Hymns and Songs of Faith" and write original songs on a variety of themes. Many of my songs are released on albums via streaming and download sites and on YouTube with accompanying films. I also collaborate with other YouTubers by audio dubbing their uploads, with permission, and have also released these on compilations or YouTube featuring Raymond Crooke, Virginia McJunkin, Dany Rosevear, Tony McGreal, Threelegsoman (aka Tony Archibald) Bob241046 and Danny Lobo among others as well as co-writing collaborations with lyricist Stuart Lewis and Musician Paul Griffin. These can all be found on my YouTube channel and the channels of the collaborators where appropriate. Although much of my time is spent on audio recording and film making (although clip assembling and editing might be a more accurate description) I occasionally perform live such as for my Care Home Concerts / singalongs and other events. I am also a Church Musician doing my bit every Sunday at the local convent.

So, with so much to do why am I starting a blog. Well, there a few reasons. My Family have had enough of my talking and my self-centred nature. Of course I dispute that but accept they’ve heard it all before. A fellow youtuber suggested I start one because I always have something to talk about with such an involved full life. Furthermore, as an alter-ego called Claim to Fame Man and a career as a Football Referee and Referee instructor I have lots of stories to tell. As a retired Music teacher, I like to think I have enough experience to help others on their journey into creativity and actually enjoy helping and supporting others – once a teacher always a teacher as they say. Finally, at 70 I’ve accepted I won’t be here for ever so a blog is a great way to put down my thoughts, experiences, memories and even opinions although I don’t want to be an influencer as I believe in free will and the Good Lord who is my only real influence. So, if you like Faith, Hope and Charity, Old Songs and original songs then I hope my stories and memories provide interesting reading.

This is a first blog and I’m not sure if feedback will happen but over time I’ll delve further and hopefully have some good discussions on the various topics mentioned

Best wishes to everyone who visits the blog for A Happy , Peaceful and a Prosperous 2025

Technology in the Modern World

 One of the joys of ageing is dealing with technology. Like Marmite you either love or hate it. I like to think I embrace it but sometimes it does get the better of me.

It can be useful for improving the quality of life from internet information to a smart home. In contrast however the speed at which things change is a cause for concern. Software upgrades for example are both costly and often unnecessary and the introduction of subscriptions gets the consumer over a barrel. The old adage if it’s not broken don’t fix it clearly does not apply to software. Why? I ask myself. It appears to me that the programmers have nothing better to do and constant changing things keeps them in work and forces us to be dependent on them.

On a similar theme the Laws of Association Football are constantly changing. When I played at Amateur Level the Laws were quite clear. If you deliberately handled the ball in the penalty Area it was handball and a penalty. Today no one seems clear on what constitutes handball. With talk of unnatural hand position, it is hardly surprising we are all confused but like the computer programmers the Football authorities have to keep their jobs and need to be seen controlling the game. It also keeps them one step ahead of the pundits who often seem clueless as to what the Referees Instructions are or have been told. Often someone is trying to make a name for themselves by coming up with something different without just cause.

Continuing with technology I was struggling the other day trying to get a hand dryer working at the Motorway services. Last time I went in you placed your hands under the dryer and it switched on automatically. This time it had a strange wing like bar. I pressed it, pushed it. wafted my hands around all to no avail. A passer-by kindly wafted his hand over it and it worked. I have to say leaving the house these days is a bit of an adventure.

Car parking is another area of ageing confusion. I went into a multi-story car park the other day and the barrier went up before I’d stopped to pick up a ticket. Luckily my son in law was with me and explained it photographed the registration plate as I drove in. After my visit paying was a menagerie of scanners, card readers and coin slots. Had I not had the support of my Son-in-law I suspect a large queue would have formed behind me, but I got away with it this time. I have to say though I am  increasingly finding I must apologise for being an old duffer in shops and the like to get a bit of sympathy for my lack of awareness in the changing world.

