Over the past few weeks I have been asked if I am vegetarian , vegan and when did I become vegetarian and was it difficult to cut out meat and fish , just because I ate some vegetarian food. The answer is I am not vegetarian or vegan, when it comes to eating I am blood awkward and fussy. I eat all the wrong things, I am diabetic , I like a bacon sandwich although I think I may be weaning myself off chocolate , which I adore and today I bought some scales and recorded the terrible fact that the scales tell me I am 114.6 Kg that's like 18 Stone.
Anyway enough of that, last week I visited the excellent Bohemian Restaurant and recorded my thoughts here so you can check it out , apparently one of the top ten British Vegan Restaurants, it's in Pink Lane Newcastle and is definitely worth your time. They recommended Farplace which is a vegetarian / vegan shop / cafe in Clayton street , that sells Vegetarian and Vegan products AND supports animal welfare so to quote George Orwell it really is DoublePlusGood , the staff are really nice and when I went in they had the guy from The Nut Roaster demonstrating his machine and selling various nut butters (you can see his oven in action here)
I went with Cashew Nut Butter along with a lentil curry pasty and vegan Victoria Sponge and a Chocolate Orange Scone.
Then today I was walking up Grainger Street and noticed a new cafe called Super Natural , there is already one near Carliol Square but this is a new one and very pleasant it ism, I checked in on Facebook here. As my friend Katie says it's a great time to go Vegan is you are in Newcastle.
The places I've listed are all town center, and they are not the only ones. If you go out to other Novocastrian districts you will find more Vegetarian and Vegan places.
I thought I was going to have to you use Meat Is Murder by The Smiths as accompanying music for this pice buth then remembered The Mothers' Call Any Vegetable which is far more positive , which lets face it Vegetarianism and Veganism is.
They say you wait ages for a bus then three turn up at once, well this isn't quite the same but had arranged with my friend Katie so try out the vegetarian and vegan place.I was saddened with teh demise of The Stateside Diner and was glad when The Bohemian appeared. I had met a chef from there in Kazbat's Den and said I would visit.
Anyway I got there early and noticed that it was cash only , not a problem as Central Staion is two minutes away and full of cash machines. Anyway I returned and Katie had booked a table , and was impressed with the album cover decor and the music playing , load enough to hear but quiet enough to talk. I then turned round and saw they also sold Vinyl !! You can see my instagram video here , so I was on to a winner m definitely.
Two weeks earlier I had found The Long Play Cafe on the Quayside , food , drink and Vinyl , so hence the bus analogy. Both these places are must visit places , if you are near get yourself in there.
Anyway we started with three tapas , tempura vegetables , breaded mushrooms ad nachos with vegan cheese, guacamole and the usual trappings . This was augmented by 241 cocktails though mine was non alcoholic.
The atmosphere was lovely , the music superb and they had Major Tom by Peter Schilling on vinyl , a record I had never heard until seeing Deutschland 83, so that was a must purchase.
Mains were a vegan hotdog and a chilli cheese chimichanga , and that left no room for cake , which did look lush.
This place is gorgeous, while I normally only look for positives , this place positively ooozes positivity.
Looking art the weather outside this morning , bright sunshine and dark clouds , which could symbolise hope and fear , good and bad , but luckily taking an umbrella with me should be enough contingency to protect should the elements turn unfavourable.
It amazes me that we are in the year 2016 and still anything that doesn't fit the desired model is deemed to be undesirable. Sometimes things have to fit the the model , utilities need to function , transport needs to run , etc . I do get that , but sometimes , when we're outside daily life the best things are the things that don't fit what you expect.
The media and governments expect us to watch soaps , consume what they tell us , and behave as they want us to , in order to maintain their own positions of power. The media tell us that one political side is trying to take us back fifty years (when is was the norm to aspire to buy your own house and anything you want) and the er wants us back in Victorian times , with a slave underclass and a ruling class unanswerable to no one but their own greed.
So basically these days if you don't conform to the norm often you are treated like a medieval witch and are a target for the ire of the media led masses. So I am happy to include the video for the Radiohead song "Burn The Witch" with it's Camberwick Green / Wicker Man hybrid .... though watch it to the very end. I have ordered the new album.
Anyway it is Friday , it's nearly weekend, and things are looking good.
