Monday 31 August 2015

Summer's Last , Autumn's First .. Good Times Coming


Well today is the last day of August , for some reason I thought that Saturday was the last day , c'est la vie. This month has been totally wonderful for me , just riding high on feelings of positivity and seeing things going well for friends and family.


We live in a world where conditioning and media pressure push us to be miserable and spiteful denigrate differences and actually find pleasure in other people's failure and misery. It is a horrible attitude and I discourage in impressionable youngsters and older people.

It's A Pleasure
I look for different things , they stimulate my mind , I don't do straight and narrow in thought, pleasure and fun. The uses of that word has determined the song for this post , Baxter Dury's Pleasure, which is totally wonderful.

I hope things are going great for you and remember there is as much pleasure in giving as there is in receiving. Love all your friends and all who love you as well , always return that. It's too easy not to bother , me , I do bother.




I think things are going to get much better , keep looking for the positives and you will make your life perfect.

Sunday 30 August 2015

Friday I'm In Love


Carter USM ?
Over the past few weeks this song has been popping up on the radio and in shops and other plays. I've never really listened to the lyrics , though the title is obvious , and also The Cure are one of my favourite  all time bands with "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" being my favourite album with songs on there bringing back unexplained memories  such as "Like Cockatoos" bringing to mind JG Ballard's "The Drowned World" and the achingly beautiful "Catch" still reminding of a student call Frances I knew back in the eighties who was great Cure fan.

I gave her my vinyl copy of "Standing On A Beach" , amazing how songs can still hold associations after so long. That was way before Newcastle meant anything to me other than Michael Caine's face off with Alf Roberts in Gateshead.

The thing is "Friday I'm In Love" is such an uplifting song you almost don't need to listen to the words and it really does lift your spirits and make you feel better. It certainly resonates with my feelings and does lift me up even further. I've just transferred it to my phone because a listen to that will dispel any slight downers like Preston getting beat 2-0 by Hull yesterday.

Anyway we're in the middle of the Bank Holiday (for those in the UK) so enjoy the rest of the time and this week is only 4 days of work .

Love you all


Saturday 29 August 2015

Summers End .. A Corrosion of Conformity

We're at the Bank Holiday Weekend at the end of August and the doom and gloom merchants will signal it as the  end of all things. It isn't , no way. Everyday I find new things I want to do or try and am never satisfied with     doing what is expected and conforming to expected boxes.

It's quite amazing how through my life I am continually deemed weird and strange because I don't watch X-Factor , Eastenders and Coronation Street , and I don't  have an Apple iPhone.

Rhino Rhino
The thing is I conform where I have to , I use money rather than barter, I have and Android Samsung Phone and a Windows Computer. But I prefer to be defined by what I do do , rather than what I don't do.

So I wont be watching any of those programs, but I know I'm in the minority. It's like Terry Pratchett , I enjoyed Mort and that was it but it doesn't matter because I have so much that I do like and I do not need any of those things.

Tonight I recut some CDs for a great friend to fit in his/her hatbox



I have lots to stimulate me, am in a constant state of feeling good , and every time I speak to someone I feel even better. like the ending of "True Romance" where Alabama eulogises for Clarence with the "You're So Cool" motif backed by the Orff "Gassenhauer" borrowing of Hans Zimmer.

I am feeling very positive so am going to bed now , but leaving with the wonderful Peter Gabriel song "Come Talk To Me", I really wish you would. Good Night my Great Friends

Wednesday 26 August 2015

Perfect Weather


Deluge at Night and Hot Sun during the day , yeah I know that's too many capitalised letters. A t the moment life is going very fast and lots is happening and fitting things together is an absolute challenge but a good one to have. It's always good to have plenty to do.

My bookpile is growing faster than I can read , my play pile is growing faster than I can listen , my songs to put together are growing and I still haven't recorded my first one and I want to do versions of of a few songs just to prove that I can actually play them.

Today is another challenge , in a good way . Keeping positive and believing that things will go the way I want. I discovered a problem with my surgey's on line app and they were thankful for my input and are now rectifying things. At work I've been told I'm delivering stuff they have been waiting 12 months for.

Sodom and Gomorrah
I'm spreading knowledge and yesterday I saw an amazing light boxed version of John Martin's Sodom and Gomorrah and The Laing . Spoke with a lovely couple in their seventies who first of all thought I was an expert on the great man because I told them about him , although they knew of his importance and origins. They were also impressed with my phone too.

