Two Days In

The first Saturday in Semptember and I had a wander aroung and managed to do 13K steps with some aimless wandering but still managing to run into friends and visit Wildflower for probably the last time in it's current location and Jass and Asher told of it's new and secret  location, but I know the area well if not te exact spot. I treated myself to their final pea burger of the day as we discussed the state of the economy and country.

I really need to do something about this blog to grab some more attention , as posts are only just crawling into double figures. I know a lot of people like the shares I put ion face book , but I have a feeling a lot don't click through , they like the share rather than actually read the post. Some people I know click though religiously and I thank you for that, this si the only in which I can socially engage in dialogue with people as I have become a bit of a social pariah for some reason (mainly my own laziness).

For some reason Lee Marvin's "Wanderin' Star" from "Paint Your Wagon" sprang into my mind. The film also features Clint Eastwood singing , so a more ulikely pair of songsters I really can't imagine, but it still hit number one in the charts, so you are going to get that one. It does have one of the longest intros you will hear in a single hitting a quarter of the song.

My album as I wandered was Street Legal by Bob Dylan which features a a pair of lyrical tour-de-forces (or is it tours-de-force?, I don't know, and that has probably my grammar and contruction in this sentence), but the songs that spring to mind are "Changing Of The Guard" and "No Time To Think". Other memorable songs are the single "Baby Stop Cryin'" and the take on the Miss World Theme Tune "Is Your Love In Vain". It is and album that should be in you collection , and I thing I will start an #Albumofthe Day tag to keep a track.

I was thinking I would stay up all night doing stuff but I am actually feeling tired. It is Sunday tomorrow so I have no need to do anything but we shall see. I still want to do my steps but the good news is that after two days I am 3K ahead of target , so that eases the pressure a little.

Anyway time for bed.

Less Is Not More

I think it was a line from "Frasier" when Doctor Crane said "If Less is More, Just Think How Much More More would be!!" , which is about right for most things.

I look at some of my old blog posts and they are barely fifty words, now I think I average maybe 250 , though some may even be bigger than that. This first paragraph has already hit seventy words, and I seemed to remember at school we were expected to deliver an essay in one of two hundred words. Mybe that's just my imagination twisting, maybe it was 500 or a thousand words for essays. That would give  you more space to develop the essay. One or  two hunder is hardly anything so I think maybe I made a mistake.

Anyway tonight I completed Fargo and Submarine, and I clocked up 12.5K steps on my walk after worrying I would be behind on the first day, but I am a thousand steps ahead.

I didn't see any rats today, though it was mostly an urban walk in.

I am quite tired now, and I only listened to a single album today , but it was the wonderful Penguin Eggs by Nic Jones.  It opens with Canadee-I-O possibly the most beautiful acoustic introduction that I can think of, and continues in a wonderfulk folk vein with amazing playing and singing throughout. For some reason I avaoided the song though I had heard much about it, expecting it to be standard folk fare, but it is anything but. Nic was involved in a horrific car accident disintegrating vertually evey bone in his limbs and the some but in the last few years he has reappeared on stage with his son and others.

I'll include the original and the return version of Canadee-I-O so you can marvel and this very special talent.

Oh and this post is about 320 words, so it's above my average.

Time for bed now.

New Month New Challenge

Well not quite but by the time I hit my birthday on the 1st of October when I will be in Whitby, I want to have hit 340K steps and be under 100Kg , both "easily" doable , but as I keep saying I don't do regimented stuff. Today I have reduced my insulin intake by another 10% and we will see if that works.

I had to but the lights on this morning so the days and nights are drawing in.

I have started trimming my CD collection by selling stuff I'm unlikely to play again online. This will include stuff that I've bought and then decided it wasn't as good as I thought , or just to support gigging bands. People shouldn;t have to play for free. My Discogs shop is here. I was going to sell on Amazon but they won't allow you to sell CDs, maybe they just have too many sellers.

Anyway I am going to set off for work now, with an increased daily step target which I may just aim for permanently, because essentially it's the walking that has enabled me to reduce my insulin intake.

So I'm just going to include one of my favourite somngs with "Walkin'" in the title, "Walking To New Orleans" by Fats Domino, and I can't believe I've not ever mentioned Fats Domino in this blog before as he is one of my (admittedly many) favourite artists. I will definitely rectify that this month. For today I found a great live version at Superbowl WX in New Orleans.

It's Friday , go and enjoy yourself.

Shattered .. But Still Listening In

I am shattered and want to go to bed. I've hit 350K steps this month and weighed myself this morning and clocked it at 100.2 Kg. While I'm supposed to be 70 Kg for my height and build , that is never going to happen but was wondering if I could get get under sixteen stone (I remember getting down to sixteen stone three pounds in the early nineties and various peopel telling I would hit a brick wall and wouldn't get any further. Some people really don't like you doing anything good for yourself , mainly so they can continue to denigrate you. Well I hit that brick wall and I am sure that pleased a lot of people.

The consultant at my last Diabetic Review was of the same ilk with "well you are still overweight" and "you shouldn't have reduced your insulin", though the guy who weighed me , took my blood and checked my readings was very positive . Today I saw my GP and she was amazingly positive and complimentary and came out with some more sufggestions to help me. She is a shining example of what makes the NHS brilliant, and going to see her always makes me feel positive. She suggested I get involved with Newcastle CAN which I will sign up for when I've published this.