Yesterday evening I went out , It was cold and foggy and again I was feeling alone and cut off (in a good way) and was taking photographs and posting some black and white versions to Instagram because it felt as though it should have been in black and white. Those images were to try and convey what I was feeling and then thought maybe a video would to so I posted this which included some commentary , and then thought that as long as the cloud , the web and stuff exists , then this makes me immortal. Most of us have some kind of online presence now and it means that even when people pass , unless someone removes their stuff they will be around for us still , in writing , comments , pictures and video these days.
This year we have lost David Bowie , Lemmy , Prince , Alan Rickman though Keith Richards and Bob Dylan still endure . But we still have them in their music and film legacy which is often instantly available thanks to the Digital Forever that the networks that spread the globe have given us.
You can go online and listen , watch and read stuff from people still with us and who have passed Youtube channels will be around for a long time after I have gone.
one. They are not dead , they are still with us in a myriad forms and that is just amazing. I am not going to get into anything spiritual or religious here , but I am happy this blog, my Instagram and
Anyway sorry if this sounds dark , it's not meant to be , it's meant to be hopeful, which is why I soundtracked it with Bowie's Heroes possibly my favourite Bowie single, well it is today.
This week I have been near Stokesley in Yorkshire. You can find stuff on TripAdvisor here about the area but the cottage I am in is here. It's at the end of a half mile track but has provided a great relaxing week with the opportunity to to take walks and relax and see some amazing scenery.
I do wonder what possesses people to build houses in such remote places , but I suppose the rest it has given me is testament to that . I had hired a 3 door Corsa from Enterprise and they gave me a 5 door Fiat 500 Monster car, which was handy for getting up the track.
I was hoping to get up to the Cleveland Way and see The Wainstones but when I walked up the first time and there were lots of "No Right Of Way" signs , although I could see people walking along the top. It just seemed there was no way for me to get up there. I was a bit disappointed but thought I would chance a bit of internet research.
There was This and I found the Wainstones Walkhere which indicated I follow the fence for a while where I had stopped, and sure enough I went through a gate rounded the corner and then saw a stone path leading up to the Wainstones. I met a couple of girls who had been walking since 8 in the morning , shared my Pepsi with them and took some photographs before they continued on their way to Clay Bank.
When I got up there I was presented with amazing views and it goes to prove that if you want something you should not give up on it . Yes this was a small thing , but too many times people give up because things aren't easy. Some people want things on a plate , and while it's nice to get things like that , you get great satisfaction when you succeed due to effort that you have put into things.
The result of this is a lot of photographs and videos of me sort of in the middle of nowhere, getting very Zen and peaceful, and I feel good about it and about myself.
So if you want something , and it is possible to do it , then do it, you won't regret it.
I was trying to think of an appropriate song and the title track from Brian Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) is so beautifully appropriate. I love this
A weird thing. I am not at home and am using my laptop on Windows 10 and the wallpaper is reflecting the slideshow on my home desktop PC. The only vague connection is that they are both connected to the internet and Windows 10 wanted my email address. This is slightly worrying as it's doing something that I never asked for and I don't actually want. I want control of my stuff and I don't want Google , Microsoft and Apple connecting everything I do and potentially sharing it with anyone who pays them.
It's like the iCloud situation where Apple delete personal files and put copies in "The Cloud" which you can access if you pay them money and have an internet connection (see here). The guys personal recordings were stolen by Apple and he was basically told "tough". It amazes me the arrogance of corporations who put things in very small print and then say it covers them for anything they want to do. Mobile phone companies are like that too.
One article says they wont delete your stuff (see here) , but I have had dealings with them and they will never ever admit there is a problem. Your iPhone could explode and burn your hand off and Apple would say it is performing as required.
I thought She's Lost Control by Joy Division is appropriate because our reliance on technology , sees technology doing more and more things we didn't expect.
Fog From Claybank
I still don't know what's happening with my laptop.
On a lighter note Leicester were crowned Premiership Champions and had a massive party. The media generally hate it because they would rather cover Arsenal , Chelsea, Manchester City and United, in fact anybody with money and no soul. Money is the new religion you would think. To me it's a necessary evil but not something to be worshiped and put on a pedestal. It negates the need for barter , that's all. The problem is when the big clubs win , it's just about collecting shekels , they don't give a damn about anybody else , they are perfect corporate material.
Leicester have provided The Premier League with a shot in the arm and a great deal of fun , and the combined technical genii of the "big clubs" still can't get near them, and anyone with any sense is loving it.
Anyway I am enjoying the sun and quiet and I don't have to get up tomorrow morning.
