A day in the life...

Playlist
Sumner McKane – North
Sumner McKane – If Two By Sea
Edgar Froese – Epsilon in Malaysian Pale
Various - Artists of whom I have all LPs released to date

A lovely bright morning...



Mr Sumner McKane in my ears provided the perfect accompaniment...

However, I still await the limited edition CD I ordered directly from him a few weeks ago now – patience is a virtue of course – but one I don’t really have...

This evening, to the synthi sounds of Herr Froese, it was back to the kitchen for your correspondent – the Exec Producer had a hankering for my Leek and Pancetta Risotto – which, you may recall, the first time I made it lacked said leeks, due to my forgetting to purchase them, and using onions instead...

Tonight though, no mistakes and another successful cook – five out of five this year...



Post this, “Coronation St” entertained – Gail Platt certainly getting herself into a right pickle – which will mean nothing to you unless you watch Corrie of course...

Then upstairs and listening to my favourite tracks by some of the “Artists of whom I have all LPs released to date”...

The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, Alice Cooper, Yes, Genesis, Grand Funk Railroad, King Crimson, The Frost, Uriah Heep, Gentle Giant, ELP, ELO, Kraftwerk, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Roxy Music, Neu!, Eno, Bryan Ferry, Fripp & Eno, Rush, The Tubes, Cockney Rebel, Peter Gabriel, Magazine, Robert Fripp, The Cure, Fehlfarben and New Order...

Cracking...

Nighty night...

Highlight of the Day : Cooking...

Safe and sound...

Playlist
Mott the Hoople – All the Young Dudes: The Anthology
Miles Davis – Black Beauty: Live at Fillmore West 1970
Miles Davis – At Fillmore
John Surman – How Many Clouds Can You See?
John Surman – Glancing Backwards: The Dawn Anthology
Lemon Juice Quartet – Peasant Songs

The music of Miles Davis during his “electric” period (roughly 1970-1975) can sometimes just sound like the biggest load of pretentious tuneless tosh you’re ever likely to hear...

But, given the right mood, it can be uplifting and exhilarating and completely worthy of being given a chance...

Tonight (after being soundtracked during the day by the mighty Mott the Hoople and post "Mock the Week" and "Big Bang Theory"), Mr Davis' music was indeed uplifting and exhilarating, rather than pretentious and tuneless...

Just as well really, as I spent an inordinate amount of time updating the security on my PC...



It took so long, it still hadn’t finished by the time I’d also listened to a couple of LPs of the superb baritone sax improvs of John Surman...



...and headed to bed at 1:30am with the Lemon Juice Quartet on the cans, switching off the PC in frustration...

I love LJQ, a brilliant Israeli/American avant garde ensemble of guitar, trumpet, bass and drums whom Anne and I witnessed live in a cellar bar in Krakow in the Spring of 2003...

Seven years gone...

Highlight of the Day : Tuneless jazz...

Widdly diddly...

Playlist
Miles Davis – Get Up With It
Chad Wackerman – The View
Chad Wackerman – Forty Reasons
Chad Wackerman – Scream
Chad Wackerman – Legs Eleven

The birthday of both Sister Sheila and Frau Yvonne Sonnenschein was yet another fairly uneventful day...

Started just after midnight and continued into slumber with Miles Davis’ two disc collection from 1975, “Get Up With It”...

The day itself involved much widdly diddly guitar and complex drumming, courtesy of four solo albums from top drummeister Chad (great name) Wackerman (also a great name, especially for a drummer)...

Drinks in the evening with chums Keith and Sam followed by a bus home by 10pm...



...only very slightly the worse for wear...



Did however nod off during “Match of the Day”...

Forgot to mention that, last night, I ordered new discs by Pet Shop Boys (CD/DVD of the last tour) and Peter Gabriel (his “Scratch My Back” covers project)...

Looking forward to those arriving over the next week or so...

Highlight of the Day : Chad’s drumming...

Chairman of the bored...

