January 27, 2019
The Beach or Not The Beach
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the loss of the notes I had been making in preparation for this post. I had been spontaneously scribbling thoughts down on a piece of hotel notepaper, capturing the atmosphere and sounds of the beach as they happened.
You would have felt as if you were there, the sun on your face with the sounds of racing longtail boats a short distance away, sharing with me the joy of snorkelling alongside exotic yellow tailed fish in the warm blue waters of the Andaman Sea.
I do have plenty of inspirational photographs and videos to which I could refer. You did not need to know that my notes were lost. I feel however that this is an issue of creative integrity. I would have known and I would have known that the piece is not what it could have been. The sound of the American singer in the bar as we drank chilled bottles of Singha beer would not have felt the same.
The visions of coconuts washed ashore on the palm fringed pristine white sands will have to be left to the colourful travel brochures and exotic magazines of your dentist’s waiting room. Ditto the fresh barbecued fish, the satay skewers and the newly tapped coconut juice.
The hotel pool, long guarded by early rising tourists, was a sanctuary when the sweaty heat of the day called for a retreat. The visions of us sipping exotic cocktails in the shade of the wet bar will unfortunately have to remain firmly in the recesses of your own imagination.
I will leave you now, subdued and resigned to never writing the post. It is time to move on…
January 22, 2019
Deep frozen midwinter
Notes from the home country upon return from the Orient
We land back in UK to a feeling of a divided country in turmoil before the start of a war. The ground is appropriately frozen and inhospitable. Parliament is in a frenzy with nobody being able to agree on the best course of action. Stockpiling of food and medicines. Bunkering down. Kids being sent to stay with relatives in the country. Talk about the reserve being called up – soldiers on standby to patrol the streets? Anticipation of huge congestion at channel terminals. Lorries back up from the coast to the M25 London circular. Late nights watching events unfold on tv. Those who can secure the escape route provided by an Irish passport. Commerce flees to Europe. There is no Plan B. The world looks on in disbelief.
January 16, 2019
Brex*hit
The world in which we live is blowing up
Brexit looms
May has failed spectacularly
And my late train, with broken toilet
Continues to evacuate itself
Returning every few minutes
Behind it’s locked facade
To a cycle of self expurgation
Oblivious to all around it
Who must seek elsewhere to find relief
And yet somehow it seems
To provide a commentary
Appropriate to this moment in history
By Bob Sleigh
Kelly’s Eye Chiang Mai
palm fronds shift listlessly in the light breeze
grass grows underfoot
motionless Gardener occasionally changes direction of hosepipe
crisp white waiter moves silently between tables
occasional splash from pool reminds me that volume is on
straw hat tossed carelessly falls on floor
a flash of colour, birdsong
wake up to no change
empty tennis court
long, slow breathing
pagoda
strawberry and banana ice cream with jasmine green tea
banana leaves collect dripping condensation
Back on the oriental slow boat. Sleep is a plentiful commodity. Red flowers contrast with variegated greenery. Luxury living at a bygone pace. Tomorrow we move on to Krabi. THis is not without excitement as tropical storm Pabuk is currently battering the area.
Someone just flicked a switch. I jolt to some loud funky music. I don’t mind. It’s just different. Probably good not to be soporific all afternoon. Will give the pool a miss and perhaps take a shower before heading to the spa with Anne for a his and hers foot massage. A plane passes noisily over head. The palm fronds have stopped moving.
December 24, 2018
Christmas Eve 2018
Musings on Christmas Eve
There’s a lot of crap around in this ole world right now so I’m going to concentrate on nice things.
Sue and Dad are in Lincoln for Christmas. Staying at the Lincoln Hotel. They will be around shortly. I’ve finished all the shopping and this morning will get cracking on some of the prep by making the parmesan parsnips. Not sure whether we will need some more parmesan but that can be sorted.
The fire is lit and I’m chillin (so to speak) on the sofa next to it. What’s the difference between a sofa and a settee?