A very short post today . Something I noticed last night. Clouds are probably the the biggest things that we see everyday . The affect our lives , blocking the sun and cooling us down , raining on us , distributing water, colours from black to white with sun influenced shades of red.
Very often I will see an amazing cloud formation and seconds later it has gone , and really sometimes life can be like that. If you don't take the opportunity when it's presented it's gone. Cloud's are the epitome of that , especially on a windy day. The number of times I have looked for a better perspective and then lost the image is countless, however because of what I have lost , and the fact I carry a phone that can take a decent photograph I can now capture images that previously would have just existed in my memory,
Yesterday Leicester City became Champions of the English Premier League for the first time. This may not sound hugely unexpected given that the Premiership is only 25 years old , but this this the first time they have topped English football in their history. They survived by the skin of their teeth last season thanks to an amazing run in under manager Nigel Pearson , who they proceeded to sack , and replace with Claudio Ranieri , much to the hilarity of the media.
Throughout the season the media rammed the Arsenal / Man City / Chelsea / Ma United down our throats , like most seasons as though no other clubs exist. Most pundits were expecting the wheels to fall off when key players got injured . This was at a time when key players WERE injured. Any week that Leicester didn't win that was the end and the pundits would be proved right and with Chelsea going off the rails it would be Manchester City or Arsenal who would take the title and Manchester United maybe third.
Leicester established themselves as everyone's second favourite team, they got the title through had work and the skill of knittng together as a team. Whenever they hit a problem Ranieri dealt with it.
Also included in this amazing season was the fact that James Vardy scored in eleven consecutive Premiership matches surpassing Ruud Van Nistleroy's record of ten
Meanwhile Watford and Bournemouth established themselves and in the top four the only realistic threat to Leicester was provided by Tottenham Hotspur , with West Ham als punching for a top four place.
Sir Alex Ferguson got it wrong though , he said they'd have it won with three games to spare.
There are two matches to go.
Leicester City are Champions
And already the pundits are predicting their demise next season.
They have conquered the most difficult league in the world , because they are competing against money and the media. Since the formation of The English Premier League only Blackburn Rovers have broken the hold of the the money clubs , and that was with the backing of Jack Walker's millions.
There is money behind Leicester but when they beat Chelsea earlier in the season a chastening fact was that Diego Costa cost more than the whole Leicester first 11.
There will be moves afoot to make sure this doesn't happen again because of the potential effect on revenues , or maybe that's just me being cynical. This may be rose coloured spectacles time but I remembered when you didn't really know at the beginning of the season who would win it , I remember Carlisle topping the First Division , anyone could do it. Now you need outside billions to compete in the Premiership .... but the teams mentioned in this piece have given us a great season. Savour it because this is not what the money men want.
I'm reasonably visible on social media and have a few followers on Twitter and Instagram , but sometimes get friend requests on Facebook from people who I have no apparent connection with, usually these have virtually no content of often are young ladies wearing beach apparel. Needless to say the delete button is employed.
I got one from a Spanish Lady this week , and deleted , mainly because of no connections, but I saw she had followed me and in particular liked an instagram photo I had posted while in the Tyneside Bar and Cinema watching one of their afternoon silents , Der Golem but I thought it was Faust . I'd done a retouching of the photograph and thought it looked pretty cool. Ruth obviously thought the same . We are friends on Twitter but not yet Facebook friends.
So I know this is just a short post , and I haven't posted for a week, and yesterday was Beltane , so it's not as though I haven't had things that I could write about, but really it's just to try and not miss things because you become numb to the normality of events.
SO if you want to be my friend make sure I have a reason to be yours
Today I stumbled across another wonderful find , under The Tyne Bridge , next to Popolos , the Long Play Cafe. This place is gorgeous , it does coffee , cake on settees and couches , with retro record players from RPM , wonderful wall art , Bowie and The Beatles caught my eye and they sell second had vinyl , T-Shirts and other music..
They have an Anti Record Store Day wall display . When I asked them about this they told me that to participate in Record Store Day you have to pay a £300 registration then commit to buying NEW vinyl every month. If you deal in second hand stuff that's an overhead you can't justify. Record Store Day started out as a celebration of independence but it's turned in to another commercial troughing.
Anyway apart from everything I've mentioned they put on gigs , serve food, sell very reasonably priced vinyl (I resisted the Prince picture discs), I bought a copy of Genesis' Lamb Lies Down on Broadway , just so as I could read the libretto.
It was great chatting with staff and visitors , lots of people had just discovered the place like me.