Playlist
Various - Artists by Whom I Have All LPs and Whose 1st Album Was Released in the 1960's (Shuffleplay)
Various - 5 Minute Tracks (Gym MP3s) (Shuffleplay)
Miles Davis - The Complete Concert 1964

A wee browse in HMV at lunchtime - nothing purchased...

To the gym again this evening for the third day in a row...

Exceptionally boring - oh how I wish my knees weren't shot to pieces and I could still play 5-a-sides...

Back home to Anne's Red Thai Chicken Curry whilst watching "Ice Road Ttruckers" (I think it's called anyway) prior to "CSI"...

Then, a quick surf to the sounds of Miles Davis...



The day concluded with Charlie Brooker's "Newswipe"...

Highlight of the Day : Anne's cooking...

Move a way from the hammer...

Playlist
Various - Artists by Whom I Have All LPs (Shuffleplay)
Allan Holdsworth - Discography
Happy Apple - Discography
Various - Jazz Jukebox on Shuffleplay

A self inflicted haircut first thing...



Above are the combined proceeds of my last five or six haircuts...

Truly, I am going bald...

Monday evening and off again to the gym - dropped off by Anne on her way to Keep Fit with Lynn...

Soundtracked by the jazz guitar noodlings of Mr Holdsworth...

The novelty is beginning to wear off but I must keep this up...

The rather unpleasant aroma of some of my fellow exercisers can get a bit too much...

Back home and TV was king - "Law & Order : UK" and "Glee"...

Hammering from next door prompted a close to midnight visit with a view to uttering the immortal line, "keep the bloody noise down"...

In the event, had a good chat with neighbour Fiona and a couple of their kids, now up to date with all their recent happenings...

And the hamaering duly stopped with much apologising...

Mentioned the ongoing annoying noise of their boiler too and was assured this will be replaced "soon"...

Back to bed at 00:45...

Highlight of the Day : Glee...

Hello Kitty...

Playlist
Grand Funk Railroad – Bosnia
Various – Zunior Compilation 2010 v5:03
Alice Cooper – School’s Out
Various - Sid Smith's Podcast from the Yellow Room XIV
Stomu Yamashta - Go

Another 7:30 rise and, today, compiling a list of all artists by whom I have every original studio album released to date...

There are 89...

I’ve split them according to the decade in which their first album appeared...

1960’s
1963 The Beatles 11
1964 Simon & Garfunkel 5
1967 David Bowie 27
1967 Pink Floyd 13
1967 The Velvet Underground 4
1968 The Move 4
1969 Alice Cooper 25
1969 Yes 19
1969 Genesis 15
1969 Grand Funk Railroad 13
1969 King Crimson 13
1969 The Frost 3

1970’s
1970 Uriah Heep 21
1970 Gentle Giant 11
1970 Emerson Lake & Palmer 9
1970 Syd Barrett 2
1971 Electric Light Orchestra 11
1971 Kraftwerk 11
1971 Mahavishnu Orchestra 6
1972 Roxy Music 8
1972 Neu! 3
1973 Brian Eno 25
1973 Bryan Ferry 12
1973 Fripp & Eno 4
1973 Cockney Rebel 2
1973 Hatfield and the North 2
1973 Wizzard 2
1974 Rush 18
1974 Harmonia 2
1974 Mick Ronson 2
1975 The Tubes 8
1975 Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel 4
1977 Peter Gabriel 11
1978 Magazine 4
1978 UK 2
1978 Richard Wright 2
1979 Robert Fripp 14
1979 The Cure 13
1979 Joy Division 2

1980s
1980 Fehlfarben 8
1980 M 2
1981 New Order 8
1982 Asia 9
1982 Icehouse 7
1982 Laurie Anderson 5
1982 Talk Talk 5
1982 Don Henley 4
1983 Marillion 15
1983 The Blue Nile 4
1983 Patrick Moraz & Bill Bruford 2
1984 David Sylvian 9
1984 Roger Hodgson 3
1984 Roger Waters 3
1985 Suzanne Vega 7
1986 Pet Shop Boys 10
1986 It Bites 4
1987 Rheostatics 11
1987 Earthworks 5
1988 Madredeus 11
1988 Morrissey 9
1989 Goodbye Mr Mackenzie 3

