Just realised that, so far in 2022, I have posted a different number of blogs in each month. I wonder if I have ever challenged myself to keep that up for a whole calendar year? And if I haven't, could I achieve it this year?
I'll have to have a look back and check.....
Ok, I've checked, and I did it back in 2016! I can't believe I'd forgotten that. My memory of my own writing history is atrocious. I blame the vaccine....
RC 30-6-22
Yesterday's blog, without any planning on my part, was exactly 250 words long.
God, I love myself sometimes.Gavin popped in unexpectedly today. We had all assumed he would be lost in the world of his new hotels for months, but he seems determined to keep his hand on the tiller of the caravan parks too, even though we're perfectly capable of running perfectly well without him. He was in a good mood, to be fair. He's waiting for some quotes for upgrades and some 'architectural suggestions' so there's not much he can do to the buildings he bought apart from keep renting out the rooms that are usable and hope nothing falls down before its fixed.
We had a chat about some events for later in the year. Seems odd to be discussing Autumn and Christmas when we've just hit the peak of Summer, but time does flow by so quickly, and in this business you have to plan months ahead or things just don't get done in time.
This year's Championships started at 11am, and less than an hour later, play has been suspended due to rain!!!
Welcome to Wimbledon.I really enjoyed WARMSDUSCHER, although it's not really my kind of music.
I thought DECLAN MCKENNA overdid the 'deliberately wacky' persona, although I love his voice, and his band were incredibly tight (as they say in the lingo). Hard to believe he's as young as he is, and I have no doubt he will be a successful and important singer/songwriter, if he doesn't disappear up his own arse or get badly advised.
He would do well to take the lead of JARV IS (the artist formally known as Jarvis Cocker) who remains admirably mercurial and unique, nearly 30 years after first arriving on the scene.
I caught 10 minutes of Charlie XCX, and the tunes were catchy, but I am genuinely sick of 20-something pop girls doing dance moves in their underwear.
PET SHOP BOYS put on a cracking show to finish things off on The Other Stage. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look as comfortable in their surroundings as Neil Tennant did last night - the man was relaxation and contentment personified - and the 'Dreamland' duet with Olly Alexander was one of the highlights of the weekend.
But my Sunday Star Award goes to HERBIE HANCOCK. Perfect Sunday afternoon fodder, and amazing renditions of amazing songs.
RC 27-6-22
My favourite band name from this year's Glastonbury has to be SNARKY PUPPY.
(Although I'll give an honourable mention to JUST MUSTARD)
I was really looking forward to seeing Suzanne Vega headline the Acoustic Stage tonight, until I realised that there isn't anywhere I can watch it live. I'll have to hope that the BBC deign to put it on their iPlayer highlights in the coming few days.
Still not sure how I feel about Paul McCartney's set last night.
My 'best of the day' award for Saturday, therefore, goes to PHOEBE BRIDGERS. Amazing set, and she has the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen in my life (that 'silver sparkles' number she played at the start). Technically speaking, she played the John Peel Stage on Friday, but I only watched it yesterday, so chronologically, for me, she wins for Saturday.
Returning to Mr McCartney, then - probably a great gig to be at live, but came across a bit clunky on the telly, and it made me feel a bit like I was watching the greatest ever racehorse take a leisurely walk along a beach in its dotage. Everything I wanted was there, but about 20 years too late to make it worthwhile. Pretty incredible moment when you bring on Bruce Springsteen to be a guest guitarist though!
RC 26-6-22
What I love about the Glastonbury Festival, and the coverage of it, is that I end up seeing artists I had never even heard of before, and then I end up falling in love with their music.
The undoubted champions of Friday for me, and whose musical output shall be clogging up my playlists for months to come, were ST. VINCENT.
FIRST AID KIT were brilliant, but they always are, so that's not really a surprise to me.
On a negative note, I'm already fed up with every act shouting the word 'GLASTONBURY!' within 5 minutes of appearing onstage.
On a pessimistic note, it's amazing that all this stuff is happening again, and I'm not taking it for granted for one second, but I am fully expecting there to be a huge surge in Covid cases over the next month, as a result of all these big get-togethers, and I'm already planning for new restrictions in Autumn.
I'm looking forward to Paul McCartney tonight, although I'm a bit worried it will be a disappointment as I've seen some clips of him singing lately and his voice seems shot to bits.
