Showing posts with label May. Show all posts
Showing posts with label May. Show all posts

Saturday 1 May 2021

Hello May, Beltane and Jordan Reyne

It is an incredibly bright and sunny morning, though as I am writing this I am not sure what the temperature is like outside , although I will know by the time I finish this. I have been out and though it is clouding over it seems that winter has truly been banished and spring is moving towards summer, so weatherwise we are in a more clement atmosphere although there are still some dark clouds overhead , but as long as they wait until tonight before drenching us that will be fine.

I have to amidst that my new writing regime using Google Docs to create the skeleton document before publishing it on Vocal and Sevendaysin seems to be functioning very well. I did try using my voice to create posts while I was out walking but that didn’t really work out as there was too much editing , but it is good for capturing ideas.and doing short posts. I tried it before when I was working for EE in Darlington and voice recognition has improved a heck of a lot but you still have to be very disciplined to produce a readable document without too much editing.

Today is Beltane which is the Gaelic May Day and marks the beginning of summer.

The name, Beltane, loosely means “bright fire” possibly referring to the Celtic God Belenus.

It is one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasadh.

Beltane has also been observed for centuries in Europe and is embraced by some Pagans, who mark the occasion with the lighting of bonfires, dance and rituals.

Celebrations included the lighting of bonfires, with rituals including both cattle and people walking around or jumping over the fires.It was thought that the flames had protective powers, and some communities got the smoke of the fires to blow over them and their livestock or brushed the ash onto themselves and their cattle.

Food was also sometimes cooked over the fire to form a feast. Other customs included decorating homes with flowers including primrose, hawthorn and rowan. As well as hanging them in windows and doorways, the blooms were often attached to cows.

For some reason I picked up my signed copy of “Bardo” by Jordan Reyne who is one one of the most original artists I have ever heard, and although at one point she was going to retire from music, she came back and her music is as original as ever , darkly gothic , celtic and pagan , all her music iis available on her Bandcamp site and worth every penny. Plus if you buy from Bandcamp the artists get a fair remuneration for their work unlike other sources especially the main streaming platforms.

I think I have all her output and it is all well worth listening to , and her videos for her songs are incredible too. As well as the Celtic influence there is a definite Eastern European feel to a lot of her videos and she is worth following on Youtube.

Here is a link to when I first saw her at Think Tank in Newcastle supporting The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing in November 2014 .

I will share the video for “Then They Came For You” the very title showing her darker side and from it you can really experience the dark and amazing world of Jordan Reyne.

There has been a lot happening today but I have a lot more to write about but don’t want to end up with a huge war and peace type post which people look at and thing “Whoa that’s too much”, I do like to provide bite size pieces for your enjoyment.

Thursday 7 May 2020

May's Even


Well another day where I can't think of a homophone for SEVEN although I sort of fitted it into the post title. The only word I could think of are variations on the names Sven and Steven. So anyway this is continuing with the #maywriteabit

I'm enjoying the Christopher Brookmyre "Not The End of the World" but there are a hell of a lot o plot areas in there, and I was thinking about how long it takes to actually plan out a book be it face or fiction.

I remember an episode of Hamish Macbeth which I think was penned by Danny Bole where a hood was disposed of and his accomplices buried him in some remote spot and then a mobile phone started ringing. They all looked at each other and realised it was coming from the ground where they had buried colleague. The consensus was "Well I'm Not Getting It" . I think the whole episode was planned around that single idea. OK so how can this happen? I think the episode was "The Lochdubh Assassin" although he wrote twelve episodes.

I have thought of a similar scenario to maybe open a book, but as I've told you about the Hamish Macbeth episode it's pointless me including my scenario and i'll probably forget about it. I still haven't started to write a book, because I still haven't thought of what I might think of a killer idea.

So we are on the final working day of this week, and the weather is absolutely gorgeous again.

This weekend I need to mow my lawn and probably do some decent walking.

So morning music. Just because it came up in my feed and looks mad , we'll go with "Supernature" by Cerrone and "Spacer" by Sheila & B Devotion (who I always thought was Sheila B Devotion) segue / mashup , some late seventies electro disco.

Wednesday 6 May 2020

May Seeks


I am still trying to keep the May homophone/homonym thing going as well as keeping in with the #maywriteabit project and have just noticed that the editor has gone back to the old ne which is better for me writing as it's more responsive. Maybe yesterday was a test run.