1990’s
1990 Jellyfish 2
1991 The Beyond 2
1991 Jack Frost 2
1993 Radiohead 7
1994 Lucy Kaplansky 6
1995 Dar Williams 7
1996 Eels 8
1996 Fiona Apple 3
1997 Grandaddy 5
1998 Alice Peacock 4
1999 Happy Apple 5
1999 Muse 5

2000’s
2000 Coldplay 5
2000 Tom McRae 4
2000 Transatlantic 3
2000 Dido 3
2001 The Bad Plus 6
2001 Elbow 4
2002 Secret Machines 4
2003 Neal Morse 6
2003 Girls Aloud 5
2003 Dave Gahan 2
2004 The Killers 4
2005 Icon 3
2005 City and Colour 2
2005 Nine Horses 2
2005 The Violet Archers 2
2006 The Whitest Boy Alive 2

I've not included anyone who has only released one album to date...

To the gym at 9 for another hour of exercise – I figure I’m covering around 30 miles a week – it’s a start...

Home for breakfast then out to mum’s to set up her Tivo, glad of having sorted ours yesterday as a kind of dry run...

Easy peasy – successfully set up and a happy mum...





Back home and an hour to kill before heading to Jane and Bobby’s for niece Kitty’s annual birthday party...

I quickly put together a "Best of Eels" collection for Bobby and a disc containing all the pictures and films I'd taken at Kitty's last four birthdays...

The latter was well received by the Kitmeister...







Meanwhile, Ollie read his "Shoot" annual - I suscribed to this self-same magazine in the late 60's/early 70's...



An excellent meal, as always at Jane and Bobby's, was provided to the gathered throng...



...post which, the cake was presented, including a fairly pyrotechnical addition to the normal candles....





Kitty and Ollie were let loose with the camera – here’s Kitty’s portrait of your correspondent...



...and here is the result of Ollie’s discovery of the self-timing facility...



The evening ended with some Abba and Queen on Singstar – Kitty was very disappointed that I beat her on “Dancing Queen”...



...the grown ups tried to explain that I actually am a singer and therefore really ought to be good at Singstar – which I thought was quite good...

Kitty and Ollie then demolished “Bohemian Rhapsody” with some considerable gusto...



All too soon it was time to return home for “Dancing on Ice” and blogging and another weekend headed to a close...

Highlight of the Day : Kitty’s birthday...

Mark says alright...

Playlist
Various – Recent CDs on Shuffleplay
Tranceport – Tranceglobal
Tranceport – Altitude Silence
Alice Cooper – Can’t Sleep Clowns Will Eat Me*
Crazy Wisdom – A Death Junkie’s Last Peep Show*
Robert Fripp – Pie Jesu*
Kraftwerk – The Robots*
Pink Floyd – On the Turning Away*
David Sylvian/Robert Fripp – Jean the Birdman*
King Crimson – Cirkus
Fee Waybill – Read My Lips
The Tubes – Love Bomb
Grand Funk Railroad – Live Album
*CD Singles

Woke at 4:20 with a bit of a headache...

Back to sleep post painkillers and up again around 7:30...

Enjoyed a quiet start to the day, sitting in the living room with Meg the Black Cat on my knee as I browsed teletext to get myself up to date with the latest news, sport and entertainment stories, without having to actually watch the TV...

Anne surfaced and breakfast was enjoyed before some surfing – this post on Sid Smith’s blog led me to listen to two CDs by old chum Peri Urban’s former band, Tranceport – I’d forgotten I actually sang on one and played on the other...

Started the home run of the great CD listing project – just the CD singles remained...

This was interrupted by the positioning of Meg the Black cat into one of the wardrobes..





...and by the removal of the video recorder and the setting up of the Tivo...



Very disappointingly indeed, it seemed our aerial’s signal strength was not as great as it could be (despite having forked out for a new aerial and its installation when we first got freeview)...

I am heading to my mum’s tomorrow to install her Tivo and was already anticipating her disappointment – her aerial’s even weaker than ours...

