We’re gonna carry on for another day – 13th July 2020

Quick pages. Dark and raining, cool and humid. Motivated this morning but teeth hurt. Dream? I know I had them.

Suck in deep breaths. Mini workout – my style – one day I’ll do more. Slowly, slowly is okay.

Busy day ahead? Maybe – let’s see – can face anything now right? You can, you can. Brain blur – meditate.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my new chair so I can relax outside and watch the football. I felt great.

7th Sep 2022 – I was trying to think what this chair was and suddenly remembered. It was a kind of comfy padded folding chair without legs so you could adjust it in many ways. It was good for a while but the arm mechanism soon broke and one drunken evening Amy kept tripping over it and picked it up and threw it into the yard where it broke even further. I think it must still be in my man cave, which is a place I need to visit and make sure has not been fully taken over by spiders and insects and hope that the roof has not leaked with all the rain. About 95% of my CD collection is still in there.

To-do list

  • Compliment two people ½
  • Mantra and blessing ✅
  • Give Dylan positive feedback ✅
  • Be vulnerable – open and helpful to other teachers ✅
  • Record audio for Bruce in the evening

After a fairly relaxing day of making videos and preparing to make more, we finally got asked to teach in the classroom. Actually, I had already gotten a little bored and helped T. First in a couple of lessons already and I found them quite stimulating and fun.

Finally, we get to teach – it’s been so long! I felt good all day and fairly confident about everything.

The Chiang Rai Alternative Hour #39 – 23rd May 2020

Music from Pregnant Neck, The Fugs, 35mm Dreams, Tsushimamire, Skurge, Mudhoney, George Duke, Electric Light Orchestra, Lightning Bolt, Unknown, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Dennis Brown, Wild Youth, Vibrato Fetish, Spanish Dogs, beNt, Cockney Rejects and The Temptations.

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for my shower in the morning, to cool and refresh, and prepare for the day.

To-do list

  • Continue video editing ✅
  • Enjoy Baew’s birthday party ✅
  • Record TCRAH if time
  • Find warm up video and then exercise
  • Read some more – I want to finish this book! ✅

I enjoyed learning the video editing software today. Amy was obviously in her monthly bad mood so it was good to be out of the way. She was baking cakes too. I find it hard to deal with her when she’s in these moods and even she knows that she is not herself.

She was happy when we got to Baew’s though and we started eating and drinking. I had to stop after a little bit though because I was tired and I ended up sleeping for a couple of hours!

Tomorrow – get up and go again.

Ask him no questions he’ll tell you no lies – 22nd January 2018

Working Monday mornings only come around about once a month and they suck as much for me as for everyone else.  Day shifts are relatively boring, or I should say, even more boring than night shifts.  This whole job is an exercise in dealing with boredom.  I joke about having finished reading the internet.

Talking about reading I’m about to finish the 3rd book this week about bikers.  This one, ‘Outlaws’, is about the history of the clubs in the UK and constantly reminds me of my one time run in with a Hell’s Angel (which, on further thought, reminds of another run in).

Fatty, his girlfriend Sally, and I were on the 2-hour drive home from London after a gig and stopped at the service station to fill up on some food.  It was probably around 1am and the place was empty.  The food in bain-marie looked unappetising but we needed something to fill our empty bellies.  We filled our plates and sat down, having the choice of the whole room to sit in.  As we nearly finished a biker came in, got some food and chose to sit down next to us.  Of course, we immediately became nervous and finished up as quickly as we could.  The biker looked straight at Sally and said ‘do you want to fuck?’

Thankfully she was too stunned to say anything, which was unusual for her.  I could see her mouthing off and getting us all punched down.  We picked up our things and left swiftly.  I think I heard the biker say ‘guess that’s a no then?’ as we got through the door.  Thankfully he was alone.

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And the other story that came to mind was in a pub one early evening Fatty and I were standing next to a pillar, happily drinking away.  We stuck our drinks on the shelf around the pillar in between gulps and continued chatting, putting the world to rights as per usual early 20-year-olds shooting the breeze.  I turned to pick up my beer, almost full, and it was gone.  I looked around the pillar and three Hell’s Angels were talking to each other, paying no attention to this little runt who’d just lost his drink.

