The weekend is here , Autumn has come , the mornings are dark , but you are probably lying in bed as I write this as really I should be , but I just thought what could make a good thing a little better. I'm actually doing something for work this weekend , it's not been asked and actually gently discouraged , but the people I work with are great guys and I am happy to put in a little extra effort because I know that they would do the same for me. I brought in cake yesterday because that's the sort of think we do , except I got mine from Pet Lamb in the Grainger Market as the cakes have maltesers , chocolate orange and all sorts of goodies. Love treating my friends.
And really it's always good to give someone a call ad a hug because that makes you feel better and them feel better. It's to easy to put things off til next week or next month which turns in to next year. Do it now , reach out to someone, it will lift both of you and you never know your friend my need it , you don't know what's happening unless you talk, which is vaguely the subject of my TED talk submission which I will send off when they are next looking for speakers.
We should all talk more , hug more , spend time together more , and we will enjoy life more. So Saturday starts here , and if you want a hug from me me let me know , I always have one for my friend , family and those I love.
Someone at work checked out my blog this week and they said that they found it remarkably uplifting, I do hope they read this as well , but what better , more uplifting start to the day could you have than Elbow's One Day Like This , wouldn't you just give that guy in the video a big big hug . I would!
I was a little stir crazy last night and so went into town to Trillians and the Tyneside Bar and Cafe where I had some lovely Minestrone soup. There was a girl at the bar with her boyfriend , we caught each others eye, I smiled at her and , surprisingly she smiled back. It was fleeting but uplifting moment.
Today I was walking up our road a girl came out the dentist , I smiled at her , she beamed at me , a two second thing but certainly made me feel much better. Had good news from various sources , always glad to hear of my friends having a good time.
Smiling is really good for you , even when things are going wrong find something to make you laugh and grin.
If I hadn't gone out last night I wouldn't have seen the girl at the bar , I will never see her again , but the lift her smile gave me will be part of me forever, and I think Eeyore always makes people smile.....
I do . And I know doom mongers will say it can't last but why not. I wake up every morning smiling , happy and looking forward to what;s coming my way even though sometimes I haven't a clue what that is.
I know bad things do happen but a positive attitude helps over those things . I love it when good things happen for my friends and those i love (and that's a big overlapping group , everyone I love is my friend) , and if something bad happens I am a shoulder to lean on , and friend to talk to , and someone to bring a smile to your face.
I often but small presents for friends , and they say you shouldn't have. There is as much pleasre in giving as well as getting.
Sometimes friends will say they've let me down because they can't make a gig or something , because they are feeling under the weather. They never let me down , I am adaptable and sometimes able to stand on my own two feet even. If they aren't well I am looking out for them and thinking about them.
One thing about me is that I can adapt , things can change beyond recognition and I'll keep on my feet and work out the next steps.
Yes I am not a Syrian refugee , I am well aware of plights of the oppressed and while my only contribution is charity donations and verbal support , I do tend to concentrate my attention closer to home.
So please be kind , feel good yourself and look out for others.
I love my friends so much
I'm really sorry if this seems like a new age rant . It's just to know that if I can be I will be there for you because I know you will there for me. I don't complain if I buty you a drink , a meal or a bar of chocolate , there is as much joy for me in seeing your smile and you get from what I give .There's only one song isn't there
Give someone a hug and hold their hand today , they may need it , and I'm certain they will want it
On a Saturday morning and it's amazing how useful and sometimes rubbish the digital world can be. How often do we get the excuse "It's a computer error" ? I always reply , no , it's a human who told it what to do and provided it with the data (somewhere don the line anyway if you want to get pedantic.
Sometime in the past I programmed my friend's birthday into Moonpig to be the 7th of September. I've been sending her cards on the 7th of September for years ,. Yesterday I caught her at Bar Loco , and said I'd forgotten her card , but it would be OK as her birthday was on the 7th . In unison everyone told me it was the 5th , and she's going on holiday on Monday.
So computer error ? I think not , this is a case of Mikey error. So this morning I need to make an early morning delivery of a birthday , so it's good that I got up at 5am
The thing is , I KNOW the negative devil lies and the positive one tells the truth. For me that devil
wins every time which is why my life is so good. Some people sometimes let their negative devil in and that makes life intolerable . Yes things go wrong , but there are people (like me) who will always be there to help and hold out my hand.
