Tuesday 10 March 2015

New hamster etc.

I've been absent for a while. In this time I've nearly posted.....twice. Something about a gingerbread man biscuit (too whimsical, I decided). And when I got a copy of the Spectrum/MGMT 7" on the Great Pop Supplement. My god, did you see that sleeve? So beautiful. The track's not bad either - Spacemen 3 cover Little Doll basically. The Spectrum track was called Bo's Web which brings me to: we have a new hamster. ʊ is, uncontroversially, how his name is pronounced. As to the spelling, my wife maintains that it's Beau (as in Brummell), whereas I say it's Bo (as in Diddley). As I remember it my rationale for Bo Diddly was that Bo (our hamster) was so small. So, like diddly squat, ie: nothing, a paltry amount (of hamster). My wife is at a loss to explain as to how he takes after the famous Regency dandy. 

Other than that there's a round the world post just sitting there, waiting for the MP3 to be uploaded. And a new, very unoriginal, series idea to follow that. I used to have a few half formed posts sitting in the draft folder of my email account, but I came in pissed one night a while back and accidentally deleted them all. No great loss really (except for one about some Mervyn Peake drawings, and the top ten best songs ever one, and a questionnaire style one, that was quite funny).

Added to that is that life has been pretty good. It's occurred to me before that I don't post that much when I'm happier. I know I was certainly stuck in a miserable job when I started this blog. I am, at the moment, very happy in my work. I get in at 7.30am, blink, and it's home time, whether I like it or not. I am, additionally, fairly happy with the other bits of my life. How have I achieved this state of bliss? The usual stuff: how many records have I bought since October? I couldn't tell you, a lot though. I've got enough pairs of Clarks shoes to last me about ten years. I've acquired a fairly perfect striped blazer (burgundy and navy blue, quite subtle. All it lacks is a thin yellow stripe). The girl on the coffee concession is clearly in love with me (she gives me extra stamps on my loyalty card. Or is this a common ploy? Anyway, it's getting a bit ridiculous, I would say around fifty percent of my stamps are bogus).

Been to see some great bands (White Fence and Ultimate Painting at the 100 Club, musically absolutely outstanding). Looking forward to Moon Duo and Belle and Sebastian in April and May. Slightly bummed that I couldn't get tickets for Lee Perry (why did no one tell me about the International Ska festival sooner?). He's playing the day before Good Friday, so no hangover worries and also Good Friday falls on my birthday. (Did you know, I was born on Easter Monday and my birthday won't be on Easter Monday again until 2051, what a weird holiday it is eh?).

So, yes, no new cafes, no new lighthouses and no new beer mats but everything's been just lovely.

8 comments:

  1. A lovely update. We have recently got 2 fish (well, my daughter has), Agnes and Caspar.
    Swiss Adam

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  2. I've never equated frequency of writing with my state of being. Maybe that's where I'm going wrong.

    Since you were last in I've been steady away; as they say up here. And I've picked up my paintbrushes again after a (very) long lay off.

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  3. Well, as I only found my way here for the very first time last week, I'm glad to see a return. Hamster references are always good too...

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  4. Hello blogging chums, it feels nice to be back.

    SA - They sound like classy fish. Whenever I go to a garden centre I always gravitate towards the pet bit and have a good gawp at the fish. very pretty, but not sure I could take any in. Do you really build up any rapport with them? They don't seem to have much character. (Obviously, spare your daughter my musings on the matter.)

    Drew - cheers, I notice you're having a bit of a rest, the difference is yours is well earned. After nearly six years I'm slowly closing in on post number 300.

    John - it seems to be the case, though I'm sure there are periods that indicate the opposite. I tried about three times to leave a comment on your blog the other day, about yellow Penguins. If it's not too lazy i'll leave it here: "The only yellow Penguin I've got is The Epic of Gilgamesh, and as I've never seen another I assumed yellow was their colour for the literature of ancient Mesopotamia".

    C - Hello! Yes, I spotted your comment, it was the catalyst to fire the blog up again. I hadn't really been checking my own posts, just visiting for access to the blog list. I've got a couple of other comments too - one from the cryptic Tom Martin, who I think has left his murmurs elsewhere also. And another from Cornish Wedding Girl which links to a wedding venue brochure, normally I'd regard that as spam but her comment is so nice I don't think I'm going to delete it.

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    Replies
    1. Bloody captchas. Ancient Mesopotamia. Is there a modern Mesopotamia?

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  5. My rapport with them is, um, limited. But Eliza says they have personalities of their own.
    Swiss Adam

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  6. Ah, I'm now thinking of these lost posts in the same way as people are marvelling over all those "deleted" bits of MP3s. I'm just hearing echoes.
    Good to have you back, and hamster news is always welcome around here. My first ever pet was a real escapologist of a hamster called Hannibal. I loved that little bugger, even if I needed to secure the door on his cage with safety pins!

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