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Pokémon Go to the Pub

A.J. Walker — 2026-05-12T23:20:07+01:00

Created another Pokémon Go Route last week. It’s from Dr Duncans to the Denbigh Castle, or more correctly to the PokéStop by the Denbigh, which is the lovely ‘Nomad Clan’ mural. The route takes in the Queens Arms on Victoria Street, so you can take in three fab pubs.

Had to appeal the decision to refuse the route on Danger grounds. Lol

When I first uploaded the Route it was turned down by the powers that be. The Route was rejected because it was ‘dangerous or unsafe area.’ I had to bother to appeal this spurious reasoning and I did appeal, and was successful. Huzzah!

Dr D's to Denbigh Castle Route

There is definitely a theme in my routes. Good pubs aplenty and not too long either. You can actually now follow a continuous route from the Queen of Hope Street at the top in of town down to the Denbigh Castle, on the other side of Dale Street. This is made up of four routes and takes in loads of good Liverpool pubs. I’m not sure I’ll ever do all four in one day, but it could happen.

- QoHS (Liverpool Philharmonic stop) to the Grapes. This originally took in the Caledonia, which is now closed, but you don’t have to walk past the Cali to complete the route. You simply take in the Belvedere Arms instead.
- The Grapes to the Vines, taking in the Dispensary
- Vines to Dr Duncans.
- Dr Duncs to Denbigh Castle (Nomad Clan Stop), taking you past the Queens Arms.

Good luck picking up those Zygarde cells. At least you can guarantee a decent pint or two even if you can’t get those pesky Zygardes.

A pint break in the Queens Arms

The Possibility of A Return

A.J. Walker — 2026-04-25T09:16:35+01:00

Have a few bits of writing on here including some flash fiction from challenges that are no longer with us. There used to be quite a few decent contests out there back in the Days of Twitter. Is it just me, or did the entire world take a wrong turning once Twitter was no longer the good thing—or did i just turn off? So there’s some very short stories then, there are some memoirs pieces about all sorts from days long gone (all days—even those just yesterday—are l…o….n…g gone, aren’t they?), there’s even a few poem-type things too, which I dare say are thankfully rare.

I’ve not been writing nearly as much lately. Partly due to health stresses—but I’m also sure also because of the disappearing Twitter based flash challenges, and the happy gang mentality that went with it—this has become a sepia-toned, and much faded memory. Hoping to get some more done in the here and now. Could happen. In theory. I wouldn’t put money on it though.

The Website Thing

A.J. Walker — 2026-04-06T23:16:18+01:00

Had to change some stuff with my website host recently and after changing it I’ve had a couple of minor issues to wrangle with. It doesn’t take much of an issue to completely stop one thing or another working. I’ve dealt with the main issue I had, but it has resulted in me finding other website related things to deal with.

Broadly I’ve got to consider how I want the site to work. And this actually gives a whole ‘chicken and the egg’ problem. If I move away from a blog format, for some of it, what will I put up instead? In the end, the content should really be driving what I put up here, rather than the format driving the content. The blog format is clearly the easiest way of me progressively adding to the website, but I wonder if I should just use that format for one—or two—parts of the site.

I’m considering stopping the blog element with respect to the Real Ale Liverpool and ‘Health/MS’ parts of the site. A ‘diary’ format probably only really works if I am to put up regular words, rather than randomly dropping in bits and bobs.

The presentation of the writing bits on the site may be more problematic. There isn’t a time based element to them when they are not tied to events/days of the week. And I’m not sure having single pages for the odd 3 or 5 hundred word piece works (not that I’ve being doing much of that at all lately—God I miss the Days that FlashDogs ruled the waves rather than Memes and AI generated content). It requires more thought, and work—including the writing it at all bit..

And maybe I need to find another way of building the website. But changing from the current way (often writing bits on the hoof (like this) on my iPad, then adding it to my Rapidweaver site on my computer when I get back home) doesn’t make sense until I know what I want on the site and how I want to present it. Changing to a new app before I’ve decided that could cause needless issues down the road.

Now where did I leave that thinking cap? I’ll have a look behind the sofa later…

Renew Time

A.J. Walker — 2026-03-24T23:13:24+00:00

Received an email a couple of days ago to warn me my Disability Railcard was about to expire. It was a no brainier to decide if it was worth getting again. I must have saved a few hundred pounds for the 54 quid it costs over the three years. Well worth it.

But it was bloody frightening to discover that I had first got a card three years ago. Feels more like two at the most, FFS. If there’s one thing I’d like to renew it is time itself. Anyone know who I can ask for time to be checked and recalibrated. Let us Renew Time!

I maybe should have chosen to update the photo on the card, but I didn’t take the opportunity, so I’m stuck with a ‘going through a fat phase’ photo of me—and one without a beard too. To be honest though when I am out and about on a train I’m rarely asked to show my card (a digital one) or often even show a ticket.

Feel like I need to book a train trip somewhere to use the benefit of the savings: one third off. One trip could pay for the card.

Writing: A Return Required

A.J. Walker — 2026-03-10T22:58:47+00:00

It’s been a while since I’ve done much writing. And I need to get back to it. It’s been exactly a year since I posted anything under the ‘Rat Rampant’ page. I read the last two things I put up and I had no memory of writing them really, or posting them. I read them on Scrivener and wasn’t aware I’d then posted them. FFS.

Obviously it’s been a bit stressful with the MS and I don’t know whether it is the stress that has affected my memory or impacted on me not writing—or whether MS as a neurological condition has impacted too on my writing game. I’ve read a few things I’ve put up on the website and think a) they’re not bad, and b) could I write that now? I guess that latter one is one scary consideration. Something has affected me; in the last year I hardly did any reading either.

With the world going thru its current nightmare I think sitting in front of a blank screen and imagining stuff must be a good use of my time. And, even if that screen remains stubbornly blank, it will prove less stressful than watching the news channels.

So I am tasking myself to come up with a writing schedule, be it stories, blogs, or finishing off those damn novels (before starting another). First up I better write something random and new to go on to Rat Rampant. It’s my website and I guess I could make it short anyway.

Pokémon Go: Kalos Event

A.J. Walker — 2026-03-03T23:38:16+00:00

Had an excellent week on Pokémon Go this week catching a few I didn’t already have and getting some with Mega Energy. Some of these with enough to Mega Evolve and others just getting me part way, but closer next time I see the right Mega Raids.

These were once again largely assisted by turning up at—or near to—the Liverpool Meet-Ups by St George’s Hall. Highlights were getting a few Kyogres, being able to Mega a Tyranitar, and getting closer to a Mega of Metagross. Shame I didn’t get a Mega Swampert (one of my favourite Pokémon’s in my Dex). But getting a Kyogre I guess makes up for it from a Water type anyway.

New Pokémon I caught this week included;

Kyogre
Zekrom
Reshiram
Kyurem
Mega Malamar
Xerneas shiny
Kangaskhan (hatched 10k shiny)
Hawlucha (another hatched 10k)

Next week I should hopefully get a MewTwo which will get me my Platinum badge for catching all the Kantos. I’ve not got many Platinum badges (9 total ATM) so any more I can get now would be great. Unique Poke stops may be next but will require me to visit a few newish towns and spin away.

I’ve now got 31 I can Mega evolve—and therefore collect the energy without Raiding—I’ve been slow working on these. I guess cos you can’t Raid on your tod that easily. Thank you, Liverpool peeps. I went into the park the other day (waiting to get Tyranitar) and spoke very briefly to a couple of people. Haven’t met the main peeps of the group. It did good to see that there are plenty of people doing it—don’t want to think I’m the only one not reading books and ‘wasting’ my time with the game. It’s clearly mostly younger people than me. And many not old enough to take the route of playing whilst having a pint in Dr Ds. Well, not old enough yet…

A Good Weekend of Pokémon Go

A.J. Walker — 2026-02-17T23:45:33+00:00

My first Shundo: a shiny Spinda for Valentines weekend. All the Spindas had a heart shaped pattern on them. Just getting a shiny was nice, but a 100% one (a Hundo) was brilliant (even for a fairly useless Pokémon).

A Spinda Shundo. Not that useful, but cute.

On Sunday I went into town when the Meowth Gigantimax event was on. As I’ve done once before I ‘joined’ the local Liverpool group trying to catch them around St John’s Garden. I was having a relaxed time in Dr Duncans whilst they were wandering around the gardens. I joined three or four groups and caught some. My first Gigantimax.

But best of all I’d been hoping for a few weeks to catch a Mega Pidgeot - and I did, thanks to the groups, finally a new possibility to Mega evolve a Pokémon or two. I don’t have that many that can Mega evolve at the moment. It was the last day that they would be available for quite a while. Next up now will be to try and catch a Sableye over the next couple of weeks. Fingers crossed.

My first Mega Pidgeot enjoying The Vines.

Every Day Is A School Day

A.J. Walker — 2026-02-04T20:35:18+00:00

Every day is a school day, even for an old dog like me. At the weekend I got a Too Good to Go bag from Mattas (a locally famous international food store in Liverpool city centre; for those who don’t know it).

Obviously getting a Too Good to Go from a takeaway is more defined in advance. At least it’ll defo be a meal—always a bargain, even if the meal is not the one you’d prefer. Getting a random bag of ‘stuff’ from a shop—be it an Aldi Or Mattas) all bets are off. The contents could be anything, from breads and pastries through fruit and veg to flour and eggs. Anything the shop sells.

Last week I went for a TG2G from Mattas and left in the dark in more ways than one. When I opened the bag to peek in a few minutes after leaving I saw there were a few things, including an instant (2 mins in boiling water) noodle pack (Korean), a Korean noodle bowl, a lettuce, a soybean dip, and something that in the light of the street I assumed to be a plantain—from it’s shape at the bottom of the plastic bag.

When I got to the pub—the Red Lion, a short walk along from Mattas—I took out the plantain and discovered my supposition was wrong. Whilst it had the girth of a—very—large fruit, it wasn’t yellow away from the street lights, oh and it had green growth out the top of it. It was patently a root vegetable. One that I’d never seen the like of.

This aint no plantain.
I questioned the bar staff in case everyone knew what it was, and it was just a glaring gap in my eduction. They were as bemused—and amused—as me. No answer was the loud reply. Later I asked a group of nearby drinkers if they knew. They didn’t know either (and even asked for a photo of it). But one guy suggested a radish. I laughed. They’re tiny compared with this behemoth.

I ended up asking Dr Google and looking through some image of large white veg. And I discovered it was a Daikon. A Far Easttern veg, which was indeed from the radish/parsnip stable. It is often thinly sliced and eaten raw in salads, or else cooked in stews and treated a bit like carrots. It's common in Japanese cuisine and south east Asia in general.

You live, you learn. Every day IS a school day.

New Raiding

A.J. Walker — 2026-01-26T23:45:59+00:00

This weekend I went on a Raid meet-up in Liverpool city centre to try and nab myself a Shadow Raikou or two. The meet-up is arranged by the ‘local ambassador’ and is usually in or around St John's Garden behind St George's Hall. There's almost as many Saints as there are Pokemon.

A very busy and colourful St John's Gardens

I’ve never been to a Raid Day really, and certainly not an arranged meet-up. And whilst I did ‘join’ the meet-up I didn’t actually go and meet anyone. Most of the Pokestops and Gyms in the area designated as the ambassador area were visitable whilst sat with a pint in Dr Duncans. Very handy for me indeed.

I took part in multiple raids and caught most of those I won battles in. I ended up with eight Shadow Raikous. One was a 3* and one was a 2* Shiny. Whilst I was made up to get a couple of decent Pokémon, I was mostly pleased by the vast amount of XP points I won and even more happy with the copious numbers of Rare Candies I received. I was to invest the candies on my rather decent Meltan (still miles of having the number for evolving it, but at least I’m closer now) and also my Larvesta. I’m not far now of being able to evolve that one (11 candies short of the 100).

Cor!!

I’ll defo geg in on the meet-ups again. The benefits are really rather good. And even better with a beer in hand too!

The Dr Duncan's Pokemon Team of One

A Shadow Raikou briefly popped into the Doctors

The Icy Sword of Damacles

A.J. Walker — 2026-01-26T23:43:59+00:00

It was an horrendous start to the other week with my part of Liverpool being a true world of ice. I slipped and fell on a small area of black ice outside a shop. My right leg slipped forward and my left leg folded beneath me, resulting in a very painful knee. Ironically I needed to get ice on it when I got home.

The following day I left the house to find my estate and all the pavements and road that led to the bus stop on Lower Lane covered in a continuous sheet of ice. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable in my life trying to get to the bus stop and then on to work. Everyone was falling, slipping and doing their best to find things to hold on to. Obviously crossing roads and accesses there was nothing to grab on to. I got over two roads and an access for the GP Practice in one piece. Then I attempted to cross another access. It was pure ice. And I went over. Falling backwards on my rucksack. The packet of crisps didn’t survive but it probably stopped me banging my head.

My glasses were not so lucky. They flew of me. It was still pretty dark at 7:45am and everything beneath me was white with bits of black. I became Mr Magoo on my hands and knees trying to find the damn glasses to no avail. I asked one school kid if he could see them. He wasn’t helpful. I asked a Polish lady who was struggling with the ice and my question. I had no chance.

I had spare glasses at home, but would have to chance it back over the ice with less than brilliant vision. It wasn’t an obvious option. Then I remembered I had contact lenses in my bag, I edged over the ice towards a relatively low ice area beneath a few trees and managed to get a lens in. Ultimately I succeeded and whilst dancing unsteadily back over the access road I found my glasses. They skidded about three metres away from where I’d fallen, almost on to the main road. I’d never have found them with my contact lens.

I got over the road with much trepidation and onto a bus. The ice closer to work was still about, but there had been more treatment and I got there without further incident. The lack of treatment in the housing estate may be understandable but on the main road of Long Lane with so much footfall for school kids, let alone the GPs is a horrible oversight.

No more ice please, unless it’s in a glass of something tasty.

Coffee & Christmas Crackers

A.J. Walker — 2025-12-29T09:24:54+00:00

On Christmas Day I went to my sister’s for the big, fancy Sunday lunch. And she did a fabulous job. There were two new visitors there including her new puppy. I’m not sure how many weeks it is before a puppy becomes a dog, but Coco is not old at all. She’s quite an active puppy/dog and likes jumping about and picking things up—and maybe eating or hiding them. She certainly seems most interested in shoes and fingers at the moment. Looks lovely and it’ll be great to see how she turns out. She’s a German Shepherd.

A little video I did of Coco shows her current typical behaviour. Jump, nibble, claw, bite, sit, behave…repeat.

There were five of us at the meal (not including Coco) and after we ate our fill of turkey, beef, roasties, mash, cauli, broccoli, carrots, pigs in blankets, gravy, cheese sauce et al sis announced that rather than getting crackers for us she’d picked up a box of Amazon Returns for each of us. I’ve always found crackers a sad part of the Xmas day—the food, the people, the drink, the TV (and maybe a new dog) are far more important and much less a throw away instant waste.

The five rather large boxes were brought out—and they were quite impressive in that way—and I selected the one my niece brought in. The boxes all looked the same so it was just luck what would be in each one. Anyhoo, it proved lucky for me. Mine included a coffee machine (circa £60 worth) as well as a camera tripod, a whisky glass set, and a small Thermos flask. Much better than a coloured paper hat, a barely audible bang, and a sad joke. Everyone got some things which were useful (though I think the coffee machine was the best thing). Not sure whether it’ll become a Christmas Walker tradition, but maybe it will.

BTW I heated some water up later that evening to clean the coffee machine. And, yes it worked fine.

AI Update Update

A.J. Walker — 2025-12-19T13:41:47+00:00

Three weeks ago Mani from the Stone Roses passed away and then I found that AI was telling me the gig I went to at the Royal Court never happened. The same AI now says it did and has added some detail to it. Amazing what a difference such a short period can make. I wonder if my comments on it being wrong contributed to the alteration in AI’s assertion.

AI Spot the Difference. Same question to Google three weeks apart.

Three weeks ago AI said this…

Now AI says this…

A couple of days ago I was told about a cool app where you can input/look up and record all the gigs you’ve been to. It’s called ‘Concert Archive’ (should surely be gig not concert in my opinion. Not sure I’ve been to many concerts). I quickly downloaded it and have since added quite a few gigs to the app over the last couple of days. This morning it sent me a notification that it was 30 years ago today I went to see Stone Roses in Liverpool.

Or did I?

Anyway the app looks good. Although the gigs all seem to be at least ten years further back than I first imagine. Sheesh! Unfortunately I can’t blame AI for that, just the rapid passage of time as you get older.

A ScAIry Time

A.J. Walker — 2025-11-23T11:45:18+00:00

On Thursday there was the sad news that Mani from the Stone Roses had passed away. They were my favourite band during my first year of uni. 'Fools Gold', 'I Wanna Be Adored', and 'I Am The Resurrection' just blew me away. Or maybe transported me away would be a better description.

I’ve been lucky enough to have seen them a couple of times, including in the Royal Court, Liverpool. Back in the day. It was on a Friday night when our company was having their Christmas do. An afternoon meal and a few drinks. Then a few mates and colleagues were going to go above and beyond b seeing the mighty Stone Roses (the company hadn’t got us tickets for that).

‘‘Twas the best Xmas Do I’ve ever had anyway. The other day, with the Mani news, I’d wanted to check the date. I’d remembered it was the 15th December, but wasn’t sure of the year. I typed into Google Search ‘Stone Roses Royal Court Liverpool’ to check the date. It was an interesting search. I found the year, and the set list, on Setlist.fm. This was the third item down the search findings, the second was details on a Bootleg of the gig. The very top item was not from the general search items, but an AI summary. This was erroneous. According to the AI item—at the top of the search—it stated that the Stone Roses never played the Royal Court. This despite a) me and my mates having been there, b) there being a bootleg of the gig, c) there being a set list from the gig. All on the first page of the Google results! How does AI ignore the findings on the very first page of the search.

Stone Roses Set List—Royal Court, Liverpool, 15-12-1995.

Personally I’d rather not see an AI summary anyway, and whilst I know it happened—I was fucking there, for Christ’s sake. It does make you wonder how many people just read the top line and take it as gospel. And while it may not be that important in this case, what other things does it wrongly say hasn’t happened or doesn’t exist? Black IPAs, white dog poo back in the 70s, The Holocaust etc? All a bit scary really.

It’d like to opt out of AI summaries in Google search. I’ll have to ask Google if I can. But can I believe what it tells me?

Focus, and Finish the Fucker

A.J. Walker — 2025-10-18T14:28:19+01:00

Went to print out something at home the other day and the printer wouldn’t work. It took me a few more minutes than it should have to realise that I hadn’t connected the printer to the new Wi-Fi following my move from Sky to Virgin. Took me a while to sort, but I got there in the end.

The thing I wanted to print out was one of my nearly 'so close, but so far' finished novels so that i could read it on paper and get back into it in my head before finishing it. It’s 52k words at the moment and I reckon it’ll probably only be about 5-10k or so to finish it.

Yesterday I put the A4 file with the 167 page, almost but not quite finished, effort in my bag, with the thought that I may get to read some whilst out.

In the end I didn’t get around to reading any of it, but it was weird how I bumped into two people in the same pub—half an hour apart—from my old writing group (the Poised Pen). I left the group years ago and it died a little while afterwards. Don’t think me leaving was the catalyst for its departure, so don’t blame me. I do think that it was a spooky coincidence seeing two of my old writing cohorts, in a place I regularly go to—but have never met either of them there before—whilst I’m about to revisit a serious writing endeavour. It’s October I guess so Spooky! is the way of things, ain’t it?

Next things. Read. Focus. And complete writing the fucker.

Far Too Many Binges

A.J. Walker — 2025-10-08T07:58:51+01:00

Bloody hell, I’ve been wasting too much time lately binge watching TV series. Some have been good. Some haven’t been. Some have been new, others old. Some multiple series long. Fook! They’ve been eating up far too much of what we all have limited quantities of: time.

Blue Lights was worth a binge to be fair. And just six episodes (this one series).

I could and—indeed—should have been reading, writing, or playing the guitar. I need to return back to my writing, both fiction and my blogging. Maybe even poems and songs. Even if they prove to be crap it’d be a better use of time than watching yet more TV. I really don’t need to binge watch one series and find myself binging on another one. It’s just a become a bad habit.

This was good but I binged all the seasons in a week or so. Crazy.

At least I can’t binge Slow Horses, as they are releasing one episode at a time over on Apple. How old fashioned. But seriously good to boot.

Let’s see if I can control myself in front of the telly box in the coming weeks. And replace that with some goodness.

Preston Again, Bristol Again

A.J. Walker — 2025-09-30T23:14:50+01:00

Went to see Bristol City play at Preston North End in the Championship on Saturday 27th September. The last time I went to see them was a match at the Reebok Stadium many years ago, which ended in some chaos at the train station—all a bit scary. Can’t really remember the match at all though.

I’ve been to a few games at Deepdale, including a Southport match in a local cup final game back in the days of the plastic pitch, and a Preston FA cup match v Manchester City in 2007—before they had Middle East cash. I had money on Nugent for the first goal which paid for my day out after just 8 minutes. But Preston eventually lost 1-3.

Watched the City game from the Sir Tom Finney’s Stand. I remember my dad getting me Sir Tom’s autograph on a scrap of paper way back. He’d been one of my dad’s footy heroes. No idea what happened to that scrap. Maybe it’s hidden away with the Hi-Di-Hi and Little & Large autographs.

No pic of the two too quickly demolished breakfasts, but they were bought here at the Shiraz.

No picture of the two too quickly drunken pints in the Old Vic either.

Second up the Winkley Alehouse.

Third up before getting to Deepdale was the always excellent Guild Ale House.

Arriving at Deepdale just before Kick-Off.

The view from up in the Bill Shankly Stand.

This time I was with my buddy, Sam, who’s a Brissol fan (not The Gas, the ones who play in red) and I was with the away fans in the Bill Shankly Stand. We both enjoy ale, so going to Preston (which is also on a direct route or two from Liverpool), is not a hardship. After a pre-day out Shiraz breakfast (no photo as we just got stuck in). We had three pints in Preston before the game calling in at the Old Vic by the station, then went to the Winkley Alehouse, before our final pre-match pint at the Guild Ale House. The latter is right next to the bus station and we soon hopped on a No.6 to Deepdale and got into the game as it was just kicking off. Brilliant.

The match was pretty good all the way through. Bristol City looked much the better side although both teams started the match on the same points. There was some good passing and moves, but there was no end product and no one looked effective or confident in front of the goal. Both keepers made saves and some shots bobbled just wide of the goal. It largely felt to all that it would be nil nil and it was.

The Bristol City fans sang all the way through the match and were in good form with old and new, and funny songs too. Unfortunately it all was to go wrong in the last five minutes when out of nowhere there were two or three awful songs from the middle of the crowd along the lines of Faragesque fandom, something about Keep Britain for the British, and another one about people in Dinghies. It was a truly awful last few minutes to what had been a genuinely good game.

An almost final touch was a free kick from Bristol City.

The Black Horse was packed ten minutes earlier.

The Black Horse.

There were Liverpool beers on in the Plug & Taps.

The Plug & Taps calls it as it is.

We couldn't really try and get a bus back so it was a walk back into town. We headed to the Black Horse for a couple. It was packed to begin with but emptied out by the time we left (when the rain came with a vengeance). It was only a short walk from there to the excellent Plug & Taps (just a couple of hundred metres or so away). It was pretty busy in here. They'd had a Liverpool beer tap take over for the last week or so. I'd just missed Sea of Dreams by a few minutes I was told, and I ended up with another Liverpool beer instead; an Intermission from Colbier brewery. Apparently all the Liverpool ales had gone down very well.

Then it was of to the station. Once again out train was good and on time. Excellent. All in all a very good day was had. Just a shame about the latter songs.

Incidentally, I got home to find I'd been delivered a leaflet from Reform. Grrr. It was like someone was rubbing it in. Bastards.

Bishop's Castle 25

A.J. Walker — 2025-08-25T13:46:41+01:00

For a while we wondered if we’d get a camping trip in this year. We had a booking a few weeks ago but it turned out to be a weekend of storms across the country so we thought better of it. We pencilled in this weekend in its stead. The weather forecast was dry so we went for it. Really glad we did, it was a great few days.

We only had the one evening in Bishop’s Castle itself. Unfortunately the Three Tuns is closed at the moment. Not sure it that’s a temporary thing or not. The brewery is separate from the pub and is still going though. In the end we started in The Castle at the top of the village then made our way down via a short stop in The Vaults—which isn’t as good as it used to be—then we headed to the bottom of the village to the always reliable Six Bells.

We had a good evening out. The walk back to the tents was a different story completely, but suffice to say, that whilst we may not have returned as quickly as we should have, we all got back in one piece. And only one tree was harmed in the activity. I’ll say no more at this point, but maybe I’ll use some of the interesting evening as a basis to a story or two.

Next morning we got up—all pretty tired—and had a bacon butty to start the day of with. It was overcast and pretty grey; and surprisingly cold. We’d decided we go to Ludlow for the day (which we also did last time we camped here). The drive was straightforward and we were very lucky with a car park space opening up, in the overflowing car park, just as we arrived.

We headed into the town which we knew pretty well really. And Tony went straight to the Ludlow Pottery stall at the market to source a few porcelain mugs to replace the ones he’d lost with his pastime of coffee juggling. It was apparent that everyone who pays Council Tax in Ludlow gets a free dog or two. We were virtually the only people not walking through the place with our own portable trip hazard. It was like a dog festival in the centre. Rather too many small ones for my liking. The sun was coming out properly by now. A blue sky and warm too, very welcome after the nippy start to the morning.

By now it was pub time and we had a relaxing hour or so outside—in the courtyard—of the Rose & Crown (a Joules pub: cue a Slumbering Monk and a Pale). Kept my eye on my Football App to see the Man City score. They lost. Excellent. We went on to grab some sausages for Sunday’s breakfast and pulled pork baps for our lunch. We only just got the dregs of the pork, and there were many behind left disappointed; meanwhile they gave us a discount for not having the best of it. First the car park space, then the cheap port (and crackling), we were on a roll (not of the bap variety), maybe we should have bought a Lottery ticket at this point. Some ice-cream was called for by some of the group.

And that was about it really. We went back towards the car and ended up not popping into another pub (shocking behaviour). We decided to pop to Clun rather than straight to the campsite. The others headed to see the castle. I’d been there before and so opted to save my weary legs and go to the White Horse Inn for a pint and to read some. Nice pub, with plenty of Clun Brewery options too (I had a Solar and a Citadel). The others came back for one and then we pootled back the 5 or so miles to Foxholes.

Everyone was a little tired (some more so) and the call was made to stay in the campsite that evening rather than head down to the village. When it was discovered that the chippy was open (it had been closed the night before) the decision was set in stone and Jeanette drove down to pick up some (very) chip heavy dinners. It was the right call. The evening was relaxed and no more trees were harmed at this point of the weekend.

Drinking was quite minimal compared with our history here. There were no rum, brandy, or whisky bottles opened over the weekend. Just a few cans and bottles of beer; and gin for Jeanette (when she wasn’t driving of course). The evening across the campsite sounded lively on Saturday night, but not excessively so. We’re usually here at the start of July before the school holidays so we aren’t used to seeing children here. This time there were plenty of young kids about (all seemingly enjoying kite flying) and there were loads of camper vans. I really quite fancy having one; if I ever get a decent windfall I’d defo consider getting one. It would seem very freeing.

Sunday began with a sausage and bacon bap, showers, and taking down our tents. It was much sunnier and warmer than the start of the day on Saturday. There was some debate about where to go to before going home and we opted for having a few hours in Bridgnorth. Three of us had been there before but the memories of the place varied between ‘pretty good’ to ‘have I!?’. Last time we camped at Foxholes we went to Ironbridge on the Sunday and Bridgnorth is really just the next town down the river (the Severn). It was warm and sunny and the town looked lovely. Thankfully it wasn’t as hot as it had been when we’d been at Ironbridge; but hey, sunshine, calm, and dry is always a bonus when you’re out and about. And a breeze in a beer garden or AC inside the pub is a damn fine bonus. The others opted for a walk around the upper town up the steep roads, whilst I opted for sitting out the steep climb to relax in the Black Boy Inn. I ended up with a pint of Hobson’s ‘Town Crier’ and an ‘Enville Ale’ before they returned from their steep stroll.

Lastly we had a drink and some chips in the Boatyard. Nice to sit out again and eat something. A shame they had no real ale on, but beggars can't be choosers. Then it was the trip back to Liverpool—it's only two hours away. The journey back went smoothly. It was good to get back but it had been a really good trip though. Other than the slight tree issue the only other issue had been two broken air beds which headed to the Purple Bin on my return. Must get another one for myself before camping again next year. Assuming I do. Fingers crossed I do.

It's Mini Time

A.J. Walker — 2025-07-12T14:11:35+01:00

Been umming and ahhing about moving over to an Apple Mac Mini for a while. I’d decided I didn’t need a simple replacement of the MacBook Pro—I can use the iPad when I’m out and about after all, and I didn’t want the expense of an iMac. The M4 Mini has been getting boss reviews everywhere and I had no doubt this was the way to go. Having my current laptop only work using an external screen has been okay. But there has been that worry about what happens if it stops working; it may be difficult telling what was wrong if there were ever any issues ie if the computer has stopped working or if it’s a software or hardware issue etc.

The ole MacBook Pro (with its useless screen)

Over this Prime Day period (which is misnamed innit?) the price of the Mac Mini was significantly reduced—as were many of the worthwhile peripherals. And so I’ve bitten that bullet and gone for it now (I knew I was going to get it at some point, so it made sense to pay less for it when I could).

Of course, it is never simple is it? I got the M4 Mini in good time, but it hasn’t been as straightforward ‘Migrating’ over from my old mac to this as it would normally be for several reasons. The main pain was I only had one screen for the two macs so I had to keep taking the HDMI cable from one output to put in the other as I went through the question and answer process to confirm everything. A little painful. Secondly it wouldn’t recognise the wee mouse I had. Ultimately after much messing around I had to just use the keyboard and put it in ‘Accessibility Mode’. Jeez, that isn’t necessarily as simple as you’d think it would be (it’s not a case of just using the navigation arrows). Between dealing with the HDMI and then messing about in Inaccessible Mode it was quite painful.

Thirdly the GigaBytes taken up in my Pro were more than available in the M4 so I couldn’t simply copy everything over. Yup.

I’d bought a hub device with an SSD enclosure. But I couldn’t format the drive until the computer was working. Have sorted that now, there’s plenty more room to put all my Apps on to it.

The New Mac Mini M4

Of course now I need to see what Apps I need to download on to it, and get those downloaded. I probably don’t need that many to be fair. The main ones that spring to mind are: Scrivener, Rapidweaver, DropBox, a drawing app or two, and possibly MacFamilyTree (not that I’ve been using the latter).

That though is not as simple as it should be. In that last week I cancelled SKY TV which stops at the end of the month, but the Broadband stops on Monday! So I need to ID all the software apps I need to download, then do that before Monday. Only six or so Apps simple, right? Well it would be if it turns out I know what all my Usernames and Passwords are etc. It may well be a stressful day on Sunday; the internet version of the ‘Race Around the World’. Wish me luck.

That said the M4 mini looks amazing. Can’t wait to use it when it is fully loaded and I have my new Broadband working in a a few weeks.

DocksFest 2

A.J. Walker — 2025-07-09T13:05:44+01:00

For the second consecutive year I journeyed over the country to the east coast to go to DocksFest in Sunny Cleethorpes. Last year had my faves, Frank Turner and Lottery Winners on. There was Feeder and Razorlight too. The latter were the headliners but I got of as they were starting as my legs were a little worse for wear. I don’t know how many peoples walls I sat on as I made my way back to where I was staying ,but it was quite a few. This time I took a chair (a really nice one which compresses down to fit in my wee rucksack) and I definitely didn’t want to miss any of the headliner—as this year it was the Charlatans.

I ended up contacting the organisers due to restricted mobility and, largely, not wanting to stand for too long. They confirmed it was okay to bring a chair, and there wouldn’t be any chairs provided. In the end the information that no-one could bring chairs in general turned out not to be true, there were loads sitting back from the stage in chairs they’d bought. Meanwhile in the ‘Accessible Area’ where there were apparently to be no chairs provided it was replete with decent chairs. So I needn’t have brought—or bought—mine. My chair though is pretty damn good and I'm sure it will get used. Wonder whether I’ll get it out on a camping trip this year?

Anyhoo, all was mighty fine and I ended up seated through most of the festival from Corella (around 4pm) through to the end (10:30ish)—and that meant the walk back to my hotel was a lot easier than last year (and I saw all the headliner's act). The hotel was a lot nearer to the DocksFest site (the Meridian Showground) than last year’s place too, which no doubt also helped.

Corella

Maximo Park

Ash
I missed the first couple of acts as I didn’t think an eleven hour day in the same place would be ideal for me. Of course the beer was excellent from the organiser Docks Brewery. And I ended up sticking largely with Clap Clap Fish after a Hard Graft. Must say I really liked the ‘Hard Graft’ T-shirt in the style of a Grand Theft Auto comic, wouldn’t have minded getting one if I was in merchandise mode.

The Charlatans

The Charlatans

Corella got me into festival mode easily enough and they were followed hot on the heals by Maximo Park (who I last saw in 2005 at the time of A Certain Trigger). They were excellent. Originally I thought that they should have been second on the list behind the headliner. That said, I thought Ash were bloody excellent when they came on from start to finish. So it was a good call actually to put them second on the poster. Of course the Charlatans were the main band and I loved ‘em. I headed up towards the stage for some of their songs; other than when I went for a beer or a toilet visit it was the only time I left the seat in the ‘Accessible Area.’ I chatted with a few people there and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.

It seemed a little less busy than last year. But last year I was stood at the front so it wasn’t going to feel the same to me anyway: not exactly comparing like with like. The line up at this year’s festival, and last, deserves to be sold out and enjoyed by all. Good beer, decent venue, and a top line up—at a good price. Oh and there was no rain at all on Saturday—Result!! What’s not to like!?

On Friday I made it to Docks Beer, in Grimsby, and on Sunday I went to a few pubs in Cleethorpes. Assuming it’s on again next year I expect there’s a good chance I’ll get down (well, over) there again.

Goodbye Sky

A.J. Walker — 2025-07-02T08:17:00+01:00

Been with Sky for over twenty years. Twenty!! Finally I have decided to leave. I’d made that decision several times before, but ended up staying each time after they persuaded me with a massive drop in prices. This time I thought it was unlikely they’d be able to persuade me —unless they offered me something ridiculously out of this world.

In the end they of course offered to drop the costs (by about a third). But the prices have been so elevated lately it still seemed too much (based on bundle prices I’ve seen for other companies, like Virgin—oh and what Sky do for new customers). In any case I’ve lost my faith in them: anyone who can drop the price by a half or a third each time you tell them you’re 'minded to leave' shouldn’t be supported so much. It’s like they say ‘We see you’ve been loyally with us for a long time, so we can now offer you a discount.’ As we’ve been royally screwing you for the last few years (and were happy to continue doing that—until you rang up today).

Of course to complicate matters the TV service cancellation is a 31 day notice, whilst the Broadband will be cancelled after 14 days. Just to make it messier, hey?

They first told me I'd have to send the boxes (Sky TV box and Broadband Router) within a finite time (they'd send me the boxes for that). Then after looking at the age of them they changed their mind and said I could 'keep them'—which I guess means put in the bin.

Haven’t lined up my replacement services yet. I’ll sort that out next week. There's only Sky Atlantic I'll miss. But not that much to be fair.

Access All (Some) Areas

A.J. Walker — 2025-06-27T13:14:53+01:00

Obviously with the MS I have some issues. These include ones that can make going to a standing gig bordering somewhere north of impossible. I heard about Access Cards for people who have disabilities of one type or another a while ago. It is a paid for card (£15) which lasts for 3 years.

I didn’t have any gigs coming up over the last couple of months so I hadn’t applied for it (it IS paid for, so there is no point in paying for it until you are going to use it).

Hopefully it will help me get access to some seated areas (the one place I never wanted to be at a gig, back in the day) and get disabled toilet access. We’ll see. It may be a case of just ‘better having it than not’ and acting as a comfort blanket when I attempt to go for any gig tickets. Of course whether the card is any good it may depend on the gigs and places I want to go to—it’s no good having access to something that doesn’t exist. Not all places have seated areas and/or disabled toilets. And those that do may have limited spaces; so additional communication with venues before gigs may be required to ascertain actual options.

We shall see. Better to have it than not I suspect.

Anyways there are likely better options for me out there than when I didn’t have the card, or at least I’ll know where I stand (or hopefully don’t stand!) with it. Upcoming gigs I’d like to go to included my fave, Chuck Prophet (at the Arts Club Loft), and Amy MacDonald (at the Baltic Jacaranda). According to their website the latter is standing only; but they may be able to provide chairs. As it happens Amy’s gig has sold out now anyways. But it has me checking out options and realities now each time I see a potential gig.

Should you be interested in the Access Card check it out at:
www.accesscard.online

Hopefully a Farewell to Procrastination

A.J. Walker — 2025-06-09T16:43:30+01:00

I’ve had two part written books which have stalled from severe bouts of procrastination: 'Fergie Time' and 'The Wobbly Odyssey.' I am now in need to finish one—or both—of these. They are both 80% or so complete (as far as first drafts go that probably means many miles from finished).

The 'Wobbly Odyssey: To Hull And Back' is currently 78,400 words from an initial target of 80k. In fact I reckon there will be a further 15k or so words to complete it. We’ll see.

The story is a comedic tale of three guys on an epic pub crawl taking in cities between Liverpool and Hull. So with me heading to Cleethorpes in four weeks maybe that would be a fitting way to fit in my writing (it’s not that far from Hull as the crow flies; but surprisingly distant by public transport). Can I complete the first draft by the time I go to DocksFest? I could even reward myself with an ale trip to Hull to celebrate. Well, er, maybe not in reality.

If it does prove to be ‘only’ 15k words to finish, well with 27 days to go right now then it’s only 600 words a day.

Let’s see. Watch this space.

Docksfest2

A.J. Walker — 2025-06-09T13:48:19+01:00

In four weeks time I’ll be heading to my second DocksFest, which is held at the Meridian Ground in Cleethorpes. Last year two of my very favourite acts were playing: Lottery Winners and Frank Turner.. This time I bought the tickets before they even announced who was playing. It has proved to be a few class oldies who I’ve also seen before: Ash, Maximo Park and the Charlatans. And a few bands I’ve not heard of but for a quick blast on Spotify. Should be good again.

Last year I stayed in an Air B&B some distance away (I think between Cleethorpes and Grimsby. It was a bit of a struggle walking back to the place after a long day. I actually set off whilst the headline act (Razorlight) was playing (I’d seen my fave two anyway). It took me a few breaks sitting on walls an all. This time should be better, I’ve got myself a portable chair, which fits in my rucksack, for the day itself. Also I’ve managed to get a hotel for a decent price very close to the venue. Great result.

I’ll no doubt do what I did last time and spend some of Friday at the Docks Brewery in Grimsby, whilst enjoying their beers I can watch the inevitable last minute chaos unfold there. Then Saturday is gig day. Sunday will be a relaxing ‘The Day After’ in Cleethorpes.

The return train is only costing twenty odd quid, which is a result. But they are for specific trains, so—note to self—I need to plan carefully.

Bring it on!

A Wireless Odyssey

A.J. Walker — 2025-05-11T11:58:58+01:00

The other day I saw a guitar that I thought was really boss and I quite fancied getting one. It would have cost me about £190 to go for it. I didn’t click on it (I almost did), but stepping back from making that decision I thought (sensibly) to myself that “hold on, I’ve got two semi acoustics and an electric and why not us them to improve rather than spending good money on something I didn’t really need (however good it looked).”

To use the guitar I was looking at (a Sonicake electric travel guitar) I’d have needed to wear headphones or connect to an amplifier. It made me think. I mean I always just strum either the Takemine or the Tanglewood unamplified—and I never play the electric at all. I’ve a 15W Marshall unused (and an old Gorilla 80, which I’m not entirely sure works). It made me think I should use it again. But tethering myself to the amp (or to the Gorilla) didn’t seem attractive. And so it is that I’ve bought a wireless system to make it a bit easier to strum away without trailing cables around.

I’ve gone for a relatively cheap system (less than a third of the price of the Sonicake guitar): Joyo JW-06 . I very easily paired the transmitter and receiver and got strumming away with the Takamine and the Marshall 15. The low battery light was showing on the fiddly Tanglewood controls which means I’ll have to undertake the even more fiddly change of the battery soon (the battery goes in through the sound hole and fits in a wee bag stuck to the inside of the body; I’ve only put in a battery once… and then never connected the thing to an amp anyway!).

It was good to play through an amp again, which I haven’t done for many many years (other than those periodic times I have played on other people’s amps at Open Mics). I’ll have to try the Telecaster tomorrow, though I dare say that will require new strings (I think I have some, but I may miss recall that). Hope the next door neighbour isn’t too upset by the new arrangement. Also hope it helps me improve on the guitar too. So while it’s not been a hello to Sonicake, it is a hello to Joyo. Hi.

Camera and Vid

A.J. Walker — 2025-04-22T22:47:14+01:00

Have been enjoying using my new camera (the DJI Pocket 2) around town and about. It’s a bit fiddly—as it can do so much—and I’m still getting used to it. As well as straightforward photos and videos I have tried using the Hyperlapse a couple of times which produces quite cool results. I’ve even tried making a wee YouTube video with it (using footage I took with the camera in the Vines/Big House).

The Vines YouTube vid.

I’m at the bottom of the learning curve for both the camera and the video software (LumaFusion) and it will undoubtedly take quite a while for me to get to grips with. We’ll see how things improve over the coming weeks and months I guess. Practice makes perfect. Here are a few example photos and vids I’ve taken to date and a link to the YouTube vid. I dare say these will act as a baseline to judge any improvements I can make.