On the upside, post this and an episode of “Smallville” (which I’ve not watched for years) and some leftover pasta for lunch and with the afternoon soundtracked by little listened to CD singles, by five o’clock the CD list was complete...

I have 5,727 (around 200 or so more than my “Red Book of CDs I’ve Bought Since 1985” would have led me to believe)...

Here’s a wee table showing the ratios of "hours per day listening" versus "years it would take to listen to the entire collection" (assuming each disc is 60 minutes long – so probably slightly overestimated but there or thereabouts, as each CD Single and Box Set are each counted as one disc)...

1hr per day – 16yrs
2hrs per day – 8yrs
3hrs per day – 5.25yrs
4hrs per day – 4yrs
5hrs per day – 3.25yrs
6hrs per day – 2.5yrs
7hrs per day – 2.25yrs
8hrs per day – 2yrs

Hmmm...

More disappointment in the evening - we were to have enjoyed a private preview of what will be the largest Indian restaurant in Edinburgh, Club India on Lothian Road, which chum Spike is opening shortly – sadly some plumbing work wasn’t quite completed and so the meal had to be postponed...

With my not having prepared any culinary exploits for this weekend (niece Kitty’s birthday party tomorrow), we consoled ourselves with a tasty takeaway from the Bombay Feast...

Truth be known, Anne would have been struggling to venture forth tonight in any case, her lurgi continuing to cause much painful (to her head and my ears) coughing on her part despite a good night last night in Fife...

The evening was spent mainly watching TV, “Harry Hill’s TV Burp” (our first Tivo'd show), “Virtual Revolution”, a not very entertaining edition of “QI” and the very hit and miss “Limmy’s Show”...

Last thing, I read through the entire instruction booklet for the Tivo and discovered the picture output has three possible settings – Anne then went into the gubbins of the programming and made a switch and Robert was indeed our uncle...



A celebrationary listen to Grand Funk’s set from the Atlanta International Pop Festival on 5 July 1970 was deemed to be in order...



Oh yeah, Mark says alright...

Highlight of the Day : Fixing the Tivo...

The mercy of the fallen...

Playlist
Dubfire – Sirius Area 33 : 20 06 07 DJ Set
Firewind – Allegiance
Serenity – Fallen Sanctuary
Eclipse – Are You Ready to rock
Theory of a Deadman – Scars and Souvenirs
Firewind – The Premonition

Hmm – yesterday I cogitated on wasting my time...

This evening was spent in a bar drinking Bitburger Pils...



Post drinks and rather the worse for wear, I took the bus to the top of Crispycat Hill and careered down the slope to Crispycat Towers...

Anne was over in Fife celebrating the birthday of Ferret with their work chums...

I took to my bed, noticing on the way that our and my mum’s Tivos have arrived...



Lights out, room spinning...

Highlight of the Day : Taking delivery of the Tivo...

Zeit verschwenden...

Playlist
Various – Recent Albums on Shuffleplay
Various – Gym MP3s
Firewind – Allegiance
Serenity – Fallen Sanctuary
Eclipse – Are You Ready to Rock
Theory of a Deadman – Scars and Souvenirs
Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence (Deep Dish Growling Mix)
Dubfire – Sirius Area 33 : 20 06 07 DJ Set

No listens to the music of my No 1 favourite Alice Cooper, who is 62 today...

But another wander around HMV – is that all I do with my life? Visit record shops?

While I emerged empty handed, Prog Rock Willie kindly supplied me with 5 new discs by bands I’ve never heard of...

Back home and back to the gym for tonight’s workout – I seem to stress out if I get the notion when using one machine that all available versions of the next machine to be used are taken and that I might end up standing around waiting for one to become available and wasting my time...

This from a man who wastes an inordinate amount of time wandering around record shops...

But surely a record shop wander is a better waste of time than standing in a smelly gym waiting for a machine to be freed up?

Post gym and pasta based dinner, the new prog-based discs from Willie are very entertaining – it’s amazing there are so many quite excellent musicians on the planet who receive so very little recognition of their talents...

I do not include myself amongst them...

