On The Cocoa

On the bike again and it’s a bit windy. Not too bad though, I was more annoyed with incessant drizzle.

Delays' singer Greg Gilbert will turn on the Christmas Lights in Southampton this year. Sadly Greg is running out of time in his fight against bowel cancer. I’ve been following the occasional updates on his partner’s blog and it's not pleasant reading. A complete contrast to the uplifting songs the band are known for.

Tonight it's a Friday night in for us oldies and I’m on the cocoa almost as soon as I get in. Cocoa Porter.

(Friday 10^th November)

Good Samaritan

Finally, on the bike and it was very good. Although a bit drizzly but I seriously needed the fresh air.

L doesn’t have the best of experiences when she goes to the rescue of an Asian woman who this white chap was threatening and even hitting. L ends up getting threatened herself and called some pretty amazing names. I can imagine. 

The thing is she stuck it out and walked the woman home. Sounds terrifying but she was very brave and I’m proud of her. Not enough people are willing to put themselves out and do the right thing these days. 

(Thursday 9^th November)

Good Zimmering

Doggo is getting wobblier and we’ve both started guiding him the stairs by his collar so that he doesn’t face plant the front door. Sadly he’s starting to look an old man, as bad as me really.

L hits the gym and declares herself ‘almost’ pain free. Which means I will have to restrain her tonight so that she doesn’t head off out to knock off 10k.

My Mum is still in hospital and I go over after work to visit. She is looking good and zimmering well on her new knee but they won’t let her out just yet. Afterwards I head home to pick up the boys and to take him with the dodgy paw to training. Although he’s been chasing after his ball just fine. I guess I’ll see how he goes at training.

L has already headed over to see her folks on the bus. So no pub again, they'll be going bust.

She is terrified about what lies ahead because her Dad has asked him to help download a GPS App. That’s probably outside all our comfort zones but if she pulls it off she could be coming home with several bottles of wine.

 

(Wednesday 8^th November)

Ugandan Discussions And Other Dubious Practices

YouGov Question Of The Week

For each of the following phrases, please say if you think they are appropriate or not appropriate for use in conversation nowadays.

Siberian tickle
Double Dutch
Chinese whispers
Mexican wave
Irish twins
Dutch courage
Spanish practices
Ugandan discussions
Russian roulette
Irish exit
French kissing
Chinese walls
Going Dutch
Paddy wagon
Indian summer

I haven’t even heard of some of those and had to google them. Now I will look forward to some Ugandan Discussions tonight after a bit of Dutch courage of course.

I wonder if the Mexican team will walk out in protest when they start doing the Mexican wave at the Cycling World Cup this weekend? Our dog training is stuffed, we were practising not only German turns but Japanese ones last week.

Oddly there’s no mention of a Brazilian on the list.

Tonight I meet up with my old school friend. There is now only the two of us now after the death of one of our number the other week. We raise a glass to him. 

Then with all this talk of sexually inappropriate behaviour in the media, I amuse my friend with my contribution to the #MeToo movement because its not just the ladies that get subjected to inappropriate behaviour. It was meted out regularly in some of the near all female environments I used to work in back in the early 1990’s.

The 50-something women who ran the Data Entry Department in the company I worked for staffed it with about thirty young girls and although the company tried to get some lads in there she wouldn’t stand for it. Any lads who were employed weren’t made to feel welcome and very soon left. 

I dreaded going down there to fix their computer issues as this woman always tried to embarrass you by commenting on your dress style, your hair, your aftershave, your height... anything really. Then always asking about your love life. She used to run a Blind Date style service (as in the TV programme) among her younger colleagues which you could end up in as an unwilling participant if your weren't careful.

Then there was the naked calendars on the wall, of men of course, but the shocking thing was they used to cut pictures from the company magazine and superimpose the heads of the management on the calendars. I don’t know how they got away with it. 

(Tuesday 7^th November)

Ongoing Obsession

L questions my ongoing obsession with fruit case, suggests I might be bored with it and would I like her to make something different. Something different to a fruit cake?  Hmmm. Suggestions on a postcard.

I think I might be frustrating the chef’s creativity, I suppose it isn’t exactly Bake Off worthy. The only variation I fancied was with ginger but we never really got that to work. L suggests adding touch of chilli. Not sure I fancy that. She’ll be leaving me for someone who is more exciting in the cake department.

L goes to running club in the evening, although it would probably be best not to... she promises me she’ll be going out with the beginners.

I’m at dog training where MD develops a bit of a hobble and I have to lower the jumps for him. I hope he’s not losing his paw for heights, not with Crufts coming up.

(Monday 6^th November)

Pet Snail

The snail that had been clinging to the wall above our wheelie bin, that I assumed was stuck there through rigor mortis, proves it is alive. The other day I had removed it from the wall and put it on the floor but now it is back in its spot above the wheelie bin. A fast mover this one. Now, for an encore, it seems tto be moving across to perch above the recycling bin.

In the evening I do the SQT at the Velodrome while L meets Daughter at the Forest Rec Firework Display. I’m undecided about whether to take the dogs with me to experience the ongoing airborne assault in Derby or whether to leave them with the ongoing airborne assault at home. In the end I take them with me, figuring it’s got to be quieter at the Velodrome where there’s less housing.

Afterwards I go for pint in the Exeter with my Dad and then on the way home pass the first gritting lorry of the year. Not that that necessarily means much.

