Time To Have Fun

Right it's the weekend and it's time to have fun. So many good things have happened this week (and I don't include the iPhone6 Launch, iOS8 and the new U2 album, which I like) that really I am in a very good mood.

I woke up to early , have got a rant out of my system , and am looking forward to the whole weekend with lots of things to do. I've been invited to lots of free bashes and may or may not partake of some of them. Have an upcoming GOAT concert which is going to be even better because one of my great friends (who's planning a huge Wedding Anniversary bash next year) is also coming.

Hold That Happy Thought

I unexpectedly ran into friends this week and really it's just been an enjoyable if busy week. Two hospital appointments the first of which was not pleasant but the results have been fine. Oh Preston threw away a three goal lead , but it was against my friend Chris's Chesterfield so I'm not too down about that, these things happen.

So I suppose I going to have to take drugs, have breakfast , get showered get up and enjoy myself, and I suggest that you do the same. There may be things to complain about but there's a hell of a lot to enjoy.  Like the fact I can put my fingers to the keyboard , update this blog and wish you all a most excellent weekend.

Go out there and be very, very happy!  And on that note I'll post "Happy" by The Carpenters, because it was one of my mums favourite songs , it makes me happy and I know it makes a lot of my friend happy!!

There But For Fortune

I woke up too early , and I don't know if I'm "getting old" but something recently has started bugging which morally should kick off my sympathy switch. If people are worse off than me , if I can I should look out for them but ....

These Guys Help

When it's raining there's a beggar camped in an unsheltered area near where I cross the road for my train . The guy is treating it almost like a marketing campaign , when I know if I were in that position I would be going to St Vincent De Paul in Shieldfield or trying to find somewhere I could shelter. And I well know that there but for fortune go I.






Then coming back from work in the short walk from Central Station to my bus stop on Grainger Street there were three beggars (One of who is fairly aggressive and I've seen often in pubs) and three Big Issue sellers. I have adopted a Big Issue seller and she is a very nice lady with a pitch on Grey Street and have bought from her for years, but three in a ten minute straight walk I just ignore. Again the beggars do have support  in Newcastle , but I don't live on the street and don't even know if I could or what the answer is.

In a full employment economy there shouldn't be a need to beg or to sell the Big Issue but both seem to be multiplying.

Everybody Wants One

This is the day the iPhone6 launched which can set you back £800 for the top end model and Apple sold four million on the first day, and in the week that Apple also negotiated a free download of U2's new album much to many people's annoyance. I'm fine with it but it's a publicity stunt. There is a lot of money in the world , plenty for everyone, but not everyone gets access to it.






I don't really do posts like this but just had to say it. I don't know the answer. I also think I need to write another post very quickly which illustrates my normal positivity , because this makes me feel too much like a Daily Mail reader for my own comfort. It doesn't help that it's September and grey and it's six o' clock on Saturday morning.

I nicked the title from the Phil Ochs song although maybe the Joan Baez version is better know to you. I suppose there 's a lot of articles linking opulence with poverty, which has just reminded me of an excellent TED talk by Nick Hanauer that I need to include:




Right that's that done next up some positivity.

Tomorrow Belongs To Me .... or Does It?

Go Alba!!

Well today Scotland get a say on whether they want to be part of the United Kingdom, and to be honest would you really want to be part of a Union which was being run for the benefit of people like David Cameron and his mates. While I would prefer Scotland to stay, I would also like them to go for independence and give Cameron and his cronies a bloody nose, so I'll be happy for Scotland whatever the result but I've not been happy with the posturings of the Westminster politicians over this.



What song , well a couple from my favourite son of Glasgow. Maybe after tonight we'll have to
rebuild the Wall , and thank God Newcastle is North of it!!

What A Shower .. and The New U2 Album

Last week I took the last plaster off my left elbow, with a little trepidation after the last time it was open to the air, but it's brilliant to have a shower and just wash your arm instead of trying to avoid getting it wet.

Also I've listed to the new U2 album "Songs Of Innocence" and it's fine, if a bit U2 by numbers, but this is a band still going after 35 years with it's original line up and they have produced an album that is good to listen to. As yet nothing jumps out like say "Vertigo" or "Desire", and still thing that "Zoo Station" is very hard to beat as an opener.

