🎸 I sold a Pearl Jam promo overnight. Thank chuff for that. Gawd I bloody hate Pearl Jam. What a racket. It's been sitting in the loft for a couple of decades, even managing to annoy for simply being there. Harsh? You need some roll with your rock. Pearl Jam are by no means alone, but it's just soulless. Can't you tell that my musical mind has been cleansed after offloading this for a tenner?#

🌳 Forest on MOTD was the Sunday morning breakfast catch up. Oh dear. Half empty, etc. A point is a point, but this game was there for the taking. As I RT-ed last night: reaching the Premier League is a lot more fun that the reality of being in it. VAR can do one. I'm almost nostalgic for Barnsley away.#

💰 The next task was to pre-load up some eBay snipes for later in the day. Sunday evening is eBay Selling Central. There is a modern interweb myth that everyone goes online on Sunday evening as the telly is so crap. Sellers traditionally schedule their items to end around 8pm. That may have been the case back in the day, but there is no offline now it seems.#

This got me thinking about a long lost site whose name now escapes me. It was 1.0 peer buying model. The premise was that the more users that pledge to buy a f-off TV, the cheaper the price comes as the central buyer can load up in bulk. I didn't buy anything from the site and it may not have ben legit. The modern interweb 1.0 was a very strange beast.#

🎵 R pinged, tipping me off about the new Dexy's and Primal Scream collaboration. It's a worthy fundraiser for the Enough is Enough campaign. Having listened to the track all the way through, I can conclude that yeah, Enough is Enough. It's a left-field collaboration but a crap song. It sounds like an outtake from the Brush Stroke sessions.#

☔ The rest of the morning was spent waiting for the miserable rian to stop. Right on time, this took place shortly after midday. I was our signal to escape and GTFO whilst we could.#

🏈 We hit a strong pace as we strode up towards the University wearing wellies. The Essex Blades American Football team had their first home match of the season. I've been trying for a few years to get into American football. Basketball and ice hockey are second nature to me. But I've always struggled with Gridiron.#

Having a team playing right out on our doorstep is an opportunity too good to miss. I attended a few games post-lockdown, more of an excuse to just get out and be semi-social once again. But I still struggle with the finer details of the rules. Reading wikipedia or watching a YT explainer video doesn't prepare you for chaos that can often take place.#

Once again we didn't have a clue what was going off. We understood that each team was trying to gain ground, and they had limited opportunities to achieve this. We also recognised the basic tactic of matching up with an opponent and essentially blocking them out of the game. Plus it was bloody physical. The away team had a female playing, which was pretty cool to see. #

🌲 We hung around for an hour or so, and then the skies started to bruise once again. Time to GTFO. We took a different route back through Weird Wiv Woods. The thinking was that the tree cover would offer up some protection. #

We took a few random turns and ended up down a back alley that was foreign territory for us both. It was close to the Coop though, which was perfect timing for the Sunday afternoon raid on the tramp's banquet reduced section.#

There was some bloke hosting an RSPB sign up stall.#

...he optimistically asked.#

Erm... We were a little tongue tied. I just wanted to get home and neck my reduced price 15p cheese croissants. What were we suppose to say? NO, we bloody hate nature, us. It was a similar question to the one asked by the Labour twonks a few years ago outside the Coop:#

"Do you want to save the NHS?"

#

NO. ffs.#

And so that's two weekend walks ticked off. It's all a little nostalgic for lockdown tbh. But without all the paranoia and Armageddon headlines.#

I surrendered in The Battle of the Heating. My tipping point was an outdoor temperature of 10 degrees. It hovered at around 11 early evening. The reasoning from A was that a damp house needed warming up. And so did the cats.#

🏓 Saturday morning wiff waff in the rain wearing a pair of wellies. I'm unlikely to be asked to become a sporting ambassador for a major brand anytime soon. This was our first time back at the Table of Dreams in over a week. It took three wipes and three flannels to dry out the Table of Dreams before we knocked up.#

We both started a little rusty. I soon found the corners and left A stranded in the middle. No backhand equals a point to me every time. This observation of course works in reverse; she knows my wiff waff blind spot and can pick it out at ease. I still walked away with a 5-2 win.#

🐯 Robert Elms was raving about the Tedeschi Trucks Band at The Palladium last night. He played Midnight in Harlem once again - quite a moment. He also had an interview with Matt Lodder, aka Dt Tattoo from up the road at the University. He's a great guest and speaks with tremendous knowledge on all things ink wise.#

🏏 The miserable weather meant this was a morning for staying indoors. The planned bicycle ride was cancelled. I pressed on with some school publishing instead. I failed in trying to avoid the England t20 score until the highlights later this evening.#

This sounds like it's only a chord change away from becoming a bloody Eagles album. Almost Cut My Hair is the most hippie meme song ever. Our House is charming enough and conjures up many warm childhood memories. There's probably a lot more depth to this album than I'm giving credit for. It's actually quite a radical approach for 1970 with the different styles. It sounds like a museum piece though.#

⭐ ⭐#

🚶‍♂️ The Estuary Wilds rain held a ceasefire and so we headed out for a walk late afternoon. It was still incredibly gloomy out there. This was welly weather. The mood wasn't lifted by listening to the Forest commentary. Once again my watch was pinging around five seconds ahead of the commentary with updates. It made for a nervy walk in real time.#

I was wearing five layers of clothing. It felt slightly warmer outside than in. It was also revealing seeing some of the mean streets of Weird Wiv devoid of parked cars. The fibre broadband team is continuing to blitz the town. This has led to old Victorian streets being restored to the streetview for which they were originally planned.#

The pace of change elsewhere was surprisingly brisk. I've not been out on a Weird Wiv walk for a month or so. Seeing new houses rising, boats disappearing from their Quayside berthings or just new garden furniture marking out territorial boundaries. #mundane, etc.#

🔑 The locksmith returned first thing on Friday morning. It was a brisk job in replacing the bottom barrel at South Lambeth Road. I then became the Keeper of the Keys for four flats. This is where the fun starts. It took planning of epic proportions to make sure everyone had access.#

Some very upsetting news greeted me when I arrived at the SW9 school. This was a complete shock and remains a private moment. But there is so much love and support available for a school community that needs it right now.#

The day picked up with some Gospel singing from Boy Y in a lively music lesson. He's a bit of a STAR. I think he knows that as well.#

🍕 Some spooky Halloween pizzas were on the menu in food tech. I always come out of the SW9 school amazed at the new ideas that the pupils are served up. I had plans to repeat the process later in the day for the evening meal. We went with Chicago Town pizzas instead.#

The school day finished singing Men at Work's Down Under with the Year 10 pupils. All school days should end this way. Much love for everyone in SW9. Always.#

🎸 There was a half decent busker at LS strumming along to Half a World Away. He had a Manc accent, although I couldn't work out if this was for added theatrical value. It's still a banger of a tune. The perfect Friday early evening song ahead of the commute. You're down, but not out.#

I found myself haggling over £1 for a Bob Dylan cassette on the train back to the bloody Estuary Wilds. Look, fella: if the price is £4 then it's for sale for £4. Don't be a cheeky f-er and ask for £1 off. A minute later and my watch pinged saying that he had bought it for £4.#

📮 Back at base and The Postman Delivers: Nina Simone's Baltimore on CD. Pure quality. I put it to one side and caught up with the Forest preview on Radio Nottingham instead. We go again tomorrow afternoon. Oh Lordy. #

The Battle of the Central Heating took place for the rest of the evening. A was making advances to flick the switch. I'm determined to dig in deep for as long as we can. What a time to be alive.#

This sounds like an album recorded by a school music teacher during her lunch break. A little harsh maybe, but I couldn't be doing with her warblings today. I wanted something a little more uplifting, and preferably without all the endless storytelling as well. I lost interest after three tracks. And yeah - that voice. It doesn't half grate.#

⭐#

🔑 I managed to book a locksmith for South Lambeth Road with perfect timing. I would have just enough time to travel back from a school day over in SE19, yet he would arrive before the out of hours cost kicks in.#

🍂 There was no bicycle ride over to SE19. It was one of those wet and thoroughly unpleasant autumn mornings. It was also a morning for stomping around the mean streets of Sunny Stockwell in my Dr Martens. I'm pretty obsessive about rain with most of my other footwear. Not so the DMs. These are put aside for days when you don't give a shit. I didn't give a shit on Thursday.#

💦 SPLASH.#

My footsteps en route for the No.3 bus led me through the Stockwell Conservation area. This truly is cheek by jowl living; multi-millionaire town houses, with estates only a few streets away. Back in 2000 we actually viewed a property here that had access to a private outdoor pool. It was the private outdoor pool that pricked my interest, rather than the pokey flat. We could just about afford it at the time, but the service charge for the pool would have sunk us.#

🏫 I had a decent day in SE19. The trick is not to ponder the enormity of the school as I attempt to work my way round from Nursery through to the sixth form. Get your head down, one class at a time.#

📷 I had a mild panic when my f717 was showing flakey results. The colours were flat and pale. I wasn't sure if it was the screen or the camera sensor. I pressed on. I found out later in the day when I had the opportunity to upload that it's just the screen not quite flushing out the bright colours. Phew.#

🔒 And then soon it was time to board the No. 3 bus again. I was back at base in time for the locksmith. A new lock is needed. It's going to be costly, but I don't see it as my money when it's the freehold management company that is coughing up. A false economy for sure, but we need a new lock anyway. The decent locksmith fella is returning early tomorrow morning to fit it.#

🌳 I caught up with the Shut Up and Show More Football Forest podcast. There's a half decent interview with Ryan Yates. He's been my Player of the Season so far.#

🤦 Oh - I see another Weird Wiv Town Councillor has resigned. Again.#

🚪 Gosh buying a new front door is complicated. Or more to the point, agreeing on all the finer details and fittings for a new front door can do your head in. Especially at 9am on a Wednesday morning. A very decent fella came round to measure up and advise. I found myself just nodding in agreement and signing up for whatever was recommended. Shut that door.#

aka a bloody racket.#

⭐#

🎵 Weller's debut on CD, and a KRONK T-shirt. The Weller CD completes the set for me. That is up until the box set he dropped last week. Oh well. I'll wait until that comes in at under a tenner. The KRONK T-shirt is a stunner. Red, with the iconic yellow lettering. The postage cost more than I actually paid for the clothing.#

