Jurgen Gothe/DiscDrive

I woke up this morning in an edgy mood. So I’m going to mind my words! Heaven knows where I would go if I let it all hang out.

Do you remember my story about the CBC radio show, Disc Drive? I spoke about listening to it in the afternoons when I was visiting everyone back home in Detroit/Dearborn. The host, Jurgen Gothe, was extraordinary and compiled playlists covering so many different kinds of music. Five days a week from 3 – 6 pm, his soothing voice and sense of humor carried us through the end of a work day. And I learned so much.

Anyway, I obsessively tried to track down two special CDs he recorded: Disc Drive and Disc Drive II. After a few months, I found Disc Drive II through a site called Discogs, where people list CDs and LPs that are out of circulation for sale. They are rated as to their condition. My experience with them was very positive. That disc (which had never been opened) arrived quickly and it was fabulous. Also, if you search for something and find it’s out of stock, you can sign up to get an email when it comes back in stock. So, I did that for the first disc, and promptly forgot about it.

The other day, I got an email from them and the first disc was in stock! Both of these CDs have been out of production for years.) I immediately bought it before anyone else could snatch it away.

It’s simply wonderful. A great selection of music, including Gershwin. I hear Jurgen’s voice and my shoulders immediately drop. So now, I have them both. They will be treasured, that’s for sure.

Today’s egg cups.

1. A lovely little cup where the cup becomes a sort of cart, hauled by a member of the chicken family. It’s California pottery (still has the sticker, which is a big deal in collecting) and was made in Rio Hondo, California. I love the cream and pink combination. It looks very different from any of my other cups.

2. A pig sitting at a table preparing to dine on an egg. This little treasure is one of my favorites. I found it in my early collecting days. It was made for Tiffany and it’s Staffordshire pottery.

3. A lustreware egg cup with a cute little bear carrying the cup. Plus, a pretty flower. It was made in Japan and was a gift from my friends Lynne and Sean, who live in Toronto.

More work to do today.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

I’m sure you remember my post about Jurgen Gothe, the late, much-loved host of Disc Drive on CBC2 in Canada. I found the tape Don made for me of one of his programs and played it once and then it sort of disintegrated. I combed the archives of the CBC – nothing.

In my search, I learned that two CDs were recorded by Jurgen. The first, titled The DiscDrive Disc, and the second, DiscDrive2. They have been out of circulation for years, almost impossible to find. I did find one copy of DiscDrive2 listed on eBay for over $150.00. Yikes! Then I came across a site called Discogs, where collectors/sellers come together to sell hard-to-find recordings. Both of the CDs were listed but no stock was available. I revisited a couple of weeks later and realized that I needed to register for the site – which I did – and that allowed me to see stock information. Nothing for the first disc, but there was a copy of DiscDrive2 available from a seller in Canada for an incredibly good price – I think it was around $12 Canadian. It was sealed and had never been opened.

It arrived in yesterday’s mail.

Whoo hoo! It has commentary by Jurgen, so I get to hear his voice again. I played it yesterday and both Don and I couldn’t get over the excellent quality of the recording. It’s a great mix of the kind of eclectic offerings that were a part of every one of his shows. Now, I just have to find a copy of the first recording.

Side note: there is also a 20th anniversary Disc Drive recording which my friends in Toronto managed to get for me. It’s lovely and the pieces of music chosen are very much Jurgen Gothe. That also arrived yesterday. The only thing missing is Jurgen’s commentary. It’s just the music. I’ll have to imagine what he might have said.

It was so lovely to sit at the table working on my puzzle, listening to Jurgen Gothe. That might have to happen again today.

During my initial searches, Don got into the whole thing and contacted a man who had blogged about missing Jurgen’s show several years ago. He thought this guy might know of some available stock. His name is Viktor and we’ve struck up a nice correspondence with him. He moved to Canada from Hungary years ago and discovered DiscDrive. He would listen to it every afternoon. He has also searched for these recordings. I think he has both of the CDs. What a lovely guy he is.

The clematis in front of the house.

A light rain is falling here this morning but it should stop soon.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Egg Cups, Part 5 and Some Music

Jurgen: A Little Update

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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