I had an interesting chat with one of our visitors today. He's the same age as me and he's brought his family down from Burnley, where he runs his own company.
We were chatting about management styles and he said, "the thing I always try to remember is this - you have to be prepared for the fact that, one day, half a million eggs might come rolling across the field to attack you. If you've got a plan in place for that, you can deal with anything else life throws at you. "
RC 27-5-26
Well what a day we had yesterday. An elderly
woman with heatstroke, an unexpected power cut in the restaurant and a broken
down van that blocked the main entrance, and I swear that all happened during
my lunch hour! Throw into that a fourth successive day of high temperatures, a
tired mind after a night of insomnia and an early morning with an irritable
son, and it made for quite the Monday Experience!
But hey, we got through it, and we start again on a fresh day with a fresh set
of hours to contend with.
I have to say that, despite the complications arising from the sudden surge, I
am absolutely loving the warmer weather. Getting to wear thin, short-sleeved
shirts without any fear of a cold back or stiff neck is wonderful, and seeing
the smiles on faces again, rather than the hunched shoulders as people huddle
to hide from the chill, really lightens my mood. There were some tough times
there, mentally, in the 'Spring' months of March and April, but all that is
forgotten now as I wake up in sunshine, walk to my car with sunglasses on, and
get to drive to work with the windows down! Well - most of it is
forgotten now. There are still a few residual cobwebs of darkness, so please
let us have another 5 months of this weather please, and then it will
all be forgotten.
RC 26-5-26
Do you think I created the world so you could
fight over it?
Crazy
to think that the last time we were getting the boys ready for a family day
out, we were packing extra coats and a blanket. Today it's sun cream, hats and
lots of water. And it's only two weeks later!
What annoys me about this lovely little spell of Summer (and I promise this is
the only negative) is that the second it was reported that we would have nice
weather, there had to be an announcement about a Heat Warning. Why can't they
let us just enjoy the rare bit of heat when we get it? Why does there have to
be some patronising, nanny-state infodump about staying in the shade and
keeping hydrated? Honestly, there are times this country makes me want to
staple my foreskin to a tree with embarrassment. Which is exactly why Philippa
and I are actively looking into the idea of moving abroad.
But more on that later.
To compensate for my moaning, here's a few things I am ULTRA happy about right
now:
It's half-term, so my boys have a break from schooling.
My work is hard, but it's FUN. It's about helping other people to have FUN, and
that's FUN.
The new series of SpringWatch starts tomorrow!
It won't be dark at teatime for months yet.
The sea will soon be warm enough to swim in, and for the boys to play in.
I live in a beautiful area that is even more beautiful at this time of year.
I am still hopelessly in love, despite being with my wife for over a decade now.
We are about to have a lovely family day out in the sun, including a picnic!!!
RC 24-5-26
Another
half-term is upon us and I'm already exhausted!
Yesterday I had to spend a day walking around the site with Gavin and an
overweight contractor, as Gavin's latest obsession is the idea of installing
'high ropes' equipment, and obviously the ideal time to be discussing that with
me is on the day that most English schools break up for a week and we're
literally on the cusp of a huge influx of people.
Anyway, let us not dwell on such things.
It's incredibly hot, everything (he says, with fingers firmly crossed and wood
firmly touched) is ready to go, and for the next 7 days we will be at full
capacity, and then some. The atmosphere is one of quiet anticipation, mixed
with a gentle dose of nerves. Part of me has the pre-lockdown pandemic feeling,
where I know something big is about to hit us and I'm not sure how to prepare
myself. But mostly, I think I'm just overwhelmed with the realisation that this
is where the work starts in earnest. From today, until the end of October, it's
pretty much a full-on slog. 'Weekends' will be a thing of the past and I'll be juggling
family time with work commitments and struggling to find the balance.
There you go, I've accidentally stumbled onto a great title for my memoirs - "Juggling
and Struggling (The Rory Story)"
RC 23-5-26
I swear this came to me in a dream - I'm going
to put together an all-girl Beatles tribute act, and their first album of
covers will be called 'REVULVA'.
RC 22-5-26
I
don't know whether this is just a joyous coincidence, or whether Philippa read
yesterday's blog posting and decided to treat me a little, but this morning, my
wife started wearing a new perfume that contains 'a hint of blackcurrant and
elderflower'. As you can imagine, this has driven my brain a little bit crazy.
She brushed past me in the kitchen and my senses exploded with delight and
excitement. When she kissed me goodbye, I almost squirted an entire generation
of potential Chesworth offspring into my undershorts. If you see what I'm
saying...
On a less unpleasant note, I have managed to dissuade Gavin (my boss) from a ridiculous
team-building exercise idea where he wanted to take loads of us out to sea on a
high-speed boat to try and 'learn the Suffolk coastline from the water'. He
seemed to think that our understanding of our local area would be improved if
we took an expensive trip with some fishermen and 'got to view our county as
the Vikings would have'. I honestly wonder sometimes what the Hell is wrong
with him, but at least I'm slowly learning how to talk him out of these things.