Selfie in Doctor Duncans

A pint in The Vines

The Return of the Pilgrim

Trying Hyperlapse recording in the Euston Tap

Some garden exercise in Hyperlapse

I've Joined the RENegades

A.J. Walker — 2025-03-25T22:05:35+00:00

I’ve only just discovered Ren properly in the last week or so and it has become the biggest rabbit hole I’ve fallen into. I saw ‘Hi Ren’ for the first time about ten days ago and heaven knows how many times I’ve seen the video since. I’ve largely watched it through countless ‘Reaction videos’ seeing other people get similarly gobsmacked by that video. It largely takes in lots of ‘oh, I wasn’t expecting that’ and a few tears. I wont describe it but the guitar, the performance and the words are beyond top notch.

Since then I’ve been listening to many of his other songs and videos including ‘Chalk Outlines’ with the equally talented performer, Chinchilla. And the trilogy of songs ‘Jenny’s/Screech’s/Violet’s Tales’ which is genius storytelling and far too impressive performances from Ren. He is so talented on multiple levels. A true genius artist.

Hi Ren

I’ve been asking everyone I bump into ‘Have you heard of Ren?’. The answer is usually ‘Wren? Like the bird?’ Then when it isn’t ’You mean REM?’ No ‘N’ not ‘M’. Like Ren and Stimpy without the Stimpy. I’ve only met a couple of people who know his stuff. It’s incredible when you see how talented his is and find he’s British too. He was born in Wales but spent much of his life in Brighton. As well as his videos you can find his performances busking, sometimes with massive crowds with ‘The Big Push’.

Chalk Outlines

I’d recommend getting on to him via ‘Hi Ren’, ‘Chalk Outlines’ then the three Tales. If they don’t blow you away then nothing will. The performances were filmed live in single takes—and Hi Ren is nine and half minutes long of a complex story. Be prepared to shed a tear or several. I did and so did all the people in the reaction videos. I wont go into all the health issues he’s had to contend with over many years, but those nine minutes or so of will tug at your heart strings with regard to the mental health side of them.

Jenny and Screech

That video itself has had over 47 million views, which can’t be bad for an independent artist that so many people haven’t heard of. I’m a RENegade now. It’s time you were too.

The DJI Pocket 2 is in the House

A.J. Walker — 2025-03-24T12:23:52+00:00

The DJI Pocket 2 has arrived and is finally in my clumsy paws. It looks brilliant, but there will be a lot to learn about it—and additional things like video editing. It’s the start of a wee journey. Although it may be a complicated one too.

I’ve tried a few things with it so far and whilst I haven’t always got it right on the first go I hasn’t taken too long. I’ve got it following me in Selfie mode and recorded myself walking along the road with it to see what the gimbals do for me both in Selfie and non-selfie modes.

I think with just a few days of recording little bits I should learn a fair bit.

Next up after getting used to the filming I’ll have to learn about the best way of editing. I dare say I’ll start with using iMovie on my MacBook, but I’ll probably give a few other apps and sites a go too—like CapCut on my iPad.

A New Camera to Come

A.J. Walker — 2025-03-16T10:18:51+00:00

I use to photos regularly with both a DSLR and a very decent compact zoom (Lumix TZ-70). The Lumix took over as my camera of choice due to its size and its fab zoom. Eventually like most compact zooms it had to die through the pumping action of opening and closing the camera the zoom inevitably pumps any dust into its gubbins. Once that becomes too much to ignore the camera is no longer viable—there is no simple way of cleaning the compact’s innards and to get it done professionally would cost more than buying another damn camera. Modern times, eh?

So without the compact I’ve been left with just taking photos on my phone. It’s not the same. And I don’t seem ready to go back to the DSLR (assuming it is still okay) as I already carry enough bulk and weight around with me even without a DSLR and lens (or two)..

And so it is that I have decided to buy a new camera. But I’ve gone quite left field with it and bought a small video camera that would be good for both photos (to some extent) and have the flexibility to do video recording, I bought a second hand DJI Pocket 1 last week, but when it turned up the battery was goosed (it’s an internal thing and not designed for replacement (like the pumping action fooking a camera lens, a battery that can’t be replaced… Modern Times). Anyway I’ve sent it back and paid a little more to get the newer, better one: a DJI Pocket 2. Should arrive mid week. Here’s hoping the battery still works or else I’ll have to give up.

Anyway the Pocket 2 (and the 3–indeed the 1) look fabulous. I’m gonna have a good time playing around with it. Who knows, I may end up posting a few Vlogs with it. They would likely revolve around pubs and Pokémon (not necessarily combined) and maybe some guitar strumming. Watch this space (and pray for the battery to come).

The Welcome Return to BJs

A.J. Walker — 2025-02-10T23:23:02+00:00

Several weeks ago I found myself looking at various Apps for recording To Do lists etc on my phone. I was surprised at how many had monthly or annual charges. It put me off; to the point I recalled I used to keep—and enjoy—Bullet Journals: quite quickly I came to the decision to return to them. At the end of the day paying for a blank journal twice a year would be cheaper than paying for an App. Whilst it’s one more thing to carry around (or keep track of at home) it does have the benefit of being one less thing adding to my digital footprint. Not peering at my phone for any time at all would be time well spent and make me feel better I reckon.

I do currently use Calendar a lot for general daily To Do lists on my iPhone, but a more meaty, structured way of recording and scheduling seems beneficial—and would beneficially add to my WRITING one way or another. One thing I need to do is to STRUCTURE and timetable writing. So I’m back to the BJs—which I promise to only shorten to BuJo in future. Honest.

Routes and Routes (and occasional curves)

A.J. Walker — 2025-02-08T15:06:32+00:00

I’ve used Routes in Pokémon Go a few times, but given my usual (non Pokémon) routes around Liverpool I thought it would be good to have some which fit my more common walks around the city. So to that end I’ve created a few of my own. This means that now if I am walking between Dr Duncan’s and the Vines, or the Vines and the Grapes I can follow these paths rather than find a path a little out of the way by the necessity of following other prescribed routes; for instance there’s one from the Vines (or Lidl) to the top of Bold Street. They may be close to where I want to go to, but they leave me walking a bit of a way from my ultimate destination.

The first time I set up a route it was from a very common walk of mine between the key venues of The Vines (Big House) and Dr Duncan’s. The former being where I quite often watch the matches on the telly boxes and the latter being the lovely pub closest to Queen Square (where my bus comes in). Unfortunately either my phone or provider developed a GPS issue and so for my first one it randomly put in a strange switch back to the route—so if you want to do it you have to double back on yourself and start the route again to complete the route (it’s not too far but it is not ideal to retrace your steps in that way).

A wayward wiggle on the way from the Doctors

To those that haven’t done it; you actually select a start point and the end point (which have to be Gyms or Poké Stops) and then you physically do the walk you want to between them. When you get to the end you have to put in some details (name and description etc) but unfortunately there’s no editing capability if there are any errors which you’d like to correct (like this GPS one).

I’ve since created my second route (Vines to the Grapes) and then a third (The Grapes to The Philharmonic). In reality I was doing it to the Queen of Hope Street, but there is no Poké Stop for the QOHS so needs must.

Anyways, if you want to do a decent pub crawl taking in three consecutive routes (and hence pick up some Zygarde Cells on the way!) then you could follow these three (‘From the Doctors to the Big’ - ‘Grapes & Vines’ - ‘From the Grapes and Upwards’) whilst taking in the following pubs:

Dr Duncans
The Vines
Dispensary
Grapes
Belvedere
Caledonia
Queen of Hope Street
Philharmonic Pub

If you don’t get any Zygarde Cells you can at least get yourself some decent ales and your daily steps in (and maybe catch some decent footy as well).

Guitars

A.J. Walker — 2025-01-17T14:14:34+00:00

Broke a guitar string the other week on the Tanglewood. Had to get a new set, which I got around to fitting on Friday. Boy they sounded fresh and zingy. It was that point that I thought that maybe I should have got two sets and changed the strings on the Takamine. They were similarly two or more years old (probably significantly more). So I got myself a second set and now I have two fresh and zingy guitars. A job well done—and definitely one that needed doing.

Got myself a winder tool for the first time (definitely quicker and better than just using your fingers on the machine heads), and it had a string cutter on it which helped a lot too. PSA: Defo use the correct tools for any job. It helps a lot in all matters.

Won’t leave it two years (plus) again between strings. Even galvanised me to put up a wee video about it on YouTube (first one in a damn long time). Now I just need to play some darn tunes again.

Damn Phones, Damnable Deliveries

A.J. Walker — 2025-01-17T14:13:33+00:00

Three years ago I bought a refurbished iPhone X from Back Market. It did well for me, but after a screen breakage and occasionally overheating battery I ended up moving on to a Samsung Galaxy S9+, which was kindly passed on to me. I need a phone for work. Anyhoo it has got to a point where it too has been slightly damaged and it is beyond financial common sense to get it fixed, so I’ve had to get myself a newer phone. Once more I’ve gone for a refurbed Apple iPhone (this time a 2020 SE). The X would have been seven years old so a newer phone is called for. It’s nice to get back to an Apple from Android. I’m truly an Apple fan. Just hope the memory is enough for me (I’ve gone for a 64GB rather than a 256GB X). The phone was with me in a couple of days and so far after some initial fear it seems the 64GB could be enough. We shall see if that continues to be the case.

Always a pain having to get new a new case etc when you change these things ain’t it? Not sure how many cases I’ve got—or thrown out—the different phone sizes and the positions of the camera lenses etc mean the cases can never be used again. Maybe I’ll have to think of some other use for them.

Refurbed phones are defo the way to go anyway—less than a ton for a decent phone. Lovely. Looking forward to getting used to it. The new iOS seems quite different and buttons that used to do one thing now do other things. It should be a relatively shallow learning curve though.

Back Market quickly processed the order and sent it out by Royal Mail. I was a little surprised the Tracked delivery was delivered to the Purple Bin (the waste to landfill bin). They even kindly took a photo of the bin to prove delivery. The mind boggles. Even Amazon don’t send stuff to the rubbish. Bin Day was the next day and I did rescue it in time; thankfully.

Links:
Back Market

Storygraph and that Twitter Shite

A.J. Walker — 2024-11-19T00:29:36+00:00

I’ve been tweeting a lot less lately on both my Zevonesque and RealeLiverpool accounts as its death by a thousand cuts (many more really) continues. It’s obviously a lot less friendly or useful than it used to be and many people have either stopped going on it, or using it—or left it completely. For now I think I’ll just stop using it in the hope that Musk sells it to someone who cares about what it was/could be (now that he’s got what he wants out of it for his MAGA lot). It’s probably beyond rescuing to be fair and it’s the hope that kills us, isn’t it?

I created Bluesky accounts for both names last year with the hope that maybe it could do the Twitter thing in a better way. It’s taken a year (yes, it turns out I was an early adopter) but things seem to be taking off on it, with sports clubs and newspapers leaving Twitter for Bluesky. So maybe it has a damn good chance. I’ve been using the Zevonesque account a fair bit, but haven’t touched the RealeLiverpool one. Sadly I want to use it, but I can’t log onto it and I can’t remember what email address I used to set it up—so I can’t reset the password. Bummer! Fingers crossed I can sort it out, or else I’ll have to register a slightly different named one in its stead I guess.

In other I.T./App news I’ve moved on to Storygraph from Goodreads. It seems a nice simple App and works well—and on Android as well as AppleOS. Exporting all my data from my years of using Goodreads worked quickly and seamlessly—as far as I can tell. I like the visuals from the pie charts and the selection from those pie pieces works well too. It’s only been a day or two… but farewell Musk… and farewell Bezos. When I say farewell I mean…

Hope to see some more of you guys on Bluesky and maybe Storygraph too (haven’t looked at the social side of that yet, perhaps there isn’t one).

Steph's Boss Strings

A.J. Walker — 2024-11-10T15:16:59+00:00

On Tuesday I went to Leaf, on Bold Street, to watch a Steph Strings gig. I’d never seen her play before—she said during the show that it was her first time in Liverpool (but she had played in the north west, including Manchester, before supporting someone). I can’t actually recall how or when I discovered her and so am not sure if it was from an Insta or Spotify algorithm. However I was introduced to her I thank them/it. I’ve been listening to her stuff via Spotify and following her exploits on Insta for a few months and it was great to she was to play Leaf and I soon got me a ticket.

Liverpool were playing at home in the Champion’s League which made the transport in a bit of a worry—as it always is for home games. It turned out that I had no probs getting in at all. I checked out the stage times and Steph was due on at 9pm, so I headed into the Vines to watch the 1st half of the Reds vs Xabi’s Leverkusen, partly so I could just see at least some of the game, but also because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to sit or not following my severe MS leg fatigue at my last gig. So I left at half time when the score was 0-0 and got to Leaf before Steph went on. It turned out that the gig was pretty full but there were plenty of chairs and in fact many of the audience were sat on the floor to watch. I opted for a chair as I was unsure about the spectacle of me periodically trying to stand up from the floor.

Steph came on just after 9. She play’s unaccompanied with just her guitar and a stomp box or foot tambourine thingy. Her songs and playing are exemplary and she gets the crowd going both with her performance and her stories between the songs. She even managed to get everyone singing or clapping along with her through patient instruction to a willing—and able—audience. I got my phone out to take a couple of pics and was greeted by notifications that Liverpool were winning 2-0. Cool! She plays the guitar effortlessly using lots of clever techniques—even channeling Jeff Healey a couple of times. By the time the gig was over everyone was mightily impressed and happy with the night’s gig—and I found Liverpool had won 4-0. Although I’d missed what must have been an excellent second half, I was glad I’d not missed the gig. Yes, Steph was that good.

If you get the chance to see her do. Although I guess she’ll be playing more in her native Australia for a while now. I’m not sure what Steph’s surname actually is, unless it really is Strings and it’s the best example of nominative determinism ever. I dare say I could Google it. But hey I’m not bothered. Have a listen to her on Spotify (or wherever you can). I’ll put some links below.

Spotify

1993 was a Most Excellent Year

A.J. Walker — 2024-11-02T14:31:49+00:00

On Bluesky a couple three weeks ago I saw one of those ‘Post 20 albums/books/films/cheeses/bus routes that you were kinda into.’ I eschewed the cheese one (for now) and went for the album one. Twenty albums is damn difficult. Could have swapped a few, but I’m happy with my list: even if I went for a few Greatest Hits ones (earlier REM, Status Quo, and Queen). To be fair they were played to destruction (Queen in my early teens and REM in my later ones).

Well to cut to the chase these were my twenty albums covers in the order they were released. There really could and should have been some more blues and Motown albums (Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, the Temptations and Four Tops, then there’s Pink Floyd, Teenage Fanclub etc). Maybe I’ll make it 40 rather than twenty. We’ll see.

Beatles - ‘Rubber Soul’ (1965)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - ‘Are You Experienced’ (1967)
Rolling Stones - ‘Exile on Main Street’ (1972)
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - ‘Rust Never Sleeps’ (1979)
Status Quo - ‘12 Gold Bars’ (1980)
Queen - ‘Greatest Hits’ (1981)
Dire Straits - ‘Alchemy - Live’ (1984)
Robert Cray - ‘Strong Persuader’ (1986)
REM - ‘Eponymous’ (1988)
The Waterboys - ‘Fisherman’s Blues’ (1988)
The Stone Roses (1989)
Counting Crows - ‘August and Everything After’ (1993)
Cracker - ‘Kerosene Hat’ (1993)
Chuck Prophet - ‘Balinese Dancer’ (1993)
Radiohead - ‘The Bends’ (1995)
Ryan Adams - ‘Heartbreaker’ (2000)
Wilco - ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ (2002)
The Jayhawks - ‘Rainy Day Music’ (2003)
Frank Turner - ‘England Keep My Bones’ (2011)
The Decemberists - ‘The King is Dead’ (2011)

Not a bad listening list I reckon—and 1993 was definitely a most excellent year.

Flash Memory

A.J. Walker — 2024-10-21T12:26:06+01:00

Following the Flash Dogs Equinox challenge last month I’ve decided to give the Remix a go. To that end I downloaded a Kindle ‘book’ of writing I’d done for a load of flash challenges from back in the day. There are literally dozens and dozens of them, and bloody hell so many old flash fiction challenges that have been and gone. It got me proper reminiscing about all the good stuff the Dogs & Co. used to be involved with.

What a time it was, anyone new to Twitter won’t know how good it used to be for the writer types, which is how the Flash Dogs formed—it wouldn’t these days with the awful mess Twitter has become. Elon doesn’t like reading.

How many of these (largely weekly) challenges do you remember?

Angry Hourglass
Finish That Thought
Flash Friday
Last Line First
Luminous Creatures
Microbookends
Mid Week Blues Buster
MidWeek Flash
Race the Date
Seedling Challenge
Thursday Threads (still going)
Trifecta
Visdare

I used to use these all very regularly and it makes me realise how little I do now along these lines. I have started doing a few of my own stories from short snippets I come up with myself. While the challenges have gone I should really just do my own that way and then either develop into something more substantial, or put up a few on this ole website. I do need to be more regular in terms of writing and publishing I guess. I shouldn’t use the demise of these sites and prompts as an excuse not to.

Next though I’ve got to choose one of my old flash stories from one of these challenges to get in and remix. If you wrote for any of these why don’t you give it a go to? Consider it a new prompt.

A Night at the Casino Where Everyone Is A Winner

A.J. Walker — 2024-10-14T23:01:25+01:00

Went to the Liverpool O2 on Friday to see Casino’s biggest hometown gig, where they were supported by Heavy North. Several years ago I went to the Arts Club (don’t confuse it with the Arts Bar btw) to see the Heavy North supported by Casino. Both top Liverpool bands and matey too.

I didn’t see the second support (Neil Noa) as my sorry old body wasn’t up to it (it turned out it wasn’t up to two bands either, but that’s a different story).

I grabbed a pint of something wet and expensive and headed up the front of the venue and grabbed a bit of rail on the far right of the stage. Got chatting to John from Bury, a big music fan and a Liverpool FC fan to boot (a big fan of Heavy North who’s seen them at least as much as I had, but hadn’t seen Casino before).

The Heavy North

Heavy North came on stage right on time to play their half hour or support slot and hit their groove straight away with a couple of tracks from their first album. The atmosphere for their performance was great and the O2 had filled considerably. I was glad I had bagged a place at the front, resting on the rail and dropping the pint on to the step on the other side for intermittent retrieval was a godsend. The set was a pleasure to hear and every song was celebrated with loud applause. The crowd were there to see the bands, not to chat which is sometimes an issue when I’ve been to the O2. Didn’t manage to grab a set list when they finished but LFC John from Bury did.

Casino

A Brief Casino Solo

Casino had a hard act to follow even if they are all mates. They rose to the challenge and performed brilliantly with their new single, Heaven, kicking it off. By Your Side was greeted like an old friend with everyone singing along. It was clear the band were loving the night too and they played as a tight outfit—like they always do to be fair. They’ve got tons of great songs that always get the crowd going. Now if I could just hold an album in my hands...

Casino

Flash Dogs-Woof!

A.J. Walker — 2024-10-14T12:11:32+01:00

Was made up with the return of the Flash Dogs and their Equinox challenge back in September (hey, it was on the Equinox, wasn’t it?). And this very Sunday they published the results of the judging by Rebekah and Juna: and one of my stories was chosen as a winner (by Rebekah, of Flash! Friday fame). So now I am doubly made up.

Flash Dogs Equinox—Photo Prompt

Two fifty words is a difficult challenge, but everybody managed it admirably. My first story ‘Newcote: A New Beginning’ won, along side Eric Martell’s ‘Why We Seek’ (picked, of course, by Juna)—and one my other two got a mention as well for the ‘most appropriate response to seeing a Dragon’—which I guess was the protagonist peeing himself.

I’m glad I got a dragon into a story with a nod to the judges. It would have been rude not to. Anyway, more writing awaits—and maybe more dragons or some alternative events with ‘appropriate responses’. Onwards and Upwards.

Very Mostly Water

A.J. Walker — 2024-10-06T22:11:16+01:00

Not been out singing at Open Mics much this year at all. Not even approaching double figures out there, but I went to the newly moved OM night at the Dispensary on Monday. Yep, it’s moved to Mondays so that it doesn’t clash with any footy (or will do so a lot less often) now that Liverpool are back in the Champion’s League (which has games on random Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to make it difficult as far as I can see). There’s also other OM nights on the Tuesday (including the nearby Metrocola), but to be fair there are OM nights all over the city on nearly every day really so any day will clash with one or another.

Last Monday was one of the wettest day in the recent history of the city so it was a bit of a last minute call to get out there. I felt I should make the effort after watching too much telly (I’d binge watched Ludwig on the iPlayer). Got wet going to the bus, then got wet leaving Queen Square, had a quick pint in the Vines before getting wetter with the last few hundred yards to the Dizzy.

Dave O’Grady was there and a couple of regulars—and a newbie (Dan?) on his first Dizzy appearance. Headzic played his double wok after him, with all his man-made sounds of rain falling to compete with the real stuff outside, then I went up to play a few songs (five). Dave came up after me and played some of his bluesy tracks.

With the constant (around 36 hours) rain I went with Bap Kennedy’s ‘Mostly Water’ first. Think I’ve only played it once or twice in the wild before. Followed that with ‘Splendid Isolation’ Warren Zevon (don’t play that often either), then it was a few of my old dependables: ‘Heart Breaks Like the Dawn’ Chuck Prophet, ‘Oh My Sweet Carolina’ Ryan Adams, and, due to requests, ‘Whiskey in my Whiskey’ Felice Brothers. Five songs—that’s like an EP’s worth. Afterwards chatted to a nice couple from Munich who were travelling through the city and they’d loved the OM. Said it was rare in their part of the city. The guy asked if I’d written the songs, to which I replied with the names of the singer songwriters who actually had. He knew all of them (though maybe not Chuck P), but said he hadn’t recognised them when I was playing them. I confirmed that by not playing the guitar well I did them in my own way and by necessity ‘made the songs my own.’ His other half had said she’d loved them and had been looking up the songs whilst I was playing them—which you can take in multiple ways. Anyways for one reason and another I was glad I’d made the effort to go out.

And incredibly when I walked out on to Renshaw Street it had actually just stopped raining. Though Liverpool was still remained mostly water.

The Return of the Flash Dogs

A.J. Walker — 2024-10-06T22:09:34+01:00

Was good to see the recent iteration of the Flash Dogs with the Equinox challenge. And it was nice to see some familiar names there. The invite was for ‘up to four’ stories using the photo prompt. In the end I wrote three, but two of the writers did submit four stories (Stella and John Murphy). Two others wrote three stories and another six wrote one story (which is plenty enough really).

Writing stories of just a 250 word maximum is damn hard. It’s been a while since I tried (I have done Thursday Threads once this year—a maximum of 150 words). Think 350 is a bit easier to get a story out there, but hell even that is a push too).

Have read all the stories and I enjoyed them all. My top few were ‘The Land Remembers’ (Voima Oy), 'Postcard' (Bex Spence), ‘Pentimento’ (Bex Spence, again), and ‘Ask the Dog’ (Stella)’. But if I went through them all again maybe I’d pick some different ones. Sometimes judging is even harder than writing to a very tight margin. Kudos to all those who got involved. It’s good to be back (whether it’s for a short stop or for something a little longer).

A Couple of Great Gigs to Come

A.J. Walker — 2024-09-30T16:22:01+01:00

There are so many good gigs coming up over the next few months it's scary difficult to choose between them all. But I've booked two of the best for now—with no doubt a few to follow. The first one (at this point) is Casino—very ably supported by the Heavy North and Neal Noah at the Liverpool O2 Academy. I've seen both Casino and Heavy North multiple times and I'm never not happy about seeing them. They are both top of the toppest drawer.

And when the Lottery Winners announced their December gigs I couldn't not get a ticket to see them. The difficulty was choosing which of the three nights to go for. In the end I choose the second date, where they will be playing all of ART and their hits. They are another band I've been lucky enough to see multiple times and they are never less than brilliant. I'm sure all three of the nights will be amazing. But I thought a Saturday between Christmas and New Year may be a better day to travel on than the Sunday.

Now who next…?

Lake Colouring and Relax

A.J. Walker — 2024-09-21T10:48:58+01:00

A couple of months ago I invested in Lake which is a colouring App on the iPad. I did some colouring back å the Covid days when there was another App I regularly used called Twitter (you may have heard of it, don’t know what happened to that). In those olden days I would colour some drawings from one free site or another, or a Twitter account. Now with Lake I have paid for it. And the drawings are provided by some cool artists who each have their own styles and so far I think it has been worth paying for (it’s an annual fee). Not sure whether I will continue beyond the year, we’ll see how it goes I guess.

Sitting back on the sofa or laying down on the bed with the iPad for a while and filling in some black and white drawing—using whichever painting tools take your fancy is a nice way to relax. I usually do it a home, sometimes with just some music on, sometimes with the TV (and the damnable adverts on). It sounds like something and nothing of course, but I’ve found it relaxing to do—as I did in those boring Covid days. In those days I was using it to fill in time when going out wasn’t an option. Now I can—and do—go out, so the actions of colouring may seem less required than it was then but I reckon it does achieve a level of relaxation that is sometimes required. If it’s not exactly deep creativity it is still nice when you finish one off. There’s no pressure and no way of winning (or losing) other than taking a bit of time away from the stress of your day. So if you crave some ‘deep breath, little effort, semi-creative’ pass time I’d recommend it.

The App is available on the App Store for £40/annum—where it has a rating of 4.7/5. Forty quid sounded a lot in my head to be fair, but when I thought it that equated to 76p a week, or 11p a day, then I reckoned it was worth checking under the sofa for the change. You can use Lake for free (with more limited pages and colours etc) so why not give it a go? It works on an iPad or iPhone.

Here’s a few of the ones I’ve done recently.

Equinox: The Flashdogs Phoenix

A.J. Walker — 2024-08-27T23:01:49+01:00

On Thursday there came a bolt from the blue. It came in the form of a single Tweet from one of the old Flash Dogs glitterati. It heralded the phoenix like rebirth of the Flash Dogs coming soon to the blissfully unaware.

For those uninitiated into the less than secretive—whilst not exactly pervasive—societal group known as The Flash Dogs met online (largely through Twitter, back when that worked well) and all enjoyed writing flash fiction. Oftentimes these were in weekly online contests including the fabulous Angry Hourglass and Flash Friday Fiction.

Jeez. So many familiar names from those earlier Flash Dog days.

Beautiful cover for the first Flash Dogs Anthology

Each week many of the writers became regulars in one or more of the challenges and we kept seeing the same name. We were a natural group of like minded individuals (in terms of enjoying the challenges, not like minded in any other stretch of our odd imaginations) and most of us used Twitter to communicate back then and we almost naturally became the Flash Dogs. Some bright spark suggested we got together in between the covers (no, not like that) and the first Flash Dog anthology was born. Yes, an actual paperback book. Then there was another, then another. There was the Flashdog Anthology Volume One, then Volume Two: Solstice Light, and Solstice Dark (so a bit confusingly Volume Two comprised two volumes in itself), and next up was—surprise, surprise—Volume Three: ‘Time’ (there was just one). The anthologies were published between 2014 and 2016. You can even find them on Goodreads if you wish to check them out.

Yours truly showing off Flash Dogs Volume Two (Dark) on my Kindle (in the Vaults in Bishop's Castle)

Even took it out to the Pyramid Stage at Glasto

'Time' the Third Volume of the Flash Dogs back catalogue

Most of the online challenges the Dogs were most commonly involved with disappeared over time. They seem not to have been replaced like for like; at least I’ve not seen them. And many of the Flash Dogs disappeared too into the ether due to their missing sustenance. But one Tweet last week seems to suggest there may be a rebirth coming soon:

I for one find the resurrection intriguing and exciting. Incidentally, I work at a brewery in Liverpool (Neptune) and we have a beer called ‘Equinox’ too. It's surely destiny.

Kowloons et al: Another Fab Sofar Sounds

A.J. Walker — 2024-08-20T07:55:43+01:00

On Wednesday I went to another Liverpool Sofar Sounds gig. This week it was at a nice cool venue, near London Road, called Fabric on the ground floor of the building which also houses Slate. Saw Heavy North play their Sofar gig there in September 2022–jeez, almost two years back.

This was another sold out evening but there were plenty of seats for everyone. The backdrop was large and bright white—it’s a photographic studio—which made for an interesting look. There were three acts on, as ever. First up was a country singer with a decidedly US twang to his singing voice; and was wearing a Stetson to boot. Jake O’Neill though isn’t so much as from due west of here, but just a few miles north in Burscough. Nice songs and mighty fine guitar work from the Lancashire Frontier.

Second guys and gals up were a duo, from the folk band Kafasān with some fine flute playing from Savannah Donohoe and guitar too. Mostly they played their own stuff, but there were a couple of trad tunes and a Richard Thompson song too. Unfortunately here was no time to fit in any Jethro Tull.

Lastly it was time for a full band of four young locals called Kowloons (as in Hong Kong). They’d posted a picture up on Instagram earlier showing their gear at the event so I was able to get to listen to a few of their songs whilst I was on the bus into town. Nice short snappy songs. I was sat next to Chris Griffiths from the Real People who were the masters of the two and half minute pop songs. I reminisced with him about seeing them play the Krazy House in the early 1990s and then getting him to play at Liverpool CAMRA beer festival

It was Chris’s first Sofar gig (attending or playing) and he was there because his son was actually playing bass in the Kowloons. Wonder if they can get the Real People to play Sofar sometime too? Maybe a double header with the Kowloons.

All three acts are out there with songs to play and stories to tell, so get yourself out there and support them. Or at least don some headphones and listen to some of their songs on Spotify (or wherever else you can find their music).

____________________________________________________

Some links below:

Jake O'Neill - Spotify
Kafasān - Spotify - Instagram
Kowloons - Spotify - Instagram

Bishop's Castle '24

A.J. Walker — 2024-08-13T23:03:30+01:00

The Foxholes Campsite at Bishop’s Castle is a destination in itself that my friends and I go to every year. We usually go for the a weekend around the first week of July, as that is when we always went for the town’s real ale festival. In years around and since Covid though the festival no longer happens. We like the area—and the campsite is brilliant—so we continue to go there when we can around the same time. It has become our tradition.

The only time I haven’t gone over the last decade is the one bloody time I caught Covid (I was lucky enough to only catch it once and for it to do nothing to me at the time: but I was unlucky that it coincided with a Bishop’s Castle camping trip AND a gig I really wanted to go to (the Felice Brothers at Leaf, Liverpool). A double whammy).

The drive down from Liverpool was in sunshine all the way, with only some heavy-ish traffic for a few miles intermittently north of Oswestry (on the A5). Once you are on the A5 there really aren’t any alternative roads to avoid traffic issues, you just have to go with the flow (or lack of it). To be fair we got down to the campsite in a couple of hours or so and that was mighty fine. Got the tent up just as our second car arrived. It was sunshiny, there as a bit of a breeze but nothing to adversely affect a few experience tent putter-uppers and the second tent was up in no time.

Time for a beer. It’s a tradition that the beer doesn’t get open until the tent is up. First up was a Neptune & Crosby Coffee IPA. I ended up only drinking three cans at the campsite, which has never happened before; and each would be one of the Crosby Coffee/Neptune ales. I didn’t have any of the usual pales as options.

The tent's up, so the beer is poured.

A very familiar view from Foxholes campsite.

The four of us headed down to Bishop’s Castle along the very familiar path (which is part of the Shropshire Way) through the fields. With it being a bit later in the field all the crop had been cut. It was a bit unusual walking through the field which is usually well over a metre high. We were then in the deeply shaded wooded area by the allotments. It does look like someone cuts the growth back as otherwise progress would probably be less easy through there (maybe a bit more nettle orientated).

View along the Shropshire Way towards Foxholes campsite.

In Bishop’s Castle we headed to our usual starting point, which was the Three Tuns. The options for Three Tuns ales was down to just two as I think the onsite brewery has been subject to some changes (maybe I’ll look that up)—I think it would normally have been four in the past. Most of the inside tables were ready for people due to come in to eat, and we headed outside to the garden/yard area (after a Shropshire version of Kettling I think). It was nicely shaded but still sunny in there. We just had the one in there whilst reminiscing about so many trips to the ‘Castle.

The Castle pub was next, where again we sat outside. The sun was beginning to come down and most the areas were in shade. It took a while (and some people leaving) before we found a place in at least some sunshine. We ended up having a couple of nice beers there whilst Ste and Tony tried to befriend anyone with a dog (there were a few). Then lastly we headed to the Vault, which always used to be our favourite pub at the end of the night during the festival when they would have plenty of beers on and a few good bands. There were not many options for beer this time (it wasn’t a festival after all) and there was no live music on. We had just one drink there before heading back up the hill to our tents—and a damn excellent curry (with homemade naan) courtesy of Jeanette. Top stuff.

Sleep proved a bit of an enigma that night, due to noise predominantly and the next day some people (ie the other three) were up ridiculously early. In some ways it didn’t matter, as I was just not going to get to sleep. And the noise from the Wood Pigeons was driving me to distraction (by then I was wondering if anybody had packed an air rifle).

So Saturday began in a tired way whilst the weather was grey and drizzly. Still, it felt damn better after a sausage sandwich (Steve Stonko would approve; even without any Stella). We spent some time flitting between apps looking at how the Olympics were going and the weather forecasts. Okay, mainly looking at the weather. There was no consensus between the weather apps (which I never get, as surely they use the same data—please don’t blame the algorithms), but generally the sun was due to come out some time after 11am or maybe after 2pm. If it was 2 then that was fine anyway, so on this occasionlet the apps argue amongst themselves.

We’d developed a consensus that we would go to Ludlow for the day. Jeanette kindly offered to drive the four of us there rather than take two cars. And, other than having to circle the car park for a frustrating age waiting for a space to appear, the drive both there and away was fine. It was still grey and wet until not long after we parked up. Then the sun came out (before 2) just as one or two of the apps had suggested could happen. On the way round we went past a wonderful sandwich shop selling baps and baguettes of beef or pork—with apple sauce, stuffing and crackling—it smelled wonderful and whilst it was too early to join the extensive queue we agreed that it would be a good shout to go back. We all crossed our fingers that there would be some left. Anyway, this is getting too wordy isn’t it? Suffice to say that we got pork rolls and sat in the sun by the castle walls enjoying every bite. I’d bought a couple of books from Oxfam whilst Jeanette had manned the queue for the pork. Dare say I didn’t really need any more books, but hey. The sun soon got very warm and the rain became a memory. We visited three pubs in Ludlow. Not a mighty crawl, but we weren’t there for that.

Back in Bishop’s Castle I lay down in the sun listened to some of the Olympics on iPlayer. My forehead got pretty burned from that twenty minutes or so and I’d feel it for a while. We eventually walked into Bishop’s Castle and went straight down to the Six Bells at the bottom of the village with the sun still out. They had a BBQ on, but we didn’t fancy it. We actually ended up going back to the campsite without eating anything. The pork baps had been enough.

I sat outside under the clear skies and saw two shooting stars in relatively short order. I was disappointed not to see anymore having seen two early doors, but I did watch a satellite make it’s way across the sky too. Didn’t have the app to check whether it was the ISS or not.

It was possibly the best thing about the night, but maybe it was a score draw with the other thing that was to come…: Earplugs. I’d been given a couple of wax plugs and boy did they make a big difference? Yes, they did. Slept really well and even though I would hear the wood pigeons I no longer hated them. Maybe that’s the easiest route to world peace: earplugs. I’ll defo be ordering some before the next camping trip.

A relaxed Andy with a mug of coffee.

The weather forecast on the Sunday was sun all day and quite hot too. It was actually okay to begin with and the intermittent clouds were enough to keep the morning pretty damn fine for breakfast (bacon baps) and the taking down of the tents. Later on it was to get a wee bit (very) warm. We ended up with a double-header and first we headed down to Much Wenlock (another Shropshire market town). It had been a rich town back in the day and was the site of the Wenlock Olympian Games, which was established in 1850 by William Penny Brookes. Pierre Courbetin who was to establish the IOC was an enthusiast of the event. With the Olympics in Paris closing on the same day it was nice to see the museum celebrating that we’d already had the Olympics in Shropshire before they stole the idea. In the middle of the town was a nice little museum—defo worth the visit (it had some nice archeology and geology in addition to the Olympic stuff). After a bit of a wander around the museum and the Guildhall we ended up having a Sunday lunch sat outside in the courtyard beneath the sun at the Talbot pub. Roast beef and Yorkshire pud was a fine choice.

We carried on the few miles after that to Ironbridge. It’s one of those place I’ve always wanted to see. It was actually hot work walking around in the sun by then and after walking over the eponymous bridge we ended up quickly getting ourselves an ice cream cone and finding some shade. The bridge looked fab and the place was busy; it was Sunday and weather was fab after all. After a bit of a mooch there was time for one beer in the White Hart. It was nice to sit inside, and out of the heat really. Then it was time to head home. The trip back went smoothly like the weekend itself.

The museum and the Guildhall, Much Wenlock.

Sunday lunch at the Talbot in Much Wedlock.

An old and iron bridge, in Ironbridge.

There really was a small amount of beer (and gin) consumed over the three days—based on our historical exploits in Bishop’s Castle at any rate. No one even lit any fires to burn their shorts: always a risk. We all enjoyed the weekend away. Camping can be really fine, especially when the weather blesses us. It was a fab weekend. Maybe we’ll try and fit in one more camping trip this year. Hope so.

Incidentally I’d asked Jeanette what Ironbidge was called before they had the bridge. She asked Doctor Google the next day and it said the gorge—at least—was known as Coalbrookdale before the first ever iron bridge was constructed. It is amazing that they actually aren’t completely sure where the bridge segments were forged. Time hey, it kills everything. Maybe the French will claim it.

Southport

A.J. Walker — 2024-08-04T23:34:23+01:00

Southport is never in the news really. Maybe something about the dodgy pier or the general demise of Victorian seaside resorts, or maybe some powder-puff pieces about the annual Flower or Air Shows. But not much in the News news. Until this week. And needless to say I wish it was once again not in the news. I expect most of the UK wonder where Southport is (it’s neither south nor a port so the name doesn’t help). And it is most definitely NOT Stockport either.

It was my hometown and I grew up there until I left to go to university in Leicester in the second half of the 1980s. The murders this week of the young children at a summer dance class on a normal suburban road—between the town centre and Southport Football Club—and then the subsequent trouble after the peaceful vigil, hits too many points in my growing up there. And as for Banks, well my mum worked there for years at a mental health hospital (before the Tories suggested closed them all down and moving to a ‘no care in the community’ model) — I had a short summer job at the same hospital and did tomato picking in the greenhouses in the town too (hard, hot and very smelly work, but paid okay at the time—yes, a Brit picking fruit. Who’d have thunk it?).

When I was 16-17 I was at KGV sixth form college about half a mile from where the murders took place. The college was just next door to Haig Avenue where Southport FC play. I was amongst a group of students who managed to start their first Young Supporters Club at Southport. To be honest we’d just watched a lot of Murphy’s Mob on the telly and wanted to play pool and drink Coca-Cola during the week—a year later I’d be down the Baron’s Bar in the Scarisbrick drinking bitter before heading on to the Kingsway for Carlsberg and some Marlborough fags. You grow up fast really—if you get the opportunity. It was a lifetime ago. Even the idea of people smoking in clubs seems a distant memory.

Now Southport will forever be remembered by people who’ve never been there for the atrocity perpetrated by a teenager with a knife at a summer event for young children, who should have had a long life ahead of them (hopefully most of those attacked will). It seems the town will become synonymous with the nightmare event much as Dunblane or Lockerbie will always be remembered for the events there.

(L-R) Elsie Dot Stancombe, Alice Dasilva Agular, Bebe King

I’m hopeful but worried of course about the subsequent trouble that has been started by racist bigots and thick as shit followers and hangers on to the bile and bigotry spouted by the Farage/Yaxley-Lennon/Laurence Fox/Hopkins/Braverman brigade. Most people are good. There have been some nice moments amongst the subsequent riots and attempted trouble making in Southport and Liverpool: the woman with the handwritten poster declaring to everyone that there is ‘One Race: Human’ amidst the flying bricks taken from kicked down garden walls in Southport on Tuesday, and the woman with the ‘Nans against Nazis’ sign in Liverpool outside the mosque in West Derby. Then there was the Imam from the mosque coming out with chips and sandwiches for both the local antifascists and those that had come to cause trouble—the video of him speaking afterwards was great, as was the picture of him with his arms around one of the prospective bad guys. It gives me some hope.

Of course it is a nonsense that the trouble makers and those mobilising them through social media (and real media) have chosen to focus on Muslims and refugees (and, let’s face it, people of other races/religions). The ‘Stop the Boats’ proclamation has been permitted to be normalised and an accepted signature tune for these guys. It is wrong in every way. And to make it worse has absolutely sweet FA to do with the murderous events of Monday morning.

Oh, and while my mum and I both had work in Banks at one time and another and I studied at a college half a mile away from where the murders took place, what about my dad? Well he was a Southport policeman. Like I said, there have been too many points of contact in the news from these horrendous events. People are the same. We all want and need the same things for ourselves and our family; wherever we come from. Health, and sustenance: and security. It should not be a difficult idea to grasp.

I’ll remember Southport from growing up there with my family. It was a nice, safe place to grow up. Maybe a bit boring really. But boring can be good. Let’s face it, it doesn’t hit the news being boring. I suspect many people will now just remember Southport for what happened this week.

My thoughts and best wishes are for those that have been affected by the events of Monday 29th July.

A Festival on the East Coast

A.J. Walker — 2024-07-09T18:04:22+01:00

DocksFest 2024

Originally I only got a ticket for DocksFest because I spotted it when I was looking for an opportunity to see Frank Turner again. So I was made up when I found this day in Cleethorpes—especially when I saw the Lottery Winners were playing the event too. Two of my favourite acts of the moment in one place. And an utter bargain to boot (£55) and Feeder and Razorlight too. Not too shabby.