In a completely different musical direction, a heads up today from collaborator Craig Sutherland, co-writer on half my last album, sent me looking for material by ace remixers Deep Dish...

Meg the Black Cat helped me in my search and we had soon snaffled a Depeche Mode remix and a DJ session...



These recordings gave me an idea of how Craig thinks Mr CBQ’s future music should sound...

I must say if it were to end up sounding anything like this, I would be very pleased – but would never see myself playing live again...

On TV “Grand Designs”, “Mock the Week” (somehow emasculated now without Frankie Boyle), “The Big Bang Theory” and “This Week” entertained...

Lights out with Deep Dish on the cans...

Highlight of the Day : New music...

Trockenpuder...

Playlist
Grand Funk Railroad – Discography on Shuffleplay
Beethoven – Harmonienmusik
Albinoni – Violin Sonatas Opus 10

Inspired by last night’s late listening choice of Grand Funk, their entire oeuvre on shuffleplay soundtracked today…

To FOPP again at lunchtime but still managing to keep my powder dry…

However, a pop-in to HMV on the way home resulted in Beethoven and Albinoni discs joining the collection…





…which is now large enough that, were I to do nothing but listen to music for eight hours a day, seven days a week, it would take me around two years to listen to it all…

Pic of the day is of a young lady who joined the bus home at the bottom of Crispycat Hill dressed completely normally but with her face in full clown make up…



Weird…

At home nourishment came in the form of pepper steak, roast potatoes, broccoli and mushrooms…

We watched as Rangers joined St Mirren in the League Cup Final, dismissing St Johnstone with ease – although I was only watching with one eye (and no ears) as I was reading Charlie Brooker’s latest collection of columns (a Xmas present) whilst being soundtracked by Herr Beethoven …

Then, last night’s “Glee” on tape – loving this show…

Ended the day with my e-mail address having been hacked and ads for viagra being sent to my address book – apologies sent out to the sound of Signor Albinoni…

Highlight of the Day : New Albinoni…

Gruelling not gruel...

Playlist
The Revolutionaries – Channel One Dub Room 1974-80
Various – Recent Albums on Shuffleplay
Various – Gym MP3s
Grand Funk – Grand Funk Lives

Snowing today but only lying up here on Crispycat Hill...





In town, FOPP at lunchtime did tempt but I did not partake of any of the 10 albums I had counted on my fingers as I perused their wares...

Back at Crispycat Hill, the snow remained...



To the gym again tonight and a new methodology – taking along the “recent albums” jukebox with a playlist comprising all songs lasting between 4:50 and 5:10, I spent one song on each machine to try and stave off the boredom - it seemed to work...

Back home, excellent home-made minestrone soup from the still not 100% Exec Producer – along with some tasty crusty bread...

“CSI” entertained as Hearts fell at the last hurdle in the League Cup, losing 1-0 to my hometown team, St Mirren...

The results were brightened by “Robbie Keane’s Celtic” (© The Meedja 2010) losing 1-0 to Kilmarnock...

Later, some rockin’ Grand Funk whilst writing this up – followed by Charlie Brooker’s very funny “Newswipe”...

A reasonable day...

Highlight of the Day : Tasty soup hitting the spot after a gruelling hour in the gym...

Burning love...

Playlist
Various – Recent Albums on Shuffleplay
Ayreon – Into the Electric Castle
Weather Report – 12
Jackie McLean – Jacknife
Roedelius – Wenn der Sudwind Weht
Grand Funk – What’s Funk
Tangerine Dream – Live 1968-1975
Roy Harper – BBC In Concert 1978

Another cold, crisp day...



HMV at lunchtime did not tempt...

In the evening, I was not anywhere near on fire during “University Challenge” but enjoyed it nonetheless...

“Law & Order : UK” kept up its high standards...

The rest of the evening was spent burning discs of albums, some of which have been on the hard drive waiting for more than a year to take on physical form...

The tasty morsels coming forth from the disc drive featured the following...

Madredeus singer Teresa Salgueiro, Californian nouveau-proggers Astra, the late Richard Wright, Larry Coryell’s mid 70’s fusion outfit Eleventh House...