Loving life at the moment and I know it will get much better.

Heard from great friends around the world about their love of books that they share with me , which also gave me a huge lift.

The music is the Four Horsemen by Aphrodite's Child which featured Demis Roussos and Vangelis.

Anyway you all have a great day

Monday 24 August 2015

But That Was Nice


After the bad night I had a relaxing weekend , mooching round watching TV , taking in some Blues courtesy of Monkey Junk at The Butterfly Cabinet and Cluny. While wandering down Northumberland Street came across the excellent Wandering Sons , a brilliant two piece , percussion acoustic guitar and voice. , they had CDs on sale and I immediately bought

Amy
Today was in Next buying clothes talking to a girl with an Amy Winehouse Beehive , and she asked me if I'd seen the film Amy and told me she'd seen it at the Tyneside Cinema so we chatted about film and music before I went on my way.

Got told again at  work that they were happy with what I was doing , which is a definite plus 

It has left me on a complete up and life is extremely enjoyable at the moment.

You all have a good day

Saturday 22 August 2015

Ooh That Wasn't Nice

Nice Enough To Eat
Thursday night in the middle of the night woke up with cramp in my left foot , it hurt like hell , as cramp does, and you get out of bed stamp around and that cures it doesn't it? Well usually it does, this time cramp wanted to really hurt me , and it kept coming back for about half an hour. This was followed by leg pains , then a bad head head pain and finally a  chest pain that hurt like hell (not heart attack stuff , but without being too ungentile , my right moob felt like it had been severely kicked and punched, I finally got off to sleep listening my made up CD compilation of my first ever sampler album "Nice Enough To Eat" which I must thank for being my first introduction to , among others , Mott The Hoople and Nick Drake. (If you want a copy let me know because I don't thinks it ever got a CD release).

Anyway come morning , I felt ok if a little tired, but resolved to go and see by doctor and used the excellent Patient Access App to book an "Acute On The Day Appointment" . I booked it for 2:10 and turned up at the surgery to find they had no record of a booking , but had one for September 4th. I had spotted a flaw in the system and also not checked the date it had given me. Anyway I'm with Thornfield Medical Group and they booked me in for an Emergency Appointment at 5 , where I was seen fairly quickly checked over and all seemed good (Including a 3Kg weight loss) . The lovely doctor told me that cramp is exacerbated by dehydration but I tend to drink a lot of water anyway but maybe too much coffee (which is a diuretic) . I work with a Patient Focus Group at my surgery so will be feeding back about the app.

So that's where I am after a great week and looking forward to an excellent weekend , with not too many nights like Thursday. Have a most excellent day everyone.

Wednesday 19 August 2015

Woke Up Smiling


I'm in an incredibly good mood  today, I know I'm generally positive anyway but , today feels special. Good things seem to be happening. Last night Preston got a goalless draw with Rotheram , we never beat them but three matches in we've not been beaten. A good friend has signed the paperwork and moving to a bigger better house and last night I saw ny friend Bethany leading the North East Socialist Singers at a rally for Jeremy Corbyn , hopefully the next Labour Party Leader.

Big JC
I was there courtesy of my friend Craig who got me a ticket , and met with my other good friend Gillan who hasn't changed her hair colour since I last saw her at the Chase Park Festival , she was there with her family. I delivered Bethany's very belated birthday present via a NESS member, and it's the first time since I heard her duetting with Jon Lee on "Where The Wild Roses Grow" at The Tyneside Bar and Cafe.

Anyway , it's the first political rally I have attended , and including the people outside the Tyne Theatre there well close on two thousand there. We got lots of rousing call to to arms for Union Leaders , Council Members and Activists to universal applause. The we had Jeremy Corbyn.

What can I say , electrifyng , galvanising , an answer for every question , vey clear , and a commanding presence , no wonder the opposition are running scared. This is no career politician , this is a hard working guy , not afraid to tackle anything and also address the supposedly thorny issues of funding the NHS , helping those who cant help themselves , working for everyone's good, in politics for what he can put in , not what he can get out.

I think my Muse is with me today , and feeling incredibly inspired. I even took some video of NESS for you to enjoy singing a song from 1012 about Suffragettes according to Bethany.

Anyway time to go to work ,and have a good day, I going to have and amazing one.

Having said that the lyrics to this song are remarkably pertinent. Big JC by Steve Gibbons