I love being happy , it makes me feel good , and I was going to have some doomy gloom music , but then this song jumed into my head. My positive devil was there for me once again . So you get Kevin Ayer's The Up Song , guaranteed to make you smile although at the bottom is me singing The Cult's Lil' Devil with Spoon
Well today is the last day of August , for some reason I thought that Saturday was the last day , c'est la vie. This month has been totally wonderful for me , just riding high on feelings of positivity and seeing things going well for friends and family.
We live in a world where conditioning and media pressure push us to be miserable and spiteful denigrate differences and actually find pleasure in other people's failure and misery. It is a horrible attitude and I discourage in impressionable youngsters and older people.
I look for different things , they stimulate my mind , I don't do straight and narrow in thought, pleasure and fun. The uses of that word has determined the song for this post , Baxter Dury's Pleasure, which is totally wonderful.
I hope things are going great for you and remember there is as much pleasure in giving as there is in receiving. Love all your friends and all who love you as well , always return that. It's too easy not to bother , me , I do bother.
I think things are going to get much better , keep looking for the positives and you will make your life perfect.
Over the past few weeks this song has been popping up on the radio and in shops and other plays. I've never really listened to the lyrics , though the title is obvious , and also The Cure are one of my favourite all time bands with "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" being my favourite album with songs on there bringing back unexplained memories such as "Like Cockatoos" bringing to mind JG Ballard's "The Drowned World" and the achingly beautiful "Catch" still reminding of a student call Frances I knew back in the eighties who was great Cure fan.
The thing is "Friday I'm In Love" is such an uplifting song you almost don't need to listen to the words and it really does lift your spirits and make you feel better. It certainly resonates with my feelings and does lift me up even further. I've just transferred it to my phone because a listen to that will dispel any slight downers like Preston getting beat 2-0 by Hull yesterday.
Anyway we're in the middle of the Bank Holiday (for those in the UK) so enjoy the rest of the time and this week is only 4 days of work .
We're at the Bank Holiday Weekend at the end of August and the doom and gloom merchants will signal it as the end of all things. It isn't , no way. Everyday I find new things I want to do or try and am never satisfied with doing what is expected and conforming to expected boxes.
It's quite amazing how through my life I am continually deemed weird and strange because I don't watch X-Factor , Eastenders and Coronation Street , and I don't have an Apple iPhone.
The thing is I conform where I have to , I use money rather than barter, I have and Android Samsung Phone and a Windows Computer. But I prefer to be defined by what I do do , rather than what I don't do.
So I wont be watching any of those programs, but I know I'm in the minority. It's like Terry Pratchett , I enjoyed Mort and that was it but it doesn't matter because I have so much that I do like and I do not need any of those things.
Tonight I recut some CDs for a great friend to fit in his/her hatbox
I have lots to stimulate me, am in a constant state of feeling good , and every time I speak to someone I feel even better. like the ending of "True Romance" where Alabama eulogises for Clarence with the "You're So Cool" motif backed by the Orff "Gassenhauer" borrowing of Hans Zimmer.
I am feeling very positive so am going to bed now , but leaving with the wonderful Peter Gabriel song "Come Talk To Me", I really wish you would. Good Night my Great Friends
Deluge at Night and Hot Sun during the day , yeah I know that's too many capitalised letters. A t the moment life is going very fast and lots is happening and fitting things together is an absolute challenge but a good one to have. It's always good to have plenty to do.
My bookpile is growing faster than I can read , my play pile is growing faster than I can listen , my songs to put together are growing and I still haven't recorded my first one and I want to do versions of of a few songs just to prove that I can actually play them.
Today is another challenge , in a good way . Keeping positive and believing that things will go the way I want. I discovered a problem with my surgey's on line app and they were thankful for my input and are now rectifying things. At work I've been told I'm delivering stuff they have been waiting 12 months for.
I'm spreading knowledge and yesterday I saw an amazing light boxed version of John Martin's Sodom and Gomorrah and The Laing . Spoke with a lovely couple in their seventies who first of all thought I was an expert on the great man because I told them about him , although they knew of his importance and origins. They were also impressed with my phone too.
Loving life at the moment and I know it will get much better.
Heard from great friends around the world about their love of books that they share with me , which also gave me a huge lift.