The whole thing is a marketing stunt by Apple and U2, but it's generally a win/ win situation they get the publicity and the consumer get's an album by a major band. Simon Donald (Him off the Viz) is not pleased though and reckons this wouldn't have happened on Steve Jobs watch. Under Jobs he reckons yo had the illusion of your iTunes library being yours and private, and the U2 album appearing there is like a thief has broken into your house and left you a present , but he has still violated your privacy by coming into your house uninvited and with no announcement.

U2 Live

Anyway playing the new album reminded me of how great "Under A Blood Red Sky" is. It's very short and remember it was a "budget" album when it came out, and songs like "Gloria" , "Electric Co" and "40" still often play over in my head.

It's the start of a new week, I'm gonna have a great one , you have one too.

Thunderstruck By Bagpipes... another installment Fighting With My Left Hand

Its's been a SAD day, that's SAD as in Seasonal Affected Disorder, as you know I seldom let life get me down, but today's weather has been mostly grey skies and not exactly warm, just one of those days where things don't really inspire you to get up and go.

This week I have two hospital visits, the first of which I'm not looking forward to because it will cause discomfort (and related to the cirrhosis diagnosis a couple of weeks back) , the second will be fine because it's the end of an observational period on my liver that has included two biopsies, but the consultant and nurses I've had looking out for me have been brilliant. I love the NHS.



The same consultant, because he is so good , spotted that I may have nerve damage in my left arm that resulted in the op and that seems to have majorly improved my control and strength in my left arm. I'd set my sights on learning to play AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" until I checked out the tab and found that's it's all played on the second ('B') string m so after ten minutes I'd made a decent stab at that on acoustic guitar (with a lot of buzzes and clicks) , so I need something a little more challenging, though I still think the Red Hot Chilli Pipers version on bagpipes is well impressive.

Uneasy Listening

Then I found a friend who with her husband has gone through traumatic times recently, but her little girl has started school , he husband's band (Omnihility)have released a new album and she is going for a dream job so lot's of positivity there which is brilliant.

I've done lots of walking about today, so have got some exercise, and actually had an enjoyable day.

U2 and iTunes gave us their new album whether you wanted it or not and it's playing at the moment and is fine, if just another U2 album, but really it's just a marketing exercise.

I've got another three weeks before a holiday in Ampleforth and have some gigs coming up , including GOAT, which I am really looking forward to.

Anyway enjoy what's left of the weekend , I certainly will

In The Future Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Seconds

I very seldom have a rant, more just have a feeling of exasperation at the apparent idiocy of the masses, however after having seen the Sunday Express'  headline today about another migrant invasion I thought I'd let you have my take on the "Ice Bucket Challenge" thing.

Over the years various people have done things to raise money and awareness for certain illnesses and causes. Today the Great North Run took place , which is now the world's greatest half marathon and raises millions for lots of worthy causes. People have trained for months to get into shape to give them a chance of finishing the race and hitting their target.

Now this IBC, it's supposed to be to raise awareness of ALS , I don't know what it is but think it's something to do with Motor Neurone Disease / Syndrome. ALS stands for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and I was right in my presumption. Here is a wiki definition. IBC seems to be a sort of "charity thing" for the iPod / You've Been Framed / Reality TV generation, the people who can't concentrate on anything for more than two minutes. It requires no training , no planning, and when it's done it's forgotten about. I believe some people have made money from it but eveybody can now put themselves on Youtube for two minutes and may or may not be seen but in most cases will be forgotten.

This is the same generation who buy into the broadband blurb that you can download an album in 40 seconds, but it should take 40 minutes to listen to, but then people skip tracks make playlists and maybe never listen to the album they've downloaded, because it's more convenient to download than it is to listen.

Andy Warhol

In the past Andy Warhol stated "In The Future Everyone Will Be Famous For 15 Minutes", he didn't take into account the idiocy accelerometers.

I think the the fact that the IBC is so ubiquitous has really annoyed me, and many of my friends have taken it to raise money for charities and all power to them, but I think it's good to take a challenge that you can put yourself into.