�� I tackled the sticky thing along the side of the house at lunchtime. It was due for its annual CHOPPING sometime this month. It seems to have gone early this year with the leaves falling. Each autumn I pin it back down to the ground. It's a sorry sight, naked and lacking in any growth spurt. Come next May and it will be BLOOMING once again.#

🎧 I made a start on listening to the superb We Share These Streets podcasts whilst chopping away. These are short factual stories looking back at everyday Nottingham folk from days gone by. It sounds mundane, but we're all mundane; we all have a story to tell, just not necessarily by ourselves. The series has 20 short form pods. Ten minutes is the ideal podcast duration for me.#

🌙 I had a little GP catching up during the afternoon. He dropped a cover of Harvest Moon by Maya Delilah. Oh WOW. Worth a listen. It leaves Neil Young's version sounding as though it's only half-finished.#

😴 I managed to fall asleep on the train heading into LS early evening. I had more GP listening on in the AirPods. It was one of those magical experiences where I was dozing, but also enjoying the music. Sleep enhances the appreciation of music. All on a shitty Greater Anglia train as well. Blimey.#

☔ Discarded umbrellas told the weather story around LS. It was grim. Cold, dark, wet and windy. I disappeared back down to S Ldn as quickly as possible.#

🔑 Down at the other end and I had a few lock issues in the flat. Oh dear. That could lead to some fun over the next few days with three flats sharing the same front door.#

📷 In better news was the surprise sale of a Lido photo. I stopped uploading images to the agency site a few years back. It was a pain with the constant tagging. But like Premium Bonds, they're ticking away in the background, delivering the dosh when you least expect it.#

🪲 Pinch, punch - November is coming right at you. The blustery Estuary Wilds weather suited some Beatles listening first thing. We're not talking Here Comes The Sun, but Anthology 1. Early Beatles weren't afraid to goof it up; middle and late Beatles weren't afraid to good it up, either. There's a tendency to frame them as immortals and treat their work as untouchable cultural masterpieces. Early Anthology 1 tracks sound as though they were a little tired and emotional during the rough and ready recordings. I've got the complete back catalogue on the CD To Play pile. I'm not quite ready to get suckered into another Beatles phase right now. The weather may change. #

🌵 In Cactus News: I've had no interest in the Gumtree add. Oh well. So eBay it is. I'm pitching to a limited audience here. Hey! I have a F-OFF cactus that is too big for my kitchen and I need to get shot. Plus I want your cash to buy CD's. You'll need to come and collect the f-er, and you'll need to drive over to the bloody Estuary Wilds as well. Anyone? Oh well.#

Masterful playing and production, plus honest and raw songs. This album is a masterpiece in storytelling. Elvis Presley Blues is the standout track. But there's so much choice and depth throughout. Anyone who has hang ups about Americana or alt Country should give this a listen.#

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐#

🎃 Some daft twat put in an offer of £11.50 for my ultra, ultra rare Frank Sidebottom cassette. Blimey, etc. Given that it's listed as Buy It Now at £75, then you have to wonder. Plus why the arbitrary extra 50p? Like that's really going to win me over, fella. I'll listen to serious offers of £50+. #

🌳 Speaking of cheeky f-ers, I then stumbled across a Forest shirt for £30,000. Yep, that's right - a cool £30k. There are claims of authenticity that it is match worn by Big Larry Lloyd in the 1979 European Cup Final. But still - £30k? Nostalgia ain't what it use to be.#

🖼️ A returned from the local framer having picked up half a dozen paintings and prints. Of interest to me is a stunning lino cut of the Weird Wiv Quay, produced by N from the Rowing Club. She presented me with a copy having used one of my hit and miss iPhone snaps from the bow of the boat as the inspiration for the design. It was one of those flat as a pancake Estuary Wilds afternoons. The reflections on the water were stunning. We just need to find somewhere to hang it now.#

🌴 I had my first request to upload an old school reggae 12" to the YT channel - Lone Ranger and Don't Give You Man Bun. Happy to oblige. It's a proper old school banger from back in the day.#

🧂 R pinged me, tipping me off that SAULT have dropped five albums today. FIVE bloody new albums. Oh wow. They're all behind a password protected wetransfer link. It's not difficult to gain access given some of the cryptic clues. These should keep me occupied whilst out running over the coming weeks.#

It also led to a wider MEGA download session. I snaffled the new Weller box set, the Dry Cleaning album, Dexy's As It Should Have Sounded and Wu-Lu. I know little of the latter bit he was bloody decent on Later last week.#

🏏 We caught up with the cricket on Tuesday evening. I've found it hard to find the rhythm for the t20 World Cup. It's the timezone and the indifferent weather. But England impressed over NZ. So did the young kid in the crowd wearing a Forest top. Good effort, young man.#

🌳 I watched the Forest 'highlights' again over breakfast, y'know, just to make sure that it really was as bad as it appeared on MOTD2 late last night. Yep, it was. Oh dear. I then made the mistake of having a quick scroll through the #nffc hashtag on Twitter. I then realised I have better things to do with my time. Arsenal always have a decent season when they are wearing a decent kit btw.#

The Rolling Stones and Exile on CD. I knew I would get sucked into a Stones CD buying session. Let It Bleed, Beggars Banquet and now Exile, all in the past week. I should stop there. They became a live band rather than studio artists around this time, right?#

★ I had a little Novara Media catching up. LOVE 'EM, etc, Tell It Like It Is. But it's still an echo chamber. It would liven things up if they would invite an alternative view to the left / anarcho conversations. You wouldn't want it to become a left incarnation of trashy right wing broadcasters; but at least giving the right wing nut jobs a platform would provide an opportunity to pull apart their free market ideas.#

🚌 Lunchtime listening was the superb Streets Ahead podcast. It has an emphasis on cycling, but also reaches out towards the dreaded phrases of sustainability and smart cities. Basically it's all about getting people moving, staying active and out of their crappy cars. The discussion took a deep dive into austerity and its impacts on transport and lifestyles. It's this type of connected thinking that is missing from much of the mainstream media. Give it a listen.#

🏡 In Wisteria News: The wisteria is showing a new growth spurt. Which is really WEIRD. It should be losing its leaves around this time of year. This is happening as well, but it's also leading to some extra autumn growth pushing through from underneath. Oh well. We've got plans to get rid of it anyway. SEE YA!#

Four killer singles, rather weak elsewhere. This has the Chic fingerprints all over it. Sister Sledge are all about the good times, and not break up ballads. This would have made for a brilliant, brilliant 12" EP. A little too diluted with all the slushy stuff.#

⭐ ⭐ ⭐#

Another day, another cassette sale on eBay. I managed to offload Brothers in Arms (£5) and some very cheap Bowie Best Of (£7.50). The Brothers in Arms is actually my original from 1985. Yes, as a fifteen year-old I was rocking Dire Straits on my Walkman, and then seamlessly switching to Streetsounds on vinyl. I still rate Brothers in Arms. A and I had a little bop to Walk of Life late last night. BOOZE was involved, natch. #

I really wanted to like this. I even looked into a cheapo CD on eBay after having enjoyed all 16 minutes of the album opener Chameleon. £3.49 including P&P sounds about right. Jazz shouldn't be fused with anything. It's just jazz, innit. There was an awful lot of noodling and little action. I think I lack the musical sophistication to enjoy albums without vocals. I need someone to tell the story for me.#

⭐ ⭐#

🌳 Another Garibaldi Red podcast dropped. It was painful listening. The episode was sub-titled 'Familiar Failings.' I'd add in Forest Familiar Failings - wtf. I do like a good alliteration. The fact was highlighted that Forest have scored a solitary away goal in the PL all season. We don't play away from The World Famous City Ground now until after the World Cup. It's probably for the best.#

🎃 Monday evening was spent shouting out F-OFF very loudly whenever some little shits came trick or treating. That's harsh. The words were uttered, but perhaps not so loudly. Buy yeah. Do one, little shits.#

🎵 A persistent buyer came back early Sunday morning with a new offer for the Dark Side of the Moon cassette. He caught me in a moment of weakness on the day of rest. Scratch that. I had only managed one cup of tea and so wasn't fully functioning. I accepted the £9 offer - £1 below the Buy It Now asking price. That should translate to three CD's, thank you very much. One out, three in. Job's a good 'un 👍 #

📻 Maxwell Hutchinson was back with Robert Elms on BBC Radio London. It's been a while. Or maybe I have just missed his appearances? Max is a quality broadcaster with a London tale for every topic. He even manages to outmanoeuvre Elms at times with the richest of London's history that runs through him. He's also incredibly honest - a very much appreciated value in a broadcaster. He spoke in clarity about his recent illness and the NHS. And then he went on a fantastic oratory tale of where we live in later years. He made a grim topic sound reassuring.#

🚴 A miserable bicycle ride in the pissing rain over to Brightlingsea followed. If the weather doesn't get you then the close passing Petrol Heads will. I was asked by a ticket inspector on a train into LS last month: "Why do you cycle in London? You must be mad!" Not as mad as cycling in the bloody Estuary Wilds, fella.#

🚣‍♂️ The occasion for a roll out over to Brightlingsea was the next round of the Harker's Yard Winter Series with WivGigs. I wasn't feeling fighting fit, tbh. My arm is still sore after the flu jab on Friday. Racing in a blustery estuary against a dozen or so other competitive crews wasn't how I wanted to spend my Sunday lunchtime.#

🐌 A little humour was added with a stray snail. I met up with the other club members and had a good social catch up. It was almost time to race. I went to the gents to check my looks, etc. BLOODY HELL! WTF is that? I had a massive bulge above my eyebrow. Oh. That will be a snail then. It must have been inside my bicycle helmet overnight, and joined me on the ride over to Brightlingsea. The other WivGigs crew members were far too polite to mention this.#

The women raced first in blowy, wet conditions. In short, this was not a Sunday for messing about on the water. The public pontoon came close to sinking under the weight of the many rowers from across the Harker's Yard family of rowers.#

A brief crew swap, and soon I was seated on second stroke for the men's race. It was a 15 minute row over to the start line. Fifteen minutes in and still weren't there. Oh dear.#

