Quite funny hearing Nigel Farage’s school days being reminisced about by 18 people that attest he was a bit of cunt then, though I first heard about this many years ago. The stories are consistent over the years which suggest they are likely to be true. The odd things is what they are describing is so similar to the kid that eventually went full national front and shot my house up and so forth with his mates. They must have been separated at birth I reckon. At that time people were buying the Little Red Book but a few were buying Mien Kampf too including the protagonist of my woes. Eerily similar in that apparently my nemesis went on to be an accountant though that’s not far from being a banker. People do walk similar paths in life but you do wonder why they chose particular ones.

Into every life a little rain must fall. The above is looking to be my least popular tune ever. Is it a sign…

“We are freezing known Russian assets, but let me be clear, I don’t actually mean the honourable member for Clacton”

Rachel Reeves

I know it was a daft joke, but there is an element perhaps now of “We see you Nigel” creeping in. I am very pleased that the child benefit cap has been lifted. A few good things in the budget overall I thought. I am not worried about the fact that tax thresholds have been further frozen.

Made me laugh anyway. But if you think that stuff might be happening or have happened, then maybe if your are in the UK sign this.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/744215

There are a lot of people who have a very simple belief system:

1) Taxes are theft
2) Pensioners apart from their own parents are rich bastards with huge houses
3) Disabled people are scroungers.
4) We are being replaced by migrants.
5) Anybody that doesn’t look or sound like us is the enemy
6) Insert any old rubbish here…

I used to meet a lot of people in pubs who expressed those views or mildly disguised versions of them. Often ironically in unionised closed shop jobs and they were mostly very white….. What they never seem to grasp is somebody else is pulling the strings and placing the ideas in their minds.

I know I say this every year but I am going to try and do a mental re-group and get some sort of a plan together to plug the gaps in my musical life. But I just haven’t got the energy somehow at present to be honest, both mentally and physically. Midwinters not the time for starting new ventures or setting out on a quest is it really? Random thought of the day. Things do change and we find it hard to accept them. At the time of writing would have been Vicky’s 78 birthday. The last trip Vicky and I did back from French gigs was 618 miles home and we did it in about 12 hours. No sweat. In fact we did it twice in trips instead of staying overnight halfway in my much loved Picasso. Not sure I could do it now though that was in 2018 so not a million years ago. I do miss all that. I must have been quite mad. I feel I am retired but I do release music and also do recording collaborations’ plus I do still gig so in one sense I wonder how retired actually am? I am not so retired by some peoples standards perhaps. But on a lonely Saturday night I do feel very retired indeed as I write this.

Here’s a song. This year I have recorded 74 of my compositions so far. I guess I don’t get out enough. I also contributed to a couple of other artists tracks this year as well.

Here’s a new one of mine 🙂

Can You Give Me A Sign

It all depends on what metric you are using to define success, Money? Fame? Adulation… I am kind of pleased that people actually listen to my music as I never expected that really (and all over the world too it seems from the east to the west), though as I make music for myself, I am not sure I could write to order or in a particular style. I have a fan base of listeners that’s quite diverse in age, gender and so forth. I never expected to be playing the Albert Hall or the 02 and my prediction was correct as I have not played at either 😉 Also I was very late to the game so very few people have heard me live relative to those that have heard my recordings. The most fun I have had playing has always been in pubs to a handful of people. The most people I have ever played to would be between 500 to a 1000 at one festival but it was nowhere near as enjoyable. Would I have liked money and fame, well I can’t answer that because it hasn’t happened. I am driven or was but not to the degree that my more successful mates and it has to be said often hardworking mates have been. I think that there is an element of truth in the fact whilst it’s great to have achieved stuff, once you have ticked the box you have to find another box to tick and that may not be what makes you happy. We played the 100 club 5 times and went down brilliantly each time. By the time we played it last in 2018 I really was kind of bored. I enjoyed playing but didn’t feel the same buzz before or after. The first time it was beyond my wildest dreams.

My partner had been unwell after going in for a minor hospital day procedure and was quite unwell afterwards unexpectedly. That gave me a bit of a chill and made me think somewhat about what’s actually important. And today we have again had relentless rainfall again. Today I feel very reflective about things. I do seem to have spent more time time daydreaming in the last few weeks. Not so angry and not so stressed which is good but a little bit nostalgic. Maybe it’s just the short days and general sleepy vibe.

Bless us one and all, tis almost the season of enforced overeating, fake expressions of joy and familial love, annoying relatives and disappointed children and the distant howling of Mariah Carey and and frozen echoes of Wham. Carol singers spread dischord whilst performing “Whilst Shepard’s washed There Socks By Night” as rearranged by Schonberg as 12 tone serial music and Reform party Mps anxiously await their Christmas boxes from Santa Putin hoping they are not ticking and wonder why it is that Nigel says when they get them they must open them on the balcony. I am not a big fan of Christmas these days but I don’t begrudge others their joy in it. And the music is great too. Well some of it at least.

So take it easy where ever you are…

We have had a biblical amount of rain in the past few days. Its easing off now and we are getting to more normal weather for the inset of winter proper. My mood has been up and down and all over the place. So business as usual mostly. And my various music projects are proceeding as expected. I hit a bit of a low last week all of a sudden, but that seems to have lifted a bit. Finances are a little bit off too as everything has just got so much more expensive, so that is a little bit of a nuisance too.

Christal Robot Dream. An instrumental

BBC still working for the 1%?

The BBC has always been the official government broadcasting service since it started with Lord Reith in 1922. if we ever get nuked it will be a calm voice on the BBC we will here before kissing our collective arses good bye. it’s supposed to be unbiased but it’s news reporting has always loosely followed at some level the political leanings of the incumbent government. Channel 4 news seems less biased subjectively and even Sky news in some respects.     
But make no mistake at a certain level it is not independent editorially.  If this was not the case we would likely have had proper representation of transgender people in the discussions about the Equality Commissions ‘Guidance’. Extraordinary that we do not have even one trans MP. Britain is a still a backward reactionary country in many respects run by a small number of very rich people who have undue influence of many politicians. I do not see that as being likely to change any time soon.

Time

Yep, time is whizzing by at an alarming rate at present. I am trying to keep myself from pulling down the shutters and hiding away. I am beginning to feel a bit more chipper again now. Again no rhyme or reason.