The thing about Sophie and Tamara played on my mind a little today. I always thought their break-up was a bit silly, and when it happened I assumed (and hoped) that it would just be a temporary glitch in their relationship and all would be well post-haste. But as the weeks went by it became clear that neither of them was going to back down from whatever argument it was that had parted them, and my sister became more and more miserable.
At some point, I guess I just accepted it was over and stopped thinking about it. Maybe that was insensitive and un-brotherly, as Philippa suggested last night it might be, but I think I was just allowing Sophie to move on at her own pace, and I know that when my embarrassing pre-Philippa liaisons had come crashing to an inevitable finish, the last thing I would have wanted would have been my siblings talking to me about it.
But the thing is, I'm still connected to Tamara through social media. We don't message each other or follow each other or any of that other online-life rubbish, but she's never removed me from her contacts, so I still know where she is and what she's doing. So I'm now wondering whether to reach out and say 'Hello' and see whether I can go some way towards repairing the fractured nature of their friendship. As far as I know, they've had literally no interaction since the day they split up. Wouldn't it be nice if they could at least have a clear the air chat, even if it's virtually, and either reconnect or draw a final line beneath it all? Wouldn't that mean Sophie can stop pining (as Philippa seems to think she is) and move on, possibly finding someone new?
This all feels a bit beyond me, and I'd love to discuss it with my wife, but I know she would be horrified at the thought of me interfering in my sister's love life and, probably, making it into a turgid shitty mess. So, I think it's best I keep out of it and leave it alone, and stop looking at her posts, updates and photos to try and work out if she's single.
But what would be the harm in just saying 'Hello'???????
RC 24-6-22
The name MACY is now firmly locked into position no.1 on our 'Possible Names for Girls' board!
Philippa was looking over my shoulder when I was posting yesterday's blog and found her eye drawn towards it. She said 'Where did you get that from? That's lovely!' The honest truth is - I don't know. The only Macy I can think of that I know of is the singer Macy Gray, but I haven't thought about her for years because 'I Try' doesn't show up on my playlists.
Another consequence of yesterday's list is me being told to edit it to remove the name 'Tamara'. When I asked why, Philippa said "Well, what if your sister Sophie sees it?" I stared at her blankly for a few seconds, uncomprehending. "For God's sake, Rory, you can't consider her ex-girlfriend's name as a suggestion for our daughter, it would be like slapping her in the face." Remember what I wrote about staring at her blankly for a few seconds? Let's assume I did that again... I then said, "I don't see what the problem is, they split up years ago." Philippa rolled her eyes so hard I'm surprised they didn't slip down her back. Then she said "She's never got over it, Rory. Haven't you noticed that she hasn't even been on a date since breaking up with Tamara?"
Now that it's been mentioned, Sophie has been a little quiet on the romance front for several years, but I just assumed she was playing the field a bit or just keeping things from us, and that's what I said to Philippa. After another haemorrhage-inducing eye-roll, I was told that I am useless as a brother and about as observant as a blind slug.
I will never understand women if I live to be 1000.
RC 23-6-22
POSSIBLES - Stanley, Spencer, Cameron, Morgan, Alicia, Tamara, Stephanie.
DEFINITE NO - Martyn, Joseph, Cosmo, Elizabeth, Rachel, Fiona
NAMES THAT MIGHT LOOK COOL WRITTEN DOWN (even though we might not consider them) -
Benedict Chesworth
Byron Chesworth
Jerry Chesworth
Clementine Chesworth
Macy Chesworth
Augustine Elspeth Chesworth-Chesworth
RC 22-6-22
Depressing me a bit, the fact that we're into the 20s in June already. Also hours away from the Solstice, meaning (if you want to be depressive about these things) that we're already starting the slow descent into Winter....
On a more positive note, Gavin has gone ahead with his 'foolish folly' and bought two hotels on the Suffolk coast, so we're not likely to see him for a while. His plan is to leave the running of the caravan camps to his 'trusted management team' and throw himself into the creation of a new empire. Not sure a couple of venues counts as an empire but you have to admire his ambition. They're rather in a state of disrepair, by all accounts, so there'll be a bit of sprucing up before he can start making his fortune renting out the rooms. He's determined to project manage the whole thing himself though, so he's been walking around with a measuring tape, scribbling ideas down in an A4 pad and starting to contact local builders and decorators to see if they're available to help with the upgrades. I keep thinking that he's gone a bit mad and has bitten off more than he can chew and he'll fall flat on his face and he'll have to sell one of the holiday sites to make up the shortfall, but his current business started when he took over a run-down, badly-thought-of caravan park by selling his house and taking out a loan, and 15 years later he has 3 sites running at full capacity, and all with great reputations and great reviews. So, good luck to him.
