Friday Morning

I was thinking August would be difficult to keep up my steps because of my Liver Biopsy at the start of the month, but surprisingly that's not actually been an issue hitting 20K steps on a couple of days and sitting with a 30K step surplus and close of play yesterday.

I was also thinking that #August50 was an impossible target but after this post I only need to post 18 more entries before the end of the month and we still have two weeks to go, so that's nine posts in each of the next two weeks which is more than doable (is that a word? and how many times have I asked that question).

The problem with doing an hour's walk it that it takes an hour of your time and  to hit my 11K a day that does take two hours and i often think that could be better spent doing someting else.

On my walk to work I am always looking for photo opportunities and vary my routes, but always in the direction of work (essentially Newcastle City Centre) from home. I seldom deviate from this direction except when I have to pick someting up from the Post Office, and to be quite honest I prefer traversing parkland to urban areas.

Walking is a simple form of exercise and anyone can do it and make it interesting. I always found gyms soul destroying but others swear by them, but it's different strokes for different folks.

Today on my walk in I kept with Mike Nesmith and listened to "Tropical Campfires" for the first time, and though it covers some standards such as "Brazil" and "Begin the Beguine" more than adequately the original stuff is excellent, I particularly liked the instrumental "One". Specific late period Mike Nesmith songs are difficult to find on Youtube (ie they are not there) but I found this full concert from 2012 at Union Chapel for your enjoyment, which includes a few songs from "The Prison"

While it is grey , it is Friday and we have a wonderful weekend to look forawd to. Enjoy

Aprés

This morning is the first time since Wednesday that I've put in contact lenses. My walking target is is actually growing by the day but actually even if I didn't do any walking til Monday I ,in theory,, could walk far enough to get me back on target.

Although still a bit sore this weekend is more about still doing nothing to ensure there's no internal bleeding which could be caused by any undue straining so it really is an excuse to do nothing, so a lot of reading (Matt Haig's "How To Stop Time") , listening to vinyl and digital,  as I write this I'm listening to Trojan X-Rated Box set Wreck A Buddy by the Soul Sisters, a totally X-Rated take on "Little Drummer Boy"  from probably the late sixties . The box set is available on Amazon for a mere £180!!

It is quite amazing how puritanical the west is at times, while at the same time using women's bodies in provocative poses to sell the most banal of things. Though having said that misogyny is still prevalent in a hell of a lot of music, not just ska and reggae.

Today is the first day of the new football season, and of course Preston North End have just lost two of their best attacking players to injury, although the squad is far stronger than last season so it isn't bothering me too much.

So this is a day of making sure I am fit to get back into normal life, ie not lying around reading and watching telly.

As the new season as started we can have"The Referees' Alphabet" by Half Man Half Biscuit. Have a great Saturday everyone.

Busy Doing Nothing

Today is my first day of home recuperation after the Liver Biopsy and it really has been a case of being busy doing nothing. For me that has been trying to find something that requires as little input from me as possible.

It hasn't stopped me walking a little, and reading a little and choosing a little music, but most of the day has been watching four Mary Beard documentaries about Rome , which are very interesting and so I've gained a little knowledge today, so that is a small win.

Thoough it's grey and cloudy it's still very hot and humid so not the most comfortable, though is an excuse not to wear too much.

I thought I may have done a lot of blogging today but, obviously I haven't.  I mean this is barely a hundred words and this has not been easy to drag out of me, so obviously I am not going to producing anything worthwhile today.

Tomorrow is going to be more of the same, unless I get some inspiration, although I have been surprised by the number of well wishers based on my last post, I wasn't really expecting that. I know that people care but sometimes that results in "Oh I must let xxx know I'm thinking of them" and I am as guilty as anyone for that, and I do know who cares about me.

Anyway what should I leave you with, just looked at my pile of CDs and there's a best of Beverley Knight so I think "Come As You Are" (hers not Nirvana's) would be a good one to leave you with.

Post

Well I'm home after the Liver Biopsy, slightly fragile side and sore shoulders for some reason, but remember the right shoulder being a side effect of the Liver Biopsy.