Anyway that's my rant over and obviously the only song I've going to choose is David Bowie's Andy Warhol so enjoy the rest of your Sunday , I've mowed the lawn and now others are following suit and if you must IBC say what your doing it and promote your charity upfront. Have a great day

First Week Of September - Judas Priest and Sodom and Gomorrah

..and I've been lax in my posting, but actually busy. Work quietened down so I could actually take a day of to enable me to go for a job interview, however I had also to fit in a visit to the plastic surgery bit of the RVI to follow up my visit to casualty last Saturday and all seemed good and they gave me a new supply of big plasters for my elbow.

Rebellious Jukebox

Because the interview was finished by twelve I had a half day to myself and wandered into down , finally ending up at the The Laing Art Gallery to see a couple of exhibitions , including Kelly Richardson's amazingly hypnotic "Mariner 9" which I'd seen before at Whitley Bay's Spanish City. Also the excellent "All That Is Solid Melts Into Air" with some brilliant juxtaposed images such as John Martin's "Sodom And Gomorrah" close to Judas Priest's "Unleashed In The East". There was also a brilliant jukebox setting which I wasn't supposed to photograph but did anyway.


Incidentally you can explore The Laing online here which gives you an idea where I was.

Today I'm off to see Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick at the Tyneside Irish Centre which should be a good night.

The weather is great and rainy , but it is September so what can you expect. But all in all an excellent week and if you are in Newcastle this weekend get yourself along to the Laing to see some amazing exhibits.

We Are The 801

This is post 801. In 1974 Brian Eno had a dream , or was inspired , and came up with a chorus for a song "The True Wheel" which went:

"We Are The 801,

  We Are The Central Shaft"

He wrote the song and later, apparently discovered that the number 801 represent the central shaft in Geomancy / Geomantics . This has always fascinated me, but always seemed far to esoteric for me to understand or delve into. Now I have the biggest information repository ever at my disposal, I writing this as I listen to the song, and am still bamboozled by the cabbalistic and magical symbols and numbers that make up the geomantic character set, and also wondering about their purpose. 

One of the definitions is:

 

 " a method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand. The most prevalent form of divinatory geomancy involves interpreting a series of 16 figures formed by a randomized process that involves recursion followed by analyzing them, often augmented with astrological interpretations."

Which may or may not pique your interest.

Taking Tiger Mountain

The song is from "Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy" probably my favourite Brian Eno album , full of interesting side stories like the unique lithographic production of the cover, the fact that the vinyl version finished on a closed groove, and songs were produced using Oblique Strategies while being incredibly accessible . This wiki article is a great jumping off point.

Anyway that's it for 801 , my next post will probably be a little more on the normal side , but I hope this has made you want to at least listen to the album.

800

800 Up

This is my 800th post. It's taken a few years to get here and will probably be next year when I hit 1000. Again I didn't know what this blog would turn out like , or whether I would keep on writing , but it's a sort of diary and helps me remember things. The original idea was a travel related blog hence the name "Seven Days In" although it could have been read (and has been by many) as "Seven Day Sin" which could imply much more fun depending of the nature of the sin.

S.O.P.H.I.E.

I do believe that life should be fun, and people who look for faults in everyday life must lead a very sad existence. I tend to expect the best from people and situations , and never get mad at anyone or anything , just exasperated, although I have no time at all for bullies which is why I am mightily impressed with coming into contact with Bad Pollyanna who support the extremely worth Sophie Lancaster Foundation. I didn't know what I was going to write about in this blog , apart from the fact that it was number 800 (I also have a theme for number 801). If you download the song Invincible Girl by Bad Pollyanna you will help support the foundation and that is a brilliant thing to do to combat bullying and promote acceptance. It's also available here on itunes.

Anyway it's Sunday afternoon and still a nice day.

By the way thanks to all my friends concerned about the cirrhosis of my liver. If I hadn't been on a trial I wouldn't have known about it , and if I didn't know about it I couldn't take the required action (which is essential 6 months ultrasound scans and the odd other camera based intrusion) but I am totally fine with it. If there is something wrong it's good to know because then you can actually do something about it, problems occur when you don't know. I have a lot to look forward to and I am going to enjoy it including seeing my daughters this week, trying out a couple of new bars and cafes , and seeing two of my heroes Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick gracing a stage I've dis(graced) myself several times at the Tyneside Irish Centre.

