Tag Archives: #MondayBlogs

Staycation 2014 Week One- loud music, cinnamon bagels, bees and blethering

Posted on July 7, 2014 | Leave a comment

One week down – one to go!

I have reached the mid-point of Staycation 2014 and no tempers have been lost and no blood has been spilled – yet! Not a bad achievement even if I do say so myself! 🙂

The thought of removing Boy Child and Girl Child from their respective bat caves, taking them out with WiFi range or their usual time zone didn’t bear contemplating so we are holidaying at home.

Here’s a brief rundown of Week One.

Saturday – I followed my usual shopping and coffee routine then rushed home to watch the MotoGP from Assen. The remainder of the afternoon was spent sitting in the sun reading my kindle, photographing the bees in my geraniums and dealing with the laundry schedule. My evening was music filled much to my delight and the groans of the rest of the household. I banished myself to the kitchen. By chance I found a livestream link to the Graspop Festival in Belgium in time to watch Alter Bridge take to the stage. They played a fabulous set which when it ended gave me just enough time to refill my wine glass before Metallica took to the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. Awesome! I crept up to the bed just before midnight (the rest of the household had sloped off to bed hours earlier) buzzing as though I’d just come home from a gig and with a smile on my wee face.

Sunday – again the weather in the morning was kind to me and I spent it sitting out in the sun with my coffee and toasted cinnamon raisin bagel reading my kindle. (I was devouring Nicky Wells rock romance trilogy) As the clouds gathered in the afternoon, the ironing mountain beckoned so I spent a few hours tackling that before driving Boy Child to and from the cinema. Again Glastonbury provided my musical entertainment for the day. Dinner was cooked while watching Dolly Parton and the ironing was finished off while I watched The Black Keys. I had been eagerly awaiting their set all day but was left a little disappointed and mentally crossed them off my list of “need to go and see live” bands.

Monday- the day dawned gloriously hot and sunny. After a productive morning sitting out in the sun with my laptop (I wrote up one album review and the lastblog post – ok I also read more of my kindle/book)I went for a walk with Girl Child and my camera. We headed along the beach path not far from the house and enjoyed a leisurely hour meandering with fields on one side and the beach on the other. Bliss!

Tuesday – cue more glorious sunshine! I spent the morning doing a little emergency food shopping in town and enjoyed a strong black coffee and a fruit scone in the company of Boy Child and my parents. (Girl child had refused to crawl out from under the duvet and was duly left at home) As I drove home I was full of good intentions to sit in the sun and work on my “bigger creative writing project”. I managed to partially achieve the objective – I did sit in the sun but that rock romance trilogy was calling on me again! I sat out in the sun until I had finished it. 🙂

Wednesday – no sun! This was probably not a bad thing as by now I was a tad pink and burnt around the edges after four days of Vitamin D overdosing. The morning was spent in a mad frenzy of “Oor Wullie” cleaning (where everything gets flung away out of sight under the metaphoric “bucket”) and vacuuming before a friend ( yet another of my friends’ who is allergic to cats) came over for lunch. Lunch was a simple laid back three hour affair involving coffee and empire biscuits among other simple pleasures. After waving goodbye to my lunch guest mid -afternoon I finally settled down to do a few hour’s work on my “bigger creative writing project”.

I also purchased some concert tickets for a friend and I. Watch out Blackberry Smoke, we’re coming to see you in Glasgow in October. 😉

Thursday – a bit of a mixed day weather wise. First on the agenda was coffee and a fruit scone with one of my fellow rock chick friends (the same friend who gave me the Slash photo for my birthday). This time it was my turn to give her a birthday gift albeit a day early. With the world suitably put to rights we went our separate ways. The sun came out during the afternoon and I headed off to the garden centre, armed with my camera, on a mission to purchase a butterfly bush (otherwise known as a buddleja). I got some strange looks from the elderly clientele as I took photos of the beautiful blooms on display, especially the ones occupied by busy buzzy bees. It took me a while to decide on what colour of butterfly bush I wanted but eventually I selected a dark fuschia pink one. Here’s hoping it attracts some butterflies who are willing to pose for photos.

