I Wanna Wear A T Shirt

We're in the first full week of 2021 , and I posted on New Year's Day, but haven't felt like writing since then. Part of this is the dreich weather we have been having which is not conducive to inspiration. It was Tuesday when I started this and really haven't felt like writing anything.

The thing is I am wrapped up but seriously just want to wear a T Shirt, it's a long time sing I seemed to have the choice.

Oddly I have managed to do a lot of walking although we've finally had snow and that has slowed my walking but increased the steps.

It's a first week back at work and now I am a home worker I think my main problem is not taking a break,

I didn't really want to continue this post and thought about deleting it but then thought I would just continue it.

I have been listening to a lot more music this week , but really need to start making it but am embarrassed to actually play anything too loud. At least with writing you don't make too much noise.

I have started the latest series of "Vikings" with one of the most impressive battles and death scenes I have see, that is sort of difficult to follow.

So what music do we leave you with at eleven o'clock on a frosty Friday night., "America:What Time Is Love" by KLF , seriously what else could I leave you with.

Two Minutes

The time on my Google Pixel 2XL phone is two minutes ahead of the time on my work and home computers.I am assuming they use a different source for their times because two minutes is a significant amount of time, Unless it's like the clock at The Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh that since 1902, the hotel's clock has been set three minutes fast to ensure that the people of Edinburgh wouldn't miss their trains. This is still the case today. The only day that the clock runs on time is on 31 December (Hogmanay) for the city's New Year celebrations.

The weather has been very dreich over most of this week, the sun seems to fight it's way out but then disappears.

"Everville" is still continuing on and after a hundred pages some of the characters from "The Great And Secret Show" have now turned up, although I am still no wiser as to what will happen in the book. I cannot believe I have a book by one of my favourite authors that I haven't read , especially as it is a follow up to a very good book. I will probbly mention it a few more times before I finish it.

Today I have been listening to Hothouse Flowers , Gay Dad and General Fiasco but before I switched the radio off two of my current favourites were spun by Lauren Laverne , one was "Slum Lord" by Baxter Dury and the other was "Take Back The Radio" by Katy J Pearson which , to me, sounds like "Aeriel" era Kate Bush, and that is certainly no bad thing.

This is the thing , there is always great music being produced, it's just sometimes a case of finding it. I would hate to be stuck in a particular time period with my musical taste like so many people I know, although I suppose really they are happy with their choices.

So have a listen to Katy J Pearson  , she is rather excellent.

Goodbye 2018 Hello 2019

Yes it's still New Year's Eve and I have been pondering the decline in visits since the end of October. Up to then I would get 30-50 hits for each post now it's 14-20 for each post with no apparent reason for the decline. However the real oddity is that the overall number of visits is staying at around 2m200 a month , that's roughly 520 a week or 70 a day, and given that I post maybe five times a week that implies more hits than I am getting.

The conclusion that I'm drawing is that Google visit logging is slightly disfunctional. The overal stats show that my most visited page is here with 879 visits (this figure keeps declining) however when I check the individual page it's had 1,899 visits when this one here shows as my second most visited with 679 visits but checking the page it's actually hit 2,114 visits. So really I need to take this fall with a rather big pinch of salt.

So although this is just about blog statistics, it is another excuse to share some rather excellent music with you though I'm not sure what that should be.

One thing with technology is that you don't had the problem of dating your cheques any more, I don't know why that flashed into my mind.

Everyone is posting various New Year Greetings on Social Media and out enjoying parties, and I binge watched Killing Eve, which was a very good way to spend New Year's Eve.

The weather has still been grey and uninspiring so we won't go into 2019 with a flurry of snow, but no doubt there will be noise and fireworks, so maybe I will choose "Fireworks"  by Siouxsie & the Banshees as my 2018 play out song, Happy New Year All.

Walk This Way ....

I wasn't expecting a great start to the New Year with my walking but the first three days I've passed 40K steps , which is a good return. February will be more difficult as I will need to hit 12K a day and part of me thinks I can't do that, but part of me is determined that I WILL do that.

I was looking It a post I'd done about Tideswell and Litton in 2009 here which contains less than 100 words, and looking at it I'm surprised that there are that many. It is remarkably sparse, although it is my ambition to do a coherent post of maybe ten words, though I am not sure that would be possible. While I can ramble on about something and nothing sometimes I do need to be reigned in to stop me from going off at such a tangent that I fall of the edge of whatever I'm actually doing.

At this point this post clocks in at around 170 words, so the Tideswell post would have probably finished after the first paragraph.

Anyway people will probably expect me to include "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith, a band I missed when they first came round and still don't think I missed much. The only song of their's that I really like is the excellent "Livin' On The Edge" though I am sure lots of people will tell me how wrong I am.