After the bad night I had a relaxing weekend , mooching round watching TV , taking in some Blues courtesy of Monkey Junk at The Butterfly Cabinet and Cluny. While wandering down Northumberland Street came across the excellent Wandering Sons , a brilliant two piece , percussion acoustic guitar and voice. , they had CDs on sale and I immediately bought
Today was in Next buying clothes talking to a girl with an Amy Winehouse Beehive , and she asked me if I'd seen the film Amy and told me she'd seen it at the Tyneside Cinema so we chatted about film and music before I went on my way.
Got told again at work that they were happy with what I was doing , which is a definite plus
It has left me on a complete up and life is extremely enjoyable at the moment.
Thursday night in the middle of the night woke up with cramp in my left foot , it hurt like hell , as cramp does, and you get out of bed stamp around and that cures it doesn't it? Well usually it does, this time cramp wanted to really hurt me , and it kept coming back for about half an hour. This was followed by leg pains , then a bad head head pain and finally a chest pain that hurt like hell (not heart attack stuff , but without being too ungentile , my right moob felt like it had been severely kicked and punched, I finally got off to sleep listening my made up CD compilation of my first ever sampler album "Nice Enough To Eat" which I must thank for being my first introduction to , among others , Mott The Hoople and Nick Drake. (If you want a copy let me know because I don't thinks it ever got a CD release).
Anyway come morning , I felt ok if a little tired, but resolved to go and see by doctor and used the excellent Patient Access App to book an "Acute On The Day Appointment" . I booked it for 2:10 and turned up at the surgery to find they had no record of a booking , but had one for September 4th. I had spotted a flaw in the system and also not checked the date it had given me. Anyway I'm with Thornfield Medical Group and they booked me in for an Emergency Appointment at 5 , where I was seen fairly quickly checked over and all seemed good (Including a 3Kg weight loss) . The lovely doctor told me that cramp is exacerbated by dehydration but I tend to drink a lot of water anyway but maybe too much coffee (which is a diuretic) . I work with a Patient Focus Group at my surgery so will be feeding back about the app.
So that's where I am after a great week and looking forward to an excellent weekend , with not too many nights like Thursday. Have a most excellent day everyone.
I'm in an incredibly good mood today, I know I'm generally positive anyway but , today feels special. Good things seem to be happening. Last night Preston got a goalless draw with Rotheram , we never beat them but three matches in we've not been beaten. A good friend has signed the paperwork and moving to a bigger better house and last night I saw ny friend Bethany leading the North East Socialist Singers at a rally for Jeremy Corbyn , hopefully the next Labour Party Leader.
Big JC
I was there courtesy of my friend Craig who got me a ticket , and met with my other good friend Gillan who hasn't changed her hair colour since I last saw her at the Chase Park Festival , she was there with her family. I delivered Bethany's very belated birthday present via a NESS member, and it's the first time since I heard her duetting with Jon Lee on "Where The Wild Roses Grow" at The Tyneside Bar and Cafe.
Anyway , it's the first political rally I have attended , and including the people outside the Tyne Theatre there well close on two thousand there. We got lots of rousing call to to arms for Union Leaders , Council Members and Activists to universal applause. The we had Jeremy Corbyn.
What can I say , electrifyng , galvanising , an answer for every question , vey clear , and a commanding presence , no wonder the opposition are running scared. This is no career politician , this is a hard working guy , not afraid to tackle anything and also address the supposedly thorny issues of funding the NHS , helping those who cant help themselves , working for everyone's good, in politics for what he can put in , not what he can get out.
I think my Muse is with me today , and feeling incredibly inspired. I even took some video of NESS for you to enjoy singing a song from 1012 about Suffragettes according to Bethany.
Anyway time to go to work ,and have a good day, I going to have and amazing one.
Today I dropped by the excellent Glamorous Owl and among the many wondrous things there were these amazing "Dead Fairies" . The work is fabulous and I was speaking to the proprietress's husband
who was minding the shop while his wife was giving a two hour silver ring making lesson upstairs (£25 and you walk away with your own , self made silver ring).
Anyway tonight I watched the second episode of Series 3 of Ripper Street ,"The Beating of Her Wings" , a very dark episode which had a child apparently kept in a dungeon filled with ... you guessed it ... dead fairies
Now people would say that means something , but it really is just one of those ominous coincidences., you don't often come across dead fairies , definitely not twice in a day.