So go on, Enjoy Yourself , I certainly will!

And So To Bed

I must thank everyone for their good wishes and concern via text and facebook , email and here.  I really feel fine although a bit worried that I'll wake up in a small pool of blood again. My arm is sore, bruised but I was told to expect that , and I've obviously not been as careful with it as I should have been.

Bloodbath

When I was posting earlier I was thinking of using the movie above for the title , which still tickles me , I do like a bit of Kenny Everett.

Anyway I am going to go to bed and will hopefully not be writing about bodily ills. This is my 799th post , so the next one , which will probably be tomorrow should really be something special. Who knows I may get inspired , then again I may not.

But the main thing is that I am relaxed , and enjoying my weekend and you should too.

Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed and Lots of Blood

When you wake up, feel a ping in your elbow and look down and you are lying in a (small) pool of blood, it's probably not the best way to actually start the day. So you get up , run to the tiled bathroom , bleeding all the way, looking at the gaping wound thinking , what do I do? There's no pain just blood. Then lots of toilet roll and Fiona got me a tea towel as the blood started to subside.

I knew I had to go to casualty, but I was fine apart from the blood, so do I call an ambulance, get a bus or get a taxi. We found a big plaster given as a spare from a previous hospital visiABC taxi.
t and that seemed to stem most of the blood, so thought I'll get an

Space Oddity

The thing is as when your bleeding like that your priorities go all askew, so I couldn't wash , shave or shower, so hence the title taken from David Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity, a song that I've always loved.

Five minutes later they're at my door , then half there I'm thinking "Have I got any money?" . It wouldn't have mattered as I had my wallet and there is a cash machine at the RVI.

Anyway gets in , and there's no damage done, lots of sterri strips applied and a new big plaster and now I'm back home. Walked through Leazes Park and the weather this morning is glorious. So the weekend has got off to an interesting start to say the least.

I hope yours is excellent , just without the blood.

Saturday Morning 2:30 AM and an unprovoked dig at Apple

Martin and Dave

Wide awake , although feeling slightly tired, but as it's still effectively late Friday night , very early Saturday morning after a manic couple of week both at work and socially and the fact that I 'm going to see two of my all time heroes Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick next Saturday at The Tyneside Irish Centre, I thought , what the hell , I'll just get up and go and write something and see what's happening in the world.

I've just realised that this has taken me 45 minutes to put together though I've managed to learn a few things, and put another smile or two on my face. I do love the way how one thought can lead to another and if you don't reign in your mind who knows where you will end up.


It's quite funny how online spelling checkers keep tryting to tell me it's "center" not "centre"  , but when I'm using the HTML tag it's <CENTER> not <CENTRE> in one of those rare situations where you get conformity in the name of standards , though I can see Apple trying to change HTML tags just because they are Apple to something like MIDDLEIZE and then patenting the word and their users defending it on the principle that "there must be a good reason for it". Oh and by the way I do have an iPad, which I bought because of Garageband , which, when it decides to work and not hide necessary controls is brilliant, but there's probably a good reason why it does that. As this is just text I'm not going to put in a smiley face or say "LOL", but I am obviously saying these things with my tongue firmly in cheek.

The fact that I was able to write that paragraph means that my mind is obviously wide awake even if my body is not quite there. Though tonight is the first time in ten days I've gone to bed without bandages on my arm, and I can't tell you how good that feels. Having them on was neccessary but , getting them off is brilliant. While I'm not sure I'll be able to play the intro to AC/DC's Thunderstruck just yet I am feeling absolutely great now.

The other thing I'll be able to wash and shower without trying to keep my left arm dry. God bless the NHS.

Anyway everybody enjoy your weekend and this gives me an excuse to post this video as well, by Finnish band Steve'n'Seagulls which really is impressive.

And Now For The Not Great News

Royal Blood On The Radio

I've just been told I have Cirrhosis of the liver. It's irreversible so it's just a question of keeping it from getting worse. Essentially it's scarring of the liver caused by alcohol abuse or being overweight or diabetic, so over the last five years it's been the last two items that are the problem. The situation is the same as with diabetes  again irreversible but , I think , manageable. But that's it for the bad stuff. I know the NHS will look after me and have my best interests at heart.






