I don't feel well. It started on Saturday morning as we were taking my son down to University in London. I am congested with a sore throat and aching limbs. Is it swine flu? I don't know but it feels like a virus. Have been too congested to sleep all through each night so I am knackered. I was planning on being off today anyway to do some painting but instead I am here coughing over my keyboard and feeling sorry for myself.
I am also feeling sorry for my wife. She is being interviewed for her own job today. If she doesn't get it (which her boss has already told her she thinks is unlikely) she will be made redundant or she could take a lower status job on a protected salary. I just want her to be happy so I will back her whatever she decides.
I am also feeling sorry for myself as I am missing my son. I knew I would but it will still take some getting used to.
I have decided that in order to cheer myself up I will spend all day listening to music.
I'll start with this:
Maid In Heaven- Be Bop Deluxe
Its loud and with a great signature Bill Nelson guitar coda
Tuesday 29 September 2009
Friday 25 September 2009
Big Weekend
Well, coming up is probably the biggest milestone weekend since we moved to Newcastle from London 18 years ago.Tomorrow we are taking our son to University in London. The wheel comes full circle (well, almost). Dunno how he is feeling but we are both scared and excited for him. I am sitting here at work and I feel a bit like crying. I will miss him, he is a nice boy. Actually he is a nice young man.
Our boy is leaving home.Will he ever come back to live with us full time? I don't think so. Neither I nor my wife did after we left to go to Uni.An end of an era indeed.
And now here I will be outnumbered in the house, two women to gang up on me.
And what is even more scary is that in two years time we will ( I hope) be doing it all again for our daughter and then it will be just me and the wife again. Together alone in the house all the time. For the first time in twenty years.
Our boy is leaving home.Will he ever come back to live with us full time? I don't think so. Neither I nor my wife did after we left to go to Uni.An end of an era indeed.
And now here I will be outnumbered in the house, two women to gang up on me.
And what is even more scary is that in two years time we will ( I hope) be doing it all again for our daughter and then it will be just me and the wife again. Together alone in the house all the time. For the first time in twenty years.
Monday 21 September 2009
The Day After I Ran the Great North Run
This was my 10th GNR. I started in 1997 and took two years off in 2003/2004 because I got bored. The first year I did it in 2hrs 2mins. This year I did in in 2hrs 25mins. Getting older or not enough training? Probably a bit of both. I was experimenting with a new approach to training this year and didn't start serious GNR preparations until July. I think I left it a bit too late and I could have done with a couple more weeks of serious training.
Yesterday was hot as well. The hottest GNR I have competed in. I sweated lots and I mean lots.I drank two litres of fluid( including a litre of Powerade- vile stuff) on the course and a further 500ml on the way home. I had a cup of tea and two 250 ml glasses of water and still didn't pee until 7pm. I finished just as the Red Arrows flew over the Finish Line. That made me feel a bit better.
I got a bus home this year, which was a first for me. Normally I walk (with my wife who didn't come this year)the 2 miles or so to the Metro and then queue for hours to get home. This year I finished, picked up my bag of goodies , went to the Baggage buses , retrieved my rucksack, got changed and stepped onto a bus going to the Haymarket. I did have to stand all the way to Heworth but I was at home less than an hour and a half after crossing the finish line.That is a personal best.
The logistics of the event are amazing. 55,000 people entered and I guess 50, 000 turned up, plus all the relatives and friends who came to see them off and finish.
As a seasoned GNR runner I do get a bit cross with the crowds these days. When I first did it in '97 I strolled to the start sat on the central reservation , got up when they said it was time to start and ran it. Many fewer competitors and crowds. These days you have to get in your colour coded pen(coded according to estimated finishing time)at least 1 hour before the race starts. That is annoying but I can see the reasoning.
Music wise the bands on the run were pretty poor this year.The band in Gateshead just on the roundabout before you get onto the Felling By pass were as usual playing " Keep your feet still Geordie Hinny" but apart from the band in South Shields playing a ROCK! version of the Chariots of Fire theme tune I didn't notice any of them.