Instead I've been listening to the excellent "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" by Hawkwind a thouroughly enjoyable album from start to finish, but while the opener "Spirit of the Age" is great, my favourite is still "Damnation Alley" based on the book by Roger Zelazny (turned into a rubbish film but it works well as a backdrop for the song) and probably appropriate given Donald Trump's "My Button is Bigger Than Your Button" Shenanigans with Kim Jong Un

The Last Post .. For 2016 ... Happy New Year ... Tomorrow Never Knows

I'm having a quiet day, and looking in to having a lie in tomorrow and not having to go to work on Monday. The weather is very windy and I have been out and shopped for essentials , but am now ensconced on a warm couch with a choice of TV programs at my disposal.

While 2016 has emphasised the fragility of existence , and the continual promotion of bullies and idiots as heroes by the media was not ideal. There is also the continual worship of money as the ultimate end in life, money is just a way of supporting life and is only any use when it is actually moved about.

Anyway I am looking forward to a more positive 2017 despite the monstrous obstacles that we have to deal with. I have met so many positive people in 2016 and retained positive people from my past. I am proud of the achievements of my family, always forward looking.

So this is my Happy New Year to all my friends and people who read my blog. Keep looking forward, keep being positive , don't accept the bad, look out for others and your friends will look out for you.

I am glad for social media because it keeps me in touch with friends who I might have lost touch with. There is a lot wrong with social media but I can deal with the bad bits.

Anyway maybe a perfect song for the new year is the wonderful "Tomorrow Never Knows" and I am going to include The Beatles original from their finest album "Revolver" and the magnificent 801 live version.

Happy New Year my friends ...... Tomorrow Never Knows

I Didn't Make A New Year's Resolution

I didn't make a New Year's Resolution . It didn't slip my mind because every year I just resolve to try and be happier and compassionate for my friends , family and people in need. The New Year is a good place to start , but really my plans involve just doing the best I can in all areas.

Some people see Christmas as a time for being nice before spending the last year acting like an unreality show judge or competitor. I will go into work today and that is going to be a topic of conversation.

There is plenty in this world to go round everyone , and working together will create even more, greed IS NOT good.

King Charles

So if you haven't made a New Year's Resolution let my vague premise be  your guide. Today will be the first day back at work for many people. Be positive , be nice ,  smile a lot , and take chocolate with you , plenty of chocolate.

I chose this King Charles song , because , well I dare you to listen , and not come away feeling happier. Smiling is good.

Have a brilliant , brilliant day.

New Years Resolution

We're more than a week into the New Year and no doubt resolution have been made and broken. There's bad things happened and the media would have us believe that Armageddon is nigh in one form or another.

My own resolution is the one I live every day tho be happy and positive and there for my friends and family if I can. There's a lot of things I have planned and that's the great fun of life, to enjoy the now, your memories and look forward to the good things that are going to happen.

My Dad

Ali

One thing that really made my New Year is finding this photo of my dad who is 80 at the end of the month.So with the boxing theme I'm goona put in Nils Lofgren's "No Mercy" . My dad was a huge fan of Muhammad Ali and boxed for the army and though he won his fights he couldn't continue as he cut too easily, but I've always been proud of him.

My friend Lynn reckons he has a look of Jake La Motta (the subject of Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull featuring Robert De Niro) , and she knows and loves her boxing.




Today we've had sun , rain , wind and snow. That's the nature of weather. On Tuesday I'm getting my roof fixed and having physiotherapy on my left hand that they had sort of forgotten to sort out for me originally but I'm doing my own physiotherapy anyway and things are working out fine.

This week is unfeasibly busy , when it really shouldn't be but it will be great doing something different and not having to get up at 5:30 am. Also I will be a bit more proactive with posting and will let you know any good news as it happens.

Have a great weekend everyone and have a happy new year again.

Twelve Hours Into 2015

Well it's now 2015, after a great New Year's Eve Party at Mark and Helen's managing to catch up with lots of friends and people I haven't seen in ages, talking about all sorts before a round of Auld Lang Syne to ring in the New Year.

Built On Glass

The first album I've put on this year is Built on Glass by Chet Faker recommended by a great friend, which reminds me of Brian Eno and Van Der Graaf / Peter Hamill smoothed down , just wondering if the name is a nod to the great Chet Baker , that's a lot of musical references I wasn't expecting to make in my first post of 2015. They are all worth following up as well as the excellent Chet Faker album.

I'm sure this year will find me liking lots of new music, just like last year and every year before that. There will be books to read, films and plays to see, people to meet, songs to write , my book to finish , which is now two months overdue, this blog to keep going , songs to write, and to try and get Garageband to work properly with the Alesis connection deck on the iPad.

So it is going to be a busy and brilliant 2015, I am so looking forward to it. It's my dad's 80th Birthday in January so there's a surprise party for him and I will have to think of a suitable present to get him. So without further ado I'm going to wish you all a Happy New Year and going to enjoy the rest of my day.

I've include some fireworks from Newcastle / Gateshead last night . Happy New Year again.