New discovery from Maine, Sumner McKane, Jason Lytle’s recent free download of piano improvs, a classic early 70’s Focus LP, a download only live album by the much maligned Coldplay...

The Buggles all but forgotten second album, classic jazz from the Blue Note vaults by Jackie McLean, live sets from Fiona Apple and Roy Harper...

Radiohead’s last album, classic synth work from Edgar Froese in the studio and his band Tangerine Dream from the stage, top krautrock from Roedelius and Harmonia, cracking dub from The Revolutionaries...

...and, last but absolutely not least, two rockin’ late career albums from the mighty Grand Funk...

Ooof...

Highlight of the Day : Burning...

Those should be Skodas...

Playlist
Various – Recent Albums on Shuffleplay
Various – Gym MP3s
Various – Top 100 Albums 2009
Larry Coryell – Fallen Angel
Various Composers – Your 100 Best Tunes (Complete)
Various – Cloudland Podcast 30
Various – Cloudland Podcast 31
Various – Cloudland Podcast 32
Various – Cloudland Podcast 34
Various – Cloudland Podcast 35

Another weekend over, indeed another month over...

Here's January...



Woke at six to find the sound from my headphones was only reaching my right ear...

Up immediately and tested them on a different MP3 player – somewhat relieved to find it was a headphone, rather than a player, fault...

To Tesco, arriving around 6:10 and new nut-phones purchased...

Back home and I was reaching the final stages of the big CD listing project...

This, however, was interrupted with another visit to the gym, this time with a playlist of 3 minute songs – on the basis of today’s visit however, I think the 5 minute song playlist is probably a better idea...

Back home for breakfast around 10:30 and to see Andy Murray crash and burn before I returned to the listing...

By lunchtime (leftover Jambalaya) I had every CD on the list – except all my CD singles – so very nearly there – just a few hundred to go...

With any venturing forth once again precluded by Anne’s lurgi, we watched the James Bond film, “The Living Daylights”, loaned to us by Chris-with-a-ch, on the basis that some of the early scenes were shot in Bratislava – we are to visit this city later this year...

Of course, we watched it under false pretences - the film was made in 1987, pre the end of the Cold War and so the Bratislava shots were actually filmed just over the border in Vienna...

All in all though, a reasonably enjoyable, if somewhat dated, romp...

Post that, some general mucking about on Youtube – and learning Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” – one of my all-time fave songs...

In the evening, posted up ten new podcasts to the Cloudland Blue Podcasts blog and gave a few of them a listen while I surfed...



“Match of the Day 2” featuring Man U's demolition of Arsenal entertained, as did the, apparently, last ever edition of "The South Bank Show"...

Of course that show should really have a home at the BBC where ratings aren't supposed to matter - I'd noticed in recent times it's been a shadow of its former self, with product tie-ins being the order of the day...

Still, sad to see it go...

Highlight of the Day : Almost completing the list...

Blessing or curse...

Playlist
Ayreon – Into the Electric Castle
Various – Gym MP3s
Steve Reich – Phases Disc 1
Various – A History of Jazz 1959-2003 Disc 1
John Adams –A Short Ride in a Fast Machine
The Hampton Quartet – What if Mozart Wrote “Roll Over Beethoven”?
Various Composers – Out of Russia
Various Composers – Classical Chill
Debussy – String Quartet in G Minor
Ravel – String Quartet in F

Up around seven and continued with the listing – nearly there now...

To the Gym around 9:30 for an hour...

I had created a playlist of 5 minute songs to help me get through it...

When I’m at the computer, time just disappears without my noticing but, in the gym, time drags like a very draggy thing which has got its claws into a big piece of purchase giving stuff and refuses to allow itself to be pulled into the future...

Back home for breakfast and updated this, then, more listing...

We had toyed with the idea of heading to Dunfermline to see Queen of the South play but this was scuppered by (a) Anne being too ill to leave the house and (b) the game being postponed due to a frozen pitch...

So, more listing...

Then, shopping for the ingredients for this weekend’s culinary experiment,
Jambalaya...