It''s now Friday evening and the weekend is here. Royal Blood are on the radio and I have forty eight hours of fun ahead.

This is the thing , even though some things are not brilliant , there are still lots of great things you can find and enjoy so you have a great weekend and if I get to see you even better.

Have Fun!!

Autumn is Here

War of the Worlds

And no I'm not going to post that god awful Justin Hayward song from Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds"  , it's just that I have to switch on lights in the morning and soon the leaves will be turning brown and we'll have all those great autumn colours in the plants and trees. We're getting rain , but most of it is at night so that just means that mother nature waters the garden for you.

I always try to keep a positive spin on things as the UK public often just loves moaning and complaining about things. There's a hell of a lot of great things to be happy about and to put a smile on your face.



Anyway today I am hopefully getting my bandages removed from my arm so I can do things with two hands once more. I've had a week of inconvenience and a little pain (I didn't get any pain killers when I left hospital because I'm hard me! ) , and it's an education when you have to live trying to do things mosly one handed while trying to keep the left hand and arm out of whatever you are doing with the right hand and arm. Throughout all this the NHS has been excellent and

Anyway I'm looking forward to being bandage free and enjoying autumn, and oh yeah it's nearly weekend which is even more brilliant. Enjoy your Friday everybody.

Still Ill

Well not ill, but my arm is hurting and there's still a week before I go back to sort the bandages. I've also been extremely busy with work, finishing at 6 tonight, and found time to squeeze in a gig and watch the return of Dr Who with Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor. There were elements of Malcom Tucker in the performance which made it even more enjoyable. I always loved the Thick of It Doctor Who Mash Ups they did.

Complete Smiths

Anyway this is just a short post, my arm is improving , life is good and there's still two days of the Bank Holiday weekend to go, with lots of options of good things to do.

The title gives me an excuse to namecheck The Smiths which
I know are not some peoples favourites, but I do like them.

Hurt So Good

Mekons - So Good It Hurts

Well hurt is not good , but thought that was a title of a Mekon's song, but there is an album called "So Good It Hurts" which is used as a refrain in this excellent song from the album.

Anyway I'm getting off the point, today I've been to work with my arm heavily bandaged and generally I coped OK, although it's amazing the number of things that you normally use two hands to do like putting contact lenses in , various ablutions like washing, shaving and showering, and I'm going to have to deal with this for a week, but still I think it will all be worth it, I think I have more control over my left hand than prior to the operation.

 One of the worst things is itching under the bandages which , really , you just have to put up with. So I'm prepared to put up with the inconvenience , discomfort , and pain when I catch myself. As I say the NHS have been excellent to me.

Hopefully I'll be able to play guitar properly and finally do something about putting a band together, nothing big, but something fun. I keep promising to write a song and I will get my writing head on soon. Anyway I have to sort my tea out, so I'll go and get that done and let you enjoy your evening as I continue my recuperation.

Deep Purple in The Operating Theatre

Arm in a Purple Sling

Well this post is being written one handed, Today I had an operation on my left arm to free a trapped nerve at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Newcastle. My experience just reinforced my views on how excellent the NHS is and mty annoyance that tories and daily mail and sun readers want it dismantled in favour of the American system. Nye Bevan's original vision is the way and sensible country should be run.

Anyway that's enough political ranting. The staff on the ward wer welcoming and very upbeat, helpful and supportive. The people on the ward were all extremely upbeat despite have worse things to contend with that I had.

The food was brilliant and there were excellent healthy options.

During the operation which had me led on a bed for an hour and a half while staff chatted to me , played decent rock music (Doors, Deep Purple and Manfred Mann were three that came to mind) and the surgeon found I had a muscle that shouldn't have been there which was putting inordinate pressure on the nerve, then he did the carpal tunnel in my left hand.

At the moment I'm waiting for the anesthetic to wear off, so do doubt I'm due some pain, but today has been as excellent as you could expect considering the carving my arm has got. Anyway have a great night , my day has been fine.

I was looking at a Deep Purple album and I  thought "Might Just Take Your Life" was a darkly humorous take on today.

Good Day

Well today could have been bad, but I've been feeling positive, not that that can cause good things to happen , but it keeps your spirits up if things don't go as expected.  I've had lots of things to do today and then had a potential over hospital stay lined up.