Nearly New Year

Happy New Year - spelt out in CDs

Well it's the last day of 2014, and I've been working today, but will glad to be finished. 2014 has been very good with lots of great things happening. I've posted in various blogs the ups and downs of the year and really there have been a lot more ups than downs.

Have met and socialised with lots of wonderful people, been up and down the country on various premises , had some great holidays , seen some great places and done some great things. I read books and listened to music, been to gigs , been dead on my feet from various things and always bounced back.

It's a big thanks you to all my friends and family all over the world and close to home, and I think 2015 is going to be just amazing for me and I hope for all of you. Life is often what you make it although there are times when it tries to knock you off your feet , or so it seems, but often it's how you approach situations that determines what you make of it.

I find joy in lots of things and seeing and talking with a friend means so much to me, better than any physical possession. Was talking with a guy from the car hire place and was saying that since they were kids my girls have had £30 spent on them , and they have always appreciated that, and I do feel for families who need to top last year's £400 iPad for their 6 year old.   It's people , hugs , love and fun that make life good. Possessions are are only good if they make sharing better.

   

Anyway this is just a short Happy New Year to you all. I'm including my "Happy New Year in CDs" picture , and possibly my favourite single of the year , "What" by Broncho.

Happy New Year to all of you!!

The Last Post

..of 2012. This Christmas has been the worst weather I can remeber , it's not even interesting , just the SAD inducing rain and grey skies. Having said that met up with some great people and had some good nights as well as having a quiet Christmas eating excellent food , doing catch up TV and recuperating for the stresses of everyday life.

Radio 6 has been on constantly while I've been working and I inted to see in the next year with friends as well.

It's quarter to four and lights are coming on. Elvis Costello's "Good Year For The Roses" is playing on the radio. I remember thinking how much I should hate it because it was country music , but as I dug into the album and periphery I discovered many jewels not least a couple of versions of "Stranger In The House" and the excellent "Psycho". It's great when life throws you unexpected pleasures , just brightens things a little and I am going to dig out my expanded copy of "Almost Blue" ... Happy New Year

And The Dust Has Settled

A week into the New Year , and finally had a good night's sleep . I've visited the Valley Junction in Corbridge for the first , time an absolutely stunning restaurant with food to match and it's own curry train that runs for Newcastle or Carlisle!!

The Christmas decorations are packed away , and work has restarted , looking forward to lots of events and festivals this year , hopin Evolution get their act together , and glad for dicovering the wonderful Lord Rochester over the Christmas break. at The wonderful Central Bar in Gateshead  , and having the good fortune to watch Newcastle beat Manchester United starting with Demba Ba's wonder goal.

Am planning my first ever visit to the Star and Shadow Cinema , oh and Sherlock series 2 started on BBC after Benedict Cumberbatch , Martin Freeman were given time off from the Hobbit by Peter Jackson!

One thing that 2012 promises not to be and that's boring

New Year's Day

This is probably the earliest blog post I've done in a year . We're 75 minutes into 2012 , I've made the same resolution I always do and I'm going to stick to it , which is:

"to make myself as happy as possible and try and spread that to my friends and family"

I hope your year improves beyond belief , and 2012 is filled with happiness for you.

Just realised this takes the blog into it's sixth year now , six years writing about not much and still havent come up with an idea for my book , and no excuse now as you can easily self publis on Amazon

Just gonna keep this one short

A Christmas Century

Well it's not New Year yet , one more day left in 2011 so it's still Christmas time . This is the forst year I've done a hundred posts on this blog , though not sure if thats a cause for celebration, still it's a sort of milestone. I have a lot of friends who started blogs and posted some excellent stuff , but they got bored and the blogs are now just as they were a few years back.

A hundred posts , one every three point six five days, or two a week , roughly eight a month. You'd think it would be easy to keep that rate up , but even when blogging you can have nothing to write about, and this post is a case in point , it's all about the fact I'm writing my hundredth post and it's New year's Eve's Eve!!

Well it's the twefth post in December , suppose I could get to fourteen before this year plays out , but who knows.

My first post was February 18th 2007 and my 100th was about Apple autobuying music for me here on 7th July 2009 !!

Anyway Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year

Well posting has been sporadic , greatly due to facebook , and for the last couple of weeks due to some kind of 'flu. This meant I actually slept through New Year Celebrations , missed all the Christmas Parties , saw no one and was generally miserable , but on the sort of plus side ended up losing weight.

Anyway this morning is grey , rainy , miserable and I can't believe shops are open today!! Still pursuit of the greenbacks is all to some people.

One of the things that brightened my day is the "Rolling Stones Monopoly"!! They also have their own "Trivial Pursuit" as well!!. Just waiting for a "Cradle of Filth" edition now.....

It's New Year's Eve

Hope all the apostrophes are where they should be. Apparently the mobile phone company Orange are expecting to process 112 million texts . Thats a lot of texts that should help pay for their excellent Goldpot adverts , the current one featuring Dennis Hopper below , but if you can find them check out the McAuley Culkin and Michael Madsen ones!!

By the way the Partycam for tonight is here