Monday 23rd August 2021

Back to work.

We go.

Somehow I manage to sleep through the alarm, Jools getting up, feeding the cats, washing up, and only woke up when she came up the stairs for a shower.

I'd better get up.

There was coffee waiting.

I had a slow start to the day, as I had to prepare. So I had put an out of office message in my work e mail account, and so I could pull together the final bit and pieces for my interview on the A Word in Your Ear podcast. THis is a reward for being a patreon subscriber. They would quize me of my life in music, through records, gig tickets and other memories.

I made sure I was fed and watered by nine when the Zoom call was due to start.

I logged on.

Nothing happened.

An e mail came in, that meeting info was corrupted, try this new one.

That also didn't work.

A new mail came in, a chat with Zoom was needed. But then, a new invite and news that it would work.

And it did.

I think I am the 30th subscriber to do these, and there are some familar opening and closing questions, but inbetween, it was a case of where the chat would take us.

What record playing equipment was in your parent's house when you were growing up?

What music did they listen to?

What was your first gig? Record?

And so on.

We go down a rabbit hole with my revalation that my parents had the Hair soundtrack LP.

David says, "Did you know there's a track on that called Sodomy"

Neither Mark or did.

David sought out the lyrics, the first verse is worth repeating here:

Sodomy
Fellatio
Cunnilingus
Pederasty
Father, why do these words sound so nasty?

Masturbation
Can be fun
Join the holy orgy
Kama Sutra
Everyone!

It is the second track on the album, right after Let the Sunshine In, so my parents must have heard it, and played it at their attempts at a dinner party in deepest Suffolk.

I tell them about gigs at the UEA, and recount trips to Wembley Stadium and Arena to see Madonna, Whitney Houston, Prince and Michael Jackson, and the fact Houston was the worse gig ever, and the Prince one in 1988 the best.

We finish by them asking me the best record of all time, and I change what I said in my recent blog.

THe best single was still Love Will Tear us Apart, but the album was A Few Small Repairs by Shawn Colvin, which guided me through my second divorce, and at the end a hint of optomism.

All done.

I log off, get my work computer out and log on as there was a meeting to attend, and give input to.

Into the afternoon and I have to prepare for a three day audit I am carrying on a factory in Spain, I have my new training to guide me, but my prep shows me to be more confused than before. So, I have to arrange a meeting first thing in the morning.

Sigh.

And that was that, all caught up, and until Thursday afternoon, audits.

And then there was Cleo.

Cleo had a lump on the base of her tail. She was holding herself different, and licking it a lot. The night before we had caught her and did some prodding, this caused her some pain, and goes to explain what happened next.

She had been bitten and was infected, she had to go to the vet, so an appointment at twenty to five was made, and Jen would come to take me with the cat in a box in her car.

If I could catch her.

And there was no chance, and when I put out a second handful of kitty kibbles, she knew there was something up, and ran out. Or jumped through the living room window (the open top window) and was gone.

I called Jen to advise her not to come, and then the vet to cancel the appointment, we hop that she will get better naturally, theough later in the evening we could catch her. But too late.

As I expected to go to the vet, we were to have pizz for dinner, so once Jools was reversing down the drive, I popped them in the ovens to heat them up.

And that was that for Monday.

I watched some football in the evening, giving up once West Ham took a two goal lead over then mam Leicester.