The Generation Gap

I read  an interesting post today written by a young unemployed person who was having a rant at the privileges that old people get. They made some good points and i decided to reply but then thought I'd rather just put my point of view and my response here. The issue rang a bell with me because I'd written a song called The Generation Gap, inspired by The Who's My Generation in the light of ageing. Here's alink to the song on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZvx1GPbOZs

   As I pensioner I take on board a lot of your strong arguments. I have a good pension having worked as a Teacher for many years and into my retirement . However, a lot of pensioners do not have good pensions and the state pension is akin to unemployed benefits as I see it. I agree not all jobless people are down and outs. Those people who have struggled to make ends meet on benefits will be in the same boat, unfortunately when they become pensioners, and they will not have the  wonderful life you assume pensioners have.Having paid National Insurance for 37 years those contributions have gone towards the benefits you mention. I don't get a free TV licence as I'm only 70 but I do have a bus pass which is useful for I D. as I don't have a passport. The fuel allowance has now been taken off us and while I can cover that, those on state pension alone will suffer especially as not working keeps you at home all day throughout winter. I would have made donations to charities with any savings with that benefit and many pensioners including myself have several direct debits to various charities including the various requests that come up on daytime T V. through disasters etc. I fully understand your point but being a state only pensioner is not easy and neither is being homeless or unemployed.

The UK is allegedly one of the richest nations in the World but the money we have is not being distributed equally or fairly and there will always be underlying wheeling and dealing which you can call business or corruption but the people at the lower end of the wealth ladder are the ones who foot the bill via their poverty....

I also take on board your comments about the vicious circle of getting a job. In my day we had the Labour Exchange. During my student days I walked in and got a job straight away. i.e.1972-1976.

In 1977 they sent me home and it took 2 days for a telegram to arrive for my next job.In 1978 I was asked if I wanted a job because there was a shortage but if I refused I'd still get the £12 a week unemployment benefit.I decided as I already had a teaching job lined up I'd take the benefit for 6 weeks to allow someone else who needed any jobs that came up. That situation is now long gone and Job seekers allowance sounds like you are left out on a limb to fend for yourself.

If it's any consolation most pensioners I know have a lot of sympathy for the unemployed and appreciate times have changed. I go into a bank and get encouraged to use the hole in the wall. I always, where practical, go to a person and the same in the supermarkets because keeping jobs is paramount. I  also think young people fortunate to get jobs struggle with expenses and getting on the property ladder is impossible especially for those with student loans to pay back. Again in the 1970s we had grants for those with low income parents of which I have been eternally grateful.

On the other side of the coin our generation worked hard whereas a lot of those fortunate to get jobs spend time on their phones instead of doing the job they are being paid for which in turn affects the markets and leads to redundencies.Not everyone I hasten to add.

We were told at school there is no substitute for hard work and although I'm not sure that's true anymore with people amassing fortunes on social media by telling people what they pack in their suitcases for their many holidays abroad. It does generally pay off to work hard  if not financially in a rewarding satisfying way.

Regarding hate for job seekers that is sad to hear but they will be the same people who complain when challenging children with Autism go into cafes with their carers and cause a scene. Back in the 70's those children were in institutions so at least some things have improved. It all comes down to attitudes, education and raising awareness of each stratas problems and the tarnishing of people with the same brush. No one should look down on anyone else as we are all subject to bad things at various times in our life, so count your blessings and as my Mum used to tell me, "There's always someone worse off than you " and in the words of a well known song "There but for fortune go you or I" 

Today's World Tomorrow

I composed and produced a concept album which was meant to be futuristic but recent events have suggested to me that it is all coming true. A.I. is taking over along with Fake News, a new world order of Imperialism and war promoted by the biggest powers and a decline in Faith structures. Man will never be bigger than God and the old adage pride before a fall is so true. 

In God We trust is a great slogan. Let's hope that isn't in decline as Faith is more important now than at any time in History as the next war may just be the last, as Einstein famously said. "I don't know what World War Three will be fought with but World War four will be sticks and stones".

The theme of Today's World Tomorrow is preservation of the good things in Humanity which are being eroded away.

