Hello Long Time No See

Whoa what happened there. It's June and Summer is here.

My absence is due to the mundane rather than the marvellous. Work, my friends,work is what has kept me away from you all.And how are things in your little world. Do you still see the same old crowd.

I survived the cull of the disengaged and have the bright shiny new contract to prove it. We'll,fuck them is all I can say.

Now that everything has calmed down I'll try and get back to the more important stuff of this Blog.

See you soon.

Embrace Return

Several years ago I wrote a very melancholic post about this Band. I wondered if they would ever return and make me believe again*.

Well they have returned with an excellent collection of songs on their new album Embrace. It's Embrace but different, their influences are there to hear and the two singles Refugees and Follow You Home give an incomplete idea of the album as a whole.

I'm not going to say its without its faults but the quality is there.

You can buy it from all the usual outlets.

* I'm not quite sure what they make me believe in. Maybe faith,love and a bloody minded determination (to spend 8 years crafting their art) and self belief that what they do is worth any sacrifice they have to make.

Springtime

Up here in the frozen North East we have had some glorious bright sunny days with our trademark Clear Blue Skies.

Work has settled down in a strange waiting for the change type of atmosphere. Everyone just wants to get on with their new job whilst not quite ready to let go of their old role.

Personal life is steady as usual, another period of change as my daughter will be moving back in a few weeks time after two years away, albeit only about a mile away.

I am in training for he Sunderland Half marathon in a couple of weeks time. Training has been hampered by a niggling abductor/groin injury which flares up after about an hours run, especially going up hill. So I won't be setting a personal best this year.

As usual as my training steps up I listen to a lot of music. This song came up on Sunday.

Neil Young - Ohio.

May 4th is the day of the Sunderland half marathon. It will be 44 years since this happened.

Slow Time Monday

After a weekend in London and the emotional highs and lows of Posh's win at Wembley in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy today has been a quiet day. I took the opportunity to listen to Berlin by Lou Reed for the first time all the way through.

I'd recommend that you do the same if you haven't already. It is a masterpiece.

Hanging on in quiet desperation

It may not be pretty but bloody minded desperation and a refusal to let others push me out seems to have worked.I still have a job. And in a region where we'll paid secure jobs for men in their early fifties are rarer than a cup winning team that's not a bad result.