Still I will be there next year hoping for a PB as usual.
Yesterday was hot as well. The hottest GNR I have competed in. I sweated lots and I mean lots.I drank two litres of fluid( including a litre of Powerade- vile stuff) on the course and a further 500ml on the way home. I had a cup of tea and two 250 ml glasses of water and still didn't pee until 7pm. I finished just as the Red Arrows flew over the Finish Line. That made me feel a bit better.
I got a bus home this year, which was a first for me. Normally I walk (with my wife who didn't come this year)the 2 miles or so to the Metro and then queue for hours to get home. This year I finished, picked up my bag of goodies , went to the Baggage buses , retrieved my rucksack, got changed and stepped onto a bus going to the Haymarket. I did have to stand all the way to Heworth but I was at home less than an hour and a half after crossing the finish line.That is a personal best.
The logistics of the event are amazing. 55,000 people entered and I guess 50, 000 turned up, plus all the relatives and friends who came to see them off and finish.
As a seasoned GNR runner I do get a bit cross with the crowds these days. When I first did it in '97 I strolled to the start sat on the central reservation , got up when they said it was time to start and ran it. Many fewer competitors and crowds. These days you have to get in your colour coded pen(coded according to estimated finishing time)at least 1 hour before the race starts. That is annoying but I can see the reasoning.
Music wise the bands on the run were pretty poor this year.The band in Gateshead just on the roundabout before you get onto the Felling By pass were as usual playing " Keep your feet still Geordie Hinny" but apart from the band in South Shields playing a ROCK! version of the Chariots of Fire theme tune I didn't notice any of them.
Still I will be there next year hoping for a PB as usual.
Saturday 19 September 2009
Great North Run 2009
Yep it's that time of year again
I have trained and I am as ready as I will ever be. I am hoping for a PB but it wont happen. I am content to get round and feel that real sense of achievement that finishing a race brings. I will make promises to myself to enter more runs next year but I probably won't. Although I will aim for the Blaydon and the Sunderland Run next year.
I am reading a good book by Haruki Murakami " What I talk about when I talk about running". It turns out that quite like me and most other runners he doesn't think or talk about much except how fast he is going, what hurts,what he can see. I like this book though and if you are a runner it makes you realise that everyone is thinking just what you are thinking.He also talks about how hte discipline of running has helped him in other areas of his life and I agree with that too. He has agreat phrase which I have adopted for myself "Pain is inevitable. suffering is optional"You can buy it here
I have trained and I am as ready as I will ever be. I am hoping for a PB but it wont happen. I am content to get round and feel that real sense of achievement that finishing a race brings. I will make promises to myself to enter more runs next year but I probably won't. Although I will aim for the Blaydon and the Sunderland Run next year.
I am reading a good book by Haruki Murakami " What I talk about when I talk about running". It turns out that quite like me and most other runners he doesn't think or talk about much except how fast he is going, what hurts,what he can see. I like this book though and if you are a runner it makes you realise that everyone is thinking just what you are thinking.He also talks about how hte discipline of running has helped him in other areas of his life and I agree with that too. He has agreat phrase which I have adopted for myself "Pain is inevitable. suffering is optional"You can buy it here
Monday 14 September 2009
Blue Monday
The weather has changed.It now feels and looks and smells like autumn. Oh well, it wasn't a bad summer. No it wasn't Mediterranean hot but this is the North East ffs.
My lust for new music continues. I need to change the contents of my 2GB MP3 player to reflect this as I am getting a bit bored with it's playlist now.
The wife is still off work today. She has recovered from her allergic reaction only to go down with an absolute stinker of a cold, courtesy of her Dad. I am finishing early today as quote
"You didn't come home early once last week"
I have moved offices within my building. It is a much bigger, more plush office and, dare I say it, more befitting the manager's office than my previous pokey little cubby hole. However, it is more isolated from the team. I am now down the end of a corridor and I can't join in or even overhear the office banter. I can't even hear the phone ringing.