Very tasty and yet another success – and, to cheer Anne up, it was followed by a cheeky wee chocolate banana mousse a la three weeks ago...

My fourth dish already – see? Time flies except when you’re in the gym...

As Anne lay on the sofa, coughing and spluttering, we were entertained by this week’s “Glee” on tape, followed by the very interesting “The Virtual Revolution”, on the origins and future of the internet...



The main man in the collage above is the "inventor" of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee...

Also entertaining, for Meg the Black Cat too, was “Match of the Day”...



Highlight of the Day : Cooking...

Four and nine...

Playlist
Various - Rock & Pop Jukebox on Shuffleplay
Ayreon - The Electric Castle
Weather Report - Night Passage
Various - Top 500 Albums 1959-2008

Birthday of the Exec Producer and a lovely cold, crisp day....



Happy Birthday!



A succesful visit to the dresser of hair mid-morning for the Exec Producer was followed by an intimate wee lunch with your correspondent at Brown's on George Street - chicken & bacon toasted panini and smoked fish fishcakes were shared between us...

Off to the cinema then for Anne with sister Jane while, later on, the desired present was acquired by Mr CBQ...

This evening we bore the brunt of the now quite bitterly cold conditions and walked down to the local bar (which was absolutely chocablock with drinkers and carousers) to meet uo with Anne's best chum, Lynn and her partner Ross...

After a couple of drinks, it was back out into the cold for the brisk ten minute walk along to The Chinese Manor House, scene of our excellent bringing in of 2009 just over a year ago....

As we ordered our meal, fish looked on...



...and as Ross proudly showed off his new Abraham Lincoln look, Lynn looked on (no doubt proudly)...



A very tastly meal was enjoyed as the beer and wine flowed freely, with everyone partaking of everyone else's choices, providing the veritable spice of life that is variety...

Around 10:30 or so, we left the restaurant and walked up the hill to Crispycat Towers where some whiskey, gin, banter and coffee was enjoyed, witnessed of course by Meg the Black Cat...



We called it a night around 1 am and Lynn and Ross set off for home through the cold, dark cloudless night...

An enjoyable birthday...

Highlight of the Day : Annie milannie's birthday celebrations...

Not a necrophile...

Playlist
Earthworks - Earthworks
Earthworks - Dig
Earthworks - All Heaven Broke Loose
Various - Gym MP3s
John Coltrane - The Complete Classic Quartet Recordings

Annie's birthday tomorrow - early flowers were received from colleagues...



Tonight, returned to the gym for more mind-numbing exercising....

Back home, the reward was Anne's excellent signature dish, Red Thai Chicken Curry...

A new recipe book entered the house and one of its offerings will be my cooking project for this weekend...

TV featured "Coronation Street", "Big Bang Theory", "Mock the Week", "Question Time" and "This Week" - with "Glee" taped for future viewing...

Chum Macclesfield Craig is off to hospital tomorrow for a similar shoulder op to those which I have undergone over the last three years - all the best for that big man...

To bed with Mr Coltrane - not literally of course, for that would be necrophilia...

Lights out...

Highlight of the day : Finishing exercising...

Fire up the fire...

Playlist
King Crimson - Lizard
King Crimson - Red
King Crimson - Level Five
King Crimson - Live in Warsaw 2000

Ah the mighty Crim in my lugs...

Tonight, due to Anne's Mum not being able to make it to the big match, your correspondent was drafted in once again as an honorary Heart of Midlothian season ticket holder...



It would appear however that I am a hoodoo, as the Jam Tarts suffered a 3-0 thumping from Aberdeen...



Even my reminding Anne of the fact that we'd witnessed the mighty Queen of the South thrash tonight's opponents 4-3 at Hampden a couple of years ago couldn't soften the blow...

To add to the misery, Anne is currently under the weather in a cold-virus stylee...

Back home, in the quickly initiated warmth, we watched even more footie on "Match of the Day", including an eminently predictable 93rd minute winning goal for Manchester United against Manchester City in the English version of the Diddy Cup...

All in all then, a bit of a footie day...

Highlight of the Day : Getting the fire on when we got in from the football...