My evening’s online chat was rudely interrupted by more Mum’s taxi runs (Sorry, girls. We will get that three way blether yet!)

Friday- plans had already been made to meet fellow rock chick writer friend, Karen Soutar, in Glasgow for lunch. I had planned to head into the city early with my camera. When I opened the curtains first thing, I was met with a grey dreich morning. Not to be thwarted, I set off as planned and managed to get a few photographs of some of the beautiful architecture in the city centre and the Commonwealth Games preparations. After a short while the rain sent me scurrying in search of a hand drier in a ladies room to dry the raindrops off my camera lens! Cue more odd looks from a couple of elderly patrons. I had arranged to meet Karen at noon at the Hard Rock Café. Lunch was filled with girlie chat as we caught up with each other’s news, compared notes on a certain Mr Kennedy and generally put the world to rights over a burger washed down with a Corona complete with lime. Due to a lack of Corona (yes – they ran out and we only had one each I promise!) we moved on and wandered through a few shops. The rain quickly drove us to seek sanctuary- we just happened to retreat to another pub where we continued our catch up armed with another beer. (Yeah- Waxy O’Connor’s had Corona). We ended our afternoon in a rather more civilised coffee shop in Frasers department store. Cue more blethering over coffee and shortbread then we went our separate ways to catch our trains home. The rain chose this moment to pour its heaviest drenching both of us.

Despite the soggy end to a lovely chilled week I now feel ready to tackle Week 2 of Staycation 2014. Wish me luck!

tagged bee 1

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Feel Good Factor of Two Little Words- Happy Birthday

Posted on June 30, 2014 | 2 comments

Last Friday was my birthday. Not a particularly special number but it was still my birthday. I’ve never been one to make a fuss about birthdays. I never felt the need to have fancy parties for 18th, 21st or 30th celebrations. I did concede when I turned 40 and had family and friends over for tea and cake……oh and some wine! 😉

I suspect this disinterest in celebrating harks back to my childhood. True, I had a few birthday parties as a child but, as my birthday falls around the date that the schools stop for the summer and people in this area traditionally head off on their summer holidays, my birthday had a tendency to get lost in transit. My 14th birthday was spent driving through England to catch an early morning ferry to St Malo, France. The highlight of that occasion was a plate of chips and beans in a trucker’s rest stop on the motorway about 11pm and catching the highlights from Wimbledon of a Jimmy Connor’s match on a tiny TV on the wall above the counter. A couple of years later, we had just arrived in the Algarve the day before, and it was lunchtime before my mum even remembered it was my birthday! I rest my case… or should that be suitcase!

However Facebook has added a new dimension to this annual event. By the time I woke on Friday morning (my usual 5:50am) and checked my newsfeed there were a dozen birthday wishes from all over the globe waiting there for me. A beautiful start to my day. As the day progressed I was welcomed into work with a card and a gift (yes, it was wine before any of you ask!) and a few hugs and kisses too. When I next checked Facebook around lunchtime, the number of birthday wishes had swelled to over fifty. Some of my Facebook friends know me so well and there were a couple of “hot” photos appearing along with the kind words.  😉

Birthday Tea was a low key affair. The Big Green Gummi Bear did forego his daily trip to the gym so we could eat as a family at a reasonable hour. The four of us sat down to a simple meal of lasagne and garlic flatbread (thank you Tesco Finest). I had bought a tiny birthday cake and Girl Child attempted a rendition of “Happy Birthday” with her usual tuneless aplomb. Thanks, honey. I was treated to lovely gifts- tickets to see Miss Saigon in London’s West End from the Big Green Gummi Bear, silver jewellery from Parents One and Two, silver rings from Boy Child and Girl Child. I received a beautiful journal from a friend who knows me so well. (Thank you again)

At the last minute I had arranged for another friend to pop over for a celebratory glass of vino or two. My fellow rock chick arrived armed with wine and a present wrapped in red tartan gift wrap. She too knows me so well –I’m now the proud owner of an autographed Slash print! (Thank you- I’m still negotiating about where to put it on display) Cue a wonderful evening of loud music, mainly on vinyl, wine and laughter. One of those evening’s that’s good for the soul.