RC 20-6-22
Today has been delightful. My fourth Father's Day as a Father and the first one where Mathew sort-of had an inkling about what was going on. He kept hugging me and saying 'love yooouuuu' and we had some fun times with Duplo and toy trains. It's amazing to think that next year I'll be dad to TWO children! Still getting my head around that concept, although watching Philippa these days it's impossible not to be reminded constantly. You'd think she was due to drop tomorrow the way she keeps cleaning everything and writing 'To Do' lists. I don't mind, though. It's fun to see her so passionate and so happy.
I am now ending my day by watching the final round of the US Open golf on Sky Sports. I still think McIlroy might put a little run together at the end and come close, but it's hard to look past Scottie Scheffler with how things look at the moment.
I got to play the drums at work yesterday. It was weird, to be honest. It felt as if I had got as close as I will ever get to performing as a proper musician. I was in a proper venue, on a proper stage, using a professional drum kit. The fact that there were only three other people in the whole building was neither here nor there - I can say I played the drums at a large holiday centre in Suffolk during Summer season!
I suppose I should give you the facts. I was doing my rounds and having a chat with the maintenance manager about a problem with the speaker system in the ballroom. (An extravagant title for a space that holds 120 and is usually used for bingo.)
Dave - the drummer from our resident band at weekends - was in there, setting up his equipment ready for their show tonight. He was saying he's had some work done on a couple of his drums and wanted to test them out, and wished his brother wasn't abroad on holiday, as he was a proper roadie and could help him. Eventually, in conversation, it came up that I can bash the old bongos a bit, and he asked me if I would kindly give his kit a bit of a workout while he walked around the room, so he could satisfy himself that he would sound alright tomorrow. I was, to say the least, flattered, shocked, humbled and excited in equal measure. I was terrified that I would damage something, primarily, but once I sat down and got on with it, it felt good to be giving it a go.
He thanked me, said 'you're all right for an amateur' and then went outside for a roll-up. I don't know if I should be embarrassed by this, but I've been glowing with pride and satisfaction ever since.
RC 18-6-22
I'm so hot
I'm full of cramp
I'm so hot
My balls are damp
I'm so hot
I'm soaked in sweat
I'm so hot
My arse crack's wet
I'm so hot
I feel confused
I'm so hot
My toes have fused
I'm so hot
I'm feeling ill
But I'm so glad
It's Summer, still!
RC 16-6-22
I have to say that I am very glad NOT to be running a 'fuel replenishment location' these days. The hassle my former colleagues are getting with regards to the costs of filling up vehicles is wearing them down. It is ridiculously expensive at the moment, but it's not the fault of the poor saps working behind the tills at the garages.
It's got to the point that it's almost beyond comprehension. If you didn't look on it as laughable it would cripple you with despair. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I remember paying less than 140p a litre earlier in 2022. Now it's 197.5 where I am, and possibly even more expensive for you. That's an incredible rate of change and it's no wonder many, many people are struggling. I'm trying to convince myself it's down to 'trivial fluctuations' and advising people that the price can't be sustainable, but you know what? I don't believe that for one second. It won't change, I'm afraid, that's what I believe. It won't change because consumers just keep on buying it. We all have a little moan and shed a little tear, but we're all slaves to the system and we all have to keep our cars moving. We know we don't have a choice, and they know that. They've had excuses to hike up the price and our buying patterns haven't changed, so they're damn well going to keep them there until we accept them as the norm.
Sorry - got sidetracked by a little rant there, and I'm not really in the mood to unleash one of my long-winded tirades, so let's get back on track....
Although I'm glad to be out of all that, I have to say it would be useful to still be taking advantage of my staff discount card. With all the price rises in the supermarket, that generous percentage reduction would be most welcome when we load up our weekly shop.
RC 15-6-22
Most of our time has been spent in Philippa-led pre-birth baby planning. Items have been bought, decorating has been scheduled and various lists have been compiled, edited, scrubbed and rewritten. She is full-on, hormonally nutty, but in a good way. I seem to remember something similar happening last time with Mathew, so I am letting her get on with it and being as helpful and supportive as possible.
Mathew really doesn't know what to make of it all. He doesn't understand why we need another child in the house, but he has also become very social with his little circle of mates at playgroup, so I think he'll end up enjoying the arrival of a sibling. He can be a pain at times these days, as he's at that age where he's becoming more vocal and more assertive, but without the development or experience to understand why the answer sometimes has to be No. Generally speaking, though, he continues to be The Best Little Bundle Of Joy On Earth and I love every minute I get to spend with him; even the ones where he's laying on the floor screaming or whacking my shins with a toy car.