And what else could I have but We're All Going To Hell by The Bastard Fairies . So we've had two lots of Dead Fairies and one lot of Bastard Fairies.
I was talking with a good friend saying that I'd ordered a set of Tarot Cards , even though I really knew nothing about The Tarot. The set I'd ordered is an absolutely beautiful set called The Psychobilly Tarot . If you search google images you can see them here. My friend then told me the meaning of The Hanged Man in the Tarot which I had always assumed meant death. It doesn't , well not in the way we think of it.
I may be displaying my total ignorance here but here's what the actual meaning of the Hanged Man is.
The Hanged Man on the World Tree
In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil – the world tree – is the home of the universe.
The Aesir Gods live in the top, with elves, humans and ice giants populating the tree as you descend, until you reach the roots where the Norns live.
The Norns are the Norse fates – three sisters who control the destiny of all the creatures in all the worlds.
They carve runes – symbols of magic and knowledge – into the bark of Yggdrasil, so that their power is carried through all the branches, affecting all the people.
Now, the Aesir gods are a curious pantheon, in that they know of a prophecy that fortells their death.
Odin, King of the Gods, traded one of his eyes to acquire the prophecy and ever since had been searching for ways for undo their doom.
From the top of the world tree, Odin looked down and saw the sisters with their runes and felt the power of the symbols.
Perhaps, here, he might find the answer that would save himself and his people.
Down Odin descended. He asked the sisters to teach him the runes, but sadly they shook their heads. The runes could not be given, but must be earned.
A sacrifice was required.
So with strong ropes and cunning knots, the Norns hung Odin from a branch of Yggdrasil,
Each symbol had its own power – there were runes for protection and runes to curse, runes to inspire love and runes to acquire wealth. Runes to heal, and runes to wound.
ll these runes Odin was now the master of, and he hoped that it would be enough to arm him and his kin against Ragnarok: the end of the world.
So the hanged man is Odin , who made a sacrifice (his life) to earn the power of the runes. So it's not a sign of death but a sign of change.
Admitedly not my usual tyme of post but I love Norse Mythology , and thing the Psychobilly Tarot looks amazing and it's and excuse to include a Psychobilly track. Now what should we have...
While it's nothing earth shattering there were a lot of nice things going on today. This follows on from yesterday where I heard a friend had an offer on a house accepted , and was so pleased for them, and they were happy. And yesterday was extremely good.
And then today I had tasked myself with getting some new jackets , and after trailing through shops found a pair of linen ones in John Lewis and when I got to pay found they were half price , so it was effectively 2 for 1.
I wandered through the Grainger Market stopping off in Reflex and a chat with my mate Phil who works in there, then down through the Bigg Market towards RPM and noticed a shop that had replaced the beloved Attica , The Glamorous Owl and it is a wonderful and joyous place full of locally produced things and the people are wonderfully welcoming. You have to visit this place it really is a jewel.
Then on to RPM where Marek told he had something coming in , a collection of local 60s / 70s vinyl coming in , which should be very interesting.
Then in Fitzgeralds was served my a waitress who had the most amazingly stunning Medusa Tattoo , a true work of art , but I was too much of a gentleman to ask her for a photograph of it , but it was very impressive.
Anyway , the Joe Walsh song should suffice for the soundtrack to this post because the title sums up my feelings today even though I am very tired,
Oh and Preston won today which is always puts a smile on my face.
So enjoy the rest of the weekend. I know things are going to get much, much better
Don't know what brought this into my mind , but as you know my mind does veer off in weird direction , with or without and inspirational muse to direct me. I usually post because someone or something or some event has inspired me.
Anyway was just thinking of a time recently where I was watching a particular exciting TV program that was coming to a climactic scene and ....... there's a loud banging on the door , completely dissipating the moment. It was my new window cleaner (not had one for a while) who has the loudest knock you could think of.
Now if I hadn't got a new window cleaner , the TV progam would have had it's desired effect , but
because I put in motion the new window cleaner thing , that happened , and is likely to happen again as you need to be in for him to catch you.
Sometimes things you do can have completely unexpected but still valid results.
Anyway it's been a brilliant end to an amazing week , and now it's time for the weekend to kick in . Have a wonderful one my fantastic friends.