By bedtime, when I checked Facebook one final time for the day, the birthday wishes had swelled to over a hundred and there was another topless male adorning my Facebook wall (Thank you Myles Kennedy and Charlie Hunnam for providing those bodies!!) It’s a good job that the Big Green Gummi Bear has long since unfriended me on Facebook!

I went to bed with a smile, feeling very humble that so many people from all around the world had taken a few seconds out of their day to type two small words that mean so much- Happy Birthday. Thank you one and all.

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Big Green Gummi Bear’s Longest Night Out – a tale of a family outing

Posted on June 23, 2014 | 2 comments

Saturday was the longest day of the year and we marked the occasion by actually going out as a family….Please don’t all faint! (If memory serves me correctly the last time we ventured out as a family was to celebrate Boy Child’s birthday last December)

The special occasion that triggered this rare family outing was a summer BBQ at the local boat club where the Big Green Gummi Bear spends most of his time. A slight twist to the tale came earlier in the week when Girl Child asked if she could bring along a friend – her current “Special Friend”. Having caught us in a weak moment both the Big Green Gummi Bear and I said yes.

Cue several hours of preening behind closed bedroom doors before Girl Child emerged looking……well looking like a beautiful young lady instead of her usual rock chick self. When he saw her, a wave of panic washed across the Big Green Gummi Bear’s face.

“Special Friend” duly arrived and politely endured the torture and torment of being introduced to the Big Green Gummi Bear before we all set off to the BBQ. I’ve never seen two teenagers look so awkward, cramped into the back seat of the car, with Boy Child wedged in as chaperone.

A local band had been hired to provide the evening’s musical entertainment and, when we all trooped into the club’s lounge, they were just finishing up their sound check. With drinks in hand, we joined a long table with some friends and sat back to enjoy the evening’s entertainment.

No disrespect to the three musicians but they weren’t exactly aiming for the teenage audience and after a few minutes Girl Child asked if she could go for a walk. Her father said yes but then added, jokingly, that she had to go alone. Special Friend sat frozen in his seat as she trotted off out the door! After a gentle nudge of approval from me, he bolted out after her.

Now the main entertainment for the evening began- Big Green Gummi Bear baiting.

Within five minutes of the two teenagers escaping, he was fretting about where his baby Girl Child had gone. Within fifteen minutes he was twitching and glancing up at the door every few seconds. His friends jumped on the opportunity to make him squirm with suggestions as to what the two teenagers may or may not be up to. When someone dared to suggest that they may be down in the boat sheds enjoying an intimate moment, he almost had heart failure!

In the background the band played on.

We were being “treated” to a set of Rod Stewart and Eagles classic tracks that prompted an impromptu pop quiz among the adults and Boy Child as we tried to guess which song was being attempted. At one point the backing tape programme on the guitarist’s iPad got out of sync and we had a warped Eagles medley playing until he reset it. For me, the highlight of their first half was when they played The Kinks “Sunny Afternoon.” After an epic fail to hit the first high note in the song, the singer just left out all the lyrics that ended on any high notes beyond his range. All that was missing was a few substitute “la la la’s” instead. Priceless!

Food was duly declared ready; the band stopped for a welcome break and the “weans” wandered back in. The Big Green Gummi Bear let out a long sigh of relief.

The legendary Scottish midgies put paid to any ideas of socialising around the BBQ as the various guests grabbed plates of food and darted back indoors before being eaten alive by these pesky beasties.