The one present I need to wrap is ready, for Hannah to do it. This is Anne’s present obviously. She wraps all the others:)
There are new lights on the tree which is looking splendid and is surrounded by a number of packages that will tomorrow morning turn into a frenzy of flying wrapping paper.
Anne is shortly off out to the Bailgate. She will be off to church later and then we will need to decide whether to pop to the Morning Star for early doors after the service. This, whilst being somewhat of a tradition is not a done deal. There have been times in recent years where the pub has been full of people we don’t know with kids running rampant. Also dad is less mobile these days so access and access to seating will be a consideration.
All is calm. Tom is doing something on his laptop in the conservatory (Tom Davies in the conservatory with the laptop #cluedo). Hannah and Joe have popped out to the shops. John is still in bed.
I have already been out to buy the last few bits of supplies we need for Christmas. Bread, turkey crown, salad. This year we are having turkey for the first time in a long time. Most of us find it bland and it has been replaced by beef as our standard Christmas Day joint. However Anne likes it so this year we are having both turkey and a sirloin of beef.
Tonight Tom is cooking us a cheese fondue ably assisted by Sue on grater. That will do for now. I may post an update later. In the meantime have a great Christmas wherever you are and I hope that Santa suitably rewards you for your goodness during the year 🙂
December 16, 2018
Sunday 16th December 2018
My plan for today
Already broken the fast with a toasted bacon and mushroom sandwich and now sat in front of the newly lit fire which is crackling as the kindling is made up mostly of pine. No match required as it self lit from last night’s embers. I will shortly get dressed and start prep for lunch. A simple roast chicken with stuffing, roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots, broccoli (yuk) and peas. The gravy will be top notch (ahem) and there will be pigs in blankets because we have the materials. Classic FM on the Sonos. Anne is off to church heavily decked out in purple. Must be a warm colour. I have to go and pick up a train ticket for John and a couple of items from the Post Office collection depot at Firth Road. Later I am headed to the Strugglers. Hey Dude are on at 5pm. A relaxed ease into the evening, home and likely an early night.
December 15, 2018
Thoughts on poetry
Just come back from Anne’s concert band Christmas Concert where the guests were expected to form a choir. I was ok with this even if it came as a bit of a surprise. We sang some ABBA medleys. I noted two things.
Firstly ABBA’s lead singers were girls who could sing higher notes than I can. Secondly as I stood there staring at the lyrics I realised how sad some of the songs were. ABBA produced some fantastic songs written in the main by the two guys in the band and I pictured in my mind the girls seeing new songs that would become huge hits for the first time and wondering what they thought of them.
This made me think of the whole subject of poetry. That’s what these songs are. Poems written to a tune (or the other way around). A couple of weeks ago Anne and I went to a “Classics with Coffee” morning at the Blue Room in the Lawns. We had a pleasant morning listening to a pianist and, separately, a poet. It struck me at the time that listening to others read out their own poetry doesn’t do it for me. I have to be able to sit there staring at the words on the page, just like I did this morning with the ABBA songs. Now this isn’t to say that I wouldn’t sit there listening to a poet I liked read out their own material but it would definitely be enhanced if I had the words there in front of me.
That is all.
December 5, 2018
Christmas is fast arriving
Christmas is arriving fast in our house. Tomorrow we decamp to London for trefbash, the ninth of its kind. The champagne has been ordered, the menu sorted and the band knows when to arrive. This year we also have a photographer lined up as it’s the only way I remember what happened and who came. Such is trefbash.
On Friday we catch the 10.30am train from London back to Lincoln where a taxi will whisk us through the thronging masses of Lincoln Christmas Market goers to drop our bags off at home and thence to the nearest point to the Wig and Mire whereupon we will be having lunch with Anne’s old university pal Gill Dowling (rod). Wine will be involved.