Really it's worth a visit if you like good food , good company , good atmosphere , comfy chairs and vinyl , 7" and 12" , black , and other colours and picture discs.
Back In NYC is one of my favourite songs so it's an excuse to play it
It was incredibly sad that we lost Prince this week , and while I do say the older we get the more this is bound to happen to us , he was younger than me , and infinitely more talented and sexier. A small man without a Napoleon complex, he let his talent do the speaking. My first album was the double 1999. He was soul and rock and rock and roll , sex and fun.
I actually heard some snide comments about him. "Well I wasn't surprised , he was just the same as Michael Jackson" . I can't even begin to educate that sort of idiocy.
With Spoon we even considered some of his songs 1999 , Cream and Peach come to mind . The guy could do anything . Two of his albums were given away free , because he could. He would sell out gigs , cared for his fans, got a bit arsey about his contract with Sony , and showed a sly sense of humour (or should that be humor) when he became "The Artist Formerly Know As Prince" , when asked how it was pronounced Prince Rogers Nelson answered "Christopher".
Now is the time to drag out your Prince collection and listen to it. And if you you haven't got a Prince collection , Why Not? Don't you dare use Spotify.
Anyway today is World Book Night where I join in marking William Shakespeare's passing by giving away copies of Matt Haig's Reasons To Stay Alive. A truly wonderful exhilarating book about how one man has dealt with a sever breakdown and depression. It is gorgeous, uplifting and if you don't get a copy from me BUY a copy . It is an amazing book.
And it also happens to be St George's Day. I have no problems with National Celebrations but I do have with Xenophobia , Racism and turning it into a marketing exercise for London based beer brands (Like St Patrick and Guinness) . Today at Newcastle Castle there is a big real Celebration with a Dragon and god knows what else.
Have a great day everyone , I'm gonna be in Newcastle giving books away and possibl visiting my friend Karen to see her new puppy in Kazbat's Den.
Yesterday I went to my friend Paul Campbell's 50th Birthday Party. I was thinking if he had known me when I turned 50 he could have bought be a bottle of the Singleton Whiskey , but a can of Campbell's Soup , I don't think would have been appropriate, unless it was a Warhol Print and then he would have to find somewhere to hang it.
Anyway as Paul is in London and I am in Newcastle there was a train journey involved. And I am a giver for World Book Night. The book is Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig which is about how he has dealt with and effectively overcome his depression (I know I am not in a position to comment on depression) , and at first I thought maybe this isn't the book to give to a really good friend but .....
The book is easy to read , full of white space , and brimming with hope and positivity , I was hoping to get part of the way through it but I finished and felt really good after reading it. Two years ago I gave away The Humans an novel in which he addressed his depression in a different way and well worth reading. I instagrammed several pages from the book and lots of people reacted positively.
A friend of mine had book the book but could not face it , because she thought it would be difficult. It isnt't . Read it and you will feel great.
Anyway , it's Monday Morning and time to kick off the week , and here is a total feelgood song for you
Well it's the first time this year that I have mowed the lawn. Today has been a lazy day but I have had a headache but managed to get a few things done. I have been listening and learning to play the songs for the band so as usually am trying to do too many things that I don't have time for . The reality is that I would hate to be bored and it's always good to stretch yourself just to see how far you can go.
When I walked over the lawn there was a squelch of water and I thought maybe it's not time but it is mid April so I should be starting . It turned out easy to mow , just two
lawn mower bag fulls of grass and now the lawn looks half presentable.
The instagram video is . here. The thing is once you start , everyone else has to do theirs . I can imagine lots partners pointing out that I was mowing the lawn so their partner should be doing it too.
Anyway as I say it's been a relaxing weekend and tomorrow work starts again. Have lot's of songs to learn , but am going to post Rick Nelson's Garden Party which is just a totally wonderful song
My friend Kaz has just taken offence that Justin Bieber has Dreadlocks . I am amazed the amount of offence this guy causes . I can't sauy I have listened to his stuff, I saw him on Graham Norton and found him annoying , a bit like Little Jimmy Osmond singing "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool", but Bieber is an easy target , he sells records (or downloads) by the truckload and can probably have any girl he wants .... which a sort of definition for a rock star.
Then you get Guns 'n' Roses reforming and people going on about how important they are. To me they made one half decent album , I'm ok with em apart from their anagramatic singer , and their main legacy seems to be that they turned up very late for gigs and showed inordinate disdain for their fans.