Of course I couldn’t get there and back in a day so I ended up booking a room in a house in nearby Grimsby for two nights. My original aim was to have a day in Grimsby, the following day in Cleethorpes for the festival and then Hull on the Sunday. The best laid plans, eh?

Stagecoach buses were on strike in Liverpool for four days from the Friday which was unfortunate for me as that meant there were no direct buses to Liverpool city centre from my neck of the woods. But amazingly I ended up getting two Arriva buses into town and made it to Lime Street Station on time. I even had time to pick up a decent—and most required—large coffee. Job done.

The train left a few minutes late and it was pretty packed due to the previous Manchester train being cancelled. But I got a good seat with a table for the journey. The train takes all in 3.5 hours direct from Liverpool Lime Street to Cleethorpes (but I was to get off the stop before at Grimsby Town). There were several stops in a few places I’ve never heard of once I was in Lincolnshire. It’s lucky there is a direct train to Cleethorpes—even if I don’t quite understand why—and it is damn regular too (every hour).

Check in at my digs (which was just a room in a house in a housing estate in the southern part of Grimsby) was not accessible for “check-in” (in theory) until 4pm so I headed for a few pints in Docks Brewery, which is just to the north of the town centre. Ended up chatting to a few staff there, including Stu, Dan and Callum. All were good blokes who were very excited about the festival. People were coming and going between the brewery and the event space: the Meridian Showground—which was at the southern end of Cleethorpes, the next town along. They were all into music as well as beer and I managed to get a couple of new fans for the some Liverpool bands including the Heavy North and Casino: spreading the gospel. They had three cask lines on and plenty of keg. I was even shown the upstairs room which is basically a hall at the top of the converted church. Was a lovely space and had its own bar too. They have some pretty decent gigs coming up over the months ahead.

Docks Beers Brewery, Grimsby

Docks Academy, the venue space upstairs at the brewery

The house proved to be a modern three storey mews and it had a key box with a code entry to get the keys, and there was a code on the door lock for the room too. The only person in the bedroom accommodation in addition to me was a Polish construction guy who had lived there for over a year. Assume he’s negotiated a decent rate. I never met the people who owned the house (or checked in of course). On the Friday I ended up staying in and watching the footy on the TV by the kitchen. There was nowhere local to go to and I didn’t really need another couple of bus journeys. Besides, I was knackered.

I didn’t get to sleep particularly quickly as it happened, as my phone wouldn’t charge. Whilst I had a print out of the ticket for the festival the phone had my rail ticket on—and my Railcard. It took a lot of effort trying to clean the charging port to finally get it charging again. I was a bit panicky for a while thinking I’d have to go to a phone shop the next day (with no access to maps, bus information and the like).

Next day was a cold shower, as I couldn’t get the hot water going on it. As it happened the weather was atrocious and I ended up wetter waiting for the bus than I did in my limited visit to the cold shower. I headed up town to the Courtyard Cafe for a Full English to set me up for the day. The weather forecast was all over the place with some suggesting rain until 6pm with thunderstorms for several hours. Not ideal but would at least mean it would be dry for Frank Turner and Razorlight. But who believes in weather forecasts anyway. And lets face it thunderstorms are usually localised and therefore hard to predict. Perhaps we’d be lucky.

First up though I had been given the heads up on a few places to have a pint in Cleethorpes by the guys at Docks Brewery (and from my cousin who is from Cleethorpes) so I checked out the locations, on my thankfully functioning phone, and planned my route (they were along the front of the seaside resort). I walked up to the beach first to take a look and a couple of shots (photos, not drinks) as it would have been wrong not to. Historically of course John Prescott the Labour MP from Hull had suggested in an early incarnation of the Northern Powerhouse that Liverpool to Hull should almost be considered as a single city with Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester in the middle, so the Cleethorpes beach is just the very eastern side of Liverpool and is twinned (in all but fact) with Crosby beach. Probably.

The Old Vic, Cleethorpes

The Nottingham House, Cleethorpes

Willy's, Cleethorpes (note that it had finally stopped raining!)

The Old Vic at the top of the promenade had three casks on, and two were from Docks Brewery. So I had a pint of Flypast by Docks. After a bit of a chinwag with the staff and much checking of the weather (both through Apps and the window) I headed down the front to Nottingham House. Had a pint of Oakham Citra there. Saw a group of lads in there heading to the festival and spoke to the barmaid. She was made up about the festival as there is not usually many options for people in the vicinity. Heaven knows where they normally have to travel to to get to watch a band or two—other than tribute acts.

Next up was a walk further along the front to Willy’s. Had a nice pint of Lune Pale there before heading on to the bus stop for another bus to take me to the Meridian Showground. The last top before heading on into the festival was the ‘Smallest Pub in the World’ (I’ve not verified that) which was the Signal Box Inn. The weather though cloudy was breaking up. There were dark clouds and light ones and even patches of blue. Things were definitely looking hopeful. The outdoor area by the pub was packed. There were Frank Turner and Lottery Winners T-shirts everywhere. It felt like coming home. I ended up chatting with Lottery Winners fans in the main and a few Frank fans too of course (hell it’s a big club)—meeting people who travelled from Glasgow, Coventry, Bradford and Peterborough etc who’d just come to the town for the festival. Didn’t spot anyone wearing Feeder or Razorlight T’s but I dare say there were some there.

Signal Box Inn 'the smallest pub in the world' or certainly Cleethorpes

A pint of Docks Beers 'Demolition' outside the Signal Box (with the rain still staying away)

After two pints of Demolition I headed into the site with my Winners T-shirt on. I had my little rucksack with me and after showing my ticket got through security pretty damn quickly. It wasn’t long before I was at the bar and with a pint of Docks ‘Clap, Clap Fish.’ Everything was working like clockwork. I bumped into—and bumped fists—with Stu from Docks who was looking pretty happy (hell, it was his birthday apparently). I caught the very end of Afflecks Palace in the dry, with an occasionally blue sky backdrop, before bumping into some Lottery Winners fans I’d chatted to at the Signal Box. There were Winners T-shirts everywhere as we headed in towards the stage. The rain seemed to be a memory.

The Lottery Winners, DocksFest 24

Lottery Winners, DocksFest 24
The chat was great as everyone was looking forward to seeing them and enthused about having seen them before at gig a) or b)—(or in the Coventry case—26 times! (If I remember rightly)). Some were looking forward to seeing them for the first time (hard to believe I know). Before too long Thom and the band came on—with Thom complaining he wasn’t feeling very well. He soon felt better as he wound the crowd up to give him massive cheers as if he was a superstar (he IS). The performance from the band, including the ill/not ill, Thom was fab and they got their fans going mad for it: and I dare say captured plenty of new fans too. People were dancing, singing, and raising their fists (to the now forgiving sky) in accompaniment to the band. I’ve been lucky enough to see them a few times and they are never less than full value for money—and proper uplifting. You can’t not smile at the gig (which explains Kate’s always smiling face).

Feeder were on next and it was time for another pint of Clap, Clap Fish and a dewatering visit. The toilets, food, and the beer buying went very smoothly indeed for a festival.

I sat down near the sound tent with my pint and slightly tired legs. Feeder were soon up then. They opened up with the most familiar Buck Roger’s (“it’s got a CD player, player, player…”). Brave to start with that and not end with it. The sound throughout was good and the weather was behaving too. Walking around there were some isolated patches of surface water but there was no mud at all: amazing given the way the rain came down in the morning.

After Feeder it was time to get another pint in before putting on my Frank Turner T-shirt above the Winners one and then heading towards the stage. I chatted to some people who were trying to listen to the England match or watch it on their phone on iPlayer (sorry, it was Switzerland v England in the Euros QF). I got hit on my knee by a mobile phone as a rather ‘happy/unhappy’ guy celebrated (not) when Switzerland scored. He wasn’t throwing it at me, he’d just not caught it after tossing it in the air—like his phone; I’ll live.

Frank Turner (without the Sleeping Souls), DocksFest

Frank Turner getting the crowd singing, as ever.

Well Frank was quite frankly, Frank. Excellent and coolness personified. He was introduced to us—like all the acts—by the local lad Lloyd Griffith who informed us that England had beaten Switzerland on penalties (Trent had scored the winning penalty). Can’t say I was sorry to have missed the game. Watching live music in a field is preferable to watching England anywhere. As I say though Frank was bloody excellent. If you’ve not got on that train yet then it’s time to jump on board (and that goes for the Winners too (the Lottery ones, not the England ones).

It was a tough day on my knees and I had to make the unfortunate decision to miss Razorlight. I went (via one in the Signal Box) to get a bus. I thought a bus part way would be better than no bus at all. It was definitely the correct call as I struggled to walk and needed frequent rest breaks over the 2 miles or so I had to walk. I got home in one piece though.

On the Sunday I went to Grimsby by bus and got myself a nice breakfast and a very large coffee at Riverhead Coffee. I’d had to give up on the idea of going to Hull. In my head I thought Hull and Grimsby were very close together, but it’d be an hour and a half minimum each way, which wouldn’t have left much time for a mooch (in my head the distance between the two places was similar to Liverpool and Birkenhead. My head was wrong on this occasion.) In the end I just walked (slowly) to the Docks Brewery (there not being pub options in Grimsby other than a Wetherspoons) again. The place really is not vibrant enough for much of a music scene. So much kudos to my new buddies for giving them a permanent venue in Grimsby and the festival too in Cleethorpes. Wasn’t sure they’d be open after the Saturday exertions, but they were. Ended up meeting Stu and Dan again. Both were made up with the way it had gone and both were pretty knackered.

It was then time to return to Grimby Town station and head on back to Liverpool. The train was on time and got to Liverpool on time (thankfully, because the toilets were fooked). All in all it had been a top weekend. The Docks people had done mighty good stuff. And I’m glad my search for another Frank Turner gig had led me to this event. Roll on DocksFest 2025.

Oh and the buses were still on strike so it was another two bus journey to go the six miles to mine. Ho hum.

DocksFest 2024

A.J. Walker — 2024-07-01T12:54:32+01:00

Next weekend I’m going to Cleethorpes for the first time in 35 years or so. It’s an old resort town, maybe an east coast version of Southport or perhaps Rhyl, just south of the river split conurbation of Grimsby and Hull. But I’m not going there to check out the beach or the faded past. Nope I’m going to single day music festival. Two of my favourite acts are playing there: the Lottery Winners and Frank Turner. The headliner for me is Frank, but on the poster it’s Razorlight. In addition Feeder are playing too and a couple of other bands: Affleck's Palace, Orphan Boy, and Healer.

I’ve seen Razorlight play far too many moons ago at music festivals and I saw Feeder supporting REM at Old Trafford some years ago too. All in all it should be a good day.

It was only this weekend I discovered that DocksFest is not named directly after any local docks, but is actually named after the Docks Brewery, which is in a converted church in Grimsby. That’s good news. Let’s face it after years of going to T in the Park and V Festival the fear of really poor and greatly overpriced beer is great ("T" was for Tennants after all, which left me with a weekend avoiding that and settling for mass produced cider). So at this festival (and in the surrounding areas) there should be a few beer options to accompany some mighty fine music. They are obviously well into music with plenty of gigs listed on their website, and this is to be their first festival—at the Meridian Showground in Cleethorpes.

The weather forecast at the moment is dry with sunny intervals (but a week in advance it’s really anyone’s guess). I can’t wait whatever the weather.

There may still be tickets available. If you’re in the area look it up. Good beer, hopefully okay weather, and very definitely fab music (I’d happily watch Frank Turner and the Lottery Winners every week): bring it on.

———————

Check out Docks Brewery at https://docksbeers.com
And look for tickets at https://docksacademy.com/event/docks-fest-2024/

A Watch Too Far

A.J. Walker — 2024-06-24T23:17:33+01:00

A Watch Too Far (or not, it never seemed to know for sure)

I’ve always worn a watch. When I’ve not got one on I feel like I’ve not got fully dressed. Over the last few years I have tried a couple of monitoring ones. Whilst I prefer the look of a nice manual watch I quite liked some of the information on heart rate and sleeping—and even those pesky steps. But the watch I’ve been wearing lately was been my sister’s old Huawei GT2 watch after she got a new smartwatch at Christmas and I’ve got to the point with it now that I’ve stopped wearing it from this weekend. I’ve found my faithful and favourite Rotary is not working at the moment (I’m assuming the battery needs replacing) so I am actually going to be watchless for a few days. Ye gads! I’ll get it sorted at the end of the week as I got an Unlimited Replacement from Timpsons when I last changed its battery—and most incredibly I’ve found the card. Wonders will never cease.

Farewell, Matey. Time for you to get up and get ta….

The thing that wound me up the most about the Huawei was it’s constant menacing with the vibrating and the ‘Get Up and Move Around’ message. Particularly when you were actually up and moving around. Getting shouted at is bad enough, but when you’re actually doing stuff and it’s shouting out it really was too much. At its most annoying it would tell me the same when I was delivering beers at work. I’ve actually pushed around 100 kilos around whilst covering up to 2km and it’ll tell me to get up and move. So in fact it’ll be the most exercise of the week whilst it is badgering me. Of course pushing casks around on a trolley would mean your arms aren’t moving like when you walk. Grrr. No more!

Anyway I know I move enough thank you and I can live without the data. Let’s get a nice normal analogue thing going. Even if it’s a quartz one and not a manual wind up, or even an automatic one (I kinda miss my dodgy Chinese Rolex).

Pokémon Go

A.J. Walker — 2024-06-13T08:13:54+01:00

I’ve been playing Pokémon Go for a few years now after being introduced into it by several bar staff in different pubs. I am unsure whether I should thank them or blank them. But suffice to say I’m now at the mighty Level of 41. That’s largely down to me getting buses into and out of town. The number of Poké Stops I pass and Pokémon I see makes progress relatively easy. Of course whilst those 30 to 40 minutes each way have regularly been used for progressing on Pokémon I could have used to for reading. I mean it’s mind boggling how many books I could have read instead of this basically nothingy game. But hell, I like it. Every Perfect or Shiny I get makes me happy. Not insanely happy, but it’s a game isn’t it? And I enjoy doing well in games whether it’s Wordle, Connections, Scrabble, or Pokémon.

I deleted the online Scrabble game I used to play (Words with Friends) a few years ago as I couldn’t stop myself playing as soon as a move had been made by someone else whatever time it was played. I realised it was eating my time up throughout the day. I suppose at least Pokémon is usually just eating time up when I’m on a bus commute. And I can confirm that the No. 17 bus I get into Liverpool isn’t necessarily the best place for book reading. I may not have read that many more books really: and I’m Level 41 now—with 33 Perfect Pokémon and multiple Legendary and Mythical ones too. Bet you’re jealous. Then again, probably not.

My Fave ones? Well I guess the ones I use most for battles would be Primarina and Swampert, which are both 4* (aka Perfect) but I still need a bit of work to get the CP maxed out—and to get a Mega Swampert.

These are some of my current collections of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon:

The Black Screen of Partial Death

A.J. Walker — 2024-05-16T07:35:46+01:00

My MacBook Pro—a 13" 2020 M1—passed away a couple of weeks ago. That’s not to say it has completely passed away as a computer, but as a laptop it has. I noticed as I walked past the spare room where the laptop was that the screen was flickering away with all too dodgy lines and blocks of mess. Before too long with some movement of the laptop the screen was suffering from the all too common symptom: The Black Screen of Death. After too many attempts of ‘Zapping the PRAM’ and all the other associated potential treatments of the Black Screen (i.e in case it was a software issue) it became apparent that the issue was a hardware one. Looking at the .net it is really crazy—and wrong—that this is not an uncommon problem and the issue should have been addressed by design over previous iterations of the MacBook.

Anyway the computer itself is still working when plugged into an external display so I guess I may have simply lost a laptop but been left with a desktop. Glad I bought the external screen a while back or else I would not have even known the computer was still working. To replace the screen on the laptop as far as I can see is around 360 quid—and that would still have the same physical issue as the original one so could fail just as easily over the next year or two anyway. I’m not spending that kind of money with that fear—or likelihood—waiting in the wings.

As far as I can see the issue is a hardware issue purely affecting the screen and there is no reason to deal with it; if I’m happy to use it purely as a desktop. Hope I’ve surmised the correctly. At the end of the day, when I’m out and about, I tend to use an iPad with a portable keyboard rather than take the laptop out anyway. And I use Dropbox to sync with my computer when I’m back home, so I guess I can continue doing that and just use the Pro in my spare room/office if I need to print stuff out and get stuff up on the website etc. I dare say I could print from the iPad if I set that up correctly too, but I wouldn’t be able to update the website (and use various other Apps that only work on the MacBook).

I’m leaving the laptop in clamshell form so I don’t have to face the miserable screen at all, but from time to time I will have to open it up—if I need to use the camera for iMovie and YouTube etc or maybe to use the thumbprint ID. I think I can use the iPad as a second screen if it comes to it, but in the main I guess it’ll just be used in a straightforward desktop configuration.

In short, I am gutted about the Black Screen of Death and my love of Apple leaves me thoroughly disappointed with them (in them knowing about the problem but doing FA about sorting it), but at least it is only a Partial Death and not a Death Death.

You'll Never Walk Alone

A.J. Walker — 2024-05-10T13:43:43+01:00

A Fond but Sad Farewell Amongst the Social Media Mire

Jürgen Klopp’s era as Liverpool manager is shortly to come to an end—and what a fabulous ride it has been. It’s a wonderful club and we’ve had some long periods of winning lots and even in the worst of times we’ve still somehow continued to sprinkle in the odd trophy or two. We’ve had some really cracking players and brilliant managers—but of course we’ve had some bang average ones too. This current crop is a million miles away from those poorer times. Klopp brought a breath of fresh air to Merseyside when he arrived in October 2015 to replace Brendan Rogers. Fans from around the country (or indeed the city) were jealous of that the club managed to pull an absolute legend out of the hat. It has been a beautiful love fest between the club, manager, and the fans from day one. Winning the European Cup again was boss but of course finally winning the league again was the ultimate highlight—just a real shame it was during Covid time and not enjoyed by the fans in stadiums. Let’s hope it’s not a long a wait for the next one.

We’ve had a great season really and whilst it is gutting to not get another league or trophy to add to the League Cup it has far surpassed what could have been expected at the start of the season, after last season’s disastrous campaign. The way an entirely new midfield was put together this season, when it’s usually a question of tweaking with the odd new player or two, and then the injuries to central team players too meaning some youngsters had some relatively long term spells in the side—well it’s been brilliant to see. Most fans would have taken any cup and a Champion’s League place before the the season kicked off. But of course as every sports fan knows: it’s the hope that kills ya. And god damn it, they gave us hope until the last month of the season.

For much of the season the online keyboard warriors and self appointed experts in football finishing and winning titles have been nothing less than embarrassing, frustrating and—far too often—just vile. Be it about players from other clubs, or are own—or indeed Klopp himself. It has been beyond disappointing to see. Unfollowing, Muting and Blocking apparent fans of your own club is a ridiculous fact of life right now. The demise of Twitter has been accelerating, and whilst we can’t blame Musk for some of the dickheads on the platform the Social Media platform has become a toxic environment, which I find depressing after the better early years of Twitter. Now when you visit the place it feels like you’ve got a bus to the wrong end of town, and indeed in the wrong town too.

The clue is in the name, people: Supporter. You support the team, the club, the players. Through thick and thin. You’ll enjoy the ups that more if you’ve had a few lows. That’s not to say you can’t have opinions on players, far from it, but there’s no excuse for posting negative, derogatory, or vile comments on player’s Social Media feeds. What the fuck is that supposed to do? Grow up—and preferably find another club whilst you’re at it.

I for one will look back on the Klopp years, and his players, with a great fondness. The teams he has built, the relationships with his players—and the fans—has been superb to observe. There have been so many good moments, weeks, months and football campaigns. Klopp himself has been a wonderful import to the league and our club and he’s been something else to behold: he’s Liverpool through and through. A modern day Shankly for those of us—a bit—too young to remember. And I love him for that and all he has brought to our club. Thank you, Jürgen. You’ll Never Walk Alone.

Not Quite. Yet

A.J. Walker — 2024-05-09T13:06:10+01:00

Was good to play Open Mic at the Dispensary on Tuesday night. Think it was just my third time this year at Dave’s weekly OM. Really need to do it more often as it’s always a fun evening and good to meet the other guys and gals—as well as the regulars in the pub.

I ended up with a list of seven or eight songs that I’d pick from for the evening. Most of the usual suspects. There was no PA or speakers this week so it was singing without a mic—very Belvedere, but the Dizzy is a bigger space. The pub wasn’t too busy though so the sound of chit-chat wasn’t as loud as it can be there when a few bigger groups come in. Only issue was a bloke shouting down a phone in front of Dave whilst he was playing. All very Dom Joly.

There were just five of us playing this week and I ended up playing four songs: Sweet Carolina (Ryan Adams), Down By the Water (Decemberists), Heart Breaks Like the Dawn (Chuck Prophet), and Shed a Tear (for the Lonesome) (Green on Red). Was originally going to give Carolina a rest but with the lack of a mic I thought I better sing a song I know very well first just to get my voice out there and going for the rest of them.

Anyways I still need to update my song list and play some other ones at least from time to time. And of course I need to get a song or two of my own sorted too. Watch this space—but then again don’t get too excited yet. Still got to identify which songs to go for. A task for the month ahead.

The Dawn of the Cheese Police

A.J. Walker — 2024-04-20T12:04:26+01:00

When I was younger my dad smoked plenty as most people did back in the day. He’d smoked from when he was in his middle teens and working at the shipyard through to his later years. He managed to give up surprisingly easily in the end after our GP told him that she quite enjoyed seeing him, but wouldn’t see him the following year if he carried on smoking. That seemed to get to him rather than all the school literature on how passive smoking was killing everyone around smokers. Roy Castle wasn’t quite enough to tip him over the edge.

Mum had been a social smoker with just a couple on a Friday night, but was never addicted. Back in my sixth form days and first year or so at Uni I partook of the odd cigarette when out, but despite the school taught ‘one smoke and you’ll be addicted’ it never took hold of me in that way, thankfully.

When the smoking ban came to public places including pubs and bars I thought it would be ignored by many, but it was surprisingly effective—ironically in getting the iller people to stand outside in the cold. The biggest effect in bars was that we could now smell people, which perhaps wasn’t a brilliant byproduct of the ban. An unintended consequence like the noise outside suburban pubs with all the people stood outside chatting and having up rather being sat around a table.

Anyone young enough to be out now who hasn’t spent evenings in smoke laden pub atmospheres wont know the simple joy we have now of not having clothes that stink of smoke in the morning after a night out. You never really noticed it whilst out, but the next day—oh boy. Roy Castle nights indeed.

I’m certainly glad I never found myself addicted to the weed. But I remember when I was younger telling myself that I would take it up if the government ever banned it. Never thought it would happen. Never hoped it would. I mean I’m quite against the government banning things unless they’re quite patently dangerous to everybody—guns, knives, bombs and things like that. But cigarettes? Plenty of people live quite happily well beyond the average expectancy whilst puffing away on twenty or more a day.

This thing they’ve come up with now is a bizarre mishmash of an idea. I mean it’ll be legal for people to smoke but not legal for them to buy (or be sold) them? WTF? The older people puffing away happily on the little white sticks whilst their younger counterparts look on in envy (well probably not). And once they’ve done that what’s next for the banning? Do I need to source a still or a home brewery now for when all the pubs are closed (by law, not just a financial crisis). And then they’ll come for my Pringles, fried chicken, and chocolate hobnobs. Or maybe cheese! Lord, imagine the parties we’ll have to go to so that we can eat below the counter cheddar and Stilton.

One of favourite short stories I’ve ever read is called, ‘End of the Trail’ by Garrison Keillor (he of Lake Wobegon Days) which is the story of the last smokers in America being hunted down as criminals as they hide in the forest and caves smoking their last packets of fags in fear and desperation. It is brilliant. Perhaps we’ll have a British equivalent in years to come when we’re running around Snowdonia trying to grab our last taste of Stilton on oatcakes with some pickles—and puffing on a of pipe of imported weeds of dubious origin—and drinking a glass of warm bitter whilst the cheese police send in the drones to finish us off. Many a true word spoken in jest. Maybe I need to dig a cellar to hide my illicit cheeses and sacks of KFC coating.

In the meantime I am not going to take up smoking in reaction to the government’s zeal in protecting us from ourselves, as they haven’t banned it for me. Yet.

Link: ‘End of the Trail’, Garrison Keillor

Lottery Winners Play Blackpool

A.J. Walker — 2024-04-14T11:04:02+01:00

If You Won the Lottery Would You Head to Blackpool?
(photos to follow)

Had a wee trip to go and see the Lottery Winners play Blackpool Tower (‘The Fifth Floor’). It was a date added after their Friday gig sold out in no time. Obviously meant I’d be staying over night (as I don’t have a vehicle). Two days before the gig I became aware that there was a rail strike on the Saturday, which meant I had to book another night in the most alternative ‘Pool (I wasn’t going to miss the gig).

Unfortunately the B&B I was staying in didn’t have a room on the Friday so I needed to book a second B&B. It’s never straightforward is it. It was to get less straightforward too… On the train I checked the addresses of the two places so I could get around easily. The first place had sent me an email to say it was cash only, so I needed to get to an ATM on arrival at Blackpool North. Then I found I’d received an email from the Saturday B&B to tell me that due to emergency personal reasons the hotel was shut at the weekend. They said they’d book me into an alternative place a few doors down ‘if I wanted’. If I hadn’t seen the email (like if I’d already written down the details) then I wouldn’t have seen and replied to the email—and therefore wouldn’t have had a place to stay on the Saturday. So one was closed and one was cash only. Things could only get better.

Then I got the train. Oh god, the train from hell. The less said the better, but I had to put my earphones on full blast—which is not what I wanted to do: I wanted to read. Argh. I may be an atheist but I still prayed it would be better for my return trip. Pretty please, God..

Check-in was from 2pm so I had to go for a pint first, didn’t I? Yes I did. So I went to the Cask & Tap on Topping Street, which was between the station and the B&B. Nice micro which was very quiet when I arrived, where I had a ‘Watchtower’ from the not so local Bristol Beer Factory. Asked about any other ale places in town and was pointed to the Brew Room a couple of hundred meters away. Very handy—a bit closer to the B&B AND on the way too. Better still when I got there it had Jaipur on. Blackpool may be largely an ale desert but I’d found the oases. Just a shame that there aren’t any/many more. There was one place which looked okay on Google but it was a fair way away by Blackpool South and I reckoned if I was gonna get a bus down there then I may as well stay on one and go down to St Annes where I knew there are a few pubs in close proximity. And that is what I did.

First up I went to the Pier Inn where I had a couple of pints. Had a good chin wag with the landlord and the resident doggie. Bumped into a couple of people who were having a couple of pints before going to watch… the Lottery Winners—that night. Popped the few doors down to Number Fifteen which was busy with people—and dogs. It smelled quite doggie to be fair too, I dare say they were mostly quite damp after another day of damnable weather. Ended up chatting to a number of people both locals and those on breaks—and a few dogs too. Nice vibe.

It’s not a long walk up the road to the Hop Shoppe which again was quite busy—to be fair it was now Friday evening so it should be. I found that Neptune ‘Mantis’ was on—a pale of low ABV. Of course I had to get involved with that for pure QC purposes. Just had the one and then crossed the road to my final beer destination of the day, which was the Keg & Cask. That was heaving and I ended up sat outside (it was a little cold for that and I was the only none smoker out there taking that decision, but it was only to be for the one pint and I’m an occasional hardy soul).

I was keeping an eye on the bus app to see when my bus back was due and I managed to get back easily enough. After a bit of a wander around the promenade and around Blackpool Tower I eventually grabbed some dirty food around the corner from my hotel and then returned for a relatively early night. The trip was after all really about the gig the following day.

After checking out of the hotel I headed out for a roundabout walk to a place near Blackpool Church (St Johns) where I got myself a decent—though a little disappointing—Full English breakfast near to Winter Gardens. Managed to eke out the time with more slow wandering so that I could time it to get in the Brew Room again. They have a small brewery in the back of the pub which they brew for the pub—and for some other Blackpool pubs ‘for swaps’. It was nice to chat to the brewer and it was even better when he said he’d been to watch the Lottery Winners on Friday night. It really seems that the Winners have quite a few ale fans amongst their followers. He said it had been a brilliant gig.

The Jaipur from the previous day had predictably been decimated and Vocation ‘Bread & Butter’ had replaced it. To be fair that would be better if I was to successfully negotiate the day before the gig. Got chatting to a few lads from Cambridge who were up for the footy as it was Blackpool v Cambridge Utd at 3pm. I had briefly considered going myself, but decided to give it a swerve. I had gone to a few Blackpool matches with my parents many years ago (early 1980s—I remember seeing Paul Walsh play there for Luton, which will date it). The blokes looked in various states of knackeredness as they’d come up the day before and it had been a bit of a hellish seven hour drive for the one younger lad whose job it had been to drive them all up. Poor fella was to drive them back too on Sunday. Hope he was going to be luckier with the road conditions on the return trip.

From there it was back to the Cask & Tap for one pint before checking in at my second B&B of the weekend and I bumped into more Cambridge ale fans, this time three sets of older couples. They seemed nice and into their ale. Blackpool were later to beat Cambridge making all these guys trips home feel even longer than they were.

My second B&B was just one street up from the first one and was much better. It was run by a nice couple who had only taken it over just over a week before. The room was nicer and shower didn’t threaten me before going in—always a bonus. I was hopeful that being a street further away from the promenade that the gulls would be fewer and quieter than the previous night (it was).

At the Cask & Tap I’d asked for any other recommendations on the ale side and they’d suggested Shickers closer to the Tower. There is another one beside Blackpool South Station too, but this one had only been open a couple of months or so. I headed down there of course. Besides these three independent ale pubs there were only a few national company pubs (poor ales, freezing lines, boring ales, tacky interiors, karaokes, hen-dos etc). Sadly ended up going into a Wetherspoons by Blackpool Tower for a bit of food. There were plenty of groups of Lottery Winner fans in there with T-shirts and scarfs. Some in whole family groups. The fans of the Winners are certainly not confined to one age group. After grabbing some pretty underwhelming food I was glad to leave and head into the Tower.

There’s not much to say about the gig. If you know them and have seen them play before then you know how damn good they are live. It was a fabulous gig. Thom laughed at how many youngsters were at the front and joked that he’d have to change his performance to cover that which of course he wouldn’t do. Many of the fans I spoke to had seem them before and were well up for it. A bloke I spoke to from Fleetwood was seeing them for the first time and I told him it wouldn’t be his last. The mood of the band and the crowd was buoyant and they are masters at getting the audience going. Thom even got us doing a bit of Freddie Mercury call and response which was fun. He’d said that watching Queen as a kid had made him want to be a frontman like Freddie and when he came back on for the ‘inevitable’ encore (his words) he came on dressed in Freddie Mercury garb. He got everyone going pointing out a film camera and saying we’d all be on the telly. I’m not sure I’ll get my fifteen minutes of fame from it, but maybe I’ll be on it as a head bobbing up and down in the middle of the crowd.

T’was brilliant and well worth two nights B&B in the strange mess strangeness of Blackpool.

The next day I’d head back home to Liverpool relatively early to catch the Liverpool match against Manchester United (a rather depressing 2-2 draw which we should have won by a landslide). But first I had a lovely Full English at the B&B and say farewell and good luck to the owners of the place. I had some time to kill and headed down to the promenade to watch the waves pound in from Storm Kathleen, which was nice. It was blue sky for photos whilst windy and rough if you were actually in it. The two ale pubs between me and station (the Cask & Tap and Brew Room) didn’t open till 12 and my train was just after 12:30. Ended up going into a Greene King pub at 11:30 and having an underwhelming and cold pint whilst it filled up with the local Scots contingent for the Glasgow derby. It seemed a predominantly Rangers crowd with flags and all! I left before kick off for a quick one in the Cask & Tap then headed to the station. The train left on time and arrived in Liverpool on time, which for any Sunday is a surprising thing but even more so when it’s on a strike weekend. Oh and the train on the way back was nowhere near as hellish as the the one on the way there and I didn’t need to max out my headphones. Happy days (apart from the Liverpool result).

New Writings, Old Problems

A.J. Walker — 2024-03-30T23:01:52+00:00

For too long I’ve not been in the habit of writing. I’ve just been dipping in and out of it haphazardly. Hell, even the blogs on the site seem to be influenced by rare freak weather events from the Sahara. I know I really need to get in the groove for it as it’ll be impossible to finish any longer form pieces if it’s not more formalised into my week. And I really do want to finish at least one novel, preferably starting with at least one of the two I’ve started and got quite far along with.

To that end I’ve got a couple of new writing projects on the go (short stories with my own derived prompts). There’s a possibility I suppose they may turn into something in themselves, even if it’s just a few stories posted on here. But really the main point is to get myself into the habit of writing regularly and stretching my head with some random ideas. I’ll keep you posted as to whether this works and if it does lets see what comes out of it. Both in terms of the short stories and whether it gets me finishing off a novel or two.

Onwards and Upwards. Predictably and planned (or more likely pantsed).

Upcoming Gigs

A.J. Walker — 2024-03-30T13:32:08+00:00

Looking forward to next weekend when I’ll get to see the fabulous Lottery Winners on Saturday at Blackpool Tower. Last time I went there for a gig it was for Radiohead. Very different music of course but both brilliant bands. And this week during a sleepless night I booked my accommodation not far down the road which looks pretty good. Whilst I couldn’t sleep I was looking up Frank Turner gigs hoping I’d just missed an announcement of a tour 'cos it seems like forever since I’ve seen him (it was 14 months ago in Wolverhampton, where he was supported by the Lottery Winners).

Anyway he’s playing tours all over one continent and another but no UK tour just a few festivals. Not having a car to go to a festival and with the way my knees are at the moment I’m a bit unsure about going to a festival. But there was one gig that stood out where Frank Turner is playing in Cleethorpes at Meridian in an event called Docksfest. Somehow he’s not heading the bill, which is scandalous, however the primary thing he IS playing—he’s either second or third on the bill with Razorlight, Feeder, and the Lottery Winners! It’s a one day event, so just a train and a B&B then (and unfortunately overpriced crap beer). Probably end up with a place to stay in Grimsby. The main thing is I’ll be getting to see Frank do his stuff once again and with his buddies on the same bill too. Top. Bring it on!

The Richmond - A New Open Mic

A.J. Walker — 2024-03-30T12:27:49+00:00

On Thursday it was the inaugural open mic at the Richmond pub in Liverpool city centre hosted by Muzz (Seafoam Green). The OM is planned to take place every Thursday co-hosted by Muzz and Jamie Roberts. She had messaged me earlier in the week asking if I was going to come along and I indicated that ‘I may do’. In the event after a bit of umming and ahhing I went for a couple of pints down the Neptune Beerhouse first where I drank slowly, which made the 'strumming Andy' more likely (if I’d knocked back a few in short order the usual result is a fair few missing lines and maybe entire verses and choruses).

The event was advertised as an 8pm start and I got there about 8:15 or so. There was a guy playing who I’d seen before, probably at the Dispensary OM, and Muzz asked me using long distance sign language from across the pub if I was going to play, which I nodded in answer. Another couple of people went up first playing a few well received singalong choruses (it was Oasis) and then I went up and played four of my usual tracks: ‘Sweet Carolina,’ ‘Couldn’t Get Arrested,’ Whiskey in my Whiskey’ and ‘Heart Breaks Like the Dawn.’ Went down pretty well to me and I think the people there—even if the only singing along would be as ever the lines ‘You couldn’t get arrested if you tried’ and ‘I put some whiskey into my whiskey.’ I’m not really a singalong singer am I?

I chatted to a Canadian bloke who had only been in town for a few hours and said he was made up to hear some live singing (and didn’t want to hear any more Beatles covers having already walked through Mathew Street). He said he enjoyed my ‘folk’ music. Which gosh dang I will take from a Canadian. Maybe next time I should throw in some Decemberists or Neil Young.

Glad I went along and joined in. Oh, and for my trouble I got a wee glass of Bells. Maybe I should have asked for some more. You know how it goes: I put some…

A #ThursThreads Return

A.J. Walker — 2024-01-13T22:44:31+00:00

As I was off this week, and relatively unencumbered for some of the time, I managed to write a wee bit for Thursday Threads. It was Week 592 of the weekly challenge, which I haven’t entered for almost two years (I think the last time was Week 503). It’s a short challenge of between 100 and 250 words and is based around including a specific line from the previous week’s winning story. Hence the name of Thursday Threads and the tagline of to ‘Tie another tale.’

Usually I work Thursday’s and as it doesn’t go up until the afternoon I’d have to write it at some time on Thursday evening—which doesn’t always fit with me. I’ll definitely keep it in my mind though to keep an eye out for it now that I’ve reacquainted myself with it. This week the line that had to be included was, ‘What if I don’t do it?’

250 words is not a lot to get stuck into and it took me a while to come up with an idea that wasn’t too unwieldy to tackle. In the end though I got into it and wrote it pretty easily—even without the need for any editing to get down to size (which is not always easy once you’ve written something too long). As it happened my tale was tied before anyone else had tackled it. In the end there were a few entries by people I’ve not seen online for a while, but have evidently kept #ThursThreads in their diaries for as long as I’ve been away. It was good to see those names once more.

And the surprise for me the following day was that my tale was chosen by Mary Decker (another familiar name) to be this week’s winner. I’ve won a couple of times before in years past. I wonder if I’ve created some kind of record in terms of time taken to score a hat trick? Happy days, great to pick up the winners badge anyway.

With Microcosms currently (or permanently?) stopped and #ReadMeSpeakMe off the schedule too maybe I’ll be popping into follow and create more threads soon. I do need to keep an eye out for challenges around the weekend me thinks.

If you fancy giving it a go the click on the Winners badge above or then again just here, and get directed to the website at Siobhan Muir. Would be good to see you over there.

The Reading Year '23

A.J. Walker — 2024-01-10T13:17:49+00:00

Last year I made a plan to read 31 books. Not because of anything in particular other than it would match the previous year's achievement. If achievement is what it was. I hit it on the head. I guess that's what goals are for as I suspect I wouldn't have read that many if I hadn't set the target. That said if I'd been over ambitious I'd probably have not shot for it.

Needless to say it was largely the usual mix of SF & F with plenty of Pratchett, Powell, Tolkien, Le Guin, Yoko Ogawa, Pullman, and even a George RR Martin that had nothing to do with Game of Thrones. I also read some great non-fiction with books about; the demise of the dinosaurs, mosses, and whole Otherlands (which took in even more history than the dinosaurs). Threw in a couple of interesting biographies for good measure (Agatha Christie and John Betjeman).

The target for 2024? Well I've made it more of a stretch goal by adding exactly 1 and making it 32 books. Two and half books a month. Come on, I can do that. Surely, Or maybe it'll be 31 again. Once more I'm going to try not to buy too many more second hand (or new) books as I try and tackle my TBR pile. And once again I will fail miserably and end up in Oxfam, British Heart Foundation, and Henry Bohns again before too long. It's inevitable.

Gigs of '23 and the Coming Year

A.J. Walker — 2023-12-23T13:05:14+00:00

Didn’t have a packed gig year in 2023, but I made it to a few favourites and found some new favourites too. It was great to get to Frank Turner again at the start of the year in Wolverhampton, but most my gigs were more local (okay, all were) with events at Phase One, Camp & Furnace, Future Yard, Olympia, and even at Neptune Brewery. Ended up with multiple Casino, Heavy North, and Lottery Winners gigs-Robert Cray after a long wait between appearances for me, and saw Professor Yaffle for the first time (at the brewery). All top bands. I went to a few Sofar gigs too introducing me to even more new music.

I’ll be happy if next year matches it. So far (not Sofar) I have two gigs booked and once again quite predictable and, no doubt, fabulous. I’ve got the Heavy North at the Arts Club at the beginning of February to look forward to and then a return to Blackpool Tower to see the Lottery Winners. The last time I went to a gig there it was Radiohead in 2006. Yes, Radiohead in Blackpool! Should be boss.

I’m gonna aim for a gig a month. That said I have a crap aim. At the end of the day though you just can’t beat live music, can you?

Happy Gig Year to you all for next year.

Anfield Memories

A.J. Walker — 2023-12-23T13:04:01+00:00

Last week Liverpool played Man Utd at Anfield in a less than perfect game. Plenty of ball and chances for Liverpool but nothing finished off. A goalless draw. One of the main things that the game may be remembered for was the opening of the expanded Anfield Road Stand. Another 7000 seats for Anfield. Brilliant for the club.

It led me to recall how things have changed there. I used to go to the Lower Anfield Road (near the away fans) with the Adult & Child tickets, where my mum and dad would take turns to go with me to the game. Mum was a lot more vociferous as a fan than dad. My first attendance at a match in the stadium though was with a schoolfriend and their parents in the Upper Tier of the Kemlyn Road Stand, which is now the Sir Kenny Daglish Stand. And it was a night match. Climbing the stairs tand then getting to see the pitch under the floodlights for the first time was something to behold and I can still recall it vividly now.

The match was a League Cup game between Liverpool and Ipswich in October 1982–I had just turned 14. Apart from the great players on show it is also evident how pitches have improved over the years. Bobby Robson had left Ipswich a few months earlier to become England manager, but they were still a team full of great familiar names (if you’re of a certain age): Osman, Wark, Butcher, Thyssen, Burley, Mills. As for the Liverpool team, bloody hell it was a cracking eleven:

Grobbelaar, Kennedy, Hansen, Thompson, Neal, Whelan, Souness, Lawrenson, Lee, Dalglish, Rush.

I mean, come on, what a team to see first up. I really was lucky to see some of the best legends of Liverpool when I started going to games. It was five years later that i'd get a Kop season ticket in the days of standing (yes, standing) and the season ticket cost? £80. Oh how times have changed.

Now there are 7000 more people who’ll be able to see the current stars. In years to come they’ll reminisce about the first time they went to Anfield-and what legends they saw too. Onwards and upwards. YNWA.