If you can spare an hour or so here is the link. It was not as scarey when I uploaded it as it has now become.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjM0ptvMz3s

Claim to Fame Man

Over the years I have been quite fortunate to have had lots of experiences and that has included Claims to Fame involving a whole range of well known celebrities and stars. For years I used to relish these in a starstruck way but since my Faith has grown it has occured to me that celebrity is a diversion from the creator and is possibly breaking the first commandment. Since that thought came to mind I now only court interest in those people to collect stories and highlight the futility of that.   I am therefore setting up a section of this site to relay the stories but as a fun thing which people may find interesting rather than a hero worship sought of thing. This will build up over time so if this section interests you it is listed on the drop down menu. Here's a song I wrote on the topic and of course it is all tongue in cheap. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcYl01_f_wc

 

School Days

Tommy Cooper once said "I love kids, I went to school with them" . I loved school and had a great time there to the point of going back as a teacher and from 1957  - 2019 spent a large portion of my time in the Education system. I retired in 2013 but was offered a part time job for the next six years. In 2019 I received an e mail saying don't come back. It was that blunt. I could have taken them to a tribunal as they had never given me a contract and kept me on zero hours for six years without employer rights The reason was they didn't want to pay for training as I'd already done courses since 2001. I'd actually just been paid £1300 for attending the courses so it turned about to be a Golden Handshake. Fortunately the dismissal coincided with my receiving the state pension so I was actually better off. That allowed me to branch out with my YouTube channel, write more Music and give my free time to helping the local community through my Care Home Concerts and volunteering my services in a local special school. I've always believed in living a good honest  life built around the 10 commandments and Faith and strongly believe that if you follow the teachings in the Bible you will be looked after. That is not to say doing good will get rewards but I think it does mean you get help and support when you are down. I was down after the way I was dismissed after 20 years service but decided to reinvent myself which is proving to be going well so far and hoping the best is yet to come. Over the years I've had some great times in the Education system and still have a foot in the door. I will be setting up a section about my school.stories which can be accessed from the drop down menu.

Shrinkflation -I love the way manufacturers make smaller edible products and keep the price the same or even increase them. When challenged they claim it is to help peoples health when in reality we all opt for two to compensate. Not to mention big packets and tins with less inside. I recently got some Hot Chocolate pods for my fancy drinks machine. They were half size and watered down claiming they were more chocolatey which was not true in my opinion. I was so annoyed I wrote to complain and they used the environmental argument that it was cutting down on plastic and claimed they tasted better. I felt a song coming on so here is my tribute to Shrinkflation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtDSDr4UteE

Reincarnation. Someone once asked me if I believed in reincarnation. I replied "no, although I did when I was Napoleon".

Parking Wars One of my pet hates is people who park in Disabled Bays. Having worked with hidden disabilities the attitude of the park as you please brigade and complain there's nothing wrong with some of the people with Blue Badges are clearly oblivious to hidden disabilities. Autism in particular is an area where a young person who looks athletic and fit could suddenly walk in front of a car because they lack road sense so the further away they park from the Supermarket means the risk assessment increases. Deaf people are not obvious either and may not hear a vehicle approach if forced to walk from the and I looks a furthest point. Those with wheelchairs and crutches also need to minimise their travel arrangements. That said those with Blue Badges who park in the Disabled Bay when the Disabled person is not present are even worse because they should know better and are abusing the privilege bestowed upon them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLH8XYFzKWQ

Womens Football  Congratulations to the Lionesses for winning the Euro's for two consecutive competitions.

I was at the cutting edge of the boost in polarity having been involved refereeing afew of those early games when local leagues were emerging. I wrote an article for a Woman's Football Magazine and was dissapointed it didm't eve get a reply. I have been criticised by family members for my insensitivity to social situations and wondered if I'd done something wrong in my choice of language. With that in mind if any one reads this and thinks there are issues please let me know and I can make alterations. I thought it was very supportive of the game and it's growth and as you will see from my essay on the matter I fought on behalf of the Girls at Schoo Level.

The Growth of Women's Football (from my perspective)

 

Having been an Amateur Footballer following on from my School Team days Football was a big part of my weekly activities from 1974 to 2013. During those days I played regularly upto 1989 even managing to play against George Best in 1976 when his nightclub Slack Alice played a challenge match against the Grapes. I'd never been to either night club but in those days you played wherever you could, sometimes even playing four games a weekend. No one expected Georgie to turn up at Manchester Student village in Salford on a Sunday morning but at that time he was between playing in the USA and signing for Fulham so wanted to keep his fitness levels up. He also played regularly at The Ardwick five a side tournament. Of course that game had no spectators and not a woman in sight. In fact, back in the 1960's / early 70's the only woman I knew in football was a young girl in the area who used to join us for our kick a-bouts on the local field and that, at the time, seemed a bit of a novelty. She was always welcome but not seen as a serious threat to our “wonderful skills” and of course with no women's teams in the area, to our knowledge, she had little hope of developing the skills she did have, but as the years moved on I felt privileged to have watched the growth of Women's football and hopefully played my part in helping it grow.

