Now Hear This………………….6.

So, this is the penultimate blog before the change, and yet again its in the style of “Now Hear This” style of blog. Enough of the waffle lets go to it!

1.      What is “Now Hear This”

Well as you know I like to call my blogs after whatever music I am playing at the time, on the day of the first one that I did I was blasting some Hellanbach, I liked the title, and it has stuck…Go Figure!

 

2.      Why the Change?

This has been asked so many times I simply had to address the question, the simple answer, I feel as though I have taken it as far as I can, it needs to change, change or die, I mean you have to be sick of me droning on, I want to improve, I know I can do better, I want to do better, I’m sure the right answer is amongst that lot take your pick, I have a different answer for every time I have been asked. Basically, I want to, enough said!

 

3.      Ratings?

People are asking me if I am worried about the ratings dropping, Yes, But I know it’s              going to happen, it’s not going to be a surprise, I doubt that many people who read the blog is into the same music that I am, so yes I get it, I know some only like it when I’m down, some like certain blogs and drift off when its not what they expect, the blog this year has exceeded over 70000 hits, next year will considerably less it is what it is.

 

4.      More Books old style Blogs?

Sorry to disappoint some of you but that’s not going to happen, for the books at least, there may be the occasional old-style blog, but only if we get a life back, don’t hold your breath its highly unlikely.

 

5.       Will I still use Song Titles?

I still have to decide on some of the longer blogs, its still rather fluid at the moment, however you will all be the first to know.

6.      Are you still ambitious?

I like to think that I am, that’s why I am changing  the format completely , I had a little try out in 2018, it was a success, if only in a small way, I think I can improve it and the intention is too start small and continue to grow if I can manage half the numbers I am doing at the moment I will consider it a success, we will have to see how it progress’s lets see what the next 12 months bring.

7.      How often will I blog?

The intention is to continue as weekly, sometimes it might be more, I’m hoping because of the content it shouldn’t fall below that (fingers crossed).

8.       Are Family and Friends Supporting you?

I haven’t got a clue, I don’t write it for them, I write it for me, I believe some drop in and out from time to time, there has been no negativity (as far as I know) in my wanting to change, lets see what happens in the new year, if the levels of abuse go up, I’ll know who is reading and who is not!

9.       Musical Influences?

This is just about the most asked question with in these NHT blogs, I like to think of myself as fairly open minded, I like most things from ABBA through to Frank Zappa and then everything in between, a good song is a good song, I think the name game kind of tells you were I am at, at any time of the year, I do like a good singer and I’m not into cookie  monster style of ahem “singers” doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate it, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to find it, I’m sure you all would understand, we all have our guilty pleasures, musically speaking I’m no different lets see what happens, you never know you could be surprised!

10.   Will I still write in code?

I doubt it, I only wrote in code not to offend people who are in my sphere of my friends, not that its directed at them, usually someone who I didn’t know, and they didn’t really know me, just in case they were pointed in the direction of the blog, it has never been my intention to upset anybody, its meant to be FUN!

11.   Social Life?

I have no idea what this refers to it seems like so long ago, at the start it appealed to me and my nature, but I know I miss my friends and I hope that they know it, I can’t wait for the day until we can all get back out there and have some fun and some Craic!

12.   Honesty?

I still intend to be as honest as I always have, I see no reason as to why I shouldn’t, again I’m sure that people will tell me if they think I wasn’t!

13.   Will there be any further Historical blogs to come?

Never say never, the intention is to never say no if I have one that I think will pass muster, especially in the Musical sense, then probably but they should be few and far between, that’s the intention, you never know, it’s a definite watch this space kind of answer!

14.   What about your notes for blogs?

 I still have them and might return to them at some point I don’t know at the moment I’m     done with them, let’s put some space between them and lets see what we can do with that space, I do love writing, and I still intend to write observational notes, who knows what might happen with them, I still would like to write “the Grand Novel” but with out my partner in crime (she’s a lady you know) to act as my editor, I don’t know what will happen there I have a great idea with a great twist at the end of it, it’s the stuff in between me that I get bogged down with, again watch this space, you never know.

 

15.  Will this make you happier?

I have no idea; I can only try, I’m sure you will keep me on the straight and narrow!

 

16.   Have you changed your mind about a favourite blog?

I have struggled with this one, I have reread some of them recently, simply to try and remember what they were about, at a push I could say that there were a few that I like, no I have no intention of naming them, why? Because as soon as I do I would change my mind, if you lot have a fave I’m happy for you, but I like them all, even all of the crap ones and yes there were some really crap ones, I know and you know it to, it is what it is a time or moment in my life when  I spewed what was in my mind onto a blank sheet, take from them what you want, but or now its time to move on.

17.   Have you written Blog 500 yet?

Erm not quite, should I even be telling you all this, I have the basic structure, I have a sense of what I need to say, it would always alter on the day of typing anyway it always has, simply because I’m always affected by what is going on around me…oh look a butterfly! It will stay fluid until I press post! I reckon I’m about 98% done, but tomorrow I could quite easily have no idea and be nervous about my intentions, lets stick with the 98% version.

18.   Social Media?

I think I will stick with what I know, I have tried unsuccessfully to expand to other areas, lets just go with the flow and see how it goes that’s not a no or a yes, it’s a let’s see what happens!

19.   Is this a knee jerk reaction?

No this is me planning 18 months and tweaking what I intend to do, I haven’t stockpiled lots of stuff as I intend to try and keep it fresh, whether that happens remains to be seen.

20.   Cunning Plans.

 I always have a number of cunning plans on the go this is one I intend to see through, through to the bitter end, it will take me a while to get where I want to be, its taken over 12 years to get here, over 70000 hits and counting, I am under no illusion that its not going to be a battle, but lets start with the premise, its for me, if I can stick to that premise it should be OK anything after that is a plus.

 

So there you have it, one step closer to the edge, its coming don’t say that you haven’t been warned, so watch the skies for incoming but until then its ……….Toodles!

Standing in the Rain.

I know this is late, I don’t need reminding, but life has been well to put it bluntly………Busy! Work has been totally crazy; however, I now have a better understanding as to why I wish to treat the human race with contempt a good 85% are total cock wombles (but this is not the blog to explain) hey this Christmas lets try and keep it on the straight and narrow, just this once, Yes? The reason that the pandemic is as bad as it is, is simply because of the selfish cock wombles roaming the streets, I wish I could take a big stick to all of their heads; however, I’m being told by human resources I’m not allowed, which is a shame. I would love to be able to issue cattle prods to all of the staff at work, what no mask, zap! As always, I have already begun to digress, this is not the reason why the blog is late, I have been nice to the wife by attempting to do as many tasks as I possibly can, I really should have done them so much earlier, I’m annoyed as it has impacted on the blog being published, however the youngest leant a hand so I was able to pass the finish line sooner rather than later. To be honest I would probably struggled to complete what I have done without her help, but we climbed the hill and thankfully won the day.

One of the main tasks was too move some of my music collection from the back of the house to the front room, no small task and then the seed was sown for the many cunning plans and small tasks, I had started earlier in the year, matching units were the order of the day and once I had talked the wife into it (with surprising ease I may add) we followed the plan and set off to that magical land called Ikea, we soon realised that the bulk of our order would not fit in our car so we had to go to plan B, and get them delivered, thankfully it was cheap enough and they arrived the very next day. The intention was to store them until after Christmas, you all know me to well, as soon as they were in the house, they were gnawing at me like a rat in a trap, I had to move to plan C!

As I arrived home, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to resist and I think the wife knew that as well, so as there no were objections, I attacked the task in hand with vigour, well my youngest helped actually but I wasn’t in good shape and I hadn’t planned it properly, but I soldiered on, but my knees defeated me with only half the job done. I was not getting any better and working off the floor was problematic to say the least, I finally raised a white flag, I set about a new plan of action I had it, I cleared the table where my lap top is normally found and worked from a sensible height, once completed, I took a small break, but I knew I wanted to complete the task, the plan to move the CD’s the next day fell by the wayside, and I moved the next phase moving over 800 individual CD’s thankfully it didn’t take me too long (cough splutter) and before anybody asks yes they are all alphabetical and then chronological, I’m sad I know, me with my reputation!

