The Oxford vaccine has been approved.  So we are now hopefully at half way stage. Maybe we will be somewhere nearer to normality by mid summer then? I really do hope so particularly for those who are now in forced isolation that live alone and have been so in some cases for close to a year. There is a light at the end of the tunnel for those who have not had an enforced retirement from live music and will be able to return to live performances in every sort of environment though this looks as though it may still be many months off it seems. 

It will be a strange overture to the coming year though. For me the last year has been doubly rough having just started to adjust to the loss of one good friend and the changes that ensued from that I just recently lost another.  I played my last gig in february 2020  and its is very possible due to circumstances beyond my control that I may well not be able to continue with much more than occasional live performances in future. Covid restrictions have made it virtually impossible to recruit a new sidekick for live performance sadly. I have also had to consider the possibility that there will not be a suitable candidate so it may be that the last chapter for the Delta Ladies has now been written. 
What comes next is an open question.

On a personal level I have got pretty low now again and keeping my head above water has been difficult. That is possibly going to be a problem with regard to getting out and playing again as my confidence is now toast. I am also having a lot of trouble with my back and related joint problems. If I cannot get much in the way of improvement it will impact on my abilities.  It may be that which puts the brakes on for me in the end.  

I havent mentioned Brexit but there is nothing good in it anyway shape or form. It senses your fear like an errant dog with a nervous postman and just when you think it cant get any worse it draws back its mouth  and displays its teeth.  Or is that just Boris Johnson?

Well so far its mostly shit really and likely to get worse I suspect. The perfect end to a bad year.  Or perhaps simply a slightly drawn out end of everything. It feels a bit that way now. I am making attempts to keep a vaguely buoyant image. Make no mistake though, the ship is taking on water as its holed  below the line and sinking fast.

Last week I attended a friends funeral and was relieved to have got through it with out cracking completely to be honest. Its was good to see friendly faces though, and not via a screen for a change. The circumstances were pretty weird though to say the least. The service was the best possible in  the situation though I think.

This week we have bad news from every quater pretty much including the possibility of food shortages. 

I have pretty much zero motivation to do anything now. I have been making a few small changes to the studio room and more tidying up to make it a bit easier to work in. I need more of  a distraction though as I am not really coping now.  I am getting fairly irritable  and anxious too now. I have no idea what to do about it.

At this point I would blithely post a link to a recent tune but not on this occasion.