The waves increased in size and pace as Point Clear came into sight. I had memories of the Round Mersea race over the summer when our boat had to be rescued. It was pretty much the same crew and cox as well...#

This wasn't looking good. I have a good sense of danger and can spot it a maritime mile off. My arm was f-ed as well. I was rowing one-handed, often not even making oar contact with the water. We weren't even at race pace as we tried to reach the starting line.#

I fessed up: "I don't feel safe." I don't think I was alone, but I was the first one to come clean. The cox agreed. We managed a 180 degrees turn and headed back to safer waters. I felt deflated. Completely broken and a sense of failure for letting the other crew members down. I didn't hang around. I cycled back to base feeling a fraud.#

🌳 It didn't get much better with Forest away at Arsenal. Realistically we were looking at a 2-0 defeat ahead of kick off as a decent result. That Wembley optimism from only five months ago seems like a generation away.#

I do admire how Steve Cooper seems to have found his preferred starting eleven though. The run-in last season was built around the same faces, week in, week out. We're getting there with the Forest 2.0 model. It's only cost us £150m+.#

I was also made up to see Reiss Nelson come on as an early sub for Arsenal. He was an SE17 kid from back in the day. I have memories of watching him playing football in the playground as a primary school kid and thinking, yep - he's half decent. Fifteen years later and I'm washed up in the bloody Estuary Wilds, listening to BBC Radio Nottingham commentary of a kid I use to know, now scoring a couple against Forest. Funny old game.#

Forest were down and out. It was dark before 5pm. This wasn't the most optimistic Sunday tbh.#

🧻 We had a little toilet humour when A's Prime Subscribe and Save order for Andrex almost served us up with 30 packs of nine toilet rolls. It even reached the despatch stage before we were able to put the brakes on. No shit.#

🎯 Darts and Gervais ended Sunday evening.#

🏏 A decent early morning read in The Times: The ECB's High Performance Review is Dead. Long Live County Cricket? We'll see. But it's a definite step in the right direction with the Counties looking set to reject the pieces of eight on offer. All we need to do now is to work together to dismantle the silly Hundred.#

I spent a little time pre-loading up eBay snipes for various items that were ending throughout the day. I can be a cheeky f-er at times. If you don't ask then you don't get.#

🚴 Out went the shout of To Ipswich! Oh the glamour. The main reason was to return to the bicycle shop to try and solve the mystery of the clicking noise coming from my chain on the Raleigh electric. We decided to let the train take the strain, rather than the dodgy bicycle chain. We cut it a little too close for comfort. Hurrah for train station lifts when you're lugging a 28kg bicycle between platforms.#

🎵 We dropped off the Raleigh, and then headed off for a morning of exploration. On my radar was a Record Fair. It was round the back of a particularly nasty piss alley, along from the local Conservative Association. We sounded about right.#

I f-ed up with the timing. The Record Fair is taking place tomorrow. Doh! I wasn't defeated though. I pressed on with an Ipswich charity shop trawl. There were slim pickings. I picked up a Bo Didley Best Of, plus a Fairport Convention compilation, both at £1.99. The damage would have been considerably higher if the Tory Piss Alley Record Fair was running.#

We returned to the bicycle shop. There was confusion in what might be causing the clicking sound. The rather nice mechanics couldn't even hear the clicking after a few test rides. It's there, fellas, it's there. #

The most logical explanation was a tight chain. They loosened it slightly which did seem to make a difference. I need to road test the Raleigh electric on a hefty ride to make sure. The one bonus coming out of the bicycle shop trip was snaffling a pair of cleated MTB trainers, knocked down to a ridiculous £10 price tag. Chapeau!#

🏊‍♂️ I was too tired to cycle back to base. And so we boarded the train again. Waiting for me back home was a package from @OneEyeGrey back in S Ldn. He's played a blinder by producing some sew on Lido patches. These should look ACE on my Caradice Brompton cycling bag.#

📮 The Postman Delivers: Pink Floyd's The Wall and The Stones' Let It Bleed. Bleak, Jase. Bleak.#

🍅 A little more optimistic was the Estuary Wilds crazy, crazy weather. Tomatoes and raspberries were sourced for the lunchtime menu.#

🏀 And then it was: To the University! Basketball was back on the agenda for late afternoon, early evening. There was an Essex Rebels Halloween double header with the women tipping off first, followed by the the men's Div 1 team.#

The club went for it with the Halloween theme. The Arena was decked out with all things spooky. There was a fancy dress competition for kids and adults. I don't do fancy dress. Ever.#

There was a record crowd to witness the Halloween basketball action. Durham rocked up a little lower in numbers to face off against the women. The away team was short-benched. The result was never in any doubt with the Rebels running out a 75-63 home court win.#

My watched pinged during the break. Some of that eBay sniping has paid off. £1.20 for a KRONK boxing T-shirt? Yes please. I also managed to offload a Nevermind cassette for £20 before the Div 1 men tipped off.#

The men struggled against a strong Nottingham Hoods team. The Rebels had possession but were weak under the basket. Nottingham left the court with a 78-63 victory. There was also a little bad blood between some of the away players and the Rebels' MC.#

A busy day.#

There's so much more to this album than simply Buffalo Gals and a song about skipping. It's rich in styles, piecing together different cultures and seeing where it takes you. Yep, Malcolm was the great magpie. A musical thief who lifted other ideas for his own benefit. But he had the vision to look a little further afield whilst others stayed at home. I had no idea Thomas Dolby was involved in this. The best album artwork ever?#

⭐ ⭐ �� ⭐#

📻 Robert Elms was back for another Friday four hour session. It's the perfect working soundtrack for me. He dropped Mark Morrison's Return of the Mac. WOW. It's such a massive banger. I have memories of awkwardly dancing to this in various nightclubs throughout L******er back in the day.#

🗞️ Friday morning also means South London Press publishing day. I downloaded the sports content from the digital edition and had a brief shifty. The small team continues to punch above its weight for what is a very large news patch. Where else could you read a whole page each week on Herne Hill Harriers? There was a decent interview with the new Dulwich boss Paul Barnes. I did have a wry smile when he spoke optimistically about Football League status down in SE21. The only thing that seems to be missing from the SLP right now is Streatham ice hockey coverage.#

It's interesting how the price for recently released CD's is dropping on eBay. I picked up this new, sealed copy for £4. Vinyl - and now cassettes - continue to be listed for bonkers prices. As with all Weller albums since 22 Dreams back in 2007, this is his best album. I say this each summer when the old geezer knocks another one out. He makes it seem effortless these days, although always adding a new twist or take. I'm just missing his debut on CD to complete the set. I'm not having much joy online. I suspect this is charity shop happy hunting territory.#

Edit to add: just snaffled a copy for £2 on discogs 🤣 #

🎥 Elms that an interview with a fella from the Dock 'n' Roll Film Festival. It's a bloody great line up of movies and shorts. The Story of Cymande, The Incarnations of Willy Deville and F**K It Up Towers of London all look ACE. #

🌳 The BBC Shut Up And Show More Football Forest podcast was upbeat for once. And why not? If you can't dine off a1-0 home victory against Liverpool for the best part of a week, then what's the point in being in the Premier League? It has been a little alarming over recent days to see Forest are planning another £1m raid in the transfer market when the window opens at the end of the year.#

💉 Having spent six hours yesterday having needles continually inserted into my arm, I had just one small prick for Friday afternoon. I cycled off to the Hythe for my flu jab. It was all very smooth. I only had to wait an extra ten minutes. That slight delay was worth it just to see the WEIRD fella decked out in a full London 2012 Games Maker outfit. Most odd.#

🌼 I had a mad anarchic gardening session late afternoon. The sun was chasing down my arse. The sun won. My downfall was attempting to reorganise the shed, only to put everything back exactly where it was in the first place. If it ain't broke... I did manage a severe HACKING of the six foot killer daisies. The really bonkers weather was summed up with the sound of an ice cream van siren outside. We are three days away from Halloween.#

🪲 I had half an interest in the latest re-release of The Beatles' Revolver. It seems to be available on vinyl, CD and as a download, with multiple options for each format. I bulked at £169 for the vinyl deluxe. Yep, it's The Beatles. But bloody hell. #

🏊‍♂️ My final swim for a month to start Thursday morning. It's all about #tattoolove, innit. I made the most of one last time in the water ahead of waiting for my skin to heal. It was functional with another 40 lengths ticked off. I almost felt nostalgic for lockdown when you were given a few days warning ahead of the pools closing again.#

💀 I decided after my last inking a year ago to continue with the ink fest. I also gave myself the personal deadline of waiting for six months, just to make sure, y'know. I made sure and yep, BRING IT ON. But there was a six month waiting list for my man. I've been Waiting for My Man in eager anticipation over recent months.#

I joined four other slightly nervous folk shortly after 10:30am, waiting for the call from their artist. It was very similar to a Doctor's waiting room, without the crappy magazines and shitty daytime telly.#

Johnny Cash was on the studio playlist for the morning. The Man in Black sounded fitting for what was to come.#

We were all in separate rooms with an open door policy. It was very relaxed. I tried to ease my nerves with all sorts of random bollocks. Which room would first buzz with the sound of the vibrating needle? It wasn't my room.#

Much like painting and decorating, it's all about the prep. My man was very thorough. I liked his approach. It was almost an hour and a half before the first needle went in. We wanted to make sure the design was spot on and balanced in the correct place on my shoulder.#

We were a little over optimistic with the grand scale of the initial paper design. If at first you don't succeed, then scale down.#

Next up: NEEDLE TIME!#

I've felt bigger pricks, so to be speak. I actually quite enjoyed the whole experience. The style of my man is for very small black dots to build up the bigger picture. This most definitely wasn't a slap it on approach.#

I started to think about what it might look like after this first session was finished. But you shouldn't look too far ahead. Half the fun is the actual experience itself. You need to live through this mild irritation ahead of the satisfaction of the end result.#

We both took a late lunch. I had the artwork covered up and I took a wander around the mean streets of Sunny Colch, aka a charity shop CD buying spree. I came out trumps with the White Stripes, Athlete and the Pulp Fiction soundtrack - £3 all in.#