On an unrelated thing I've noticed that after I switch on my Google Pixel 2XL , it doesn't actually start until I unlock it for the first time. I suppose that may be true of most phones as most people leave them on 24/7, but I have started completely switching mine off at night.

On the homophone (words that sound like each other but are spelt differently and mean different things so for SIX (It's May 6th) I could have had:


  1. Sikhs
  2. Seeks
  3. Sicks


.. and probably a few more, five was more difficult and by next week the homophone thing will probably be finished, but it is a good enough reason to write for me. I've written about homonyms before so maybe I am just repeating myself, and I will check that out later.

This is just a very short post on the Wednesday morning and I intend to go for a short walk. As I write this "Never(Lagos Never Gonna Be The Same)" by Tony Allen (who we lost recently and High Masekela  is being played by Chris Hawkins on 6Music , and it's a tribute to the late Fela Kuti, three great artists and Tony Allen drummed with The Good,The Bad and The Queen the supergroup which also included Damon Albarn, and Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

So that is the song I will leave you with before I set out


Saturday 2 May 2020

May Too


My friend Rachel is taking part in the #maywriteabit project and is going to write for half an hour each day (unedited) for the month of May so I am looking forward to catching her post and see what she has to say and think in this lockdown situation. Her first post is here.  and his hosted on Medium and I'll add her to my favourite blog list on the right had side of this blog.

Writing can be therapeutic and blogging is good because you don't get shouted down, you may get ignored, but you do end up with a diary, which as long as the internet and your blog host is still going you will have access to it (I take regular backups of mine and often feel I am the only person who reads it ad after fourteen years I have six followers and fourteen comments, making me Mister popular although I get reactions posted on Facebook and Twitter as well but would prefer to have them on here.

It the past I have posted every day in May and was consideing #APostADayInMay bit the #maywriteabit is obviously going to be more widespread and not as committed to being a post a day. It's been suggested by Rob Bryher according to a Google search but I may be wrong on that , but I will tag all my posts in May with this.

So another song that has been giving me aural pleasure is "Overlord" by Dirty Projectors , a band who' s name I know but that's about it. but this song has been prevalent on 6Music and it's a great record. They remind me a lot of the band First Aid Kit , so I'll have to check them out further.

I'd not intended to blog a lot this month but that's four posts in the last three days so I'll need to keep an eye on my keyboard.

Enjoy your Saturday my friends.

Friday 1 May 2020

May I?


It's May the first and I was looking to a Bank Holiday on Monday but the Government have moved it so supposedly celebrate VE Day , if they wanted that they should have given an extra day, but it's really to take it away from the political Left as May Day in the nineteenth Century it was chosen as International Workers Day although prior to that is was a Festival of Spring Bank Holiday, and like many pagan festivals has been apprehended by modernity.

Essential I wanted to share one of my favourite artists songs "May I?" also known as "Puis Je?"  by Kevin Ayers  and obviously "May I?" and May 1st look similar to each other.

The weather looks nice and I may take a short walk possibly to the Roman Temple just off the West Road behind the job centre as I haven't been there for an age and need a change of walking direction, although I may find it's a little too far but I will definitely visit over the weekend.

One of the problems with this lockdown is that lots of current things we take for granted are now not happening and we don't know if they ever will , no new TV , no sport, although thanks to digital media we have so much that we can watch if we look for it.

I've recommenced "Vikings" and didn't know that Paris was originally built on an island in the Seine (where Notre Dame stands) and didn't know that the the Vikings did attack Paris. My lack of historical knowledge means I don't know the outcome but my historical knowledge implies it wasn't successful.

Thursday 30 April 2020

April Shower


Yesterday got a phone call from my practice (Thornfield Medical Group) telling one of the drugs I am taking should stop if I get Coronavirus. Shows the excellent service I get from them and why I have been with them for twenty years. I am going to keep on taking it but know if I get hit with the Coronavirus to stop the tablet (Forxiga) .

I didn't think I would hit my monthly walking target and normally I have a few free days at the end of the month , but I need to walk 6K steps today to hit the target , so that's a target hit although May may be a different kettle of fish as it is getting a bit samey and that is something that I don't particularly like when I go on a walk.

The last few days have been decidedly dreich so April is ending with showers.

I'm into the Christopher Brookmyre book "Not The End Of The World" (an appropriate title for our current situation) put was put off because after the large print of "A Shadow on the Wall" by Jonathan Aycliffe this is small and densely printed and I don't like the font so it looked challenging , but there was an interesting prologue and there is a lot happening in it. For some reason his style reminds me of John Niven , well in the same universe as hom.

