Category Archives: Elephant Shelf

Time Out And Re-Grouping

Delta Ladies, Diana Stones Songs, Elephant Shelf, glass cage, music, Musings, other

It’s one of those weeks when things are a little bit sideways and out of kilter. My routine day to day is much the same as ever. music practice recording and all that. At the time of writing it is the 5th anniversary of Vicky Martins death and that seems to have gone in a flash. A lot has happened and it seems we are all moving on, like it or not and for many of us it is likely to be the last chapter, with some perhaps warenting an epilogue. Time gallops past at an increasing rate now from my perspective. How to use the time wisely? And how much of this precious resource do we have anyway?

What happened to me and when did I get so boring. Don’t answer that 🙂 Perhaps I always was just basking in the reflected lights of others achievements at times. I have nostalgia syndrome and everything is dragging me back to thinking of the past. Mix that up with a little guilt as well just for good measure to add seasoning and a little spice.

An instrumental Track from 1997. Entirely created on a Korg W1fd workstation. And recorded to analogue tape.

Early days of D

Me in 1959 I think. When did my nose get so big and other questions spring to mind I must admit. Life was indeed simpler then. Play, cuddle mum eat food play sleep and repeat.
Maybe not not so different from life now thinking about it. Play (make music), cuddle partner, eat, play and repeat. Drink wine and beer. That’s a plus. So being a pensioner is perhaps like being a kid again in many ways. And being stupid and having the odd tantrum too. Being taller is useful too of course.

Diana Stone in a bar with a piano

Me much, much later.

So Hot My Brain is Fried

Delta Ladies, Diana Stones Songs, Elephant Shelf, glass cage, history, music, Musings, other, Piano, pictures, whatever

Too hot to do anything and to hot to think as well. Hopefully the weather is supposed to break on Monday, but its really hard going as there is no way to keep the flats internal temp below 30C. We just can’t lower it whatever we do.    We have tried every trick in the book pretty much. Hi ho alas and also lack a day. 
Just stringing a few words together seems a herculean effort at present. I have resorted to keeping a small spray bottle in the fridge and misting myself with it to keep cool. It is actually remarkably effective in the short term. I did look into various cooling devices but they are not that practical due to the design of the apartment.
So the day to day is difficult right now. 

Here is a new song. It’s just Piano and Vocal on this one for a change, keeping it simple.

Let’s get back to proper English summers where you went on holiday in a caravan in Bognor Regis and the rain p***** down all night and it was so loud you couldn’t sleep. Or I could just move to Wales I suppose. In winter when it snowed just after we moved here in 2018  we had to have the heating off as there was a leak, it was 19C. Each year in winter we seem to need much less heating. But how the hell you cool it I don’t know. Not that I am obsessed you know, but please make it stop.

The war in Ukraine is rumbling on and it’s scary.  Really scary. I do wonder if I might not live to to draw my pension next year. Are we that close to a 3rd world war?
It feels like we might be. All of the certainties we had seem to be blowing away in the wind. So we wait and we worry.  Does Putin want to fulfil the words of the book?

“When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.”

Makes you wonder what a person of  faith feels at a time like this? 

I think I need a drink, laters people and try and do no harm. 

Diana says you have to laugh

Still fighting with Covid.

Delta Ladies, Diana Stones Songs, disabilty and health news, Elephant Shelf, glass cage, music, Musings, other, pictures

Wow, I am still not really well after 3 weeks. I am getting better but its 2 steps forward and one step back at present. I have  been messaging  people to explain that I will be out of commission for another week or so, with hopefully a gradual return to my normal activities’. Its hard going though. I guess I am feeling my age now. It’s hot again too. Too hot for me in recovery to be honest. I am quite fatigued and it is  bit of a shock to be honest, my usual bounce back is not occuring in the same way.  Age I suppose. it’s very frustrating.  I feel much like I did during lock down again, but I still don’t feel well yet.  The good news is that at the time of writing finally after 3 weeks I have just tested negative. I was beginning to get a bit worried that I might be starting a long covid infection. I am working on getting my strength back a bit too. I know if I miss one day I will be tempted to miss another. Some days I get up in pain but the exercises take it away. So like music and practice and composing it is my daily routine. I am lazy so I have an almost military discipline about it. I note how much exercise  I do per day. That helps me keep motivation up. And pain killers are mostly useless for my pains so I have no choice. Each day I start with exercises and if I miss them I fit them In at a different time in the day pretty much. We are of a different character though. If i had a pottery kiln i would be a potter. I don’t really have any musical Instruments I dont play and so forth. The idea of buying  a guitar and hanging it on the wall although it might be a beautiful thing is alien to me. In part perhaps because I never had money so anything I got was a titanic struggle to get so everything gets used. 

Gosh I am so tired  though.

Never surrender, never give up.  

Here’s a tune for you all