The rest of the weekend then fell into a maelstrom of little jobs that needed to be completed, then I had the task of sorting out the rest of the chaos that I had caused, then I had to paint where the other storage had been, dispose of the rubbish, cook, clean and the list went on, just like me I know, so as a consequence the blog fell by the way, not even into the back seat, I simply wanted to start a job and complete it in one go, well kind of I finally managed to finish tonight (Thursday) just before I set about typing this up, I had laid the bulk of the ideas that I had for the blog during a lunch break at work, yes I do take them, usually when I have a deadline for the blog. I simply wasn’t feeling it and as we get ever closer to the big changes coming up, I wanted to feel it, I wanted to do the job properly, I also wanted to enjoy it, I mean that’s really why I do this, because I do enjoy it, however life, work and a million (a slight exaggeration I know) other things conspired against me. But here I am back on task determined to get this posted, you lot might be unhappy with me for being late, but I’m happy with what I have done, I might not have been if I had simply spewed something on to the page!

I know you are all thinking where is the title coming into this, well I was doing exactly what the title says, waiting for my lift to the work  house, and the song was an earworm I didn’t wish to get rid of, I felt(feel) good, well at that moment I did, it was cold and dark and very wet, I felt very happy to be in that moment, which to be honest doesn’t happen very often so I simply went with the flow, I had a couple more days on the poop deck then I was going to let the Christmas buzz wash over me, yes me I was going to join the tribal feeling and “try” and enjoy the days, its not a surprise that I’m a mixture of Scrooge and the Grinch, I’m not a miser (if I have it I will spend it) but I kind of struggle in company and I have the best friends in the world, but I still struggle at times, I am work in progress but I am trying to improve!

My path into the world of Christmas is to watch A Christmas Carol, this year I fancy the Patrick Stewart version, then all will be well with the world, then Christmas will begin in earnest, I hate it right up until the moment that I watch whichever version, I look forward to the day, simply because I love cooking the dinner, that’s my treat, I haven’t poisoned anyone yet……………. Yet! then it will be time for some music, music, music and then some more music I have four days off I do not intend to watch any of the box over those days! Have you guessed what’s around the corner for the blog in the new year, really oh well it will be a surprise LOL! What has this got to do with the blog, if you have read the previous 497 blogs rain has featured in a lot of those blogs, I do indeed love the rain, I’m usually happiest when its raining, I’m a true pluviophile! Another thing that’s new is the partaking in the giving of presents, its not something that we usually do but we have decided to this year, you never know I might grow to like it! It could be a new craze, we are simply going with the flow, I really hope that Santa thinks that I have been a good boy.

So, this is officially the beginning of the end, the next blog will be the final “Now Hear This” don’t say that you haven’t been warned! And then the last one before the big change in direction, I’m excited for the new direction, but I know that it will be hard work, this is simply me waffling, I need to be a bit more professional (I know me with my reputation) I know that we will lose some of the casual readers, it is what it is, its looking like we will hit over 72000 hits this year next year I will be happy with 10% of that.

So, say safe stay alive, don’t be selfish think of others, keep watching the skies for incoming, the next one will be here sooner than you realise, so until then………. TOODLES!

Spirits, Ghosts and Outlaws

So, the blog as we know it will soon come to a close and I need to get some of this crap off my chest, musically my life has been likened to a prog rock track long slow passages, frantic jazz chords and oh so bloody long! I feel as if I have gone off road too much, hopefully the new direction won’t be so…. lost!

The one constant has been my friends and music, sometimes music and friends but those two have always been a constant, my brother and I fought tooth and nail, but we were a unit when it came to music, my brother and his friends informed me on the rocky road of pubescence, my friends weren’t too bothered about music with the odd exception then I left school and life exploded, the one constant with my friends, is music the one common denominator with just about 99.9% of my friends and people that I know!

Pubs, friends, music, work, parties, music, more drink more music……………...ooooooh girls and then back to the constant, MUSIC! Ask any girl that I went out with the overlying thrust (ooer matron the screens) music always came first, maybe I was wrong but nobody told me otherwise, they were always present with me, I never ignored them but there was always music, music played a huge part of my life from the age of about7 onwards, I know over the years I have shrank my music collection (vinyl wise) and I regret it, but I never got rid of my 7” singles there was too much history, they mean nothing to anybody except me, their little stories and history.

It was the same with going to see bands, first locally at pubs when I could get in or maybe even stood outside when I couldn’t get in, then to venture off to Newcastle, and then I really spread my wings going further afield and then following groups on entire tours (please see previous historical blogs) through the good times and the bad times, the weddings, and a divorce, I only took my music when I departed. Music has been my safety net rightly or wrongly it has been my constant, it speaks to me, it has helped me through the good times and really helped me in the bad times! The long journeys with my Walkman and a bag full of tapes, my discman and my bag of CD’s and then onto my trusty MP 3 player, damn it has been a good friend, always there for me, never judgemental, always supportive through all of the days.

Where am I going this one, to be truthful I have no ideas, I just want to say thank you to all of my friends I have been to see bands with, the people I have stood shoulder to shoulder in record shops and record fayres over the years, in the bars cracking on about the latest album by so and so damn good times I tell you, the girlfriends who probably thought I was bat shit crazy (they weren’t wrong) I haven’t really matured, my brother and I still waffle for hours about music (about 90% of the time another 8% about work the other 2% everything else) I don’t think any of us (brother friends ) will change, I don’t want anybody to either.

Although I’m not done with gigs, they are getting fewer (obviously Co-vid fucked this year) but musically I listen to more music than I ever have, so I hope you know the direction (after much deliberation) that I will be travelling, why? Simply because I can and I want to, what can I say, I need a hobby so that I think I will do it as a hobby, who is going stop me? If she wants to (probably the wife) I know the numbers will drift but I don’t really care.

So there you have it, one step closer only three left to go, the name game is in play (an album I’m listening to as I type this) I am looking forward to the future, I’m hoping that it does alright but its being done for me and no one else, lets see what happens, so watch the skies there will be another blog along soon, sooner than you may think, but until then ………...Toodles!

Sacred Hour.

I think Magnum would be in my top five of number of times I have seen a band, not always by choice. I first came across them supporting BOC, and I thought they were really old men then, I was only around 14 so everyone was, I enjoyed them they did the type of music I liked, well I thought I liked. Over the coming years they supported more bands than Budgie (and that takes some doing) and after a couple of times of watching the same set I was kind of getting bored with them.  I went with my brother and a friend to see the Tygers of Pan Tang at the city hall in support of the Spellbound album, a radical departure for them, a new singer and some wunderkind called Jon Sykes allegedly some kind of modern guitar god (erm not quite but he was on the way) well he at least had the ego! A band called Alcatraz opened (they had an album out on RCA called Radio 4, I only remember this because It was going to be one of my first official writing jobs outside of my circle of friends, before they got dropped, I would have to wait another six months before I was offered a paying job for writing lyrics!

They finished and then it was announced that Magnum would be on in ten minutes, an inward groan, I really was sick of the same set list, we agreed to give them two songs and then head off to the bar, imagine my surprise when they opened with two new songs from their yet to be released new album Chase the Dragon, they had  my attention, now I will admit here and now in my eyes this is their perfect album, I like them and virtually all of their albums but this was the pinnacle for me, my brother and friend buggered off to the bar, I stayed and watched and listened to their majestic brand of pomp and circumstance!

They still looked (really) old, but the new songs were simply superb, the Tygers struggled even with their vim and vigour, they simply were a pub band after what I had just seen. The album still wasn’t released for at least 8 months and I still got to see them at least 5 times, I had started to travel to see bands, I had a taste for them, most of the gig is in the north east that I attended were also were attended by my wife and she and a friend were close friends to the band especially Bob Catley, where a group of them manged to run out of petrol delivering baby clothes to him and his wife, the reason I mention this is simply because I probably went to dozens of gigs and she was there and I never knew, well at Judas Priest I did when she walked down aisle, oh matron the screens, but I digress.