I am old enough to be a great grandad , and remember parents getting offended at the music I listened to and the clothes I wore. I now get offended when I see kids wearing Sex Pistols , Nirvana and Ramones T-Shirts because they think they are clothing brands. I don't know if attitudes have changed, I certainly am not your average parent when it comes to music. One thing to remember is the Sex Pistols were as manufactured as Bieber, like the Monkees and in fact The Sex Pistols covered a Monkees song almost in acknowledgement , so I have included that here.
But I have come to this conclusion, Justin Bieber continues to cause offence and annoy people sell records and get the girls, Guns 'n' Roses reform and their best numbers are cover versions , so it seems to be Bieber embodies the spirit of rock and roll a lot more than most of your classic rock bands.
This is just a short post although we have got into April and there is so much happening this month.
I have picked up my bass guitar for the first time in earnest for several years , as if I can cut it , I will be joining a fifties style rock and roll / soul band.
Then on the 16th it's World Record Store Day , which means lots of stuff going on around RPM , Reflex , Beatdown and JG Windows in Newcastle. We are lucky that in Newcastle we have four , yes count them FOUR real record shops. The first year it wasn't that well attended but this has really gained momentum and you have queues outside the record shops in the hope of getting that special vinyl version of a particular record. It has got fans listing to music again rather than skipping through their iPod collection.
On the 17th it's my friend Paul's fiftieth birthday , he's a writer and if you are a fan of Casualty , Doctors or Eastenders you have probably seen some of his work. Check him out here , a very cool , witty and nice guy and a great friend.
Then on the 23rd it's William Shakespeare's Birthday , which is the marker for World Book Night. I've been giving books since it's inception and this year I will be giving away copies of Matt Haig's Reasons To Stay Alive in Newcastle on the night of the 23rd. A couple of Years ago I gave a way Matt's The Humans , an excellent book which I would recommend to anyone. This year's book list is here.
So basically it's Monday morning , there is lots to do , and lots to enjoy. April is looking very good for me , I hope it;s the same for you.
And I always think a bit of the Reduced Shakespeare Company always goes down well , so I've included The Othello Rap - Totally Boatless , that always makes me laugh.
Work at the moment is quite intense , just a lot going on , so yesterday took time out and fancied a cooked meal . I wandered through town and decided to go to Trillians as I love the atmosphere , music is good there may be a decent film playing and the staff are brilliant , and they now do excellent food. I chatted with Barbara and saw the Bangers and Thrash , well how could I not , so ordered that with a cup of coffee.
I sat in the area at the bottom of the stairs and noticed there was a bag on one of the other tables, and I know sometime people don't like other people withing a million miles of them , especially when it;s me.Anyway the girl came back and was reading checking her phone so seemed cool with me being there. Anyway my coffee came , then I got a phone call. "Black Sabbath" by Black Sabbath was playing (which incidentally is one of the dishes that Trillian's serve featuring Black Pudding .. My mums favourite) . So in the phone I was probably talking a bit louder than I should , because of the music and the fact that Trillians is underground and you can lose your signal at any time . The thing is talking louder doesnt help and we all do it and are often too lazy to go outside or somewhere private, well I was yesterday.
After I finished I apologised for being too loud and she smiled and said was fine , the she asked me if I was having lunch and did I want to share a table, as she was waiting for her lunch too. I said yes and we got talking , she told me her name was Jane and she was waiting for a Megabus to London and thought she'd drop in here and she knew they now did food. She told me where she was from and I asked if she knew another friend of mine who lived in the same place and it turned out we had her in common.
We chatted and ate , told her about my daughters wedding , showed her THAT CAKE (if you click on this you get the instagram video), and like everyone she was amazed by it. It turns out we have a lot of common interests so I told about events coming up, and also told her this whole thing reminded me of a recent excellent TED Talk I watched about AirBnB which goes on about the modern "Stranger Danger " attitude that the media and society engenders in us , when in fact most strangers could be friends we haven't met yet. I know that sounds crass, but I've included the talk below
Yesterday I walked into Trillians and saw a stranger and when I left I had a new friend. Yeah modern technology is good for immediately connecting with people.
Have a brilliant Saturday everyone , I am going to .
Well there goes the Easter break and it was rather good. Mine started early on Thursday with my youngest daughter's amazing wedding which was just a totally brilliant day , lots of smiling faces , happiness and me renewing long lost friendships.