'I've Had Three Daughters'

A.J. Walker — 2023-11-06T14:32:47+00:00

On Friday night after a short visit to the city centre I caught the bus back to Fazak on the No.19. It was another wet day and buses had seemed on short supply on the way to and from town and the bus was packed.

I ended up quite near the front (helpfully in the seats highlighted as for people who have mobility issues - and I’ve definitely be suffering a lot in recent weeks (still feel guilty about using them but usually I’m the least mobile of those who do)).

For the first half of the journey it was fine, other than having to stop at each and every bus stop thanks to the day’s paucity of buses. But it took a rapid downward turn when a lad got on from a stop on Everton Road. There were no seats and he stood near the front of the bus along with others already stood there at which point a crinkly woman of indeterminate age started having a go at him standing there as a foreigner. She spat out filth and nonsense whilst the guy stayed calm throughout. As her shouting got louder the bus driver told her to shut up. She got heckled from multiple people at the back of the bus and even meek ole me told her to be quiet. She didn’t. She got more voluble and claimed she was in her rights and, most bizarrely, that she kept exclaiming that ‘she had three daughters’. I mean does that make you become a racist once you’ve past two daughters and get to the dreaded third? Is it a biological thing? I don’t remember being taught about that.

The guys and gals at the back of the bus got ever more agitated at the horrible woman. One shouted that she 15 years old and wasn’t a racist and what was the fact that the woman had three kids to do with anything. It was a mighty fine point.

Throughout this the bus driver repeatedly told the woman to shut up and threatened to throw her off. I suspect he would have if the bus hadn’t been as packed as it was—it would have cost a lot of people a lot of time I guess. The rows got louder and got semi physical for a while with friends of the girls having to hold them back as the foul racist finally got off the bus near Walton Hall Park.

It was definitely an eventful evening journey home (I have headphones and Spotify; I don’t need entertainment of any sort to be laid on for me). And while I had to listen to a horrible racist (apparently a mother of three, which counts for a defence or reason in some parallel world) it was good to see a whole bus against her and not one person (as far as I saw anyway) side with her.

Hope her daughters are all okay and not tarred or scarred by their upbringing. Kudos to the 15 year old ladies from Kirkby, you were fab.

Perhaps next time though I’ll wait in hope for the 17 rather than catch the 19.

Unopened Mic

A.J. Walker — 2023-10-28T18:16:28+01:00

Realise that it has been a while since my last open mic, but it was only when I looked up my old photos I found it was over three months. Bloody hell time is flying so fast this year. I'm sure the speeding up of time would be a major news item right now if it wasn't for all the other horrendous news stories. I'm trying to not spend too much time watching the news as it's all so depressing—mixed with horror and feelings of helplessness.

Sticking with books, binge watching TV series, and listening to & playing music as escapism. My last time out with a guitar I was wearing a smart white shirt instead of my usual checked ones. Reckon that is what has caused this hiatus. I'm definitely overdue a return to some open mic, so maybe I'll get back out there in the next fortnight or so.

Open Mic. I'll be back. But maybe not in a white shirt.

MC and the KSRs

A.J. Walker — 2023-10-24T10:27:06+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I won the Microcosms weekly challenge Judge's Pick for Week 211. The story, 'The Missing Days of Lorraine Little', is presented again on my Fictions page. There is a $25/£20 prize for the judge's pick which means I've gone and bought three more books (having recently said I wouldn't buy any more books this year). My To Be Read pile is more than a little excessive. Anyway thanks to the prize I now have three new Kim Stanley Robinson's to dig into at some point: 2312 ; Aurora ; and The Ministry for the Future.

Microcosms is a great free to enter competition, and with the multiple sections to the prompt it really stretches you to tell a story in so few words (<300). Why not get on over and give it a go sometime? Get writing. Speaking of which I think I'll try and do this week's challenge (#214) today. The prompts look quite appealing, either: Inmate / Secret Research Facility / Sci-FI, or, Firefighter / Ancient Library / Crime/Thriller. I'm torn which one to go for as I think both sets of prompts look very promising for a nice story. And who knows, if you go for it, you may first get a 300 word story that leads to an idea for an altogether different prospect for a longer story—as well as an entry for a free to enter competition. Where will your writing take you?

Microcosms website: microcosmsfic.com/

Andy Two Jabs; Or Is It Four?

A.J. Walker — 2023-10-16T11:55:22+01:00

On Saturday morning I had both a flu jab; in my left arm at my local medical centre (my GP’s)); and then my Covid jab in my right arm in my local hospital. The medical centre is all of 200m away from my house so I was back at home with a coffee within about seven minutes of leaving my house. Happy days (though shame my original booking two weeks ago was messed up).

My local hospital (where the Covid vaccination hub is) is within a mile and just one bus stop away. I was in and out of there in no time too. Think it was three or four minutes from registering my arrival, picking up my already filled in card to getting my jab and leaving. Brilliant.

The nurse said it was my fourth Covid jab. I’d kinda lost count to be honest. Glad I can get them too—one bonus of having MS hey!

Didn't notice any ill effects on the day either. Result.

Pacemaking Reading and Pokemon No

A.J. Walker — 2023-10-09T23:44:03+01:00

My reading is a bit behind schedule if I am going to hit the target I set myself at the start of the year: to read 31 books in ‘23. It was the number of books I read last year and I just didn’t want to read fewer than that. Clearly if I read at the same pace as I have for the first half of the year (okay, more like 75%) then I ain’t gonna get to my goal (which wasn’t exactly a stretch goal initially).

At this point I’ve read 21 books this year, which means I’d have to read a further 10 between now and the end of December. To be fair that’d be about a book every 8 days or so. That’s not really too difficult if I really want to. I mean maybe just reading more often on my bus trips into town rather than turning on Pokémon Go would take me a fair way to achieving the goal.

Having my predictable mix/fix of science fiction and non-fiction and I dare say that will continue. Just finished the Agatha Christie biography by Lucy Worsley, which I found really interesting (I dare say it’ll be turned into a TV doc soon). I grew up reading plenty of Agatha’s books (usually over summer holidays)—my mum was an avid reader and loved them and Ngaio Marsh etc and I think she passed on the habit to the whole family.

My current read is ‘the Strange’ by Nathan Ballingrud. He’s a new author to me and it’s a book I picked up in Oxfam recently (not that I needed to add to my TBR pile). Set on Mars, which is suddenly and mysteriously separated from contact with Earth by The Silence, and while I’m only a few chapters in, so far I’m liking it a lot.

So if I can read a book every 8 days or so between now and the end of the year I’ll pass the New Year finish line with a win. I reckon I will do it, but we shall see. It’s not like I need to progress any further on Pokémon. Or do I?

A Slight Farewell to Poetry

A.J. Walker — 2023-10-06T14:44:57+01:00

Several weeks ago it was announced that the weekly ReadMeSpeakMe event was going to take a break, which may or may not be permanent. This was run on Twitter whereby a poem written by someone within the ReadMeSpeakMe community would be posted up every Sunday morning and people invited to read it out loud and record in which ever format they preferred. Some used Soundcloud or similar, or on the shorter poems would record directly to Twitter—generally I'd record using iMovie and post on YouTube.

The final poem (at least for now) was 'I Wouldn't Say I Was A Poet' by Sean Logue (@SeanCLogue on Twitter). I guess it wasn't a coincidence too that the week's event was a nice round and large number: 200. It's a good innings for any one person to arrange each week. One person undertaking to organise and post any weekly challenge must be thanked for their time and effort in doing it. Even if you may think 'it can't take much time' etc then ask yourself why aren't you are doing it? I remember what it was like when I was involved in CAMRA and people would ask why wouldn't we do such and thing. Nearly everyone involved had jobs and families and other things in their lives as well as doing whatever their role in CAMRA was at the time. People not involved in the organisation expected volunteers to volunteer again and again for more and more; or else be seen as inadequate, but ask them to get involved and the answer was always no. I used to put up a weekly challenge on Twitter myself called the 'Seedling Challenge' (tied in with the weekly VSS365 prompts). It was sometimes enjoyable but often thankless and in the end I had to let it peacefully pass away as few people really got involved and it got to the point I felt it was a waste of my time—even if it wasn't that much each week. I could use the time to do something else for myself; perhaps have another coffee, or strum the geetar a little. I don't regret it going. It may have been a small rod for my own back, but it was a constraint I really didn't need to carry on with.

And so ReadMeSpeakMe, like the Seedling Challenge, has come to an end too. Perhaps it'll be back someday, perhaps not. But it was enjoyable while it lasted.

Perhaps I'll get on a write and read my own poetry again. Or play some more geetar: with or without involving YouTube.

For the 200th poem I donned a celebratory hat, and even though it may have turned out to be a sad occasion in retrospect I do not think a black hat would have been more appropriate. Here was my final reading: 'I Wouldn't Say I Was A Poet'

I must take this opportunity to thank @ReadMeSpeakMe herself for the 200 times she's put it out there for us and to the people involved in it through the time I've been involved with it. Peace be with you all. Thank you all and good night.

September Sofar So Brilliant

A.J. Walker — 2023-09-22T21:53:30+01:00

Was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Liverpool September Sofar Sounds night which was a quite lovely bijou affair in Prohibition Studios on Arrad Street just behind Hope Street. It is just a few doors away from the Keystone, which was just about my favourite Liverpool hostelry for a year or so. It was a sad day when that passed away. I did go a few times and play at the Keystone open mic, which was hosted by John Witherspoon (who I didn’t know prior to these sessions). One of the singers I met there was the gentle fingerpicking John Lindsay. A good guy and a fab singer, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was one of the acts on the night.

He’s definitely come on as a performer and had good line in top banter. He’s playing Jimmy’s this Saturday to celebrate a) his new album (it’s on a credit card/USB combo), and b) his leaving of Liverpool. He’s only in town for a few weeks before heading back to the far east. Anyway have a listen to his lovely tunes and if you are near Jimmy’s on Saturday then pop in and see him (playing upstairs with Ali Horn amongst others); he’ll love you forever if you do.

Second up was a singer from slightly further afield: Mae Krell from New York. Again playing an acoustic guitar (a small old one (hey, I know my guitars)). Her singing voice was lovely to listen to and belied her origins and her speaking voice. I don’t mean there was anything wrong with Mae’s speaking voice, it just didn’t tally. Of course accents usually don’t come across that strongly in songs. Her songs were nice stories and enjoyable to listen to. Definitely give 'Garden' a listen to (it's on Spotify link below). I also particularly enjoyed the song featuring her dog, Apollo. She’s played a few Sofar Sounds around the UK and I guess she’d have gone down great guns at every one.

Finally it was the return of Saije to Liverpool. They apparently plaed at a Sofar gig in the city in June. I didn’t make that one. The band comprise a guy and a gal from even further afield than New York who both play acoustic guitar. Saije (pronounced Sage) are from the east coast of Australia and have been touring all over Europe this summer. Their voices compliment each other brilliantly, with the first song in particular giving me a Of Monsters and Men vibe. I liked the way the guy played cymbals by having a drumstick tied to the guitar stock. Haven’t noticed anybody else playing percussion like this on stage before. The final song in French was an instant classic. Bon-bon indeed.

I’ll definitely be giving all three acts a listen on Spotify (links below). If you do get the opportunity to see them (or purchase their albums (in CD, Vinyl or Credit Card form) do so.

P.S. Jen did a mighty fine job hosting the night.

John Lindsay spotify
Mae Krell spotify
Saije spotify

El Chichon: The Photos

A.J. Walker — 2023-09-10T16:35:08+01:00

Was reminiscing about an epic trip to El Chichon in Chiapas back in 1996. I've previously written a travelogue about it: click here. But on reflection whilst talking through the whole thing it became clear that it really warranted some photos to go with it. So, here they are. Titles to follow.

The arriving team of intrepid vulcanologists.

A gentle start towards El Chichon luring us into a false sense of security.

And then the climbs into and out of the ash valleys (which is why need a guide, lest you get trapped up a dead end).

Some of the ash valleys are pretty deep.

A few are wider.

The guide's wee brother acting as a decent scale (well, he would be if I knew how tall he was (not very)).

The hill becomes more climbable as you get closer to the top. You can at least see where you're going (or where you've been).

Kev and me celebrating getting to the top of the volcano (very hot work).

Me spoiling a view of the caldera.

Our lovely guides.

Mark before he descended into the volcano.

The beautiful alkaline lake in the caldera.

Can you spot Kev coming down into the volcano?

By the lake. Looked a nice place tp go paddling but thought better of it.

Sitting down to soak our feet and manage some blisters on our return down the volcano.

Liverpool Sofar Gig, August '23

A.J. Walker — 2023-08-20T14:38:45+01:00

Wednesday last I went to my first Sofar Sounds for quite a few months. Couldn’t find my email confirmation or the day before an email telling me where the venue was. Luckily I know someone involved with Sofar and they confirmed I was indeed on the attendee list. It was a bit of a mystery why I hadn’t received a confirmation or details email. I subsequently found that because the booking site had defaulted to Apple Pay, rather my usual, the email had gone to my Apple email account. Glad to get that solved. I’ll know where to look for such messages next time.

I was told the venue was Scale, which is above Tapestry on the streets behind the former TJ Hughes. I’d been there for a Sofar gig once before, a couple of years ago, and it was a lovely venue. No draught ale, but they did have some cans. Could be worse.

Last time I saw an excellent laid back acoustic performance by the Heavy North. It was the first time I’d seen them and I loved them straightaway; I’ve been lucky enough to see them a couple of other times (and have tickets for their December ‘23 gig). This time there were three acts—as usual—and I loved all three. Links to the music and/or websites are at the bottom of the page.

First up was Motel Sundown, who aptly played their set as the sun went down and played on the wall behind them. They were an acoustic guitar (and soft percussion) three piece as melodic and harmonic as you could hope for. My kinda Americana roots style.

Motel Sundown (with the sun going down behind them)

After the sun went down it was the time for the very pink Wax-Tree-Cast. They played as a duo, with a female lead singer and a rockabilly guitarist. Like I said, both very pink. Don’t think it is a Barbie thing either—but what do I know. Played some great songs, with not much chat. But they did say the band (they are not usually just a duo) were to support Johnny Marr, and The Charlatans in their hometown gig at the end of the month. That sounded cool. They mentioned they were giving away a couple of tickets in an Insta competition which sounded good. But unfortunately their hometown is Halifax. I took the time to look it up and the day’s trains are affected by strikes, so I didn’t try for it. Would love to hear them with a full band—and I guess if they are supporting the Charlatans they must have a good sound.

Wax-Tree-Cast

Incidentally the strange band name made me wonder if it was down to a What Three Words location. I downloaded the App just to check. And guess what… it wasn’t. It was a nice few songs and I definitely wish them the best for their gig at Piece Hall; oh, and their song out this week, which they played on the night, ‘Oliver Reed’.

Last, but not least, was Ruby J. I’d never seen her live before but have seen her several times on some decent footage before via Twitter and YouTube. A fabulous act. She played her acoustic guitar accompanied only by her distinctive voice. She’s gonna be a star. Get on over to YouTube—or even better find a gig—and see for yourself. I’m lucky enough (as were a few people who were at the Sofar Sounds gig) to be able to look forward to seeing her again pretty soon; as she’s supporting Casino at their Hangar 34 gig in October. Result!

Ruby J

All in all a damn good evening.

Since then I’ve been lucky enough to get a ticket for the next Sofar Sounds gig, which is apparently a highly limited venue (I think there were 70 at Scale and there will be fewer than 40 at the September one). Intrigued to see where the venue is and who’s playing. I’ll have to wait until 36 hours before the gig to find out where I’ll be bound for.

Ruby J

________________

LINKS:

Sofar Sounds website
Motel Sundown Spotify
Wax-Tree-Cast Spotify
Ruby J Spotify

Live Music '23

A.J. Walker — 2023-08-12T13:57:28+01:00

Barring unforeseen Twitter wins of a pair of festival tickets - hey, it’s happened before - I will go though 2023 without going to any music festivals, which is a bit of a shame. But I’ve been to some good gigs this year (Frank Turner, Robert Cray, Casino, and Lottery Winners, and a Sofar gig or two included). I’ve some more to come with a wee bit of repetition: I’ve a day at the Future Yard in Birkenhead this Sunday with the Lottery Winners, The Kairos, and others playing; then the August Sofar Liverpool gig; Guise and Hannah Rose Platt at EBGBs; Professor Yaffle in September at the brewery (Neptune); Casino at Hangar 34 in October; and, The Heavy North in December at the Camp & Furnace. Looking forward to them all; whilst not wishing the year away.

Frank Turner - Saw at JJ Steel Mill in Wolverhampton

Robert Cray, saw at Olympia in Liverpool

Lottery Winners - Saw at Phase 1, Liverpool

Had a good chat about bands and music in general with a couple of blokes over a pint the other day. But was a bit surprised when one of them said he wasn't into live music - he just preferred the records. Don't get me wrong, I do love the recordings but there's something about live music which is joyous and compelling. In the moment you are taken out of yourself and the memories live long too (and it's usually cheaper than a footy match too). You honestly can't beat live music (in my opinion; but apparently not everyone). Obviously seen a lot of boss people at open mics - and will be seeing more - too. All in all not a packed gig year, but then again not a bad one either. It does appear like I’m watching the same four or five bands a few times (Frank, Casino, Lottery Winners, Heavy North et al), and maybe I largely am. But then again, why change a winning formula? And as an added bonus it’s good to see that so many are local bands too.

Rock on! Or is it folk on? Well I guess it’s defo not folk off.

Glasgow '23

A.J. Walker — 2023-07-18T09:26:46+01:00

Had a week booked off from work but I had no significant plans for the bulk of the week. The first weekend was to be taken up by a few days for the annual Bishop’s Castle camping trip of course. I ended up going to Lytham and St.Annes on the Monday for a little ale trip to places I haven’t been to for many years. It was a nice day out.

On the Tuesday I decided I would plan a few days away. I spent a couple of hours surfing the net and the AirBnB App and went through all sorts of scenarios in my head. At various points I was going to London, St. Ives, Ilfracombe, Torbay, London, Arran, the Isle of Mann, well everywhere really. I basically was just going away anywhere for a few days.

In the end I saw a few options in Glasgow and decided that I’d go there. The price on the train to Glasgow and London were okay, but the costs to Devon & Cornwall were double those rates. In any case whilst I would love to have been on the south west coast or in the Lakes etc the main things to do there involve a fair bit of walking and not many other options. If my newly arthritic knees were to play up I may have been a bit confined to barracks. At least if I went to London or Glasgow I’d have plenty of options of things to do without the stress of walking up and down hills - and some pub options too of course.

I booked a Britannia Hotel in Glasgow. With some knowledge of a few of the hotels (like the Adelphi, Scarisbrick and the Manchester Midland) I did a few checks first. As it happened it turned out to be really quite good. The room was big, the bed was comfortable with nice clean sheets etc, there was a TV & a kettle with coffee, it was en-suite, and there was a fab view over west Glasgow. I was very happy with it. In reality a hotel for me only ever need be a nice bed and clean sheets.

Anyways, it was a good base for a few days up there. On the arrival day it was just a wander with some reading in some pubs and bars. And a Too Good To Go burrito! The following day started with a massive Scottish Breakfast at the Crazy Chefs before walking to the brilliant Kelvingrove Museum. Went on to the Riverside Museum (transport museum) by the Clyde afterwards and then there were some more pub visits across the city including a trip on the subway (apparently the third oldest underground in Europe behind London and Budapest).

The following day I went to Dumbarton. I can’t remember when I last visited the town, but it can be measured in decades not years. My dad was from Dumbarton and was working in Denny’s shipyard up until its closure in 1963. He came down to England looking for engineering work after the closure and apparently it was quite an exodus south looking for work following the shipyard closures. He made it down to Preston and found a job there for a while, before then moving on to Southport and joining the police. And the rest is history.

In the 1970s (and maybe the very early 80s) we went up to Scotland to Dumbarton and Loch Lomond & the environs from time to time. But after that Scotland for me was more likely to be due to geological mapping when I was at University. Denny’s though is a very famous shipyard and dad was proud to have worked there: the Cutty Sark was mainly built and finished there (it was started in a different yard, which went out of business); several well known paddle steamers (even ones which found their way to the Yangtze); the first hovercraft; and a very early helicopter (prior to WWI).

There is a Maritime Museum in Dumbarton which I thought I’d go to. It is on the site of the Denny Experimental Ship Tank which was the first of such sites in the world. So I had to go there. I also had to go to the castle (on the famous volcanic plug) and to see the new Dumbarton FC stadium next door to it. I only went to one of the Son’s games (‘the Sons of the Rock) back in the day. It was at the brilliantly named ‘Bog Head Park’. The match was against Ayr United and it finished 0-0 (which sounds better than it was). The only thing I remember about the match was the half time Scotch Pie. I held it by the sides and the bottom fell out on to the floor. I ended up just eating some pastry, which I remember as being okay. Ho hum. I wonder if the pies have improved since.

So it was a morning train from Charing Cross to Dumbarton in the rain showers (and a lovely breakfast BLT in Miller & Cook in Dumbarton). I largely dodged the rain when I was out and about. The Maritime Museum was only small (if incredibly long) but was an interesting place. I walked slowly from there (my knees!) to the castle. Unfortunately most of the Rock was closed off as they were working on the buildings and the rock itself, so I wasn’t able to climb to the top (given my knees that may have been a blessing).

On my last day I took my bag to a storage place near the station (the costs at Central Station were astronomical) then headed on another train, this time to Pollockshaw West, to go to the famous Burrell Collection. A lovely building in a beautiful setting - and of course an outstanding collection. It was a fab choice and I’d recommend anyone who gets the chance to go, to do so; and it’s only a ten minute ride or so from Glasgow.

All in all I had quite a busy and cultural stay in Glasgow. I did get to a few pubs too of course (and have a couple of Too Good to Gos). But that will go in a separate blog in the Real Ale section. Suffice to say though that I went to some famous, and some not so famous, hostelries. Unfortunately I found that Glasgow is quite short of ale options. Very short really. But like I say, that is for a different blog.

The Boss Bish Bash '23

A.J. Walker — 2023-07-17T13:48:07+01:00

There's a group of us that go every year to Bishop's Castle around the first weekend of July - usually for the Real Ale Trail. Last year I missed it as it coincided with the one week I contacted Covid19. It wasn't the best timing for that pesky virus as it also meant I missed the Felice Brothers gig at Liverpool Leaf. Happy times, hey.

Not a bad view from me tent.

First pint post tent erection (fear)

Anyway about twelve of us booked again for Foxholes campsite this year, which included three people who hadn't been before. Unfortunately although the pubs had intended to hold the festival once again this year (for the first time post Covid) they had to cancel it due to what was described as excessive costs and bureaucracy associated with the road closures and associated items. Ho hum. At the end of the day though there was a good size group of us camping and there were five pubs in the village anyway. One way or another we'd still have a festival of sorts.

First time drinking this one of brew from Neptune and First Clsss.

Not having a vehicle of my own I had to rely on lifts from Steve and Tony. And we got there in good time, with no major issues. I think the biggest hold up of the day was actually getting out of Costco, the roads there were absolutely packed. The four amigos went in two cars and we (Ste, Tony, Jeanette, and myself) were the first of the crew to get to Foxholes. The weather was dry with sunny intervals when we were putting up our tents, but it was hampered a little by quite strong gusty winds. But any day not putting up a tent in the rain is a good day. Again, like the drive down, we got the tents up without any major issues. As our tents were getting erected others of the group started to arrive. and we commandeered a corner (partly assisted by an enthusiastic dog making one of the campers already there move on). Well done that dog.

Three Tuns. At the top of the village always makes it the first and last pub.

As usual as soon as the tent is up, the beer was poured. And that was it for the next couple of days really. There were no big stories this year. No lost people or visits to A&E. We just had a good time with good people - and mostly fair weather apart from late afternoon on the Saturday, when like most of England we were hit by a couple of thundery wet storms. We saw a couple of bands play at the Castle, but we missed the ones at the Six Bells. The usually great Vaults had no live acts on the Friday or Saturday this year. As tradition dictates we started at the Three Tuns on the Friday night, and ended there on the Saturday evening. In between we took in all the other pubs, drank and chatted, laughed and reminisced. We didn't really miss the festival much to be fair. Though a few more beer, BBQ, and band options would always be welcome I suppose.

The rain came. So we went inside the Six Bells for a time.

Lovely sky between storms. Outside at the Castle.

The stage at the Castle just as the storm subside.

Special mentions must go to Jeanette for the chilli on the Friday night and the breakfasts too! Good work. And to Sue too, who wasn't really sure about camping and hadn't been before. She seemed to enjoy it muchly. So maybe we'll see Sue there again next year.

The Bishop's Castle Crew end of weekend photo (including Dexter)

All in all a top weekend. Roll on the next boss, Bish', bash, it's always a blast.

Don't Mention Me Knees

A.J. Walker — 2023-05-30T12:58:16+01:00

For the last month or two I've been having problems with my knees. Swollen and sore. In fact painful would be a better word. And I've been a right sight struggling to get around as a suddenly old man. Hard work.

A couple of weeks ago I managed to get an appointment at my GP practice after a couple of failed attempts. There wasn't a GP available but I saw the practice nurse. She took a look at my knobbly knees and after talking to the GP she told me to get down to a walk-in (I don't think she was trying to be funny) for an X-ray and to get some blood tests too.

Couldn't get anywhere in decent time for the blood tests (next week now), but I went to the walk-in at Aintree Hospital the next day. I'd penciled in my diary an hour or two. But I turned out to be vey pleasantly surprised when I got in and out in about twenty minutes (yes, with the X-ray done). Brilliant.

A few days later I got a call from the practice and they told me that they could see 'moderate' arthritis in my knee. In the meantime of course my other knee had worsened - and that hadn't been x-rayed, but it's obviously the same. An appointment was made for later in the week and I went in to see doctor on Friday. She went through the diagnosis and chatted about a few things (like knee exercises etc) and then offered me a steroid injection into the knee. I went for it. They could only do one knee, of course if there turns out to be an issue having two legs out of action would potentially be a bit of an issue.

Had it done there and then. The steroid is injected directly into the area behind the knee cap. Didn't have any problems at all. The knee quickly became less painful and the promised 'it'll probably hurt a lot later and you'll be cursing me' moment never came. Result.

Now I just have to see if the other knee gets less painful on its own or whether I'll need a second jab into that knee. Hopefully it'll resolve itself enough on its own. The GP and the walk-in were both pretty fine and efficient once I got the appointment.

Not exactly skipping yet. But perhaps if I get on with these knee exercises I will be soon.

Lovely News

A.J. Walker — 2023-05-30T11:59:03+01:00

Microcosms has been back for a while now, but a month ago they introduced a new judged element. So currently there may be two winning stories: one voted for by the community and one by that week's judge. The first week of the judged stories was taken on by yours truly, I judged the stories blind of course. And the winning story I selected turned out to be by Eden Solera. After sending the results and comments I discovered who I'd chosen and found that her story was also the 'Community Pick' which kinda suggested I wasn't too wide of the mark then (which was a relief).

Obviously I couldn't pick my own story - and I ended up not submitting one that week, or indeed the following week. So my first week entering the challenge since it has been sponsored was Week 191 with my story 'Potentially Better Than An Oat Milk Skinny Latte' (which I've now posted on to this site here). And you know what? Yes, I only gone and won it. Huzzah! It too was the community pick so it wasn't too bad then.

Made up - and nice to get my hands on some book tokens. I mean that's at least one book I'll have to get on and purchase. Oh, I may have to sort that out… now. Anyway folks, thanks for reading it. And especially to Stephanie for her time and comments in judging the week's stories.

Get writing folks. Reckon I'm gonna get on this week's challenge later today.

Microcosms

A Lotta Lotto

A.J. Walker — 2023-05-16T09:40:39+01:00

Went to Phase One for the Lottery Winners gig on Friday and it was wonderful. They gave such a joyous performance, very much still on the No.1 album high of Anxiety Replacement Therapy (ART). Thom announced that they were no longer at the top of the charts as someone called Ed had taken their place. I guess Mr Sheeran is a well known chap, but it won't be forever before the Lottery Winners are a lot better known. As an 'album launch' (a week or so on) it wasn't a full gig but still went to beyond an hour. I spoke to the band members afterwards congratulating them on the album and its success - and the performance that night. They were all exceedingly happy all round. Thom's chat between songs was never less than entertaining and it put me in mind of seeing Pulp back in the day and enjoying Jarvis between songs as much as the songs themselves.

There was probably fewer than one hundred people at Phase One - in the middle of the Eurovision chaos at Pier Head. So many people are yet to hear of the band but they are getting out there with the success of ART, and more and more people will be discovering their songs shortly I am sure. On Sunday I went into a pub in Liverpool when there was no-one else there. I asked the bar manager (nicely) if they could put Lottery Winners on Spotify and she did. Needless to say she was new to them. The next customers in were a couple and before buying a pint they were struck by the music, 'Is that the Lottery Winners?' they asked. Turns out that they were big fans and had seen them lots of times, including at Phase One. Spooky!

Talking of spooky, I bought a lottery ticket on the Friday of the gig and... yes I won! Not sure how the win will change me. But maybe I'll put the £4.80 towards aToo Good To Go or a kebab.

(Not) A Lad & Dad Night

A.J. Walker — 2023-05-06T15:24:10+01:00

Spookiness, lad and dads

It’s been a funny week in more than one sense of the word. I’ve not laughed so much on a bus for a long while when last Monday I was on a 17 back from town. I’d been watching the potentially interesting (it was) Leicester v Everton match (it finished 2-2). I bumped into a few people, including a Canadian couple, and a couple of local guys who have similar interests: music, ale, festivals, and football and the like. One of them I’d met a couple of times before and we carried on talking about ale, music festivals, books and writing. Well all sorts really.

Homeward bound we carried on the chit-chat on the bus (he lives around half way along my bus route). Part way into the journey a young fella (twenties, I guess) sat on seats across the great divide leant into our conversation as it veered between writing and music. He came to the conclusion (understandably) that we were talking about songwriting (we were not). It turns out he is a guitarist and writes his own songs sometimes. I asked whether he ever did open mics and if so he should try the Dizzy. He said yes he has a few times, including the Dizz. Apparently he was told he couldn’t play there when he went ‘as they don’t allow covers.’ That made me laugh, as I only ever do covers (even if they are not well known ones). I suspected from the way he was talking that there was something else behind the reason he was stopped, or discouraged, from playing - which may or may not have had something to do with mates and/or drunkenness. It wasn’t clear.

Anyway, as the conversation between the three of us continued it took an hilarious turn when the fella asked us if we were on a ‘lad and dad’ night out - I think he’s only about 12 or 13 years older than me. Much laughter ensued and every comment, question and bit of banter subsequently was explained by my occasional drinking buddy being me dad. Who knew!?

Later in the week I was delivering some ale to a place that requires a password to drive out. I asked what it was and it turned out to be 1968. ‘A good number.’ I suggested. The guy who’d let me into the cellar agreed. ‘I was born in ‘68.’ I said. So was he apparently. ‘Hey Jude was No.1.’ He said. ‘That’s spooky, me too.’ Etc etc. Anyway, it turned out that not only were we born in the same year, we were born on the exact same bloody day. That was some spooky shit. And laughter again ensued.

He looked quite a bit older than me and I’d never have thought he were born in the same year yet alone the same day. Not quite in lad & dad territory though. To be fair when I’d arrived he was having a fag break. And in hindsight that there explains it. Just don’t smoke people. It ages ya. It truly does.

I’ll never be able to go on a real lad and dad day again. But maybe I’ll be on some more ‘could be lad & dad’ days. These events are evidently outside of my control.

I'm A Lottery Winner

A.J. Walker — 2023-05-06T15:13:41+01:00

Made up that I made the effort to get a ticket for the Lottery Winners at Phase One, Liverpool for the album launch event. It’s launch gig for ART - ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ where you get a physical copy of the album and entry into the gig for just £17. Can’t say fairer than that.

It’ll be my third gig there following Heavy North, and Casino, which were both excellent. I’m sure the Lottery Winners will be every bit as good. The album sounds great (been listening to it on Spotify - not got the physical copy yet) and it even has some excellent guest appearances from Shaun Ryder, Boy George, and - yes - The Frank Turner. Cool! Frank is a big fan of their’s and has done some production with them as well as singing on tracks. And the Lottery Winners supported Frank on some of his recent UK tour.

It has been a big week for the ‘Winners too… as ART has come in a No.1 in the UK album chart. How good is that!? They should be in a damn good mood for the event in Liverpool then. Town will be mad busy as the Eurovision week progresses (it already is). I’m not exactly sure how it will be in town. Great, mad: greatly mad? I don’t know. But it will definitely be crazy busy as the Eurovision fans inundate the city for the antithesis of good music (hey, just my opinion). I know, it’s more about the fun and everything that goes with the event; a festival of music not about the music. At least I’ll be seeing a band at the peak of their powers in the town, just a day before the final event arena.

Anxiety Replacement Therapy - click on here to have a listen on Spotify.

Great AI. But Damn Scary.

A.J. Walker — 2023-04-01T10:35:36+01:00

Still keeping at it with the weekly flash (<300 word) challenge from Microcosms. This week’s three elements were: frog/ castle/ sci-fi. I enjoyed writing it (it ends up with a man eating frog - you can check it out along with the other entries at Microcosms) and later in the week discussed the challenge with a colleague. He was intrigued by the idea and said it would make a good cartoon short. It must have got him thinking anyway as he decided it would be a good way to see what Adobe Firefly - an AI illustrator - would produce for it based on a few relevant words. He fed them into the computer and instantaneously it came up with a range of image options. They were all really good. And in fact we both liked the first one it came up with (below).

Firefly is a Beta at the moment and, looking at what it can produce already, I am gobsmacked at how good the images it comes up with based on word prompts. It is frighteningly good at it. And I can’t not see it taking a lot of hours out for producing art work for all sorts (book covers, comics, posters and the like in particular). Of course taking hours out of producing something also takes the work away from people too. Get ChatGPT & Firefly together (or some of the other ones out there) and they could write and illustrate a story for you on a topic you’d like in no time. It is both an impressive and scary bomb of capabilities. Will we want to read stories written by apps, look at pictures not generated by people. Perhaps there will be an AI reading app next. That can read the stories to itself so you wont have to do. If they write, illustrate and read them all then what will we do? What will we be for? What will we be?

It is scary to consider where it may go in the end (let alone when combined with robots too). The Borg from Star Trek may be seen as a jovial alternative to the future we actually have around the corner. It will be interesting to see. But don’t believe what you read about it; it may have been written not on an iPad, but by an iPad. Perhaps this was?

Soon the only thing we’ll find ourselves believing in is the weather when we see it for ourselves. That is until we’re all chipped then even our own live experiences may be false too.

PS it is nice to have another Firefly we can enjoy - at the moment - who knew what they were working on after the series finished? They are one busy crew.

Rekindling

A.J. Walker — 2023-03-19T14:10:57+00:00

Several months ago I lost my old Kindle Paperwhite. I'd had it for years. I prefer physical books - I have trouble not walking past a charity shop and checking out the bookshelves. But during lockdown, when all the bookshops and charity shops were closed, I used the Kindle quite a bit to get my reading fix. With the shops open again I haven't used the Kindle as much and so I guess I haven't missed it terribly. However for writing larger pieces of work I find the Kindle very useful for reading and reviewing compared with trying to review on a computer screen. And so this weekend thanks to Liverpool beating Man Utd 7-0 the other week and a couple of Cheltenham flutters this week (from the reinvested ManU winnings) I gained more than enough pennies to invest in a new Kindle and so I picked it up yesterday.

It is the small (just 6''), cheapest one and I don't find it as nice as its older (larger, but missing) sibling. It feels a bit delicate, but that should be helped a little when I get a cover for it. If my old Kindle suddenly reveals itself to me, perhaps from beneath a pile of books or washing, then I'll possibly return to that one. But maybe I'll get used to the smaller version in the end. It has better definition and larger memory that the older versions. For reading books I don't think the definition matters that much, although if there are any images or maps then maybe it will help in those cases. In terms of the memory, again I don't think this is critical for me. I'd not be filling ye olde Kindle let alone this one. It was certainly great though how easily and fast all the books previously held on my Paperwhite suddenly appeared on the new one. Very nice to see.

I'll see how it goes in the future. And I'll see how fast I find the old one now I've flashed the cash for this one.

Good To Be Back

A.J. Walker — 2023-03-15T08:17:37+00:00

After a month without doing an open mic I returned to the Dispensary last night. It was good to be back. I didn't do any new tunes, but did a couple I don't to that regularly; 'Somewhere Down The Road' and 'Down By The Water.' I did start with the more commonly played 'Couldn't Get Arrested' though.

It was great to see a few of the regulars play, including Dave, Muzz, and Laurence. It was especially good to see John there once more playing his wonderful Hand Pan. All those of us taking part in the open mic could get a free pint, and this week they had Neptune on so I ended up with a free Ezili. Nice. In fact it was good to see both Wooden Ships and Ezili on.

John playing his magical hand pan.

Wooden Ships and Evil on in the Dizzy. Excellent.

Casino Royale

A.J. Walker — 2023-03-14T18:00:00+00:00

Been a bit tardy with getting a blog together for this one, but hell I’ve been busy & lazy at the same time (a blisteringly uncomfortable excuse sandwich). But last week I was lucky enough to snag a couple of free tickets for the Casino gig at Phase One, Seel Street, Liverpool. It was just my second time at Phase One, with the previous gig being the Heavy North in early March. As a nice coincidence/circularity the last time I saw Casino was supporting the HN up the road in the Arts Club - which had been a fabulous gig for all involved: just a shame about the Arts Club’s current status. Ho hum.

I had the electronic tickets on my phone (obtained from a great gig buddy: thank you JC), but there was no-one on the door to check tickets anyway. I think the rather dodgy weather (cold, breezy, and sleety) had put some off coming out and the venue was not at capacity. I went with a colleague from work - where we sometimes hear Casino and their contemporaries - playing through the speakers; if Alexa feels like it.

The gig itself was great. We caught a bit of Ellis (a Dylanesque singer songwriter complete with harmonica) first and ‘treated’ ourselves to some keg beer; it wasn’t fabulous but then again gig beers are rarely that. And I have had a lot worse (and let’s face it anyone attending the Carling Academies of this world has too). The guys of Casino (who inexplicably have only four songs up on Spotify and no albums to sell us) gave us a gig in two sets. For a free gig we had indeed paid a more than fair price for their time & artistry.

Depending how they want to, or can, progress their career they really should do brilliantly. They are already a really tight (and, in some cases, decidedly tall) unit. Their song writing is beautiful and their musicianship is spot on. The songs are all presented with panache and consummate ease. And the hats must go off to the sound guy in this regard too. I will definitely be going to see them again if and when the chance arises.

Check ‘em out on Spotify (even though there is not much there yet it is all good stuff and shows you what they are like), and go out and see them when you can. Nice one.

New Songwriting Challenge

A.J. Walker — 2023-03-07T07:55:22+00:00

A couple of months ago Ben Whitley, a local singer songwriter, came up with a songwriting challenge. I’d been toying with the idea myself but never got one going, so it was nice of Ben to take up my slack - even if hadn’t realised he was doing that for me. o a couple of weeks ago I took the challenge up and quickly wrote a few words to go with my usual three or four chords. It was good to get something down; as other than a silly little lockdown song (Pasta Packets and Beans) I haven’t written something for ages (well, I do have a half completed one I wrote with a mate, Sam Lee - but that hasn’t seen the light of day for the public quite yet).

Anyway, last month’s challenge was to write a song about “Trains” featuring the words: Track, Ticket, and Platform. I was easier to write some words than to do a Microcosms story to be fair. Not that it’d win any prizes as it stands. I put ‘To Get Home To You’ up on YouTube in its first incarnation, which is posted below. May get around to hitting it again and giving it a revamp at some point. Needs a catchier rhythm or chorus at any rate.

It was great to see Sal write a poignant song using the prompt and memories (and paperwork!) from her brother. I know she enjoyed the challenge and Sal’s song is here:

This was the second of the songwriting challenges, the first one from January was on the theme of “Roads”, with the song to include: Street, Concrete, and Park(ing). I may go back and do that one next. The third one is yet to surface and I think Ben is a little unsure of whether to carry on with issuing the challenge; not because of my effort (I think, but because not many people have done it yet. I did say that my experience with the flash writing challenges is that it takes a good while before people a) find out about and b) get in the habit of doing it. I hope he perseveres with it for a while. If he does I promise I’ll try to write a song a month to go with prompts. Honest!

The two sets of prompts from January and February are below. Watch this space to see if I update the Trains song and/or write a song for the older prompt. And also to see if a new prompt comes along. I hope so. And if you play an instrument why nit give it a go yourself? It would be good to see you. We’ll have an album’s worth in no time.

And while you’re at it give Ben a listen over on Spotify and a follow on Insta, if you are that way inclined.

The Return of the Beard

A.J. Walker — 2023-03-04T12:52:32+00:00

Currently reading the excellent biography of Terry Pratchett: ‘A Life With Footnotes’, by Rob Wilkins. Terry was of course famously quite beardy for much of his life, me for much less so. But I did have a beard for several years* (hell, look at my Home page), but have been clean - or close to clean - shaven for about three years now. I have been considering going back to being a bit beardy for a while, and now I think I will. It does not have anything to do with my current reading; it is a pure unabashed coincidence.**

* I think around seven years (2013-2020)
** Honest Guvner.

A Month Off, But Not Off

A.J. Walker — 2023-02-15T23:32:08+00:00

On Tuesday (not Monday) it was the third Dispensary open mic of the year. I’d been to the first two and played four of my usual songs. And that is why I decided not to go this week. There are so many great players each week and I keep playing the same songs from a list of about eight. I’ve decided to take a month off playing at the open mics on the basis that for those hours I’m not taking to get down there I can use some of that time to practice some new (or new old) stuff. The aim being that the next time I play at an open mic I play a few songs I don’t usually play AND I’ll have hopefully improved my playing a teeny bit by stretching myself by playing different things. And maybe, just maybe, there may be a song or two of my own too the next time I turn up to play at one.

