Shortest day...

Playlist
Purcell – Dido & Aeneas
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Deeperdown
Various – Jukebox Shuffleplay
The Blue Nile – Tinseltown in the Rain (Best of CD-R)
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Best of 1990-1995
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Best of 1996-2006
Lindsay Quartet – Haydn/Beethoven String Quartets

First thing this morning, I gave “Deeperdown” a spin – just to remind myself of how good my music is...

Ah yes, hit after hit...

Yet another Xmas lunch today with friends Margaret, Claire, Sarra, Alan and Anne (but not my Anne)...

I can heartily recommend the Orchid Lodge in Castle Street – very tasty indeed – and the old vino was flowing...

Still one last present to buy for Anne – probably Saturday or, as traditionally, Xmas Eve perhaps...

In the evening, Anne is off out with bestest friend Lynn for a few cocktails etc and I am on taxi duty, with The Blue Nile accompanying me on my journeys, and having rearranged the seat to help my shoulders and remove the pain from my forearm when driving...

Back home, as I wait for the call to go and collect them, I continue with my survey of my entries for 2006 and reach the end of June...

I can advise that my favourite concerts of the first half of 2006, in chronological order, were:-
Sparks
Wetton/Downes
Dar Williams
The Bad Plus
Paul Buchanan

Whilst working through the months, I give some more of my music a spin. Yes indeed I am good...

Then the latest free download from DGM Live, a live track (“Lament”) by King Crimson from October 1973, featuring John Wetton on vocals and bass. Good to see from Mr Fripp’s recent diary entry that he and Johnny are still on very good terms after all these years – they recently met for tea and cakes and discussed the Asia reunion, which of course I witnessed three weeks ago this very night and which, no doubt will feature in my top gigs of 2006...

I note also that The Bad Plus have kindly linked from their blog to mine re my response to their music questionnaire – they were amused by my juxtaposition of the melody from “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (written of course by Mr Mozart) with the harmonic elements of Mr Beethoven’s late string quartets...

As I waited for Anne’s call, I watched an entertaining little piece of fluff, “Serendipity”…

Picked Anne and Lynn up around 12:30 a little the worse for ware and delivered both home to their Christmassy beds…

Highlight of the Day : Reminding myself how good my music is…