Before the band had even played a note of the second half of their set Girl Child asked if they could go for another walk. I said yes and they promptly disappeared again. Their timing was impeccable – the Big Green Gummi Bear was at the bar and never saw them leave. Around the table we decided not to tell him until he noticed for himself. Beer in hand, he returned and joined in the mutual appreciation of Neil Diamond (I still have Sweet Caroline stuck in my head) and Monkees numbers. This whole affair was beginning to have the air of couple-less wedding reception.

After about half an hour he realised that Girl Child was AWOL again. Cue panic and a flurry of hand gestures down the length of the table towards me to text or phone or send Boy Child to search for her. His fatherly concern was hysterical, especially when unprompted one of his friends casually remarked that he’d seen them heading round to the secluded garden at the rear of the clubhouse. (They were in fact sitting chatting on a bench slightly further along the road in full view of the clubhouse)

The witching hour finally arrived and it was time for me to escort the teenage contingent home. Eleven o’clock at night and it was still light- love June evenings! Right on time Girl Child and Special Friend returned. The Big Green Gummi Bear sank back into the seat with exhausted relief.

For the Big Green Gummi Bear it had been the longest day, fretting about his daughter’s whereabouts; for Girl Child and Special Friend (and Boy Child who got trapped with the adults) it had been the longest dull day trapped at an “old person’s” party. For me….well I found the whole thing hilarious!

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

The Ultimate Playlist – what should or shouldn’t be on it?

Posted on June 16, 2014 | 1 comment

I love it when, out of the blue, you end up involved in one of those conversations that leaves you with tears of laughter running down your cheeks. These usually happen at the most inopportune moments and that’s exactly what happened mid-week at work. Having giggled my way through it, I now can’t remember exactly what innocent comment started it but a colleague and I ended up discussing the music we would like played at our funerals.

Both of us were singing from the same hymn sheet, so to speak, and agreed that funerals shouldn’t be a mourning of the person’s passing but instead be a celebration of their life and reflective of their personality.

My mum secretly wants a New Orleans jazz style funeral. As this was mentioned in conversation, I got my first fit of the giggles as I was struck by an image of Boy Child playing his trumpet at the head of the school jazz band leading the funeral procession through the local streets towards the crematorium playing “When The Saints Come Marching In”. (I later shared this vision with my mum who fortunately saw the humour in it.)

Anyone who knows me will completely understand that the 23rd Psalm and Highland Cathedral aren’t going to feature when my time comes!

I asked my colleague, who is fifteen years my senior, what he wanted played. “Anything by Guns N Roses,” came his instant reply. He quickly added that he wants to be cremated but that his wife has already vetoed “Smoke on the Water” for that part of the service. I lost it! – cue laughter and tears. I promptly suggested “Burn” as an alternative- cue more giggling from both of us! (sorry, work colleagues) Apparently “Another One Bites the Dust” is also off the playlist. His Good Lady Wife is however a huge ACDC fan so he may have a glimmer of hope of playing “Highway To Hell” …. I doubt it though.

I came home from work still smiling at the conversation and asked The Big Green Gummi Bear what he wanted played. “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go,” came his reply. I should be grateful it wasn’t the Goombay Dance Band!

It got me thinking about my own choices and, I’ll be honest, I’m struggling. There’s so much good music to choose from. It would be easy to go down a rather reflective rock route and select “Wonderful Life” or “In Loving Memory” by Alter Bridge or “The Crow and the Butterfly” by Shinedown. While it could be fun to play “Stairway to Heaven” it would be giving the mourners false hope and sending them on a wild goose chase. Chris Rea’s “Road To Hell” takes them in a more likely direction!

Perhaps “One Last Thrill,” by Slash should be played? Or Avenged Sevenfold’s “Requiem”? As I wish to be buried rather than cremated when the time comes, Iron Maiden’s “Fear of the Dark” may also fit the bill. Regardless, the celebration should include Garth Brooks “Friends In Low Places” and culminate in “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.”

Now that I’ve got you thinking, hopefully with a smile on your face, what songs would you choose?