Another half a dozen shows and I didn’t care as long as they did songs from Chase the Dragon, alas it wasn’t to last, they released the Eleventh Hour album and although I liked it, I was working away from home more and consequently starting seeing more bands (I know what a slut) they released On a Storyteller’s Night and it was a glorious return to form (but not a patch on you know what) and I caught a couple of shows, none of the band seemed to have aged at all since that first show in 1978 but they still looked bloody ancient! They then moved on to a major label and had Roger Taylor produce a couple of albums, I liked them but I didn’t actively seek them out, move on a few more years and they were back to an independent label and I hadn’t seen them in about six years and I hated the album (it has grown on me) I caught a show on the tour and didn’t enjoy it at all loved the classics but I had simply been away too long.

By this time, me and wife were partners in crime and money was tight, gigs were curtailed to the odd occasion as opposed to being a matter of life and death! It would be a further 12 years before we got to see them in the flesh again (Bob hadn’t changed one bit Tony had) , I wasn’t not looking forward to them, but I wasn’t jumping for joy I had seen them well into double figures and didn’t think I would get a kick out of them, boy was I wrong, and who were the young guys on stage with Bob? Damn it’s the band, energetic and exciting with great new songs, I loved them and yes they did do a couple of classics, I was a pig in heaven, after that I got the albums and went to see them every year, loving the fact that every year they were doing new classic albums, my only complaint there was nobody to reign in Tony Clarkin, a great song writer but some of the songs did not need to be that long, still classic material, but come on just because you can fit 88 minutes onto a cd doesn’t mean that you have to! I have to admit the last time we saw them in 2017 I was disappointed that they did over  an hour’s worth of a new album that was released on the day of the gig, good songs but deep cuts that are complex, they need time to seep into the blood stream, not like the bad old days, like the good old fashioned romps that they used to do, still great songs but yeah they need a little time to digest, it all went wrong from there as people left or were sacked, ever decreasing circles too much touring, with too much new material, I kind of get that you still want to feel relevant, but it’s a fine line and they were cutting their own nose to spite everything else.

Although we were going to see them this year Co-vid got out ahead of them and the tour like so many others were cancelled and so no more gigs this year, hopefully Tony has been working away like a beaver he is after all a great song writer, and he looks younger than me now……WTF!

So there you have it I knew I could do it why the title (spoiler alert) the blog kind of follows what Bob would always say when introducing the title, it takes me about an hour to type these up and check then check some more so it is kind of like a “Sacred Hour”  enjoy and watch the skies for incoming we are near the end game for this phase of the blog, well kind of, I know I have kind of given the name game away but I kind of can, so until the next time stay safe and until then …………Toodles!

Dreaming.

Praise the lord I thought I was still in a downward spiral, thankfully my head has been given a bloody good shake (thanks Dr Vodka).

Life as a whole has been freaking me out, the new normal, I don’t bloody think so, how the family have been putting up with me I have no idea, thankfully my sleep pattern hasn’t been too disturbed, well I say that, but I have been dreaming (hence the blogs title and yes the name game is in play) so vividly, I have mentioned this previously, I am not used to this vivid multi coloured kind  of distraction, places that are so familiar but just so altered, things that have kind of happened, with a different outcome, but then people who I don’t know twisting it into a different reality!

They are so vivid but fade so fast, then there is a fog of confusion for the rest of the morning as I try and piece them back together, with little or no success, this then leaves me bewildered, the fact that I have so much time on my hands through the day I think  is adding to the problem, what the hell do I know I’m the victim to all of these dreams, as I have mentioned before I hadn’t dreamt in over 30 years now everything seems to be on x6 on the Sky TV remote, it’s not helping, they aren’t sex dreams or even violent just, yeah I have no idea, people who I haven’t seen since I left school, well lets just say a long time!

It hasn’t been  helping me or my general demeanour, I do try to be a happy camper (I know me with my reputation) but they are so intense and real, I relived the same nightmare (24 hours a day) for that 30 years and although that is not that far from the surface, I have the tools to deal with that, well in a simplistic kind of way!  I simply do not know how to get a handle on the emotions that they generate! I was starting to feel like a prisoner, not wanting to go bed, actually because of the lock down, I didn’t have to go to bed, so I avoided it and it simply made it worse, I then realised that what I was missing was actual human contact, not necessarily people who I knew (although I do miss my friends) just some interaction with others, I need to go outside, you know where other people are, now why I didn’t think of that before, this time around I hadn’t even gone into the yard to do my exercise, I stayed in the house, my human battery needed to be recharged, thankfully my grandson give me the push I needed insisting that we go for a walk on each of the days that he was here!   

I had noticed I was also becoming superstitious, simple things I was avoiding, this wasn’t normal (for me) is this the beginning of me losing my mind (what little I have left)  I needed to shake my head (quite a lot) I realised the dread once a year day was fast approaching and I have fallen back into old habits of not celebrating the day, in fact coming to resist it, as its simply another day closer to death (isn’t every day) I was up early and put all of my dreams out of my head I got ready and left the house, a small walk to the bank (I hate not having ready cash in my pocket even just a fiver) then some shopping, well food shopping nothing for me …..kind of…. I spoilt myself with a couple of pork specials (if you know Gimpsville you will know what I am on about) they were simply divine! Straight home then dragged the slow cooker out to make the tea (I know it was barely 09.00 but I like to be prepared) I was in a much better frame of mind, go figure!

The day progressed and I went with the flow, a few issues with technology, but I got over the hurdle and kept going forward, as the night went on I decided it was time to have that drink I had been promising myself, oh dear I bottle of vodka later and a load of music from YouTube (sorry to anybody who I know on Farcebook) I went to bed a happy camper, and I didn’t dream at all, it was bliss, I got up the next day refreshed and feeling good no hangover, I knew that I had to crack on, the rest of the weekend has been me formulating future cunning plans, playing lots of music trying to get the title of this blog out of my mind, it’s the earworm of the week, and its not a band I would normally listen to! back to work soon and I can’t wait, I’m not looking forward to going back to the crap that I have to do but I have so missed people, little do they know that one or two of them actually do help this grumpy old git!

So again another step towards the end of this era, something that has also been prying in my mind if the truth be told, the next couple of blogs will be happy and historical, that’s a promise, one I intend to keep, honestly I have a reputation to keep up, some people have gone AWOL in the last couple of months (and are missed) but numbers are pretty consistent as is the reading of old blogs, I have given up trying to work out why, so watch the skies for incoming, I have turned the corner and have shaken this dumb asses head, so onwards, thanks for all of your kind words, life is shit so what, onwards, again if you want to ask a question for the last “Now Hear This” get it in because I will be compiling it in the next two weeks as it stands I have 120 questions some are simple variations of previous “Now Hear This” blogs so if you have a burning question you never know it might just get in there, so watch the skies, until the next time……Toodles!

Sunshine on a Rainy Day.

I know it’s a one hit wonder (but it helps the name game into the home stretch) but it kind of is what my mood has been like, thanks to my grandson who has lifted my mood if only for a little while, let me tell you a little bit of the week that has past!

To be honest although I almost completed my small list of tasks that I wished to carry out, it did nothing to improve my mood, I was generally grumpy, not with others, but with myself, thankfully I did not eat my way through the house, I wanted to, but I was a reasonably good boy, simply because I knew that it would not improve my mood, that in itself did not help me, I was generally angry with myself for no other reason than I could be, I reverted to jealousy a trait that rears its ugly head from time to time, something that as a general rule I don’t like as I get older it flairs up from time to time, I’m sure a qualified person could tell me why, me I’m thick (bless me) and  I haven’t got a clue!

Thankfully these thoughts do not last long I know enough to give my head a shake, again writing and music has not helped at all, I have tried to lift myself out of the doldrums, I have to a small degree been successful , but I know I still have a long way too go. As hard as I try “Bob” has been nipping at my heels, again the sense of failure has been flooding through me as I can’t shake him.