I have been playing some different songs t home this last week or so and been practicing a few riffs (very un-me). It really will be a month off, but not off. So who knows? Changes really could happen.

Fingers crossed; and plectrum poised and raring to go.

AJ On Writing (A Bit)

A.J. Walker — 2023-02-11T12:51:36+00:00

Have been getting into a bit more writing again lately after a bit of a hiatus. I can thank the return of Microcosms for helping me find my re-find that mojo there. Currently my go to Flash Fiction challenges are the returned Microcosms and Miranda’s Mid Week Flash Challenge over on the Finding Clarity website (some example photo prompts are shown here). For those of you interested the Microcosms prompt is given every Sunday and you have all week to put a story together of up to 300 words. The prompt are three “elements” that should be included in your story. For example last week’s prompt was: ‘Makeup Artist / Kitchen / Horror” and from those three elements you concoct your story. Of course sometimes the selection of elements my not get your creative juices going and so there is the handy option of spinning the elemental wheel and getting three other elements as your story spur. I always try to use the elements given as a challenge, but I dare say if one week they are cuddly cats / sofa cushions / love story, then I may well give that wheel a spin.

At the moment there are not too many people entering the challenge but it can be way to believe that a lot of people that used to do it back in the day haven’t seen that it has returned - what with Twitter being flakey at best currently. If you can, give it a look and if it’s up your street then give it a go.

The 300 word limit is difficult and certainly will make you focus. You can definitely write a four of five hundred word work and then have to get your knife out.

Example photo prompt (Week 277))

Week 278

Week 279

Week 281

If 300 words is too tight then there’s Miranda’s challenge, which gives you up to 450 extra words to play with. Yes, 750 words. The prompt is a photo and there ain’t no wheel to spin if the photo doesn’t work for you. I do it fairly regularly and post the stories on this website (under Fictions), but sometimes the photo doesn’t work for me and I do end up giving it a miss rather than struggle to get a story out that I don’t adequately get behind. In general though 750 is a lot more freeing for you than 300 words. Why not give both a go and see how they compare for you?

Anyway, it’s nice to flex your writing muscles a little if you’re not currently working on more substantial pieces. Maybe see you over there.

To that end I picked up a great little portable keyboard to go with my iPad. It's really freed me up to write more whilst on the hoof. I've written several stories this week and some blogs (including this one) using the keyboard and iPad option. For less than £30 it has been fab: much better and quicker than typing on the screen and t'll get me writing significantly more. This is a MoKo foldable Bluetooth keyboard but there are plenty of others to choose from. If you are out and about a bit I can thoroughly recommend getting one - and it's lighter and safer than lugging a laptop around.

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Links:

Microcosms

Finding Clarity

Multi (Social) Media

A.J. Walker — 2023-02-11T12:37:07+00:00

So how many Social Media accounts do you have? I’ve got too many to keep on top off at the moment. This is largely down to Mr Musk periodically and all too often setting fire to Twitter. My core social media accounts (once I deleted Facebook a few years ago) have been Twitter and Instagram for my personal general use and for the real ale one (Reale). As Twitter seemed to keep announcing their very public desire to self immolate I registered my accounts for several of the new kids on the block or those who seemed to be positioning to step into the Twitter shaped hole should they succeed in no longer working for their users. o I’ve got apps and accounts for Mastadon, Hive, Discord, and Telegram. And now I’ve a Spoutible account too.

I’ve used Mastadon and Hive sparingly, whilst I have tried to continue with Twitter. It seems daft to use so many to post or search for content - and time is eaten enough as it is. In the last couple of weeks Spoutible, headed by Christopher Bouzy, has arrived and within that sphere I’m there once again with my @zevonesque username. I’ve only been on it since February 1st of course, so it’s very early days. So far I have been on it most days (okay, there’s only been 9 days in that time) and I must say it seems to work pretty damn well. I’m not sure how many Brits are on there yet - it seems to be mostly bods from the US. I’ve not found any of the Flashdogs over there yet. But I’ve put the flag up for them with a hashtag in my bio. I’m sure if Spoutible does become a success it wont be too long before I see some of them joining in due course.

Haven’t used it yet to search for flash fiction challenges but I will do soon. I’m busy enough with the weekly Challenges from Miranda (Mid Week Flash Challenge) and Microcosms at the moment anyways, but it would be good to see if there is a seed of a community over there. It’s difficult for everyone to know where things are up to with people on or off Twitter and Facebook (I ain’t ever going back there). It maybe that a website somewhere would be a better point of contact rather than shouting into the voids and hearing nothing bounce back to us.

There’s not much to learn for Spoutible if you’ve used Twitter you’ll be fine with it in no time. In fact the main terms can be summarised as:

Spout = Tweet
Echo = Retweet
Making Waves = Trending
Spout off = Send Tweet

And that’s about it. If you’re over there already give me a shout (or spout even). If you're over there later then I look forward to seeing you. Come to the party, people, when you can. It’s an open invite for all the good people. That said, I registered my interest early so I could create an account early doors. I'm not sure when they are open to new registrations as they get the gubbins of the system up and running.

Two Returns

A.J. Walker — 2023-01-31T13:43:14+00:00

On Thursday I returned to the first place I played at an open mic: the Sanctuary. The pub closed around the time of the initial lockdowns and eating & distancing requirements. Since reopening last year it hadn’t restarted the open mics. A couple of weeks ago, when I was at the Sofar gig at Leaf, they put their first toe back in the water with it. So I decided to go last week as a return to the place it all began for me with this fun hobby.

Unlike the earlier OMs this one was held on the ground floor. The old one used to be upstairs usually (occasionally downstairs if there was an event on), but now upstairs there is a restaurant – Momo's for Nepalese scran. There were only four of us who played so I ended up going up a couple of times, playing my usual stuff of course – about eight songs. Not sure how often I’ll be playing there again, but it was good at least to revisit the place it all started.

Then on Monday the OM at the Dispensary restarted after a bit of break since before the new year. I was running late and did well to get there for 8pm. The brilliant Ben Whitely was playing as I walked in and I was surprised to find that a couple of people – both newbies – had already played.

Laurence came up next before I went up. Played four of my usuals. Despite a bit of a sore throat my voice did surprisingly well – for me. Next up was a Polish guy (sorry I didn’t catch his name) who was stunningly good (just playing instrumentals with exquisite and ridiculously fast techniques). Muzz was up last, who was also glad to be back again. The Rat Brewery 'Cheating Rat' was lovely and it was nice to have a change from the ubiquitous White Rat or Citra. They are both great beers of course, but a change is as good as a rest.

All in all Monday proved to be a very good night. And I’m glad I made the effort and the buses worked for me (mine had been ridiculously late, which meant I could catch it. Others on the bus had been waiting for 30-40 minutes apparently – oh dear).

Onwards & upwards.

A Three Gig Week

A.J. Walker — 2023-01-24T10:42:18+00:00

A rare week indeed. Three nights of live music. Three. What could be finer? Links to all the acts are at the bottom of the page (or click on the highlighted name to go to their Spotify pages). First up was Christie Bratherton, who I'd previously seen at the Sofar gig in October 2021 where she played alongside the Heavy North. She'd put on Instagram that she was playing at the White Lion from 3-5pm on Sunday 22nd Jan and I spotted the post. I got down there around 3 spotted the guitar and gear propped up by the back door. Christie walked past me and I spoke to her to find out what time she was on. Turned out she had been mis-sold her gig as she was covering for someone who couldn't make it and she'd been told the time wrong. Turned out it was 5-7pm. I downed my pint and took the opportunity to go down the road to the West Kirby Tap and then the train for one stop to Hoylake for the Black Toad first before getting back up to the White Lion. Christie was fab, singing on her own at the front of the bar. I got off a little before she finished to catch a train. It had proved to be a lovely afternoon and evening.

Christie playing at the White Lion

Then on Thursday it was time for the Sofar Sounds gig. For those of you who don't know about it, the gig is £10 a ticket - and the deal is you don't know where the venue is (other than the city centre) until 36 hours before kick-off or who is playing until the actual evening itself. I was made up to find out it was upstairs at Leaf - the last time I was supposed to be there was for the Felice Brothers last year, but unfortunately that coincided with my Covid week.

Sofar stage ready at Liverpool Leaf

I went to sit right at the front (where most of the empty seats were anyway). First up was Mike Ryan, who informed us he was playing hooky from school before playing a really nice set. He was a thoroughly nice chap too.

First up Mike Ryan who was skiving of school (and well worth it too)

After the ten minute break for a a beer top-up the next up came up to play after a kind introduction from the host. Marvin Powell proved to be a shy chap who was excellent.

Second up, Marvin Powell. Lovely stuff.

Finally the one group to play was a four piece Ask Elliot. They were bloody excellent. All three acts were indeed excellent and well worth looking up on Spotify or wherever you find your music. And, like Christie on Sunday, I'll definitely keep an eye out for a chance to see them again.

And last but not least, Ask Elliot. Not sure what to ask him, but do.

Then came the highlight for me. Yes, Frank Turner (again) . The gig was down in Wolverhampton in KK's Steel Mill. This gave me an excuse to get down for a few beers in Wolverhampton and Birmingham too. It really was a win-win. Unfortunately I missed the support act (the Lottery Winners) as I'd gone for a curry around the corner, which was a bit of a wait due to it being slightly slow arriving (cos the curry house was so popular). At the venue I got myself a KK's Dark ale which was nice to have in a large venue where you are usually faced with a Carling or a cider of one description or another.

Frank Turner doing what he does so fucking brilliantly with the Sleeping Souls, at KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton

Frank and the Sleeping Souls came on before 9 and played until 10;50 or so - he just cracked on with one brilliant track after another. He's got such an extensive catalogue of songs he could play a different two hour set each night these days. You can't be disappointed if he doesn't play one of your favourites cos he'll play another three of them instead. For me he the best act out there at the moment and he has certainly become my most seen act taking over from Ryan Adams who I'd seen a lot in years gone by. I dare say I'll see him again and probably again in the years ahead. I don't know how he does it day after day. This gig was No.2725 for him and he doesn't half go for it. How does his energy last, let alone his throat?

Frank's playing and I'm a happy chappy (with KK's Dark ale).

Hell yeah. Frank.

See you later, Frank. Thanks.

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Links:

Christie - Spotify - Instagram -
Mike Ryan - Spotify - Instagram -
Marvin Powell - Spotify - Instagram -
Ask Elliot - Spotify - Instagram -
Frank Turner - Spotify - Instagram -

The Return of Microcosms

A.J. Walker — 2023-01-13T12:46:52+00:00

A nice surprise to me last week was the return of the Microcosms flash writing challenge. I didn't notice until Friday though it had been up for six days. So it's only been a week but there have already been two challenges. I've written for both of them. If you haven't seen it before - or need a reminder - it involves three elements which are required for the story. In the first week the elements were: 'Serial Killer - Castle - Sci-Fi'. And this week it was 'C.E.O - Protest - Horror.' You can see that'd be a challenge; especially with only a maximum of 300 words to use in the stories.

One handy option in the way this challenge works is that you can spin the elements to chose select other ones in the event that the chosen ones don't float your boat. I'll generally try and use the ones provided first up; a challenge is a challenge after all,

Anyways get yourself down there and write a story - or two. At the very least it's fun, if sometimes a stretch. Welcome back, Microcosms and thanks to those involved in its resurrection.

The Reading Year '22

A.J. Walker — 2022-12-31T14:55:56+00:00

Not been a bad reading year. In Goodreads last year I set a rather low target of twenty books for the year and got past that to finish 31 books in the end. As usual plenty of SF&F and some classics, with s sprinkling of non-fiction too. Have enjoyed some old favourites like Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and some more modern ones including TWM Ashford and Gareth Powell.

Have loved the Rosewater books by Tade Thompson and Andrew Caldecott's 'Rotherweird'. Wonder what I'll end up discovering or rediscovering in 2023. I definitely aim to finish reading the trilogies of His Dark Materials and Gormenghast, and re-read a book or two as well, including 'Perdido Street Station'.

Thinking that for the year ahead I'll set the target as 31 then – and try and beat that. Maybe I should set myself a simple habit of reading at least 10% of a book per day as that would get me to 36, wouldn't it? And 10% of a book per day is an eminently achievable goal. Whatever you are reading enjoy it. It's always an adventure wherever you end up traveling to.

Last Open Mics of the Year

A.J. Walker — 2022-12-23T10:36:19+00:00

The Dizzy and Metrocola - The Two Last Open Mics of the Year

I expect that Monday and Tuesday last week were the final two open mics of the year for me. On Monday it was the Dispensary, which is currently my go to OM. There were only five people who played this time – and the host, Dave was suffering with a sore throat so didn't play this week. As there were only a few of us we all ended up playing a bit longer than usual. In fact at eight songs this week it was a full on gig for me.

It was a good night with the other players including regulars Laurence, Ben, Liam, and Calvin. It was good to see the grin from Muzz who cam in later on having just been awarded her purple belt. Well done, Muzz.

Me and me Takamine in the Dispensary

Laurence

Liam

Calvin

Ben

On Monday I talked to a couple of the lads about the open mic at Metrocola the next day. I'd gone to the first one, hosted by Ali Horn, and there was a massive 16 of us who played. But I was told it wasn't as well attended since then. Ali wasn't available this week and it was to be hosted by Bert.

And so it was to show support I went to Metrocola. Flippin' heck. I'd been misled. There were plenty of performers there; including Laurence, Ben and Calvin. There was also a party of youngsters downing cocktails and either dressed for a proper night out, or wearing Xmas jumpers. In short: not the usual open mic audience for me.

Calvin playing in the Metrocola

Laurence playing in Metrocola

Laurence played shortly after I arrived and was going through plenty of sing-along tracks and the cocktail party crew were lapping it up, singing and dancing. Boy, that got me thinking. Largely I was thinking, "What am I doing here? And what should I be play if I do go up?" I was also thinking that I wish I hadn't bought my guitar with me, as then I could have said I'd just come to watch. It's difficult to say you're not there to play when you are lugging a guitar around.

Me playing at the Metrocola

As Laurence neared the end of his boxset Bert asked me and Calvin who was going up next. And after some prevarication I lost, I think, and ended up playing. I did three songs in the end. I started with the "One I Love" by REM as it's one of the few ones I play that people may know and/or sing along with. Then I played two more "You Couldn't Get Arrested" and "Oh My Sweet Carolina." Then I got off and left it to Calvin. I'd survived. Though I'm sure it would have been better for the audience if I'd played some Oasis, Maroon 5, and Stereophonics. Maybe I better learn to play a few more famous songs. Next year I'll be playing Wonderwall then. Perhaps not.

I'd finished my drink (free for playing) and headed up to the bar for another pint and chatted to Laurence. Ended up waiting forever as the couple behind the bar struggled to keep up with the tsunami of cocktail orders. I couldn't see an end to the wait and suggested going over the road to the Roscoe Head. Laurence concurred and soon I had a pint of Thornbridge 'Galaxia' in my paws. It was worth the wait. Ended up with a couple of pints there chatting all sorts with Laurence and, in the end, Carol (the famous landlady) too. I was pleased to have introduced Laurence to the Roscoe. It's one of only five pubs in the UK to have made it into every single CAMRA Good Beer Guide dontcha know!?

So two open mics; two very different ones. And eleven songs. A good couple of evenings. I expect it won't be until 2023 that I play one mic again (and the next Dispensary one isn't due until the end of January). Maybe by then I'll be playing a song or two of my own. To that end I've just read my second Jeff Tweedy book, "How to Write One Song." An inspiring read. That is my aim for early next year. Let's see.

Sofar So Good

A.J. Walker — 2022-12-17T13:19:08+00:00

On Wednesday in the frozen north west it was time for the last Sofar Sounds of the year. Rail strikes and the weather had put paid to the original plans of the Sofar crew but despite this it proved a busy night and with three great acts (if not those originally planned at a venue not originally planned either).

The email announcing the venue had come 36 hours earlier telling us it was at The Slaughterhouse, where we had seen The Sway/Blue Velvet/Amber Wilding Stone back in June. This time the venue was downstairs, as they were showing the World Cup Semi Final upstairs. The venue downstairs is better in any case. I dare say if England had beaten France on Saturday then there may have been a few more empty seats at the gig. I'd finished work a little late so struggled to get to the venue on time (i.e. I didn't), but I didn't miss any of the acts in any case.

Francesca Louise

Brandon Tew

First up was Francesca Louise on acoustic guitar, followed by Brandon Tew on keyboards, and finally Naila a three piece act including acoustic guitars and five string bass. The latter band were so tight and such consummate musicians. All three acts were great to see and I'd encourage you to have a wee listen to them to see what you think. I'll defo be keeping my out for them on the circuit. Good luck to them all.

Naila

Naila

Thanks to Sofar Sounds for organising the event and dealing with the whims of the Transportation and Weather Gods. And great to see so many people get down there for it. It was freezing out there and it'd have been easy (and totally understandable) to hide under the duvet at home.

______________________

LINKS:

Francesca Louise: Linktree francescalouise Insta @francesca.louise.music Spotify Francesca Louise

Brandon Tew: Linktree brandontew Insta @brandontewmusic Spotify Brandon Tew

Naila: Linktree Nailamusic Insta @nailamusic_ Spotify Naila

Sofar Sounds: web: sofarsounds.com Twitter @SofarLiverpool Insta: sofarsoundsliverpool

A Staccato Song

A.J. Walker — 2022-11-18T13:47:35+00:00

A Staccato Song - 25 Years Between Playing

This week I attended two open mics. The one I most commonly go to currently: the Monday night at the Dispensary hosted by Dave O'Grady (I struggle to maintain a day without an O'Grady or two), and the inaugural open mic at Metrocola (formerly Hannah's Bar on Leech Street) hosted by Ali Horn. I had intended on going to the fortnightly open mic at the Angus on the Tuesday, hosted by John Witherspoon, but it was called off quite late in the day - I don't know when it will return. So Metrocola it was.

Me and Kevin popping up alongside the Hooleys (downstairs in the Slaughterhouse). You can date it by long hair (for me) as 1995.

On Monday night it started a little slowly, as it often does, but in the end eight or nine people ended up playing. Largely regulars, but there were a couple of newbies to the group too. Most played three songs but it ended with the inimitable Liz Owen playing a full gig for us; which was excellent as always. She certainly enjoyed playing Danny Bradley's guitar and sounded brilliant. Danny was his usual compelling self earlier in the evening. Beautiful. First up on the stool (currently sans mic à la the Belvedere) to play some of his great self penned songs was Ben Whitley (I thoroughly recommend looking him up on Spotify) with his guitar and harmonica.

He asked me after he played if I was playing 'Oh My Sweet Carolina' (Ryan Adams). And if so could he play harmonica with it? I'd penciled in a three or four song set and had it as a possible if I decided against doing one of them (or my mood on the evening took me). How could I not say yes though? Then again it made be a bit nervous. I'd never played along with anyone since the 1990s. And this time it would be without practice. It went well – I think.

One Tuesday I went to Metrocola to support the inaugural night. It is always a toss up when it is the first night – loads because the host has keenly cajoled all their mates and acquaintances to support them, or not many because not enough had heard about it. And on Tuesday this was compounded by awful weather. In the end though it was a grand success. It was slated to start at 7-10 but went beyond ten due to their being so many performers there. Again everyone stuck to three songs and there were… 14 acts. You could see Ali was made up and the staff at Metrocola looked like they enjoyed it too.

There were many familiar faces amongst the Liverpool open mic community and plenty of new ones for me too. Most of the other singers knew each other from various venues, but I've never made it to the Jacaranda or the Cavern Monday Night Club and I guess the ones I hadn't seen before were 'graduates' from these nights. Again Ben was there and played early on; and again he asked if he could play harmonica: this time if I was doing 'Whiskey in my Whiskey' (Felice Brothers). And so we did. This time we had to negotiate playing with a microphone though. Once more I think it went okay. But I suppose the guys & gals sitting there would be better judges than me.

Not long after I played I bumped into Aidan from the Sway, which was good. He always seems just so into music. He told me about his week ahead, with gigs in Liverpool and Leeds – including a great day for the band supporting Jamie Webster at the Echo Arena on Saturday.

All in all it was a great night. And if it continues with anything like this support then it will prove to be a great addition to the local scene. Fingers crossed for both Metrocola and Ali (not that I expect they will need much luck).

I very much enjoyed playing with Ben on his harp. Hope to do so again at some point. Whilst it made me smile it also made me think a bit about my on-off-on relationship with the guitar. Here's a potted history.

The No Guitar Years
Born, Played in the street, Went to School and University
– didn't play any musical instruments

The Guitar(ish) Years
Post university
– got a cheap electric guitar (Strat copy) and played at home a bit
– no lessons

Smithdown playing at Kitty O'Sheas on Fleet Street (now Motel). Mark (guitar), Helen (fiddle), me (cheap strat copy), Kevin (banjo).

The Smithdown Years
1990-1993
– Early work years in Liverpool
– a few of us at a work's post-Christmas party played two or three songs during a band's break after practicing at Kev's house for a few fun weekends
– three of us from the work band said we'd carry on playing a bit (Mark, Kevin and your's truly)
– drafted in my cousin (a classically trained violinist) to play fiddle (Helen)
– played our first 'gig' at an interesting house birthday/coming out party, above Kelly's Wines on Smithdown Road
– had a debate about a band name in the Royal Hotel on Smithdown. Everyone's second or third choice won the day: Smithdown (proportional representation doesn't work people).
– in the early events (I'm not sure about calling them gigs) Kev generally played banjo, me and Mark guitar, me 'singing' and Helen played fiddle and sang.
– Kevin was THE musician in the band, he was a great drummer. He also played guitar, was learning the banjo, could play keyboards. He could play anything. I'm not jealous of the bastard at all. Yeah, okay I am. In the end he made the move on to drums to try and hold me and Mark into something like a rhythm. That was always gonna be a battle. Helen was a brilliant violinist. Mark was very energetic and damn enthusiastic. And I just enjoyed the craic.
– Played some midweek nights at: Kitty O'Sheas (now Motel), Slaughterhouse and a few others.
– organised our own bigger events at the Royal British Legion in Wavertree and the Irish Centre (sadly it is no more and is decaying away unused. I don't think our event can be wholly to blame though). In the latter we had the Hooleys playing and we supported them with a few songs.

The Days The Music Died
1993-1995
– the band died when Kevin moved to Reading and Mark to Scotland.
– I never played with anyone again. As far as I was concerned we were just three co-workers and my cousin having a good time. I couldn't see anyone else wanting to play with me. I wasn't good enough.
– the Hooleys once asked me to play with them and become their bass player. I didn't play bass, but they said I fitted in with them (enjoying myself and forgetting lyrics I guess) and anyway bass has only two thirds of the strings of the guitar and I'd – probably – pick it up.I thought about it and declined. They went on to play a hotel residency in the Middle East later that year I think.
– I'm not sure how many times Smithdown played, but it was probably around the low teens. I remember it all fondly.

Mexico 1996
– the last time I played along with anyone was a spooky reunion we had when I was working in Mexico. Mark and I were there for five and half months (in a supposed 'five week') project. Kevin came over for about a week. The hotel had a different resident band each month we were there. One night at an about 12:30 or 1am during the band's break the three of us got up and played a few songs with the bands instruments (we asked first!).

The Guitars In The Wilderness Years
1996-2018
– Guitars sat unused in the corners of various rooms
– Started strumming a bit at home in more recent years. Always the same old songs.
– Gave myself a target of 'one day playing in front of someone again.'

Sanctuary (in a rare downstairs appearance)

Seeking Sanctuary Years
2018-2020
– Sat in the Sanctuary on Lime Street drinking a pint and reading a book. Someone walked passed with a guitar and went upstairs. I asked the barman if there was an open mic on, and there was. Perhaps this would be my day of 'playing in front of someone again.' And it was.
– I'd been nervous as fuck and played far too fast as if I wanted to get it over with and get out of there. I did to be fair. I didn't know a single person there. Afterwards I was made up that I had done in. Two weeks later I was back doing it again.
– Went to the open mic regularly as long as it was on up until the Sanctuary closed in June 2020. The hosts were a fun twosome comprising John and Bobo.
– continued doing some open mics during the pandemic on Zoom. They were always good craic (usually ably supported by a 5-litre keg of Abyss or Mosaic from Neptune).

Keystone

The Keystone Years – And Beyond
2021-2022
– Hadn't been to any open mics other than the Sanctuary and nervous about playing in front of anyone 'new' again. Hey, I'm a nervous chap. But I was lucky to get in early doors at the Keystone open mic, hosted by John Witherspoon. Ever since getting on okay with that I have been happy to give it a go elsewhere, which has been great; especially as the Keystone is no more.

So far I've played multiple open mics at:

The Sanctuary
Keystone
Angus
Head of Steam
Belvedere
Dispensary, and now
Metrocola (the one time it's been on so far)

I've now played more open mics on my tod than I ever played with 'Smithdown' and I'd never have thought that would happen back in 2018.

Angus

Belvedere

Dispensary

Dispensary

Really I had two or three years playing with some mates at the start of the 1990s and then have just got back into playing around 25 years later after going up once at the Sanctuary open mic in 2018 – and since then pushing myself to do it more. After saying to myself I wanted to play in front of someone again once then I've not really looked back much. The next aim though is to write some of my own songs. I'm a bit gutted that I didn't carry on playing from the 1990s. I mean I could have had 25 years of damn practice. Ho hum. But we are where are – or, I am where I am.

The Songs (currently)
I currently end up playing songs from a pretty small song book. I'm usually covering one or two of these:

'Oh My Sweet Carolina' - Ryan Adams
'Whiskey in my Whiskey' - Felice Brothers
'Couldn't Get Arrested' - Green on Red
'Shed A Tear (For the Lonesome)' - Green on Red
'Splendid Isolation' - Warren Zevon
'Please Stay' - Warren Zevon
'Van Diemen's Land' - U2 (trad.)
'One I Love' - REM
'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn' - Chuck Prophet
'110 in the Shade' - Chuck Prophet
'Somewhere Down the Road' - Chuck Prophet
'Mostly Water' - Bap Kennedy
'Down By The Water' - Decemberists

As you can see it's got a very much Green on Red/Chuck Prophet thing going on (and very much Americana). I definitely need to add some more songs to that list (there's 13 there, so I guess getting it up to 20 would be a good initial aim). But I also need to get on and write some of my own songs. The vast majority of songs sung by all the open mic glitterati are self penned, and it would be nice to do at least a couple of my own one day. And, who knows, then get to the Monday Night Club or Jacaranda… We shall see.

The Guitars
I have two semi acoustic guitars (a Takamine 363 and a Tanglewood TW145SS) and a beautiful dark green Fender Squier Telecaster. I currently only pick up the acoustics for a strum. Plugging them in (or the Telecaster) is a rare event. Maybe once I'm writing some songs and messing about with GarageBand some.

Onwards and Upwards (probably in C Major).

_______________________________________

Spotify Links to the Liverpool Open Mic-ers

Links to some of the great & lovely of the open mic peeps. There's some brilliant local talent around at the moment (not least of course Dave O'Grady & Muzz (Seafoam Green), John Witherspoon, and Ali Horn (all on Spotify - and maybe playing at a venue near you (or not). Check them out:

John Witherspoon
Seafoam Green
Ali Horn
Ben Whitley
Liam Sweeney
Liz Owen
Danny Bradley

A Word

A.J. Walker — 2022-11-09T22:52:25+00:00

I didn't get to read a poem for #ReadMeSpeakMe this weekend, but that was because it was a poem of mine which was chosen for the weekly read (Week #184). So I'll be reading it later in the week after others have put their twists on it. I'll have to have a wee think about how I will do that. There may, or may not, be tankards involved. And hopefully no crying and hopefully not too sulky a face.

If you want to give it a go then please do. Just follow the standard instructions of #ReadMeSpeakMe (see below) and post it up in your preferred app (many use Soundcloud or YouTube, or some even put it straight into a tweet). I've been enjoying people's takes on it so far. And some lovely voices; both familiar and new to me this week too.

Thanks to @megwaf for hosting (and picking & presenting the poems). Doing a weekly event like this in your own time is sometimes a bit a thankless task (I know from doing the weekly 'Seedling Challenge' a few years ago - even when it's not that much time it IS time and the clock is always ticking and tapping you on your shoulder). Everyone who gets involved with RMSM loves the little escape it gives us for a while each week. So, thank you.

If you're on Twitter why not follow:

@ReadMeSpeakMe and
@megwaf

And give a go. We'd all love to hear you. Maybe next week, when it's someone else's words though - bloody unrequited.

Twitter Engineering

A.J. Walker — 2022-11-07T11:43:37+00:00

I've loved Twitter for the many years I've been on it. I joined as Zevonesque in February 2009 and then created RealeLiverpool in December 2013. Incredibly both accounts have somehow accrued over three thousand followers each. Like I say, incredible.

It was through Twitter that I found the various writing challenges that have sprouted up over the years and through these that been involved in things like the Flash Dogs. People who don't use Twitter only hear about it in terms of the poorly curated news (and in the case of our local paper that means using it for all their news rather than having journalists (sadly)). But hearing about stars or politicians who've sent out a Tweet about something in the news is not really what it is about. It is so much more than a news app – or news creator.

And now we are in this strained situation thanks to the strange and rich ego of Musk. I absolutely love the Space-X stuff. Don't care much either way about Tesla. But what is he doing with Twitter as a play thing? Can't he stick to real engineering challenges rather than social engineering?

The $8/month that Musk has expressed as a cost to keep the blue ticks is not relevant to me at the moment. But it is unclear what it will mean in the longer term in relation to what effect it will have in the algorithms: and therefore what will show in my timeline. I want to really just want to see the people I follow (and by extension what they think is worth seeing) rather than adverts and 'news' that Musk and Twitter make me see.

I'm hoping this turbulent few weeks on Twitter proves to be nothing more than a horrible aberration. I can but hope.

Not sure, of course, yet about the open source app Mastodon, but have created an account in case it becomes the new place to be. If it becomes so much bigger (and it looks like it will) then it may well become a boss place to hang out. We shall see. If you are over there too you can find me on:

@Zevonesque@mastodonapp.uk

To top off my I.T. day I've also installed 'Ventura' on to the laptop. Go me!

Live Music

A.J. Walker — 2022-09-25T14:11:59+01:00

Been a very good month for live music for me. Lucky enough to see Heavy North at the Arts Club (the former Masque) and then there was Frank Turner at the Carling Academy, swiftly followed by Thea Gilmore at the Music Room at the Philharmonic Hall. All great artists - and hopefully I'll see then all again. In fact I have already booked to see Frank again in January. Was looking up hotels and trains to go up to Lancaster to see him, but unfortunately the tickets for that gig went in a day. Ended up deciding to get tickets for the Wolverhampton gig. Both gigs are on Saturdays and made them attractive for that reason as much as the venue. York and Leicester would have been good but didn't fall on weekends, so Wolverhampton it was. Will be a good way to start of my gig year. Can never not love his gigs.

Heavy North at the Arts Club, Liverpool

Frank Turner at the Liverpool Carling Academy

On top of that I went to the Sofar Sounds gig on 15 September which was at the Carnival Brewery. That featured Conleth McGeary, George Fell, and Wild Love.And I've caught the Loose Moose String Band and John Witherspoon playing at pubs including the Caledonia, Dispensary, and the Angus. Like I say a good month. Rock on.

Conleth McGeary at the Sofar gig at Carnival Brewery

I've also played at four or so open mics in that month at the Dispensary with the host of either Dave or Muzzy from Seafoam Green. All the nights have been most enjoyable. Keen to play more new stuff and hopefully write some songs of my own. We shall see.

Open Mic at the Dispensary, Liverpool

A Ten Mile Cycle

A.J. Walker — 2022-09-19T14:23:57+01:00

Watched the queen's procession before the funeral this morning from Westminster Hall to Westminster Cathedral. It looked very impressive. Once the funeral part began I thought I'd go out. Not done much exercise this week so decided to get out on the bike. Had no aim when I left, but took a rucksack in case any shops were open (there weren't).

In the end I completed a ten mile trip along the Liverpool Loop Line. Was good to get out and it remained dry for the hour. The roads themselves were very quiet. I expect many were watching the funeral. Yup, even in the People's Republic of Liverpool. By the time of my return the roads were once again getting busier.

Hadn't realised that I'd never done a ten mile trip on my bike until it showed up as such on Runkeeper. I generally do about 6 miles into work and that's that. Will have to do some more I think; keep the legs and heart going. Of course coming up with that idea as the nights begin to draw in is maybe not ideal Coincidentally it's almost exactly a year ago since I first began cycling on my dad's old bike; ZevonOne. It's definitely a good form of exercise, wish I'd done that years earlier.

Muppets Forever

A.J. Walker — 2022-09-10T15:44:20+01:00

The chest infection is lingering on but isn't as bad as it was. And I managed last week to cycle to work, to actually work – and to do two open mics again. I played at the open mic at the Dispensary on Monday night. It was a good crowd again playing. Andy they had more beer choices this week too, which was nice to see (after they only had two ales on last week). Later on in the week I played at the Belvedere for the first time in ages at John Witherspoon's night.

Dispensary Open Mic

Played four songs on Monday and three on Thursday. Not bad eh? Trying not to start off automatically with 'Oh My Sweet Carolina' and actually going for one of either 'Couldn't Get Arrested' 'Whiskey in my Whiskey' and 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn'.

On the Monday I met a local who'd returned to Liverpool after living in Aus and was just getting back into the place. It'll be like he's never been away in no time. He played his three songs and I chatted to him about other venues with open mics. I recommended the Belvedere on Thursday – and yes he did go and play there too. I'm an influencer!

Barry, brilliant as ever

Great to see John play again. It'd been a while.

There were a few people in the small room. Cosy!

Lots of regulars there all on top form – and someone's grandmother (who'll remain nameless) was enjoying the evening with a great deal of toe-tapping and she even regaled us with a couple of songs sans guitar.

Bit mad to hear a fair few people singing along with Couldn't Get Arrested and Whiskey in my Whiskey in the Belvedere. It felt like I had a chorus being sung like the muppets on Fraggle Rock. But it was nice though.

Not sure whether I'll get to any open mics next week. If I do it'll probably just be the Dispensary one as I am going to a Sofar gig on Thursday (I do wish autocorrect would stop changing that to Solar gig). Of course that is assuming music is still on in the middle of this week of random mourning (you can play cricket or rugby, but not football?).

Me, looking like an old overweight white bluesman. It's just the shirt I tell ya!

John, the host with most.

Thank you everyone, including the muppets!

Wheezy & Dizzy Again

A.J. Walker — 2022-08-30T10:44:46+01:00

Have had a wee chest infection for a few weeks. So much so that I even went to see the GP in case it was something more serious. Thankfully it seems like it is just that. Can't wait for it to clear up fully though. Its made singing some songs very difficult, indeed impossible, as I've not been able to fill my lungs enough with breath! Some songs though survived this breathless cull.

I've previously gone to watch some open mics recently without singing as I knew I would fail miserably. Collapsing in a heap in a high pitch wheeze is not a look I want to aim for. Yesterday though I managed to clear my lungs enough to sing any of my usual songs – and I did. I went along to the Dispensary again (think for the fifth time?) to play. It was run once more by Muzz and I was pleased to see Ollie and Guy there. They usually play at the Monday Night Club at the Cavern, but it was cancelled this week allowing them to come along for their first time.

In the end I think there were seven people who played. And most got up twice. I ended up playing two lots of three songs:

'Down By The Water' - Decemberists
'Oh My Sweet Carolina' - Ryan Adams
'Whiskey In My Whiskey' - Felice Brothers
'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn' - Chuck Prophet
'You Couldn't Get Arrested' - Green on Red
'Somewhere Down the Road' - Chuck Prophet

It being a Bank Holiday the event finished a bit earlier than usual (before 10). So after getting my free pint of White Rat for playing, I had one more then got of and had a final drink in the Sanctuary before heading home. I had an early start on Tuesday to look forward to for a real ale visit to Sheffield. More of that later…

Still a bit chesty and I think I'll give the antibiotics a go (I was prescribed them by the GP in case it hung around for any longer). Of course it's as likely to be viral as biological but worth a spin of the wheel I suppose if it gets rid of my 'smoker's cough' for non-smokers.

Little Changes

A.J. Walker — 2022-08-08T13:49:39+01:00

Done a few open mics at the Dispensary now, hosted by either of the Seafoam Green duo (Dave & Muzz). Last week it went pretty well and I felt I sounded better than usual - ie not forgetting too many words or messing up chord changes. But I am aware that I have kept doing the same three or four songs (last week's songs were: 'Oh My Sweet Carolina' - Ryan Adams, 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn' - Chuck Prophet, 'Couldn't Get Arrested' - Green on Red, and 'Whisky In My Whiskey' - Felice Brothers). The next time I play I intend to not play any of these as I should try to mix it up and stretch myself a bit.

Currently thinking next time I'll go for 'Down By the Water' - Decemberists, 'Somewhere Down The Road' - Chuck Prophet, 'Splendid Isolation' - Warren Zevon, and maybe 'One I Love' - REM. We shall see. I dare say that I'll end up playing one or two of the usual instead. I'll let you know!

Ripping it up at the Dizz.- well maybe just playing a C.

And in the coming weeks I intend to learn some new songs and get them out there. Before maybe playing with my own words (alongside the usual C, G, Am and F chords no doubt). Again, watch this space.

GarageBand Doodling

A.J. Walker — 2022-07-15T15:12:36+01:00

Still very much at the base of a big learning curve. Hoping that playing around on the computer with my guitars and the microphone may mean that I finally get around to putting some songs of my own together. That is the aim anyway. In the meantime I had a quick mess around with it today and used the same format as before ie drum track, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and vocals. Not great but every time I use it I should learn some more. That's what I hope at any rate.

'Oh My Sweet Carolina' by Ryan Adams - with my apologies to fans.

Tuesdays Are the New Sundays at the Angus

A.J. Walker — 2022-07-15T11:55:01+01:00

After a couple of weeks without going out, partly due to Covid, I was relieved to get out to this week's open mic at the Angus. After running it a couple of times on a Sunday it had been decided to move the 'mic to a Tuesday night. It was thought that there was a good chance there would be more people able to make it – a lot of the crew that regularly turn out for John Witherspoon's night attend the Jacaranda on a Sunday. The first Sunday event was run by Mike Blue as John was booked elsewhere, and there was only me to play, and on the second one there was just two of us in addition to John (me and Mark Lacey). Definitely a good move to change the day.

It was going to be interesting to see how many people turned up, and who from the usual Keystone/Belvedere regulars would turn up? The answer turned out to be: nearly everyone.

Having a 'few' more there it meant I wasn't first or second up after John. Nope I was eighth up: and not even last. I guess that counts as a very successful night. There's a lot of familiar faces in the photos including Ollie, Guy, Liam, Bert and co. All top people and performers. Great to see the Angus open mic getting the number of people it deserves. Tuesdays are definitely better than Sundays (despite being a working day). The sound system in the Angus is fabulous for these events and it is a great place to play; oh and they have real ale on too (I was on the Beartown 'Bluebeary' for the evening).

It was another warm one so I was unusually without a jacket again and wearing my old Wilco T-shirt from the 'A Ghost is Born' tour (2004). I definitely make my T-shirts last (or to be fair I just flog them to death). Unfortunately I couldn't exactly channel Wilco with my playing. Everyone played three songs and so did I with two of my usuals 'Oh My Sweet Carolina' and 'You Couldn't Get Arrested' – and a new one for me, 'Please Stay' by Warren Zevon. Definitely need some more practice with that one, but it was great to give it a run out in the wild. Next time it'll be better. And it was nice to hear people singing along with You Couldn't Get Arrested.

The T-shirt may be dying but it's okay because 'A Ghost is Born' - at the Angus 12.07.26

I hope to be there next time. It's fortnightly not weekly so thankfully we won't have to battle the heatwave this coming Tuesday. Small blessings, Tuesdays are the new Sundays: it's official. Oh, and this coming Tuesday what's on at the Angus and who will be facing the forecast mid-30C heat? Yep it's only John Witherspoon himself for a launch of his new single 'Shame' – Ollie Felton will be supporting him (not entirely sure whether that means playing some songs too or just spraying water at John at regular intervals).

At the Bottom of a Learning Curve

A.J. Walker — 2022-07-12T08:09:16+01:00

This weekend I strung my Squier Telecaster for the first time in many years. I'd also bought a Focusrite Scarlett Solo so that I could connect my microphone and guitars to my Mac. I've never really used GarageBand not having the connection before. It's a bit daunting and will take a bit of hands-on playing around to learn about everything I'll need to jot some songs out. Hopefully it'll help me get around to writing some new songs. We shall see.

Garageband interface

So yesterday I recorded a wee song, 'Please Stay' – a short and very poignant song from Warren Zevonesque. Haven't played along with a drum track since I played with some mates back in the early 1990s. It was nice to do.

Within a few hours of playing around I managed to record this with the drum track and playing my Takamine 363 and the Telecaster – will be nice to play around with the electric guitar again. I played the acoustic first (along with the drum track), then recorded the vocal track before finally playing the Tele. Wonder where it will get me in the end?

The exercise bike was not used in the recording of the song.

A Gig Missed and a Homage

A.J. Walker — 2022-07-05T14:45:25+01:00

Hardly left the house since I tested positive for Covid last Thursday and of course in that time, in fact since last Monday, I have not been out for a pint. That's fine – if unusual – but tomorrow I had a ticket for the Felice Brothers at Leaf on Bold Street. As I am unable to now have two successive negative tests before the gig I've had to pass on the ticket to another fan. Gutted. I'll have to find another gig another week to replace it. But it'll be hard to get one I'll look forward to as much – I've currently only got the Frank Turner gig in October booked. We'll see what I can do.