This does mean though that I am getting through loads of work and I can put LastFm on and play my library without being overheard.!!So , I suppose, there are some benefits. It will take some getting used to though.It will mean more getting up and about and wandering round the office to see what is going on. Like you see managers in McDonalds walking about exhorting their staff to get those fries and shakes out. At least you used to, I can't remember the last time I was in a McDonalds.
At home the atmosphere is tense. My son is behaving very badly and moodily. Yes I know he is 18 but he hasn't really behaved like this before. It is of course the pressure and the waiting to go off to Uni. Less than 14 days now. He hates it when I say something like " Did you realise that this is your penultimate Sunday in Newcastle?" So does my wife but for totally different reasons.
We will both miss him lots ,but I think my wife will take it hard.
She has a stressful couple of months ahead, and I suppose by implication so do I.
By next month she will either have secured a big promotion or will be facing redundancy.As I have said before she will be paid off handsomely but that is not what she wants. If she is made redundant it means some life changing decisions will have to be made. Moving? Taking Harriet out of school? Tough times ahead.
Running wise I am as prepared as usual for GNR ( that means that I could have done more but I have done enough to get solidly round in a good if somewhat unremarkable time). I am looking forward to it this year for the first time for a couple of years.
I predict a time of 2:20 . We'll see.
My lust for new music continues. I need to change the contents of my 2GB MP3 player to reflect this as I am getting a bit bored with it's playlist now.
The wife is still off work today. She has recovered from her allergic reaction only to go down with an absolute stinker of a cold, courtesy of her Dad. I am finishing early today as quote
"You didn't come home early once last week"
I have moved offices within my building. It is a much bigger, more plush office and, dare I say it, more befitting the manager's office than my previous pokey little cubby hole. However, it is more isolated from the team. I am now down the end of a corridor and I can't join in or even overhear the office banter. I can't even hear the phone ringing.
This does mean though that I am getting through loads of work and I can put LastFm on and play my library without being overheard.!!So , I suppose, there are some benefits. It will take some getting used to though.It will mean more getting up and about and wandering round the office to see what is going on. Like you see managers in McDonalds walking about exhorting their staff to get those fries and shakes out. At least you used to, I can't remember the last time I was in a McDonalds.
At home the atmosphere is tense. My son is behaving very badly and moodily. Yes I know he is 18 but he hasn't really behaved like this before. It is of course the pressure and the waiting to go off to Uni. Less than 14 days now. He hates it when I say something like " Did you realise that this is your penultimate Sunday in Newcastle?" So does my wife but for totally different reasons.
We will both miss him lots ,but I think my wife will take it hard.
She has a stressful couple of months ahead, and I suppose by implication so do I.
By next month she will either have secured a big promotion or will be facing redundancy.As I have said before she will be paid off handsomely but that is not what she wants. If she is made redundant it means some life changing decisions will have to be made. Moving? Taking Harriet out of school? Tough times ahead.
Running wise I am as prepared as usual for GNR ( that means that I could have done more but I have done enough to get solidly round in a good if somewhat unremarkable time). I am looking forward to it this year for the first time for a couple of years.
I predict a time of 2:20 . We'll see.
Sunday 13 September 2009
A Rare Sunday Post
As promised, here is some Fleet Foxes. This is from a live session they did for Daytrotter. It is my favourite Fleet Foxes song.
White Winter Hymnal (Daytrotter session)- Fleet Foxes
After Wednesday's gig I couldn't bring myself to listen to music on the Thursday I was still so blown away by their performance. Then on Friday I had a thirst for new music- like being a teenager again and being eager for John Peel's programme each night- I have been listening to Scopitones shared playlist on Spotify which is really good. Scopitones is the The Wedding Present site and this is a playlist made up by posters on their forum.Here's a link to it so you can just select shuffle and play it. Cut and paste this link into your address bar.
http://open.spotify.com/user/steve69/playlist/3fxjgUzG7FGoKL8hHzpYr8
Lots of bands I've never heard of, some old, some new, some good , some rubbish, but it's mostly good.
