under another sun

Another blowy day but a bit of sun. Uploaded one video and in the afternoon, as it was a short episode, I completed and uploaded tomorrow's episode too. Also went for a walk up to Hollingbury Hill and another cheeky stroll around Blaker's Park at sixish. Spoke to Mum, who was telling me about her pal who had cut the hair of his dog and then his whole family. They all have the same haircut. Investigating government handouts, I have made a little money recently, which means I won't be eligible for anything for a while. I am a Ltd company, which makes things a little complicated. My accountant proactively wrote to me about it the other day, which was good. Had to overcome feelings of gloom over the future. At the moment, however, we have been very lucky and lost nobody dear to us due to C-19. At the moment it all boils down to that. In the evening a beermonsters zoom call, nice to see everyone's faces. Zoom calls are okay but it is certainly not like going to the pub, ...

Progtastic A quiet day working. Wrote nine case studies for the hogsite, and then fiddled about working on an idea for a local Brighton play competition, which was fun. However highlight of the day for me was watching BBC4 Prog Rock Britannia which was a well overdue reappraisal of this genre. Great to see legends like Bill Bruford and Steve Howe. And listen to some fascinating stuff that I'd never heard before. Who knew that Soft Machine sounded like outtakes from Bitches Brew ? In my teens I particularly liked Yes and King Crimson. This, plus the fact that Mum listened to jazz and classical music rather ruined me for straight ahead rock music or for most stuff with a predictable 4/4 beat and chords. Progressive music was killed by punk. I liked punk too, its energy was amazing, but musically I can't listen to it with anything other than a faint nostalgia. Even at the time my favourite new groups were the elegant Television (from New York) and The Stranglers (who were a bit ...

Getting a grip Taking care of bidness today, admin stuff, plus I wrote and sent off a speculative piece about the woodslick, with photos. Also sent a package of essays, stories and poems to the guys in Guernsey - plus made some progress on my Skeletons story. Also another swim. Still haven't got my all my pep back post virus, but am managing to do fairly sedate half an hour in the pool with few ill effects, but I am child-scaringly overweight at the moment. Saw Anton and Martin for a cheeky beer in the evening in a pub called the Robin Hood, sitting at an old Masonic table, judging by the carving and iconography. The Robin Hood apparently gives all its profits to charity, which makes it unusual in itself. Martin stressed by builders. Anton told us about some great news Anna's had. And later, eyeing the self employed Martin and the freelance me, moaning about how he was the only salary slave around. Anton and I then walked uphill and home, talking about The Stranglers Black and ...