Flying Visit[or]

You know, there’s nothing like having two weeks off work to make you realise how attractive life on the dole is. Even though I have been as busy as a beaver as it has been a time full of breakages and repairs (replacement thermostat in shower, exhaust fell off car while visiting father in Brighton, the neck on my double bass had to be ‘shot’ due to string buzz) not to mention decorating the attic so that it is now a place of comfort and cleanliness rather than a grubby room full of boxes with a PC in the corner, it is still infinitely preferable to going to work each day. Tomorrow will be a grind, putting the suit back on, feigning interest in things which bore me to tears, and being pleasant to pompous and patronising higher management who I'd rather piss on than take tea with. Still, bite your lip and get on with it, along with 99% of the rest of humanity

The highlight of my time off was a flying visit from my former Ship of Fools guitar chum Marco, who had an overnight stop whilst visiting the UK on business. After several hours in the pub, accompanied by the Wing-Commander, we retired to my Watford abode wherein Chinese was ordered, Scotch was opened and guitars un-cased for ninety minutes of jamming. I’ll confess that not having played with him for over a decade, it was a complete treat for me as he remains a phenomenal musician. Even on an acoustic, he attacks the instrument with gusto, conjuring strange chords which I certainly couldn’t fathom by looking at, and improvising with remarkable flare and ingenuity. Often when playing with other people, you can second-guess what chords they are going to move to but with him he always avoids the obvious and thus you find yourself chasing after him, hoping to pick something which will fall within the same scale or mode. Thus a grand time was had by the pair of us as we noodled away, only twice attempting songs which we knew (Neil Young’s ‘Needle and the Damage Done’ and our own former Ship of Fools set stalwart ‘Reptile’). And yes, I did break out the double bass for a spell. Eee… it were smashing.

So, half way through my fortnight’s leave and what have I done? Well…not a lot. My garden looks lovely and I’ve spent four days decorating the attic (the first couple of which were principally dismantling the built-in wardrobe and bed). I had a delightful time in Staines on Wednesday whilst YD and her chum Laura spent nine hours (!) in Thorpe Park. I have now drunk in every coffee house the shopping centre has to offer as I got my blue pen out and, nearly two years after Cambridge University Press told me it was a pile of crap, attacked my PhD thesis with renewed vigour in one last bid to make it publishable. Been downloading shed loads of albums by 70s rock acts (Matching Mole, Wishbone Ash, Celeste, Return to Forever, Focus, Steve Howe), and have finally set about refurbishing my old Barraclough bass guitar (re-spray, new pick-ups and control panel). Hope to have it ready for my next gig (Saturday 28^th April). And for the week ahead? Well finish decorating, visit my father in Brighton, work on the bass, and maybe a day out somewhere too. I know; exciting eh!

“…and so I sat down”

“Yes”

“And I thought”

“Yes”

“That I’d write my blog”

“I see”

“But when I did, I couldn’t”

“How do you mean ‘couldn’t’”

“Well, nothing would come out. I tried it but I couldn’t think of a single thing to write”

“And this happened when?”

“Well, it’s been happening for weeks now. It seems unless I am moaning about my eldest daughter, I can’t think of a single thing to say”.

“Ahhh… but what about your love life and young Beth (of the Shire)?”

“Well that seems to be going OK but, to be frank, she is still rather cautious”

“And how are your band, the Honeymooners on Mars?”

“That’s ‘Honeymoon’, no ‘ers’. Well we’ve a gig coming up at the end of the month but nothing else to report”

“And your other daughter, the one called ‘YD?’”

“Thirteen and lovely”

“Well, can’t you write about your job?”

“That bores me to tears; it is not fair that I bore others with it”

“Hmmmmm…. I see. So because there is nothing of particular interest happening in your life you don’t feel you have anything to write about? Can’t you just waffle nonsensically like you used to back when you were ‘DK Thrust’?”

“But I seem to have lost the knack”

“Don’t worry. It will return. You’ve two weeks off work so something’s bound to pop up that you can twaddle on about”

“I suppose you're right. I’ll just have to try harder.”

Well, what a busy boy I’ve been of late; I’ve hardly had time to fart. Work is just go, go, go, go! Week before last I had two rehearsals and a gig. Wednesday I went to see the splendidly young and chirpy Tiny Dancers at the ICA (although why the feel impelled to dress like they’ve just stepped out of ‘Life on Mars’ is beyond me) whilst on Thursday I got absolutely bladdered with work colleagues. HOM have had our photos taken and I’m just tired and blah so I’m going to bed. However, four more days at work and then I’ve got a fortnight off so huzzah!