It's quite amazing that  the rooms now have basic TVs although I was tooled up with my Kindle, my Phone and a Matt Haig book, "How To Stop Time".

So I spent some time reading then binge watched Nathan Barley abd was surprised and the number of name actors in it. Benedict Cumberbatch, Noel Fielding, Ben Whishaw and it's written by Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker and it's thirteen years old and I've only just watched it thanks to All 4,

Again it's been another example of how brilliant and efficient the NHS is despite being under such enormous pressure due to lack of investment.

I also found the 360º Camera app on Facebook on my phone, so that is another plus from today. I now need two days of total rest before slipping back into real life.

Today I was worried I would have my lowest ever step total , but I have hit just over 3K although tomorrow and Saturday will both be very low, then it's a case of trying to catch up.

This morning I was going to share "Hospital" by The Modern Lovers (featuring Jonathan Richman) but that will do for me to sign off tonight. You can hear the Velvet Underground influence in this excellent brooding song, and it's a cool one to sign off with tonight.

Pre

Well I've just packed a bag with stuff to keep me occupied while not moving on the hospital bed today. Just as a precaution, no contact lenses, which is just a little annoying but means if I decide to sleep it's easier.

I finished Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" which I found a fairly hefty novel, and very readable but at times seemed to be a couple of books that had got mixed up with each other, but a good read and I did keep seeing Ian McShane as Wednesday (which only makes sense if you have read the book or seen the TV serieas on Amazon Prime if you have it).

Next up, which is in my bag, is Matt Haig's "How To Stop Time" which has a very intriguing concept, so I think I have a hell of a lot to keep me occupied today. I may Instagram and post on Facebook during  the day.

I've done various other posts about the Liver Biopsy and Cirrhosis of The Liver so if you follow the tags you can chanck out what this is all about, and why it's actually happening.

Weatherwise it looks like another hot day but I know it will be cool enough in the Freeman today.

The first song related to today was "Lady Godiva's Operation" by The Velvet Undergoundso I will leave you with that while I get ready to wander off to the Freeman.

Speed

I'm sure that I used to be able to knock off a blog post in ten minutes, but these days it can often take an hour ,or sometimes thirty minutes. When I see what others write I thin, for me, that would be about a days work if I could actually concentrate on it for that long. Just vaguely timing this I'm actually writing at about a line a minute, although the actual post is on a wider screen so that's not as many lines therefore when I'm writing I look and think "That looks a decent post" then when I publish it I think "Is that all?".

The weather is still excellent although my walking this month is only just keeping up with what I need to do, and next month may be extra difficult because of the time I need to take off walking for the Liver Biopsy, though having said that my last one must have been last year so I must have coped with that, or maybe it was two years back. I need to check that out

So this was to check if I could actually do a fast blog post. This one is going to be about 250 words havingg taken basically ten minutes. Maybe I am just gettiing less efficient or more inefficient, who knows?

I need to choose something new to listen to on the way to work but not sure what that will be. As on the last post I mentioned Alice Cooper I was going to leave you with "The Ballad of Dwight Fry" from "Love It To Death", a very scary song and an example of why early Cooper albums were so good, but then I saw this amazing animation from "The Diary of Tortov Roddle" by Kunio Kato,(check here for original) for Pink Floyd's "The Narrow Way" , the Dave Gilmour solo piece on the studio disc of  "Ummagumma", maybe Dwight Fry tomorrow.

As you can see I've got totally sidetracked and gone of on a tangent because I just saw something interesting that I wanted to share and remember, so this blog has almost tripled in the time it has taken me to produce. C'est La Vie.

It's the middle of the week, enjoy yourselves.

Eillo

I don't know why that word came to me but it did. If you do a Google search this is what it brings back. It's among other things an eating  place in Perth, Western Australia. I'm writing this as my Facebook ban is still on which I have detailed here ,I've just noticed as I published this that Eillo is Ollie backwards.

I'm surprised how long this heatwave has been going on, although weather is a complicated thing so I shouldn't be surprised that I've been surprised. It's still warm as I write this although there is a lot of cloud. I'm also suffering from hayfever / cold symptoms which is uncomfortable.