I then had the very random thought of checking up on my crappy MTB that I had locked up outside. I wouldn't normally do this. I rocked up to the bike rack, only to see some weedy yoof with a F-OFF pair of bolt cutters attacking the D-lock on the bicycle next to mind.#

BASTARD.#

"Can I help you?" I asked. He claimed that it was his bicycle and he had lost his keys. Yeah, right mate. A small crowd was now starting to gather. I was selfish and more concerned about my own bicycle. I unlocked it with a view to shifting it elsewhere. The crowd grew, the little shit did a runner.#

By pure coincidence I saw a uniformed Community Support Officer around the next corner. I explained what I had seen. He was already across this, and explained that there had been a couple of other reports of the little shit.#

Funny old town / city.#

Round 2 of the Ink Fest continued. More prep work, more planning for Part 2 and Part 3. Yep - this is only the beginning.#

A clean up took place back at base. I'm happy with the work today. The shoulder is finished, the upper arm has some work in progress sketches. It looks a little odd as an unfinished piece of art. Patience is everything.#

A very odd album. There's a lot going off here - and not always in a good way. I preferred the psychedelia over the folk whingeing. Mood Raga is just plain weird. It's a time capsule of a record. Some things are best left in the past. #

⭐ ⭐#

🌴 I played another batch of reggae 12"s throughout the morning. I selected around half a dozen to digitise and then upload to my YT channel. There's some great tracks in there. Wayne's Jarrett's cover of Billy [how he spells it] Jean is a killer tune. It sells for £13+ on discogs. I picked it up as part of an eBay bundle costing around £1 per 12".#

Reggae is the perfect genre for covers. You're looking for something new and a different interpretation of the original. A reggae beat and riddim is always going to deliver this. I admit to being slightly obsessed by reggae covers of classic pop from the late '70s through to the mid 80's. #

My attention then turned towards cassettes. I listed a load of items on eBay at optimistic prices. The Special AKA In The Studio album went for £15 within minutes. Beatles, Bowie and Pink Floyd have yet to deliver.#

🏃‍♂️ I had time to escape for a warm yet windy run at lunchtime. Once again I failed to find any enthusiasm until the 5km stage. By then it was too late. I had work commitments and so pressed on for only another 3km. The local bee population was out and about along the Estuary Wilds, soaking up the autumn sun. This is pretty crazy when you consider that we are approaching Halloween and Bonfire Night.#

The Wednesday afternoon University sports crowd were doing their activities as I ran around the perimeter of the campus. I don't remember Lacrosse being a major activity some thirty odd years ago. This was my final run for a couple of weeks. Inking duties at the tattoo studio tomorrow will bring an end to all this excursion. I'm quite looking forward to the break, tbh.#

🚀 I caught up with the latest Picard trailer. I completely missed this last week. It all looks very dark. I then had to watch a ten minute YT explainer video to understand all the references that I missed. I love sci-fi, but I'm a hopeless judge of quality. I still think Voyager was a bloody great series. It clearly wasn't...#

🌳 I finally finished The Athletic's 9k word essay on Marinakis. It's a shame it stuck behind the paywall as it deserves a wider read - and not just at The World Famous City Ground, either. Daniel Taylor seems to knock out these pieces at ease. It's quite a skill in having close access to the story, alongside the ability to tell it in a compelling manner. As for Marinakis? Better the Devil you know, etc.#

🏏 The t20 World Cup has passed me by. I missed the England opener against Afghanistan, and then almost the defeat to Ireland earlier today. The time zone difference doesn't help. It's impossible these days to avoid the news agenda. Phone and watch pings throughout the morning delivered the result. It was still painful viewing watching the highlights later in the evening.#

This was a ramble of a record. It's also VERY LOUD - even with my own volume output set to manageable levels. What a bloody great racket. I quite liked the Thurston / Kim interchange on vocals. Who needs a sole lead singer anyway? Some tracks dragged. Just end it, Dude. Sonic Youth are at their best when they at least attempt some melodies. Disappear is the standout track here. I like the F-IT attitude of just doing what they want, and not what other people want them to do.#

⭐ ⭐ ⭐#

🏓 We returned to the Table of Dreams before breakfast for a brief knock up. There was a light dew on the table, but thankfully no more damage from the little shits of Weird Wiv. It's a great time to be out in the public park. By pure coincidence we saw a couple of very nice people from the old 15 Queen Street crowd in Sunny Colch. THOSE DAYS...#

The table tennis game itself was brief but competitive. We're both finding our groove once again after a summer away. One game in particular was stretched out to a 15-13 thriller. Yes, it really was a thriller. A triumphed in the end with an overall 3-2 game win. #

🏊‍♂️ I forced myself to cycle off for a swim at lunchtime. I could quite happily have sat this one out. But there's no such thing as a bad swim, etc. Only a smelly one. The most foul smelling fella arrived in the changing room at the same time as me. His body odour was so repugnant that I had to hold by breath until he had passed. Please don't go for a swim, PLEASE DON'T GO FOR A SWIM. Use the gym instead, mate. He swam. Plus he didn't even shower first. The dirty, dirty dog. Oh dear.#

Well this was a pleasant surprise. It's a new artist for me. I was expecting some early 70's folk shit. All the suspect ingredients are there - the artist name, the album artwork, the choice of cover versions. But it doesn't sound dated. Decent songs don't age. It's far too long, but that's part of the appeal. Maybe the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band caught me on a good day. Maybe I'm maturing with age and becoming a stupid hippie.#

⭐ ⭐ ⭐#

🌵 I posted an online ad to sell one of my cactus plants. It's bloody HUGE - 1 metre, 70 cm. I'm quite attached to it, but we're rapidly running out of space as it continues to grow. It's an offshoot from a baby cactus I've nurtured for almost twenty years. I've no idea why this one is reaching for the stars. Sourcing a sensible price was surprisingly a little tricky online. I whacked it up on Gumtree at a silly starting price of £250. Let's see. That's an awful lot of second hand CD's to play around with.#

I managed to shift a load of cassettes overnight - 11 on the Facebook group. All for a decent price as well. Closed selling groups are probably the best use of Facebook for me. No fees, straight to your paypal account a real sense of a buyer / sellers community and the trust that is needed. I don't think I'm the ideal demographic for the Metaverse bollocks.#

🎵 The new Orbital collaboration with Sleaford Fucking Mods is half decent. I missed out on this over the weekend, so was playing catch up. It's nothing new, but then you don't need or even want anything new from Sleaford Fucking Mods. Anger is an energy, etc. I was convinced the video was shot somewhere around the North Essex coast. It's actually the Isle of Sheppey.#

🚲 I gave the Ipswich bicycle shop a call about the clicks coming out of the crank on the Raleigh electric. They were very helpful and agreed for me to return at the weekend to investigate further. I'm convinced that it's just a case of something needing to be tightened up. I don't trust myself to fiddle around with the bottom bracket, especially with the motor down there.#

Santana always scare me. All that noodling, all that hair. It's not for me I'm afraid. The drums and rhythm picked up my interest. Black Magic Woman was surprisingly soulful. I got a little lost five tracks in though. It comes back to all that noodling, all that hair.#

⭐ ⭐#

And that completes the Mary Chain set on CD for me. I drifted from the band after the first two albums. It turns out they have aged rather well. The Glasto gig this summer was a lesson on how to put on a F-IT rock'n' roll performance. I Love / Hate Rock 'n' Roll, etc.#

🏃‍♂️ I managed a midday run. It wasn't quite Mad Dogs and Englishmen, but it was a warm one. I thought I could manage the 10km route. I felt a little shitty after 8km and so called it a day. Some runs are better than others.#

🖥️ I received an invite to try the new TweetDeck. Oh, go on then. It's more like the desktop native version of Twitter than an app. I struggled for a while to find the setting to shift columns either left or right. It was a great product back in the day. I use to leave TweetDeck running in the background on my desktop as a real time news feed. Somewhere down the line and the content on Twitter became crap. It's now a distraction rather than a decent news source.#

👨‍💻 Dave Winer opened up FeedLand for open use. Interesting. VERY interesting.#

Plus:#

I've long been an admirer of Dave's products and ideas. This blog is built using Drummer, his latest publishing tool. It's the ethos of creating communities and having an independent ownership of your content that appeals to me. Plus I share Dave's belief that outliners are a brilliant tool for short form blogging.#

I went through an old OPML file to export content into FeedLand. Blimey. That takes me back. I had around 300 or so old RSS feeds of South London and Sunny Colch hyperlocal content. There were blogs - and people - who have long since fallen off the back of the modern interweb.#

The end product is my own river of news. Nice.#

🌳 The Forest catch up on BBC Nottingham was pleasant listening for once. Plus it's always good to hear Young Nigel talking all things football and Mansfield Town. West Ham Vs Bournemouth wasn't exactly the Game of the Season.#

🤦 Oh - we seem to have a new PM as well. Whatever.#

🚣‍♂️ Sunday was WivGigs RACE DAY. We staged another intra-club race - for shit 'n' giggles, etc. It's actually a great way to get new club members race ready. We've welcomed many new crew members over recent months. It can be a challenge to throw them straight into a Harker's Yard race against other clubs. Our own internal effrots are a decent introduction.#

Except the weather on Sunday morning was the kind of conditions that can sink boats. Oh dear. I didn't think we would get the go ahead to race. A social row would have long since been cancelled with the heavy downpour ahead of the 9:30am meet up. I checked WhatsApp, again and again, waiting for the inevitable. Still We Race. WivgGigs are a hardy lot.#

The pre-race briefing was brief - the way it should be. Basically row your backside off. We had our two boats Audacity and Verucca Varuna out on the water. Four crews were in place, leading to a couple of sprints out into the estuary.#

I raced first in Audacity. Our tactic seemed to be to shout "HOLD WATER" at every available moment. This means that we have the lie of the land / water and you need to gtf outta the way. This all assumes that you take the lead at the start. We didn't, and we didn't get to shout "HOLD WATER" either.#

It was a tough row tbh. We were never really in, but still pushed hard. Our rival club looked on from the other side of the estuary in Defiance. See you next week in Brightlingsea, boys and girls.#

We tied up briefly on the Sailing Club pontoon. A couple of crazy swimmers drifted through. You know there's a reason why that water is so brown, right?#