Furlough the second time around has not been helpful to my mental health and its almost like a game of snakes and ladders, thankfully I am still playing! The week has dragged and I only have myself to blame, thankfully at the end of the week we agreed even though he is not in our bubble to have our grandson, bless him he has his own issues and we will be there to support him as best we can, he arrived on the Friday night and it has been (he is still here as I type this up) a blur of activity to keep him occupied, thankfully he has been quite good because at times he can be quite a handful, the change of environment has kind of helped him and me, yesterday we went for a hobble, well I hobbled and he scootered the youngest came along to look after me rather than the grandson. The day dissolved into night and we had a few issues last night as ours is an old house and he isn’t sure what these noises are.

He has been a godsend, knowing that he needs us is a good thing, can we help just a little and he and his family need a slight respite from each other, thankfully he dragged me from the depths of my despair and he helped kick “Bob” squarely in the butt. We have a number of cunning plans for today including another hobble, hopefully this will continue the upward curve of my mood.

A really bad couple of night’s sleep hasn’t helped its almost like “Bob” is trying to get around the fence to me, the intention is to ignore him, tonight I intend to have a drink, yes alcohol simply to help me stay asleep, my next plan is to sort through the tons and I mean tons of music I have and simply get rid of stuff that I will never play ever again, sacrilege, this morning out of 18gyg of music I kept two discographies and 12 other albums! I know but simply not required, I need to have greater quality control.

My grandson being here this weekend has simply been a ray of sunshine in the crappy rainy week that I have suffered, I am not beaten I know that I have had a crap week but I will not be beaten, the numbers have been consistent it almost seems like people have been getting snuggled down with pop corn to enjoy some misery (only kidding) there have been some kind words from people who don’t really have no connection other than this blog, hopefully this wont change after blog 500, this blog is the first blog written on the “new” laptop I finally bit the bullet but there have been some hiccups along the way that certainly haven’t helped me with my mood, so watch the skies for incoming, until the next time…………………………..Toodles!

Realize.

I know the spelling of the title is Americanised, take it up with the band that wrote the song, it’s their spelling not mine! And yes, the name game is in play!

Again, yet another shite week, writing and music have not helped, I have tried my best, at least my fellow inmates haven’t thought me to be grumpy, mind you they always have a tendency not to take any notice of me, go figure.

Another short one and again its primarily bile, not that has hurt numbers for the last one, maybe peeps are simply happy in with me in my misery, I have a number of tasks I want to get completed this week, so I intend (hahahahaha delusional fool) to focus on those tasks in hand, I will be really grumpy if I don’t get them done, two big jobs and then the rest a smattering of smaller tasks, I’m hoping that upon completion it should lift my spirits.

Pornography, that  got your attention, this is the last hint of what the new blog will be like in 8 blogs, well 7 after this one, when I mean pornography, I mean something that I love, I want to write something typically topical and something that I hold dear to my heart, you all seem interested , all will be revealed in the weeks to come definitely by blog number 499!

I have been sleeping the sleep of the dead this past week, actually going to bed late so as a consequence getting up a lot later, I get up more disoriented than normal, I don’t think that this is helping my mood, so this will be my last late one, the rest of the week will be early to bed and then early to rise…..fingers crossed, and then hopefully this should improve my mood, I know we have been here before but what do I know, I’m not happy being grumpy.

The last few blogs have done really well, I have been surprised, and thank you for all the nice comments, but no it doesn’t change my train of thought, actually I have zero concentration, which if I’m truthful its not helping these next 7 blogs (I know 8 if you include this one) could be a tad bumpy, I need to get my arse in gear so that I can produce some decent work as I want to go out (this phase) with a bang not a whimper!

And that’s me done I have no intention of repeating my same old gripes it is what it is, I have a cunning plan, let’s hope I can stick to my guns, so watch the skies for incoming, until the next time, as long as I can get my arse into gear………..Toodles!

Lonely is the word.

It’s a Sunday at least I think it is, another lockdown and another spell in self inflicted prison, at least that what it feels like!

This won’t be a long one, as I’m not really in the mood to witter and if I do, I half expect to have a man with a white coat banging on my front door, with a coat that fastens in the back. Go figure! I know this lock down is literally a little over three weeks but I barely got through the last one with my sanity intact I’m not looking forward to the second round!

The last one was full of light and some good weather, this one does not have the same ring to it, here I am in day three, in a foul mood wanting to eat the house, a smashed tooth and generally a bad attitude, what will I be like in three weeks, damn I feel the need for a drink, hopefully music will sooth the savage beast, I certainly have no intention of staring at the idiot box.

I have attempted a number of blogs this week, but I have spiralled out, simply because I knew what was coming, a few blogs detailing Black Sabbath gigs and other various historical ones left me feeling empty with no intention of finishing them, I have been flat after all of my attempts, I usually have a bit of an uplift from my efforts, not this time, so I will get in and get out and simply say I have been trying, very trying.

So here is my upshot for the past week, finally the orange Cheeto man has been disposed of, I don’t care who gets in I wouldn’t trust either of them, work has been demoralising, simply because of technical issues, I got to see some peeps I haven’t seen in ages and then I realised there was one or two I hadn’t seen in a couple of weeks, life is shit at the moment, what else can I say!

All of my positivity has been drained from me, I will do my best to try and replace it with some fresh optimism, lets see how that works out, I don’t like the world or even myself at the moment! I will need to get out into some fresh air at some point otherwise I will go bat shit crazy, so as I tend to say in these situations ……...onwards!

So there you have it, I’m not happy I hate the world and I need a tooth pulled that about sums it up, don’t worry I have been here before and I haven’t slaughtered anyone yet………yet being the operative word, jealousy of how other people live their lives is impacting on me and how I live mine, health issues are kicking my arse and to be honest I have lost the fight today, but tomorrow will be better, that I promise, it has to be time to head back to the cave, leave me be I will be fine, until the next time keep watching the skies for incoming…………..Toodles!

And yes the name game is in play, have at it!

On the Road Again.

So finally, something that has happened to us socially, now not historically, I’m not sure if I remember how to one of those!

So we were both happy we had booked a little jaunt away from home just the two of us, no Kraken, no kids and no pooch, just some us time, we were off to a little place outside of Richmond for the end  of March, then Co vid hit and the world turned upside down, our date got moved to October, we started counting the days, finally it arrived thank god for that, here is brief description of the mischief we didn’t get up to!

Work had been crap, actually it hadn’t it’s just that I had been poorly and I was easily worn out, I had a week of leave booked and a phone call with the Dr who kind of talked me out of being poorly and I kind of agreed with him, I didn’t fancy a camera being invasive front or rear, so I kind of was like a noddy dog, “but if it flares up again come and see me” er…..OK! Monday afternoon guess what happens, yes you guessed it I was sick as a dog and was as weak as a kitten, this could only get better…...Not!

But as the week cracked on we were getting all excited, could this actually happen, we didn’t pack until the Thursday just in case there was another lockdown, Friday we awoke and checked what we had packed and had a number of cunning plans, my sickness came and went, however my wind from both ends didn’t it’s awful, I was definitely the walking wounded, it seems to be a common thread maybe I simply shouldn’t plan holidays! Thankfully as the day went on, I perked up (even just so slightly) we couldn’t get there before a certain time, so we took our own sweet time, I had to call into work to drop off my laptop and phone so we could transfer to the new company after the weekend.

Off to M&S to buy supplies nothing fancy, some food and some nibbles and then some magazines, Classic Rock and Fireworks, I couldn’t find Rock Candy (maybe tomorrow) there was a brief moment (not) of panic when I had thought I had lost my phone, actually I didn’t really care one small jot, it was found once we got back to the car, panic over well I suppose it would have been if I had actually panicked, we took a slow drive to our destination (Flowery Dell Google it, its lovely) we did a socially distanced booking in and then on to our little palace for the weekend, the cabin was lovely we chilled and checked it out, we were set to chill, the weather had been good all the way there, but there was a black cloud on the horizon and for once it wasn’t me…….Ooops!

It started to drizzle as we closed the curtains for the night and we socially distanced on separate couches as my arse was like a ragged royal salute every other ten minutes, it wasn’t  funny and no I don’t do it on purpose, contrary to popular perception, a great night and then we were off to the land of nod, no wooden hill to climb, I was asleep in record time (even for me) of course I was up again at a ridiculously late time of six o’clock, which for me is late….Honest! I was washed out, my get up and go had got up and buggered off in the night, it was still dark, so no wildlife straight away, but there was plenty of bird life throughout the course of the day and a squirrel me and the wife named Sammy, a small breakfast (toast) and I got the heating on as it was a tad nippy, once the place was up to temperature it stayed warm, but first thing was just s tad nippy even for me.