I became a Secondary Music teacher in 1978 and with my enthusiasm for the game volunteered to run school teams. Again in those early years no one suggested we ran girls teams and even the playgrounds of the 1960's and 70's saw girls as getting in the way of the boys games as they flowed down the playground. It was not until the 1991/92 season that I was able to witness a shift in attitude. I took my Under 12 School team from St.Edmund Arrowsmith in Wigan to play against Cardinal Newman. I took up my managerial position on the half way line and five minutes into the game the ball was played down the left wing. Our winger was clattered into touch with a strong but fair challenge which even won the full back throw in. The full back quickly got up and launched a really good throw down the line. I commented to a colleague that the right back looked like a very good player. A few minutes later Cardinal Newman got a free kick about 30 yards out, a fair distance for a 12 year old to think about shooting. Then to my surprise the centre forward shouted to the right back. “Leanne you take it”. As the right back approached the half of the field I was in I suddenly realised it was a girl.

In my opinion she was outstanding as the shot was fired in and gave the keeper a difficult and close save. What caught my imagination was not that it was a girl, but the fact she was better than , and appreciated by the lads, made me realise that times had changed from our days in the local park. Better still, Cardinal Newman was designated to close at the end of that season and the pupils would be coming to our school. Transfers in School Football didn't happen very often but I suddenly needed an eraser on my pencil.

St.Edmund Arrowsmith was a very traditional Catholic School and the Headteacher wanted to ensure that all the new pupils were integrated well and made a point that the new pupils should be allowed as much as possible to maintain some of the practices from their old school. As Leanne joined the school I immediately picked her for the School team and was quite excited at the prospect of furthering the Women's game. The day after the first game I was summoned to the Head's office and questioned as to why a girl had been picked for the School Team. I explained she was an outstanding player and a benefit to our side. He basically told me that it was not the way St.Edmund Arrowsmith behaved. I got him over a barrel when I pointed out his integration speech and that Leanne had previously played for Cardinal Newman. Reluctantly, and to save face he said “Oh !, I suppose she'll have to play then”. I don't think he was too happy about it. I was pleased as I always had the interests of children first and got one over on the Headteacher. Sadly the Head got his own way in the end when the FA banned mixed teams when Leanne moved up to the Under 13's. A few years later I was on the Line at Ashton Town and saw Leanne watching the game. I was able to have a quick word after the match and heard she was still involved as a player for Everton Ladies.

Naturally as I was involved in School Football we were expected to Referee our home games so it seemed the natural course of events to go into Refereeing. I took the course in 1989 and progressed to the North West Counties Football League after two years. After a few years at that level I received my fixtures directly from the F.A. which was always going to bring some excitement but one game in particular stood out as different to anything I'd come across before. I was assistant referee and the Referee was Amy Raynor who was already on the ladder of success. I'd refereed a small number of Ladies games prior to this but this was a higher level than the parks games which had a novelty value in the early 90's. The appointment with Amy Raynor was an F.A.Vase 3^rd Round between Mossley and Nantwich and at that point was the furthest I'd got with an F.A. Appointment. I'm not sure any of the players had seen a Female Referee before and probably were taken by surprise. Amy had short cut hair and I was often mimicked for my natural long Curly locks having been called Freddy Boswell, Ken Dodd, Noddy Holder and Einstein but when we took the field the Mossley Crowd gave me a new comment “Hey Liner, I think you've mixed the wigs up in the changing room”. I knew at that point we were going to be in for some fun that day. The players and crowd certainly gave Amy some un-called for comments in the first stages of the game and Amy did not stand for anything and had Five cautions, all fully justified within the first 15 minutes. Then came the real test of female refereeing. A really bad challenge under my nose triggered a brawl in which Amy restored calm and executed the cautions really well. I originally flagged the foul with much agitation which signalled the severity of the challenge. Following pre-match instructions which were excellently done I now had to raise  my flag when it had calmed down. As Amy came over I had to inform her that the tackle that started the brawl was a correct yellow, but the player who jumped to avoid it put his studs into the back of the sliding challenge and was a definite Red. Without hesitation she went over to the offender and gave him the Red telling me she thought there was something else by the way I originally flagged. That to me is top refereeing and despite all the comments she handled the game as well as any Referee I'd worked with. I was not surprised and really pleased to see her go on to better things and higher levels