Be Happy

Well today has been good , every conversation has been brilliant , I've got through all my work, stuff turned up in plenty of time to get things complete then when I left for the hospital , I was running a little late while finishing packing , but luckily the bus I wanted was running a little later.

When I got into the hospital I explained to the doctor the situation, he agreed and said they'd do all the tests and if I was ok then I could go home for the night. The price of this was I have to be back at the hospital at 7.15 tomorrow morning , but it's worth it knowing that my blood is fine and I will get a decent night's sleep.

I hope your day has gone well too. There's nothing like a smile from you to put a smile on my face, and that's why I've included this excellent TED talk about a humanity test. Have a brilliant evening, I've had a brilliant day so far, full of sunshine even though it's raining.

Never Stop

Never Stop Having Fun

Well the last two weeks and the next two weeks for me have been and will be almost non stop. This is not a bad thing although time flies by and disappears as you try and fit everything in. Due to holidays at work we've only had half a team in, but everyone's working extra hard to make sure all runs smoothly and it's actually a pleasure to be in working with the girls and guys, who are absolutely excellent,  supportive with problems and helpful whenever you need them.

There's things we need to do before the bank holiday and I have a day and a half in hospital in the middle of it (tomorrow and Tuesday), I could have done without the overnight stay which they say is because of the ITP but they are just covering themselves and not too arsey so I'll go along with it. As I continually say the NHS is brilliant and hopefully I'll be able to play the guitar properly after the op, which would be amazing as I've never been able to play it before.

Also I am to blame for some of this time congestion as I've also fit in gigs by the Star Spangled Chestwigs, Penetration , Culture (tonight) and Bad Pollyanna (on Friday), so the latish nights are my own fault really, but wouldn't miss them for the world.

And this si one of the things about having fun and being positive, life is much better when you do things , and even better when you do things you enjoy , and even better when you do things you enjoy with friends and people you like like and love. Like I was out seeing friends on Friday and that was fantastic Paul , Fiona , Sarah , Colin  and Graham are fantastic company any day of the week, and that's just five people I'm lucky enough to have in my life.

Today I still have lots to do, but the sun is shining and the wind is blowing but that is fine, no rain at the moment. I know this week I will see many more friends, and have lots of fun , and have the odd moment where I think "I need to sleep" , but really I'd rather be doing something and enjoying myself.

The title is taken from and Echo and the Bunnymen track, so have a brilliant day everybody, my weekend is nowhere near finished and I hope yours isn't either , wherever in the world you are. Keep on smiling

When The Wind Blows

Rain Room at The Barbican

Last night I , and a lot of others , were kept away by the high winds. The good thing about it, is there wasn't any rain so it's had a drying affect on everything. Today it's back down the track to Darlington so I hope that the trains are not affected as tomorrow I have got to go to London, where I wish I had time to visit the "Rain Room" at the Barbican. although I have a feeling it's no longer open, like many web sites there's so relevant information but it looks like it's closed as all the articles are from a couple of years back like this BBC one.

Anyway have a great day, I'm off to work now.

Breakfast With Wernher Von Braun

WVB

 

I saw the name Wernher Von Braun this morning and it got me thinking.

The first was it reminded me of the wonderful track "Breakfast With Wernher Von Braun" from the Stackridge album Mr Mick , which I've had to do a slideshow for and hope it stays on Youtube. It is a great piece and I love Stackridge , though as yet I still have never seen them, though given the opportunity I will definitely go  to on of their gigs.


The other thing is that , as far as I know , Wernher Von Braun  is thought of quite rightly, as a leading light in space exploration and rocket technology although a lot of his most famous work (rightly or wrongly) was for the Nazi War machine in the form of the V1 and V2 rockets (David Bowie's V2 Schneider from Heroes was written in Berlin obviously inspired by Von Braun's work). So sometimes some good can come out of patently bad situations.

If there hadn't been a war would Von Braun have been able to do his initial work , and later go to America and help them in the space race and eventually put Man on the Moon. Who knows.

But really it is a lesson that we should all be aware of, that we should continually look for good and inspiration , even when things aren't going our way, and that way good things will occur. Bad things may still happen but if you can focus on something that makes you happy then that's a moment when you will feel good as opposed to feeling down.

