Fat Jeeps on Iceland

Just back from the Arctic Circle where the weather's cold and the Jeeps are super industrial size. Impressive as they are super-practical but a lot of fun too. They coast and bounce and are pretty much unstoppable and I'll probably mention them a few times in future posts. Anyway it turns out that Iceland is a fine if expensive place, worth visiting for the weather, the landscapes, the food, the northern lights and the various types of transport available for public use, even ATVs. Here's the view from a passing UFO.

P Bass

After having fallen victim to a cold/flu bug for a few days I'm now slowly crawling back up to the world of the living, breathing and forever chattering classes, the experience not being so bad after all. My body will recover, my mind knows better however and floats and plots aimlessly and constantly unlessI'm asleep. So I've been passing the time sorting things out, idling and guitar fiddling. The guitar work is completely unstructured and opportunity based, a fine business model to adopt. Whatever I fancy I tackle. The anonymous ex -eBay Precision Bass got treated today, the cavity was wrapped in copper and I fitted new pickups and gave it a general clean. As a partscaster it's a bit of sheep in wolf's clothing or even a piece of turd polishing taken too far, we'll see when it's ready to be played. The pyrograhy on this one has also been played down, it's on the headstock only as I decided to stay with the traditional sunburst finish, one that remains one of my favourites. Keeping it all simple; in other words and that dishwasher won't empty itself (yet).

DIY Art

Waiting on the tumble drier repair man, clearly we're the last call of the rainy day. Creating household based DIY works of art in the Pink Floyd tradition whilst the kettle boils and the clouds lower themselves. Then the big moment arrives and the repair man arrives at the same time (?). Alas the tumble drier repair man does not have the correct seal to replace the faulty seal that is causing an unacceptable build up of condensation resulting from the erroneous entry of warm gases which are then meeting the colder outer surface of the machine resulting in a nasty series of drips. He intends to return next week once the part has been sourced. In the mean time the drier is still safe to use he says.

A distinct lack of porridge

Since the great dawn of unemployment (disguised as retiral) about 10 days ago I've been plagued by a heavy and stinking cold that has soured some of the new-life style experience. Each day consists of an unfamiliar struggle against coughing and rasping and a feeling of heaviness like a chest full of treacle. Some say that when you quit full time work and are released from the pressures you've absorbed for years your natural immunity system just collapses. It's as if your body is realigning itself with a new and less challenging lifestyle but as yet cannot tell where the lines of normality begin so mistakes are made. Well maybe so, I'm certainly smitten with something that's powerful and unusual for me to suffer with. Of course the solution may be much more simple and staring me in the face, the breaking of my daily porridge habit for example. I feel the need to recalibrate myself with some instant oats. This is all starting to sound like the death of Steve McQueen.

Faces in things

There are many faces, expressions and moods on display in this (large) piece of driftwood that's been stuck on our beach for about three years. How it will be after another three years exposed to wind and weather? Looking a bit like the Elephant Man today.

I also put my face in  a thing today, a bus. That was strange, my first outing using the new Scottish Entitlement Card (which I wish they had called the Enlightenment Card but...) which gives the over 60s and the bewildered free use of public transport from here to eternity or maybe infinity. Living as we do two miles from a bus stop actually getting on a bus is always going to be a challenge and today's test journey was brought about by my need to collect my car from a local garage. So I trudged to the bus stop and duly waited in the chill wind for 25 minutes cursing that I'd failed to understand the on-line timetable's many detailed instructions and...times. When the bus finally came my card worked first time, a bit like the London Oyster and I was issued a ticket and travelled all the way from Torryburn to Dunfermline for free, so now I know how being considered old really feels. Perhaps Jesus did die for something after all.

Tomorrow I'll use the card to nip up to the boolin' club for a pint, the mosque for afternoon prayers and then head out to asda for coffee and donuts, or maybe not.

April Evening

One of those heavy, liquid evenings when all air just stands still. Water turns into a peculiar syrup and the sunlight penetrates every part, every blade of grass (and so on). It's as if the world has just had enough of spinning and without us noticing decided to stop, even if only for a few minutes. Then, silently it all starts up again and we move, noiselessly through the early evening and on into space and towards tomorrow. So after our second (exhausting) walk of the weekend we reflect on the wonderful weakness of being nothing in particular and everything; all at the same time.

Up a hill

Up a hill today and then down again. On a clear day you can see Fife and various other places, that's the strange beauty of being 1500ft above sea level. Of course that's not so high but high enough if that's your limit. 