Still I've managed to finish a book I've been reading for a while – and one I've owned for years. It is a signed copy of 'Homage to Gaia' by the fascinating scientist, James Lovelock. It is a absorbing story of a brilliant guy. The vast majority of the book was quite a read and told with aplomb. It read like an Asimov version of a polymath scientist capable of developing insightful ideas and A-Team style devices out of whatever he could find in the kitchen, whilst mingling with the great and the good (and not so good) of science, politics, and business. I only felt a little non-plussed by the chapter towards the end about his love for (and sex) with his second wife – in his seventies. I've nothing against love or sex, but the chapter just didn't really sit well within the rest of the book. He's 102 now and still with us: as is his Gaia theory. The book was published in 2000 and I won it in a competition. Out of interest I had a quick look on Abebooks to see if there were any signed copies out there for sale. And flippin' heck there were two. It must be the most expensive book I've read…

Flippin' heck.

Half way through the year and it was my fourteenth book. I'd only set myself the target of twenty for the year on Goodreads so I'm well on the way to that and beyond. I've had a great mix of reads; both fiction and non-fiction, with non-fiction from Alice Roberts, Richard Ovenden, and James Lovelock, and fiction from authors including Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, HG Wells, Gareth L Powell, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. That's not a bad list of authors. Now what will the second half of the year bring?

That's A First; Could Be A Last

A.J. Walker — 2022-06-27T16:28:51+01:00

That's A First; Could Be The Last
– A Story with Two Sebastians –

The footy season is indeed over, but last week saw a full on fixture pile up of my own. In a stunningly unusual week of performances I ended up playing three open mics in a week. Three! One or fewer is the norm. Last week started with my first visit to the Dispensary on Renshaw Street on Monday for the mic. I'd never seen it so didn't know what to expect in terms of its set up or who usually attended it. It was advertised as starting at 7pm, which seems an hour or so early – but it is what it is. I ended up heading down for about 8:30, I'd been at work in the day but was off the next day so the finishing time was neither here nor there. The mic stand and speaker was up the steps at the rear of the pub. There was no-one there at the time, but there was a guitar in the window resting. There were a few people sat up top (and a couple more down the stairs) and it wasn't clear who was running the night. At 8:30 it seemed early, but to be fair whoever had been playing could have been playing for an hour and half by that time – so a fag break or a quick stroll around the park would not have been too outlandish. I thought perhaps a fag break. No one moved towards the mic until I'd almost finished my pint, when a woman who'd been sat with some friends at the back came across to pick up the guitar.

The hostess turned out to be the singer, Muireann, from the excellent local band, Seafoam Green. It transpired that she was filling in for the guitarist from Seafood. She played a few songs whilst calling out for anyone who fancied giving it a go. I volunteered and two students (well, just graduated) cheered me on despite my declaration I was not all that. It seemed a change was as good as a rest to them. And so I went up and played. It was a long set for me - SIX songs. That just about depletes and stretches my memory to destruction.

Sebastian Blake

Sebastian, Muireann and a guest slot from the dancing student (Bez, eat your heart out)

I played everything surprisingly unstressed and without many errors – which for me is a rarity. It seemed to go down pretty well. By the time I came off the mic a songwriter & guitarist who was passing through Liverpool from Leeds had arrived on the scene. He was next up. And he was brilliant. His name was Sebastian Blake and you can find him easily on Instagram. He put on a great show with his songs and was a thoroughly nice guy. Muireann, Sebastian, the students/graduates and I had a nice chinwag until closing. Oh, and I got a free pint for playing. Unfortunately just one for the whole stay at the mic and not one per song. Okay, maybe that's fortunately.

All in all an enjoyable evening.

Playing a C in the Belvedere

Next up I returned to the Belvedere for the open mic for the first time since the first day of John Witherspoon's open mic stint. The mic is in a small upstairs room and during that first week there was a power cut. We all played on and it was realised that there was no need for the mics and amps so all the subsequent mics have been sans mic. It's still called an open mic, because if was just called an open it may get inundated by golfers – and it is far too small a pub to take all the trolleys.

John turning off the music before Ollie played some

John played first, quickly followed by the brilliant Dan Bradley. And then another brilliant guy. Then another. I should really turn up first to these events so I'm not preceded by all these top players. I ended up being about the fifth person up. I actually did okay – and remembered all the words (and generally played the correct chords – or at least didn't lose myself if I did strum a wrong un'. I was working the next day, Friday (which is unusual for me), so I had to leave after just a few more. But I saw the bulk of the guys and gals; and it was another top night.

Full on troubadour stance from John Witherspoon in the Angus

Then came Sunday; the third appearance of the week. It was good to support John again at the Angus, on Dale Street. It was only the second of their Sunday open mics and it is competing with the relatively large one at the Jacaranda (which I've never been to) and the general lack of knowledge that it is on: it takes a while for the news of regular events to filter through.

John was there when I arrived and, unlike the Belvedere on Thursday, I was the first to arrive, which meant I'd be the first up – after John's excellent troubadouring. He indicated that I should play three songs, and that if it was quiet I could go up again. This is how it went. In the background on the TV in pictures and occasionally with sound was the BBC coverage of Glastonbury. So as well as coming on after John I also followed Lorde and Jarvis Cocker.

Mark Lacey (or Mark Sebastian D'Lacey)

In between the excellent, funny and charismatic, Mark Sebastian D'Lacey had arrived on the scene. He was brilliant. I think three appearances in a week is a lot: he was on his third of the day! Mark is a good mate of John's and they both enjoyed each others music muchly. As did I. I ended up going up for a second time to get my six songs in. Didn't play or sing as well as I had on the previous two days. Partly I think because the guitar was too prominent for me (after all my singing is a bit better than my strumming at the moment). Still, I am glad I made the effort to support both John and the Angus with this new fortnightly set up.

Oh and as well as playing three 'mics in a week it was bookended by appearances from two Sebastian's, what's the chance of that!?

Onwards and Upwards – probably with a C, G and an A Minor; with just an occasional F for good measure.

If Music Be The Food Of Love

A.J. Walker — 2022-06-13T23:02:10+01:00

The footy season is indeed now over but last week magical Anfield held another event: the Rolling Stones first Liverpool gig for nearly fifty years. When the tickets went on sale I briefly considered getting one. I mean an iconic band in a wonderful stadium. I'd previously watched one gig there, which was Paul McCartney in 2008 (the Capital of Culture gig). I'd done the same that time to by not getting a ticket when they first went on sale but really wishing I had as it approached. Then the day before the gig an acquaintance said he had a spare and I snaffled it up in super quick time. It did not disappoint. But I'd never seen Macca before and I've been lucky enough to see the Stones several times including the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, at Twickenham, and at Glastonbury, so I didn't have quite the same push to spend the one hundred pounds or so on a ticket. Still on the day I was kinda jealous of everyone going. You really can't beat a live music event - be it giants of history like them or newer or more intimate events.

So I decided that I'd get a ticket or two for gigs which would fill the need (and be cheaper than seeing the one band (or two if you counted the Bunnymen)). I quickly got on the case and over a couple of days got myself a ticket for the brilliant Felice Brothers, who are playing Leaf on Bold Street in a few weeks, and Frank Turner for later in the year (October). I'll keep my eye out for another gig or two and still come in below the cost of seeing Jagger, Richards and co. Notwithstanding that it did sound like it was a top night and everyone seems to have enjoyed Anfield that night and I do kinda wish I'd gone. Having the Felice Brothers and Frank to look forward to is pretty damn cool though.

Over the last couple of weeks I have not done a single open mic, which is rare since the return of them to the hostelries in Liverpool. And so it was that I decided to go to a new open mic night at the Angus who had announced they were to move their night to a Sunday and have it on a more regular basis (at least whilst the football season is in abeyance). John Witherspoon who I know from his hosting the mic at the Keystone (and now the Belvedere) is to be the new host but on this occasion he had to pass it on to another regular guitarist: Mike Blue. I pootled down to the Angus just before the start time at 8pm and found there was only one guy with a guitar already there; this turned out to be Mike. Shortly afterwards he got up to play and introduce the night asking if anyone for requests, saying he hoped some people would turn up to play soon. But town looked quiet everywhere as far as I could tell from my walk to the Angus - and from the people passing the windows of the bar. Quite a few people would be playing in the Jacaranda open mic which has been going for some time now. It'll take a few weeks of word of mouth for this new night to become more widely known (not everyone is on Social Media all the time - hard to believe I know). Eventually I let it be known that I could go up an play lest Mike end up playing the whole night as a gig and I went up and played three of my usual songs ('Oh My Sweet Carolina,' 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn, and 'Whiskey in my Whiskey' - the last one being the Felice Brothers who I'll see at Leaf). Then Mike returned. He hadn't seen me play before, so for a nice change he'd not been subject to the same songs week after week.

As the night moved on it became more apparent that other singers were unlikely to turn up, at least not in numbers, and Mike continued playing some great songs (largely requests from the audience) including a couple of great Neil Young covers. The couple in front of me then suggested it was my turn to go up again, probably to allow Mike a toilet break and opportunity to refuel and I duly did (I felt obliged) playing 'You Couldn't Get Arrested' and 'Splendid Isolation.' Mike continued and finally after he played a fine U2 cover I went up a third time and played my own U2 cover (albeit a trad song) 'Van Diemen's Land' and (half a version of) 'Somewhere Down the Road.' Mike played on till time was called and beyond - and that was that. We shook hands and chatted. Like John and Ali, Mike was an accomplished guitarist with a good voice and stage presence and was a thoroughly nice chap, it was a shame a few more (or even just one more!) people didn't go up to play.

Several people in the bar said they enjoyed my songs which was a) nice and b) made me wonder what they had been drinking.

I've a soft spot for the Angus (for it's music and its beer) and I really hope in the longer term the open mic will succeed, whether that is on a Sunday or another night. Ultimately it will always be a moveable feast due to football supporters being an important part of its clientele; and because of the regular professional gigs it hosts. It was good to get back to playing in front of people again and I won't leave it as long to the next time. Maybe even the Belvedere on Thursday?

Onwards and Upwards. And yes: Play On!

Only Ever Liverpool

A.J. Walker — 2022-05-31T08:14:02+01:00

The footy season is over and boy what a season it was. When people complain we 'only' won two cups then they need their heads testing if they are (supposedly) Liverpool fans, or jealous if they are unlucky enough to follow another team. I missed the parade after 2005 as I'd been at the match and the parade was taking place when I was making my way back and then at Sunny Beach. It looked amazing. The next one I did get to was for when we won 'only' the `FA Cup. And the following one was three years ago when we won the European Cup (or Champion's League if you must be a pedant). And what a fuckin' parade that was. It was unbelievable for the fans, the club, and the city (at least for half the city anyway). Of course when we won the League (okay, the Premier League) we were unable to celebrate it appropriately due to that damnable virus. Then came the season that was 2021/22.

Three years on and back in the Sanctuary for a pre-parade pint. Cheers!

It's just been a brilliant season. Would have loved to win either the league or the Champion's League, but hell we ran those competitions as close as humanly possible, whilst winning the only other two competitions we were in whilst playing an incredible 63 games - and lost only 4 games all season. The last game of the league season went within about half an hour of us improbably winning the title when Villa conspired to take a two nil lead against City and then give it away plus one. For a while there was hope. And it's the hope that kills ya!

Same spot as last time for the parade (minus the flyover).

Then came the Euro final and it was in many ways an anticlimax. We lost by a solitary goal after largely being the better team, but being unable to quite finish it off. Perhaps those 63 games had told. For heaven's sake that may be why winning all four of those competitions has never been done before. As the late kick off got announced and the stories of what was happening in France slowly filtered through the game became secondary and a real shame for what should after all be the showcase of the beautiful game. So we didn't win. Shame, but we'll fight on. And what a team we have. Changes are inevitable and Mane announced he was to leave the club in the summer and we know not yet what is in store for Salah and Firmino, who's contracts are up at the end of next season (as Mane's is). Then there's the Kop Legend that is Origi saying farewell too. It's the nature of the game.

So on Sunday I went out to cheer on the teams (including the Ladies, who'd won promotion to the top table by becoming champions themselves). My friends almost didn't come out after being 'a bit tired' from the night before, but sense prevailed – and they were glad they made the effort. We made the decision (well I did) that we'd do what did last time and meet up in the Sanctuary on Lime Street and watch the parade's progress on YouTube so that we could time our move to the route at a decent time. It went, like last time, perfectly.

The parade looked brilliant in person and along the whole route on YouTube. It could have been a flat atmosphere after the two close-but-no-cigar moments of there preceding weeks. The fans and team are really something else.

Klopp in the centre of Liverpool

Liverpool really do put on the best displays.

A great defence at the back; of the bus.

Post parage pint in Doctor Duncan's - with my old Euro Flag t-shirt.

In the aftermath of Paris there has so much come out about the organisation and policing it was gobsmackingly awful. Watching some of the footage it is incredible how well behaved the fans were with the provocation from the police and the local yobs. It could have been so much worse. It is amazing that no-one was killed. The French have of course spun the old trope of English football hooligans and Liverpool in particular. The footage shows otherwise, They claim that there were tens of thousands of fans with forged tickets. This was not the case. Although I'm sure there would have been some of course.

I went to Athens back in 2007 after I'd booked flights months before just in case we got there. We did. I stayed on a small island in the Bay of Athens and had to get into the city by ferry each day I wanted to visit. It was a lovely week, I ended up unable to get a ticket for the final – and giiven our history in particular I would never have used a blag one. Ended up watching the match in the Craft Bar with some old time fans who'd been to all the previous Euro Finals but been stuck like me without one. It was a great night in the end despite our defeat. Ended up drinking until 8am (which was handy because that was the time for the first ferry in the morning). Almost forgot we lost by that point.

In the year between our two matches with AC Milan I'd similarly booked a flight 'in case we got there' for the final – it was in Paris. Met up with a few Liverpool fans there that had done the same thing. It was an interesting weekend in a multitude of ways – including see how the Arsenal fans were (a little bit embarrassing – why the hell sing songs about Spurs when you're sat in a bar in Paris awaiting your first cup final? The mind boggles.). But the worst thing was the police. At one point a young black man was walking past a cafe I was in and the waiter started shouting something at him. A couple of policemen arrived on the scene and promptly handcuffed the man to a railing by the main road. They then proceeded to batter the man with their batons. He'd just been walking past the cafe and was fully restrained. No one did anything. It was something the locals had evidently seen before. It was shocking. The next day I was having a coffee in a square in the sunshine. There were two couples sat on a grassed area chatting beneath some trees. Two policemen walked up the small slope towards the couples and proceeded to use their batons on the poor people. The couples were black. It was daylight, Lunchtime. There was no fear from the police from doing what they were doing. It was totally messed up.

Seeing what the police were doing at this year's cup final it is clear that they are a fucked up organisation – and evidently the French expect it of them.

Yesterday Real Madrid issued a statement about the treatment of their fans at the Final, and UEFA then seemed resigned to have to quickly apologise after that. It is good that Madrid did that but it is of course obnoxious that UEFA were happy to say nothing as long as it was just Liverpool fans, who they evidently felt could take the blame for their callous ineptitude. Both UEFA and the French police have a lot to answer for – I don't expect anything to improve in the short term. It would be nice to think that something positive would come out of this, but I wont be holding my breath. Then there is the French Government and their immediate knee jerk reaction to blame the English fans rather than to step back and wait for investigations and heads to roll. Truly awful.

All in all the events around the final have left a sour taste in the mouth. And I've barely thought about the actual football game. A crying shame.

YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE

My Return to the Sofar

A.J. Walker — 2022-05-22T13:55:50+01:00

My Return to the Sofar (and Another Fine Return)

I last went to a Sofar gig in September in a place called Slate. It featured the excellent Heavy North who have subsequently gone on to release a really rather wicked album. Get on it. But last week I got a ticket for my second event. For those that don't know the deal, the ticket is for £10 and you don't find out the location (other than the city) until 36 hours before – and you don't know who is playing until they get up on the stage (or their name is on their kit!).

Last week the venue was One Fine Day on Old Hall Street. The venue itself is not currently permanently open, but is used for individual events and weddings etc. I'd never been to there before and it proved to be a nice place with good acoustics. It was really busy with not a seat left as far as I could see and I ended up sat at the front. I moved along to help a couple of later comers get nearer and sit together – and therefore I ended up in a nice padded seat instead of a plastic one. Win win.

The three acts of the night were all fab. Loved the local singer songwriter Eleanor Nelly's stories and attitude – and her songs and singing was excellent. Taylor the Chapter, who wants to never be known as Gary, was solid. And finally the main act were a Wigan four piece called Stanleys. They looked so young to me, but so does everyone these days. There songs and assuredness were great. I've already spent some time listening to them on Spotify. They could definitely go on to be pretty successful if this performace was anything to go by. I believe they have already supported the Lathums, which is pretty impressive.

The Stanleys played five songs:

'What's Been and Gone'
'Why Would I?'
'A Better Life'
'Look Back'
'Maybe'

Check them out on Spotify, or better still get on down to see them when they're next playing near you.

The following day was the return of the Open Mic hosted by John Witherspoon. The Belvedere pub had snaffled the gentleman and given him the opportunity to host the event following the recent demise of the Keystone. It was held in the upstairs room on the left. Despite the announcement on just being made earlier in the week the news had spread very well amongst all the regulars from just that short distance down the road.

The beer was on.

Great to see so many turn up. It became a most memorable night when the entire area around this part of Liverpool was plunged into a power cut and the playing continued without the PA and under candle light. Moody stuff.

The lights were on…

… the lights were off.

A Poignant Affair

A.J. Walker — 2022-05-01T16:21:58+01:00

Another Strange Thursday

After a strange night last Thursday and the a good, strange one last week it was time for another strange Thursday–and this one a very sad and poignant want. At the start of the week there came an announcement that had been mooted for a short while that the Keystone was to close down. The home of my almost weekly open mic nights out. Closing. Bloody hell. And although the announcement was only made on Tuesday it was not a 'heads up' it'll happen eventually, it was a 'it's closing this very week.' Bloody awful.

Really feel for all the great staff who are having to look to ply their trade elsewhere. Thankfully it appears that, at least some of them, have quickly found some work in other Liverpool city centre pubs and (at least one) in a new brewery tap–and another returning to another field that she hasn't worked in for a while. Sometimes an end is an opportunity. Good luck to them all of course.

Personally to me it is a sorry shame to lose one of my favourite pubs of the last year. Last year it burst onto the scene due to its great garden, when so many pubs in the city don't have them. It allowed them to open up when most pubs couldn't. I had many a nice afternoon and evening there either reading, or writing, or just chatting with the staff and the regulars (and sometimes very irregulars). I did my best to introduce it to friends and drinkers, whilst hoping it wouldn't become too popular with the wrong regulars. Then in November the open mic was started, hosted by John Witherspoon, and that quickly became one of the first things in my weekly diary (along with European footy nights in the Head of Steam or the Fly).

I hadn't been playing my guitar that much in the last year. The whole MS thing was worrying earlier in the year when I couldn't even feel my fingers and wondered at one stage whether I'd ever pick up a guitar again. To go from hardly playing at all to playing in front of people at least twice a month was brilliant.

With the demise of the venue I dare say I'll look into playing in other places. But I am certainly going to miss John and the regulars (and irregulars) who played at the Keystone. This last open mic I had plenty of songs to choose from. I thankfully didn't have to follow Ian Prowse again. I played three of my most regular songs: 'Oh My Sweet Carolina', 'You Couldn't Get Arrested' and 'Whiskey in my Whiskey.' I played the latter one for Ben who had requested it the previous week. He was deep in loud conversation with Si and didn't even notice I'd played–let alone notice I'd played his request (albeit a week late).

There were lots of chatting with the staff and regulars who were all pretty surprised and depressed about the news. But I was glad I made the effort to go–even though I had to leave early as I was working the next day. Ho hum.

My last strum through a C-F-G ditty for a while I dare say.

Onwards and Upwards.

Does This Train Stop?

A.J. Walker — 2022-04-22T14:38:04+01:00

Not One Thing, Another

After a strange night last Thursday mixing a tiring week, not sure I was going to go to the open mic, and then difficult travel, this week I was always going to play. It was again affected by none running buses but I got there about 8:30pm this week. It ended with me playing and going up to play straight AFTER we'd been given four songs by Ian Prowse. Yes, people. The local legend that is Mr Prowse opened for me. Who'd have thunk it??

John

John was hosting as usual and then a few newbies arrived to the evening including Ian. Flippin' heck. Obviously I'd have preferred to get on and off the stage early doors to relax, but I had to wait until our new arrivals played. There was a lot of "this is from my new album," and "this was off my first album," going on from several of the players this week. I am not worthy.

Meanwhile in the conservatory there was a Ladies That Beer event hosted by a couple of my colleagues. Beers were being drunk, and beers were being talked about. It was a busy night in the Key'.

Liam Sweeney

Ian Prowse

Your's Truly, aka The Procrastinator

John Lindsay playing a new song

Soft and cool, Ike

After far too long wondering when (or, at one stage, if) I was going to get on, I'd ummed and ahhd about whether to play some stuff I don't normally play, but as the evening lengthened I decided my only real option was to play the ones I know best - and not worry about peering through the gloom at written lyrics. As it was the nerves got to me a little (yes, I got nerves - even if the MS seems to hate them) and I misplayed some chord changes and played through a few times when I had a bit of a lyrical mind melt. Still, I got through it in the end and was happy to have played the same night as Ian and the others - even if I didn't entirely do myself justice.

John was happy to see my Procrastinator T-shirt again. He says he likes my T-shirts, which is odd as other than the two times I've worn this I've pretty much been lumberjack shirts all the way. It's like going back to glasses from wearing contacts, people soon forget you ever did anything else. Meanwhile I just forget whether the next chord is an A minor or an F. Or maybe a C.

The next time I play on the same stage as Ian I hope it will be at the Cavern where he hosts an Open Mic - but for none covers only. I better get writing a hit then. Meanwhile here is a classic from the gentleman, 'Does This Train Stop on Merseyside?'

Onwards and Upwards.

Balinese Dancer

A.J. Walker — 2022-04-15T19:06:35+01:00

A Last Minute Call to the Balinese Dancr

After a strange and a bit of a tough day at work I was undecided whether to go to the regular Open Mic at the Keystone. I ended up home later than usual and a bit knackered. I hadn't seen anything saying the open mic was on for sure (even though it is pretty much always on) and contemplated staying in. When I looked on Instagram there was a message saying the open mic was on and hosted by John Witherspoon as usual. But there was a second photo - and when I looked at it, it was me playing last week with my Procrastinators T-shirt on. And to top it off they name checked me with; 'Guest appearance from our very very regular who DEFINITELY knows we are using his photo.' Well, no I didn't and at the time on the sofa I wasn't sure I was even leaving the house. But the message… I mean how could I not turn up?

So I got changed and went for the bus. It never came and so I had to wait for the next one which was over half an hour later. It was definitely not the best of days. In the end I was there about 9pm - and it was packed.

I'd been playing some songs over the last week or so that I hadn't played before and had thought I may give them a go. When I went up to play I decided to give them both a go, but needed the reassurance of having the words in front go me. And so it was that I played one regular song and two new ones (if new means new to me playing live). And so my mini set list was:

'Oh My Sweet Carolina' - Ryan Adams
'110 in the Shade' - Chuck Prophet
'Something You Ain't Got' - Cracker

I needed to play a regular song first to get into the swing of it. But I was very happy to have played some different stuff; albeit my usual favourite artists from albums recorded back in the day. It's always nice hearing some people saying they enjoy the words and to think that maybe I've introduced even a single person to the wonderful songwriting (and then when they hear the originals: the Guitar!) of Chuck Prophet (and Cracker). I've actually played three Chuck Prophet songs of the same album now; 'Somewhere Down the Road,' 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn,' and now '110 in the Shade.' There's loads of Chuck's albums on Spotify, which I can thoroughly recommend, however this particular album, 'Balinese Dancer,' is not on Spotify. So if you wanna check out the tracks then maybe buy the album (I know, a bit old school) or just have a look/listen on YouTube.

I was definitely glad I made the effort in the end.

But don't ask me about getting home (yes, it was that kind of day again).

A Family Link to Donbas

A.J. Walker — 2022-04-04T15:07:58+01:00

Was looking at a little information I have on my great grandfather, Peter Rigby from Wigan, the father of my grandmother Kathleen. He was a mining engineer who went out and lived in Ukraine in the first and second decade of the 20th Century. My grandma mentioned living there a few times in her later years (she lived to 98) and reminisced about escaping there before the Russian Revolution. She always mentioned Odessa when she talked about it (and said she only remembered the words for snow and sled from her time there - there was no mention of 'Rosebud' though), so I always thought they'd lived there. But reading an article about Peter it was actually Donestk (then called Hughesoffka). Maybe they had trips over to Odessa or my gran remembered traveling through it. The city was an industrial one and had several mining operations where Peter worked, ironically for a Mr J.H. Walker. Of course many years later his granddaughter would marry a Walker (aka dad). I assume there were no links (J.H. Walker was from Wigan, whilst all our Walker relations are from western Scotland).

The haulage engines used in the mines were supplied from Messrs Walker Brothers, Wigan.

Peter was born in 1874 and died in 1952. He was in Ukraine for some eleven years working for the colliery company ‘New Russia Co.’ He’d have been approximately 32 when he moved there and 43 on his return. According to an article about it, he actually tried to go back to Ukraine after returning with the family to Lancashire. I thought at first that perhaps he liked working there. But then I noticed his wife (Alice Jane Rigby) died that year so maybe he was running away from that? There is no-one to ask. At some point I may have to do some more work on the family tree and maybe some answers will be obvious - or at least there my be some clues. In any case he only made it as far as Newcastle though as in view of what was going on the ship was ordered not to sail.

There must have been a lot of British and other Europeans there before the Revolution. The town was split between a ‘workers’ and a ‘European’ area. And the town was called Hughesoffka after a Merthyr born engineer and entrepreneur John Hughes who founded the city after setting out there with ‘100 workers and their families’ mostly from the Welsh valleys in eight boats in 1870. They built an iron works there and collieries under the New Russia Company Ltd. The European workers, including Hughes’ brothers who ran the ironworks, left the city when the plant fell under the control of the Bolsheviks in 1917. Maybe Peter, with his wife and children left with the Hughes’? The city was to become Stalino in 1924 and then Donetsk in 1961.

It is strange to think that my grandmother spent some of her childhood in the capital of Donbas - the scene of so much death and destruction for years before even the current war; She would have been about 14 when she left and her sister, Marion, even younger. Donbas has been split into areas controlled by Ukraine and Pro-Russian Separatists after civil war supported by Russia since 2014. Incidentally in a nod to the reason my great grandfather and his family were over there, just over 105 years ago, the regional name Donbas is a portmanteau word from the ‘Donets Coal Basin’.

Still Strummin'

A.J. Walker — 2022-04-01T14:52:21+01:00

Played at the open mics in the Keystone and Angus over the last couple of weeks. Great to carry on with it. But I do wonder whether I should do fewer and in the intervening weeks practice more - and maybe write some songs too. We shall see. It'll be a hard drug to give up.

Strumming' at the Keystone a couple of weeks ago.

Good to see Barry playing for the first time and the return of Sam Lee too. A nice evening all round.

Cold weather on Wednesday night meant a smaller group of players than usual Meant the players who did turn up did a lot more than the usual three or four songs.I ended up playing eight songs. Eek!

One of my favourite pics of me playing - the Angus.

Another fab open mic at the Keystone

Almost A Gig~ish

A.J. Walker — 2022-03-19T15:25:02+00:00

As is almost set in stone I went once again to the Keystone open mic. Recently there have always been 12-14 people playing which is incredible really. And to fit everyone in we are each limited to three songs each. This week though we seemed to be a few people down though there were still plenty of regulars and a newbie couple to the Keystone who just happened on the place (Visions of Albion). I suspect the regular carnage that is Liverpool on Paddy's Day probably put a few people of visiting town on the Day of the Green Pavement Pizza.

Visions of Albion

Mr Sinnott doing his bluesy thing

As we were a few down everyone had there usual three songs then those still there went up and played another two each. So I played five songs. Yes, FIVE. That's almost a gig worth.

The songs were:

Oh My Sweet Carolina (obviously)
Take Me Down To The Infirmary (Cracker)
Landlocked Blues (Bright Eyes)
Heart Breaks Like the Dawn (obviously)
Van Diemen's Land (hey, it was Paddy's Day)

Words needed/not needed. No one told me to sort my hair out!

Some Guy.

I needed the lyrics in front of me to to Take Me Down and to Landlocked Blues. First time I've done that at the open mic. But they were new songs for me to play; so fair enough.

Charley style photobombing.

Spent most the evening on the lovely session Trappers Hat from Brimstage Brewery, then ended the evening with the epic Keystone IPA (just a schooner) from Chapter. So all in all a very good evening - and no pavement pizzas around this area of town. Huzzah!

Great Live Music

A.J. Walker — 2022-03-14T13:18:28+00:00

Live music is great. I love it. And last week was fab for it. I ended up playing two open mics in one night on Thursday. I played in both the Head of Steam and the Keystone. Two of my favourite Liverpool pubs. It was good to do.

Jack playing at the Head of Steam

Playing at the Keystone

At the Jack's open mic at the Head of Steam I played four songs. I saw the to women that were sat next to me nodding away to my tunes which was nice. And they were periodically looking at their phones. When I spoke to them afterwards it turned out they were Polish and on their phones they were typing in the lyrics I was singing to find out whose songs I was singing. If I've introduced Chuck Prophet, Green on Red, and Ryan Adams to some more people my job on this world is done.

In the Keystone I played three of the same songs at John Witherspoon's mic. There was no need for the people there to look up my songs as I play them there every week of course. It was great to be invited to John's full band gig at Jimmy's on the Saturday.

John Witherspoon at Jimmys

It was a long day on Saturday as the Liverpool match at Brighton was at 12:30. It is far too early for any game. Watched it with a couple of mates at the Head of Steam - we won (0-2) and are still on the coattails of City. Then it was a question of filling my time with reading and what not before the evening gig. I made it in one piece and was very glad to have made it. John's band was great and he looked so in his element it was lovely to see. Definitely worth seeing him play if you get the chance. The support from the singer songwriter Thom Moorcroft was excellent too.

John with his full band.

Live music is great innit?

Testing, Testing

A.J. Walker — 2022-03-14T12:54:50+00:00

I got a letter from the NHS a couple of weeks ago inviting me to take part in a Covid study being undertaken by Imperial College London & IPSOS Mori. I said yes to it; the more knowledge the better for everyone I reckon. Took a while to do on Friday: mainly due to the time it took putting the flat pack box together as some of the tabs weren't stamped out. It was like a Krypton Factor test (showing my age). Got there in the end. Packed it off and sent it away on Friday from a Priority Mail Box by the Aigburth Tap - as I was there mixing business with pleasure. I had no idea until last week that some mail boxes are Priority and others are Unimportant.

The result came through this morning (which is damn quick) and I am still officially negative. Huzzah! I don't know whether the test is any more official than the swab test you do at home but I guess it it feels like it. And there's a bit more data to be used by the powers that be. Job done.

Keep dodging the bullets and Onwards and Upwards.

Not So Different Four

A.J. Walker — 2022-03-07T11:25:56+00:00

Played at the Keystone open mic again last week. John Witherspoon couldn't make it and the hosting responsibility was past on to Ali Horn (who normally hosts the open mic at the Angus). Didn't do three different songs this week. This week everyone did four songs though (while the cat's away)… played 'Splendid Isolation', 'Oh My Sweet Carolina', 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn', and 'You Couldn't Get Arrested'.

John may have been away but all the usual guys turned to play. Think there were about twelve or so who played (four) some tunes to us. It was fab.

The Chapter 'Taller Than A House' and Neptune 'Forecast - Ernest' were great too. Top night all around. Guaranteed as ever.

Been playing a few songs at home that I haven't played at open mic before which I may give a try out next time. We'll see.

A Different Three

A.J. Walker — 2022-02-21T16:41:37+00:00

Enjoyed playing the open mic at the Keystone this week. And in a shocking turn up I played three different songs from my usual three. I noticed that at the last three open mics I've gone to, at the Keystone and the Angus, I'd played the same three songs: 'Oh My Sweet Carolina', 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn', and 'You Couldn't Get Arrested'.

So I ended up playing: 'Somewhere Down the Road' (Chuck Prophet), 'Down By the Water' (Decemberists), and 'Whiskey in my Whiskey' (Felice Brothers).

Remembered nearly all the words and chords; with just a pause playing some extra chords in Down By The Water whilst I tried to remember the next verse. Who'd have thunk it. So maybe next time I'll play a different three again. That'd be nine different songs then: almost a gig's worth.

There were loads of great players/singers there once again. Not sure how many but it was in double figures. John Witherspoon hosts a really is a top night - guaranteed. Made up to see he's supporting Ian Prowse at one of his gigs. Boss news.

Rock on!

The Stress Of Moving

A.J. Walker — 2022-02-19T10:00:45+00:00

Farewell Motorola, Hello Apple again.

Had a bad issue with my Motorola G8 over the last week after it broke itself. It was a bizarre thing to see happen in real time. I'd been scrolling through Twitter (not an unusual happening) when I suddenly heard a crack and felt it in my hand: a crack had appeared across the screen. The phone had not suffered a drop or knock. It was quite puzzling.

I need the phone for work – and especially for navigating – and a cracked screen is a worry at the best of times. And if it cracked itself once when could it do it again? It happened last week and it was only when I was at the open mic at the Angus and put the phone face down on a table I saw that it was bent. After looking at it closely it wasn't so much bent as twisted! For a purportedly solid object it was a wtf moment.

I tweeted about it (of course) and Motorola noticed. They pointed me towards where their phones could get repaired. The entire phone was twisted so it would not be a question of replacing the screen, but the body too: basically a new phone. After my Motorola had evidently become possessed and buckled under some strange movent in the air there was no way I was going to pay for a repair for something I'd have no faith in (and I dare say would be as expensive as the phone is). In any case I've lost my faith in Motorola as a brand because of it. It was a shame, because before it had become a telephonic screw I'd had no problems with the phone at all.

So I had to get another – and not a Motorola. I decided to return to an iPhone after years away. I'd always loved them but didn't want to pay a massive monthly debit for one or pay the high price for a new one. I did some google research over a few days and ultimately decided to go for a Refurbished iPhone X. There are several places to find them and I went for Back Market.

The phone arrived quickly (although DPD did make it a lot more difficult than it should have been). I had issues with the iOS migration not working properly and so had to download all the apps I needed individually. This meant that there was the usual issue of 'Oh God, what's the Username? What's the Password?' etc. I'd purposely left it until I was off to move from the android to the iPhone in case there were any issues. It was a wise decision. It proved to be a little painful with the whole 'Forgotten Password' button and cross referencing to Keychain on my mac taking more minutes than they should. I got there in the end though,

I've ended up having to put a lot of Google stuff on, which I'd rather not in some respects, but it's needed for the navigating for work (I've over 100 locations on the maps currently and wouldn't want to look all that up again for the Apple Maps app). Will give the Apple Maps app a go a little though to see how it has changed in the intervening years between iPhones. The Google account also meant I could seamlessly sync my contacts and calendars which I was thankful for.

I think it's all sorted now. I dare say I've forgotten something though.

I believe I can pay using my phone now using Apple Pay/Wallet rather than digging out my debit card. I don't think I'd use it that much, but I'd probably give it a go on the bus. I've never used this method before – I'll be getting into the 21st century eventually. I'll probably have to see how to do it on YouTube first! My Motorola had finger print log-in, whilst the X uses Face ID. Seems to work okay, although finger print works at night when you're logging into to look at Twitter in your bed, whilst Face ID can struggle (cos it's night and the camera can't see your face properly). Looking forward to getting out and about with the X and seeing how the camera is.

Fingers crossed that the phone lasts a few years – and doesn't become twisted by some malevolent being.

Back at the Key

A.J. Walker — 2022-02-18T10:50:02+00:00

Great to reappear at the Keystone this week after a month or so of missing it (largely due to Liverpool playing multiple matches on Thursday nights). John was the hoster with the moster once again. Always a pleasure to talk to – and to listen to play his beautiful songs. We'd moved from the front room into the adjacent one between the stairs and the conservatory which worked really well. There were plenty of performers there again and so everyone had a maximum of three songs when up there.

I think I was about the fourth or fifth up. I'd purposely held on to my pint glass tightly to that point so that I didn't knock back too many before getting up – one glass too many and the risk of forgetting words or muddling up is greatly increased. Despite this I'd still had about four pints before getting up and was at risk of issues. But as it happened I performed three of my usual songs as good as I ever have (I think). The usual were: 'Oh My Sweet Carolina', 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn' and (as requested by John) 'You Couldn't Get Arrested' – same as last week at the Angus.

Really enjoyed playing and watching everyone – and the pints of Chapter Brewing 'Tenta Temos' and 'Mahog'un' – there was a fifty-fifty mix of regulars and newbies. A most enjoyable evening. Of course, I keep saying it but yet to do… I need to write a song or two to perform and/or do some new covers. It WILL happen. Honest.

The Keystone Quartet at the Angus

A.J. Walker — 2022-02-10T12:58:04+00:00

Went to my first open mic for about a month yesterday in the Angus. I was off today to attend my first ever meeting with my MS Doctor (I'll write up something for that in the Health section), but it meant that I was able to go out last night for a song and a chinwag without worrying about work the next day – I'll have that problem today instead.

As I was walking up I bumped into one guy making his way up the road with a guitar. It turned out to be Guy who I have seen regularly at the Keystone open mic. When we got in we saw another couple of Keystone OM regulars. It appeared we were on an inadvertent gig tour - or at least an away day. In any case I would be missing the Keystone today anyway as Liverpool are once again on the TV with their match against Leicester in the Premier League.

The open mic was hosted as ever by Ali Horn, who played a lovely trio of songs before opening it up to the floor. Two of the Keystone regulars went up first before me. I did my usual standard three songs: 'Oh My Sweet Carolina', 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn', and 'You Couldn't Get Arrested'. Went okay in the main (despite a few wrong chords). Then it was Guy up next to make the first four up on the night the entire Keystone Quartet. After that it was several guys and gals who I hadn't seen play before. As ever everyone was really good and the audience attentive (other than checking out the footy scores on FotMob).

Really enjoyed playing again after my month sabbatical. Will no doubt be back playing at the Keystone soon before too long – as long was it doesn't clash with the footy.

Fifty Can Wait

A.J. Walker — 2022-02-01T17:15:09+00:00

I can't tell you if I achieved my accidental quest in January as I never had a goal in mind; other than to get around a few places I haven't been to at all lately (in some cases for many years). Anyway other than the most churlish outsider looking in I've done more than enough – quest or no quest. At one point (even up to the last day of the month) I thought the quest could have become "50." After all everyone likes round numbers but I thought about it and decided not to pop out to get there as a last minute goal. Forty eight seems round enough.

I may do a write-up of the month's adventure at some point. Indeed I could add a pub & beer section to the website. In the meantime though here is a table showing every pub I visited in January in the order they were visited. Fifty can wait.

I'll definitely add a couple of pub crawl maps here. I produced them on an earlier iteration of the website.

The Forty Eight Pubs of January 2022:

The Return of ZevonTwo

A.J. Walker — 2022-01-24T15:11:56+00:00

Well it's the third week of January and I haven't been out on my bike since before Christmas. I was travelling into work by bike and then coming home on it either on the day – or later in week if I got to keep the van for a few days. But in recent weeks my knees have become the knees of an old man. Basically they've been suffering a lot of work they've not had to do before: 'Lift With Your Knees!" Hopefully it's a case of them getting used to it. After all I have been lifting with my knees and my back remains in fine fettle. Hope so anyway.

Whilst I've not felt in the right way to cycle with the range of movement of the legs I've instead been using public transport. Unfortunately that makes the commute around an hour and half (for a six mile journey) and within that there is a mile and half walk too. Oh, and of course that means I'm spending almost £8 on public transport (bus – train – then walk: and £8!). It'll be great to get back to cycling. The knees do feel better today, I hope I do not speak too soon; and if they stay like they are then I intend to get back onto ZevonTwo tomorrow. To save £8 AND an hour of my day (one way!). It really is a no brainer if I feel okay for it. May need to find some gloves though it it's like today; it's been bloody freezin' all day.

Wordle Wondering

A.J. Walker — 2022-01-20T14:49:49+00:00

Last week I succumbed to the ubiquitous Wordle, as so many people have, and have since done it 8 times. I got the word every time in between 3rd and 6th attempt. I actually put off doing Wordle despite seeing it all over Twitter for a month or so and loving word challenges. I didn't want to do it initially as I thought it may be yet another thing to waste my time, which I don't need. I used to play Words with Friends with a few mates and relations but it gets to the point where you are wasting far too much of your day playing the thing. People can get a bit twitchy about not having you play your turn quickly after theirs – and you can get the same way. If it gets to the point where you're playing more than thirty minutes of every day it really is something that gets in the way of better things; like writing, reading or playing the guitar (or just about anything else).

But when I realised that it was just a single game a day, which should take just a couple of minutes, i went all in. It took me a week to realise that the 'Share' button when you finish did not in fact share the graphic bar chart with your results next to the button, but it created the infamous coloured box record of your games that day. I thought people were using the emoji boxes on Twitter to recreate them. So yes, for a week I faithfully wrote a Tweet out using that method rather than just pressing the share button. Well I know now!

The other thing I only realised yesterday was that letters can be repeated. I thought they were all made from letters used just once until ROBOT came up on Thursday. Until then all the words I'd done had no repeat letters. So that's a third thing I've learned (along with it being a quick and easy thing to do each day – and a lot less time intensive (or full of adverts) than WwF).

If you fancy giving it a go a new word comes out each night at midnight (GMT). And the challenge is at a website not in an app:
https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/

2022 Pubs to Date

A.J. Walker — 2022-01-17T16:34:41+00:00

Been doing well with my accidental and inexact quest – whatever the quest turns out to really be. These are the Liverpool hostelries I've visited so far this year. Having already got to 30 I'll definitely be getting someway beyond… but exactly how far?

