We have no bread. The loaf has been consumed. The last slice was surgically removed this morning and toasted along with the crust. Its purpose was served. A short, fulfilled life devoted to keeping hunger at bay. Nourishment its finest purpose and measure of its success. Now gone it has left a void…
March 16, 2019
March 12, 2019
words spill slowly
Surrounded by books I drown in words.
I picture myself, alone, writing by the light of a single candle. Words spill slowly onto the page, my mind adjusting its flow to the tempo of the pen. These words seem more considered than anything that spits out at the speed of hands at a keyboard. Dancing fingers outpace thought.
Outside in the darkness a threatening wind beats invisible fists against the window. My candle flickers, a retreat into an obscure past. I am buried in the page, sucked in by words randomly thrown down. How they get there is my story.
One hundred books are removed. Ten million once read words unwanted. Ten million flourishes unemotionally scattered into the night. The candle dies but a new dawn arrives.
March 10, 2019
The movement of a foot
Discuss
The movement of a foot
A hand in bush
Cast of the dice
Rolling coverage – all the days
Bread roll
Dish of the day
Plates of the meat
Continental drift
Antipasti antidote anticoagulant
Uncle sock
Blood brother arms
Those who can do nose
Face of adversity
On the brow of the hill the foolish people play
In the wind beaten garden
In the wind beaten garden, birds hide, branches fall and words scatter. Collars pulled tight on bent head daffodils.
Then the rain; incessant bird bath fill, deafening inside the conservatory.
Later skies lighten, snow is promised. Wind drops and peace descends.
March 8, 2019
Homeward bound I am
Homeward bound I am, fleeing city madness and the battle against the office worker tide
Homeward bound I am, to recover from an opulent week of self indulgent excess
Homeward bound I am, to a smile and a kiss and a nice cup of tea
Homeward bound I am,
Homeward bound I am.
March 3, 2019
Sunday morning 3rd March
Espresso on, coffee pot noises
Half a grapefruit, livener
ClassiF cM
Moment of reflection, shiver through shoulders
Anne’s thought for the day: Hannah looks like Anti Ann apparently
Just had my jobs list read out to me. It’s the longest one in some time
- Order skip (and presumably fill it)
- Plant seeds
- Repair sideboard door (the one in the conservatory)
- Repair fence post (I reversed the car into it and it cracked in half!)
- Sort out downstairs loo – needs a professional
- Stick back missing time in utility room
- new light bulbs in kitchen and conservatory
- Fix radiator cover
This is not one that will get done quickly. My most immediate job is is to decide on what to have for breakfast. There are options although I used up all the mushrooms in the steak pie last night.
Ingredients to hand:
- Wholemeal bread
- Bacon medallions
- Skinny sausages (low Syn)
- Eggs
- beans , baked, one of someone else’s 57 varieties
- Potah toes
- Tinned tomatoes, whole
- The other half of the grapefruit
- Potentially some smoked salmon though I haven’t checked
- One green chilli
- One green pepper
There is no rush to decide. Classic FM really is relaxing me. Fair play. I wonder if today is all about lists? There already seems to be a trend. Eleven breakfast items seems a lot. This needs careful consideration. Note no baked beans but I could add spam fritters to the list as I just came across a tin of spam whilst checking the cupboard for beans. Ain’t going to happen this morning though. I wouldn’t eat a whole tin and it is particularly incompatible with Slimming World.
Starting to feel the odd hunger pang. Juices moving. Wonder how long I could go before needing to decide. Am thinking poached eggs on toast with chillies, a bit of bacon on the side and some fried potatoes. There. Done it. Now you know.
Storm Freya is a coming.
prenderti in un po ‘di amici. Devo andare via per accendere la stufa
March 1, 2019
clamour for glamour
the clamour for glamour, l’amour, more armour the full silk jacket
weaving taxi driver tipped, out of contract, vanished into thin Catalan air
departure lounging littered with the debris of prior passengers. bored cleaner picks one small piece of paper and selectively brushes floor.
front row easy jet living jet relaxed jet squeezed in jet cramped jet warm jet sufferajet
any cosmetics, perfumes cigarette jet
grey jacket plane full fluorescent green beats in daft ears
trying to make some sense of it all
February 10, 2019
Yarborough Reception
Yarborough Leisure Centre Reception
Wet day miserable
Raining out bare headed people come and go
60ish man in red shirt and black nylon quilted sleeveless jacket
Dark haired girl in glasses walks away, large black bag flopped low over shoulder
Overweight ladies en route to gym, buff coloured sweater and blue parka with pink leggings
Yellow hi viz jacket walks away, grey hair head bowed
Blue grey singlet and two striped shorts heads to gym with water bottle
Woman makes phone call about dog grooming in Nettleham, bloke waits patiently
Gossipping foursome fresh from the pool
Hard core body pumpers, arrive
Silver Ford Fiesta, or simlar
Two bikes chained up, one with blue carrier bag over saddle
Fat bloke buys crap coffee from vending machine
Woman in early forties with dark, wet straggly hair and pink bag for life
Gossipping women, still here, have just stood up
Tracksuited lifeguards leave at end of shift
Man with plastic pot on right foot with crutches
Dog grooming girl now comparing notes on phones with bloke
Radio 1 now noticed, I must go
Rain has stopped
Man stands in middle of car park staring at phone
Is there hope?
