At my favourite concert venue, the Royal Albert Hall, for The Music of Bond; the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Alison Jiear and Matt Ford performing with Charlie Higson presenting. Very good so far.
Apart from the front grille (which is horrible in my view) it's a Range Roveslaudimerc in all but name
Here I am trying to retire and you’re trying to give me more work; whose side are you on? Besides, I couldn’t afford to do this full time.
Went to see The Last Dinner Party last night in town, good gig well polished helped along by the five heavily intoxicated Liverpudlian ladies directly behind who know the words to every song and weren’t shy at expressing themselves To be fair the they did sing in tune!
I've read about people in the audience singing along... Not so sure I would be as accepting as you! The flag & banner waving folks at Glasto who block everyone else's view are another issue.
Very much depends on the gig for me; some, like Bon Jovi, are a default position of standing and singing along, which the band supports and encourages; others, like the Eagles or Joe Bonamassa are a default of sit down and keep quiet, which I’m equally happy about. I don’t have too much of a problem with singers in the crowd, even if they are not pitch perfect; yakkers on the other hand are a completely different matter.
Yeah there is a variation, and in some venues I can -& do- move away. But seated, with 5 intoxicated people singing to every song for a few hours. Minimal appeal...
For the first time in years I've allowed myself to run out of cigs and nicotine replacement products. I've long felt, or anyway treated it, like NRT stuff is for keeping the addiction ticking over while taking a few days off. On the other hand the one time I genuinely quit I did it in three days, using nicotine gum (that is, one, small, pack of nicotine gum), after decades failing on will power alone. In other words, it's really all psychology. The neurotransmitter cascade two, three hours into just stopping is so good it's almost worth repeatedly quitting and caving in just for that, only it doesn't last long. But the next day a stable equilibrium without nicotine has resumed. That's how soon you beat nicotine addiction. It's a fast acting, short term drug you have to keep re-dosing every half hour or so, and the withdrawal effects are equally ephemeral. But then you're left with changing long-term, unconscious behaviour, and that is really difficult. I've left it too late now to go to Sainsbury's or the Co-op. I remember, long, long ago, the only time I ever went in the London Inn, because they had a fag machine. I bought 20 Dunhill; because those were the ones they had I disliked least. In the more recent, post-fag machine era, I'd get out of bed, get dressed, and go halfway across town to the 24 hr joint in the High Street. Half the time with a Bowie knife under my jacket on account of the pissed-up types you walk through in town in the early hours. I haven't done that since having an eternal supply of gum or lozenges. I could keep shovelling the dihydrocodeine down, but that weakens resolve. Or I can keep drinking excessive coffee - but I do that anyway. Even though coffee has been so inextricably associated with fags, I can drink cup after cup and it works as a substitute, until a certain point when I think of the association, at which point if I drink coffee I want a cigarette. Like it's all in the mind. It's what you decide it is at any given time. Like when you decide to be offended. And you get philosophical.
It is really all in your head. I quit about 14 years ago after smoking for more than 30 years. I woke up one morning and just decided that enough was enough. Threw away the fags I had left, the lighter, and that was that. Fourteen years on, I cannot understand why it took me so long to reach that point. Best of luck! It is definitely worth doing.
I loved smoking. It was so cool. Silly different ways of exhaling. Always there when i was bored. A great social "crash the ash" thing. Flaring matches or stylish zippos. After sex. After meals. After diving. After everything. During most things. For years and years and years. Then I got an horrendous throat infection. I didn't -couldn't- smoke for a week. I can clearly remember sitting at my desk in the hotel in Mex. I felt sad in funny way. But I knew, sitting there, looking at a soft pack of Marlboro. I'd given it up.
Zippos. I had quite a collection of Zippos. I think I gave them away. Including the brass one. I stopped for seven and a half years, started again just over 14 years ago, with mum in the final stage up at Sue Ryder. I thought I had such control now that I could quit again in a month or two. I found another brass Zippo in the family Tudor cottage I moved in soon after starting again. I don't appear to have that anymore. I've got one now with the rainbow coloured, petrol on water (and probably actually heated in oil or something) finish. I believe there are times I've kept on smoking rather than give up a Zippo. Well, yes, the original impetus for the Zippo was one of my old rocker-era mentors. Taught me the tricks, I found out a few years back a guy I used to peripherally work with was joyfully recounting how I used to open and light my Zippo! If I ever bump into him again I'll need fags and a Zippo for performance purposes if nothing else. I was taught to fill it with the last dribbling from the petrol pump. Told about Yank sailors lighting up on deck, etc etc. But mostly you really couldn't beat a Zippo for lighting a hash pipe.
I've just been reading some more right wing anti Labour crap, but it did give me a clue about what the DVLA are up-to. I reckon that they think that I am fiddling the mobility scheme, that I am not on and never have been. When I got my license back in 2020. I did look into it as I was told to. To me, it looked very expensive and much more than I was prepared to shell out on a car that you never own. That's why they were asking about modifications made to the car and why they want me to see a doctor. They think that I am fraudulently on the scheme and want me off it. That's why they want me to see a doctor. They hope that the doctor will say that I don't qualify so that they can boot me off it. Either the doctor will say that I don't qualify, or I am not fit to drive. Either way, they think that it will be a win for them. And they are too stupid to realise that I am not in the scheme!
Yesterday, I had another hospital appointment, this time, to have a travel through the big white donut, all was going well until the nurse asked if I could rotate my wrist, then grabbed my hand before waiting for an answer Now the CT scan has been done, just got to wait until the 9th of December for my next appointment, to see if they are going to let it heal naturally, or fit an upgrade elbow joint