The likes of Amy Raynor and all the other pioneers played a vital role in the growth of women's football. As I refereed more games over the years the Ladies games produced some interesting events. I only had to get ambulances on three occasions and the women won that 2-1. Fortunately nothing over serious and I'm sure everyone recovered but it demonstrated the Women were passionate about the game with challenges flying everywhere.

The First  Ladies game I refereed was between Preston Ladies and Bury Ladies and I have to say when I entered the changing rooms I felt a certain amount of intimidation from the comments and I suddenly realised what women had been complaining about over the years regarding sexist comments although I was never one of those men who shouted from building sites. The shoe was now on the other foot. With the score at 2-1 with about 17 seconds to go one of the keepers fell after an aerial challenge and I had to call for an Ambulance . As it was a Cup game and only a goal difference I avoided the easy option and after 24 minutes played out the last 17 seconds. The subsequent long throw was cleared and the final whistle went. Apart from my first call for an ambulance the thing that struck me was the support of each other. I remember playing a game when a colleague missed a sitter and somebody shouted “What did you do that for” ( although probably in stronger language) He replied “Actually, I wanted to score”. When Preston Ladies missed their first chance one of the team Shouted “ Unlucky Girlies, We'll Score next Time” I was really impressed with the positivity and sportmanship (can I say that ?) throughout the game. I only dropped one clanger in the game when I failed to send off a challenge that prevented a goalscoring opportunity. I think my rationale was the learning curve for these fledgling teams and I cautioned the offender and said, “steady on, you'll get sent off for that in a man's game” Nothing was said as everybody shook hands but I got the feedback from the appointment Secretary. It made me realise that Refereeing Ladies games had to have the same principles. Apparently my comment was not well received although it was with good intention at the time and they did say I refereed well apart from that one comment. A learning curve for me as well.

Following on from that game I cautioned an undocumented earlier version of Manchester United Ladies Player for dissent. After the game she pleaded with me not to send it in as she was unemployed. I told her that was her problem and it would be reported. A few days after the match She was on TV discussing the growth of Women's Football and she said she had a modelling job. Glad I took the hard line now and take the point raised earlier.

As I got into Refereeing I progressed to become an F.A. Licensed Instructor and as the years progressed more Women came onto the courses and in one year they outnumbered the Males. From my perspective I was delighted because it showed the success of those pioneers but sadly Junior Football proved difficult for them and the aggressive behaviour towards them from Parents caused many to give up, which can also be said of many male Referees .A sad indictment of the Beautiful Game. My suggestion for training Leagues for officials was never adopted but other measures were put in place. I was so pleased to see the FA taking new initiatives - having banned Womens Football in 1921 stating “the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged”,-  to curb these unfortunate events with the introduction of Charter standards and coaching courses including women and women's football along with Safeguarding issues.

In 2004 I took my Son to watch the Women s European Championship on our doorstep and it was clear to see the women's game had really taken off . As for the National team and Women's football in general we can use the phrase “and the rest is history”

In the recent tournaments I've watched  they didn't keep taking the ball into the corner but tried to score again. They didn't spend a large portion of the game playing backwards and took what we used to call route one. I hope they maintain that philosophy as the Woman's games are much more entertaining in the way they approach the game.

My only regret regarding Women's Football is that the game was not developed enough for our Female player back on the local field or Leanne (have you guessed, it was Leanne Duffy, Now manager of Liverpool Feds and ex Everton) who would have probably been in the Euro Winning team had she not been ahead of her time.

I just hope the Women's game keeps the freshness of those developing years and doesn't get ruined by agents, money or gamesmanship (oops ! another PC clanger) and consequently keeping it as The Beautiful Game.