Guitars and Life

Flipping brilliant!!! Ok I'm biased - I've been a Rush fan for years and they can do little wrong in my eyes. To show my hand I first heard them around 2012, All The World's A Stage time and then more when a drummer friend of my got into A Farewell To Kings. I myself went out and bought Hemispheres and was knocked out but that album and basically have bought every Rush studio album since... and a couple of live CD/DVDs etc. to boot. I'd had the email reminding me of the gig and making it very clear Rush would be on stage at 7:30 since they were to play two sets with a 30 min intermission. Well they were about 10 mins late on based on the advertised time but then some of that was taken up with the now obligatory funny video intro. This was very good and very funny with Rush sending themselves up and displaying their character acting skills... er stick to the day job guys! :-) Then into Spirit of the Radio as a kick off - what a kick off track. We then romped through ...

I've been very privileged as I recieved a pre-release copy of Sue's new CD Forever. Sue is an old friend and a huge talent. This is the third release and any long term / regular readers of this blog may remember her previous releases Gypsy Soul and Torn getting rave reviews on here. For this 5 track CD Sue has broken away from her Blues-Rock style of the previous two releases to head in a more soulful, jazz inspired direction. She has teamed up with Ron Zabrocki who has in the past has produced luminaries like Mariah Carey. The new soul style suits Sue perfectly - but to be fair the lady has enough talent to sing over the most inept of music and musicians and it still sound brilliant. The five tracks take us through a relationships lifespan, from the initial "love at first sight" to it's eventual demise. Long term rhythm section of Kevin Clark and Dave Floret hold the tracks together with Zabrocki adding the remaining instrumentation which include some beautifu...

I read this post on Liz's blog. Sad stories but I instantly felt grateful for where I am in my life, i.e. sober, contented, loved, healthy.... lucky. I then felt guilty for feeling like that, stupid I shouldn't necessarily feel like that, there's nothing I can do to alter either situation and I know neither of these people except through the mutual understanding of one addicts of anothers pain of addiction. Reminders however of the road I walk. Today I put one foot in front of the other and deal with life on life's term. I haven't picked up a drink today so far, I can only hope that I don't on a daily basis whilst trying to keep myself focused on a sober day. As they say "There but for the Grace of God" and "One day at a time".

Saturday was the 7th anniversary of my last drink. Nothing that momentous in the world really, I've simply not had a drink of alcohol. However to me one day without it is amazing in some ways, and now it is so long ago that it is only part of my life in that everyday I remind myself I can't risk taking the first one. Other dramas this weekend included my mother-in-law trying pull a nail out a wall at 9pm Friday night, falling and dislocating her shoulder! Brilliant!! As you get to the point where you think you have the kids off your hands and more time to yourselves... the old ones start to play up! Right ... do I watch the MotoGP I recorded or the rugby live? The kind of problems I have now that I don't have to worry about the next drink. Oh yes proud parent moment... my daughter was elected captain of the swimming team :-) she has had her first couple of galas as captain and been really good at it. So pleased for her.

They come they go. This one was similar to many, different from some. Saturday - up early to get the car to the garage for two new tyres and a recharge of the air con system... Daughter-of-Furtheron met up with a friend which then turned into her sleeping over... oh yes I had to pay the friends Mum for out portion of their family holiday which my daughter is crashing in on! Anyway that meant Mrs F and I got a day just on our own so we headed off to local shops for a quick lunch and to buy some ingredients for me to make a Chinese for the evening. I tried a new recipe Chicken with Cashew Nuts and green beans - a definite success and one I've done before Beef in Oyster Sauce. Sunday I had to pick up D-o-F from her friends but decided to buy a new lawnmower we'd seen on Saturday, our old one has been with us since we moved here 19 years ago and frankly has been making funny noises etc. for a while. I couldn't see the point of paying out £15 this year for a new blade only fo...

Oh yes.... Sounding simply bloody superb.... BCC taster track for the oh so quick album number 2. http://www.bccommunion.com/outsider/

Two posts in two days.... almost like the blog of old :-) I was somewhat distracted by the news yesterday. First I knew of it was peoples Facebook status when I was on the computer. Osama Bin Laden dead. There was already a gag up there. "I was amazed to here Bin Laden has been taken out, on a Bank Holiday - they never sort the Bins out around here on a Bank Holiday". Ho Ho... or not. Also in my area now they do collect the bins on a Bank Holiday but that isn't important. What is then? My reaction to this news. Confusion. A mix of regret, sadness, anger and concern. I was in New York on 9/11. Luckily not right in down town near the Twin Towers but close enough. I watched the smoke, I saw the first tower fall, I saw the panic, a smelt and tasted the most awful acrid smoke and dust you can ever imagine. However somehow I feel no anger or resentment anymore to those that did this act. They were wrong but clearly they were thinking it was right, they did what they...

I post so infrequently on here now I should change the background to cobwebs and dust! :-) So Royal Wedding... blah blah! Best bit was some of the choral music. We were driving to Wales whilst it was on, Mrs F adamant that we weren't to watch it. However on a majority vote (first past the post system as a referendum) in the car we put on Radio4. Also we called into Warwick Services on the M40 whilst some of the ceremony was on the telly - but you couldn't get near it for pensioners. Honestly a coach load arrived and it was like a fight to besiege the best spot near the telly! I keep thinking this but if young people behaved with the level of intolerance and lack of general acceptance of others that I regularly see in the older generation now there'd be an outcry. Why is it acceptable for people to be rude and inconsiderate just because they are over 70? Anyway - Wales was fun we stayed a couple of days which were sunny and relatively warm... windy but nice. Sorry thi...