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.
