A milky tea, a jam sponge and this week’s news served on a tin tray with a steam train painted on it points our very English conversation towards the following …

… what connects the Monkees and a British Prime Minister?

… when are you too old for Indie?

… A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi? A Bar on The Piccolo Marina? Noel Coward or Neil Tennant?

… the Move, the Streets, the Kinks, ELO, Ian Dury, Anthony Newley, the Jam, Herman’s Hermits, Cat Stevens, Arctic Monkeys and other acts with a sense of Englishness

… Girl in the Thunderbolt Suit: when Marc Bolan went science fiction

… how London Zoo could have put the tin lid on the Beatles

… the daft story of Randy Scouse Git

… how Michael Caine cooked up the name Harry Palmer

... the most English pronunciation of a songword ever

… Black Crowes, Byrds and the allure of misspelling

… Roxy, 10cc, the Hollies, Manfred Mann, Human League

and other original line-ups we want to reform

… plus Angine de Poitrine, Kaleidoscope rebooted by Jimmy Page and birthday guest Jonny Wren.

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Mustn’t grumble! Songs with the essence of Englishness