Days/Daze

Words come easy or they don't come at all. A multitude of words bouncing around my head, but the moment I try to capture them and express what they are saying, they dissolve away to nothing. In my head I've written this blog several times over but each time I've sat down and tried to write it, the words are gone or they no longer seem to capture or express what I am trying to say.

 And so it remains.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Love, Poetry and Revolution - Thursday 17th October 2024

Image
The longer things stay the same, the more it seems that's the way they'll stay. No longer? Ever since returning from hospital some three years ago, and her brush with death whilst there, E's illness has followed a familiar and consistent pattern. Brief intense periods of illness (infections, seizures, that sort of thing) followed by longer periods of slow, continuous decline. Latterly she's been experiencing other symptoms, most especially bouts of pain of unknown origin.  When she's been in pain, it's often been associated with mild seizures which pass in a minute or two, with help. E is in an end-of-life care period during which comfort is the priority, which can throw up unexpected challenges. Her pain medication has been increased, but she still experiences pain at times. It's a bit of a challenge. On the one hand, we don't want her to be in pain, on the other it's hard to know how long the pain will last and we don't want to rush in and give...
Read more

Not quite My Favourite Albums of 2019

Image
This has been a long time in the making, but finally, almost a month into 2019, I've almost listened to all the albums I have from 2018.  If I don't complete this look back soon it'll be overtaken by the new albums from 2019 - and there already are some great albums from January and even more promised in February. (I should also add that albums I missed in 2018 are still being brought to my attention, this includes albums by Jonathan Wilson ('Rare Birds'), Steve Gunn ('The Unseen In Between') and Rezzett ('Rezzett LP')). Before I get into the top ten list I ought to say something about the albums that haven't made the list.  That's the subject of this post. Honourable mentions I guess you'd call these.  There were a lot of good albums in 2018, many of which contain 4 or 5 great songs or tunes, often including a smattering of other good tracks but, ultimately not enough to make the top 10. (Many of those songs do appear on my...
Read more

Prisoner of Mars

Image
[Third attempt at writing this] With any luck I am experiencing post-holiday blues today: I have just returned from five days staying with friends in the South of France, which culminated in me flying in a light aircraft from Cannes and taking the controls to execute several manoeuvres - the dream of a lifetime (Thank you so much Kathy and Lloyd!) So I guess it's no surprise today is a bit of an anti-climax, though that has been made worse by another event (or rather non-event), which it would be unfair to share here. Freedom from the constant demands of being a carer for the past five days has highlighted to me how great the pressure normally is. Being back I feel as if I have picked up a hundred-weight sack of potatoes that I cannot put down. This has been life for the past five or more years, so I guess it will feel like normality before the day is out. I've been trying to make the most of this unexpectedly free day, but find myself with little interest in anything...
Read more

Lockdown Diary - Friday 25th June 2021

Image
Work dominates the day from the off: I have to do some work for the course I'm on, primarily because my team mates have not.  It's raining out, which means I'm deferring walking until later in the day. Work dominates... I have a brief early morning interlude in the course while I grab some Killing Joke tickets for next year which went on sale at 10:00. Success! Another gig booked Back to work... It's been a long day and it's gone 5 p.m., so I'm bringing work to a close. Before I drink wine I'm off for a walk with son #2, who kindly agrees to accompany me.  I must confess if he hadn't agreed to join me the lure of the wine might have won out over the walk. Back from the walk and glad to have done it, but now I can open the wine with a clear conscience. Just as we entered the door my wife's PEG pump started bleeping. The feed is empty.  We've switched to a new feed which is lower in calories but higher in fibre, the only difference being she needs ...
Read more

In Gnod We Trust (Gnod, South Street Arts Centre, Reading Thursday, 7th October 2019

Image
Gnod playing in Reading?  At South Street Arts Centre! I cannot miss this... A cold Thursday night beckons, get there early, get some drinks in and see the support, Typical Hunks, a local band.   Checked them out on Bandcamp, sound OK - always good to hear new bands. Yep, nicely set up for the evening. Typical Hunks took to the stage - a two-piece, guitar, bass and a drum machine - let's hear it for the trusty drum machine, a revival, perhaps? Didn't warm to them at first, but as the drum machine cranked up, more rhythmic numbers were played. Bass lines and drum patterns snaking around each other, sprinkled atop with angular, spiky guitar lines and equally spiky vocals.  The magic formula slowly emerged. Thirty minutes or so later, they were spent, done. Would I seek them out? Maybe - if they were on the bill, I'd watch them. Figure there was a kernel of something in their tunes that could become something interesting... Grab another drink ahead of Gno...
Read more