In other news, we have a group staying with us this week who are from a specialist
special needs school in Lincolnshire. They've been amazing. We've had to make a
few adjustments to things to accommodate them and to give them the activities
they wanted, but the staff are delighted with our efforts, and all the children
are amazing. I don't need reminders that I am incredibly fortunate to have
children with no disabilities or limitations on their lives, but sometimes it's
nice to get those reminders anyway.
RC 21-5-26
I
have fallen heavily in love with blackcurrant squash. Odd thing to write about,
I know, but it's become my go-to drink of choice, and I just can't get enough
of it. Refreshing, thirst-quenching, and reminiscent of a youth spent living
with a mother who thought Ribena was the answer to all illnesses. It's also a
lot better for me than the Strawberries and Cream Pepsi that I was a bit
obsessed with for a while, and almost certainly mentioned on this very blogsite.
That stuff was all full of artificial flavours, unnatural sweeteners and caffeine,
not to mention being carbonated to the point of causing carnage in my stomach. The
squash that I have become enamoured with is, apparently, made with genuine juice
from genuine blackcurrants, which is probably why one bottle costs the same as
a meal for four at a restaurant. But it's lovely, and right now I cannot
imagine a time in my life when I won't be drinking pints of it every day. Which
is the way my mind works, of course. The chances are that by the end of June
I'll be sick of it and will be lamenting the fact that I've filled three
cupboards with it at home while already composing a posting about my new
favourite drink of choice, which will be some kind of unusual milkshake or a
cocktail.
Right now, though, it's blackcurrant all the way, baby.
RC 20-5-26
This morning I had a bowl of nuts, dried fruit,
seeds and yoghurt. For lunch, I bought myself a mixed salad with grilled
chicken breast, and tonight I am planning a stir fry with lots of asparagus,
kale, mushrooms, peppers and onions. My bowels may react with urgency and intolerance,
but at least I'll have exorcised the demons of the Sunday sausages.
RC 19-5-26
I know I mentioned them earlier this week, but I
can't say enough good things about the Mongolian band 'The Hu'. I must have
played their first album 'The Gereg' twenty times or more in the past week or
so. I have no idea what the Hell they are singing about, but it doesn't matter.
In fact, I think that if I brought up an English translation of the words, it
would ruin the whole effect for me. The lack of understanding of the lyrics
just means I can get swept up in the sound of the voices, and my God, what a
sound it is. It's like listening to Buddhist chants performed by Metallica. And
the production on every song is spectacular. I honestly don't think I'm going
to hear another album this year that comes close to taking the title of my
'Favourite of 2026' so we might as well close the doors on that one right now.
Although... I haven't even listened to their second album yet! So that might be
a contender!
In other news, I have been contacted online by someone to see if I would be
interested in going to a High School Reunion.
I would not.
There's a reason I haven't kept in contact with anyone from my school days, or
tried to seek them out through social media. I literally cannot think of
anything worse than being thrown back together with the people I was educated
with from the ages of 12 to 16. I would rather be subjected to a year-long,
non-stop, full-volume listening of Abba's Greatest Hits. I would rather be forced
to sit on a piss-soaked, sweat-smelling, overcrowded London Underground train
for 48 hours straight. I would rather endure a series of painful visits to an
underqualified and underexperienced dental hygienist. I would rather have to
clean up behind a busload of pensioners with dysentery, who have just been out
for a lamb bhuna, which wasn't cooked properly. I would rather have to sleep
outside all Winter in a sleeping bag full of ice cubes.
In OTHER news, Philippa might be leaving work at the doctors surgery soon, as
she seems to be getting enough massage clients that she may be able to try it
full-time. Which is incredibly exciting, and awe-inspiring, and absolutely
fills me with pride. She's amazing.
RC 15-5-26
I may be a bit late in getting in on this, but
Sir David Attenborough hit his centenary birthday last week, and quite rightly,
the world has gone a bit over-the-top with their praise, gratitude and
platitudes. I'm not even sure how you can begin to say how influential,
important, inspiring and intellectually important he has been. I suppose the simplest
way to put it is this - in most English-speaking countries in the world, if you
play a clip of his voice, people will know who he is. And for anyone who has
ever been interested in the Natural World, or the making of documentaries, or the
best way to broadcast, or how to run a TV station, or effective methods of education,
then he has to be up there as a person to aspire to, and will almost certainly
have helped pushed you in the direction that your life has taken. Has there
been any programme about animals that is worth mentioning that didn't involve
him? Has there been anyone in entertainment who has maintained their position
as the number one exponent of his chosen field for so long? He's ONE HUNDRED
YEARS OLD, for God's sake, and he would still be the voice that 99% of
producers would want to have associated with their show. I remember the BBC
trying to phase him out a bit - whether because he wanted to ease up and retire
or not, I don't know - and the programmes that were narrated by the likes of
David Tennant, Sean Pertwee, or the others that they tried to get the public to
accept as 'The New Voice of Nature' simply didn't land as well. He is, genuinely,
unique. There will never be another person, in any field I suspect, who will
last so long, achieve so much, and maintain such high standards.
I hope he goes on for many more years, and I hope he understands just what a
giant he is.