Over the weekend I picked up a copy of Classic Rock magazine because it had some Iron Maiden Beermats and a "Top 100 Rock Albums of The 70s".
There is a hell of a lot I don't rate such as Aerosmith , I still don't get them , a sort of watered down ersatz Rolling Stones , "Walk This Way" was good and "Living On The Edge" but that's about it , sort of a bit better than Grand Funk Railroad who , thank God , we don't hear much.
Powerage by AC/DC was their number one seventies rock album , which I can't disagree with . AC/DC amaze me because every album is virtually the same , every song is virtually the same (have they ever done a ballad? ) but they manage to sound brilliant. I see parallels with Status Quo , who then tried to change their sound (Beach Boys collaboration what a car crash that was) , then recently they went back to basics and started to sound good again.
I always tell people I don't do stress , I don't do anger , I don't do hate .I try not to let any negative vibes come into my life. I saw a TED talk on the positives for stress which you can watch here. Stress can be good for you if you use it to your advantage. It's like any form of training , you push yourself , often to the realms of pain , but as long as you are not pushing beyond your limits your body and mind can grow stronger from stress training.
We often become stressed when we lose control of situations , but I have always found fun in situations with lots of unknowns . I like solving problems , but if I get stuck I ask for advice , and I always try to prepare for potential mishaps so that at least I have the odd thing to help me if things go wrong. The thing is , most of the time things generally go right.
I always try and extend my circle of friends and give people respect , that way you have someone to call on if you need help . I need both of my hands and more to count the number of people who I could ask for help from if I needed it.
A friend of mine recently told me that I don't stress like normal people , but told me some times I need to just slow down because I try to do so many things at once . Maybe it's just bad planning on my part , but going back I was playing at gig and took a work colleague along , she was a quiet girl but the following day asked me "How Do You Know So Many People?" , I didn't think I knew that many people but I obviously did compared to her. I just said I speak to people and keep in contact with them.
I'm pretty unusual in that I can speak to my neighbours face to face and know their names for four houses either side. Most people barely know their next door neighbours and that can actually create stress . I certainly don't have any stress there
I remember hearing the PIL song "Rise" thinking how beautiful it was , in the chorus , but the refrain"Anger is an Energy" which is the title of John Lydon's latest autobiography that I am reading and he explains how anger can be channeled positively to create good things. The book is well worth reading as Lydon is very articulate.
Anyway what was I saying. How am I normally not stress. I prepare for situations , if things suddenly change I adapt to that change . I don't get angry if a bus or train isn't on time , I almost find it amusing when I see traffic jams full of cars with one person in them. I don't own a car and only drive when I have to.
The other night leaving my youngest daughters wedding late at night I went in the wrong direction , no one stressed , it was suggested we turned round that we did and then we got back home at a reasonable hour. I know people who would have blown up in that situation.
So look for positives , look for things that make you laugh , don't over reach or try to do the impossible and enjoy as much as you can . That way stress levels go down. Don't look for things that may never happen . Carry a spare tire if you drive , but don't think every time to start your car that you are going to have to use it.
OK that's a few that's about my generally stress free life.
I think it's really important to enjoy yourself . Although real life often gets in the way.
Whey you are enjoying being warm in bed , you have to get up at some point , but I stretch it out as long as possible
When you are in the bath or shower feeling and enjoying the warm water flowing over you , I love that and probably spend a lot longer in there than I should
When you are with a friend or loved one or both , I love that , but have to depart for work or mow the lawn or some other chore.
The main thing is to try and extend enjoyment into everything you do. I like solving puzzles and problems and have seen virtually every job I do as that sort of task , which then makes it enjoyable, rather than a chore. If you make your job enjoyable , then it stops being a job and becomes a form of enjoyment. I continually look for ways of making things better for me and others and when someone notices that it gives you a great feeling.
I always try and look for positives in every situation and that in itself becomes an entertaining challenge.
But anyway I know I haven't been writing much recently , and I have no excuse for it , apart from I have been spending a lot of time enjoying myself and that's no bad thing. And the song it's Baxter Dury's Pleasure , which always makes me happy, ad stimulates my enjoyment.
I continually berate Novocastrians for not visiting or knowing about some of the amazing things in Newcastle. The Lit and Phil and The Vampire Rabbit are two cases in point. I have been in Newcastle fr 30 years , which is half my life, the first twenty of which were spent in Preston then the next ten Southport / Tarleton / Leyland and then coming up to Tyneside.