I did a little boat hopping. I was down to double dip with a place in the Varuna crew for the second race. I was on lead stroke - the position in the boat that dictates the pace. It's hard work, but at least you get to choose a rhythm that works for you.#

We got off to a brilliant start and moved ahead of Audacity. It soon became clear that there was a situation developing in the other boat. It was a mild medical emergency, but thankfully it had a happy ending. It did mean that we were now time trialling rather than racing. We pressed on.#

The rain re-appeared for the return leg back towards the pontoon. This was our motivation to get a shifty on. A bonkers lone paddle boarder ploughed on downstream, passing us a little too close for comfort. The HONKING of the klaxon was the best sound I heard all morning.#

The end results showed that my Audacity crew finished third; our Varuna effort fared better in second place. A presentation and some drying off took place in the Sailing Club. I didn't hang around. I was cold and wet and in need of endless mugs of warm tea. My hands had also started to blister quite badly.#

🏐 I had afternoon plans to head up to the University to watch the volleyball. A new elite team has set up on campus. The University appears to be shifting away from a bastion of social science to something more like a US sporting college set up. The rain was hit and miss. I didn't fancy a second soaking of the day.#

☠️ I stayed in and watched the Southampton Vs Arsenal game, with Steve Earle's Copperhead Road as the soundtrack. I bought this on CD a few weeks ago. It's an album that I've only ever known through the medium of a glorious TDK D90 cassette. I'd forgotten that The Pogues are the house band on some of the tracks. The Devil's Right Hand is a great outsider track.#

🎵 I posted a shit load of cassettes for sale to the Facebook group. I'm not sure where I stand with cassettes right now. I've been unlucky with a run of faulty decks - which is a shame after spending most of Lockdown buying up the entire UK cassette collection. I'm spoilt for choice with CD's. Unlike cassettes, the prices remain competitive. I rarely pay more than £3 including postage for a CD. You can double that for a cassette. Plus the quality is guaranteed. Meanwhile there's a Record Fair in Ipswich next weekend...#

A very classy album that sounds complete. There's nothing missing here. Even the sparseness of the music doesn't sound awkward. There's space for the songs to breathe. I'm never sure if Solid Air is a summer or autumn record. Either way, it carries you through with a very warm feeling throughout. The bass sounds lovely through the analogue production. Martyn's voice could break down and cry at any moment. He just runs with the full spectre of emotions from the downbeat title track, and then straight into Over the Hill. May You Never is the complete F-IT song. Superb.#

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐#

🐱 I had a very energetic Dotty as my Saturday morning alarm call. Which was just as well, as I came close to oversleeping ahead of ParkRun. Not so energetic was the poor Mr Mouse having his last gasps on the kitchen floor. So that's why Dotty was so energetic. She's a one.#

I got my shit together and cycled on to ParkRun. There was an Open Day taking place on campus. I wasn't even invited to an Open Day some thirty years ago, such was my poor 'A' Level predictions. If I had attended then I'm not sure that I would have decided that The Only Way Is Essex. Sliding Doors, etc.#

🌳 I was wearing a Forest top for ParkRun. I thought I would try and flush out any other Reds around Sunny Colch. I've seen one other fella at ParkRun wearing the Garibaldi at the start of the season. No surprises that he hasn't worn it since.#

🏃‍♂️ We were running the BAT SHIT route. There was some Oktober [URGH] Beer Fest thing taking place at the foot of the park. A diversion was in place for ParkRun, possibly to avoid the trail of vomit from the night before.#

📣 There was also a terrible extrovert running. I have little time for terrible extroverts. ParkRun provides the perfect opportunity for such people to shout VERY LOULDY their personal motivation mantras at anyone who cares to listen. I didn't care to listen, but I couldn't avoid his terrible extrovert bollocks.I felt fighting fit. But not as strong as one fella who pressed on past me around the halfway mark. He had what can only be described as an electric bicycle style acceleration over the rest of the runners. We had a fair pace; he sprinted effortlessly from nowhere and towards the front of the race. #

My final time was 21'57" - a decent showing. I experimented by not having the F-OFF bowl of porridge before the race. This is probably my last ParkRun for a couple of weeks. Tattoos are calling with running off the agenda.#

There was some very odd event taking place around Sunny Colch. This is usually the case, day in, day out tbh. I passed a gathering of Ooompa Loompas at 9:30am as I cycled off to Lidl. Funny, I thought. And then about five minutes later I clocked another couple who may - OR MAY NOT - have been Ooompa Loompas. Funny old town.#

🫘 Lidl was needs must. Cost of Living shit, innit. You haven't lived until you've bought a four pack of Lidl branded baked beans for £1.05. I also snaffled a £4.99 running top. I actually prefer that it isn't branded.#

I wasn't alone with the needs must Cost of Living shit. A nearby middle class neighbour was also poking around the Gypo's Corner reduced aisle. Class solidarity, Comrade. #

💉 I cycled on to the pool. The Covid shit queue has returned to the pharmacist. Everything is something shit these days.#

🏊‍♂️ My Saturday morning swim was the opposite of 24 hours earlier. Yesterday I felt up for it but I bombed in the water. I couldn't care less today, but I clocked another sub-seventeen minutes. The human body remains a puzzle.#

I cycled back through campus on the way heading home. The University Open Day had a whole fleet of golf style buggies taking potential students on a guided tour. It was as though the campus had been turned into a theme park.#

🎵 My lunchtime listening was Marvin's Greatest Hits. I'm not normally a fan of Best Ofs. But blimey - Marvin's effort is truly excellent. This is another album that we shifted box loads of back in the day on the market stall. I picked up a CD copy for a £1 in a charity shop a couple of weeks ago. Music of the Gods.#

⚽ And then there was Forest. I was full of nerves ahead of the lunchtime KO Vs Liverpool. Please don't embarrass us in front of a national TV audience; please show up and at least put up a fight. I would have been happy with a 2-0 home defeat.#

BBC Radio Nottingham had a brilliant pre-match build up. The network had even put in the effort to produce a package going through the archives with commentary from these two great rivals. Trust me - it's there.#

I switched on BT Sport just ahead of KO. It was great to hear Fletch back commentating at the World Famous City Ground. Having JJ alongside him was an added bonus.#

I'm not ashamed to say that tears were shed when Forest scored. This became something a more little uncontrollable at full time. Oh dear. #twostarsonthebadge. AND PROUD.#

🚴 I released my emotions in an afternoon bicycle ride. I took out the Raleigh electric once again for a final test ride to see if I'm imagining the clicking of the crank or chain. I'm not. It looks like I will have to return to the dealer in Ipswich next weekend.#

I rode the usual Tendring route, but in reverse. It offered up a new perspective with backwards views of what I usually see. It was remarkably warm. I took another mouthful of flies at one stage.#

Descending Tenpenny Hill led to me clocking up 50kmh without any electric assistance. This is NUTS for a bicycle that weighs 28kg. Halloween decorations lined most windows as I passed through Alresford.#

I was back home in time for the start of Sports Report on 5Live. Forest were still the lead story, three hours after their win. There was just enough light left in the day to carry out a quick garden tidy up.#

👌 This was pretty much the perfect day. I should wear my Forest tops more often. #

📻 Never has a radio introduction felt more reassuring. The morning after the night before and I couldn't handle the talk show bollocks. With perfect timing, Friday morning means the return of Robert Elms. Yer man opened with some Luther, then went straight into a Robert Gordon revivalist rockabilly track. Unique broadcasting, and all on the BBC as well. #

The Postman Delivers: The Stones' Sticky Fingers. I'm very, very, very late to this. I've never really got The Stones. I've always sat on The Beatles side of the fence. But some random listening earlier in the week led me towards Sticky Fingers and some of the lesser known tracks such as Can't You Hear Me Knocking. Three quid on CD? Go on then.#

🏏 I confess to something of a piss take when asked to take part in a Surrey cricket sponsorship survey. Marketing turns everything to shit, right? Sample question: which brands do you associate with Surrey? Answer: Fosters. Which sector would you like to sponsor Surrey? Trade Unions. Who would you like to sponsor Surrey? Extinction Rebellion. Given the club f-ed over the Members with the stupid Hundred, then ask as silly question, Comrades...#

⚫ I played Prince's Black album on vinyl mid-morning. I wasn't even sure if I still had this. I bought it off one of the engineers at Radio Trent in... 89? It was a MUST HAVE at the time. Now it just sounds a little ropey. This may be to do with the Dutch bootleg pressing. I've heard better quality AM radio broadcasts. I looked into buying a CD copy. Silly, silly prices.#

🚴 I managed an escape for a mid-afternoon swim. I cycled through campus. Some shitty advertising boards have gone up around one of the new developments. It looks like the University is building properties to sell or rent to non-students. The bullshit bingo declared "living on a global campus." There's the Essex Sports Arena for basketball, a half-decent rep theatre and, and...? The SU bar? Chin chin.#

🏊‍♂️ There's no such thing as a bad swim, but this wasn't one of the greatest. I wasn't really interested until 30 lengths in. I've put high expectations on my performance with the required sub-seventeen minute time. I was six seconds off this afternoon.#

I retired to the UKIP Racist Spa to sulk. I didn't last long.#

Oh STFU, luv.#

I had to tip toe back to the changing rooms. There was a trail of toe jam from the pool to the gents. It was like an unhygienic Essex re-telling of Hansel and Gretel. It was also most repulsive. #

🌳 The Forest preview on BBC Nottingham was a little more optimistic. But it's the same every week: build up the expectations, only for a resounding kick in the bollocks when matchday actually comes around. Yes, I'll be there tomorrow lunchtime, soaking up the pre-match build up and believing all over again. Let's see how long it lasts.#

🐏 At least we're not D***y County. I had half an eye on the Sheep's away game up the road at Ipswich. Bahhh, in every sense.#

🏃‍♂️ A delicate run in the dark and drizzle to start Thursday. Rain meant the Lido trip was abandoned. See you next April, Icicle pals. And so instead I trotted around Larkhall Park for a couple of laps. It was pretty dull tbh. I couldn't see where I was going; a layer of damp leaves was my running surface. The only highlight was seeing two fellas knocking up on the Larkhall Table of Dream. Blimey. If I couldn't see where I was running, then respect for playing ping pong in the dark before 7am.#