 

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Mathematical Feline Conundrum

Posted on June 2, 2014 | 2 comments

At six am on Friday morning the alarm went off. Still more asleep than awake I lay back, listening to that bloody cuckoo outside (it starts cuckooing about 4.30am) then heard a “MIAOW”. Not an unusual sound for a house that boasts four cats. I guessed that it belong to our ginger feline, Pythagoras.

He is somewhat of a climber and prefers to enter the house via the first floor windows. Nimbly he goes from the fence to the shed roof to the conservatory roof, tip toes across then jumps up onto the lower section of the house roof, wanders over the ridge of the garage and saunters round to the first floor windows, varying his point of entry between the bathroom and Boy Child’s room.

Another “MIAOW” dragged me out of bed and I wandered through to the bathroom, expecting to find Pythagoras patiently waiting to be let in.

No cat.

“Boy Child’s window,” I thought and crept into his room to check.

No cat.

“Hmmm. Perhaps he has gone back to the rear of the house.” I checked Girl Child’s window.

No cat.

Now slightly more awake, I listened carefully and, in between cuckoo calls (that bird is driving me insane, by the way!) I could hear claws moving about and the occasional soft “miaow”.

“He must have gone onto the higher part of the roof and got stuck,” I deduced, rubbing the last remnants of sleep from my eyes.

Barefoot and still in my pyjamas I rushed downstairs and outside to check. So, by ten past six, I’m standing in the middle of the street in my Alter Bridge t-shirt and animal print pyjama bottoms staring up at the roof.

Not a cat in sight. (Humble apologies to any of my neighbours who may have been mentally scarred by my early morning appearance)

Once back indoors, I listened again. I could still hear miaowing and puddy paws moving about.

Was he in the loft? Nah! He couldn’t possibly have got into the loft. No one had been up there for nearly a week and I distinctly remembered putting Pythagoras outside the night before.

Ridiculous as it sounded though, it was the only place he could be.

Trying and failing to be quiet, I got the ladders out of the cupboard, clambered up and very warily slid up the loft hatch, dreading to think what may come flying down on the top of me. Fortunately nothing leapt out at me. I reached up and pulled the light cord then turned to scan round the overly cluttered loft space.

Sitting trembling on a piece of wood was Pythagoras.

 

Out of all the humans in the house I am that cat’s least favourite. This rescue mission now required Boy Child, his human of choice. I went back down the ladder to waken the sleeping teenager – no mean feat in itself!

A rather sleepy Boy Child, wearing only his boxers, staggered out of the bedroom and up the ladder. The cat did respond to his calls but stubbornly refused to come within reach.

What followed was a five hour battle of wills. Having resorted to any form of cat bribery available, Boy Child (now better dressed) finally coaxed the terrified moggy over to the hatch and grabbed him.

Pythagoras’ claws flew out as he held on firmly to a length of pine shelving.

Boy Child prised him off.

Next he clung to the edge of the hatch.

Boy Child prised him off.

Finally he clung to Boy Child, claws still out, and was liberated from the loft.

Rescue complete.

A closer inspection of our roof has revealed a row of slipped tiles that have left a cat sized hole up in one corner beside one of the windows.

The next rescue mission here may well be “The Big Green Gummi Bear” as he goes out onto the roof via the bathroom window to attempt a repair.

Somehow if he gets stuck I don’t think catnip will work to coax him back in!

 

 

2 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

A day out with the Big Green Gummi Bear, Dragons and a Bearded Lady

Posted on May 12, 2014 | Leave a comment

It’s an all too rare occurrence but the Big Green Gummi Bear and I went out for the day last Saturday. We’re really not very good at this “going out together thing” -you’d think after over twenty five years together we’d have got the hang of it!

With Boy Child and Girl Child left at home with pizzas to cook for their dinner and a cat nominated as the person in charge, we headed off to Glasgow to see Cirque du Soleil at the SSE Hydro. After some debate about where to park the car, we finally chose the science centre car park (my suggestion so I got to pay the parking costs). It was a beautiful spring afternoon and, as we walked across the footbridge over the River Clyde, I stole a moment or two to take a few photos. (I could hear the Big Green Gummi Bear growling under his breath). Note to self – it’s not a good idea to wear metal tipped stiletto heels when trotting across a steel bridge! I’m sure my “dainty” footsteps could be heard for miles!

