Nine Feet Underground

Back to work, but only for three days this week as I have a long weekend away planned from Friday to Monday.  Today, and the next three days, are all about work, though. In the event today hasn't quite turned out as expected, work-wise, with several interruptions that meant I had to leave work meetings.  The most significant of these was the arrival of the Neuro-Rehab consultant to inject Botox into some of E's joints to help bring some flexibility where joints haven't completely fused yet.  There were a lot of background questions I had with the consultant, before she carried out the examination to determine precisely which joints might benefit from Botox. After examination the consultant determined that only her hands would benefit and so I held E's arms still whilst six Botox injections were made (four in the left arm, two in the right).  Now it's done we have to keep an eye on E for 24 hours as there are quite a lot of potential side-effects, though the benefits...

'Oh, baby, I'm dreaming of Monday' Well, here it is then.  Chatting with first carer of the day a little after 7 a.m.  After she leaves, I get showered, dressed and eat my porridge. As everyone knows, you can never get enough washing. Never a day goes by without me thinking: 'Is there anything I can wash?' Today the answer is emphatically 'YES!' A fuck-ton (s.i. unit, in case you were wondering) of bed linen. My heart is ablaze. Despite the excitement of washing, I somehow manage to tear myself away to finish the papers, and read some more of the book club novel, 'Potiki'. At lunchtime the self-same carer says she hung washing outside and so, not to be outdone, I do the same, with brass knobs on. Late afternoon son #2 is ready to go for a walk (it's almost 5 p.m. but still light), so I bring the washing in (three loads!) and resolve to decide what needs further drying after we return from our walk.  At times I wonder how manage to sustain these l...

Another early start, primarily so I am up, dressed and ready when the cleaner arrives around 7.  One of the things I've realised through lockdown is that the people who come to this house regularly (carers, cleaner, nurses etc) all contribute to my sanity.  The carers are especially good because over time we've got to know each other quite well and they will joke with me and take the piss, which is good, and I know them well enough to do the same back, without fear of offence (so far, at least!) Down to work after that, with a brief interlude at lunchtime to switch to my new mobile phone and a new SIM-only contract. I was a bit dubious at first, but my sons recommended the Google Pixel 4a, and it seems pretty good so far. I guess I should be confident as they have put my money where their mouth is by having the same phone each for their upcoming 23rd birthdays.  Ultimately a phone is a phone and this was just another one of those things that needed sorting: we've all been...

My top 10 albums of 2019 has been a struggle.  Not because there was a shortage of candidates. Far from it.  More because of the sheer impossibility of comparing one piece of music with another, something I've become increasingly bothered by over recent years.  On any given day the albums I might get the most enjoyment from will vary according to my mood and general state of mind.  Not only that, there have been a lot of albums which almost made it into my top 10, and in a few days, if you asked me, I'd probably choose one of them, instead of one in the list (with a few exceptions). Let's also be honest, close up, any year's music is hard to assess. The albums that I'll still be playing a year from now, let alone five years time - and when I say playing, I mean playing in full (I will, of course, still listen, randomly, to tracks from these albums) - may be very different to the ones that provide the most immediate enjoyment now. I've been struggling wi...

I've been been following Brazil's Boogarins ever since I heard their songs '6000 Dias (Ou Mantra dos 20 Anos)' and 'Tempo' (Hmm! there's a common theme there...) way back in...let me see now...2015 or 2016. Their blend of tropicalia, psychedelia and rock is enjoyably intoxicating at it's best, but, annoyingly, their albums have been inconsistent: not that they've been bad, just that - without a grasp of Brazilian (be very wary of grasping Brazilian) and/or Portuguese (are they the same thing? I am afraid I don't know, though Google Translate seems to think they are) a route in to some of the songs is difficult. Their latest, soon to be released in the UK, album, 'Sombrou Duvida', which allegedly translates as 'Shadow Doubt', is the one that finally lands as an album for me.  Several songs have already become favourites, including the song above, 'Te Quero Longe', which has a trippy, languorous, hazy summer's ...