(Sunday 5^th November)

Chickens Coming Home To Roost

We don’t parkrun although Daughter does. L has another crack at getting the hang of shopping while I walk the boys on park and then go to match.

Derby lose 4-2 at home to Reading, tactically I think a few chickens coming home to roost. I meet my Dad there and then go with him to visit my Mum in hospital who is now back on almost full form. Then I head back to Nottingham by bus to meet L for a few jars but we agree to cancel when it becomes clear that the house is under firework bombardment and annoying the dogs. Instead I cook and we have a TOTP night in.

It takes me a while to get over being sexually traumatised on the bus and I will have to email details to the media later. A rather rowdy hen party are offering all the lads on the bus free dildo advice. Then, as I’m getting off the bus, one of them clearly touches my thigh. You just can’t do that sort of thing any more. 

(Saturday 4^th November)

Music Wi' Nowt Taken Out

I bike in today and arrive at work to be greeted by a rather shocking email saying that TFN (Total Fitness Nottingham) have closed down. Blimey, with triathlon being so popular now I didn’t expect TFN to close.

L does her prescribed 2k run BUT on the treadmill. Hmmm. She was told to run on the grass and she was even offered a run by Daughter. Oh how the tables have turned.

Tonight I'm at Rock City where the support band are the incredibly misspelt Restavrant and on the evidence of the last 30 seconds of their set I would have quite liked the sound of them, had I not arrived so damn late. 

Then in the gap between bands the entertainment and the intrigue is presented by Rock City’s forthcoming gigs board. Just who are Arse Full Of Chips and am I missing out on something?

Then it’s time for BMRC and I’m in my element. This is how I like my music. Simple. Guitar, bass and drums. Music wi' Nowt Taken Out and nothing added either. What else do you need? And for good measure Black Rebel play it loud.

They also play it dark and smoky, and its therefore pretty dire for photography. The band seemingly disappear completely several times and we can only take their word for it that Leah Shapiro was back there on the drums at all.

Tonight they test the water with a lot of new material from their forthcoming album ‘Wrong Creatures’ although this isn’t due out until January but half a dozen tracks are featured, and they are all met with due respect, including tonight’s opener the current single ‘Little Thing Gone Wild’.

Where as ‘Bandung Hum’ is new but less so (it was also played last year) but isn’t on the album or anywhere that I can see.

Naturally the old favourites go down the best. ‘Berlin’ is as gorgeous as ever but not less impressive are the really old oldies ‘Love Burns’, ‘Stop’, ‘Six Barrel Shotgun’, ‘Spread Your Love’ etc. If there is a criticism it is that, like a lot of bands, they don’t vary the oldies enough. There is a nice outing tonight for ‘U.S. Government’ which doesn’t always feature. 

‘Howl’ is heavily featured with four songs and one does wonder whether Peter Hayes can do anything other than ‘Devil's Waitin'’ on an acoustic. Go on Pete, confuse us next time.

Sadly this traditional mid-set acoustic break which also saw Robert Levon Been perform ‘Sympathetic Noose’ wasn’t treated with the respect it deserved. Too many boozed up folk, who clearly only came to ‘rock’, talked over the top of it which is a huge shame. These people were also most likely responsible for the frequent rainstorms of lager. Something you don’t, thankfully, see much of these days. 

After ending with ‘Whatever Happened...’ and Been inevitably down the front with the crowd, they returned for a brave encore playing ‘Ninth Configuration’ off the new album. A track that is sure to become another brooding BMRC classic.

Twenty three songs and two hours from probably the finest rock three piece around.

I had offered L the choice of meeting me for a post gig beer (or three) or putting her feet up at home with the bottle of Old Norway, that I’ve carefully shepherded home on my bike in my backpack, and MD’s football. The football may have swung it or it could have been that there is only one bottle of Old Norway but L is loitering on the street corner by the old fancy dress shop when I reach Canning Circus. We have a few drinks in the Organ Grinder.

(Friday 3^rd November)

The Secret Room

I get the bus and end up late for work as the A52 is down to one lane due to a breakdown.

I wish L Happy Birthday, seven months early, by telling her with have tickets for Tears For Fears at the NIA and it would appear they are quite near the front as well. Naturally that’s not enough and she asks if she can upgrade to a full weekend in Birmingham. She best speak to the dog sitter. I’m guessing she’ll be trying to negotiate a parkrun onto the agenda next.

 

I visit my Mum again after work and L comes over later with the dogs. Not that they get to visit. My Dad get charged £25 parking for his overnight stay last night but apparently there is some secret room somewhere where he can claim it back.

(Thursday 2^nd November)

Mr Unreasonable

L goes to her osteopath and gets thoroughly manipulated. The chap gives her permission to run 2k on the flat on the grass with two days between runs. Then every couple of weeks she can another km. Hmmm. I’m sure she badgered him into that but she could go round the garden, MD would love it. she could chuck balls at the same time.

Today my Mum finally goes in to hospital to get her new knee and my Dad rings to say it’s all gone to plan. It appears they sent him home to stop him getting in the way...

I visit after work and she is recovering well although seems very confused, probably due to the drugs they've dosed her up on, and keeps trying to escape. My Dad stays overnight to prevent her organising the other inmates into a mass break out.

I get the bus home where L is being Ms Angry and Daughter is trying to calm her down. It’s all role play apparently for Daughter's interview and I join in. While L hates confrontation, I revel in the chance to be Mr Unreasonable.

(Wednesday 1^st November)