Today I was checking my eamail and read Barclays as Batcave. I don't know if this is just something that happens as you get older or it's something that everyone does. Maybe it's my recent binge watch of Gotham to watch series three and get up to date on series four. I won't say anything on it in case a fan reads and is still not up to date.

I am feeling incredibly drained, I don't if it's the weather, but have my annual Diabetic Review on Monday so maybe they will have something to say. I could do with a couple of days of total rest I think, but is not going to happen any time soon, though at the beginning of August I have another Liver Biopsy so that will mean a few days of total rest.

Anyway one songs sums up the way Facebook censors have treated me and many others and that's 10CC's "How Dare You" the title track of their eponymous 1976 album, which appeared as an instrumental "B" Side of either "Art For Art's Sake" or "I'm Mandy Fly Me" and was great for annoying straights when I put it on the jukebox.

So I hope to share this with you tomorrow whn they let me back on Facebook.

Verushka

Today I walked ten miles, which is a long way for me, especially on the last day of the month. It was basically Helmsley to Riveaulx and back much of the way through fields containing horses and sheep, and up and down some fairly steep inclines, one of which was nearly a thousand feet (remember this was meant to be a leisurely walk not a hill walking expedition). You see some Instagram images here.

This means that I have maintained my rolling million steps every steps every three months for the last year. That's not that much , roughly 11K steps a day which is maybe four and a half miles. I have a friend who did ten times that so my effort is not really that impressive, but I will continue doing it this year, although I will have a couple of days in hospital for a liver biopsy so that may be a little obstacle, but easy to overcome.

Today I saw a man mowing a field with what looked like a lawn mower, very odd.

The word "Verushka" came into my mind, so I wondered what it was. It turns out it's an alternate / mis spelling of Veruschka von Lehndorff and actress who appeared in the Antonioni film "Blow-Up" which featured a cameo from The Yardbirds featuring Jeff Beck playing "Stroll On", and this came up in a BBC4 documentary on Beck on Friday night which you may be able to watch here, so that is maybe where Verushka came from.

So I will leave you with the Yardbirds for this last April 2018 post.

We Have To Stay Positive

We knew it was coming, we knew it was getting in the Whitehouse because the electorate knew him as the face of the Apprentice and that's why they voted. If Simon Cowell stood for Prime Minister in the UK the idiots would come out in their millions to vote for him.

This is called democracy

So what do we do?

We be ourselves.

We try and educate people that their vote matters

We foster respect and tolerance and a love of diversity.

We do what we can to make things better for us and for others.

We make life good.

WE know the dangers of what has happened the USA, but there are a hell of a lot of sensible people in the USA , like there are in the UK and maybe the Trump success is the kick up the arse that good people need to realize you cannot take things for granted.

Anyway we will deal with this and we will make things better by being positive, doing our best for ourselves, our friends and family and those who need our help.

Last Monday I was a little apprehensive about my Liver Biopsy. Today I have a biggish bruise on my right side and all is good. I knew it was going to happen and some brilliant people in the NHS made it perfect for me,

I have sort of neglected this blog but I will choose a song that is positive and the Mitchel and Webb Apprentice sketch which is hilarious. What better than Public Service Broadcastings's "Go" , totally positive and that is what we should be.

The Day After

Yesterday was spent in the Freeman Hospital for a Liver Biopsy. This is something the NHS lets us take for granted but successive governments since Margaret Thatcher bought herself into power have certainly not helped the NHS.

Everyone I spoke with was positive , pleasant , helpful and did a great job. They told me what would happen, what the possible side effects were , what the side effects probably would be, and this is what we pay for with out National Insurance and Taxes. The last three governments have made life difficult by siphoning that money off to private corporations and consultancies, the most high profile corporate leech being Richard Branson.

Anyway today I am recuperating, not supposed to be doing anything at all, and supposed to be enjoying taking the time to read and catch up TV and be in a fit state for work tomorrow. I should be thinking positive thoughts and enjoying a day to actually rest , although I naturally feel like I should be doing something (I have done washing up and cooked an omelette for lunch and eaten it)  so I haven't been completely idle.

