🦻 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.#