☔ I made the short walk in the rain for a full on schools day in SW9. It started off with a Year 7 drumming workshop. Not a bad way to start the working day. I prayed to the Weather Gods asking for no wet play or lunch. I felt for the Forest School students as they prepared for a morning in the Great Outdoors.#

🌳 My attention drifted during morning break. I actually wrote down the Forest starting eleven from last season. I circled the players who have since moved on from The World Famous City Ground. I tried to replace them with members of the current squad who are better. I failed. Funny old game; funny old fella.#

✉️ An email dropped from that nice Information Commissioner. I've received another ruling in my favour regarding an FOI request with [public body that I've been involved with regarding legal shit over the past four years]. This is the second time that [public body...] has had their knuckles felt by the ICO. The FOI process and dealing with the [public body...] has at times been more stressful than the actual legal case with Mr Fuck Face. There.#

🗳️ Lunchtime was spent listening to the Prime Minister resign. Again. It was symbolic that a torrential downpour greeted her arrival at No.10, and then this was repeated some 40 odd days later as she departed. This is the second time that a PM has resigned whilst I have been at the SW9 school. I should try and attend more often.#

🍳 I had some great fun later in the afternoon with some Year 10 students in food tech. Halloween cup cakes were on the menu. Some of these are young people I have known since they were Reception children over in SE19. It's been a pleasure watching them grow up into responsible young adults.#

⚽ The afternoon ended with some of the more street cred Year 13 crowd. I was challenged by the football obsessed young men about Forest's season so far. Questions included: "Hands up if you've won more than one game this season" etc. I killed the conversation with "Hands up if you've won two European Cups." Oh. Just me then, fellas.#

🚆 Predictably I fell asleep again on the train journey back to Weird Wiv. I woke up in time to see the newly resurfaced Trail as the train pulled in. It's still not finished, but it looks like a solid resurfacing job.#

🐱 🐱I was a little worried on returning, having left Daisy and Dotty on their own overnight. I needn't have worried; they were both waiting for me indoors, albeit a little hungry.#

😠 Thursday came to a close with booking more train tickets (never a simple job anymore), entering the Wimbledon ballot and shouting at the telly about how utterly shit the Tories are.#

🦻 ALEXA - STOP... is my current catchphrase. It's having them rolling in the aisles. Something is not quite right with Alexa in recent days. The sensitivity in when she can hear and respond to commands has reduced. It's as though old age has caught up with her. She's losing her sense of hearing. I use to be able to issue a command in a space two rooms away. Now I need to shout in her electronic ear. Given that my morning routine involves station hopping between 5Live, LBC, Times Radio, TalkSport, there is plenty of ALEXA - STOP action. I have the attention span of a gnat, and a smart speaker that needs a hearing aid.#

Possibly the most sampled album in history? I had no idea that De la Soul lifted the Roller Skating Jam line from here. The bass is the star throughout the album. Bernard Edwards' playing is sublime and tight. I wasn't expecting the ballads. This leads to the album drifting slightly in the middle. I'd forgotten how fantastic My Forbidden Lover is.#

⭐ ⭐ ⭐#

🏊‍♂️ Another day, another lunchtime swim. The water temperature was a balmy 28.1 degrees. You can halve that for the Lido tomorrow morning. It was another sub-seventeen minutes. I think the pace can be explained by me wanting to get out of the pool ASAP with a floating plaster drifting ever closer to me.#

🏓 I saw S from the Table Tennis Club in the changing room. I wanted to explain that we haven't been recently because some little shits had burnt down the Table Of Dreams in Weird Wiv and we're a little rusty. But having a conversation in your birthday suit just made it easier to say we've been busy.#

🚴 There was a horrible headwind on the bicycle ride back to base. I made the mistake of sweeping up the leaves in the garden yesterday. That was time well spent. The University playing fields had the various Wednesday games taking place. This is a different world for me. Back in the day and my freebie Wednesday afternoons were spent on the piss in the SU bar.#

🎵 I gave Marvin's Here My Dear album a spin mid-afternoon. Only Marv could make sweet soul music out of a shitty situation. It's his Divorce album. He had to fork out to pay his ex. Marvin turned to music and made an album all about the break up, and then handed over the royalties. It's the best break up concept album in the world - ever!#

👑 I managed to sell a Sex Pistols God Save the Queen promo CD. It dates back to the Golden Jubilee when it was re-released with some bloody awful mixes. The final price of £11 surprised me. Flogging a Dead Horse, etc.#

🐱 The rest of Wednesday was all about making sure I was back in South London. I had a near miss with the cat food timer. It wasn't in the usual place. Daisy was all set to have the TIME OF HER LIFE whilst I'm away. I found it at the last minute, meaning that I was running very late for the train.#

🌳 I fell asleep during the journey listening to the latest Garibaldi Red podcast. Which was fitting.#

Electric bicycles seemed to be everywhere around LS. I made my way back down to Sunny Stockwell. Tomorrow was due to be my final Lido session before a winter of getting inked up kicks in. Rain looks like I have now had my final Lido swim for the season.#

🎅 Oh - the day ended with details of the work Christmas party. TOO EARLY.#

📺 I started Season 2 of Industry before drifting off to sleep late last night. That's always a mistake. The plot is gripping, but it leaves me waking up trying to piece it together again. Hurrah for Wikpedia and plot overviews. The production suits late, late night view. There's little lighting and the subject matter is centred around sex, drugs and dosh. It reminds why capitalism is so shitty, yet it makes for a great drama.#

💰 More micro economic matters were on my mind. My watched pinged to let me know that I had sold a Super Furry Animals gig ticket from The Astoria in 1996. Not so successful once again was the Rock Steady Crew vinyl. It failed once again to attract any interest at £6. I'd rather hang on to it tbh than devalue it further. I'm learning how to be a ruthless capitalist pig by watching Industry.#

💻 The next task was to check my various sites. WordPress updated overnight. This always leads to mild panic. Most of the sites really could could do with a complete overhaul and a new theme. But if it's not broken, why fix it? The overnight roll outs didn't break anything. I live to fight another update.#

🚣‍♂️ The crews were announced for the Harker's Yard winter series at Brightlingsea. I'm in the men's crew rather than the mixed. It's a bit of a sideways move. The mixed crew has been the focus for this season. I don't really mind - we still have a very strong men's crew. Plus the mixed was a little stressful with high expectations at the Rowhedge race.#

An album recorded partly on talent, partly on very bad drugs. It sounds like it was more fun to make than it was to listen to. I'm afraid I bailed after seven songs. It made no sense to me. The early 70's were batshit crazy.#

⭐ #

🏊‍♂️ The lunchtime swim was brief, but functional. It felt like early summer as I cycled off to the pool. It was shorts and T-shirt weather for some of the many, many student swarming around campus as I passed through. MAJOR stereotype alert: Students seem to have a problem in not understanding that a bicycle lane is for cyclists. But just to balance things out, yep - cyclists can get a little over-irritated leading to some constant bell ringing action.#

I put in another sub-seventeen minutes for the 800m of freestyle. Way to go, you. This is becoming the norm now. It's only taken me two decades of swimming pretty much every day to understand the importance of your stroke over power. My incredibly smart Garmin even counts the number of strokes per length. I know exactly where I need to be to hit the sub-seventeen minutes. Maybe I should just enjoy the swim for the swims sake.#

🎵 Hey Little Girl was playing over the Co-op PA as I rummaged around for more yellow sticker reduced aisle items. Gosh, Bryan Ferry sounds good, I thought. I got home only for Alexa to tell me that it was Glasshouse and not the smoothie in the suit. It still sounded very good, mind, even for supermarket music.#

🌼 An anarchic gardening session followed. I've let it slip over recent weeks. We've reached the stage where some severe chopping needs to take place as we prepare for the winter months.#

🌳 I thought I would turn to some Forest podcast action for the motivation. Garibaldi Red offered up a considered Trentside opinion: We're a long way from being adrift at the foot of the table. The Forever Forest podcast was more to the point: We're lying underneath the silkworm and sucking his dick. Yep. Forest are f-ed.#

I reluctantly chopped down a giant daisy. It's still in full autumnal bloom. But it blocks the path when we're taking bicycles back and forth down the garden. Some daffodils appear to be shooting up in the front garden. That can't be right. #

🎵 The daily eBay emails alerted me to Weller's Fat Pop on CD for £5.99. It's the one album I'm missing from my collection. I was tempted, especially with the free postage. But it's a couple of quid more than I'd like to pay. I'll play the long, waiting game. Which I like to think others are playing with my Rock Steady Crew vinyl.#

🌳 And then there was Forest. I had a choice of listening / viewing: BBC Nottingham, 5Live or Amazon Prime. I tried to sync up the Prime pictures with the BBC Nottingham commentary. This never works. And so I watched the game on Prime with the shitty commentary. A scoreless away draw in Brighton is the best it gets for Forest right now.#

📻 Confirmation came later in the evening that the current Colne Radio social campaign has paid off. We've hit the targets and achieved what was required for future funding. Job well done 👏👏 #

Joyce Simms. Oh no. I missed this news yesterday. Only 63 as well. All in All and Come Into My Life are classics. I really shouldn't have been listening to them as an indie teenager living out in the sticks. But they were both very important records for me. A fantastic voice with great production.#

I really didn't want to play this again. It's one of those albums that you know inside out. It's in danger of spoiling the enjoyment through over familiarity. Abbey Road, Dark Side, Nevermind etc. I always skip Rehab anyway. No joke intended. Instead I tried to find something new here today. I played it on the AirPods, listening out for anything I've missed. There was the odd guitar riff buried deep in the mix. But it comes back to the songs and the voice. And for those reasons alone this has to be a five star album.#

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐#

🌳 I made a start on reading the Daniel Taylor Athletic long read on Marinakas and his ownership of Forest. I say long read - BOY, it's a long, long read. It clocks in at over 9k words. The intro alone would fit into the space The Graun would normally set aside for a profile piece. I've got a little lost already in all the Greek politics.#

🏊‍♂️ The first swim of the new week was delayed until late afternoon. It was still warm as I cycled off just after 3pm. I stopped off briefly for some hit and miss Insta snaps down by the Hythe. A mad dog on one of the house boats took an interest in my luminous cycling gear and went off on one.#