RC 14-5-26
You may have noticed that I've been wallowing under
the influence of The Dark Bastard in recent weeks. (For any newer readers -
'The Dark Bastard' is the name I give to the depressive/insomniac/self-loathing
part of me that takes control of my thoughts occasionally). I've tried to do
the right things - eat properly, sleep properly, do things I know I enjoy, exercise,
drink lots of water, avoid caffeine, limit alcohol, etc - but it's been a spell
that seemed determined to dig its claws in and hold me to the ground as much as
possible.
The thing that seems to have pushed it away a bit is music! And not terrible,
low-mood, 'let's all feel shit together', written from a point of angst stuff,
but really rocking uplifting happy bouncy silly songs that I might normally shy
away from. Hard rock, thrash, even weird old 60s trippy numbers have been added
to my playlist as I drive along with sounds booming out, or sit in my office
with them playing happily in the background. It all helps. My favourite discovery,
by far, is the music of The Hu. I honestly don't know how to describe them, other
than to say 'a weird fusion of psychedelia, Mongoloan throat singing and heavy
rock'. They have great melodies and a unique sound and are - (forgive me for
dropping into base vernacular English) - f**king amazing. They may have saved
me from a much longer languishing of darkness within myself simply by being so
brilliantly ridiculous, and ridiculously brilliant.
RC 13-5-26
I
actually had a tune in my head for these lyrics, but I can't work out how to
play it on any of the instruments I tinker with. I also can't seem to get back
into the same frame of mind that I had when I first started writing it, so I
can't seem to add to it or improve it. So I thought I'd dump it on here, as it
is, as 'a poem' and see if I can make something more of it later...
The
bluest eyes I've ever seen
Were
nestled in a beauty queen
We
hooked up in a limousine
She
helped to set me free
She
was booked to do a fashion show
So
caught a flight to Tokyo
and
as I watched her turn to go
I
knew we'd never be
On
the plane to sunny Spain
We
found each other yet again
She
pulled me forward out of pain
And
sent me back to us
Somewhere
up Chicago way
She
came and took my breath away
I
feel in deep but couldn't stay
and
left without a fuss
Sometimes
doubts can come on strong
If
it feels right I must be wrong
I
know it won't be very long
Before
I choose to bail
Now
I know I'm past my prime
Everything
that feels sublime
Can
only last a little time
and
then it starts to fail
RC 12-5-26
A
vast expanse of nothing, streaked with clouds
An unseen joy, ignored by most below
The earth beneath, it covers and it shrouds
Reminding us how little yet we know
A haze of blue, a dance of mellow white
An ever changing litany of hues
It has no form, exists of air and light
And yet, so much emotion it imbues
Providing link betwixt the land and space
A home for storms, for butterflies and birds
And though it often hides the lunar face
It germinates ideas; inspires words
So when our time on earth seems dark and tough
Remember we do not look up enough
RC 11-5-26
Ok, well, I'm back.
Instead of making excuses for not posting for a week, I shall just refer you
back to the other times I have missed several days in a row without writing
anything, and ask you to read whatever I produced by way of apology or
explanation. I'm pretty sure the exact same thing will apply here.
To give myself a bit of credit, I haven't been completely lazy. I have actually
got into writing some poetry again, for the first time in ages, so that's been
nice. I might share them with you, over the next few days, just to prove to you
that I've been productive in the time we've been apart.
I wonder, as I'm sure I've wondered before, whether the lack of blog-writing
has helped to fuel the poem production. Maybe I only have a limited number of creative
cells in my body, and if they're being used in one field, there's nothing left
for anything else. So the act of posting something regularly prevents me from
creating something that might be more worthy of being posted.
Or maybe I just overthink things...
RC 10-5-26
For thousands of years you have been in our sky
You would have distracted my ancestor's eye
For travellers weary and troubled at night
You glisten and glow and reflect the sun's light
For all disappointments that fall in our cup
You give us a reason to cast out eyes up
For all of our futures of worries and woe
You make us feel safe and with somewhere to go
RC 4-5-26
Well
a new month has started without any major problems.
Not sure why I wanted to start today's blog posting like that, but I've done it
now.
My
sexy new cards have arrived and they are gorgeous! I'm very impressed with how
quickly they arrived, and I have to say the designs are stunning. So artistic
and so aesthetically pleasing. And the way they move through your hands while
shuffling and dealing are like handling liquid velvet, in card form. (if you
see what I mean).
You would think that one pack of cards would be pretty
much the same as any other, but my God these are like working with a completely
different product. It's like reading a cheap newspaper and then handling a
leather-bound volume of Dickens; or it's like holding a slice of cheap
supermarket burger cheese and then getting your hands on a wheel of roquefort;
or it's like dancing with a clumsy, drunk, overweight madman and then getting
to work with Ginger Rogers; or like licking a stagnant puddle and then licking
a bowl of ice cream; or like licking the top of a 9V battery and then being
hooked directly into the electricity mains; or like laying on a bedsheet made
of polyester and then sleeping in Egyptian cotton.
Well, you get the idea...
(Just don't tell Philippa how much they cost me...)
RC 1-5-26