It's summer , it's hot and often you don't feel like eating a great deal, but it is nice to have something that's both cool and good for you. While I love apples and grapefruit that have been in the fridge at least a day, sometime grapefruit can get a little messy with juice going everywhere as you cut into it, but the taste as the pulp hits your tongue is tart and amazing.
But also grapes , strawberries and baby plum tomatoes are an absolute treat for the tastebuds slipping down a treat and you just find it difficult to stop. Just one more, just one more and then you stop. And it's amazing that there are readily available everywhere, so it's not as though they are exotic.
Raspberries are another and even bananas , which are also full of goodness and are very pleasant decorated with cream and ice-cream.
So I hope my culinary escapade has kept you amused and given you ideas to try.
It's time for bed now , early start tomorrow
And it's an excise include Prince's Cream as the decoration although I could have had Peach!
I saw a post on Facebook asking people to describe their day in three words. What shocked me was the amount of negative sets of words . While there is a lot of negativity happens , it's just something to deal with like missing a bus , losing your wallet , and there are really big bad things , but when it gets that bad you call on your friends for support , because that's what they are for.
So an example of a couple of things yesterday is someone asked me how things were going , as usual , I said "Absolutely brilliant" , and they said it was such a refreshing change for someone not to be moaning about something , which actually made me feel even better.
A colleague asked for a favour , she was feeling under pressure, as things had conspired to corner her, and she needed to get some information for a deadline . We sat and worked through and very quickly got what she wanted. I told her to set up a short "informal" training session for next week for her team. That was great and she did her presentation and apparently some senior people were so impressed that they will be joining next week. I just emphasized it would till be informal but we all felt very very good.
Then I checked an email and saw I had missed a mail from my friends at Geek Talent. A quick change of plan meant I had tea with them at Za Za Bazaar in the Gate and met lots of new people and many old friends had an absolutely wonderful day.
The song I've chosen is just so uplifting , and had to put it in because the way I'm feeling even though I used it in a post about Peru recently, Big Day by Phil Manzanera featuring Brian Eno.
This post was going to be about negative stuff, but I thought I am always telling people to concentrate on the positives , because it's the easiest thing in the world to find fault , so maybe I am a bit special because I will always look for the good in everything.
I miss a bus , I walk to the next stop and benefit from the walk
I miss a train, I have longer to read a book , listen to music, talk with friends.
Last night I became a Friend of the Tyneside Cinema, because it's the only Cinema I'm aware of north of somewhere South and it's a wonderful place , the people there are lovely and I love going in there.
You also meet lovely people there , last night I ran into Craig and Krista and they introduced me to a young poet and we chatted about diverse thinks such as South and Central America , film , Vamos and Isabel Sarli. Craig and Kirista went to watch a film and the poet left with a hug.
Then we went for a lovely meal at Prezzo before coming.
Had correspondence with various good friends during the day and there was so much good happening.
And this came on to of an amazing weekend with friends and family enjoying the Chase Park Festival under gorgeous sunny skies.
And when you concentrate on good things it sets you up to look for more things.
I know negative and bad things do happen , but if you are in a positive frame of mind it will help you. There are times even in my new job, when things seem that they are getting too much , with belief in myself , and so much support and positivity from my friends and colleagues there , as well as the company ethos , makes sure that I succeed.
Anyway I hope you all have a great day, I am going to have one , and what else could I have but Baxter Dury's "Pleasure" my feelgood record of the moment.
Yesterday I went to the amazing Chase Park Festival (see my review here) , and the power on my phone ran out , so after the gig had finished I managed to lose everybody but expected to see them at the bus stop. Although everyone is capable of looking after themselves I thought I'd use the public phone box, not a la Clark Kent , but to actually make a phone call.
Then it struck me , I don't know any phone numbers because I don't need to know any numbers , because the phone does that for me. Luckily I know my home number , but then thought how the hell does this work. I finally realised I could use a 50p and a 10p so picked up the phone ... no sound ... put the money in nothing , so I couldn't even make a phone call.
Having said that A very drunk guy tried after me and came out cursing , and he couldn't get it to work either so maybe it's not me.
I used to think that it would be wrong to close down phone boxes , but technology is making the
things redundant. But they are essential in an emergency ,,, but you need to know your number and how to use the things.