February 3, 2019
Classical Coffee at the Blue Room
February 2, 2019
The forager
“One who searches widely over an area in order to obtain something, especially food or provisions.”
This morning I went foraging.
The method:
Settle on a menu for tomorrow’s dinner. Check out what you have in the fridge/cupboard and make note of missing ingredients.
Express your intention is to forage for the requisite foodstuffs. Head to Waitrose with hessian bag.
Patrol aisles occasionally picking up produce and placing in bag. Fill bag.
Exchange money for goods and take home free coffee for life partner.
Footnote
This will typically work for any menu, exotica aside. The ingredients have to be available in quality supermarkets near you. There are alternative versions involving multiple sources and locations but I am not covering those scenarios in this post. Stick with mainstream cuisines and you will be safe.
Enjoy foraging…
2 slices of ham please
I was idly patrolling the aisles of Waitrose, as you do, when I strolled up to the deli counter. I had nothing in mind. I didn’t need anything. My bag was already full with the essential ingredients for tomorrow’s dinner and really it was now down to any impulse purchase I might make before leaving the store.
In front of me at the counter were a retired old couple staring at the various delicacies on offer and just as I arrived they said to each other. “We’ll go for that then”. The wife looked up at the woman behind the counter and said to her “two slices of ham please”.
Wow I thought. This a couple whose life is ordered. Two slices. One each. Will I be like that when I get to their age? I can’t imagine it but who knows? I am happy right now just catching the wave and ordering ham by the wodge (holds up finger and thumb).
January 31, 2019
The Perfect Winter’s Day
Inside the fire emits a warm glow. Flames probe the log placed on top of the coals. The time for sacrifice has come. The log must die.
Through the leaded glass window a dusting of frost is seen on the naked branches outside. Below zero. The water in the birdbath has frozen solid. The only place to be is in the nest. My front room.
A winter rose appears. Out of nowhere but it must have been there a while. Pink and yellow dusted in the same white frost. It’s a miracle.
Light gradually fails and gloom mutates into darkness. I look up, hearing only the fire. The front door opens.
Activity returns to the house. The sound of pots and pans and cupboard doors. An occasional happy whistle.
We are comfortable in our nest. Curtains closed on the rest of the world, the radio company for Anne in the kitchen.
Hot food appears on the table, conversation resumes, contentment continues…
I get a kick
I get a kick out of you, saxophone. Strains of saxophony coming through the wall from the next room. TV on without the sound. Lying back on the settee staring at my screen. It’s a different kind of stare as I have banished the “Book” from my everyday life and am also avoiding sources of political news. There’s too much bad stuff going on so I figured I’d shut my eyes, cover my ears and shake my head whilst saying lalalalalalala can’t hear you.
Now watching football on the TV with Anne. Looks cold out there. Quite picturesque mind you. The green baize pitch dappled with snow. I’d rather be in here in the warmth having a nice cuddle.
That’s going to be a Liverpool throw in says the commentator. It already feels a little strange not looking at Facebook every other minute. I switched off for a month last year but this time it’s going to be longer. Maybe permanent, aside from some page maintenance. Anne’s Vans et al. I want my life back.
Bloke called Wilfred Indeedy playing in the game on the TV. Yes indeedy. Something like that anyway. Sounds right.
I’ve also decided to revamp my bookcase organisation. I keep running out of space in the posh walnut bookcase. Some of the books in the TV room are going to be boxed up and stored in the attic. I rarely read any of them anymore. Fiction from decades ago plus a load of large format hardbacks that we seem to have picked up over the years. Christmas presents, book shop remainders, rear admirals, that sort of thing. Many never read. I don’t like throwing books out.
A few years ago I spent a day or three sorting my books out. All the fiction arranged alphabetically by author, for what it’s worth. Not that interested now. Going to selectively withdraw some from view. I think this is the beginning of me changing my approach to books. I’m going to up the ante on purchases. I got the idea from JP Rangaswami with who I went to the cricket last summer at the Oval. He said he had 30,000 books! Collected over a lifetime. I’m late starting but it isn’t too late. I don’t want 30,000 of them but a few more won’t go amiss.
January 29, 2019
Distant February
Distant February
Today is 29th January. February remains distant, a thought that with hindsight will seem misplaced.
I lie in bed not listening to the wireless. Filtering the noise. Relegating news to the background.
Occasionally Anne mentions something she has heard and I temporarily remove the filter.
Second cup of tea appears.
January 28, 2019
May you rot in hell
May you rot in hell
Fuck you bastards
Constant media coverage gets tedious
I need to immerse myself in something that is nothing to do with brexshit