Anyway yesterday , for the first time I properly visited Newcastle's Castle . So I am just as bad as the people I berate. The steps are daunting , and there are lots of flights of stairs that go off on different directions. I could tell you lots about the place but I include the video I took from the top (sorry about fingers and sound) and apart from being a castle it has lots of events on which are wonderful when watched there.
I didn't have much time so the main point wast to get to the top and enjoy "The Best View In Newcastle" . I think it was 100 steps up a stone spiral staircase, and the weather was lovely, but although I always say I am ok with heights as long as I feel safe , my vague vertigo started to get the better of me, but I persevered.
While up there I was talking to to a lovely lady from Northampton called Shirley or Sheila (my short term memory is atrocious) and we were remarking how beautiful and impressive it all was. A friend had brought her up toe Newcastle for a couple of days as she had always wanted to come so I mentioned a couple of places worth visiting and it was good to be able to point landmarks out for them to aim for. Grey's Monument , The Botanist Dome , The Pearl Building , St James Park and The Bridges , The Sage and The Baltic are all very visible.
So today we have another lovely day and I am tempted by the Bela Lugosi night tonight .....but it's sold out so I shall include the Chvrches take on Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead" as a small consolation
Today is the second day of spring and we have had rain and snow , so plenty of water. This has got lots of my friends jealous that I have snow and they don't. We also had blue skies sun, so four seasons in one day scenario. The snow came down , melted then fell again, melted then fell again and so on for the the rest of the day. I'm sitting writing this hearing the wind blowing down the chimney, wondering whether tomorrow will be any different. Let's face it the weather can do what the hell it wants and we can do nothing about bar make a reasonably educated guess.
Then I took the tiny road from Litton to Tideswell , which at the end has a sharp double right turn. Most of the way it's a single track road. Well what I wasn't counting on was a large articulated lorry stuck , unable to move forwards or backwards blocking the road. Not sure what the poor driver was going to do, but I turned round to find an alternative route. I had £2.25 in my pocket and wanted to get to the cash machine in Tideswell. Getting to the bank, I found the cash machine was "resting" , so used the Post Office to get some pennies.
Coming out of the Post Office I saw a sign saying Peak Volumes , a book shops I was unaware of. I went in and the place is crammed with second hand books. I spoke with the guy and asked if I could take some photographs. He was really friendly. The place is a veritable cornucopia of reading material on lots of subjects such as art, fiction , formula 1, music , chicken farming and lots more. This is the second discovery I have made this week (Music In The Green being the first), third if you count the Litton Shop. I love finding new things and this week has been full of that , making new friends finding new places and just having a good time.
I didn't intend to write this but feel I must do a short piece on the local shop at Litton. It's run as a co-operative and stocks most of the things you need as well as providing a social focus in the village. It's also a coffee shop . supports a post office and has some excellent home made cakes which I have sampled. It's run on a volunteer basis with support from the Co-Op and has been running for the last sixteen years , becoming an essential part of Litton village life.
The real plus is the people the manager Carol , Barbara , Tina, Stephanie, Myra, Judy and one of the customers Tony. They have regaled me with stories and opinions and analogies with The Wicker Man, and are amazingly friendly and welcoming. It is gorgeous to come to a lovely village and meet up with such lovely people. And I have an invitation to a Cheese and Wine Evening and Quiz at The Village Hall , a totally lovely place.
If you ever come here or even drive through , you have to check this place out , and check the coffee and lemon varieties of their sponge cakes.
I won't bother with any music for this , but it's just an appreciation of a lovely place with lovely people
Well it's the first day of March , first day of Spring and we have rain , cold , wind , snow , we have weather. This most is just some thoughts that got set off as I read Tracey Thorn's biography Bedsit Disco Queen . She is obviously famous enough to release a record and and her autobiography , but that only came with her hard work , talent , belief in herself and some huge slices of luck in meeting the right people and being in the right place at the right time. Belief in yourself gives you the confidence to do things , be it writing , applying for a job , building something , making music or introducing yourself to a stranger.
If you have belief in yourself you can help others who are less fortunate that you , you can hold their hands , you can give them advice.
People often look at their lives and say if they had done something differently then their lives would be much better. They can never know this. In my life I have have made lots of wrong decisions , but if I had done anything differently I wouldn't be in the position I am in now , and to be quite honest , I am incredibly happy with my situation at the moment. Yes there I things I would like to be better (more money , less work) but I have a wealth of friends and the ability for the most part to do what I want, the only constraints are time and distance and to some extent money.
