Blue Christmas (Eight Days to Go)

"You'll be doing alright with your Christmas of white"



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Love, Poetry and Revolution - Thursday 17th October 2024

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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...
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Dreadzone at SUB89 in Reading Friday 7th April 2017

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Back to SUB89 and also to Dreadzone after a semi-enforced break, on a Friday night and accompanied by my sons - "Dreadzone virgins" in the words of MC Spee: sounds like the setting for a great night out... ...and so it proved to be! There was no support act though Greg Dread (Greg Roberts, drummer) played a DJ set prior to Dreadzone taking to the stage - a gentle warm up for what was to follow.  The band took to the stage to cheers and applause and launched straight into 'Rootsman' from the new album, a great reggae-based opener that led neatly into MC Spee's intro for 'Return of the Dread' - and already the "bouncing crew" was in full sway. Dreadzone are a joyous band live - it's impossible not to dance - and I for one had a grin from ear to ear whilst dancing for the entire two hour set. There was a good mix of old and new songs though a definite bias towards their most "successful" album, Second Light. S...
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Love, Poetry and Revolution - Thursday 31st July 2025

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A post before July ends! Amazing! July has been incredibly busy socially and has sown seeds for the remainder of my life, hopefully.  I have long harboured an ambition to become a writer.  Writing always comes second to living life, so I don't think I have what it takes. It's not an all-consuming passion.  It's never too late (?) Q and I spent ten days in Italy early in the month.  The original plan was a week's holiday split between Venice and Florence, returning to Bologna (where we started) for an NGO conference that Q had to attend for a week.  Sadly, Q's actual job needed her back at work earlier, so we left Bologna early on Wednesday morning of the second week. I had travelled to Italy intending to ask Q to marry me, to which end I had purchased a temporary ring to seal the deal.  Where and when to propose? I had Venice in mind as I love the city and think it's a romantic place to propose. On the assumption I would propose there, I had a few places in...
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Love, Poetry and Revolution - Thursday 14th November 2024

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For about a week, maybe more, I've had a cold.  It's one of those colds that refuses to go quickly. I have shared it widely, unintentionally, though of course, I may not be the source of all the colds, there are so many about. I'm not here to write about my cold, though. It's a lead-in to something more pernicious. Accompanying the cold, especially as it slowly fades, I've had a bad headache. Initially, I thought it was cold-related, but I've come to believe it's a physical manifestation of stress - a topic that opens a crate of cans of worms. The stress I'm experiencing is probably the result of several things I'm anxious about. I had considered listing the things I thought were at the root of it, and then deciding whether they belong in the category of things I can control or cannot control. Instead, I've decided to dig deeper and write about it in the hope that writing it down helps control it and maybe it helps more widely.  I've always b...
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In Gnod We Trust (Gnod, South Street Arts Centre, Reading Thursday, 7th October 2019

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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...
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