I did a bit of a tidy up not that it needed it, and then broke out the MP 3 player (before it died about 12 songs in (grrr) the rest of the day was actually me sleeping for large portions of it, not what I had intended but the wife was more than happy, so no complaints from me except it rained and rained it was a total deluge, so it was a good job that we intended to stay in all day, we lazed, nibbled on our supplies, watched some DVDs ate some more nibbles and generally chilled a great day was had by all, including Sammy, it would have been great if I hadn’t been as weak as a kitten, the squirrel could have beaten me up!

Again I was up even earlier on the Sunday, again a small breakfast a quick bath and we packed, the weekend was nearly over we just had the ride home, so we watched Sammy running himself ragged, we left just before our allotted time, another call into M&S on the way home as we had forgotten the main reason we had called in on Friday in our keenness to get away with our nibbles, my main complaint about the weekend was I could have powered the nation with all of the wind from me, believe me it was horrible. The ride home wasn’t bad the weather had come out again but again I wasn’t strong enough to complain, we got home just as the rain arrived, we again just chilled I made a late lunch I even snatched an afternoon snooze, some of you might think how bloody boring, actually it was just what we both needed.

Back to work the next morning the good vibe soon disappeared, but it was good while it lasted, I looked to see if I could book it again next year for the summer it was booked solid, damn and blast maybe we will have a look for a new place, that’s if I last that long, I had another conversation with the doctor and he has made me stop my medication (well some of it) and he is going to organise a camera and the crew, so deep joy, I’m having good days and bad thankfully they are in equal measures, I’m sure it’s something innocuous, but I am not dismissing anything till everything has been done.

The handover at work went quite smoothly, it’s not the job that’s wearing me out, it’s me I need to perk myself up, I don’t want the new company thinking I’m some kind of Leper, and there you have the blog, not a historical one, not one where I have been whinging (well not much) and although we didn’t really social interact with anybody we got out and did something different! With this blog we are into single figures before the change, the next one will be a little late simply because of my shift pattern (something I could whinge about …. but I won’t for once) so watch the skies for incoming , remember to stay safe and until the next one …..Toodles!

Passing Strangers

I have went off down another rabbit hole, what with all the social distancing and Co Vid rules, my head has been battered with the changing of rules almost on a daily basis, I work in area with a lot of public walking through on a daily basis, but just because my head has been battered doesn’t mean to say that I can’t have a thought that takes me off on a different tangent, nothing to do with Co Vid, but all to do with my own personal social distancing!

It’s true that we are all born alone we also die alone, I can remember when I first heard that, and it has stuck with me all of my life, I do have friends but I kind struggle to be friendly at times, I’m not totally user friendly, I am a lot better than I used to be, a certain lady (and she is a lady) used to go out of her way to make sure that I was included, not that I ever wasn’t, but I have a tendency to hang out there on the perimeter, it’s easier, I don’t have to make decisions, but I have been universally accepted by a wonderful group of people (you all know you are) I can just go with the flow, I have always had a close group of friends or so I thought, but in all honesty it’s the people who I been friends with over the last thirty years that are nearest  and dearest!

I had a small group of friends at school in Gimpsville, with a couple of local friends who I didn’t go to school with, but I would say that they were friends, of course you leave school and then the group shrinks, not because you don’t like them or they don’t like you (I surely hope not) and then you have a really close group, then you move out of Gimpsville and move back, you still keep those friends but it’s not like now when everyone has a mobile phone, its took effort, jaunts back and forth, making the effort to keep to the arrangements worked out, but looking back I realised that it was me doing all of the running, it didn’t get returned to the same degree, that’s fine these are your oldest friends, you move away again and then it gets really strung out, I get it people have lives and things happen it’s not like I didn’t try, I don’t feel guilty I know I did my best!

Then over the years I made new friends, friends who took me for who I am, not what I could do for them, they took me at face value, most of them were a couple of years younger than me but we loved music, going out having a great time and I was welcomed with open arms, to my knowledge I never pissed off anybody and never had a major falling out, I made a lot of new friends with my wife’s friends and the same thing happened they took me in with open arms is this how life is supposed to happen, I never knew!

What happened to my old friends, well I eventually moved back to Gimpsville and with the exception of one of my friends (to be honest my original best friend) I have had next to no contact with any of them if I bump in to them in the street we exchange pleasantries but that’s it, at least one has died, and again I get it I moved away, although I did come back often, were the rest of them really my friends or were we simply passing strangers, with similar likes, in this modern technological age I don’t even have a mobile for them, a couple reached out on Farcebook but other than that initial outreach, nothing! its makes me sad, sad for those long gone days of drinking and chasing around town in cars and on motorbikes, music and girls being the order of the day, I’m not expecting those days to be relived I just thought that we would have a better relationship than we do.

What started me off on this particular rabbit hole, I was stood at my front door trying to get a decent signal on  my works phone (Apple pfft) when I saw said best friend walk past and he didn’t even give the house even a cursory glance, he’s been inside these doors, if I go past someone’s house that I know I always look so that if necessary I can give them a wave to acknowledge them as being part of my life, even if just a little part no matter how long ago, damn I’m starting to sound like a hippy, but in many ways I wish I had never returned to my hometown, I could at least live with the good times that we had all  those years ago, are we still friends yes I would say that we are, but after all these years when they know where I am, I simply don’t wish to offer the hand of friendship for it to be ignored just because they have moved on.

My new friends, well we have hardly seen anybody this year simply because of Co Vid, the last few years have been hard simply because of my wife’s previous employer making it hard for her to have a social life, again because of the weird short shifts, hopefully when all of this craziness is over that will improve, we can but hope! I don’t want anybody to think that this is a “oh woe is me type of blog” I simply have a fractured understanding of family and friendship, that’s my bad, life is as good as it can be, a true lady taught me that (when she is reading this she will be wanting to stab me, see I do miss you and the welder) take life with two hands and shake out of it what you can, I intend to keep doing that, I intend when we go drinking in the town and catching up with them to laugh, cry, joke, talk music and generally do what friends do, damn I miss it a lot who knew I would get attached to people, I blame the wife as she could make friends in an empty room!

So where am I at in life, I would say mid-stream (that doesn’t sound very good I know) and as always simply trying to go with the flow, this current fiasco will be over at some point, and we can resume some semblance of life, I’m sure that’s what we all want, if you are a new friend (30 years and counting) I miss you all and yes I intend to bore the pants of you soon enough, if you are an old friend (50 years or more) come and say hello be it on Farcebook or in the real world I don’t bite (well not anymore) life is too short to worry about any of this, I’m a friend for life, if I was a friend at school I’m still a friend now, I’m not after anything than to know that you are all alright!

So, there you go on this crazy countdown towards 500 continues, I’m getting all of my inner hippy out now so it doesn’t impact on the new version of the blog, I want it to have just a little bite! So, watch the skies for incoming there will be another one just around the corner, until then keep spreading the word, like share do what you do because the numbers have been good, until the next time………...Toodles!

Box in my Head.

So once again I’m late again, simply because I disappeared down rabbit holes, (me with my reputation) sorting ideas and trying to formulate a winning formula, so I gave my head a shake, and simply did what I do best, simply write what I do best, from the heart!

My head feels as though its full of boxes, with stuff carefully stacked  inside, although at times it feels like its simply overflowing, if you have seen the dodgy Stephen king adaptation of Dreamcatcher, it works as a book, but is spoilt as a film although the scene where one of the characters is trying to protect his memories from the (surprise) alien monster! Well that’s what my head is like (isn’t it Jonesy?) and that’s just in my waking moments!