I don't know really what I'm writing about in this post but hope it's given you a little food for thought. Have a brilliant Sunday everyone wherever you are in the world.

Blood, Flood and Trains

..Apparently. So I've mowed my lawn, and cut some bushes back and filled up the brown bin , ready for next week. The weather today has been lovely, and despite the downpours this week the lawn is in remarkably good fettle.

This weekend I was intending to do nothing but managed to be so busy today that I forgot my mid day insulin injection, and was wondering why I was feeling a bit tired , just putting it down to physical exercise when I came in a saw four untaken tablets and then it clicked I'd missed my middle of the day injection, checked the blood sugar and it was a bit high but it's back to normal now.

Darlington Brick Train

Anyway looking out the window the sky is still blue ,  there's only a little cloud cover so not sure if we are going to get the downpour, but at least I'm prepared for it.

This week has been good for music and seeing friends so tomorrow I really will try to have a quiet day. Oh and earlier this week I went to see the Brick Train in Darlington which is about ten minutes from where I currently work. Because of this I chose a cover of the Kinks "Last of The Steam Powered Trains" and this version brings out the riff that reminds me of Howling Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning" which incidentally is also about steam trains,
 namely the sparks the could be seen from the funnels when you saw
the trains at night.

About The Brick Train

 Hope you are all having a great weekend, and have a fantastic Sunday everybody. There are lots of great things happening  so enjoy everything.

Say hello to your neighbour or phone a friend , do something to put a smile on your face and you will make the world a friendlier place.

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.

I Just Can't Be Happy Today... Well Actually I Can, We All Can

Well actually I can, everybody can , there's always something to enjoy or feel good about. I was at a great gig last night by the Star Spangled Chestwigs and had a great crack on with several friends. When I left got an "affectionate" goodby from Shev and the crowd, got to the Metro station , train pulled up , which got me into Newcastle Monument where I walked to my bus stop two minutes before the last bus turned up. That wasn't planning, it was luck, but just made me feel better.

I took the title from the excellent Damned song.

Don't Worry Be Happy

Earlier in the day I'd had lunch at Cafe Rouge with my daughter Juliet, which was excellent, great service , and there were a couple of parties in , one of which had a few young mothers among their number. As I was leaving I noticed that one mother was breast feeding her baby, the atmosphere was so relaxed that she could do that as it should be , completely naturally . Kudos to Cafe Rouge for providing that environment, they have gone up in my estimation.

The thing is being happy is a positive trait that should be practiced and encouraged in everyone. Bad things happen but to work towards coping with them, and find something that will put a smile on your face.

A lot of people seem to spend more energy being miserable and they must have a sad life. The right wing push hate slogans, and people who are good friends of mine often spread these probably without thinking. On Facebook groups like Britain First and Right Wing News are particularly spiteful and nasty. Anyone on benefits spends all of that hard earned tax payers money on cigarettes, tattoos, alcohol and cable TV and immigrants just walk in here and get mansions and new cars, although it's seldom you can find hard examples of this. They seem to forget that their taxes are also paying for the tax "avoidance" / "evasion" of large corporations , but that is apparently ok. But what they don't think is that the avoided tax will end up bled out of the economy and in a Cayman Islands Hedge Fund, while cash paid out in benefits will stay within the economy. If we stopped ev
asion with the money returned to the economy we could employ people under the direct control of government to properly administer tax and benefits.

Another of the hate posts I've seen recently are targeting diabetics. "Don't they understand if they stop stuffing their faces with cake and chocolate they'd be ok". These have been posted by people I consider my friends. Well yeah I'm overweight but don not over indulge. Also  what about Sir Steven Redgrave, hardly a lard arse, and a good friend of mine has far worse diabetes that me , which she is coping with but is a mere slip of a girl.

Really I feel sad for the people who write and spread these things while happily they are taken advantage of by big business and right wing governments and organisations.

So basically , the sun is shining , there are lots of things to do, pick up a phone and talk to a friend, meet them in a park or art gallery, go and see a film, listen to some music, read a book, go for  a walk (I found an excuse to make myself go for a long walk earlier and feel better for it), there are lots of things you can do to make you feel good. Try to see the good in others but don't be taken advantage of. If someone is having a hard time , offer a helping hand, be there for your friends, I know all my friends are.