To my surprise I managed to bloke it up with my banter in the changing room. I hate banter, and I'm not exactly your average bloke either. But I can hold my own, so to speak. There's a HUGE head nod in there as to the direction all the BANTZ went in.#

It was absolute bliss in the pool. I had the entire pool to myself. I made the decision to concentrate on the length of my strokes, rather than the speed or power. It paid off. I managed a 16'30" time for the 800m.#

🎵 The eBay emails threw up a vinyl copy of Malcolm McLaren's Would Ya Like More Scratchin' album. It's basically a Duck Rock remix / cash in. I put in a very cheeky offer. The refusal pinged back within seconds. If you don't ask...#

📻 Early evening was spent listening to the Forest fallout on BBC Nottingham. It wasn't pleasant to here. It's a real wake up call from how we have gone from riding the Wembley wave to being in a horrid, horrid relegation scrap in under five months.#

The political and economic news coming out of Westminster today was light-hearted in comparison.#

🐱 A Tale of Two Cats early Sunday morning. I heard the banging as I drifted off to sleep on Saturday. Dotty has caught something. Oh dear. I was at that stage in the sleep pattern where my body had taken over. I let Dotty get on with doing what Dotty does. Which early on Sunday morning led me to treading on a dead vole as I delicately found my way around the bathroom. Daisy meanwhile has found her new fur house thing. She was quite happy, tucked up inside looking rather cute. A Tale of Two Cats.#

🏓 There was a return to the Table of Dreams to start the Sunday sporting agenda. We've been absent for the past six months after some little shits decided to burn down the public facility out in the Estuary Wilds. It's taken a little time, but the Town Council has managed to repair and replace some parts. We've really missed the Table of Dreams.#

🦇 I had a BRILLIANT joke as A attempted to find the table tennis bats. She's also got a bat detector (don't ask) lying around in one of the rooms. You can see where this was heading, and where it failed.#

I was so excited about a return to the Table of Dreams that I actually sprinted over there. The little shits had also returned. There was a broken bottle all over the table. Cheers, little shits.#

We cleaned it up and pressed on with the ping pong. Our play started off rusty, but soon we both found our rhythm and improved. I had a little more rhythm than A. I spanked her 6-1.#

She noticed a new plaque in the park by a nearby tree. It was really odd. It read something along the lines of ' this was the favourite tree of [someone]. She sadly passed in 1930.' It's only taken 92 years to get the plaque put in place.#

🚴 ⚡ We rolled out on a His 'n' Hers electric ride around Abberton mid-morning. The idea was to test the electrics on what is a hilly route that we often struggle with on the roadies. It's roughly a 50km round circuit. My display indicated that I had 60km of power left. Oh dear.#

I decided to take it steady, riding on my own power, except for the climbs. I still managed to push the Raleigh to 46kmh on a descent. It was tough work however on a 28kg BEAST of a bike. A was a little frustrated as she continued on Eco power.#

The clicking has definitely returned to the crank of my electric. I'm not happy about this. I think it's a poor fitting chain. I can feel the vibrations coming through on my pedals. Having decided to ignore this, I now realise that I need to return to the dealer and get a fix. Which is disappointing.#

The ride was pretty uneventful elsewhere. The camouflage crew were out around the reservoir doing their Sunday morning birdy thing. I took a face full of flies who had come out to lap up the autumnal sunshine. Some rotting kerbside sunflowers as we approached Fingringhoe confirmed that summer is over.#

I charged the battery on the electric back at base. It was a bit of a wrench to remove. It was also bloody heavy. I can see where the 28kg comes from. #

Lunchtime was spent deciding if I really wanted to bid on a Ridley Oval track bike. I definitely want a track bike, and preferably a Ridley Oval - the exact same frame that I flogged over a decade ago. One appeared with a starting price of £60. But it had been converted with front and back brakes. It's definitely seen road action, and not exclusively track. I let it go.#

🚣 I was booked in for a WivGigs Sunday Social row mid-afternoon. I got to live out my rubber wader fantasy when the cox asked me to pimp up with the fetish gear. I was also rowing on stroke - the front seat in the boat that dictates the pace.#

The Sailing Cub had the monopoly of the water with a dingy race heading upstream. We chose a downstream row with the Hythe our destination. It was the right choice. We were rewarded with a rare sighting of a seal as far downstream as Rowhedge. We passed some swimmers on the return journey. If only they had seen the shit-infested waters that disgusted us a minute or so earlier.#

Sunday evening was spent catching the final day of the World Track Cycling Championships. It's been a great week of track racing with the countdown to the Olympics on the same track now underway. We followed this through by watching the Graeme Obree Flying Scotsman movie. Chapeau!#

🏃‍♂️ It was another slippery ParkRun. Castle Park looked golden with a layer of leaves along the twists and turns of the narrow paths. I made sure that I didn't twist and turn with them. That's my excuse for a steady Saturday morning ParkRun. No PB's today.#

I did have the incentive to beat the buggy. There's always one. One new Dad was looking very athletic pushing his young kid around. The young kid was having the time of his life. Way to go, young Dude. But I'm going to be beat Daddy. I didn't. The buggy beat me. Bugger.#

🎸 I popped into a random Sunny Colch charity shop after the run. I got lucky with a book and five set CD of The Jam's Direction, Reaction, Creation. It was priced at a bargain £5. Blimey. The bloke in the shop added that everything today had a 20% discount. Yours for £4. It sells for £40 on eBay.#

🎵 I cycled past Firstsite and saw that there was a Record Fair setting up. I had a little time to spare. It would have been rude not to. I wasn't really in a buying mood having done the business over in Frinton on Friday. There was some collectable Beatles 3 inch CD singles. Plus also The Beatles at the Beeb CD on sale for £25. I paid £3 in Frinton.#

I didn't hang around too long. It was a very blokey atmosphere with some questionable personal hygiene issues.#

🏊‍♂️ The mid-morning swim was great. I had the entire pool to myself. Half an hour os spa arseing around followed. That's me finished for Saturday. All before midday as well.#

🚴 It was a blustery bicycle ride back to base. It felt odd climbing Boundary Road on a non-electric bike. A pair of magpies flew across my path. Meadow Lane legend has it that Neil Warnock always looked out for a pair of magpies ahead of each home game to bring him luck. I'll take anything for Forest right now.#

🏏 My Surrey Membership renewal was waiting for me in the post. I'm going to scale down for next season. I really can't be arsed with the Blast and the silly Hundred. I'm going to take out County Membership instead.#

🌳 I caught up with the latest Garibaldi Red podcast over lunch. It was decent listening, focussing on the women's team ahead of their Sunday game against D***y. I like the way the Forest are now pushing a multi-team ethos and putting across the message of a club, and not just a team.#

⚽ Out went the shout of To Broad Lane! ...shortly afterwards. Wivenhoe Town had a home game with a weird 2pm KO. The club ain't too proud to beg. The cost of living shit means that the floodlights are out of bounds for this season.#

It felly very strange starting an hour earlier. My natural rhythm of the weekend had been disrupted. We were listening to the Forest build up whilst the Dragons were going in with a 1-0 lead at HT. Wivenhoe ended up winning 2-1 in what was a decent game.#

🏀 The Saturday evening entertainment was once again basketball up at the University. It was down as a double header, but the Women's Super League game was cancelled late last night. Instead we had the BIG BOYS with the Men's Div 1 team against Westminster Warriors.#

Cycling to a basketball game after watching football brought back the memories. This was the routine twenty odd years ago with Dulwich Hamlet and then London Lions as the double header. I am living the same life, but in a different location.#

The Essex Sports Arena was pretty much full. This was the largest crowd we have seen there. It's very impressive. The only promotion I see is in my social channels. There's must be a push elsewhere, but I'm not sure where. We're not talking just students, either. There were more families turning out than undergrads. Essex Rebels controlled what was a tight game, leaving the court with a 95-80 win.#

I watched Forest's 1-0 defeat away to Wolves on MOTD, and went to bed sulking.#

🎵 A new Bruce track dropped overnight. Nightshift appeared in my Insta feed over breakfast. I unmuted my phone with some trepidation. Relax. The Boss pulls it off. Just. He's suited and booted in the video clip, showing that he is taking his new role as US Soul Archiver seriously. There's a reassuring E Street feel with the keyboards and horns. Plus when did Bruce learn to sing? He manages to hold all the notes. It's very, very good and hints as more surprises with the new soul album. The Winston Reedy cover remains my fave. I still think we made the right decision in spunking out for a couple of electric bicycles rather than a two week Bruce US road trip. #

👜 Robert Elms had a journo reporting live from the opening of Battersea Power Station. Woh. This is a toughie. The building looks brilliant, it's right on my doorstep yet it's not for me. The best I can hope for is an occasional trip for cheapo T-shirts at Uniqlo. The Elms piece was annoyingly full of whoops and fireworks. Yay. Let's all celebrate what could have been a genuine community space being transformed into a playground for the obscenely wealthy. Whoop whoop.#

📮 The Postman delivers: XTC's Oranges and Lemons CD. I was a little uncertain about this. I blagged it for a bargain £2.11 price. It sells closer to £15 elsewhere. The listing didn't have an image. But it all turned up fine with the CD insert. #

🌼 Album of the Day: De La Soul - Three Feet High and Rising #

This sounded unlike anything else when I first bought it back in 1989. It's the loved up response to a West Coast rap scene that was heading down the gangster route. I knew which direction I wanted to turn to. Hip Hop concept albums should usually be avoided. But the dialogue and in-jokes aren't annoying, They keep the Daisy Age feel flowing thoughout. There's still room for politics with It's a Ghetto Thing. Plus there's also personal politics on Say No Go. This should be a SIX star album.#

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐#

🚴 ⚡ The ride out on the Raleigh electric today was over to Frinton. I had a double pannier to fill with CD's from the Frinton second hand record shop. Chapeau! I've found my legs on the electric. I'm now riding it with the same control I have for my road bike. I'm feeling confident to cut off the motor when coasting, and then maximising it when I need a boost. I even managed to clock 45kmh freewheeling downhill on a 28kg bike with no power assist. #