I have friends who have become very successful and am still close to them , and it just makes be happy that they share their success rather than flaunt it. But I am sure there are lots of times in their lives where things just fell right.
Again reading Thorn's biography there are so many times when something unexpected happened which then resulted in being the stimulus to produce a song or play a gig, which then eventually resulted in the formation of Everything But The Girl (taken from the name of a clothes shop in Hull where Tracey and Ben Watt were at University) so if they hadn't gone to Hull , they maybe wouldn't have got that name and they may not have been as hugely successful as they became.
I decided to include Tracey singing with Massive Attack , a great collaboration and a lesson to us , don't dismiss something if it doesn't conform to the norm.
I think the thing in life is to find happiness in what you have and to share with as many friends as possible, and if you don;t have enough friends , talk to people , you never know who you might find. Don't sit back , go out and have fun , and the good times and good friends will show themselves,
So although luck gives us opportunities , sometimes it's up to us to grab those opportunities and create the situation where those opportunities occur. You don't usually get a job offer if you don't apply for a job (although it has happened to me a few times).
Some days something happens that is just a cherry on the cake moment. My life is good at the moment , not perfect , but in the happiness league I'll be in the top 10% if not even higher. But sometimes things happen that brighten your day even further.
As a kid I remember my friends big sister had a copy of Ralph McTell's Spiral Staircase , and I particularly loved the cover of that album , and also the title track stuck with me.
Today I was wandering round Bakewell looking for a snack , I was feeling peckish. I had visited several bookshops and one of two record shops I had visited previously had become a fudge shop (Folk Devils in Whitby became a cake shop), the other one was shut for lunch I think .
I wandered round a corner and noticed a small shop called Music In The Green with a display of album covers including the aforementioned Spiral Staircase and Deep Purple's Concerto For Group And Orchestra with a poser "What Year?" The thing is it looked like a real record shop.
On walking through the door any doubts were swept away, John Renbourn on the player (Live in Italy which I walked out of the shop with) , a cornucopia of new and classic folk and world vinyl and CDs , with a rock section ate the back,
Steve , the guy behind the counter, was easy to talk with very knowledgeable and dug out a copy of Nice Enough To Eat, an important album from my youth. I could have spent the whole afternoon in there , and if I lived in Bakewell , a shop like this would make it worth coming into town for,
Today the discovery of this treasure has made my day. It's a reason for going back to Bakewell , and should be a reason for you to visit.
Sometimes really unexpected coincidences occur. Yesterday I posted about my need to keep things simple because I am not very intelligent , and used as an analogy Lego which led me to an Iron Maiden video of them performing The Wicker Man.
Yesterday as I parked my car, I was getting watched by a guy in another , thinking I had "taken his parking space" . He started out slightly aggressive , but we chatted and when he realised what lovely person I am , we got on like a house on fire , shook hands and my car stayed where int was.
Today I want in the local shop, I'm staying in Litton in Derbyshire, and if you want to see the cottage it's here Anyway the guy was in having a coffee with friends and we chatted on and he asked how long we were staying:
I said "A week"
He said "Have You seen the film 'The Wicker Man' .... he only went for a week"
Much more guffawing ensued and I told him about the Christopher Lee video I did. And how it got pulled and all that . I bought some biscuits and left
Came back , switched on the TV and "The Man With The Golden Gun" is on TV just at the car bridge jump scene , and of course Christopher Lee played Scaramanga , three nippled golden gun toting assassin.
So this weekend has been Christopher Lee influenced , coincidentally
I think it's an acronym. Keep It Short and Simple. It's the way I've tried to live my life. Trying to keep things as simple as possible , so that I stand a chance of understanding them. A primary school teacher once told me that a genius was a person who could see and explain things in the simplest terms.
I always use this analogy when try trying to argue that even the most complicated thinks can be reduced to a simple construction. The most complex Lego creations are still just a series of little bricks which can be rearranged into any shape you desire, and that's most complex things you can imagine are just a huge combination of simple things.
The computer or smartphone you are using to view this is just a huge collection of zeroes and ones, binary switches, on / off gates that are added together to show you the most amazing things.
Anyway keep things simple and you can keep them in check and make sure the do what you want them to do. It's time for bed for me so I am going to sleep
Also an excuse to have Iron Maiden's The Wicker Man in Lego , five years in the making and it;s just lego. But a good song referencing a truly great film , featuring Christopher Lee in one of his favourite rols