Anyway there's been some diatribes here , but I am happy , I am good , and I am having a great weekend.. You do the same.

August Is Here

Augustus

It's month eight although it used to be the sixth month before they rearranged the calendar, named after some Roman Emperor called Augustus. We still have excellent weather, with rain during the night and sun during the day.

Again nothing major to write about although I am slightly exasperated on a number of fronts with IT people refusing to take responsibility for systems they are paid for looking after and saying it's not their responsibility. I and others diagnose the problem and then nothing gets done apart from those idiots suggesting it may be the users fault.

This has happened three times this week already , once in work twice outside of work, but I'm not too bothered and it's not worth  getting het up about.

I'm just looking forward to a really nice weekend looking forward to lunch with my daughters and seeing the Star Spangled Chestwigs on Saturday at The Doll at The Black Bull in Gateshead. Sensible people  deal with the drudgery and take delight in the good things and that's what I intend to stay doing. Have a great day and a better weekend

Coincidentally ....Two Johns

Am I Going To Hell?

Today has been a day of coincidences. I always have a chuckle when people say "things happen for a reason" yet can't give an actual reason for what happened. That's just coincidence, and often you can use it to link together totally disparate places people and events, so I'll tell you about today, although part of these linked coincidences started nearly forty years ago in 1977. But there's a lot of disparate threads that really have no connection but just happened to coincide.

Punk 45

Anyway yesterday I bought an excellent book of punk single covers called Punk 45. It's enlightening to see how many of the artists looked on the sleeve of the early singles, Sting, Iggy Pop and Gary Numan look recognisable but young. It's also a fairly hefty tome but great to browse through and big enough to read without the aid of a magnifying glass.Today I needed to go into town to pick up some train tickets and some bits to update my sound system.






When I got to the bus stop it was sunny and there was a young lady there sort of singing , I assume to what was on her phone. She turned round and said what a nice day it was and then saw the caption on my T-Shirt and seemed to take it quite seriously, telling me that god had a place for me in heaven and hell was for the evil angels. We chatted on and she was happy and pleasant but a bit forceful, and then the bus didn't turn up, so I spent nearly thirty minutes in some verbal jousting. I didn't want to upset as she was going to a christening, but just said everyone should live morally and look out for others and stay happy, so we left on good terms. The christening was in Byker, home of part of the next thread of coincidence.

Suspended Sentence - Check The Line Up - John Scott!

A couple of years ago I went to see John Cooper Clarke at the O2 Academy in Newcastle and was very impressed by the MC on the night , Mr John Scott. I was so impresses with Mr Scott that he was the second best thing I saw that night,  but then sought out further gigs, and am really pleased he's on regularly at venues such as The Stand.

John is from Byker, so that's the thread I mentioned before, but was looking at the line up for John Cooper Clarke's first single.....

......and the guitaris is John Scott. Now the John Scott I know would have been about 10 at the time so was either a child prodigy on the Manc scene or it's a different guy.







Now certainly people could tie all these facts together to mean something , but I know it's all coincidence.


So basically I've had a great weekend and I hope you have too. If you can get a copy of the book do so. I've included so youtube footage of the two Johns for you to enjoy.

The Heat Is On

Well it's Saturday Night and still very warm, hot even. Hope I haven't got sunburned today , though I bet a lot of people have. Just been having a relaxing day , though dewired some clutter in the front room and had a wander round town and bough a book and some fruit.

This post is totally random, because as is quite often the case, I don't really have anything to write about, but it is nice to just let the words flow and and fill the page, although I don't think there will be much page filling tonight. I just keep trying to thing of ways to cool down, after today clothes need to go in the wash. Luckily have cool drinks and will be sleeping on top of the bed with maybe a light sheet , just need some sort of cover on, for obvious reasons.

The days are getting shorter, the nights drawing in , although it is most definitely summertime.

Just as I was writing this my computer desktop disappeared, very weird, so had to restart. Given it's so hot have gone for The Who's take on Martha Reeve's Heatwave.

Anyway I hope everyone is having a great weekend, enjoy the sun , and keep positive, there is lots to be positive about.