#AprilSongs #8 Blue Monday

There might be a few Blue Mondays before the end of April. The first one I've chosen is the Fats Domino one. When I say they will be a few Blue Mondays I mean that there are quite a few songs called "Blue Monday" although most people will now associate the title with the band New Order, though I am not sure that one will be included in the #AprilSongs sequence and there are quite a few other options.

The morning I finished Michael Moorcock's "The Skrayling Tree" and I now know what it meant as I hadn't a clue when I picked the book up. The book is a swirl of ideas and genres with references to Moorcock's early work as well as various mythologies and histories with a finale in a giant golden ziggurat on a frozen lake in extreme North America.

I'm not sure if that stimulated a dream that I suddenly remembered as I read the final sequence, where a couple of North American friends Pandora and Gina and I were posting Instagram videos of us walking out onto frozen lakes as far as we dared. Mine was the lake in Leazes Park and while I have seen it iced over I have never considered walking out on it. I remember as a kind walking over iced ponds and once the ice cracked while a friend was in the middle, I've never seen anyone move so fast and he got back to the shore without getting wet.

Yesterday I mowed the lawn for the first time this year, and it's April. Having said that it does look very well, whereas most years I think I am going to have to get it relaid, but it is looking good.

So I know it's Monday morning , but although it's grey we're getting closer to Spring and Summer. Have a good day.

Buick Smokestack

So we now have sun, is Spring really here? My day was immensely brightened up by unexpectedly meeting my friend Julie in reception today, so that was a big plus.

My walking has still been hit and miss but I am just about ahead of the game.

Recently I've revistited Bob Dylan's excellent "Highway 61 Revisited" and it is full af brilliant songs, but I was struck by the riff that drives "From A Buick Six" which reminded a hell of a lot of the riff behind Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'". Bob Dylan is remakably scan on Youtube for older stuff so I settled on an excellent cover by Gary US Bonds, so you can listen and compare the two.

One thing I find strange is that the MP3 version of "Higway 61" in £7.99 but the CD (with free MP3 download) is £5.99! Work that one out, check the link below. Amazon's pricing is weird at times. The Howlin' Wolf MP3 is double the price of the CD.

I've also been nowminated for one of these ten albums in ten days on Facebook and I may actually do a post about each album tomorrow though by then I will be three days into it.

Anyway this is just a very very short post as I need to go and make my tea.

Enjoy your Thursday evening my friends.

A Grey Day Brightened By A Wildflower Visit

We wake up to rain spattered window panes, and walking out you need an umbrella and have to face a cold biting wind, hardly signs of Spring springing. Today I may finally catch up on my steps for March.

I started writing this this morning then had to go out. So basically I have ended up soing another 15K steps so have made up the steps I needed to for this month., so 11K a day for the rest of the month will suffice for me.

The weather has continued to be rainy and drab but has not stopped me walking and I got some shots of a foggy River Tyne here.

I decided to visit Wildflower at Kommunity and this is a lovely evironment to enjoy and have some brilliant vegan food, and was glad to hear at the Night Market last night they sold out of everything (they are that good) . I was chatteing to Asher about music before Jess came in with cake. I had already brunched at The Tyneside so just treated myself to some lovely vegan cake.

Too many times people say "Oh I must visit there sometime" and the still go and pay a fiver for a latte and a cellophane packed sandwich from Starbucks or Costa because "you know what your getting". You're getting homogenised packaged uniformity when you should be seeing what your local community is offering. Starbucks and Costa have their place but they are always seconday to local businesses in my universe.

Newcastle has a plethory of local food and drink providers though the new Eldon food court is a massive own goal in my opinion, I'm just waiting for the chains to start pulling out.

I mean what sort of moron goes to Jamie's Italian when you have Pani's five minutes away.?  There are hundreds of examples where the name chain has the highest profile locations and most people don't bother looking for something with some soul and heart.

Anyway I think we can go with a true Geordie anthem , Lindifarne's "Fog on the Tyne" (and not the aberation with added Gazza), the original.

Sleep well.