I have been having surreal cinemascope technicolour dreams, something I haven’t had in a number of years, from the age of 17 through to the age of 53 I simply relived the bloody incident that happened when I was in the army, it haunted me, same six minutes over and over again waking and asleep all day every day, no wonder at times I was a headcase, then I did a CBT course (please see the older blogs) then all of a sudden something clicked, the course did what it was supposed to, it actually helped, no  I wasn’t fixed 100% but I am better so much better, don’t believe me ask the wife, but then it was like the dam broke and I started having really vivid dreams and usually with people who I know, in settings that are familiar but slightly off!

Now don’t panic there is nothing overtly sexual in anyway, they are always slightly twin peaks kind of style, some of these people are people who I haven’t seen in over 25 years, sometimes simply weird and slightly psychedelic, I mean last night I shot someone because there was three of us and we only had a two set sports car (and I really like the person who I shot damn I was mortified) and when I tried to get rid of the body it simply turned into a farce of carry on proportions, what the hell was  that all about, and then my old boss who I haven’t seen in over seven years was telling where I was going wrong and how he would do it. Then I went back to work and everybody knew I had killed someone, but they carried on as if it was something that I did in a regular sort of way am I my works Dexter?

What freaks me out is that they are so real that they are with me when I wake up, then its like someone pulls the plug like a bath it fades away down a plug hole and I simply can’t remember a damn thing, I only remember my dream from last night because I wrote it down as soon as I awoke this  morning. I panic that I have the start of Alzheimer’s simply because they fade so quickly, now I know that dreams are supposed to do that but sometimes its freaky.

Is it because I am not used to dreaming, maybe I need a dream doctor, I mean I sleep fine these days (that’s if 5 hours a night is fine) sometimes they are exhausting, like running a marathon and never getting to the finish line, I mean it’s there I just never get any closer to getting over the damn thing,  no I don’t want to go back to what I had before, but I simply awake confused and sometimes ever so dazed! Its no good for a man of my age, god I feel old.

A short and slightly weird one this time around, but I felt inclined to get it out there, and maybe the one I had planned will be up next, I am off this week with hopefully a trip away  at the end of it, I need a break, work has got me literally on my knees I am mentally and physically shattered, it’s a long time since I have felt like this, so there’s the blog, enjoy the week and watch the skies for incoming, you never know I might get the urge to write again and again and well you get the picture so until the next time you know what I am going to say, take care and stay alive but until then………………Toodles!  

A Day Late and a Dollar Short.

After the explosion of writing that I did for the previous three blogs I knew it was going to be a difficult follow up and it kind of has been, every time I have been going to knuckle down and do some writing other things crept in, work, work and then more work, oh and the odd diabetic coma, that kind of helps, let’s just say that things have been just a tad hectic. That’s not to say that I didn’t have thoughts on a new blog to be honest I simply haven’t had the time to let it stew, so to speak!

The last three blogs did good to respectable numbers and comments were on the pleasant side, apart from the odd grumble about the name of the game blog, I can’t please everyone can I, some whinge when they don’t get the name game and some whinge because they think that name game shouldn’t need to be explained, get a life its meant to be fun and not taken seriously, just because I’m sad enough to use song titles 95% of the time (like today) doesn’t mean anybody needs to guess it right, I mean the last one and this one are I think just a tad obscure, and nobody got the last one at all, so boo hoo!

I had a few concerned messages about the coming changes for the blog, peeps who have come to it late in the day, but are enjoying it, yes I’m sorry its going to change it has to change for the sake of my sanity, I need to bring some structure to the blog and to give myself some kind of timed structure rather than just blather on and on like I seem to be doing here, you never know you might like the changes I have planned, then again you might not, but as I have said in previous blogs I write these for me, the fact someone takes the time to read is simply a bonus as far as I am concerned.

I have also been asked if there is going to be anymore “Now Hear This” (forever known now as NHT blogs) blogs, yes there will be one more and yes if you have questions send them in, now is the time as I compile them, I do have a list although not exactly complete, some are simply repeats from previous NHT blogs or a simple variation, I’m less inclined to use them, it depends on the quality of the questions sent in,  but to answer the question there will be one more, blog number 499 if everything goes to plan, and we all know that that rarely happens, and please stop asking questions about the “girls” blog all the info that I am willing to discuss is in there, I have no intention of going over that blog ever again, I did it, I finished it, I posted it, I even answered queries about it, move along there  is nothing else to see!

I have some free days coming along and I feel the need to try and set out the blogs to come, I kind of know what the last two or three will be, but I feel that I need to have some kind of structure going forward so I don’t get distracted, (oh look a butterfly) so after today I intend to comb through all of my books and notes to see that I have not left any stone unturned, I want to make sure all the good ones (LOL) have indeed been written and posted, the new format will be vastly different with only the odd “social” blog thrown in for good measure, when and if we do  indeed regain a social life after these dark days! I’m not counting any chickens and I have everything crossed, let’s hope shall we.

Music has also been consuming me, but not as much as  I would like, time seems to slip away a lot quicker the older you get, and believe me I’m getting old, or is it just my body’s way saying that its going to fuck me up, it sure seems that way to me! Musically it’s been mainly new stuff (the new Fish album all three versions of it) the new BOC album and lots more, I got complete discographies of The Sweet and Budgie including live albums and compilations, so there’s a lot to go through not including the 16 gigabytes of MP3’s  I received of new various artists yesterday, I shall be a very busy boy in the coming weeks.

My health has not gotten any better, well it kind of does but then something else happens, it’s definitely my body’s way of saying sit down old man, I have had niggles since the beginning of  the year I can’t think of a day when I have felt 100% ok, there is always something underneath the veil of happiness that I try to project (sometimes badly) at the moment I have a couple of RS Injuries, my knees have been taking a beating, my belching and farting has quite literally come down to a dull roar, and I have an appointment with the quacks in a fortnights time, where it will be just about gone, he will say that’s it and say he is happy and I know that it will come back with a vengeance at some point (I went year a between episodes this time and its not nice) lets see what hideous test he has for me next, it has had me worn down, I really would like to get to the bottom of it.

My weight which is the crux of my many issues seems to have ground to a halt, my eating habits are nowhere near as bad as they have been, but there have still been random moments of binge eating strange combinations, thankfully I do seem to have a good team at work and in my family that can and do help me, they may not know it at the time but they are invaluable in pointing me in the right direction, I still have some blips along the road, life at the moment is so full of the unknown that’s its only natural that they happen, it’s how I negotiate around them and come through the other side as unscathed as possible, friends and family do indeed help!

SO, I feel as though I have done my bit, this blog may be a day late, but hopefully I hope somebody got some semblance of help from it (apart from me) I know a lot of you are going through strange and difficult times, lets not let this get us down, lets put one step in front of the other and get down the path in a strong and positive groove, and there you go another step to the final destination and yes simply to get you lot to stop asking I didn’t have a title for blog number 500, but I do now and I think some of you will get a chuckle from it, the next blog I promise will be on time and should be a historical (as opposed to a hysterical one) some of you have asked for blogs about certain bands, if I had any connection and for most of them I do, but I don’t feel as though not strong enough to do it justice in the form of a blog, there is one or two that may be interesting however it will depend on my mood on the day, sometimes they go down a rabbit hole and not all of them can be pleasant, bear with me and let’s see what transpires, they will definitely go into the mix for the final dozen or so blogs, once they pop up you might be happy, you might not be, there are some bands I feel like I have written enough on, some that I had indeed forgotten all about, lets see where the road leads us to?

So, watch the skies for incoming we are heading down the downward spiral (can I fit anymore song titles into one blog) the slippery slope towards blog number 500, the name game is In play lets see who gets this one, please stay safe and stay alive, you are here but once, don’t go out like a sputtering candle make sure that you go out like a rocket blazing across the stars, until the next time……………Toodles!

Moving on

So many of want to know the plans for the blog, because I keep saying  that its going to change and change it must, I am expecting a massive drop off from peeps who are reading now, but I do know some hardcore readers will indeed be still here as I kind of get a vibe as to why you are here.

Numbers have been great with a slight upward trend, not sure why, maybe I have simply hit my stride, I’m not sure but the upsurge is not enough for me to alter course and carry on, I do not wish for the blog to become stale, believe me after 485 of them it really is time to try something new, I have dabbled  on and off earlier in the blog, but after number 500 it will be become a permeant fixture!