The Hydro is a fabulous venue but, despite my enthusing at great length about it to the Big Green Gummi Bear for the last six months, he didn’t get to experience the sheer size of it due to the subtle lighting ( or lack of light) when we entered the “bowl” to take our seats for the show.

Large Chinese lanterns hung down from the roof creating a tranquil atmosphere. It felt like sitting inside a temple from the Ming Dynasty. Cirque do Soleil’s Dralion was a fantastically colourful show. The programme explained the theme as being a “cultural fusion where Nature and Man become one in a quest for harmony. With the Dragon (Dralion) symbolising the 3000 year old tradition of Chinese acrobatic arts. In this magical world the four elements governing the natural order take on human form to defy the laws of gravity.” And defy the laws of gravity they did!

We were treated to a two hour extravaganza of acrobats, aerial pas de deux, single handed balancing, aerial hoop, juggling and the incredible crossed wheel. There’s so much going on out on the stage that at times it’s hard to know where to look. I could have watched the trampolinists all day – they really did defy gravity! The Dralions, Chinese Dragons each made up of two acrobats, were incredible but I’d have liked to have seen more of them. Like every “circus” show Cirque du Soleil has its clowns. I’m not meaning silly wigs, red noses and big shoe type clowns but more traditional clowning more akin to “Mr Bean” in some respects. The four clowns’ impeccable comic timing and forays into the audience added just the right element of humour.

We emerged from our Chinese temple back out into the early evening sunshine. Cue more loud “trotting” back across the bridge. On the way home we stopped off for a delicious meal and a very welcome glass of wine at a small restaurant overlooking Dumbarton Rock, a volcanic basalt plug on the banks of the River Clyde, and Dumbarton Castle.

All in all it was perfect day out – so how do you round off such a magical day? (Put that naughty thought away!)

We came home to Boy Child and Girl Child, opened a bottle of wine, sprawled out on the couch and watched the Eurovision Song Contest. Cheesy trashy pop music for over two hours – what more can I say! Quite appropriate though, that after our day at the circus, it should be won by the Bearded Lady.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Irreconcilable Socks and the Solidarity of Shirts

Posted on May 5, 2014 | Leave a comment

There’s one thing that never ceases to amaze me on a weekly basis and that’s the amount of clothes we go through in this house. I’m sure someone sneaks in here and deposits their laundry in my basket. It used to be a weekly ironing pile I faced on a Sunday – now it’s a veritable mountain with an accompanying mountain range of bedcovers, towels, socks and knickers!

How can four people generate so much laundry in one week?

I’m convinced that once it’s placed in the laundry basket in the cupboard in the utility room that it breeds in the dark.

Shirts! They are like magnets and attract other shirts – usually tangling themselves in each other’s sleeves as an act of solidarity in the washing machine. Between Monday and Friday the three shirt-wearing inhabitants manage to dirty fifteen of them! Grrrr

Socks are another nuisance. Pesky wee things! I’m sure they are playing games with me. At the end of last week I had three “odd” dark socks. What the Hell I thought and threw them back into the laundry basket in the hope that they would be magically reconciled with their partners. It worked! However three other pairs got “divorced” and I still have three “odd” socks!

You’d think, logically, that Girl Child would be the worst offender for generating excessive amounts of washing. True, she does that teenage girl thing – wears it once or sometimes even just tries it on and decides not to wear it – and throws it in the general direction of the washing basket.

Wrong!