White Winter Hymnal (Daytrotter session)- Fleet Foxes
After Wednesday's gig I couldn't bring myself to listen to music on the Thursday I was still so blown away by their performance. Then on Friday I had a thirst for new music- like being a teenager again and being eager for John Peel's programme each night- I have been listening to Scopitones shared playlist on Spotify which is really good. Scopitones is the The Wedding Present site and this is a playlist made up by posters on their forum.Here's a link to it so you can just select shuffle and play it. Cut and paste this link into your address bar.
http://open.spotify.com/user/steve69/playlist/3fxjgUzG7FGoKL8hHzpYr8
Lots of bands I've never heard of, some old, some new, some good , some rubbish, but it's mostly good.
Thursday 10 September 2009
Fleet Foxes
I have loved this band since first hearing White Winter Hymnal last year. I love them even more now after seeing them last night at the O2 Academy in Newcastle.Obviously lots of other people love them because it was packed out with mostly people my age. So I bet I heard them first on Radio 2- probably Radcliffe and Maconie's show. But where I heard them first doesn't really matter except to the 18 year old music fan that still lurks inside me which think that Radio 2 is for old people (like my Mum and Dad and not for young, cool people like me). But what really matters is that this band can really do it live.
I have always loved vocal harmony groups through Doo Wop, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Housemartins etc and Fleet Foxes do the vocal harmony thing exceptionally well. I was stunned from the outset and so were the crowd as there was precious little of the talking about work, sex, football etc and sing a longs that bedevils gig going these days. We were in full rapt attention but enthusiastic in our appreciation.
I got to hear White Winter Hymnal and Mykonos live (my two favourites) and they sounded even better than they do on the album. Robin Peckinfold did some solo numbers including one song which was done completely acoustically; guitar not plugged in , no microphone just him singing and playing without any amplification. The crowd was silent and it was a real goosebumps- tears in the eyes- moment. It takes a lot to silence a 2000 strong Geordie crowd but we were all silent.
I have described them to other people as like Nirvana on their MTV Unplugged recording but that has as much to do with the Seattle connection as anything and doesn't do them justice.They share the beards and long hair and sort of Americana hippy clothing style but it is the vocal harmonies that set them apart.
They have a nice laid back slightly awkward on stage style and Robin seems a bit geeky and could improve his on stage in- between song banter but that didn't detract from the real musicianship on show. I felt I was in the presence of truly gifted musicians. Yes absolutely anyone can play the guitar but it takes a real gift to be able to play it and the other instruments like they can.I haven't posted any of their stuff but that is only because I don't have any on this PC. I will post some in the near future.
Go and see them if you can. You won't be disappointed.
I have always loved vocal harmony groups through Doo Wop, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, The Housemartins etc and Fleet Foxes do the vocal harmony thing exceptionally well. I was stunned from the outset and so were the crowd as there was precious little of the talking about work, sex, football etc and sing a longs that bedevils gig going these days. We were in full rapt attention but enthusiastic in our appreciation.
I got to hear White Winter Hymnal and Mykonos live (my two favourites) and they sounded even better than they do on the album. Robin Peckinfold did some solo numbers including one song which was done completely acoustically; guitar not plugged in , no microphone just him singing and playing without any amplification. The crowd was silent and it was a real goosebumps- tears in the eyes- moment. It takes a lot to silence a 2000 strong Geordie crowd but we were all silent.
I have described them to other people as like Nirvana on their MTV Unplugged recording but that has as much to do with the Seattle connection as anything and doesn't do them justice.They share the beards and long hair and sort of Americana hippy clothing style but it is the vocal harmonies that set them apart.