Now no I am not giving up, it’s simply that the format is going to change, nothing dramatic, I intend to still be here however I intend to go to a monthly blog rather a weekly one and it will be something of a pure musical bent, there will the occasional detour, but rarely as I do wish to build the blog into something a little more “serious” please don’t panic at that word, it will all be revealed in due course and a collective sigh of relief will heard around the world.

By changing tack I’m hoping that this will refresh my writing and hopefully it might get people a little more invested, trust me I am working at full speed ahead for the changes, these things don’t just happen overnight I am practising what I need to do and yes some will be rejected, the reason why the blog is going monthly because it will take roughly a month to do all of the leg work, again  its for my sanity that I do this, and I for one am looking forward to the change.

The blog originally started off with being a ranty old man, then moved onto a social commentary type of thing but with the social life having dried up (remember those) there was little to mock, I mean write about, so I then went off on a voyage of discovery, I mean I waffled a lot, its time to come back into focus and do something that’s not simply frivolous, I do  not wish to become a one trick pony, I wish to add strings to my writing bow (as always the original planning of writing original stories is there, but I don’t have an editor, so I have thrown the anchors on that for a while, although as always I am compiling nuggets for a later date) this is simply just another step (hopefully) in the right direction.

To be honest I don’t want people to think that all I will do is whinge, I need a change and the fact that I have made a determined point in the distance, is simply the best for everybody, so what are the changes,  well I believe I have told you even though it is simply broad strokes (as always read between the bloody lines, lets see who is clever enough to work it out) if you can’t work it out well you only have around 16 weeks to wait, I  know the suspense…………isn’t there!

So the third blog in a week all neatly typed and hot to trot over the course of three days, but will be posted over about 10 days these won’t do as much as the last ones simply because I intend to post them quite quickly they may bleed into the numbers of the coming months, we shall see (intruder has had 93 readings in the last 10 weeks so there’s hope for some of the others) this is not the shortest blog by any stretch of the imagination, but it is the shortest in the last few weeks.

Now that’s the end of that one I need to see what spinning plate to select next, we are now  in the final stretch so to speak and I only want to pick the best ideas so that this portion of the blog ends with a bang and not a whimper, so watch the skies for incoming, please stay safe and stay alive, there will be more news leaching through in the coming weeks but until then………..Toodles!

And yes the name game is in play!

The Name of The Game.

I have long been a tad naughty and the bulk of the blogs have usually been named after a song that has been in my head in the days running up to publishing a blog occasionally it may be an album title or some nonsense that has popped up  in this scattered brain of mine, who knows?, I always do like to start with a title in mind, it usually sets the tone of the blog. This one sprang to mind as I typed this up as the radio was playing, as I was simply going to call this blog “Greatest Hits” I know I’m not now, but I was struggling to come up with something for this one, it’s rare that the blog comes before I have a working title, I can change it, but like I say it’s usually music that opens a can of worms,  problem solved, now on with the drivel!

So I’m only going to do the last twenty titles simply as I am aware I could bore for England on this subject matter, I had a couple of peeps ask why these particular titles and to be honest I have no idea and not everybody plays the name game anymore, me flogging a dead horse (see there’s an album title) you can bet your bottom I will, it amuses me and it’s really nice to see how many people are actually interested, not that many these days, so why the blog, well simply because I can!

Worry – I was concerned that people might think that the blog was going to be negative, it wasn’t, well not that much but I had been playing Tons of Sobs by Free while I was doing my legwork for the blog and that song stuck with me.

And the Bands Played On – Saxon, you cannot beat a bit of Saxon, and I was watching a documentary on Donnington Monsters of Rock, I honestly thought more people would get this one but just one person actually named it correctly!

Wasted – Def Leppard, I had just bought their debut album after not hearing it for years, it was in my local shop for £1.99 and so I thought why not, I liked it when it came out but I always thought it lightweight in production, this is a remastered version and damn its good.

He Know You Know – was not the original title but when I checked I had already used the one I wanted to use, so I went and played some Marillion to see what best suited the blog and this was the one.

Run for Cover – My love of Gary Moore has been reignited simply as I got a couple of his earlier albums on CD, Back on the Streets and Corridors of Power, I simply had to write about him, funnily enough the title had the best response in months with over twenty people guessing correctly.

Choices – An old Uriah Heep song from Innocent Victim not an album that many people like, but I love it, a kind of a guilty pleasure.

A Plague of Ghosts – You will realise  that  there are a lot of Fish related titles, he is my go to artist whatever kind of mood I am in and I kind of have a guilty pleasure for this song, the song may not be directly linked to the blog, sometimes they are, but I have a tendency to simply go with the flow.

Last Man Standing – Willie Nelson, I know I couldn’t believe it either, again I was in a place at work and someone had a dodgy radio station on, and I wasn’t a well person and someone commented that it was a song about me, I wasn’t a well bunny at the time, but it did seem kind of right.

Sunlight Seen Through Towering Trees – David Sylvian, this one was the one that got no attempts but lots of abuse, well kind of, people thought I had lost my mind, what can I say, I do like the bulk of his songs, well the ones at least structured like a song, open your mind, google it find the album it comes from and simply enjoy!

When The Walls Come Tumbling Down – We are back to Def Leppard for no other reason than I had this song in my head (part of the reason why I bought the album a few weeks later at such a super low price) I hadn’t heard the bloody thing in over 30 years and then it just popped into my head and I couldn’t shake it, my internal juke box is shot.

Unbreakable – FM, just a great song and it was on repeat at the time of writing the blog!

Too Many People – Vardis, yes I know who the hell remembers them, I saw them as a support a couple of times and my brother bought this single (somebody recently gave me the complete discography on MP3……WHY?) and this is their only really memorable toe tapper, again I hadn’t heard it ages and the chorus simply wouldn’t be moved from my brain.

It’s Late – Queen, possibly the best song from News of the World, damn its good, and it’s an album I was playing an awful lot at the time of writing the blog I don’t even remember what the blog was about (maybe I should go back and check) it’s just a damn good song.

Calling all the Heroes – It Bites, damn this is a mighty fine song not even their best but the only one to kick its way into the top 40, it certainly perks you up on a morning again, highly recommended.

Mood for a Day – Yes, I do like a bit of prog when I am writing, it simply can’t be beaten it takes you to another world and helps cleanse all the crap from your brain as you write, well it does for me, even if this is simply a jaunty little instrumental.

Waiting for Tomorrow – The (mighty) Rods, just what you need to clear the cobwebs, it’s a jolly good romp maybe not the best music to write to but it does lift you up.

Misplaced Childhood – Marillion not a song but an album, its where my head was and had been as you will notice over the next couple of titles.

Escape from Childhood – Fish this time, although some of the music is the same, an album, a live set that got quite a bit of play at the time, its where I was at the time, what can I say I’m a fan.

Return to Childhood – Fish once more with yet another live album sometimes I do need some of his vibe!

Internal Exile – Fish, why simply because I was thinking that I was going to declare my independence from the United Kingdom and become the sovereign state of Gimpsville, well ok so I was simply playing the album at the time of writing LOL.

So there you go an explanation as to what the songs were , like I say not many do the name game anymore, the main reason why I do use song titles is that I’m trying to get you lot to see what song I was playing (usually on repeat) at the time of scribbling, don’t forget I scribble (my Notes) then I write and then rewrite and usually type and then recheck to see what I have missed or misspelled , honestly there is some preparation done for these blogs, I  might do one in twenty off the cuff but usually I follow my preferred method.

So onwards the next one is about to go to the typing stage (it’s definitely complete) it’s all I can do to stop writing, my head is awash with some (allegedly) good fun stuff long may it run, although there  is only around 16 blogs left before I change direction, let’s keep that until the next blog, so until the next time keep watching the skies for incoming, do what you can to stay safe and stay alive, but until then ………Toodles!

Cliché

 I’ve got a reputation of being a man with a gift of words,

A romantic poetic type or so they say!

Its been brought to my attention that it is indeed me and the wife’s silver wedding anniversary this week, so I feel the need to score points for the occasion and to shout it from the rooftops, I don’t really, I don’t need to as I am a loving husband or so they say!