The Big Green Gummi Bear is the culprit. His love of water sports and daily trips to the gym are to blame. At the weekend he can work his way through three or four sets of t-shirts, socks and underwear per day. If left unattended for more than twenty four hours this sweaty wet pile exacts its revenge and begins to emit the most foul odour of Eau d’River Clyde. (The washing that is not the Big Green Gummi Bear…well maybe occasionally)

Ironing also has its own magic powers. My rule of thumb is that “if it doesn’t get ironed on Sunday then it has to wait until next week”. I’m a bit OCD about getting it all done on a Sunday (watching MotoGP or Formula 1 does help to get through it quicker). I’ll sort it into two piles- shirts and stuff that requires a cooler iron. By the time I’ve set up the ironing board and the iron, there’s invariably a cat, Frankenstein, sound asleep in the middle of it – on top of something black of course.

I surrender! I’m away to investigate the pros and cons of joining a nudist colony.

Only joking- I’m actually away to hang out the washing!

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , ,

The Ghosts of “mix tape” Days Gone By…

Posted on April 21, 2014 | 1 comment

Do you remember the days when you sat with your fingers poised over the “pause” and “record” buttons on a Sunday evening, ready to tape your favourite hits from that week’s Top 40? The care that was taken not to get the DJ talking but also not to miss the start of the song?

Or the challenge of getting the needle to land in exactly the right spot to select a single song to play off an LP?

Remember the hours spent putting together a “mix tape” to play on your clock/radio/cassette player or, if you were lucky, your Walkman?

Perhaps I’m showing my age just a little here…..

I have many fond memories of compiling “mix tapes” for myself and friends. Agonising over the choice of songs to include and then debating what order to record them in so that it sounded best. As a teenager I always seemed to be the hard rock fan among pop music friends who decried my music as “too loud” and “too heavy”. I recall arguing with one friend that rock bands played softer stuff too – cue a mix tape of Status Quo ballads such as “Livin’ On An Island” (still got a soft spot for that one). One point to me. Happy days…

Somehow these days pulling together a playlist for your iPod doesn’t quite hit the mark.

I guess the closest I’ve got recently to re-living the “mix tape” days was earlier in the week when I was pulling together some songs to introduce a friend to new music. Reading through the track listings in my music library on the pc, I agonised like a teenager once more as to which were the best songs to choose. Would they like this one? Would they prefer that band? Was this inappropriate for them to play in the car if their young children were in the back seat? Would that one make their ears bleed?

Eventually I was happy with my choices and with the order they were in (blame lingering teenage OCD for that) and the discs were burned.

Somehow holding a “mix cd” in my hand didn’t feel quite as rewarding as a “mix tape” – perhaps it was the fact that I could only get just over 70 minutes of music on there instead of the magic 90 minutes of taped music.

I’m still awaiting feedback on the compilation. I just hope I haven’t made my friend’s ears bleed.

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , ,

The Birth of My Daughter of Darkness

Posted on April 7, 2014 | 3 comments

As a parent you take great delight in many “firsts” in your children’s lives – first smile, first tooth, first steps, first words, first day at school. Each and every moment to be treasured and held in a special place in your heart. As they grow up the “firsts” become rarer occurrences but remain every bit as precious.

Saturday night saw me share in one of Girl Child’s “firsts”.

I took her to her first rock concert.

The tickets had been purchased months ago and knowing her unease at being in strange places with strange folk and her dislike of crowds, I was understandably a slightly anxious “rock mum” as the big day dawned.

So who were the lucky headline act who had been carefully selected for this “first”?

Halestorm, one of my favourite rock bands, who hail from Red Lion, Pennsylvania and are fronted by the incredibly talented Lzzy Hale. I’d had the pleasure of seeing them play twice before as a support act but never as the headliners.

Accompanied by two friends (thanks for coming along, ladies) we queued on one of the steepest streets I’ve ever had to walk up before finally entering the O2 ABC in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street. It’s a small , intimate venue and proved to be the perfect choice for Girl Child’s first gig. With our trip to the merchandising stall under our belts and my purse empty, we positioned ourselves near the front but far enough off the barrier to avoid being crushed.

I watched Girl Child with bated breath.

During the two support acts (The Smoking Hearts, who played a good set, and Day Shell, who did their best with a poorly front man) she stood there gazing up at the stage not giving me any clues or hints as to how she was feeling.