Roscoe Head
Head of Steam
The Angus
Dr Duncans
Fly in the Loaf
Grapes
Dispensary
Keystone
The Caledonia
The Belvedere
Bridewell
Thomas Rigby’s
Ye Hole In Ye Wall
Denbigh Castle
Lion Tavern
Vernon Arms
Excelsior
Globe
Central
Swan
Pilgrim
Cracke
Baltic Fleet
Love Lane
Chapters of Us
Coach House
Ship & Mitre
Lady of Mann
William Gladstone
Carnarvon Castle…

Nice Crawl Across Liverpool

A.J. Walker — 2022-01-16T16:22:06+00:00

Very nice crawl with my work colleagues yesterday. It was good to get around Liverpool with such nice people and have some nice beers and bump into people. It was nice to see that it was really quite busy everywhere we went too. We couldn't even get in the Roscoe Head because it was too busy to get in. It was unfortunate that we couldn't get in, but it is good to see that it was busy after Liverpool seeming so quiet over the last few weeks.

The Angus and Doctor Duncan's

Head of Steam and Keystone

In all the team photos I seem to be laughing which is nice to see too. Think it was largely due to the struggles of the person taking the photo every time. Thanks to all the staff who hosted us and kept us supplied with beers yesterday.

The Grapes and Coach House

The Belvedere

Fab to get out and support our great local pubs. Shout out to the Angus, Dr Duncan's, Head of Steam, Coach House, Keystone, Belvedere and the Grapes (and to the Roscoe Head even though we couldn't get in this time!).

It's Christmas!

A.J. Walker — 2022-01-15T11:22:04+00:00

It's not of course. But working for a company that provides for businesses over the important Christmas period December is not the time to go out. So in common with most of hospitality we are having our Christmas day out in January. The guys & gals from Neptune Brewery are going around Liverpool to a selection of the pubs that just happen to take some of our beer – so we know they are all classy. We'll be popping into a great selection including the Angus, Doctor Duncans, Head of Steam, Roscoe Head, Belvedere, Grapes and the Keystone. I may try and get a quick one in the Coach House too (maybe while the others go and eat somewhere?). So I'll not be adding to my list of new pubs for the year. Indeed I've probably been in most these places multiple times already.

Should be a good day out.

Happy Christmas folks!

The Accidental Quest to Spread Myself Around

A.J. Walker — 2022-01-15T10:55:45+00:00

Seems ages since I've done a blog update, but it's not really. Just a week. But I do tend to write ones at least once a week. So anyway here's a quick one – which may get expanded on later. I'm currently sat in the 25th different pub of the year, which I guess on the 14th January isn't too bad. I seem to have found myself on an unspecified quest to go to a 'few' different pubs and spread the love for pubs across the world: or at least Liverpool initially.

I'm currently sat typing this in Chapters of Us in the Baltic Triangle area of the Pool of Life. I'm drinking a pint of Twisted Wheel 'Soul City' NEIPA (keg). It's not my usual kinda place – after all it's keg not cask. But it's very relaxed and cool with nice staff (balancing the always problematic tightrope between attentive and pushy very well). Loving the laid back music vibe too. And there's four keg options which is good.

Cheers, from the Baltic Fleet (Pub 23 of 2022)

Previously I went to the Baltic Fleet (Pub 23) and had a lovely pint of Trapper's Hat from Brimstage Brewery. From there I headed down the road to Love Lane Brewery. Was disappointed to find they had no cask on – I mean it's a brewery so having no cask was a wee bit sad. The service was good though, and it's a nice place. Just get some cask on (I can probably source some for them if they are struggling to find any). ;-)

I'll probably get to Pub 26 tonight and maybe beyond, not that it matters per se. Tomorrow I'm out with the guys & gals who work at Neptune Brewery for our Xmas day out. The decision was made to support our local pubs for this occasions. The places that they sell the beer to, rather than go out of town for a day trip. A mighty fine sentiment I reckon. Of course all the pubs we go to tomorrow I will already have been to since the start of the year, but that is a good thing. I'm never gonna be a ticker (of places or beers). I've not set myself a goal or aspiration for going to different pubs; indeed it's kind of happened by accident since my first pint in the Roscoe Head on New Year's Day and moved on from there. Not sure whether I'll carry on counting each unique pub - after all it will require me to actually document the thing and cross check (when was I here last?).

So what will pub 26 be? I'm thinking it'll either be the newly (today) re-opened Coach House or Peter Kavanagh's. I'm sat here typing this in Chapters and I have no idea myself. I truly am a leaf on the wind. Won't know which way the wind is blowing till I push open the door.

It's been nice to go to so may different places and I've been surprised by a few. Get yourselves out there and Support Your Local (pub and businesses). Not Dry January. Not Try January. Just Do the Right Thing January (and beyond!).

Onwards and upwards.

________________

Following this post I went on to the Grapes for a couple of pints and a chinwag with some regulars then headed up to the Coach House which became Pub 26 of the year. Great to see it reopen for the first time since Christmas.

Coach House cask options from Roosters and Neptune. Cheers! (Pub 26)

Updating the Website

A.J. Walker — 2022-01-07T15:24:40+00:00

Eventually I bit the bullet and replaced my old MacBook Pro with a shiny new one. The most obvious thing of course is that it seems quite small – as I've moved from a 15" to a 13" (must be an age thing). Once turned on and copied everything over from my old mac it was time to delete the old files and applications that don't work on the new system. Didn't loose much. But copying over the photo albums was time and Gigabyte consuming. I definitely need to go in and cull many thousands of photos. Won't get to it quickly but every few days I'll make sure I delete a couple of hundred or so. There is a mind boggling 37k photos on there at the moment. I need to at first – at least – get it down to 30k. At the end of the day I dare say I should ask the question 'would I ever use this photo' and 'would it deserve to find its way into a photo album?' and if the answer is no; then delete the buggers.

Of 495GB available on the hard drive currently 120GB is taken up by my photos so losing 7k of photos that'll get used it will free up about 20GB. I need to take some time to work out how to deal with saving items on the hard drive and how to save things externally on other drives or in one cloud or another…

Now I have a decent computer which should be less prone to crashing I may finally use GarageBand to help me play and record songs – and I hope write some of my own. That's the plan anyway. Incidentally the sound from the speakers is unbelievably good moving on from an 11 year old computer.

One thing that stopped working was the Stacks plugin for Rapidweaver (which I use to produce this website). This meant much of the website couldn't even show itself in Rapidweaver. It gave me some cause for thought in terms of whether I paid to upgrade from Stacks 3 to 4 or whether I should maybe get another bit of software to use for my website. After considering a few things out there I almost went for Sparkle. But then again it would have meant learning a new app whilst downloading my entire site into it to reproduce some of it – and the risk of losing a lot of links; including comments to existing blog items. There are not that many, but it would have been a shame to lose them. In any case getting Sparkle would have been more expensive and time consuming than upgrading Stacks. So – a bit like the consideration of updating my laptop – I ended up going full circle and retaining (albeit updated) Rapidweaver with Stacks.

The whole transfer of data and updating of software has been a pretty much painless operation – assuming you consider thinking about things not too painful.

The next thing is to consider what changes I may want with the website. So far I've made sure the changes with the Stacks have updated (initially the upload deleted all the boxes I had around text, but this has now sorted itself out). I deleted the section I had on 'Class Song of the Day' which was bit sad, but it was an old feature which I dare say no-one ever went back to. I'm thinking about turning this into another new series of pages. Obviously the main sections are this general blog, the writing bits & bobs, and the health section (which thankfully I haven't had to update recently). Considering adding a section to do with pubs and beer which I could use either to highlight local (Liverpool & its Environs) or national things. Just consideration at the moment. Watch this space.

So Many Varieties of Apple

A.J. Walker — 2021-12-28T11:07:20+00:00

Looking to replace my ageing laptop soon. I've had a long and happy relationship with my mid-2010 MacBook Pro, it cost a pretty penny back then (about £1k); but with it lasting eleven and half years means it's been a bargain at less than £1.70 a week. If my next computer can last ten years I'd be very, very happy – and amazed.

It's still working but crashes intermittently and has for some time now, which is time consuming – and makes me worry about when it will stop for good. Of course with it being so old it has had its systems updated regularly; it's currently up to macOS High Sierra and can't go beyond that. This means lots of current apps I use can't be updated anymore and may soon be useless (as companies stop supporting their old apps), and of course new apps won't run on this old system.

So it's been time to think about what to get to replace the Pro. I've been considering the new iMac which looks amazing. I had a couple of iMacs back in the day including the famous Blueberry one. Of course one of the things I would use it for is writing and I can't take a desk top about with me so I'd really need an iPad as well as a desk top.

Yes, those are the considerations which bring me back to a laptop. In terms of cost vs the iMac I could get an iMac Air and an iPad, but that'd be pointless – if you've got the Air you couldn't justify the need for an iPad. But I need more memory than the base version which makes it quite expensive and then when you consider the costs the 2020 MacBook Pro 13" (M1) looks a better buy. The bigger versions of the Pro (2021) look absolutely incredible but I can't justify the cost of those.

So I've basically gone round and round in circles and come back to getting a 512GB MacBook Pro (which is exactly what I have now). How was it so difficult to decide to replace an excellent MacBook Pro with a new MacBook Pro? I mean it is heavier and bulkier to travel around with than an iPad and all and maybe I'd rather have an iPad and an iMac but all things considered I can't justify that.

I'll probably end up not putting music on it which will free up loads of space but mean that I can't update my old iPod anymore; but after all when was the last time I used the iPod? It's sad but my phone and Spotify has made me say farewell to the old faithful, beautiful beast. I'll continue to use the computer for writing (using Scrivener), doing bits on the website (currently use Rapidweaver), and some YouTube vids.

A MacBook Pro it is then. I'll sort that out sometime in the coming weeks. In the meantime I hope this old friend isn't reading this and planning on committing a final spiteful act and crashing for good (I better back this up today…).

No Gym, No Problem

A.J. Walker — 2021-12-20T10:37:40+00:00

This last few short months I've lost a fair bit of weight and got a lot fitter. Don't know how much as I never weigh myself. But I can see it and so can others who haven't seen me for a while. It's not been a conscious thing I've tried to do at all, but been through starting a new job. It involves me cycling the six miles to work – not everyday but a couple of times a week – and during the day moving beer casks around which weigh up to 50 kilos each when full. Before I started I wondered if I could do it, now it is easy and I wonder what I worried about. Moving up to 20 casks around involves multiple repetitions, in and out and up and down. I've basically accidentally joined a gym.

If I didn't have the job I wouldn't have realised that with a relatively few changes I could get quite a bit fitter. Without the job the aerobic thing (cycling) would be easy to continue with whenever. Not sure how I'd replace the weight lifting part of the day, But I know it would be well useful to carry on with. I'm pretty sure I'd never join a gym, I'm just not the kind of person who would enjoy it. Perhaps I'd just have to keep a full cask of beer on hand to carry around a few times a day. It'd work.

Not sure if I'll continue to loose weight now or whether I've hit a plateau. I'd be happy either way. At some point in the coming months I may get a car or a motorbike for commuting (not sure), but even if I do then I will continue to go cycling. It's fun and easy and gets you to nice places (though they'll be nicer in the spring and summer than they are at the moment).

Keystone Three (for me)

A.J. Walker — 2021-12-13T14:57:04+00:00

After missing John Witherspoon's open mic at the Keystone the week before I did make it last week again for my third appearance out of the four they've had. It was upstairs again and was very well attended with regulars from the previous weeks. I was second up thankfully and played three of my usual - Heart Breaks Like the Dawn (C Prophet), Oh My Sweet Carolina (R Adams), and Splendid Isolation (Zevon) - and unlike the previous time I did mess any of them up. Yippee! In fact it felt to me like it was the best I'd played them; at least three songs together anyway. Not saying it definitely was, but it felt all right to me nothwithstanding what it sounded like to everyone.

All the performers were fab - many doing their own songs - and the mood was great again. It's definitely becoming a week highlight.

The Keystone had my favourite tipple on too - Jaipur from Thornbridge - so it was a doubly good night all around.

Won't make it next week as Liverpool are on the box (on a Thursday in the Premier League!) against Newcastle so I dare say I'll be in the Fly or Head of Steam watching that. Hopefully we'll beat them well to make up for missing the open mic. Don't know if there will be one the following week with it being so close to Xmas then (Dec 23rd) but if it is then I intend to be there.

Hopefully next year I'll get a few songs written and perform them here. Could happen.

ReadMeSpeakMe Catch Up

A.J. Walker — 2021-12-06T17:52:33+00:00

For one reason and another I'd missed the last month of recording the weekly ReadMeSpeakMe. I've usually been quite good at recording on the Sunday when it goes out on Twitter @ReadMeSpeakMe (#ReadMeSpeakMe). Yesterday I managed to do the last four weeks of readings and a sudden burst of activity. Got them all up quickly one after the other on YouTube. One was shorter than a minute long (much less preamble than my usual mumbling) so YouTube automatically put it up not as a video but as a short. Not quite sure what the difference is. I've still got this weeks left to do, which I'll sort out during the week. Bit of a busy week this one by the looks of it so I may need to wait until the weekend.

Even if it ends up being the weekend I certainly shouldn't be falling a month behind again at any rate.

Strumming

After I recorded the various poems I also recorded me strumming a couple of songs, which I haven't put out there for a while. Partly it was because a) it was so long since I last recorded my strumming and b) because I didn't do an open mic this week. I attended most of the one at the Head of Steam, but it was a bit different this week with only three or four lots of people playing and I didn't really get the opportunity to get up there. I popped up too to the Keystone and caught the last guy playing there which was nice to catch. By that time there was neither the opportunity or desire from me to get up again. So a YouTube strum was enough instead.

Keystone Two Twenty Three

A.J. Walker — 2021-11-26T14:56:16+00:00

Yesterday I made a later call to go to the open mic at the Keystone. This is just the second one, run by John Witherspoon, and only one week after the previous open mic too. The Keystone has so many events on during the week that there needed to be some changes as there was a Cinema Club upstairs (showing the Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart/Kim Novak’s ‘Vertigo’ I think) so instead of the front room of the bar we were sent into the depths of Bar 23 to avoid noise cross over between the two events. The downstairs proved to be a great space for an intimate performance.

This week there were possible a couple fewer people up for playing but not significantly (I think it was 8 or so after about 10 last week). Several of the guys (including me) were repeat offenders from last week but it was good to see a few new guys too (including a great guitarist who I’d previously seen at the last Head of Steam open mic). There was a great mix of folk, blues, jazz and pop (and all points in between) and plenty of humour too. Many of the performers were doing their own songs rather than covers and thus showed off their talents even more.

I stuck with tried and tested songs (though somehow I still managed to fook one up):

‘Oh My Sweet Carolina’ - cos it always gets me going in the right mode/mood
‘Somewhere Down the Road’
‘Whiskey In My Whiskey’
‘Heart Breaks Like the Dawn’ and
‘Splendid Isolation’

Out of all those songs the easiest - and the one I’ve probably played the most - is Warren Zevon’s ‘Splendid Isolation’ and yet somehow I got lost for words in it. Yet it has so few. I’m not entirely sure what happened to be honest. Anyway I did between 4.5 an 5 songs; which is more than I usually end up playing. Maybe I should stop at 4 in future though.

It was a really lovely night with great songs and camaraderie between everyone there and I’m glad I made the rush effort to get into town to show up again. Not sure whether I’ll make it next week but having made two appearances now at the Sanctuary, Head of Steam, Angus and now the Keystone then I’ve gone above and beyond anywhere I’d have thought I’d have made it to. I still have to thank the beer makes for the Dutch courage provided is a necessity: I always need to be on my second beverage beverage before getting up. The lovely cask on last night included ‘Taller Than A House’ Chapter Brewery, ‘Forecast (Bullion)’ Neptune Brewery, and ‘Kandata’ Chapter Brewery (which came on when Forecast was drunk dry). Nice beers all.

So thanks again to the Keystone and John Witherspoon for a cracking night all round.

_____________

The next day we found out that whilst we were having such a good time on Hope Street a young life was ending when a 12 year old girl – Ava White – was being murdered by children barely older than her just 0.7 miles away from where we were. There really are no words.

The Tour Continues...

A.J. Walker — 2021-11-19T13:42:21+00:00

The Tour Continues… The Keystone Leg

Yesterday the lovely Keystone on Hope Street held it's first Open Mic event, hosted by John Witherspoon. It's always difficult to know how the first event will go and how people find out about it. Not everyone is on social media all the time (apparently – hard to believe I know). And even if you are it is easy to miss announcements. Pubs often rely on word of mouth and people learn about events through chat in one pub or another. This one wasn't saturating social media, but that means nothing. It's down to who knows and how many are motivated to leave the house (along with a guitar or a plectrum).

I've been to the Opening Open Mic now at the Angus (fronted by Ali Horn), the Head of Steam (fronted by Jack Malone), and now the Keystone over the last two months or so (I also went to the first one of the reopened Sanctuary fronted by Barry Sutton). I am definitely getting to the point where I'll be getting a tour t-shirt before too long. This one at the Keystone was so well attended with musicians that John, the host, barely played himself because there were so many volunteers there was no time to fill in!

Sam & I in the Keystone – cheers!

This time my drinking and music buddy, Sam, came along to play too – he hadn't played live in a pub for years. We spoke to John at the bar before it kicked off at 8pm and said we'd both play. John played two or three songs and then I went up (so I was the first one at the Opening Open Mic or should I say I opened for the opening open mic?). Anyway, it was definitely nice to play first after being last man standing last week at the Angus as I could then relax and watch everyone else. First up after me was Sam with three of his own songs. Damn cool. Maybe I need to pen and perform a few myself. It definitely did not appear like Sam hadn't done it in years. He was excellent – and I now he'll be back again soon. After that there was performer after performer after performer – who were all too bloody good. Wish I had everyone's names so could namecheck them. But kudos to everyone who played; and I wasn't even the only one in a red-checked shirt.

I'm sure it was as big a success as it could have been. No more could have played really. Everyone was allowed no more than three songs and everyone kept to that. There wasn't even anyone bending that rule by playing American Pie, Telegraph Road and an extended version of Two Tribes. Not that I could do that if I wanted to. Though I've got a longer list of possible songs to do these days I went with three of my now standard standards: 'Oh My Sweet Carolina' (Ryan Adams), 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn' (Chuck Prophet), and 'You Couldn't Get Arrested' (Green on Red). This time I actually had a list of eight songs to pick from in case there was a shortage of performers. Such a list was definitely not required.

Anyway, congratulations to the Keystone and to John for an excellent night and roll on the next one(s).

Some Writing

A.J. Walker — 2021-11-15T13:47:47+00:00

It's been a while since I've been featured in an anthology - or even submitted for one (those two facts may be kinda related). The last books I featured in were back in 2019 which seems a lifetime ago but at the same time doesn't sound that long. Have recently written a story for an upcoming anthology which I've been told has been accepted. It'll be the 17th book I've featured in, which sounds mighty impressive - kind of.

Of course I've still got to finish the damn novel. It is nice to get that short story done (and I may be doing one for another anthology too) but ultimately I need to finish the novel this year. I had aimed to write it in NaNoWriMo month (i.e. this month) but working on the short stories have got a little in the way. We'll see how much I can manage of it later on down the road.

Onwards and Upwards.

Second Angus Open Mic

A.J. Walker — 2021-11-15T11:52:45+00:00

Went to the second Angus Open Mic Night last week. That makes me an ever present. There were more performers this week. I got there after it had started and there was already a list of people to play and I added my name to the bottom. Every performer seemed to have bought their own guitar rather than use Ali's. Just me then that turned up with only a plectrum.

As I watched the performers play one by one I had a couple of Cross Bay 'Zenits.' I was hopeful that one or two would be poorer than they turned out so my playing wouldn't stand up next to them too badly. I was disappointed as each was bloody excellent and briefly considered going to cross my name off the list. In the end I did play and was the last one on (bar Ali).

Ended up playing three of the songs I did last week at Head of Steam:

‘Somewhere Down the Road’ (Chuck Prophet)
‘Down By The Water’ (Decemberists)
‘Whiskey In My Whiskey’ (Felice Brothers)

It went pretty well really despite not being up to the standard of the other guys and gals. Roll on the next one.

Cycling in the Dark

A.J. Walker — 2021-11-05T17:11:28+00:00

This cycling malarkey has continued. So far I've not yet had to go back to the cycle shop to get the gears readjusted (I was told they would need it a few weeks after getting them sorted). The cycling is a lot easier that it was on ZevonOne – not that much faster but easier and more comfortable at the moment. I dare say speed will improve with practice. I'm getting fitter in any case and have had to add another hole in to my belt. Not bad after about two months of cycling (especially as it's a by-product not an aim). A Brucey Bonus.

The other day I commuted in a van and it took over twenty minutes and cycling it is taking me as little as 32 minutes. So the time aspect is not really critical. The issues really are the impact of weather (a cold, wet, and windy day is a lot easier to face in the front of a van listening to your favourite music) and safety. Yesterday was my first time riding home all the way (i.e. not using the train to take any of the strain) and at this time of the year (especially after the clocks have changed) it means the later afternoon requires cycling in the pitch black. It was my first time so I thought I'd go with the same route I do in the morning – i.e. along the canal. Riding home in the pitch dark was exciting and it went fine – amazingly even in total darkness it only took me 3 minutes longer to get home than on the reverse of the trip in fine daylight. However in the long term I feel maybe that it is an accident waiting to happen: I was stopped the other day on a cycle path by a fallen tree for example. There are no lights at all along the canal path and whist my lamp on the bike is good it cannot replicate daylight. I'm thinking that I need to find a route on roads (or at least to make the trip a bit more on the road) as the roads are lit up and less susceptible to issues like holes in the ground, running dogs or swans, fallen branches and the severe wetness and deepness of a canal.

It seems a little counter intuitive to think going towards roads and drivers is safer but i think maybe the advantage of some lighting outweighs the fear of damn drivers…

I'll have to look at some maps and see what options reveal themselves.

HoS Take Two

A.J. Walker — 2021-11-05T16:34:43+00:00

Last night I went to Jack's second Head of Steam Open Mic. It was a rush to get down there after a cycle ride home in the cold dark, but I made my way there; helped by the anticipation of a few pints of the Thornbridge/Neptune collaboration American Brown Ale ‘Beacon.’

Was a different crowd than the first one and probably a bit busier. The position of the musical gear was the other side of the room from last time. So I ended up, after moving from one table to another, sat in my usual corner of the pub to watch and listen to the music.

There was top music from multiple guitarists and singers. And then I was asked if I was going to play. I agreed that I would. It was after all my initial aim: even if everyone else was more accomplished than me. I’d said over the intervening month since the first Open Mic that I would play different songs than I did at the first one. Not sure it was an entirely good idea. After all it was an entirely new crowd from the first one so I could have played the same songs and (other than Jack (the host)) no-one would have been any the wiser.

Anyway – as promised – I ended up playing different songs than the previous Open Mic with:

‘Somewhere Down the Road’ (Chuck Prophet)
‘Down By The Water’ (Decemberists)
‘The One I Love’ (REM)
‘Whiskey In My Whiskey’ (Felice Brothers)

It largely went okay with the exception of fooking up Down By The Water. Need to ensure I play and play these songs at home so that they become almost muscle memory. I ended up messing it up a little and instead of playing through the mistake I got a bit flustered. I could have tried again from the start but made the decision to move on to a definite muscle memory one (The Swan Song).

I considered playing another song but volunteered to leave after the fourth. There were better people to follow after all.

Later on two Americans told me as they leaving that they really enjoyed my set. It was nice to hear, even if it was just down to my Americana choices. I’ll take that.

Oh and the Beacon was lovely and flowed very easily.

Of course this morning I got up and played Down By the Water straight through a few times without even trying. C'est la vie.

NoNaNoWriMoNo

A.J. Walker — 2021-10-30T02:18:52+01:00

It’s the end of October which means one thing to a lot of aspiring writers looking to motivate themselves and give their muse a burst of energy. Yep, it’s time for NaNoWriMo – or National Write A Novel In A Month month. I’ve done it a couple of times and each time hit the magic 50k words in a month. I didn’t do it last week when the NaNo website was properly messed up and it ate my previous records up whilst I registering to do it. This year I’m not trying again to register on it partly due to the chastening experience on the website.

I had aimed a few months ago to finish my last NaNo novel off (The Wobbly Odyssey). However with one thing and another in my life getting in the way I’ve not aged to yet. But I have written some more on it which has furthered the story a bit. So this NaNo month I’ll aim to finish off the first draft. After all I wrote 50 words originally in the month and I should really only have about 15k words left to finish it.

So there won’t be regular graphs of progress as produced on the NaNoWriMo site (when it works) but hopefully a simple ‘Finished’ by the end of November. After all it will require only an average of about 500 words a day, so the word count won’t be the issue then, it will just be the problem of finding the story in the ether and telling it without killing everyone off. Unless the story takes a sudden turn and it tells me I have to kill them all off.

Incidentally I will also not be growing a moustache this Movember either – other than through occasional laziness or lack of razors.

Anways to all those of you going forward with your NaNo this coming November I wish you all the very best with it. Good luck, and enjoy it. Let the words flow and story become a wonderful living thing.

Gearing Up With ZevonTwo

A.J. Walker — 2021-10-26T22:13:47+01:00

Well I got and changed the inner tube. Must have been the first time I have done anything like that since I was a teenager. Went easily enough. Though I dare say it will be harder with the back wheel when I need to do that one.

Rode ZevonTwo a couple of times last week and as suspected the gears were not working. I could change to a couple of low gears only. I was stuck on the smallest chainring so found myself pedalling hard with little effect ie it wasn’t hard going but I couldn’t get any speed up, and going downhill I could not pedal fast enough to keep up with the wheels. So last weekend I took the bike to get the gears sorted. I took it to Parker’s Cycles in Burscough on a recommendation. Not near to me at all, but it’s best to go from recommendations when it’s for things you know nothing about! In any case it was a few doors down from two pubs that I could check out when I left it there.

ZevonTwo in Walton Hall Park

Had a nice enough pint in the Hop Vine after leaving my bike with Barry, then went on to the Thirsty Duck and had a lovely pint of Ossett Silver King. Ormskirk afterwards was very disappointing. For a big student town it is mad that it doesn’t have more ale options. Still I had a couple of nice jars in Tap Room No.12 before heading back into Liverpool.

On Saturday I didn’t get a call until it was too late to get to Burscough unless I’d already been at Liverpool Central so I couldn’t pick her up until Monday. The gears were sorted anyway. Cosmetically the covers are missing on the gear selections on the handlebars but there is nothing to say that the shouldn’t work. No idea how they’ve ended up both missing – just tiny bits of plastic. But both? One of the gear cables (the one for the front crankset) had been in a perplexing situation in the bike. It apparently went back on itself somehow and was not simply seized or rusted. But whatever had been wrong with it it would have needed to be dealt with.

Me & My Girl in Walton Hall Park

I got the train back to Liverpool and took Zev2 home with just a two mile ride from Orrell Park so didn’t get to go through all the gears. In any case I don’t think my legs could yet go through the gears anyways! Today I went out for a 4.5 mile or so ride and took it through a few gears and at least got it onto the second wheel of the crankset (sorry I don’t know the correct terms yet). I’ll know more tomorrow about how well it is now when I go out on a familiar 5.75 mile trip on the Leeds–Liverpool Canal towpath. Shame the weather forecast at the moment isn’t great for that. The bike anyway should be better for me one way or another. Incidentally I’ve definitely been getting fitter over just this first six weeks. Think I may need to add another hole in my belt already!

The Queen is Dead, Long Live the Queen

A.J. Walker — 2021-10-15T17:09:33+01:00

About five weeks ago or so I started riding a bike again for the first time in over thirty years. It’s been fine really. And I can definitely feel a fitness benefit in just four weeks – the small hill (well bridge) that I went over each day is now easier than it was (I don’t think the bridge has been lowered).

The bike I’ve been riding is an old BSA, which had been my dad’s – five gears and very basic (and not great brakes). Anyway last week my friend said I could have his old bike which he doesn’t use (he has another one of the same brand I think). It’s a lovely looking bike and after a few days I thought why not. I made the mistake of saying it out loud though. I think my current bike – aka ZevonOne – overheard me. And while she understood, she had to show some degree of hurt. So it was than on my last scheduled ride on her before picking up my new buddy (ZevonTwo, of course) she presented me with a flat tire on a six mile ride back to my house. But, to be fair, she was good to me. The flat could have come at a much worse place over the six miles but she decided to make her point to me just a few hundred metres from home rather than a few hundred metres from the start. Thank you, ZevonOne. It has been a quite short but interesting journey with you.

The next day I picked up ZevonTwo from my mate – and it also had a flat tyre. It has been sat in a garage for a few years unused. I’ve taken the wheel off and tyre too – I found the inner tube had an awful small split just by the valve – and I’m now awaiting a delivery of a new inner tube before I can get out and ride ZevTwo. It’s got many, many more gears but I think possibly only half work at the moment. I suspect ZevTwo may need a service of some sort. But even with half the gears working it will still have double what I had with One. The build of the bike will be better too. I'm looking forward to getting out on it (even as the darkness of winter approaches).

Will have to report back on her once I’ve got out on it and seen how it goes.

The Queen is Dead, Long Live the Queen.

Tour T-Shirt

A.J. Walker — 2021-10-15T16:11:37+01:00

Up until last week I had only ever done Open Mic in one venue – the Sanctuary – on Lime Street. As of this week I have now played in THREE venues. Amazing really. Last week it was the great Head of Steam on Hanover Street when Jake hosted had their first OM event and this week I strummed through the same mumbled songs as last week (Oh My Sweet Carolina, Heart Breaks Like the Dawn, and You Couldn’t Get Arrested) at the Angus on Dale Street. This was the first Open Mic at the pub and I was keen to show support to it. It is always difficult starting new stuff in venues as so much is down to word of mouth and repetition. Well I’m okay with chatting to people sometimes and all too good at repetition too – so it’s easy to do my bit.

The night was hosted by a brilliant singer – Ali Horn – who plays there regularly (on Friday nights if I remember rightly). He’s got a great knowledge of songs and those he doesn’t know he’s happy to use Doctor Google to find the lyrics then launch into it. Jealous of both his knowledge and ability. He writes his own stuff to. Definitely worth popping in to see him when you can. The sound system at the venue is really nice. They’ve set it up so the sound goes all around the pub without the need for speakers and amps to be lugged in by the performers. So Ali has an easy night in that respect anyway.

I made the mistake of going back up and playing a second time as there were not many volunteers this week (I missed the start of the OM but I think there were just four or five people who went up). This time I went with Splendid Isolation (which went okay) and then Van Diemen’s Land (which was not). I don’t know what was happening, but my fingers wouldn’t get into the right position for the B minor (Bm) chord – every time. It was all very odd and maddening. Not sure what was the cause of that as I don’t usually have a problem with it. Don’t think it was MS related but I guess I’ll have to keep and eye on it: and keep playing the damn Bm chord as often as I can. I was lugging heavy weighted things around all day so maybe it was my hands saying enough is enough fella, give it a rest.

Anyway I had a nice evening, and on a school night too. Chatted to some people I know and some I didn’t know before. Survived standing on the stage (and even the Bm debacle). Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger they say – but they know fuck all. But I had a boss night and hope to get back sometime. As people learn it is on (apart from on Liverpool Champions League nights of course) then it will become more popular definitely.

Now I’ve played in three venues I’m pretty much wondering about sorting out a Tour T-shirt:

Sanctuary
Head of Steam
Angus

What’s next? Maybe the Denbigh Castle who have recently put their toe in the water with OM too. To think that until I played the Sanctuary – shit scared – that once a few years ago when I thought that maybe I’d give it a go and do it once…

I do need to do a few things going forward, namely; learn some different songs, and some strumming patterns. Oh, and see if I can play the Bm chord again. That’d all help.

Onwards and Strumwards.

New Open Mic Voyage

A.J. Walker — 2021-10-08T14:18:20+01:00

Well in the last month or so Open Mics have returned – a little erratically – to the Sanctuary and I have gone to both of them for a wee strum. This week new ones began in two other excellent Liverpool pubs; the Denbigh Castle on Hackins Hey and the Head of Steam on Hanover Street. Both started on the same night - Thursday 7th October.

The Denbigh Castle OM wasn’t starting until 10:30pm after three or four bands played apparently. I opted for the less late (and stressful) idea of going to the Head of Steam. I’d got back home late so didn’t get in to early this time, so I missed some good performances (from clips I’ve seen) from several artists. The room was busy with nearly every seat taken. It’s the area of the pub I usually gravitate to when I’m there – and in fact is where I am writing this now. So it felt like everyone was in my front room. Jack, the organiser of the Mic, asked if I was going to play and I confirmed I would. At least once I’d bought a second drink.

He played a couple more songs on his semi acoustic and then I stepped forward to play. The set up was actually in the corner I usually sit in too. It must explain why I was relaxed enough to chat a bit on the microphone; I rarely chat between songs when I’ve done Mics before. Weird. So with my glass sat on the carpet I proceeded to play four songs. Usual suspects for me – I really need to get a new set or two – and they were, in order:

Oh My Sweet Carolina (Ryan Adams)
Heart Breaks Like The Dawn (Chuck Prophet)
Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon)
You Couldn’t Get Arrested If You Tried (Green on Red)

Playing in my usual corner of the HoS - who'd have thunk it?

A couple of mates came in and caught me playing which was nice. Hadn’t seen either of them out for a while, and they’d been to a show down the road and popped in on the off chance. Went down okay for me I think. First time I've played an Open Mic in a different pub and therefore with a totally new crowd. Was nowhere near as nervous as when I played the first new Sanctuary one the other month. Got the usual comments I get with my use of these songs, along the lines of “Did you write those?” My CD collection must be a bit different from other peoples I guess. Still, as I said whilst I was playing, the use of songs that people don’t know is a good call as they can’t tell how badly you’ve interpreted them (or what verses you’ve inadvertently missed out).

The party for the Head of Steam moved off not long after I’d finished. So maybe I can become the official bell ringer for time gentlemen please? Me singing could be one way of emptying a place out.

Well done to Jack for arranging, playing and hosting the event. Think the next one scheduled for a months time (first Thursday of the month) and I hope I can make it again. Maybe with more of my excellent (apparently) obscure songs.

Onwards and Strumwards.

What Is It With Thursdays?

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-27T20:30:07+01:00

Last Thursday the second Open Mic of the post lockdown era was on at the Sanctuary and I decided to go down again. The last one was packed, but this time there was only five of us there. But I enjoyed it as much – maybe even more – than the last one. Not because of not being busy but because the host, Barry Sutton, was good to talk to – and some of the evening was as much a guitar lesson as me playing a few songs.

To be fair they only announced on Twitter that they were having an Open Mic the evening before, which ain’t much notice for people who may need to organise anything or just plan their week. Hopefully next time there will be a bit more notice and it will be a bit busier. It's either that or I'll end up with another lesson.

Open Mic in the Sanctuary

Incidentally it is great to see that there are other places starting Open Mic events in the coming fortnight in – and in a couple of my favourite real ale pubs to boot: the Head of Steam, and the Denbigh Castle. At the moment I understand that the Head of Steam one will – at least initially – just be a monthly event on the first Thursday of the month i.e. first one will be on October 7th. And coincidentally the Denbigh Castle one will also commence (downstairs in the pub) on the same date. The intention is that this one will be each week.

I’m not sure how often the Sanctuary one is intended to be. But just like the two upcoming ones it is on a Thursday too. What is it with Thursdays?

Sofar

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-27T20:03:08+01:00

On Wednesday I went to my first Sofar gig in Liverpool. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of them, that's not the name of a band, but the name of the events. It is a nice idea which has spread world wide and includes a few cities in the UK. The ethos is to go and have a nice time and actually listen to the music and not chat all the way through it about what’s been on the TV or the latest football: watch and listen to the band. And talk and get your drinks in between the sets, rather than disturbing the gig for those around you. Boss.

You pay your £10 for a ticket, and then the day before you get an email telling you where it will be. In this case the event was held in a place I hadn’t been before called ‘Slate’ which is within Tapestry – a large building up behind TJ Hughes. There’s apparently always a bar onsite (unless they tell you otherwise) so it’s not a BYOB gig.

Met someone I knew who likes live music – and it turns out helps out with the event – and then went up the stairs to Slate, which turned out to be a nice space for some music – with a small bar at one end of the room and the area for the bands marked out with some simple lighting, and the instruments and amplification all laid out at the opposite end.

The three Sofar acts - Liverpool 22.09.21

There were three acts who played, who I hadn’t seen before. Namely, Christie a local singer songwriter and Ahmed Khwata a songwriter from London, with the last act being The Heavy North – a local five piece bluesy outfit. I really enjoyed all of them. Christie and The Heavy North were both playing the Smithdown Festival at the Handyman on Friday (with Heavy North being the headliner).

The Heavy North

The whole gig wasn’t that long (first act on around 8pm and last song finished around 10:15pm – okay for a school night) with the acts each only playing five or six songs. But it was a really intimate gig with an attentive and respectful audience and I really enjoyed it. And I’ll definitely be there again, well, not there as I don’t yet know where there will be.

Rock on.

_____________

sofarsounds.com/liverpool

Nearly 40 Miles

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-27T19:55:44+01:00

This week’s summary (ending 26/9): I hit 91,870 steps equivalent (i.e. adding the cycling to the walks), which is good going. And I can very much feel the difference between how the muscles are affected by riding compared to walking - and I’m getting faster. My thighs on Friday and Saturday were still feeling the effects of nearly 40 miles of cycling. Not bad work last week after going from no cycling for thirty odd years. Ultimately I may end up having days when most my ‘steps’ are equivalent ones from cycling rather than actual walking. This week the cycling made up about a third of my leg work. The actual steps last week were 28.4 miles (60,965 steps) and the cycling was about 39.5 miles.

Been riding along canal pathways mostly and trying to limit the roads, which at the moment has been okay. I dare say it'll be less attractive soon as the morning and nighttime extends. Haven't done wet weather yet. Some of the cobbled surfaces could be a bit fun on a wet or frosty day. May end up combining some rail soon.

Week’s details (steps equivalent with walking and cycling combined):
Distance: 42.8 miles
Steps: 91,870k
Average Daily Distance: 6.1 miles
Average Steps: 13.1k

One nice thing about the cycling – apart from added fitness – is seeing some nice countryside and wildlife.

Onwards and Alongwards.

Back to Gigs

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-21T09:45:36+01:00

The Magic Numbers gig on Friday was just brilliant. Oops, I’ve gone straight to the end there. First things first: I walked into town to get my steps in (without my usual rucksack for a change) and listened to the Numbers all the way - on my really crap headphones. Had read so much about how poor the beer is in the venue: the Arts Club, on Seel Street – operated by O2 Academy (not to be confused with the Arts Bar on Hope Street) - and how expensive it is too. I hadn’t been in the Arts Club since it was the Masque, many moons ago.

So I walked the 4.8 miles from mine to the Keystone first with the aim to get a nice pint and fill myself up with a burger from Boffo Burgers (who operate out of the Keystone from Friday to Sunday). Sat outside in the garden cooling down from the long walk and had a couple of pints of Chapter Brewing ‘The Hay is Waiting’ and a cheeseburger and fries from Boffo. Top choices both.

Whilst I was in the Keystone I discovered I needed to prove either a negative Covid test or that I’d been double vaccinated. I haven’t had a test for a while, but I have been double vaccinated. Unfortunately I’ve never checked whether the NHS App was up to date with that - I’ve heard many people have gone on and found one or both of their vaccinations not showing. I had a fear therefore that if that was the case I wouldn’t be seeing the Magic Numbers at all. In the end I gave my app the appropriate answers so that it could find my results and hey presto both vaccines were showing so I was good to go. (I was a bit perturbed that this ‘all clear’ is only valid to sometime in October!?! What happens then with any gig going?

Said my farewells and headed for one in the Coach House. Ended up rushing a second (hey, the gig venue was going to be crap for beer). The walk took me past the Grapes so I had to go for a quick pint of Neptune ‘Ezili’ in there, didn’t I?

And then finally, after my pre-loading with beef burger & fries and some mighty fine ales, it was time to head to the Arts Club. There some people queuing outside, some of who were going through the process I’d gone thru trying to dig out their ‘I’m relatively safe’ proof before showing a ticket too. Then I was in. Huzzah! This was my first post lockdown gig with a non-socially distanced requirement (I’d been to the post-lockdown gig of Frank Turner in Top Rope Brewery, but that was with a socially distanced exclusive ‘crowd’ of 60 people). I was unsure how it would be.

Obviously it felt a bit strange (somewhere between good and ‘oh should we be doing this?’). The fact that everyone has to show their vaccination or latest test status though is at least a bit reassuring. I walked straight past the queue for the bar and headed for a bit of space on the left hand side to watch the stage (my fullness with quick beers and meat & fries worked!). Ren Harvieu was playing with Romeo and Michelle from the Numbers. I caught three of her songs before they left and the Numbers came on. The atmosphere was lovely.

The atmosphere just grew and grew and became eye poppingly good. The vibe perfect. Chatted to a few people who were along a straight line measurement between sober and not so sober - but all were in an equally mighty fine place. I couldn’t wait for the Numbers. Which was handy as there wasnt long to wait…

The tour was arranged to celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of their first, eponymous, album which was released in 2005. As the gig was on its third iteration due to covid cancelations then it was really the 16th anniversary. But if we can have the 2020 Olympics and 2020 European Championship this year then I dare say another event with a stretched out date is neither here nor there. In any case it was very much a celebration of their first, much loved, album. In fact they played the songs from the album in the order of it.

