Lockdown Diary - Sunday 30th August 2020

Unusually sons 1 and 2 are up before me, getting showered and bathed before they go. They are due to be picked up at 8:30 for their journey to the Lake District.  

Sensibly they had already packed, which was just as well, given that one son, who shall remain numberless, only managed to be out of the shower a minute or two before 8:30.  Luckily for him their driver was running a bit late and had phoned ahead. At about twenty to nine their lift arrived and we said our goodbyes before they headed off to pick up another friend - there are 8 of them going in total - two cars of 4 people.

It's going to be a quiet few days without them.

I spent the day in the usual mix of chores and stuff, managing to find time to read 'The Observer', some of 'Ulysses' and, for the first time in a few weeks, another chapter from 'Hawkwind: Days of the Underground: Radical Escapism in the Age Of Paranoia' - once I've got to the end of reading the title, I'm too tired to read the book.

Late in the afternoon I got a text from the boys saying they'd arrived in Penrith, the hostel was good and they were planning to go out in search of a pub for dinner in the evening. Guess they'll have a full days walking planned for tomorrow.

Listened to an album and a bit once the final carer call of the day was over:  This Mortal Coil's album 'It'll End In Tears' in its entirety plus a few tracks from the compilation album 'Bob Stanley & Pete Wiggs present Occasional Rain'.

Son #3 and I made dinner together - we shared veg prep and I pan-fried the Sea Bass, all good preparation for his imminent move to University.  Mind you, I suspect he'll not be eating much Sea Bass whilst he's there! Not unless he catches it himself.

Chosen more in a spirit of, well, I'm not sure if it's optimism, desperation or resignation, but definitely one or all of the above, this is 'Something Better Change' by The Stranglers.  The thought popped into my head first, which reminded me of the song, hence...

[It's from the album 'No More Heroes', in case you care or it matters for some reason]


['Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate']

[[]]

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Love, Poetry and Revolution - Monday 13th May 2024

Image
The last time I wrote here, April was disappearing into the sunset. Given the amount of cloud and rain during the month, that was more metaphorical than literal. Ho, hum, pig's bum! It may or not be the case.  Scrub that: it May be, is. What's the craic, I 'hear' you ask? It's a game of two halves, to be 'honest'. Allegedly, I am a 'parrot', sleep-wise, though not as sick as one. Over to you, Barry. It's alright, I'm just messin'. I am toying with the idea of attempting to write entirely in clichés, but mixing them up and playing with them for the linguistic fun of it. I could try to do that, but it would take a while and I have other things I want to say today.  So, it's time to get down to business.  Nose to the grindstone. Shoulder to the wheel. Pull my socks up. This post is not going to write itself. Sadly, for all concerned, E's health seems to have plateaued again. I'm not sure who this benefits, not her nor our sons wh
Read more

Lockdown Diary - Friday 28th August 2020

Image
I had a lie-in until about 7 a.m. as it's the last day of my leave, but I was up for the first carer call just after 7, then after she'd left I got on with showering, exercising, getting dressed and having breakfast. I have various things to organise, not least to make sure son #3 has actually thought about what he needs for university, which potentially he starts 3 weeks from today (I say potentially because things are not yet finalised, but it's looking like he'll be starting on our wedding anniversary) Apart from that I'm going to revise the next module of the Mulesoft training course, which I hope will take no longer than an hour. Cripes! The morning has gone and I have no idea how I've used it all up.  Sons 2 and 3 are making lunch - bacon and eggs today - and son #1 and his gf are up and about. We watched an episode of 'Peep Show' over lunch then split up to do whatever we had to do. Fully recharged by lunch, I'm going to tackle Mulesoft now. 
Read more

Tales From The Crypt - Friday 2nd July 2021

Image
Not such a good Friday for me because though the weekend does follow, it's only two-day weekend as I have to work on Monday. On the plus side next weekend I'll be off Friday through Monday - four whole days! - but I have to get there first. Worst of all I will miss yoga on Monday 😞 Work dominates the day, with the next instalment of being a lead architect starting at 10:00, before that catching up with other stuff. Part way through the day I decide to volunteer to take part in a work experience exercise we're running for the whole of next week for year 13s across the country. Should be interesting and fun. Although there is a plan, none of us have any idea how it will go - seat of the chair excitement! The day closes with an intro to the case study next week's students will be working on - there's a whole bunch of us doing it and everyone seems up for it. We're having a takeaway tonight because our plans have been changed because son #1's gf is staying unti
Read more

Lockdown Diary - Wednesday 8th July 2020

Image
I shall start this post, my first since Sunday, with a warning - actually, make that two: It's going to be a long post, as I have a lot to say; It's also going to have load of hospital / surgery / whatever stuff in it too, about which you may well have zero interest. I'll mark the beginning and end of that section clearly so you can skip it and move to the rest of the blog without getting bored senseless. I have to write it though, because it needs to be recorded for posterity and for one reason or another everything that surrounds this operation has been a major part of my life, with a load of impacts on almost every aspect of it, for a few years now. I cannot ignore it for that reason. I came out of hospital yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon being discharged at around 1:30 p.m. and collected by a good friend. During my time in the hospital - from 7:20 a.m. on Monday, when I was greeted by the admin person at the door of the ward - I was looked after incredibly well. I'd
Read more

Lockdown Diary - Thursday 11th March 2021

Image
Work until early evening, when I joined the Idler Drinks with this week's guest, Chris Difford, of Squeeze and solo song writing fame. Interesting and temporarily diverting chat which roamed far and wide across his career and what he's doing under lockdown.  More of that, including monthly (I think) online socials with guests in aid of charities (see here for more info on all Chris's activities) and much more.   Early on in the chat he talked of the early days of writing with Squeeze co-conspirator Glenn Tillbrook, when they were much taken and influenced by the songs of Todd Rundgren, which I enjoyed hearing about. The interview ended with an impromptu acoustic rendition of 'Cool For Cats' from Chris's shed/den. After that son #2 and I started making chicken and black bean enchiladas from a recipe off the BBC Good Food website. Prep time is always longer than their estimates - and that was with two of us doing parallel tasks. Usual series of events, accompanie
Read more