Oh 100.2 Kg is about 15 stone 12 lb , so that was a pleasant surprise, so I am going in the right direction.

Over that last two days I have walked throuh and skirted Leazes Park and both days I have seen a rat! I don't ofte see them , but it could hav been worse it could have been a Tory or a UKIPPER .

So the albums I have listened to obver the last couple of days have been:

• The Yes Album: Prog Rock with prentetions lyrics but some amazing music and playing . From the opening block riffs of "Yours Is No Disgrace" through live take of "The Clap" to the nine minutes of the three piece "Starship Trooper" finishing up with annother staccatto riff taking us into the finale of "Perpetual Change" . The copy I have contains some out takes but great to revisit one of my favourites from my teens.
• Genesis Live: Five songs which originally came out as a budget album, but still sounds great to day , including their take on Day of the Triffids "Return of the Giant Hogweed" and culminating on side two with the emotional "Musical Box" and the vicious "The Knife"
• Bob Dylan - Sheter From a Hard Rain: A very rickety live album featuring Joan Baez and I really ony bought it because it had "Deportees" on, though the whole album is a treat for me, sounding semi amateurish but brilliant.

 Anyway I will leave you with "Deportees" by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, a song that I am working on my own arrangement of, which I may soundcloud soon. So enjoy this and tomorrow is September where I have to hit 11.5K steps a day because there are only 30 days in the month.

There's a video of some nice rats below.

Sleep well my friends.

Listening To More Albums

While out walking today I listened to a couple of great albums. Actually prior to that I had listened to some vinyl, namely Nadine Shah's "Stealing Cars" a Tenpole Tudor album and Emerson Lake and palmer's take on Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" all worth listening to and you can see them here if you follow my Instagram Channel.

Nadine Shah's "Holiday Destination" features some amazing percussion driven songs recall Tom Waits and Van Der Graaf Generator, tackling todays issues. The title track written as a response to holiday makers complaining that their holiday had been ruined when refugees were washed up on their beach. If our country wasn't supplying weapons to various regimes maybe things like this wouldn't happe. However the album is highly listenable also tackling growing into "aldulthood" and reading the labels on food. Well worth getting a copy.

That was followed by "Listen To The Band" and early Mike Nesmith compilation featuring great country song after great country song and if you haven't heard them before you certainly won't forget them once you have.

Anyway it's time for bed and I will leave you with the title tracks of both those albums.

Not Quite Making It

The #August50 is out the window and the monthly steps is easily doable but it I hadn't spent two hours walking after returning from a very pleasurable weekend in Dalgety Bay I would have had some major extra walking to do this week, then it starts again on Friday. It is good if you can buid up reserves to fall back on, but often the way you can do that varies like hell and it is far better to have reserves than actually playing catch up, because if you are continuously playing catch up eventually it becomes just impossible (like the #August50).

All the people (Scott, Maureen and Fiona)  I spent the weekend are extremely fit and I seriously expeceted a similar weekend to last weekend walking wise. It wasn't, but I enjoyed some great company , saw some great views (the Forth Bridges) went on a non drinking (for me) pub crawl in South Queensferry and played choose a music video on YouTube on a big telly which was great fun and a great way of sharing music.

Anyway I really need to do some walking today so I will leave you with a couple of pictures and a piece of appropriate music "The Crossing" by Big Country.

The Sun on The New Forth Road Bridge

The Forth Rail Bridge

Listening To Albums

I've decided to give random play a rest and actually listen to full albums on my walks. I'm aiming to do 340K steps a month and Pacer still eems to be working. The last couple of days I've only done 8K but I'm still on tarket to hit 340K which will guarantee a million steps every three months on a rolling basis. My friend Carol is hoping to hit TEN MILLION steps this year, that 900K a month and 30K (maybe 15Km) a day. I know people's step lengths differ but that is still some very hard going over a long period of time and dwarfs my Million Step Challenge , which other people seem to think is a lot.

Anyway the albums I have listened to so far are

• Fairport Convention - Nine : Not regarded as a classic but it is one of my favourites, Trevor Lucas' vocals, Jerry Donahue's guitar and Dave Swarbrick's voice and fiddle are wonderful. Songs like "Polly On The Shore" with it's dragging bass, the beautiful "To Althea From Prison" and apocalyptic "Bring 'Em Down" have never lost their power for me.
• Thea Gilmore  - Don't Stop Singing: This is a beautiful labour of love, Thea taking the words of te departed Sandy Denny and weaving a wonderful album. The song "London" made me have to buy it and "Glistening Bay" gives me goosebumps every time. There's a great evaution on the BBC here.
• David Bowie - The Lodger : The one with Bowie's "League of Gentleman" nose on the cover, and like every Bowie album you put is on and then just love every song. "Fantastic Voyage" , "Boys Keep Swinging", "Yassassin"   I could list every song.
• Blue Oyster Cult - Imaginos: This is the album that BOC were destined to make , full almost Lovecraftian libretto and when the remade "Astronomy" kicks in you really are out there with them.

I found a live from Union Chapel take on "London" by Thea Gilmore for you to enjoy, the sound is not perfect, but you can always buy the album if you follow the blue link.

So who knows what I'll be listening to this morning. Time to set off for work, and I think I will walk in. It is a sunny beautiful day and the weekend is almost here. Enjoy yourselves everyone.