I tapped one of them on the back and as he turned I smashed him in the face and stomped on his stomach.  As the other two pulled out their pistols I karate chopped one and high kicked the other and then……oh wait.  That’s not what happened.  We went somewhere else to get a drink instead.

Hopefully, the next book I read is a little less hateful.

*The Week That Was – 30th March 1981

Single of the week: Tenpole Tudor – Swords of a Thousand Men, Twisted Nerve – Vertigo

30th March 1981
Well at least Mr Hoare’s gone to French

31st March 1981
Friggin’ in the Riggin’ in my musical story

1st April 1981
Master scheme failed on Monday
now they’ve got me
League Cup final replay
West Ham 1 – Liverpool 2

2nd April 1981
Some good stuff on John Peel show
I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles
John Wark PFA player of the year two weeks ago

3rd April 1981
So Boring

4th April 1981
West Bromwich 3 – Ipswich 1

5th April 1981
With Matthew

This week’s chart-topper is: Shakin’ Stevens – This Old House

*The Week That Was – 16th March 1981

Single of the week: Stiff Little Fingers – Just Fade Away

16th March 1981
16UP yesterday at 10.45

17th March 1981
Heard new charts at school

18th March 1981
Ipswich 3 – St. Etienne 1 (1-0)
agg 7-2

19th March 1981
We’re gonna win the UEFA Cup
Drawn against Cologne

20th March 1981
Some of my records came tomorrow

21st March 1981
Manchester United 2 – Ipswich 1
Oh well

22nd March 1981
I got Bubbles and a Tommy Gun

This week’s chart-topper is: Roxy Music – Jealous Guy
Highest new entry: Linx – Intuition

Albums of the Year – 30th December 1980

Damned – Machine Gun Etiquette
Damned – Black Album
Cockney Rejects – Vol II
Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

13th July 2021 – I can’t imagine how I had these records at aged 13! I know I used to steal money from my mum’s stash of savings hidden in the bureau (sorry mum!) so maybe that was it. I do remember a year or two later I would never eat lunch and just saved the money my mum gave me to buy records on the weekend. I was skinny and starving.

*The Week That Was – 29th December 1980

Record of the week: Lookin’ For Clues – Robert Palmer

29th December 1980
Expecting Graeme 1000
He didn’t come should come tomorrow
Dentist 3.20pm

30th December 1980
Album of the year:
Damned – Black Album/Machine Gun Etiquette
Cockney Rejects – Greatest Hits Vol II
Dead Kennedys – Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables

31st December 1980
Single of the year:
Dead Kennedys – Holiday In Cambodia
The Fall – How I Wrote ‘Elastic Man’

1st January 1981
The Damned and PiL are on OGWT
mixed my drinks – all the family have (illegible)

17th July 2021 – The Old Grey Whistle Test was an interesting TV show although at the time I just wanted to see punk music and not all the boring old hippie, prog, jazz shit they would include. Trying to find more information about the show on this date makes me think that they re-ran recordings from 1979 – maybe a New Year special or something like that.

As to the drinking part of this entry….I’m not sure if this would have been drinking allowed by my mother (and with family – Grandparents, visiting relatives, maybe) or perhaps stolen from my grandad’s stash out in the shed, from which I learned to enjoy Newcastle Brown Ale and practice skulling 300ml bottles of various other forms of ale.

2nd January 1981
Bought The Not The Nine O’clock News album
and Sid Vicious Family Album

3rd January 1981
FA Cup Third Round
Ipswich 1 v Villa 0

4th January 1981
Gotta finish school project
but who the hell wants to do that?
ME! I suppose

This week’s chart-topper is:
Anarchy In The UK for the 3rd time
John Peel’s Festive Fifty
Also in Top 10 – Stiff Little Fingers, Dead Kennedys, Clash, Undertones, Joy Division, Jam, Damned