I am diabetic , you all know that. I treat it very casually , you all know that. I do what I'm supposed to do you all know that, and the fact I am still here is testament to my general life regime. The NHS has been brilliant in their support of me, with some superb support from across the spectrum , especially my brilliant surgery , Thornfield Medical Group, who I would recommend unreservedly to anybody and NUTH Hospitals who I have both worked for and been treated by over the last few years.
You get the odd well meaning pedant , like the nurse who told me I had to live off carrots and celery, and the nurses and doctors who keep banging about me getting out of a car and sitting in the passenger if I have a hypo while driving. As I diabetic I have to check my blood sugar levels at least every two hours when driving , and I always do this before getting behind the wheel. If the blood sugar was low I would not get in that car, and the day I have a hypo while driving is the day I give up driving. But as I bang on about the odd pedant I have to tell you about the nurse who brilliantly analogised the benefits of Omega 3 Oil as a brillo pad for your veins and arteries (everyone and I mean EVERYONE) should take Omega 3, the brilliant consultant who , although trialling me on a liver drug which resulted in identifying my cirrhosis (which means I can take extra care of myself in that area) , who also noticed muscle wastage in my left hand which I had lost the horizontal use of, eventually kicking of some tests that discovered a weird trap nerve carpal tunnel syndrome combination that has resulted in a 90% restoration of the functionality of my left hand, we original thought it may have been a TIA or a stroke (which I may have had around the turn of the century when I got hit by ITP).
But as usual I've gone sort of off subject before I've started, but it's really that porridge is the best breakfast anyone can have and it's particularly good for diabetics. It is one of the few foods you can buy that does have sugar as one of it's ingredients (most other cereals have loads) , although the sachets and quick porridge brands have loads of added sugar., just go with a box of Quaker Oats and you can't go wrong (though I'm on Aldi's stuff at the moment). Anyway the way I make porridge is half a cup of dry porridge oats , a cup of skimmed milk , then put in a pan and stir together and but on the hob on the lowest heat and come back when you are ready to eat (at least 30 minutes) , add some fruit for taste , chopped apple , banana, raisins or sultanas , and you have a perfect start to the day. After that you DO NOT feel like snacking at all , it's very slow release, Perfect.
And now the dangers..... I was once working from home , put the porridge on about 7am and the started work. I was so engrossed in my work that I forgot about the porridge until a cooking smell wafted upstairs that I noticed about 11:30 am. Amazingly because of the low heat, adding another cup of skimmed milk and stirring it it resulted in a great breakfast ... at dinnertime.
Then yesterday ,I had porridge for breakfast , but came home to find I had forgotten to switch off the hob , so it had been on all day, but luckily only on the low heat which means you don't see a red glow when you take the pan off, so that didn't do my energy conservation much good.
Anyway today I'm going to see Ash with I used to soundtrack my YouTube video that I did when I took part in Lighting Hadrian's Wall which I've include with this even though the only connection is me. Have a great day, I'm going to the Chase Park Festival with my girls , and friends and their families (who are all girls!) so you enjoy yourself , I'm gonna enjoy mine
We all love a mystery and to see something that doesn't make sense , well maybe it does, but in a skewed fashion, and was discussing with a good friend about the concept of Steampunk , and minority religions and ancient nature.
Steampunk , like every movement seems homogenized and refined in places with no grasp of the real concepts behind it . Some welding goggles and cogs and it's steampunk isn't it. Well no. Steampunk is an analog alternative future , this is where the cogs come in because they drive this world...
.. and when you start cross breeding it with Wicca , Goth ancient nature you open up a whole new fantasy world that can become real for everyone involved. Sometimes I'm not sure what is what byt love the Disney films such 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and Mysterious Island and The Time Machine which brimmed with genuine steampunk imagery and it's surprising that I think the first book to genuinely buy into this genre was Michael Moorcock's Warlord of The Air. When I read this when it came out the term Steampunk hadn't been coined and when I looked at the imagery I realised how forward and backward looking this book was.
Anyway I love the genre , the associated literature , music , the clothing , and everything about , sort of almost a forward looking nostalgia for things that never were and never can be, although they could if time had turned a different corner.
Anyway this is an excuse to include Steam Powered Giraffe , and it's the weekend , so start to enjoy yourself.
I don't know what brought this to mind, but I do like to remember good things in my life and share them with others, though I wont name any names apart from my eldest daughter Juliet , and you could find that out by a bit or trawling or trolling or simply asking me.