Saturday is our annual Christmas Market party. We have folk around, drink stuff and sing Christmas Carols. A tradition since the early 1990s. I can’t remember exactly when we had the first.
A busy long weekend ahead. But first I have 42 parcels to post!
December 4, 2018
It’s one of those hmm it’s early but I’m awake mornings and I might as well get up. The world is going crazy out there but I am focussed on my own little world and that of my friends and family. It’s a survival thing. In my capacity as an ant one day I will be stamped upon so I may as well focus on enjoying it while I am here.
Before the working day starts I am off for a morning swim and thence at some point out to get the shop in for the forthcoming weekend. I’ll be too busy to do it as we approach the weekend with the Lonap AGM and trefbash on Thursday and a boozy lunch with Anne’s friend Gill Dowling (rod) on Friday. Then on Saturday it’s the annual Christmas carol singson/party at ours which is what I need to get supplies in for. There’s also my birthday lunch on Sunday for which I am cooking so it’s a busy time ahead.
Meanwhile outside the dome Rome burns and the flames had spread across the whole planet. I’d call the fire brigade but don’t have their number. I suspect they disappeared in the cuts.
December 3, 2018
Banjo with no strings
You heard it first on philosopherontap
Banjo with no strings
Banjo ไม่มีสตริง
Banjo sans ficelle
жок саптар менен Банджо
ڪوبہ ڪونھ سان بينجو
Banjo ohne Fäden
Banjo ki pa gen strings
Banjo be strings
Banjo ບໍ່ມີສາຍ
Banjo kateak ez
কোন স্ট্রিং সঙ্গে Banjo
Banjo tsis muaj cov hlua
بینجو کوئی تار کے ساتھ نہیں
Banjo ouni Strings
Μπάντζο χωρίς χορδές
බෑන්ජෝ නොකියයි
Banjo sin cuerdas
Banjo nihil chordis
Банджа без якіх-небудзь радкоў
Banjo gan aon teaghráin
Banjo zonder verplichtingen
弦のないバンジョー
Банџо без жици
ʻO kaʻaha me nā kaula
Banjo ilman merkkijonoja
Banjo bi strûreyan
Banjo sen kordoj
Banjo bez strun
Banjo ямар ч мөргүй
twilight time
Not much light left in the day.
Systems entering night mode.
Hibernation acceptable strategy.
Conservation of energy.
December 2, 2018
useful things to know #103,658,373,856,352,418
the wifi passcode – only any use if you know which access point it is for 🙂
The December Party Prospectus
Sunday 2nd December Dogwood @ Strugglers
Thursday 6th December trefbash @ Phoenix Artist Club, London
Friday 7th December lunch with Gill Dowling (rod) @ Wig & Mitre
Sat 8th December Davies Family Christmas Market Party @ our house
Sunday 9th December Tref’s birthday lunch @ our house
Tuesday 11th December Wright Vigar Christmas drinks bash @ Cathedral Chapter House
Wednesday 12th December Stay @ Birmingham Airport (8am flight next day)
Thursday 13th December INEX meeting & Xmas bash, Dublin
Friday 14th December pub early doors with book posse
Saturday 15th December Brittains Christmas Party (always great nosh)
Sunday 16th December Hey Dude @ Strugglers
Wednesday 19th December Carols @ Morning Star
Thursday 20th December Capacity Yorkshire, York
Friday 21st December Lincoln Independent Traders Christmas bash @ Struggs & Chinese @ Newport Arch with drop in to the Sadler’s party en route
Sat 22nd December Davies Family Christmas get together Cardiff
Sunday 23rd December Dawkins drinks party (tbc)
Monday 24th December Christmas Eve etc Sue and Dad arrive
Tuesday 25th December Christmas Day etc
Wednesday 26th December Boxing Day etc
Thursday 27th Sue and Dad leave, Jaime and Natalia from Madrid come for a visit
Friday 28th fly to Hong Kong (and that’s another story)
Life is short. Do stuff.