Ernie Goggins

Ernesto - drumming up some magic*

Our next #BlogCon25 interviewee is, it could be argued, the very glue that binds the blogging fraternity together and thus preventing it from shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. An International Man of Mystery who perpetually hides in plain sight, he's an enigma wrapped up in a mystery. We all know him but nobody can tell you what he looks like. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ernie Goggins a.k.a. Ernesto (real name available only to #BlogCon25 Patreon members).

* What was the first record you bought with your own money?

I think it was '50 Ways To Leave Your Lover' by Paul Simon but it might have been 'This Will Be' by Natalie Cole. They were definitely the first two. 

* What got you into blogging? 

I had been thinking about it for a while but the specific prompt was discovering Tsonga Disco on one of my regular trips to South Africa to see family. Tsonga Disco is the pop music of the Tsonga or Shangaan people of north-east South Africa and southern Mozambique. I got a bit obsessed with it and decided the world needed to know about it. I always had other music from the start but there were at least weekly doses of Tsonga Disco for the first few years. It petered out as my supplies dwindled and my interests moved on but it still pops up occasionally. For a brief period in the early/mid 2010s I found myself accidentally surfing the zeitgeist - the blog got mentioned in 'The Wire' and on National Public Radio in the US and there were a couple of DJs who sampled some of the stuff I featured etc - but those heady days are long gone. 

* Prior to #BC24 had you met any other bloggers in real life?

None of the #BC24 Massive but I did meet the man behind the Awesome Tapes From Africa blog (and now media empire) back in my Tsonga Disco days. 

* Do you have a favourite record store and or bookshop?

A lot of my favourite record shops are no longer with us like Daddy Cool in Soho (reggae) and The African Music Store in Cape Town (self-explanatory). There is one in Athens that I am not sure of the name of as the sign is only in Greek, I think it might be Basement Records. It was still going as of this time last year and I always build time into my work schedule to pop in when in Athens. As well as a huge number of local and international second-hand albums and CDs it has several racks dedicated to psych and freakbeat from around the world where I have found many gems over the years. No specific favourite bookshop but if you are ever near Hammersmith the Amnesty International second-hand bookshop is always worth a visit. That's where I found the book in the photo. 

* Are you musical?

No, but like some of your other readers I am from an era when enthusiasm was considered more important than ability. So I was in a couple of bands in my youth and once appeared live at the Cambridge Folk Festival. 

* Indian or Chinese?

Let's say Indian because I am currently applying for an Indian visa and would not want to say anything that might create problems. 

* Beer or wine?

Beer, or if Rol is reading this Martini shaken not stirred (I need to keep up the image).  

* Beatles or the Stones? 

Van Morrison.

* You're a well travelled man - Planes, Trains or Automobiles?

Trains or buses. I don't particularly enjoy plane travel but sometimes it is the only way to get to where I want to go, and I can't drive so automobiles rarely feature unless someone else is behind the wheel. 

* You've just taken delivery of a time machine. Where and when are you going to? 

 I would like to do a road trip if that is permitted. In this order: Austerlitz in 1805, New Mexico in 1879, Athens in 410 BC, 15th century England, the year 2688, Vienna in 1901, Kessel (Germany) in 1810, Orleans in 1429, Outer Mongolia in 1269, The White House in 1863 and finally San Dimas, California in 1988. (I detect a thread running thru this timeline which may or may not hoover up Abraham Lincoln, a couple of skirmishes, Oktoberfest and, not least, Bill & Ted along the way - JM.) 

The most excellent Abe Lincoln

* Are either of these two statements true?

- You once drove the fastest milk cart in the West?

As we've already established I can't drive so definitely not me. Also, physically I am more of a Two Ton Ted from Teddington. 

 - Your football career was tragically cut short when Ron 'Chopper' Harris scythed you down in a League Cup 3rd. round replay? 

That was my late uncle after whom I was named, and it was Micky Droy not Chopper Harris. He was taken from us in 1997 after a tragic accident with a snowplough (Uncle Ernie not Micky) but I still think of him every day. 

Micky Droy (not Chopper Harris)

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*Ernesto tells me that the main takeway from Mickey Hart's book (pictured above) is that drums work better if you hit them rather than trying to blow into them. Thank you, Ernie!

If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in today's Q&A, panic thee not. Ernie himself has the antidote over at 27 Leggies his incredible (and incredibly unique) blog.