Here Comes December

The last month in 2013 has started, and the sad thing is that the commercialisation just gets worse as we're with bombarded with excuses to pour money into the pockets of faceless corporate entities. I am slightly claustrophobic ad yesterday went into Newcastle and made the mistake of going through the Eldon to get to Northumberland Street. I could hardly move and people seem to think it's ok to just stop in front of you, push you out of the way or whatever. The reason I was there was to go to the excellent Clas Ohlson for some energy saving light bulbs to replace my last two incandescent ones (in my cooker hood). It turns out they do LEDs for every type of fitting, an excellent shop. I then escaped via the Grainger Market which was far more civilized before returning home.

I'm am going to be thinking of , and talking with friends, being happy and having good times. Be happy yourself and try and make others happy. Make time for friends, don't worry about buying things and have a good time.. And it shouldn't just be now, we should be like this all year round, and it's fairly easy to be nice, so do it.

Maybe I will use December's posts to post a decent Christmas song a day,, so the fist is Light Of The Stable by Emmylou Harris.

I've just thought the letters SO look like 50 which is very good SO for all the birthdays around now I SO want you to have a a SO good time.  There always seem to be a lot of reasons to celebrate at any time of year, sometimes you just need to make yourself aware of them and take the opportunity to celebrate. So do it !!

Incandescent

Woke up at 1:30 am. I am really tired but my brain is in overdrive. No particular reason , but my body can't accommodate what my mind wants to do and I know that I have to sleep. Anyway thought I would make some hot chocolate and I know that will help me sleep, but as i was watching the milk boil I noticed the lights in the cooker hood. Since I moved here I've never actually replaced them, and they are still incandescent bulbs. The only two in the house that are not eco friendly!! And probably the most awkward to replace, but that will have to be done tomorrow morning. The think is once replaced I will probably never replace them again , if incandescent bulbs have lasted ten years the eco bulbs will last at least five times that if not more so that's good.

Anyway I'm feeling a bit tireder , but after lots of nice party invites this week and at least one task for the day ahead I'll publish this post with a wonderful song Eric Clapton covering Jimi Hendrix. I love the Hendrix original, but Clapton's was the first time I heard Little Wing. Enjoy my friends .....

A Rather Good Day .. so far ..

Well a lot of good things have happened today. I ran into a good friend who I hadn't seen for ages and got an invite to a 50th birthday party next year (to go with a wedding invitation from another friend) so probable lots of great things going to happen tonight I'm sure.

I then got a call from Screachtv who told me I'd won a £25 voucher to spend at The Strawberry ! That was unexpected and a nice surprise.

I watched a program and a film "Rescue Dawn" (well it's a Werner Herzog film with Christian Bale, what's not to like) on BBC iPlayer on my Samsung Note phone, and was majorly impressed with the quality and experience.

I've had some minor surgery, well half of it, resulting in 10 stitches , which need removing next week, so that was slightly worrying , but the doctor was brilliant and didn't spill too much blood. The NHS is brilliant.

And I managed to find the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix version of Signal 30 by Public Service Broadcasting. Just how good is that
!

Still Dark

..but leaving home in the dark means I can seen dawn rise on the East coast. And it's not raining or snowing (yet). Don't have anything to report today apart from just feeling in a good mood. Maybe it's because I'm listening to Radio 6 which is always good.

I've also got my application in for 2014 World Book Night with a suggestion for a book that I will give away, although that's nearly six months OK. I'm just wondering if they have one in Australia or the USA, if not they should , it's very good to read. This is also probably the first time I've mentioned 2014 in this blog.

Well there's one song that comes to mind by the wonderful Julian Cope and the Teardrop Explodes. Have a brilliant day everyone, though I am having very minor surgery later on so may be in some pain so I've been told, but all will be fine.

Not As Cold Today

...but winter is here, and so am I. While I love snow, it's only when I can get get into the warm and admire it's beauty from a position of comfort. I now have to leave to go to work , so need to wrap up and brave the elements. So thought the Dean Martin performance was an ideal soundtrack, because according to the Mail and Express two weeks back we are due six inches of snow (naughty joke for Game of Thrones fans). But if they keep saying it one day they will be right.


We are closer to Christmas, and although it's Monday there are lots of things to look forward to. Have a brilliant day everyone.

Slippin' And A Slidin' into Leningrad

Well looks like winter is coming. I was coming home tonight, cars were frosted up and the footpaths had a layer of frost and were , in parts very slippy. Had been out to The Strawberry and caught up with a lot of friends before getting a taxi home via ABC .

So this is just a short post before I go to bed as the frost bites outside.

The eponymous video is by may favourite Finnish Rock band , the wonderful Leningrad Cowboys featuring Maya Paakari. I was going to go for the Little Richard original or maybe the John Lennon or Buddy Holly cover but you can't knock back the Leningrad Cowboys. Brilliant stuff. Have a brilliant weekend , really pleased at discovering this!!

Here Comes The Weekend

Nothing much to say apart from it's Friday and a dark November morning, but the weekend is almost upon us so we can have time to do what we want and recharge our batteries.Always loved this, and many other Dave Edmunds songs, and always gives me and lots of others a lift.

So just a short message for you to have a great day, and an even greater weekend!