Anyway this starts with a blatant bit of racism on my part, when we moved to Tarleton I had a chance of registering with an Irish or a Hawaiian doctor. I chose the Irish guy, but found he just prescribed Panadol for everything for everyone. I soon realised it was not good and a neighbour said the Hawaiian guy was great. We went on a list which over the many years I was with him saw him lending me his Mercedes when I ran out of petrol , and him phoning me to take him round to see patients when his car was written off. One of the best doctors I've ever had , totally love the guy.
Anyway during a check up he discovered that our two year daughter had an ovarian cyst , that required surgery. What I didn't realise is that she was on the children's terminal ward in the Royal Manchester Children's hospital. Anyway despite many traumas and with the fantastic doctors and nurses there plus her own fighting spirit Juliet came though and is now a lovely healthy young lady and one of a pair of brilliant daughters , but this isn't what the story is really about.
We lived in Tarleton and Juliet was in hospital 35 miles away in Manchester, and the money I was on I couldn't really afford the cost of petrol, so I spoke to the manager at the Midland Bank (now part of the Honk Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) as was. Basically his response was "Take whatever money you need , and we'll sort it out once your daughter is home and well", I was gobsmacked. I didn't have to ask friends or family for help, the bank helped in a time of need. Juliet's mum's parent took her to look after Juliet during the day so they supported us as well without asking.
The thing is , could you imagine a bank doing that today? Helping someone in need? Highly unlikely.
But I was just inspired to write this because I still have good friends who would help me if I was in need. The song Chestnut Mare by The Byrds is one of Juliet's favourites so I've included that.
This post is nothing more than an excuse to play on of my favourite Lyndsey Buckingham songs , "Countdown". While I wanted to hit my thousandth post on this blog this year, I thought the option had gone had gone , but a flurry of posts last weeks means maintaining a post every other day will actually hit the target.
The other thing is that I'm still enjoying Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History Of Time" . As you know I am not very intelligent , so reading this book is like a night out with your clever mates. My mate Colin , when he goes to see Newcastle United play always has a Judas bet , so that if Newcastke lose he has money in his pocket , and if they win he's also happy.
Stephen Hawking had a bet that if Black Hole's didn't exist his friend would by him four years of Private Eye (if they did exist Hawking's forfeit was a subscription to Penthouse) I think Hawking won though by the very nature of it's existence you can't actualy prove it's there.
And with that little mind twister it's time for bed .
Just over a year ago I found out that among his other talent Christopher Lee was also a heavy metal vocalist . I put together a slideshow for his version of "My Way" which hit 10K view in one day then was pulled for copyright infringement. Youtube refused to enter into discussion , but Charlemagne productions , the owner of the copyright said it was Youtube's implementation of the policy and they were really apologetic. I asked if they could intervene but they said they couldn't with more apologies.
So I put it on here , which is hosted by Youtube and it is still there , it's had about 150 views since then so the blog is obviously not as much of a draw ad Youtube. You can see it here.
Anyway I did a slideshow for the wonderful Ezra Furman song "One Day I Will Sin No More" described as in the style of Leadbelly . It's so simple I think I could perform it live given an hour to learn it , but unfortunately copyright doesn't allow it to be shown in my country. So I'm going to try the blog option again.
I would love to know what you think about it. The album is definitely worth buying , Ezra Furman is a real talent.
Yesterday I was in Bar Loco and above the bar was the picture sleeve for Little Richard's "Somebody's Comin'" . He released in a religious phase but it is one of the most uplifting songs I've ever heard and it has never left me , but it wasn't in my collection. If you wanted to be critical you could say it's not rock and roll , or it's a Marvin Gaye or Commodores rip off (listen to Sexual Healing and Nightshift) and you will see what I mean.
Anyway I have listened to this on repeat and it is truly wonderful , maybe possibly my favourite Little Richard song (though I do love Tutti Frutti and The Girl Can't Help It and Lucille).
Basically listening to music does make you feel better. Playing Music makes you feel good. Music is wonderful .
Enjoy your Saturday , the bpast is a rich seam to be mined for inspiration , hope and pleasure.
Well the end of one and the start of another. I managed to get a good night's sleep and didn't do five blog posts yesterday. While that helped towards my millennium goal I ended up being shattered during my day at work, I'll had a generally good day with the odd not good thing but that's life and as always I concentrate on the positives and ignore the negatives unless I have to deal with them. Too many times people concentrate on the bad things that might happen and usually don't, although I'm just dealing with my hire car bump but I was prepared for it. Being prepared for something doesn't mean you expect it to happen , it just means you can deal with it if it does.