Had I done the right thing? Was she scared in among so many strangers? Was she going to be mentally scarred for life by the whole experience? Was I being a bad mother?

Shortly before nine o’clock Halestorm took to the stage, launching straight into “I Miss the Misery”. Almost instantly Girl Child was transformed! By half way through that first song, she was singing her heart out (badly!), bouncing up and down with the crowd, horns up, and drinking in every word, every movement and every note.

The smile on her face said it all. She was in her element, as my gran would’ve said.

The Glasgow show was the fourth stop on the current Halestorm tour and they didn’t disappoint. Lzzy thanked the fans profusely for giving them a “sold out” show so far from home. The set was made up of favourite numbers from their first two studio albums, cover EPs plus one new song. The late great Ronnie James Dio would have been proud of Lzzy’s rendition of “Straight Through The Heart”. One of my personal favourites remains “Familiar Taste of Poison” and who couldn’t fail to love Arejay Hale’s drum solo? Memories of Arejay’s “big sticks” will live with me for a while (that and the sight of him stripped to the waist for the encore….swoon….)

All too soon the “Rock Show” was drawing to  a close as the band left the audience with “Here’s To Us” and promises to be back soon.

Hot, sweaty, tired and hoarse – it’s a long time since I’ve seen Girl Child so happy.

My little “Daughter of Darkness” has taken her first “rock steps” and it made my heart swell with pride!P1010732

Lzzy bw3

photos courtesy of yours truly

 

 

 

 

3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

What makes you smile?

Posted on March 24, 2014 | 3 comments

One of my favourite books as a child was “Pollyanna” by Eleanor H Porter. I read it and read it. Lord knows how many times I borrowed it from the local library. If you’ve never read it or been fortunate enough to see the film version starring Hayley Mills, I can thoroughly recommend it, if for nothing else other than to introduce you to “the Glad Game”.

This fast paced, demanding, technology filled world we all live in is, at times, overwhelming. There is enormous pressure on us to strive for happiness at any cost. It’s not always money and material things though that bring us moments of genuine happiness. Sometimes it is the small insignificant things that make us smile.

Yesterday, after a long and at times emotional week, I was reminded of “the Glad Game” when I found myself smiling at the fact it was a beautiful sunny spring morning.

The rules of “the Glad Game” are simple – “find something about everything to be glad about.”

Here’s how I got on as yesterday unfolded.

I was glad because:-

  1. It was a beautiful sunny day Its no secret to those who know me that I love the sun.
  2. I started the day with a perfectly chilled glass of orange juice. I need OJ to kick start every morning before coffee.
  3. I could enjoy a long hot leisurely shower using my favourite frangipani shower gel. I love the smell of that shower gel!
  4. I went for a walk in the sun, iPod blasting my favourite tracks into my ears and armed with my camera to capture some of the beauty of Spring. I got some great photos too.
  5. When I returned home I enjoyed a strong black coffee in my favourite mug (yes – the Myles Kennedy one) and a hot buttered toasted cinnamon and raisin bagel. Delicious- just have to ensure that Frankenstein, the cat, is out of butter licking reach!
  6. I could listen to some music on vinyl while tackling the weekly ironing mountain
  7. In a “naughty” moment, I treated myself to some new vinyl. Thank you Amazon and I’ll be equally glad when it arrives.
  8. The first MotoGP race of the season was fantastic and our snail speed broadband coped with streaming the race via BT Sport. Result!
  9. I got to enjoy an episode of “Sons of Anarchy” with boy child, girl child and a glass of wine. (Still not sure I should be watching that series with my children….)
  10. At the end of the day there were clean fresh bedcovers on the bed.

Nothing fancy. Nothing expensive (well perhaps the new vinyl was a bit). Everything made me smile.” Glad” for what I have and what I enjoyed throughout the day.

Try playing “the Glad Game” for yourself and see how easy it is to bring a smile to your day.

3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,