We met nearly thirty years ago through a mutual friend, however I’m convinced that there had been several casual meetings in the past, primarily at a Twisted Sister concert where I might have spoken to her and a friend and at a Judas Priest concert when I didn’t speak to her but I noticed her the same at the same time as KK Downing did, enough said (the best man won……me), I won’t bore anyone with the details but in the back of my mind I was aware of her.

I often call her lovingly a Pyscho Bitch From Hell ( I’ve got a reputation of being a man with a gift of words) but she is my Pyscho Bitch From Hell, so don’t say I didn’t warn you, the wife has suffered with ill health for far longer than me (so I know I’m not the cause) and is a much better patient than I am, but we are our own life support team, I couldn’t manage without her, a fact that I tell her as often I can, she tends to agree, I’m hoping that she feels the same way about me, not that I am just a nuisance, as I have said in previous blogs I was a basket case when I met her, I was allegedly a functioning basket case but a basket case all the same.

Slowly but surely she has put me in the right direction, and although there have been the odd speed bump along the way, what us with our reputation, we are in a good place (at the moment) and we have a mutual support system that seems to work, of course it could always be better, but hey ho you make it what it is, life has been worse than this and at some point it will be bad again but we will always come out of the other side without issue.

I often joke that if I had been a great train robber I would have been out of prison by now, 30 years together and 25 years married, the time has flown over and the only complaint I really have is, is  that over the passage of time I got fat, yes I am blaming her, as I wasn’t fat when I was alone, she is still the same angry person (see previous paragraph) I met all those years ago and although I was just as angry in the bad old days I have mellowed(or matured I’m never sure) and I simply can’t be arsed anymore, she is angry with Traffic, with Parking, with it being a Tuesday or simply the fact that she is angry! I’m not saying that I can’t have my moments, I know I can, thankfully they are few and far between these days and in all honesty I have turned into something of an empty vessel, if truth be told I’m down to a dull roar and she is still at full blast!

As always, we sail onwards (navigator need a navigator) we have many cunning plans, they very rarely come to fruition that doesn’t mean that we can’t plot and scheme and keep trying, one day we will take over the world, I mean be a little more successful than we are at the moment, lets take each day as it comes and soon enough it will be another 25 years! The journey isn’t over, not yet anyway, I’m sure she will tell me when she has won the lottery and tells me to jog on, here’s fingers crossed for better days ahead.

I’ve got a reputation of being a man with a gift of words,

A romantic poetic type or so they say!

So, a short little blog simply to say thank you to the wife (yes there will flowers bought for her) that comes as a given, as we march towards cunning plan number 6739007, thank you thank you thank you!

Or the easiest way is…………………. Cliché

So here is the first blog of three that have all been nearly written back to back, the next one is a response to a question from Nils and Suki who asked the same question, wait and see, I don’t wish to spoil the surprise and then the one after that is simply me letting you know potentially what is happening in the blogs until the end of the year, don’t say I don’t give you plenty of notice.

So, watch the skies for incoming, unless something gets in the way, another one will be here at the weekend, so stay alive and stay safe but until then…………………………. Toodles!

And yes, the name bloody game is in play.

Worry,

I have been playing the (title of the blog) song for the last couple of days, it’s like me its old but damn good! At least I thought I was, my health although getting better with wind issues from all points of the compass, has been decidedly yuk for the last couple of weeks and although by nature I can come across as a tad grumpy, I as a rule do not worry, believe it or not I do try to be a happy camper, but the seeds of doubt have now been sown.

Blood test upon blood test and with very little information being fed back, other than its abnormal (again me with my reputation) it has kind of set the ball rolling, I have an ultrasound in the coming week, and then other bits and pieces to be decided and then confirmed and then yet another blood test on October 1^st , this time though I want my results back from an actual doctor, not the polish receptionist, who I must stress is lovely but on a telephone her accent is very strong, at first I thought she was Chinese I’m all for diversity, but something as important as this, please keep her off the phone, she is great face to face but yeah as I said worry has started to grow legs and kick me!

I’m at an age that we call in my family the death zone, we have done a little bit of family research over the years (Ok the wife has) and most of the males in my family as far as we can go back, die between the age of 55 and 62, with the exception of my uncle (my namesake) who is a sprightly 77, I hope I take after him, because I am now over the threshold, I used to laugh about it, I don’t feel so glib at the moment, this year has been so crap with little niggles catching up with me and again doubt creeps in, like quicksand it takes a hold and its not so easy to shake off, if I’m overthinking it well that only makes me human, who knew I was the same as everybody else.

I am fighting the good fight, I am trying (I’m not sure how well) to stay  as positive as I can as I believe positivity is the key, again  I know, me with my reputation what can I say, it would appear that I am starting to mature (I’m not sure that I like it) I suppose I have to, otherwise I will simply surrender to the fear of something that I know nothing about, this could be something really simple but then again it could be the start of something far more sinister than I care to think about, I have lost a couple of close friends with the thought that “oh it’s nothing” then it turned out to be so damn nasty and it was too late to escape from its evil clutches!

As always I am going with the assumption that worse things happen at sea, but I want to batten down the hatches so that the sea doesn’t get in, water has a tendency to sink things, I definitely do not wish to sink, so that’s all I have to say on the matter, (it didn’t take long for boating analogy’s to creep back in, I’m using the power of positive thinking and trying to go in the right direction, I’m not saying its going to be good every day but yeah I want to do the right things for me and my family simply because I want to be around for as long as my namesake, the blog name could just as easily been any number of titles, maybe with a tad more positivity, but this is the song I have played to death over the last couple of days, please don’t “worry” for me .

Music thankfully has saved the day with a good fresh supply being delivered via MP3’s as well as vinyl (yes vinyl) and new CD’s, I’m in the final countdown phase for the release of the new Fish album (September 25^th) in a way I’m glad  that its his final release as I have ordered it in three different versions, standard CD, Deluxe edition including a DVD and an accompanying book and last but not least the Vinyl double album, which more than likely I won’t even play, I don’t spoil myself often, but for once I thought “hell yeah I’m having some of that” I’m only here once allegedly.

The last blog is still going, this is being written Thursday and is unlikely to be posted before Saturday  (so yes I will whittle away over those two days) as the last one still has legs and getting around 60 hits a day, nearly a week after it was posted, so again I must have done something right, so watch out on Saturday, that’s if I can actually get online, the lap top is like me old and infirm, but also like me it keeps plodding on so hopefully it has another couple of years to go, although whisper it quietly I have started looking for a newer model, I don’t want to have to deal with an older jealous model, you know what they get like as they get older and temperamental, honest I am talking about the lap top……..Tee Hee!

Me and the good lady reach our silver wedding anniversary later in the coming week I had been planning a nice little evening out just for the two of us, but with what is going on out in the big bad world she has decided against it, I will still try and make her day a little better (by going to work) I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for her I most definitely would not be here, not on the internet or even on this little world we call earth I was in a bad place mentally when I met her, next year we will have been together for 30 years, she definitely deserves a medal or something, I suppose she will simply have to put up with me for her sins.

The name game is still in play and will run until blog number 500, this is an old song, lets see how many get this, only one of you have managed to get the last one and dammit I thought that was a piece of piss! The numbers trying to guess the name game has subsided in the last 20 or so blogs, not sure why, I think I have done only one hard one and Suki from Japan got that in under 10 minutes, it does appear to be the same peeps trying their luck and it doesn’t look like they are googling it, I could be wrong but honestly I couldn’t make it any easier, actually the more I thing about it, this one may be a tad harder than normal!

So there you go that’s yet another blog done and dusted, nothing that I wanted anybody to worry about me (I can do that all by myself thank you) life is shit, but you really do need to simply  get on with it, I have an idea geminating (quite literally as I type this one) for the next blog and I have another one word (song) title for it so yes there will be incoming and yes it will be historical (slightly) yes it will be happy, so watch the skies for incoming, thank you for all the kind words reference the last blog, it was so easy to write once the juices got flowing, I’m alive and well (at least I think I am) so stay safe and stay alive and until the next time…………………..Toodles!