Tales From The Crypt - Friday 17th December to Tuesday 21st December 2021

The longest coverage yet! All of this is being written after the event as, despite not being at work, life is very busy one or the other...

...consequently this will be very much a summary of events.

I got up on Friday morning and now it's Wednesday. The end.

No! I can do better that.  Probably, but maybe not a lot.

Friday lunch time I headed for the start of a long weekend on the south coast.  I arrived a little before 2 pm and so began a wonderful weekend of happiness and joy: Christmas shopping, coffee shop visits, films ('The Last Thing He Wanted'), music, dancing and a trip to the pub.

I returned back to my other world on Monday evening and so began the return to the Christmas countdown.  Son's 1 and 2 are out for the evening and so son #3 and I ate together and watched a HIGNFY he'd not seen (though I have now seen 3 times!)

Tuesday turned out not be the droid I was looking for, though on a positive note all three sons got their Covid boosters at a nearby hospital, so we're all triple jumpers in this house.  Sadly the day didn't end as planned culminating in having to chuck the dinner we had planned away 'cos it was out of date.  Not that keen on out of date raw chicken.

As you are probably aware it is the season to be merry, so I have chosen two songs today (shouldn't it be five, given the coverage??). One is very old, though I've only recently heard it, and the other is more recent and is an actual Christmas song, though one of the saddest ones ever recorded. Sad though it is, it is a favourite of mine (miserable bastard!!!) Much ado about bugger-all. Here goes...though be warned - there may be more words...

Affinity / 'Mr. Joy' / 'Affinity' 


[[As the song unfolds it becomes clear that 'Mr. Joy' is not a person but a device.  I'm not sure how many songs are hymns to vibrators, but I suspect there aren't many others.  Incidentally the song was written by the wonderful Annette Peacock, a subject for another day.]]

Low / 'Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)' / '(Single)' 


[[A bundle of contradictions: a very sad song as well as being one of my favourite Christmas songs.  Eagle-eyed, super-hip and cool readers will also know that Low recorded one of the best (if not THE best) Christmas album, 'Christmas']]

[[ ]]

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