They have a nice laid back slightly awkward on stage style and Robin seems a bit geeky and could improve his on stage in- between song banter but that didn't detract from the real musicianship on show. I felt I was in the presence of truly gifted musicians. Yes absolutely anyone can play the guitar but it takes a real gift to be able to play it and the other instruments like they can.I haven't posted any of their stuff but that is only because I don't have any on this PC. I will post some in the near future.
Go and see them if you can. You won't be disappointed.
Saturday 5 September 2009
When Saturday Comes
I have had a bit of a break from updating this Blog. It was a combination of being busy at work and at home, a bit of writer's block (ha pretentious or what!)and a lack of anything meaningful to say.
My son enjoyed the Leeds Festival in particular White Lies, The Gaslight Anthem and Glasvegas. He came back on Monday absolutely shattered and it has taken him all week to recover.
Preparations have begun to get him off to London.As he's self catering we have got to buy his pots and pans etc. God knows how he'll survive but I know that's what my Mum and Dad thought thirty years ago when I went to Uni. And I survived.
My daughter has enjoyed her post GCSE celebrations which culminated in a night out clubbing in Newcastle last night. She has a hangover this morning she tells us.She tells us too much but rather that than lying to us. Now I know she is only 16 and we are not too sure what our reactions to this should be. I didn't go clubbing when I was sixteen but then again I didn't live in a City so there were no clubs for me to go to. I certainly went in Pubs and I am happier if she does that rather than sit on the Moor getting pissed like a lot of kids her age.She is particularly pleased that she didn't get ID'd by the door staff as did some of her friends.
My wife has broken out in some horrible allergic skin reaction. Its probably the stress of her work at the moment as she is almost certainly facing redundancy. Oh yes she'll get a handsome pay off but I know she would rather carry on in her job.
Music wise it has been a retro week. Following my rediscovery of my Minidisc player I have dug out some old Wedding Present discs and have been listening to them all week.
This song has grown on me over the years I didn't like it much when I first heard it. It was on the Nobody's Twisting Your Arm 12" which is not in print so I don't have a problem posting it.
I'm Not Always So Stupid - The Wedding Present
The song follows the usual Gedge pathway and obsession- love and relationships.It has some really great immature guitar as did all their early stuff.Hard to think that this is 20+ years old now.
My son enjoyed the Leeds Festival in particular White Lies, The Gaslight Anthem and Glasvegas. He came back on Monday absolutely shattered and it has taken him all week to recover.
Preparations have begun to get him off to London.As he's self catering we have got to buy his pots and pans etc. God knows how he'll survive but I know that's what my Mum and Dad thought thirty years ago when I went to Uni. And I survived.
My daughter has enjoyed her post GCSE celebrations which culminated in a night out clubbing in Newcastle last night. She has a hangover this morning she tells us.She tells us too much but rather that than lying to us. Now I know she is only 16 and we are not too sure what our reactions to this should be. I didn't go clubbing when I was sixteen but then again I didn't live in a City so there were no clubs for me to go to. I certainly went in Pubs and I am happier if she does that rather than sit on the Moor getting pissed like a lot of kids her age.She is particularly pleased that she didn't get ID'd by the door staff as did some of her friends.
My wife has broken out in some horrible allergic skin reaction. Its probably the stress of her work at the moment as she is almost certainly facing redundancy. Oh yes she'll get a handsome pay off but I know she would rather carry on in her job.
Music wise it has been a retro week. Following my rediscovery of my Minidisc player I have dug out some old Wedding Present discs and have been listening to them all week.
This song has grown on me over the years I didn't like it much when I first heard it. It was on the Nobody's Twisting Your Arm 12" which is not in print so I don't have a problem posting it.
I'm Not Always So Stupid - The Wedding Present
The song follows the usual Gedge pathway and obsession- love and relationships.It has some really great immature guitar as did all their early stuff.Hard to think that this is 20+ years old now.
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