joys of the countryside

Outside my front door. How sweet.
That's lunch sorted, and if it wasn't for the bastard birds chirping away and waking me up at 5.30am each day, life out in the sticks would be great.

Here's my walk home from the pub a month ago.

Plus a cool pub in Bedale that l had been frequenting earlier that evening (The Three Coopers). A pool table surrounded by records you can play, plus a chopper (fnaar). What's not to like?
By the look of the photographs, it looks as though social distancing or the lockdown were already in place.

toodle pip

sheldon cooper was ahead of the game

It's still weird watching TV in the new Coronavirus / Covid-19 age, with the social distancing and people doing live screen links, usually from their homes. It always reminds me of  the rather splendid episode of  The Big Bang Theory  where Sheldon Cooper makes an electronic 'Shelbot' version of himself so that he doesn't have to leave his apartment.

I knew he was a genius, but not that he was a soothsaying prophet.

                                      Owen Jones appears via link on the Jeremy Vine show

                                                     Sheldon being ahead of the game

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trump - no one could have predicted this....plus zac goldsmith

I don't know how to put this clip from Alastair Campbell's twitter feed up directly, but just watch it. As usual, Trump is being a lying, arrogant arse, and Obama is being the kind of leader America (and the UK) could do with right now. 
Boris and Trump currently overseeing a pandemic response - fuck me we're doomed.

LOOK HERE

And while we're Alastair Campbell's twitter, here's a retweet he put up from Nick Hilton ages ago that l never got round to sharing.
It's still true though.

toodle pip

staying at home's not working in richmond

It's all well and good the news outlets showing us deserted city centers due to the Government's Coronavirus Stay at Home advice, but if we are really looking to try and minimise the deaths and infections, restrictions need to be a lot tighter.
I've been traveling to work each day as a key worker, and the roads were pretty empty a couple of weeks ago. They are certainly getting busier and busier now. Below is Richmond, North Yorkshire last Wednesday afternoon, nearly as busy as usual.
Hospital death figures were nearly 1,000 for today, and it is going to get a hell of a lot worse if we continue as we are. However, it wouldn't surprise me if the government was deliberately being lax to sneak in the herd immunity they were after (without adequate testing).
Bastards!

Toodle pip

john prine has left the building

John Prine, one of the greatest songwriters of his generation has sadly passed away from the Coronavirus, although he had been in poor health for a while.
If you are unfamiliar with him and his work, do yourself a favour and check him out, as his ability to inhabit a character and speak plainly and emotionally from their viewpoint was outstanding.
He'll be missed a lot in this household.

Here's some examples of his genius









And here's Jeff Tweedy paying tribute with a John Prine song



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loans available!!

It's a good job that some kind soul called Jonathan has been around dropping off leaflets to offer me a loan if l am desperate. He certainly looks to be offering competitive rates, at only 466.37% APR.
I think l'll pass, and l've also blanked his number out, as the last thing l want to do is advertise these kind of loan sharks that prey on the vulnerable in our society, especially in these times.

toodle pip

I just went on holiday...and now it's all this

Thankfully just before the Coronavirus shutdown, myself and some mates were out and about a lot locally, seeing bands and watching football. we also managed to squeeze a short holiday to Hamburg and Copenhagen in, arriving back to shutdown.
It's certainly strange times indeed, but luckily for me, it doesn't affect me that much, as l'm pretty unsociable most of the time. I'm still going to work most days, and enjoy staying in and pottering about, reading, watching TV, and listening to music.It's a shame l can't go to the pub, but it gives me some time to sort out the crap l've accumulated over the years (and buy more crap over the internet).
Anyway, here's some scans from the trip, where pretty much plenty of everything was taken, apart from food.
A splendid time guaranteed for all (apart for Peanut John).
Also, obviously l wouldn't go boasting that l am the only attractive one in our group, but Lara, the young attractive barmaid we were talking to in our favourite pub, slipped me her phone number as we were leaving to meet up with me later that evening. Result!!  Problem is, l mistook the line separating the area code and her number for a one, so rang the wrong number. Never mind, it was still an excellent thing to wind up the others with, and l'll just have to stalk her next time we go back. I've blanked out some of her numbers to prevent people calling her.

And here's some photographs - not in order

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l found a reason - the velvet underground

I certainly love songs with a lot of noise and a bit of an edge, which is one of the many reasons l love The Velvet Underground. I do however, also love their more tender tunes from the pen of the now sadly departed Lou Reed (of which there are many).
One of these l had not played for a while came on unexpectedly (for me at least) as the credits rolled at the end of the 2017 film 'Daphne', which l had just finished watching. I very nearly missed it as l was just about to delete the film, but l'm glad l didn't, as it reintroduced me to the rather wonderful 'I Found a Reason', which can be found on the Velvet's fourth lp 'Loaded'.
Here it is in all it's magnificence.
Enjoy!



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postcards and notes inside old books

It's strange what you can find tucked away inside old books. I've recently been out and about charity shopping (again), and found the items below inside a couple of the many books l purchased. I'm usually mildly curious about who's owned the books before they were donated, but items like these certainly make me more interested.

Item 1 - Three unused Canadian postcards inside Olga Grushin's 'The Dream Life of  Sukhanov'

Item 2 - A Postcolonialism and Hybridity critical reading list from Dr Caroline Herbert inside Hanif Kureishi's 'The Buddha of Suburbia'.
The trouble with this list, is because l am interested in reading books l may not have heard of, or bothered with in the past, a list like this makes me want to read the ones l haven't already read if they are grouped with ones l have enjoyed.
I need more time off work (and more room for the junk).

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