Endless road works and temporary traffic lights did slow me down however. It seems that half of Tendring is currently being dug up to install fibre broadband. More pleasing was the sight of an old fella in a country cottage carrying out the final mowing of the lawn this season. Good effort, pal.#

I turned on the Turbo mode for the Frinton run in with one hefty hill left to climb. I actually laughed out loud to myself as I stayed in the saddle and coasted over the climb.#

The Frinton second hand record shop is fantastic. The trick is to set your budget and stick to it. I settled on £30 to snaffle up as many quality CD's as I could carry. Forty five minutes later and I left with a Beth Orton double, the Best of the Art of Noise, the Weddoes early compilation, R.E.M.'s Eponymous, Bob's Hard Rain, The Beatles at the Beeb, The Jam's Sound Affects, Buzzcocks Singles, 1,000 Volts of Holt, The Proclaimers' Leith, ZZ Top's Eliminator and The Best of Bill Withers. Oh - and Propaganda's debut for £1. I left Frinton £4 up on my planned budget.#

The return ride was eventful. I passed a discarded cat carrier tossed into a hedgerow. I cycled on for about ten seconds, and then had a horrid, horrid thought. No one would be cruel enough, surely? I stopped and turned around. I approached and saw something inside the carrier. I was almost too upset to look. It turned out to be a cat blanket. Phew.#

There was a magnificent falcon keeping watch on a pole in a field as I approached Elmstead Market. I pressed on and was back at base before the forecast rain. There was a new Chancellor as well. Which was nice.#

Friday evening was spent LOVING the track cycling from Paris. Ganna is an absolute BEAST.#

I preferred the music over the vocals. Oh dear. Not exactly what you're supposed to think of Sarah Vaughan. There was something a little pushy, a little extrovert about the delivery. Which is probably the whole point of being a singer. Maybe it was just my mood. I wanted something mellow to start the morning. The piano and gentle bass achieved this. I quite enjoyed the live aspect of the album. It adds to the occasion.#

⭐ ⭐#

🏏 I finally caught up with Marcus Hook's superb overview of the Surrey season in the SLP. It's proper old school journalism. His copy is clearly written for print, and not for clicks. It reads all the better for this. He's allowed to develop his commentary and given the space and freedom to Tell It Like It Is. The away victory at Scarbados is rightfully singled out at the the Best Moment in the Championship; likewise in choosing the trio of Jordan Clark, Will Jacks and Jamie Overton as the Player of the Season. All three deserve the SE11 praise.#

🌳 The morning of catch ups continued. Next up was the Frank Clark interview on BBC Nottingham. This is an hour long. It needs to be given the many roles that Clark has held at The World Famous City Ground: European Cup winning player, promotion winning Manager and even Chairman. Once again it was refreshing to hear an interview that has time to develop thought and ideas. Why would you even want to clip 30 secs to push out on social? #

Clark has some cracking Clough tales. EVERYONE from this period has some cracking Clough tales... They were both almost equals when Clark came to Trentside. They had North East connections and even played in the same games. This makes Clark stand out compared to the other Miracle Men.#

They are the last of a generation. I often get a little macabre and think how lucky we are to still have all the Miracle Men amongst us. I'm also fascinated by the fringe players during this period that didn't quite make the cut. Anderson, O'Neill, Robertson, Woodcock and Bowyer were all knocking about in the old Second Division when Clough came along. But then you have names such as John Middleton, Sammy Chapman, Terry Curran and Barry Butlin who were so close yet so far from becoming Miracle Men.#

The interview got a little clumsy with comparison being made between Clough and Steve Cooper. Just don't go there. But it's definitely worth an hour of your time before it falls off BBC Sounds.#

🪥 I had a stupid dental appointment at lunchtime. I say stupid because these frequent trips are becoming increasingly a farce. If my dentist had his way then I would be in the surgery every month for a check up, with a hygienist visit to follow. I put my foot down this time: nope, I'm not signing up for quarterly check ups and a quick brush up. I can't afford this. It's a measure of the man who can bargain with the dentist and reach a compromise deal. We settled on the traditional annual check up and three hygienist visits a year. I may - or may not - honour this. #

I despise going up there. I had a half hour wait past my appointment time. The shitty Radio 2 playing all sorts of crap at half volume does my nut in. The sound of the drilling in the surgery was more deafening than the broadband workmen outside my house. See you in twelve months. Possibly.#

🚲 I needed a bicycle ride to recover. I rolled out on the Raleigh electric on the short Lawford route. It was hit and miss if the Estuary Wilds rain would christen the new bicycle. I needn't have worried. Bright skies were soon upon me. #

I'm loving the electric ride. There is the slight concern that the added boost will diminish my hill climbing abilities when I switch back o the roadie. What hill climbing abilities? Oh yeah. I managed to maintain a steady 30kmh with the motor turned off whilst riding along the flats. That's not bad for a bicycle that clocks in at a chuffing 28kg.#

🎸 Day 2 of the Michelle Shocked listening experience continued. I skipped Short, Sharp, Shocked (can't find a cheapo CD copy) and went straight for Captain Swing. It's a really fun album. By the time of its original release I had long since moved on to pale white indie crap. Which is a shame as I missed out on delights such as Captain Swing. I had a quick look at her discogs page. Wow. She was a busy girl through until around 2010. I've only just picked up on the Miss Shell Shocked pun. Oh. #

🏓 In Wiff Waff News: The Table of Dreams has been repaired. Hurrah! Some little shits burnt it down at the start of the summer. We've really missed our early morning knock ups. We're going to be a little rusty when we return at the weekend. #

📻 I published the final content for the current Colne Radio campaign early evening. I think it's been a success. We had strict targets in which to meet over a short period of time. Hopefully the numbers stack up. #

✊ Evening viewing included the Corbyn Novara interview. It's a fantastic conversation. The poor fella didn't stand a chance. His energy and commitment to a fairer world remains stronger than ever. Unlike the twats that replaced him #whynotjointhelabourparty #

🚴 More track cycling from the Worlds ended Thursday. Chapeau! #

I had the Caroline Says earworm at 7am. This gets interesting - well, for me, anyway. I listened to the Velvet's version on the VU compilation album yesterday. I came to the song originally via the Marc and the Mambas cover on the Untitled album. I know, I thought: let's listen to the Lou Reed solo version. I've not heard that before. Blimey. It was a completely different song with different lyrics. Doh! A little modern interweb looking around explains it. The Velvets recorded Stephanie Says. Lou recorded a brand new song with Caroline as the main character, but kept the same title. Along comes loved up Marc in '84 and records a cover of the Velvets song, but changes the main character back to Caroline. Early morning earworms can be exhausting. And yep - the Mambas version is the best.#

I thought we had got lucky with the fibre broadband roll out. Maybe the workmen are only digging up one side of the street? Nope. The Caroline Says earworm was soon replaced by the sound of drills all morning as the pavement was pulled apart. Progress... I did panic a little that the modern interweb would be down all day. It's quieter working in the South Lambeth Road flat tbh.#

The next task was to cancel my Lido membership 😔 I'm spending the winter months being inked up. The recovery time means that I won't be anywhere near Lake Brockwell until the end of January. The water temperature will be hovering above freezing by then. No thank you. It was a bloody pain jumping through all the online hoops to tell Fusion to stop the payment. Starting again is a piece of piss. Fancy that. #

I had a little time mid-morning to admire the garden - a strange thing to do as the summer plants die off. By pure luck we've got a garden that BLOOMS early autumn. I can't bluff my way around exactly what is growing. We do have some F-OFF yellow daisies that reach around six foot each October. Plus some purple thingies that provide a rather pleasing backdrop to the daisies.#

This was my first introduction to The Fall back in '85. It was tentative steps from Billy Bragg to The Smiths and then THIS. Impossible to categorise, apart from saying This is The Fall. You know what you're getting, but then again you never really do. It's a frightening album in places, yet full of optimism in others.But mostly it's just bonkers. Spoilt Victorian Child is the obvious highlight. But the riff on Barmy is Eurovision worthy. Cruiser's Creek is classic Fall. A brilliant, brilliant album.#

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐#

The broadband engineers continued in their efforts to create a micro earthquake along our street. They ripped up the entire pavement, apart from directly outside our house and that of our neighbours. Maybe they know that I'm too much of a tight arse to fork out for ultra fast?#

The Postman Delivers: Lennon's Double Fantasy on CD. High uncool, but still a decent album. It's an old argument, but can you imagine his creative output if he was still around today?#

Wednesday lunchtime was then JAB LUNCHTIME. Both cats were due up at the vets for their annual vaccinations. It's always a highlight / lowlight of the year. The best bit is rolling out two nervy cats in the cat carrier on the back of my Brompton. Chapeau! I always get weird looks around #WeirdWiv whenever I do this.#

It wasn't a happy journey for Dotty. She was moaning from start to finish. Daisy just took in the new scenery. She's easily pleased.#

The vet wasn't so easily pleased. Diet Girl Daisy has gained a little extra weight. I knew this would be the case. A remained unconvinced. We've switched the dry food over to a different brand. It's smaller in size, yet still we weigh out the same volume each morning. This all means that come 7pm and Daisy is still hungry. We give in and crack open the wet food for her. The vet has booked her in for a weighing session in the new year.#

Back at base and it was balmy in the garden. Butterflies and bees were competing for air space. It was quite a contrast to the broadband engineers out in the front.#

I listened to the latest album by Metronomy. Oh. I've had a few people suggesting that I might enjoy it. They obviously know little about my musical tastes. It was pleasant enough, but totally inoffensive. I enjoy music with attitude. There wasn't enough in there to draw me back in again.#

We placed Daisy's evening food in a ball dispenser, as advised by the vet. The idea is that she pushes the ball around so that pieces of dry food are released through the small gaps. Apparently it stimulates her senses and also exercises her. I just think it reduces her to a circus act.#

Track cycling was the evening viewing of choice. BBC3 are doing a brilliant job in broadcasting the World Championships from Paris. That's the next five evenings sorted, then. Chapeau!#

I had another podcast clear out late in the day. I seem to have these at least once a month. There is only so much time to listen to podcasts, CD's, YT feeds, Robert Elms etc. And so for the chop was The Rest is Politics. I figured that I really don't need a centrist podcast spreading neo-liberal doctrine every other day. SEE YA.#