Baby ticker

Spuds!

I'm really not green fingered at all. Everything I seem to try growing dies. But I am pleased to say that I have just harvested a rather handsome crop of multicoloured potatoes.

Hold the bells

Tonight I achieved a childhood ambition and rang church bells. A very nice couple at St Andrew's church in Great Ryburgh gave me a one-hour lesson on the rudimentaries of bell ringing and allowed me to have a go at doing some ringing myself.
After climbing up a very long ladder to get to the top of the church's cylindrical tower I was shown the bells which date from the 16th Centuary and the mechanics were explained. After a nervous descent of the ladder I was given a demonstration of the ringing techniques and allowed to have a go myself. It was good fun but I soon realised that it takes a lot of skill to be able to ring properly. When the rest of the Ryburgh Ringers arrived for their Thursday evening practice I was treated to a display of their bell ringing. I was made to feel very welcome and I may go back again to learn more.

Dad # 9 - John McClane

Ok, so he might not remember your birthday or turn up to your violin recital but the school bullies would never dare steal your lunch money.

Fancy a brew?

I'm growing my own tea, well ... trying to! I've planted the tea seeds first (I have coffee ones as well but the instructions were too complicated to try doing both at once!)
The tea is (hopefully) germinating in a dark cupboard and in 1-2 months a shoot should become visable. The coffee needs a much warmer cupboard than I am able to provide since we do not have an airing cupboard or similar in the house. And anyway, the tea is the more important. I am not particularly green fingered so we'll see what happens but I hope to be brewing up the leaves later this year.

I'm back!

The past few months as a full-time carer have not left much time for blogging but now that my services are no longer required, normal service can resume....

The only drug I need

The first time I saw Underworld was 11 years ago and I don't think they could have toured much since as our paths never crossed again until last night. Actually, now I think of it, we did get tickets to see them at Brixton Academy five years ago but had to sell them as we had only just got Max and discovered he was petrified of fireworks. I think the night of the gig was 5th November and we couldn't leave him.

Despite the connection between dance music and drugs I have never felt the need to take anything to have a good night. All I need is fantastic music and space to dance and last night I got both.

Like Sister Sledge I get lost in music and tend to go a bit crazy with my energetic dancing. The wisely priced tickets at £20 discouraged any time-wasters and ensured that everyone who was there really wanted to be there and that there was plenty of room to dance.

During one of my favourite tracks - Cowgirl - I must have got a bit over excited as a girl came up to me to ask if I knew where she could get some pills. When I said no, she got stroppy as if she didn't believe me. Then I noticed that one of the undercover security blokes had sidled up beside me and was giving me dirty looks.

The music was great despite the reliably rubbish UEA sound system and they played most of my favourites. The inflatable probes were quite exciting and I thought they were going to smother the stage at one point.

Karl wasn't as entertaining as the last time we saw him when he climbed the lighting rigging and danced like a mad man in a woolly hat. I suppose he's getting a bit old for it these days - as am I. Actually, when I said music was the only drug I needed it wasn't strictly true. A couple of Neurophen for my post-rave achy back were needed this morning.

Oh, and for the journey we listened to the mellow tones of Radiohead and their In Rainbows album which I downloaded that morning for 3 quid - bargain!

The miserable world of Editors

I love Editors and we saw them for the second time last week. I can't help but jump up and down when I hear their music and I have to listen to it as loud as I can to really appreciate the soaring guitars. However, the lyrics are very repetitive and very miserable. There is nothing wrong with a bit of misery. Good songs usually need emotion and passion to make them good - see the Smiths, Joy Division, Radiohead and Suede - but Editors are really quite depressing if you listen too closely. So I haven't... until now!

Here, for your enjoyment, is my top ten miserable Editors lyrics ...


10) I'm drained and I'm empty (Escape the nest)

9) Don't want to go out on my own anymore. Can't face the night like I used to before. (Well worn hand)

8) Well be careful angel, this life is just too long. All sparks will burn out in the end. (All sparks)

7) If a plane were to fall from the sky, how big a hole would it make in the surface of the Earth? (Racing rats)

6) You don't need this disease, not right now. (Bullets)

5) We've all changed from what we were. Our broken hearts smashed on the floor. (Smokers outside the hospital doors)

4) Everything I ever wanted is right here but soon it won't be. (Lights)

3) More and more people I know are getting ill. (An end has a start)

2) Keep a light on those you love, they won't be there when you die. (Weight of the world)

1) Say goodbye to everyone you have ever known, you're not gonna see them ever again. (Smokers outside the hospital doors)


It is customary to listen to the artist you are going to see on the way to a gig. On the way home, however, you choose as different music as possible to the artist you have just seen. So, on the way home from Editors the other night we listened to The Young Knives and the 2007 French Eurovision entry

Deer safari