I've just finished series three of "Lucifer" on Amazon Prime , although the final two episodes (which were after the series finale) were entertaining but a little disjointed, so now it's either Netflix but I have rejoined "Vikings" and have four series of that to work though.

There are two records that have could my ear while working at home, I share the second tomorrow but today the almost wrong doom laden  piano motif driven rap of "Ooh La La" by Run The Jewels, an absolutely excellent record.

Saturday 4 May 2019

May The Fourth .... Be With You ..... Star Wars Day


Today is a very sunny May 4th to start the Bank Holiday Weekend. Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca died this week aged 74, he was 7'3" and played Chewbacca in all th elive action Star Wars films.

May blogging is a lot more leisurely, this being my second May post in four days. The song I'm going to play is "Take It Easy On Me" by Irish band A House, just because it came on The Chain just as I started to write this, and it's just one of those moments when one of those great records you had forgotten about comes on the radio (This time RadMac on 6Music)

So today is going to be a mowing the lawn and posting things day, assuming that the weather holds but we shall see how that goes.

I know this is a very short post as I can't really think of anything more to say at the moment so will leave you with A House, and have a good weekend.

Thursday 1 June 2017

May Is Finished ......


...... June is here and we are one day away from the weekend and a week off work for me.

This is the hundredth post this year so averaging 20 a month or two every three days.

Tonight I went for a walk over the estate bordered by Two Ball Lonnen and Fenham Hall Drive and it was great weather and the were a lot of loud raucous families as I walked along Cypress Avenue.

The thing is while they were good natured and having fun , it made me feel all "Eden Lake" , no horror film has had such an effect on me.  It is Ballardian in it's turning of the normal into horrific and threatening, only Ballard could make a book that featured the bomb at Hiroshima feel mainstream.

Anyway we are into June and I think as I mentioned "Cypress Avenue"  (Cyprus Avenue  on the link)I will choose that song from Van Morrison's "Astral Weeks" , once included in every rock top ten list, which was very unusual in that there are no electric instruments on the album. The people who rated "Astral Weeks" so highly rated "Moondance" even higher, quite rightly so, and if this has got you thinking just buy both these albums, they should be in everbody's collection.

Anyway it's time for bed, so enjoy some Van Morrison before you hit the sack.


Wednesday 31 May 2017

The End of May


This is the last post for May, I've just watched the Tory / UKIP roadcrash of an election debate and will leave it to others to comment.

It's funny , after driving 450 miles yesterday and feeling wide awake, today I am actually tired, maybe work does tire me out because I have to think more. Also I have to cram all my start of month stuff into two days, but I should be able to prioritize and get the main stuff done.

My step challenge is back on course and tomorrow I have to go to the Post Office depot to pick something up, so should have a good start as well tomorrow. I'm way past a third of the way there, so the million steps will happen sooner rather than later.

Anyway this is a short one so we will finish with the Blue Oyster Cult's "Then Came The Last Days of May" , because it's the end of May.


Thursday 4 May 2017

So Much For May Songs

Games For May - 1967

I was going to post a tune a day in May but I thing two songs in four days has scuppered that idea, although I will maintain the May theme if I can, and today's will be "See Emily Play" by Pink Floyd which features the line "Games For May" the titles of summer events Pink Floyd were involved in around 1967.

This week has been a little fraught to say the least, starting the Million Step Challenge then my Samsung Note becoming unreliable, replacing it with a Huawei P8 that wouldn't run the Barclays banking app (this has been the situation since January with no resolution in sight. Huawei blamed Barclays, Barclays pretend nothing is wrong much like Apple. EE gave me a refund on condition I bought another phone. I pointed out it wasn't actually fit for purpose and they replied "we just sell the phones"


Anyway I ended up with a Sony Xperia XA which was much cheaper and isn't too bad, apart from slow start up. I'm also worried it is not recording my steps properly . What I was sure was 4K steps recorded on the Samsung (home to Denton Burn) was recorded as less than 2K steps. Tomorrow I will walk to the Post Office Depot to pick something up and that should be about 2.2K . If it's less I will know I have a problem.

Anyway if I post another May Song tonight I could be back up to speed tonight, though I am feeling very tired.

So that;s what's happened this week so far, I'm sure it's not finished yet.