Though there's been lots of good news today , some great time spent with friends in Bar Loco (their food is amazing) and Trillians , a friend is moving tomorrow with the help of another friend and I am going to have a catch up with my great friends at Geek Talent next week, I was privileged to be able to contribute a little at the start up of this excellent venture.
The weekend is here but it may just be gardening and relaxing after last weekend's festival (and there is another on next weekend). However I am always so easily tempted , and Newcastle is full of luscious temptation , so I don't know what I'm going to end up doing. For some reason the phrase Geek has turned up quite a lot today which gives me an excuse to include the wonderful (Return To The Valley Of) Out Come The Freaks by Was(Not Was).
NOW my body says IT WANTS SLEEP !! But it is time for work , the time for sleep was last night , not this morning. So it's time to load up on drugs and porridge and coffee which will keep me going and cause me to have a great day.
Yeas it's very short but it's an excuse to play some Julian Cope
OK I've had very little sleep and my eyes hurt a bit but I am going to make sure that today will be absolutely brilliant. I don't know what's going to happen , but there are so many opportunities everyday that we often don't take and I'm just going to grab me some.
The amazing thing about last night is that all I ate were two nectarines , so it was hardly going to give me a sugar rush that would keep me awake.
Anyway being up at this time means I can let these words fall out of my head through the keyboard on to the printed screen to reside forever on the world wide web in the cloud or whatever.
If you see me say hello , and smile at every opportunity , it gives you the same rush as eating chocolate. Keep cool , I home the sun shines and we get a summers day , but friends can make the sunshine and that's the sort of thing that is worth getting up for (especially of you can't sleep).
Gone are the days when I could survive of three hours a night sleep , but I am sure tonight I will sleep perfectly. Here we go no
And what better way to start the day than with one of my favourite Clash songs "Train In Vain"
Wide awake on a school night , with absolutely nothing on my mind. I've tried to sleep, got up , found something to do , read, gone back to a warm bed, thought about playing guitar , but it's three o clock in the morning , which the neighbours wouldn't appreciate.
Ages since this has happened. I know I need sleep cos it's work tomorrow , but I don't want to be reliant of coffee tomorrow to keep me going. Yes it's a day closer to the weekend but I still appreciate I need to be fresh.
I ran into and exchanged emails with an old friend yesterday so that perked me up , though I am just going through one of those down phases I suppose. Everyone gets them and often use it for a reason to rail at someone or something. I am always looking to channel even negative energy into something positive , so that's why I am writing this.
I obviously need some social contact but , hey it's 3 in the morning and everyone with any sense is in bed , tucked up and asleep.. One positive from this is that it's another post closer to my millennium aim which I hope to hit before the end of the year. I'll roughly have to maintain three posts every five days to hit that target (87 posts in five months so roughly 150 days , you do the mathematical calculations)
Anyway , the obvious song for this is the Dictator's "Sleeping With The TV On" except I'm not sleeping and the TV isn't on. As I pointed out recently on Instagram and Facebook , once you see the cover of "Go Girl Crazy" you don't even need to listen to the music to know you will love this band , and if you do listen to their music .... well you are in for a total treat.
Today , and the last few days have been sodden by rain and black clouds. I came home to my website not working and my favourite FTP program not working , but it's so old I can't trouble shoot it so have to get used to a new one , then I went out , luckily with an umbrella but got hit with another downpour.
Anyway I'm sorting things out slowly but finding it really hard to be positive about the whole thing. I think part of it is the dark clouds that don't exactly brighten your mood. But I always find positives in things even when all seems like it's disappearing over a cliff. If that's what happens then you deal with it . If stuff goes your probably not meant to have it. Certainly my old FTP program hits that category nad my new one is Windows 10 Compatible so it was probably going to have to be done.
Thing is it's half way through the week , for most people it's on or near payday , and tomorrow will be a bright and lovely day , with lots of great fun things happening . There is so much good to enjoy that most of the time you can ignore and forget about the bad. Which is my intention for this short post. And I will choose one of my mum's favourite Carpenter's songs "Happy" because will make me happy and it's a damned site more uplifting than that Pharrel song.