Anyway I thought we'd have one of my favourite singers covering one of my favourite songs. Bryan Ferry covering The Velvet Underground's "What Goes On".

Have a great afternoon, even if you are still at work.

Bruce and Zlatan

I've just finished reading "I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic" his autobiography co written with another guy, and have now started Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run". The style of writing in a universe apart, Ibrahimovic is not the best at expressing himself, whereas Springsteen, as we know from his song is a master with words. However, they both share an incredible love of cars (Zlatan - Ferrari, Bruce - Cadillac) , and more importantly they both keep you interested and wanting to hear what happens next.

Zlatan

Bruce

Thinking about it I know I will read and finish Bruce's book , book Zlatan's is 330 pages of quite small print, which, once I got into it kept my attention until the end, so the biggest success, in my eyes is "I Am Zlatan Ibrahimovic". I would recommend both books even if you don't like football or music.

I'd have both of them in my house or go for a drink with them.




 
Anyway I've woken up to snow, and today is my last day of work before my liver biopsy , and given that there are so many Bruce Springsteen songs to choose from, there are many I could call my favourite, but Cadillac Ranch from "The River" (the title track of which was written about his sister and her husband) is the one I am going to go for.

Wrap up, keep warm, and it's Friday , so have a wonderful day my friends.

The Sound of Guns

I was up at 3 o clock this morning , there were bins in the middle of the road and mine and my neighbour's had blown over, so I got up and moved the bins off the road. The bin lorry still hasn't turned up, but obviously once emptied, they need putting somewhere safe fairly quickly. The wind doesn't seem to be letting up , and there's apparently snow on the way.

Last night I was absolutely shattered so was in bed at 8 O' Clock so I've had a good nights sleep though  I had some weird dreams which like most dreams have completely disappeared from my mind. They were not good dreams though. I noticed on Facebook my eldest daughter had woken from a nightmare so a bit of family synchronicity there.

This week I am having a number of hospital visits prior to a liver biopsy next week,  before a weekend in Whitby at the end of the month. The needle they use for the biopsy s fairly hefty piece of kit but the do anesthetize the spot.

Anyway sorry this is just rambling about nothing interesting, but I will leave you with a brilliant uplifting video from Turbolenza featuring music by the excellent but now defunct The Sound of Guns (Sometimes and Alcatraz).

Have a good day my friends.

A Lot of Music , Hospitals and Liverpool

This week I've been to two gigs , seen some old friends, met some new ones,  seen four bands , The Star Spangled Chestwigs, Toxic , Go Go Midgets and Penetration and had a check up at the hospital before my operation, and annoying they want me to go in the day before my op and stay overnight to check my platelet levels.

Anyway on the player is Go Go Midgets "Beneath The Valley of the UltraMidgets"  which they gave away last night free at The Three Tuns, and very good it is too.. If you check out their Facebook Page there's a lot of free downloads to enjoy.

Was discussing the best songs about Liverpool last night, so I've included mine and John Peel's favourite, the magnificent "Heart As Big As Liverpool" composed by Pete Wylie and performed by Ian Prowse who composed the second best song about Liverpool ever "Does This Train Stop On Merseyside" , another opinion shared by me and John Peel. The documentary is at the bottom of the post, very interesting and entertaining.

Liver Biopsy - Not My Body (I think You Knew That)

The reason being that I've been hit by ITP twice in my life (the last time fifteen years back after  spending a night outdoors in sub zero temperatures - so I know what the homeless have to endure on nights like that) . I pointed out I'd recently had some fairly invasive stuff for my Liver Biopsy which was done in a day , but to no avail. I do feel over caution has won out in this case as I would know if the ITP had hit as I check every day for the signs.


Anyway so I'm in hospital 18th August til the 19th of August for the op so no playing out that night (not that I ever play out of course.

Outside it's pouring down so plans to mow the lawn with take a hike tonight, which means I can watch some films. Currently watching the wonderful Hugo which is Martin Scorsese's first family film, so will finish that off tonight.

So though it's raining there's lot's of great stuff going on and the weekend is here so enjoy yourselves everyone.