In other news I gained a discounted entry to a football match as a 60+, felt strangely guilty as if I didn't quite qualify for a £10 ticket, but by my birth date I did. Odd feeling.

Public transport

I'm getting to like this, just a shame that my entitlement card doesn't cover tram trips.

Photo release

NASA have released thousands photos of various things and places seen from space or thereabouts, I don't think I made it.  Today it was Aberdeen and back (via Dundee), fish fingers and broccoli soup all served up with occasional sunshine and raindrops. 

Outwitting a bird

My first day home alone after becoming unemployed. The morning was mainly spent trying to remove an unknown and unseen bird/beast/demon that had become trapped in the kitchen flue. The creature was making a lot of noise, unhappy at being stuck in the dark against it's will no doubt. This task, setting it free, involved taking the flue to bits; fiddly and messy. Once apart I gingerly awaited the flying demon coming at me seeking animal revenge. Of course nothing happened so I went indoors out of the rain and had a cup of tea. Hours later, no noise but no angry bat out of hell either. So I put it all back together. I hope it made a clean escape. Then I got on with the seasonal cleaning of the trampoline. Never a dull moment then...

Well

...that's pretty much sorted. No conflict or problems over what I might choose to eat. Sad to see no mention of sardines however; the unsung heroes and saviours of the human race.

Old codger retires etc.

It's been a busy few days with lot's of over indulgence, general high jinx and some possible bad behaviour. Anyway it's over now and for the time being I'm retired from full time work...we'll see how that goes. As I was too pissed to really do anything or recall much over the weekend I'm very glad that Mr CBQ recorded his version of events, click here.

#unemployed

Now that my (recent / present) working life is over I'm filling my long and idle days wandering around the countryside making friends with farm cats and taking photographs of fields and gates. It helps to pass the time but it's no way to make a living and people tell me it will end in tears. Strangely that's how it all started as I recall. Next thing on the agenda is to sort out my sock drawer for once and for all and perhaps, if I'm in the right mood, discard a few care worn shirts.

A Camera

When you own a camera you are never alone. When you use a camera you capture another world. When you look through the lens of a camera you see what you really see. A camera captures a moment you can't remember. A camera captures a sight you didn't quite see. A camera changes your view. A camera exposes. I tend to use my phone because I'm lazy.

Night Time

Tea in Nandos

Had tea today in a Nandos in Glasgow, mostly chicken, with salad and rice. OK in my book. These pictures are of course entirely irrelevant. Just dead animals artfully rendered and presented so as to illustrate the circle of life etc.

No missed calls

Tuesday, no missed calls: The reason that this blog is slowly sliding downhill into banality and repetition and more repetition is that every time I try to type something a cat comes along and lies on top of my hands. This makes typing, thinking and concentrating very difficult. It also makes my hands itchy as he's a hairy kind of cat. It may simply be bad timing on my part, I may be the root cause, it may be a manifestation of writer's block (some manifestation) or it may all be a complicated delusion. I don't know. Cat don't care either. I do know that I've no real strong desire to take up the piano keyboard, I'll leave that to others. The other theory is that I'm simply eating too much fish and my brain is slowly turning into cod-liver oil. I should also read more...I'm working on that.

Lone Wolf

Making slow but steady progress, currently suffering from some uneven sanding, pyro and staining but the main ironmongery has been chosen, single Seymour Duncan JBH with coil tap and nothing much more. Hence the (stretching things a bit) lone wolf name.

Uncomfortably close

Clearly at some point in the seventies the world of artwork and lettering became very congested with similar over used forms. Maybe there was a limited supply of Letraset and cartoon styles. Strange bedfellows.

We wuz there

Strangely the stars and planets aligned today and allowed DAFC to win the Championship due a) them winning and b) their nearest rivals losing, and it happened in March with many games still to play and even more strangely I was there and saw it happen, first hand. Seeing things first hand is pretty important, you are a witness, part of history and you have a testimony should you ever be asked to share it. If only other things in the wider world were as simple, turns out they are not (you'd never guess). They demand some judgement, perspective, belief (or unbelief) and the ability to see that truth can have many multiplied versions of itself, most of which don't really make any sense at all. This article has been bouncing around on FBook for a while, John Pilger is the author, it sets more questions (in the reader) than it answers and answers questions that you don't really want answered but not necessarily answers anything with the correct (?)  answers. Sometimes you just want to forget the world and live some kind of off-line life.