we’re all going on a…
And it’s raining! I was starting to think the sky had forgotten how, bar the sudden lunchtime downpour this last Friday which caught me out on the way to yoga and made my mat soggy.
Time for an update after a few weeks of very necessary slowness in every sense of the word, not least because of the heat even here at the coast. A couple of days were jettisoned altogether in favour of staying at home in the cool embrace of Netflix and with apologies to those who tried, it was just too bloody warm. Thankfully things have returned to a manageable level and I used at least some of the time constructively to catch up on some admin (including the tax return – boooo) and do a lot of yoga and swimming – yay!
I have had a couple of lovely skives trips to the beach for some paddling and rock pool investigation which is far more unusual both than it sounds and than it ought to be; bar running past the edge of the sand on the way around Marine Drive I was not a little ashamed to work out how long it is since last time, and I plan to do something about it if only for the proper doughnuts (or for those who eschew deep fried for whatever reason, I can highly recommend the tea and scones at the Clock Café). Who needs holiday travel?
Back to reality and it’s been a reassuringly busy week now that the temperature is a little more tolerable; the upcoming week is also taking shape and I will be putting in some extra time to make up for my London trip followed by (and very fast approaching) FrightFest over the Bank Holiday! Fortunately the ongoing saga of the fridge freezer has been resolved just in time with my shiny new model rumbling away happily in its cupboard while the retired Miele (which just about held its own right up until it was unplugged, albeit at some strange temperatures) has a nice rest out of the way while waiting to be collected. The prospect of heading off for over a week and coming back to a complete freezer shutdown wouldn’t present a happy outcome for anybody, let alone someone with a brace each of T-bone steaks and Barnsley lamb chops plus two bags of home made cookie dough balls stashed.
The above means that my last day here in Scarborough will be Monday 20th and then I’m not back until the middle of the following week – the Wednesday provisionally, or Thursday depending on how much I need a rest. Even sitting in a cinema seat for five days can be a tiring prospect when there’s an hour or so’s daily round trip to get to it, and more so when the entire operation is mostly fuelled by nachos and vanilla hardshakes – I’ll decide when I get back!
In the meantime a long awaited return to the South Bank and whilst it’s very much a flying visit, all are welcome! Well OK, most are welcome but the rest aren’t likely to be reading this anyway, at least I’m assuming not given that most of them can’t even get my name right. As a footnote, there may be a tiny amount of availability on the Bank Holiday Monday morning and evening depending; I’ll be playing it by ear, but anybody who’s closer to Whitechapel then Waterloo and thinks that might suit them better – get in touch.
For now, Song of the Week is an old favourite which I heard completely unexpectedly on 6Music this week and had to go a-rummaging to track down amongst my vinyl. Many years ago I wound up with a gigantic tambourine-inflicted bruise on the side of my right thigh after singing this with a pub band (not the Pogues, sadly) and failing to notice how hard I was bashing the thing against my leg because I could barely hear it. The deafness was partly to blame but in retrospect, it’s probably fair to say I was very, very drunk.
More soon! Hopefully even a mini-update from FrightFest, if I find a spare minute and it keeps me out of mischief (and the pick & mix).
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