Hearts and Bones
What a complete and utter shite day. From the moment I put my head on the pillow last night and spent the next 8 hours wide awake, to this morning's trip to Oldham Royal for 'tests', to coming home and receiving a phone call that my Dad had collapsed in the street, it's been - as days go - an absolute disappointment.Dad's ok. Shook up but alive. This is what happens when my mother goes shopping and he forgets he's had next to nothing to eat and decides to keep fit by going for quite a long walk. The point is though that he forgets in the first place. He can tell you all about the war and the early years of Frank Sinatra no problem. That'll be me in a bit. I'll be waffling on about the Falklands and The Beatles circa 1964-1970. It comes to us all.
This morning's news regarding Christopher Reeve was sad, but I confess to being more affected by the reporting of the death of Pete McCarthy. In actual fact he 'slipped away' last Wednesday. A victim of the cancer he had suffered from for a mere eight months. I loved his Travelog programmes on Channel Four (I think it was). Erudite, eloquent and witty he provides a slightly skewed view of travel in the early 90s. His two books "McCarthy's Bar" and "The Road to McCarthy" made me feel as though I knew the guy - which I obviously didn't. But if any of you out there haven't read these thoughtful, irreverent and ultimately serious journals of trips here, there and everywhere, get yourselves here now!
He made me think. He made me laugh. I never even knew him. What a fabulous gift. Thank you Pete.
How fed up are you at having to sit 'correcting' those suggestions by Micro$oft's spell checkers that you've spelt 'centre' wrong? Itemised? Surely it has a Zee? Same with all those other words that end with 'ised'. I, and others of my age are probably the last generation that will be able to hold out against the overwhelming onslaught of all things American/Texted/Dumbed-Down-Chav-Crap.
Orwell's 'Newspeak' we hear every day from the Planet's only 'Emperor'. But Burgess's 'Nadsat' we hear in more convoluted forms around us as we shop and work and eat and drink.
Cabernet Merlot and 5,000+ tracks on iTunes. Yer can't beat it can you?
Especially after today.
G'Night everyone, everywhere.
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