My knee continues to be problematic. So much so that I am finally going to do what several people have told me I should do, and speak to our GP about it. I don't like the idea of having my kneecap prodded and shifted, and I imagine I'll just get sent off to the hospital again for a scan or an x-ray, but I need to be a brave boy and let a professional take a look, because the unpleasant grinding sensation, frequent jolts of pain and feeling that it might give way at any moment are getting on my nerves a bit now.
Gavin is days away from taking over a couple of run-down hotels on the coast. He is very excited, bless him, and as long as it doesn't add to my work-load, I wish him all the best with it. One of my fellow managers thinks it might be a good thing for the rest of us, as he'll be distracted by his shiny new toys and will leave us to get on with running the holiday centres without interfering. I can't see that happening myself, but you never know.
RC 14-6-22
Two weeks into June and I haven't given you much in the way of blog postings.
It's a shame, because I got into a really good routine during May.
I can only offer the excuse that it is the busy season now at work, and throw myself on your mercy.
RC 13-6-22
I had possibly the most mental dream of my life last night. I mean, I've had some weird ones in the past, but the thing about this one is that it felt SO real. Everything that happened in it was something that could conceivably have happened in real life, and at no point did I get any clues to the fact that I might be in a dream. I was completely lost in the character. 'Fully immersed in the role', as the acting fraternity might put it.
I was on a pirate ship, back in the days of piracy. I mean the real old days of piracy - buccaneers on the high seas; English blackguards stealing gold from Spanish ships; privateers hoarding treasure; planks being walked and mainbraces being spliced. I was a pretty lowly member of the crew, having little more than a hammock to my name and being constantly told to scrub some part or other of the deck. At some point, we encountered a terrible storm, and half of my fellows were lost overboard, or killed by flying debris. Then, as the storm settled, we were boarded by a group of American soldiers, all armed with Vietnam War-era weapons, and abseiling onto our vessel from a large aircraft carrier alongside us; all of which made perfect sense to me within the confines of the dream. I managed to fight off a couple of the invaders with a sharpened soup ladle, and then I realised that our Captain (who looked almost identically like Idris Elba, only taller) was about to cast a spell that would burn them all to cinders, so I covered my ears with my hands, because I knew that would keep me safe. As the dust of the vanquished Americans blew from the deck, and the sun began to shine brightly onto our damaged ship, the Captain turned to me and said, "Well, Spunky Jim, we've lost half the crew. I need you to step up and be surgeon, navigator and mascot, all in one. And I'll need you to lance my bunions." He patted me patronisingly on the shoulder and I felt an overwhelming surge of pride and optimism, because I had finally, finally made something of myself.
Good luck interpreting that mess.
RC 9-6-22
I am feeling incredibly tired today. My knee is playing up too. I asked Philippa if she thought it might be reacting to the damper weather we've been having and she said, "I don't know. I'm not a doctor. Just get it looked at, for f**k's sake."
It was a busy few days at work, too. I didn't exactly throw myself into the Jubilee thing with enthusiasm, but there was lots going on and therefore lots to keep an eye on throughout our sites. Gavin, having said he wanted me to put together some huge extravaganza barely a week before, didn't even show up for the things that were happening, so I don't know if that was spite. Maybe he had a family thing to get involved in, or maybe he was out at one of the many coastal hotels he seems obsessed with the idea of buying; who am I to speculate?
I'm not anti-royal, I just couldn't be bothered to get myself worked up about an anniversary that doesn't really interest me. Nice to have an excuse for a party, I suppose, and after the shitstorm of the last two years it was nice to see people getting together for a shared reason, but the whole thing to me was a bit 'meh!'. Might tell you more about me as a person and where I am psychologically than it does about the event.
It's also quite revealing that I just used the word 'meh!' in a blog posting for the first time (to the best of my knowledge) years after it stopped being a popular buzzword. I am SO up-to-date with my cultural references, it's untrue.
RC 6-6-22
For breakfast today, I had a 3-egg omelette, which I filled with cheese before folding.
For lunch, I had a pasta bake, covered in melted cheese.
For tea, I did jacket potatoes, with grated cheese on top.
3 meals today, all involving cheese.
Marvellous.
I might have cheese and biscuits later just to really give the heart something to think about.
RC 2-6-22