The audience loved it. Raising hands, glasses and voices along with the all of the songs. It was joyous. And I’d forgotten to be ‘not quite sure’ about being in a crowded indoor venue. I’m not sure whether it was sold out or not. It seemed pretty full to me, though not too bad to get to the bar when I finally decided I was in need of hydration again. Choices for an ale drinker were limited (and they didn’t even have any Guinness – my go to drink where ale is not about) so I ended up drinking Somersby pretend cider. Which did a job.

The music and atmosphere hardly took a dip; the album is one classic after another after all. And I enjoyed everything about it (if not the bar). They ended the gig (which included the hidden song at the end of the album) with a saxophone player joining them to play ‘Sweet Divide’ which was a beautiful epic song to end with.

Yes, all in all, a mighty good night. Can’t beat live music, can you? That’s rhetorical. You can’t.

___________

Talking of live music I ended up getting a ticket the next day for a gig next week in Liverpool. It’ll be my first time going to a Sofar gig. They don’t tell you who will be playing or where! All they say is that it’ll be arrive for 7:15 and it’ll be in Liverpool. Then 36 hours before the gig they inform you about the venue. You only find out who is playing when they step up to the microphone. An interesting concept. For £10 it is not much to gamble with and I am looking forward to this week’s event: and yes I know now I have a record of my double vaccination status. Huzzah!

If it sounds up your street (it is a worldwide thing) then take a look at the website to see if there is anything coming up where you are:

www.sofarsounds.com
www.sofarsounds.com/cities/liverpool

Walk On & Ride On

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-21T09:44:15+01:00

Well last week became a bit different for me; because I started riding a bike as well as walking. First time in a saddle for decades. In any case I exceeded my weekly goal of 56k steps with just the walking, but together with the riding did even better. I had four days walking into Liverpool and those four days equated to between 12.8 and 13.9k steps per day. And there were three days when I did not get up to the 8k steps average goal. I’ve found a fudge factor to address the equivalent for cycling to steps so I could add the numbers up (I’ve used 110 steps/minute at this point).

This week’s summary (ending 19/9) I hit c.74,589 steps, which is pretty damn fine. And I can feel the difference between how the muscles are affected by riding compared to walking - and day on day I’ve got faster on the bike without trying (though this may also be that the tyres were better inflated too). Initially I’m going to try going out on the bike three times a week. Let’s see how that goes. Ultimately I may end up having days when most my ‘steps’ are equivalent ones from cycling rather than actual steps. We shall see.

Week’s details:
Distance: 34.7 miles
Steps 74.6k
Average Daily Distance: 4.96 miles
Average Steps: 10.7k

Onwards and Alongwards.

Magic Numbers Gigs

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-17T14:02:19+01:00

Tonight I'm going to a gig – the Magic Numbers at the Arts Bar in Liverpool. First time at a normal (not socially distanced) gig since Covid lockdowns.

Michelle & Angela – and an interloper – in an Amsterdam bar

Romeo and the same interloper (and a band member from Shout Out Louds) in an Amsterdam bar.

I've been to several Number's gigs in Manchester, Kendal, and even Amsterdam – as well as seeing them at music festivals like Glastonbury. I also went to see Romeo Stodart at the Music Room in the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, which was just two days before all gigs got cancelled due to lockdowns. I wrote a review of that gig for a website.

Got some great memories – and stories – from all my gigs involving the Number's and am looking forward to tonight. Not looking to forward to the bar in the Arts Bar though. Truly horrendous prices for crap drinks. Ho hum. Not sure how it'll be in a none socially distanced environment either. But saying that, the music from the Stodarts & Gannons – and from Ren Harvieu – will no doubt be fabulous.

Rock on.

First Try Out on ZevonOne

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-17T12:34:24+01:00

A Bike

One of the items I picked up from my parents house was my dad's old bike. It's nothing special it's a BSA 'Westcoast' if it means anything to you. But it's not called Westcoast any more it is now officially ZevonOne. It has straight handlebars rather than road racing type which is better for me from a riding position perspective, as I'm not going to be doing anything for speed, and It has five speed gears.

First daylight ride on ZevonOne

I bought a set of lights, a pump and a lock; and yesterday I got the chain back on and oiled it. Sure it needs a bit a clean and more oil on the gears next, but it worked fine. The brakes are okay but not brilliant. Probably due to the cables not being moved much for many years as dad hadn't used if for a few years.

I'll have to get a hi-vis belt or sash or some such next; I am not intending to get much (any) in the way of the cycling clothing – at least at the moment. I suppose I'll have a think about a helmet.

Last night at 11pm – after watching 'Help' (a great drama featuring the wonderful Stephen Graham & Jodie Comer on C4) – I went out for my first ride on a bicycle for something like thirty years. Only went on a circular route of 2.85 miles. It took me a bit under 22 minutes; around 7.8 mph i.e. not fast.

Pain in the neck gates at park

This morning I went out and rode on the route I've been walking previously around Walton Hall Park via the Loop Line. The main things I've noticed are that the legs get pretty tired, pretty damn quickly compared to walking. And my god, even short slopes were a killer. The movement of the legs is very different of course to walking and it is exercising them in a different way. The gates around the park are a damn pain to deal with too. Anyway it'll take a few weeks I'm sure for these legs to get used to this new thing.

Steps

Noticed of course that the exercise doesn't get picked up by watch, which means I'll have to turn the rides into steps by some factor or other. There's no clear cut way of doing it. I found several way of doing it on a writer's website (link here) and am going to go for the lower one initially: namely, 130 steps per minute for a low intensity ride. But initially I'll lower it further as I'm going to be damn slow to start with. They have 'easy pace' as ten miles an hour and on my first two outings I've been closer to 8mph. So for the sake of argument let's say 110 steps/min for now and I'll up it to 130/min once I've got up to 10mph (assuming I ever do).

Once at Lake Toba

I say that it's been thirty years since I've been on a bike and that's almost true. But I did hire a bike on one day when I was in Indonesia at the stunning Lake Toba. The lack of practice and the hilly nature meant I didn't really cycle per se though – I basically walked up the slopes and then freewheeled down them. Not really cycling at all then.

Going forward

Getting on the bike this morning I found the front tire had gone down since last night. So it seems I'll have to get new inner tubes next – along with the hi-vis. It'll be first time changing a tyre for over thirty years too then. The other thing is that there are areas of rust, most obviously the handlebars. So at some point I'll have to de-rust and paint the affected areas. It's all a learning curve.

The handlebars (and indeed the bike) needs some TLC/paint work.

Assuming I record the bike rides on Runkeeper (which doesn't just do running, despite the name), then I can convert the cycling to steps and keep up with monitoring overall exercise in a consistent form.

Onwards and along wards.

Spot On Walk On

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-13T19:05:34+01:00

Not quite as good as last week for the walking. But got one long one sorted on Saturday with my walk to Neptune brewery so overall I only just got to 56k steps for the week. The Saturday walk of about 18k steps made all the difference. Started slowly this week too but should get there again this week with two or three four miles plus walks.

This week (ending 12/9) I hit c.56k steps.

Week’s details:
Distance: 26.3 miles
Steps 56.5k
Average Daily Distance: 3.8 miles
Average Steps: 8k

Onwards and Alongwards.

A Walk To Neptune

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-13T10:27:52+01:00

Neptune Brewery opened up their taproom on Saturday for the first time this year. And so I had to go up to show my support and to get a great beer. As I’m behind with the walking this week I decided too that I would kill two birds with one stone by walking there from my house. It was 5.5 miles. It proved a good walk and actually despite being slowed down by having to doubling back at one point where a path wasn’t clear and then having to cross the infamous Switch Island (where the map was trying to direct me on a footpath which didn’t exist).

There was a footpath shown both on the map and on signage by the A59 too for a cross country bit (former railway line) but this proved to be not as nice as it could be as the path was periodically inundated by brambles and other vegetation. And the narrow cut of the path meant it would be very easy to twist an ankle or two. Anyway I persevered with it and got through to a better path and then roads less than half a mile to the brewery. And then I was there!

A nice afternoon stroll

As I walked up to it I was overtaken by a couple who I know and then when I got in I bumped into several friends and acquaintances. The taproom’s reopening was definitely something that people had been really looking forward to. They do so many great beers and the service from the staff is boss too.

Ezili time

They only had one cask on, but it was Ezili which is an easy drinking favourite so I had a few of those. But I had some keg too. Shocking but true. Had good chinwags with several friends and the last few beers with Neil (who I last bumped into when I’d also walked to a brewery (Liverpool Brewing Company - how spooky). We walked to Maghull Station and caught a train, in Neil’s case to go to my ‘relatively local’ Jaxons Micropub and in mine to town for the Head of Steam so I could watch Emma Raducanu win the US Open. And how fabulous was that!

In summary though it was great to see Neptune reopen their bar and to see so many familiar faces. And it was great for the brewery too as I’m sure they weren’t too sure what to expect on the first opening. Well played, people.

Clearing

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-13T10:26:30+01:00

This week we had a house clearance company in to clear my parents old house. We’d spent a lot of time selling stuff and taking some things to charity as well as picking a few bits for the family: mainly paperwork and photographs. Originally the clearance was supposed to be on Saturday morning but the van had a major breakdown meaning it couldn’t be done until Wednesday evening after it had some major work done on it. I’d agreed to their 6-9pm estimate not thinking that meant they would be piling crockery into bins and breaking up old wardrobes and sawing bits and bats quite late into the evening. As it happened they arrived half an hour late and worked through until 10pm! Good job we’re not staying - the neighbours must have really enjoyed the racket.

I asked them to take the small sofa in the back room last so I had somewhere to sit for the three hours they were ploughing through the house. It was quite depressing hearing it all going on. They piled stuff up in the front garden so that they could decide how best to fill the van later on. I’d picked up a litre of cask Neptune beer from the Tap & Bottles which I enjoyed getting thru. But soon realised I should probably have picked up two litres.

I did a little video of my last walk through of the house before the company had arrived. It’s a big semidetached like a lot of the interwar ones are. It’s made for a family and I hope the family who have put in the offer for it enjoy many years there. The mortgage companies surveyor was in there on Friday. So assuming they are happy with things then it could move pretty quickly now it’s all but empty. Fingers crossed.

At least it’s something we wont need to go though again. And assuming I pop my clogs earlier than my sis there is probably just the three guitars and couple of amps to keep or sell on. And maybe not much more (but for lots of CDs and some books - how quaint these days).

A Cigar!

A.J. Walker — 2021-09-08T09:10:38+01:00

Did better with my walking last week, though life got in the way during the week the bulk was largely from just the Saturday and Sunday. My aim for 8k/day (56k/week) was achieved - indeed exceeded: huzzah!

This week (ending 5/9) I hit c.63k steps.

Week’s details:
Distance: 29.7 miles
Steps 63.7k
Average Daily Distance: 4.2 miles
Average Steps: 9.1k

Onwards and Alongwards.

Close: But Not Quite A Cigar

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-30T12:22:07+01:00

Not done as well with my walking over the last two weeks. My aim for 8k/day (56k/week) has not been achieved over this fortnight.

Last week (ending 22/8) I hit c.53k steps.

Week’s details:
Distance: 24.7 miles
Steps 52.9k
Average Daily Distance: 3.5 miles
Average Steps: 7.5k

This week has been quite similar. That’s partly been due to some constraints from dealing with personal things like the sale of our parent’s house and whatnot that have stopped some of the walking.

This week’s details (w/e 29/8):
Distance: 25.6 miles
Steps 54.9k
Average Daily Distance: 3.6 miles
Average Steps: 7.8k

Okay, the last two weeks have not quite been up to the average I have wanted but then again it is all a question of perspective. If I step back and look at the entire month of August then I hit a quarter of a million steps for the month (117 miles). That sounds quite good all things considered. It also equates to 8.4k steps per day which is above what I aimed for: and is more than I achieved in May, June or July.

So you know it still is: Onwards and Upwards (and Alongwards).

Sanctuary - The Return of the Open Mic

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-28T14:14:16+01:00

Out of nowhere - with just one day's notice - the Sanctuary announced they were having an Open Mic the following day. The event was to be hosted by Barry Sutton - one of many former Las. He is a brilliant guitarist.

So I went along a bit (read: very) nervous about playing with a different group of people. The usual crew were absent of course as were the people who usually turned up to play there: the ones I was comfortable playing in front of because they knew me and my limitations. Playing in front of really good musicians who I didn’t know at all had my hands really shaking. I played and sang okay though but my nervous shaking was obvious.

Barry said if'd been shite he’d let me do one song then pull me off (as it were) but in the end I did four songs. So it couldn’t have been as bad as I feared it was. At the end several people shook my hand and said they enjoyed it. I’ll take that. And next time - if there is a next time - I will be a lot more relaxed appearing in front of a new audience.

One of the excellent young guitarists who I warmed up for.

I didn’t catch the names of the people who played other than Barry. It’s not like I’m writing a review. But bloody hell there were some fabulous (young) performers. It was a really good night. I had to leave early (if 11:30pm is counted as early) so missed Matt Holland Author Dot Com - the one other representative of the former Open Mic crew - read his stories out. Next time; if there is etc etc.

It did feel strange playing there with a different organiser than the previous Open Mic events. I’m hoping to get along to the OM from Bobo & John once they are up and running (I expect in the Outpost, a little further down the road). I could end up playing more often, learning more stuff, and getting more confident. Well it could happen…

____________

Incidentally my four songs on the return were:

'Sweet Carolina' - Ryan Adams
'Couldn’t Get Arrested' - Green on Red
'Whiskey in my Whiskey' - Felice Brothers (accompanied by a Highland Park 12YO: thanks, Josh)
'One I Love' - REM

Football and Bloody Technology

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-24T11:39:58+01:00

Forget VAR as the bane of a football supporter's life, sometimes it's something all together everyday and more personal. And this week it's bloody mobile phones. I was offered a ticket for the Liverpool v Chelski game at the weekend. A great game to go to. I used to go to all the home games but haven't been for a few years now, so the offer was gratefully received. But my oh my, what a waste of my time it has proven to be.

Tickets are no longer issued, nor LFC fancards etc. Nope, you need to scan in with your mobile phone with the ticket in your Google Pay or Apple Wallet. And that means your phone needs to have NFC capabilities. I didn't even know what NFC stood for: it's Near Field Communication, which is for transferring information to nearby phones or affiliated devices - which includes using your phone for payments and/or holding tickets on. Inevitably my phone doesn't have NFC; despite the technology being out for years before my phone was made (I've got a Motorola G8 Power Lite). I was really keen on going to the game and have tried multiple attempts to get other older phones working, one of which was a Blackview 5500. It had NFC on it but the phone wasn't very well. The battery was virtually dead and the programs on the phone were no were near as rich and encompassing as the ones on my current phone. I'd have had to have days struggling with it and at least half expecting it not to work properly; not ideal when I am trying to sort stuff out.

I even considered buying a new phone with the NFC on. However I've also broken the screen on my iPad which will require changing at some point: there goes the mobile phone then. All in all I must have spent three or four hours messing about with things and have basically achieved nothing and still won't be going to the game.

It's the third time that me and Liverpool FC have struggled due to technology and/or ticketing changes. The first two were worse in the long term - rather than costing me the chance to go to just one game. One was removing my name from the waiting list for a Season Ticket: I was overseas when the wrote to me (why the hell not email?!) and only gave a short time when you needed to reply to the letter and pay a nominal fee (as I remember it) to remain on the list. I think I had been on the waiting list for about 8 or 9 years at the time. Taking me off the list when I was overseas for a month or two and couldn't react to a letter was very poor; and since then people I know who were on the list after me have now got season tickets - so I'd be going to every game right now if it wasn't for that. * Deep breath… relax *

The other time was when they stopped the Priority Ticket Scheme. My friend and I got to nearly every game (league and cup) when that was operating. Once they stopped the scheme the opportunity to get tickets was reduced to minuscule chances. Argh.

If only you could just have a season ticket like in the old days. Until this week I didn't even know what NFC was, so if nothing else I've learnt something.

Watching The Watch

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-24T08:48:43+01:00

Earlier on in the year I saw that the BBC/BBC America were producing a show called ‘The Watch’ based loosely on the characters in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I can’t say I was that excited by the idea. It would be substantially easier to mess it up than hit a bullseye.

It was only at the weekend that I noticed it was already available on iPlayer and that you could watch the entire series of eight episodes. I downloaded the first one but took a while to get around to pressing Play. I mean it could make me angry - or at least a little annoyed.

The Watch (BBC America)

On IMDB the average rating is a not very impressive 5.3 at the moment (out of 10 if you don’t know IMDB). However such ratings can be misleading. And in this instance I would expect it to be very much down to proper personal preferences and pre-exisiting views. I mean it’s Discworld and it is not easy to make in the way Terry has told it to the millions of us fans.

I am a big fan of Discworld. And The Watch (the wacky police force in Ankh Morpork) include some of the best characters across the entire series: especially Samuel Vimes. It would be easy to mess up bigly - many people think they have from what I’ve seen on Social Media and the IMDB rating. But the rating will also be pulled down by people who just don’t get Terry’s ideas and the world.

Personally I’ve somehow ended up being in the minority who enjoyed the thing. So much so that I binge watched the series over two days. At the end of the day it is not Ankh Morpork as in Terry’s books. It is a different - parallel universe - place. Vimes is nothing like I pictured him reading the books and the other characters are somewhat skew-whiff, but they are still as mad and diverse as in the books. It’s not overbearing how their histories or nature are described and maybe some people watching it who have never read the books would wonder what the fuck is going on with the werewolf, goblins, dwarves and an orangutan (and the Guilds) but hell they can’t be expected to explain and set the scene for everything. They don’t even go into the whole Discworld on the back of elephants and a gigantic turtle thing.

The Watch (from Discworld Emporium)

At the end of the day it isn’t Discworld per se and it isn’t supposed to be. But the characters themselves are great and the story is good. If you haven't been able to bring yourself to watch it yet I can understand some reticence but i'd recommend you give it a go. Just enjoy it for what the story and characters are and don’t worry that it is not Ankh Morpork (or Discworld) as you envisaged when you read the books. If you haven’t read the books then sort yourself out - you need to read a few forthwith.

Time and Times

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-19T12:29:27+01:00

Time and Times: A Farewell

Strange week. My sister and I have put my parent’s house up for sale. It’s been put off for a long time; mainly by the whole pandemic thing mashing our collective heads. It went on sale on Monday and there were viewings today and more programmed for the weekend. We have kind of half cleared the house but still need to get rid of some of the big furniture including the beds et al and all the silly stuff like cutlery and pots & pans (and whatever is in the shed). Will get a clearance company in to do that. Probably get a quote next week after this week of viewings come to an end.

It’s odd to think that today multiple strangers have been walking through our old front door, through the living room and kitchen, our bedrooms and our garden (let’s not say anything about the bathroom) with a view to taking it on for their own family. It is a great house. A fabulous location. Made for a family. Neither of us could justify taking it on really. It needs a family there. It needs to become a home I guess. We may have grown up there (both of us went through our secondary school years - at least) there). Technically it may be our house, but I suppose it’s no longer our home; however difficult it is. And it is.

In the meantime lots of books & CDs and whatnot have been taken to charity shops. Furniture, ceramics, and pictures have been sold, or given away, whilst Bits & Bobs are retained by the family; largely photos and all sorts of written bits have been put in boxes. I know I’ve taken too many of the books myself, including those I had as a kid (and two bookcases). The books that were mine when I was growing up in particular were very much of their time and I loved them, but many are dated and not really worth putting in a shop - or even me rereading. It’s really hard throwing away things (and I’ve always struggled with discarding - or selling - books). Outside of the books thing it is strange what gets left behind us and what means something/what doesn’t - and worse: what has been forgotten - who is that in these photographs? Are they friends or relatives of my parents or our grandparents? Should we know, or can we find out, and does it not matter? God, it is a strain.

Anyway we are getting there. At some point in the coming weeks I guess we’ll get an offer and we’ll say 'yes' perhaps and we’ll have to get a clearance guy in to sort out the detritus. Jeez. Deep breath. Relax.

More Alongwards

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-19T12:24:07+01:00

Continuing with my goal of 56k steps per week and actually hit the other arbitrary 10k steps per day. Well done me. This was largely through walking into town on four days of the week. Won't be hitting any kind of target like that this week I am sure.

Week’s details:
Distance: 32 miles
Steps 70.6k
Average Distance: 4.7 miles
Average Steps: 10,095

Onwards and Alongwards.

The Tooleys and the Local Historians

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-19T12:22:03+01:00

The Tooleys and the Local Historians (and Pringles)

Met some lovely people the other day in the Lion Tavern including a couple of old regulars and we talked about so many topics. Three others followed who sat next to me. One of the guys asked if it was okay to earwig as he was enjoying our conversation. Of course. Pubs are social places where interactions of all sorts occur both with strangers, acquaintances and mates. It turned out the three of them were on a wee pub crawl, though not a beer one (well not in the sense of ale anyway). They’d used a book to outline a walk around some historic pubs. They’d already been in the Poste House, walked to Ye Hole in Ye Wall (which was closed) and found themselves in the Lion. I was to leave them to walk down to the Pig & Whistle next.

Everyone was really laid back and enjoying a couple of hours (even with their chosen glasses of lager and wine in the case of the historians). They were all relatively local; coming from areas between Crosby and the Wirral. It was nice to talk about local history and the lovely pubs and breweries in the area - and music too as one of the guys was a session bass player with some excellent acts. Cool conversations all round.

I went on to meet a couple of mates half a mile across Liverpool in the Bridewell. They’d chosen to sit inside and were in one of the cells. As well as my two mates on the table at the back of the cell there were three others on the second table. We didn’t know them but chatted to them a little as it was impossible to get in and out of the cell without dislodging at least one of them so conversation always has to break out a little other than pleasantries. Then the power went out for a couple of minutes (I know not why - maybe there was a jail breakout) and we got talking a little more as you usually would. Lots of toilet humour in case the lights were down for too long. We wondered if there was bucket in the cell and I pointed out that a packet of Pringles would do the job too. They were nice people - and I’m sure they’ll always carry an empty packet of Pringles with them in future just in case. It was just the usual chit chat and banter we’d get involved in (or I would at any rate). They left not too much longer after that (probably to get to the Tescos before it shut for a certain cylinder).

Wouldn’t normally mention such chit chat but what came next was a bit of surprise to all three of us: the barman came around with a tray of drinks for us. ‘It’s from the Tooley’s.’ ‘ Who?’ ‘The people who were in here before wanted to buy you a drink.’ Well blow me down. It was the Pringles that did it I am sure.

So thank you, The Tooley’s. We raised a glass to you.

Anyway, pubs are social places. Treat them as such. They are not places to just drink and get drunk. Get involved if you are in the mood to. Put a song on the jukebox, chat to the barman, chat to the people on your table - or sharing your cell. And just enjoy it. Cheers!

——-

PS if you are camping and using the Pringles packet to avoid heavy rain and mud during the night don’t do the trick my mate did the following morning and knock it over in the foyer of your tent (or worse inside!). It was he who told me about the handy trick and then showed my the hazard too. Such a teacher! (The lad will remain nameless)

A Liverpool Brewery Stroll

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-11T12:47:59+01:00

A Liverpool Brewery Stroll

Was very lucky on Saturday that after the wettest morning I can remember in a long time somebody suddenly turned off the tap. And it coincided with a day that Liverpool Brewery were having one of their open days with beer and BBQ. So I decided to risk a walk to Bootle.

It was about 3.5 miles and a bit of a risk in terms of fluid in the clouds if not the glass. I put it on Google Maps and set off. I was soon provided with an issue as a mile and half from my house it took me to a path at the edge of a housing estate which was no longer a path and fenced off. Argh! So had to have a bit a detour to find another access point to the path into Walton Hall Park. Oh well, more steps was positive; even if I was worried about the additional time giving rain more of a chance to catch up with me.

It was an interesting walk going along roads I’ve never walked along. A mix of semi-detached and terraces, but largely the latter. Bit rough in some places with lots of waste spilled along the street and others spick & span. Ended up in the industrial estate where the brewery was located and got there without a drop of rain falling on me. Result.

As I got to the brewery I bumped into Neil, a fellow ale fan (it is a brewery after all) and we spent a pleasant couple of hours together with three casks from Liverpool Brewery (Big Juicy, Tropical Pale, and Modern Bitter) and even one keg (Armstrong Avenue) from Team Toxic. Even managed to sit outside for three of those before the rain returned.

They had a BBQ on whilst there, which smelled good - though I didn’t partake. There had been music planned but the awful weather which hit the most of the day put paid to that. Next time!

Recommended to pop down there when you can: and maybe mix it with a couple down at the Top Rope Brewery if they are open at the same time. Then again it’s next to Bank Hall so a visit to nearby Waterloo or town could easily follow too.

Walking: Keeping It Up

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-10T10:08:35+01:00

Walking: Keeping It Up and 80,000 Bodies

Did alright with my steps last week after a very short Monday. My quest for an average of 8k steps per day (56k a week) was hit with four days above 8 and 3 below. The week hit a little over 60k despite a few off-puttingly wet days at the back end of the week.

The luckiest days was Saturday when the deluge seemed to be constant for hours and set in. Suddenly stopped and I got a 3.5 mile walk in: to a brewery. Win-win. Second only to the ale was staying dry for the entire walk. Oh and bumping into some friends. Win-win-win.

Wild Flowers at Walton Hall Park

Green Algae and a Coot

Bank Hall Station

One of the things about making sure I get the distance in is that I am walking down roads or in areas I wouldn’t normally go. Once this week I got off the bus five stops early as I could see the rain and stopped and it looked like it would stay dry for a bit. I took the opportunity to walk onto Grant Gardens for the first time. I only discovered relatively recently that the small grassed park was actually formerly a massive cemetery called Liverpool Necropolis and that within it’s relatively small confines 80,000 people are thought to have been buried. There is little evidence of its history there now. There is one small monument which states “In Memory of James and Mary Johnson’ but doesn’t have dates on it or any information in relation to the ‘Gardens’. As a flat grassed area with a road through the middle of it ‘Gardens’ harks back to a past when it really was. If I wasn’t trying to walk more then I wouldn’t have got off the bus at the point and wouldn’t have walked onto the park. Does make you think about what we don’t know about the areas we drive or walk past every day.

From what I’ve seen on Wikipedia and a couple of other sites Liverpool Necropolis occupied about 5 acres and operated between 1825 and 1898. It was reopened 16 years later (1914) as a park: ‘Grant Gardens.’ It was closed in 1898 as it had reached capacity (80,000 bodies) and was creating ‘unsanitary conditions’ to the surrounding area: Victorian terraces backed straight up against it. It was named Grant Gardens after the Alderman for Parks and Gardens Committee at the time of its creation. A bit egotistical if you ask me.

Memorial at Grant Gardens

Grant Gardens

Anyway, where ever I am walking it does give me the opportunity to take some photos - always a bonus. And maybe learn more about the places I walk through.

Week’s details:
Distance: 28 miles
Steps 60.3k
Average Distance: 4 miles
Average Steps: 8,600

Onwards and Alongwards.

A Surprisingly Enjoyable Olympics

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-10T10:07:46+01:00

Really quite enjoyed the Olympics with regard to some of the competition. As ever the cycling was particularly good from the UK (sorry, Great Britain & Northern Ireland) perspective. Not so great from the track & field side, but even there some success did come our way quite surprisingly (to me anyway).

Thought the GB did really well with their medal haul considering. And some of the reporting about it being lower than the previous two Olympics (at least in terms of Golds) were a bit too negative. The 2012 was a home one where all the stops were pulled out to win and the subsequent one in Rio obviously had the residual effect from the London one. But being fully nine years later the London Effect can no longer be expected to be quite as relevant.

I’m not a fan of the Lottery per se. I mean it seems to largely take the responsibility of funding from the government and put it in the hand of a company making money by encouraging gambling. It is morally dubious at best. But all that said the lottery funding of sports people and organisations has certainly provided a good lift to sports that otherwise would struggle to get funding.

The biggest difficulty with any Olympics is the time zones that impact on when events occur. But there’s not much that can be done about that (unless you are American and the big corps can encourage times that suit their advertisers). Sport is all about that moment. You want to watch it as it happens. I love watching a live footy match at a weekend (and the Premier League starts this weekend: Yippee!) but I wouldn’t sit through ninety minutes of a game that had finished earlier in the day; apart from re-runs of Istanbul 2005 or Barcelona, ‘Corner taken quickly, Origi!’

I managed to see some of the Olympics stuff live. But over half the stuff I watched wasn’t love. To be fair the BBC did a cracking job with their coverage IMHO. Apart from the cycling there was great stuff from the triathlon, boxing and swimming pool. Some of the middle distance male and female runners did a cracking job too.

Really hope the athletics can improve for the next Olympics as I grew up enjoying watching that with my parents. Dad was an enthusiastic middle distance runner in his youth and always loved watching the greats in the past - not just the British ones either. There’s something about the mile (or 1500 meters) and 800m, and the years of Coe, Ovett and Cram would be wonderful to repeat. Maybe one day.

Perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket to support(ish) a future middle distance great.

At least the next one is in Paris so time zones are not going to be an issue for this one. I can watch it all live (bar the sports that inevitably clash of course). Roll on, 2024.

Not Enough Words

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-03T22:52:03+01:00

So far this year there have not been enough words in my life in terms of reading or writing. I am aiming - and hoping - to improve on both counts in the second half of the year (yes, I know we are already over a month into the second half).

In terms of writing I REALLY WILL finish The Wobbly Odyssey soon; hopefully within August. I WILL! I’ve got about 18k words to finish it in my estimation so surely I can find 18 days out of the next 28 days to write 1000 words. Surely.

I know. Not surely. But like aiming to do 8k steps a day, 1k words a day is not undoable if I put my mind to it. The only writing I’ve been doing regularly really is the weekly challenge called #MidWeekFlash that Miranda puts up on her website ‘Finding Clarity.’ Each of the last two weeks I’ve written them in one sitting and both ended up being over 1000 words then needed to be edited down. So a thousand words a day is well within my compass: let’s see.

The other side of this ‘Not Enough Words’ equation is my reading. I set myself my usual target of around 40 books this year (42) and so far I’ve only read 18. This means I’ve got to read just over a book a week to achieve my goal. It’s not exactly a stretch goal but - like the steps - playing catch up has made it more difficult.

Four nice books picked up in a second hand shop

I know. It’s not exactly like an Olympian trying to get a medal, but I they are goals I should go for. My current read after finishing Gareth Powell’s ‘The Recollection’ is one of the few Terry Pratchett’s I haven’t read: ‘The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents’ which I bought on Saturday during my first visit to a second hand bookshop since all the lockdowns began. Went in needing no books and came out with four: so far, so predictable. Made up also to find a copy of an Unseen University edition of 'Reaper Man’. Will have to find a nice home for my old paperback copy now I’ve go my hands on that. Not sure how many books were printed in these UU editions but I’ve now got four anyway.

Map of Discworld in the Unseen University 'Reaper Man'

Getting back into a second hand bookshop was excellent. Finding myself new (and old) Pratchett’s even better. Now I need to get me reading and writing going. I can do it.

Yeah, but will I?

Steps

A.J. Walker — 2021-08-03T22:47:05+01:00

After my blog last week saying that I intended to return to doing at least 8k steps per day average in a week (i.e. 56k) I smashed it last week. Every day was above 8k which makes it easy to keep on top of. In actual fact last week my figures were:

Distance: 43.77 miles
Steps: 93,923
Average Distance: 6.25 miles
Average Steps: 13,417

Smashed it. Easy hey?

Recording the walk into the city

Cloud and sunshine above Liverpool

A quiet Loop Line on my Sunday walk

Well, on Monday this new week didn’t start quite as well (by a long chalk) with a paltry 1.3k steps. I’d said I’d walk a mile and half to a bus stop but I ended up with a lift home instead: while it was good in terms of getting home quickly it ballsed my walking up a bit. But on Tuesday things have improved. It was over 15k steps, which has got my average back up at the 8k over the two days. But it goes to show if you miss it with one nothingy day then you will be requiring some decent catch up on subsequent days - and if you had two quiet days (or, god forbid, more six day isolation requirements) then it’d be easy to really struggle to achieve the goal - unless you really forced yourself. It’s easier not to do than do, but really it’s not that difficult to do either if you really want to.

Onwards and Upwards… or at least Onwards and Alongwards.

All Hail

A.J. Walker — 2021-07-26T22:31:51+01:00

I still haven’t decided whether to put up a section on the website on Real Ale or (more likely) or Real Ale in Liverpool. It needs a little bit more thinking about.

I think it would be quite nice, and would be quite easy for me to do. It would fit well with my second Twitter account “RealeLiverpool” too. But I am conscious that I don’t want to create much work for myself. Ideally if I was going to do it then I wouldn’t want it to take much more than an hour or so a week to keep updated (it’d obviously take longer to set it up originally, but that’s okay if the later thing works). So I would need to think about the form of it to make it work. I write flash fiction regularly e.g. for #MidWeekFlash every week and that is a circa 750 word fiction story based on a photo prompt. In some ways if I set myself a similar target purely in terms of word count it should be easier (i.e. I would not have to go through the process of coming up with a fiction story from scratch in my head and then moving it onto a page).

But then if it was to just be a weekly 750 words what would it be about? What would it take for me or a reader to be invested in it? I mean I wouldn’t want to read (much less write) that much about any particular week of mine. So it would have to be about the pubs, the breweries and the beers - and even more something about the people. It couldn’t be something like a Pub of the Week or Beer of the Day. It’d need to be sincere yet fun, and not a monologue or diatribe. So maybe it would be closer to a diary - or at least influenced by it - than I currently think. Arhhhh, what would it be?

Okay, basically it needs some thinking about. I also need to consider what it does to my website. The most obvious thing would be to get rid of the “Class Song of the Day” pages and replace it with the “ale” page (but not Class Beer of the Day: promise). That’s a crying shame for me, but it’s not like those pages are getting visited anyway. It’s so sad that the effort and my heart that went into creating CSOTD can simply be dispensed with by the act of pressing the Delete button once. It will be a sad day. And ultimately if no-one is any more interested in the Liverpool real ale scene (or my version of it) than they were in brilliant songs maybe it’s a waste of time.

But it will not be a complete waste of time as if I do go for it then every act of writing something new will be a creative act and help me (if not the reader) in becoming a better writerer; and I didn’t do that with the CSOTD. Maybe I’ll write the fucker, even if you won’t read it. Well that’s the theory.

Watch this space…

When Gravity Goes Wrong

A.J. Walker — 2021-07-21T22:40:40+01:00

When Gravity Goes Wrong, or How Gravity Tried to Kill My Computer

Been in isolation since last Friday. Been really busy doing stuff in and around the house and the garden - to be fair I have so much here another month of isolation may be just about enough time to sort it all out. One of these things was a hole in the ceiling of the living room that came about as a result of a water leak before new year. The leak was fixed by a plumber back then, but a hole of a few inches across had remained. I bought a kit a while back but have only decided to spend the time on it when my time was kinda open ended by the requirement to isolate.

So on Tuesday I actually fixed the hole in the ceiling! Bloody hell. Not too difficult I suppose but due to being ceiling and not a wall there was a lot of unwarranted reliance on the glue on the backing of the pad used to cover the hole. The damn thing fell off whilst I was putting the filler on it. The patch proceeded to fall sideways as gravity was seemingly randomly broken at the time. If fell fully six feet horizontally away from where it fell: right bang on top of the keyboard of my open laptop (which was charging on the floor some way away from the sofa). You could not have hit it so perfectly if you had tried.

I raced to rescue the patch and filler and to clean the screen of the laptop - whilst simultaneously attempting to turn the laptop off. Then I had to deal with the keyboard. The easy thing was cleaning the trackpad and the larger edges of the computer. The biggest problem was the keyboard. I had to quickly but as safely as possible attempt to clean the keys from all the filler that seemed to have miraculously splattered across multiple edges of about two thirds of the keys. I had to clean as best as possible the larger area before it had set. Whilst waiting for it to get a bit firmer to scrape off each side of the key one at a time: whilst trying to avoid the dust of the stuff getting into the gubbins of the computer. In short I was worried that the keys would jam up, and/or the filler from the ceiling would end up inside the computer and cause serious damage to it. I mean for fuck's sake it was stressful.

I did as good a job as I could with the laptop. But have left it untouched since Tuesday lunch time when it happened until late Wednesday night. I wasn't sure if it was severely damaged, lightly damaged or had survived. And tonight I turned it on and… so far so good. The buttons are all working and there's not obvious signs of issues with the laptop. I think at the weekend I'll open it up and give the internals a check and clean. Better safe than sorry.

In summary, it is god's way of saying DIY is dangerous and beware gravity: it does not always pull down vertically - annoying bugger.

What A Fudge Up

A.J. Walker — 2021-07-18T10:41:27+01:00

With Sajid Javid feeling “groggy” and then testing positive for Covid-19 the guys and gals who work with him (and presumably his wife and children) are at risk of contracting (or maybe already have) the virus from him. This morning we find that the PM and Chancellor have been contacted by Test & Trace as a close contact. Of course Twitter has gone wild saying variously that they’ve been “pinged” and contacted by Track & Trace. As it stands it seems to have been the latter and not the App.

According to the stuff I’ve read this morning getting the Ping from App is “advisory” - although having been pinged myself it doesn’t seem that when you get the notification: it seems a rock solid requirement. Now it seems getting contacted by Track & Trace which does equate to a legal requirement to self isolate doesn’t exactly if you know (or can get around the system).

It’s all so woolly. Is it any wonder people ignore rules/guidance when they don’t know what is required legally, what is advice, what’s sensible and what’s just nonsense. And this is far from helped by the PM and Chancellor saying they are going to carry on working and meeting people - on essential things whilst having to “self isolate” for the rest of the time. I don’t think any of us really have belief that they would do the latter. This is the time they should stand up and say exactly how they are doing things this coming week (ie in accordance with requirements of law and/guidance). They need to show they are doing things correctly in order that others do too. *

They wont.

But of course it may not be the most important thing. Javid has contracted the virus having had two jabs (Astra Zeneca: like me and most oldsters). Apparently AZ is roughly 60% effective against the current Delta variant after both your jabs. From tomorrow if you get pinged having had two jabs you are no longer required (whatever that now apparently means) to self isolate. How much more will the virus take off with these rules/guidance being loosened?

As I’ve said before I’ll continue to mask and largely social distance for the next months until the virus is under some more control. It’s not 100% effective but 60% (or 80% if you’re offered other vaccines) is better than 0%. Get vaccinated but carry on with being sensible. Assuming you are capable.

* Since writing this the PM & Chancellor have stepped away from their cunning plan to sidestep their legal requirement and have now said they will self isolate. Could mixed messages be any more mixed and fudged? The answer is No.

Pinged!

A.J. Walker — 2021-07-17T18:16:29+01:00

Oh Happy Day. Yesterday me and a friend were both pinged by the NHS App to say were near someone a few days ago who has subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. We were both told to self isolate for six days from yesterday (which means I can’t leave the house/garden until midnight on Wednesday. I’m not sure if that will change on Monday with the new guidance. That is anyone’s guess.

With it being six days and not ten it indicates that the contact was sometime last weekend. Which to be fair is the last time we were out together so that makes sense. That means it was either somewhere in Bishop’s Castle, where we were camping, or in the Head of Steam on the Sunday watching the footy final. Ho hum.

Pinged to self-isolate for 6 days

The ridiculous thing though is that it is a legal requirement to self isolate (which I’m fine with: it’s a health issue for all). And I now know multiple people who’ve either had a similar notification or actually caught the virus this week. BUT from Monday no one will need to use the NHS App to sign in and scan as they visit hospitality venues. If they then subsequently test positive there can be no backwards tracing of their contacts - other than their personal recollection, home and family and work etc.

The App notification suggests I’ve been near to someone with a positive test and that has got to be a useful thing to know. I mean what if I was planning on visiting a vulnerable person this weekend? To be given the information is very desirable. I’ve now tested myself at home using one of the kits and reported the Negative result to the NHS website (not sure why you can’t use the App to report it?). The notification page states that I should continue to: wash my hands, socially distance and wear a face covering. All of which I’ve been doing. But from Monday apparently I won’t need to. And because we won’t be scanning in to places no one will be able to back trace any close contacts we’ve all had any more. People won’t be getting told they’ve been near anyone who’s just been shown to have Covid, ‘cos no-one will know. This is straight out of the Donald Trump method of reducing instances of the virus by not testing for it. Led by the science, my arse.

Negative Test

So in a similar situation next week I wouldn’t know about my close contact and then I could happily pootle off to see a vulnerable person none the wiser. The mind boggles.

The changes just as so many people seem to be testing positive again is a ridiculous act. Since the notification and testing myself the Health Secretary himself has a tested positive (also after having two jabs). The App should be happily pinging his colleagues as you areas this. If he’d just got it a few days later they’d not be getting notified and would have happily been spreading it around their colleagues. Hope it makes them think (I suspect it won’t). Apparently in the last week half a million people have been pinged. FFS. Half a million!

Good luck to everyone trying to stay safe. We our having the tools of knowledge removed from us. And we are being left with common sense (which too many people have little of) and luck. Be good and stay safe, people. Understand the science (but good luck finding the details).

The New Normalish

A.J. Walker — 2021-07-15T17:46:25+01:00

So on Monday the times are changing - apparently. Things are returning to normal-ish. And to be fair it really is a bit of a mess. I can’t tell whether it is by genius design or manic ineptitude. I mean the Government have all the data and advice they could possibly ask for. So you’d have to think it is more by design than accident. Next week restaurants, bars and nightclubs can open “as normal” (along with everything else like theatres and cinemas etc) and not require scanning in, table service and the Rule of Six: just as the UK have the highest rate of Covid-19 infection in the world. Due to the opening up next week this can only accelerate.

It looks like the Netherlands will briefly overtake the UK tomorrow. And why? Because they'd opened up fully a few weeks ago and this damn Delta Variant has done its thing.

The vaccinations have been going well, which is great. But many of the people who have been vaccinated seem to think it gives them 100% protection and that once you’ve had it you’re okay to carry on as if the virus doesn’t exist; that they are walking around as if in some Iron Man protective gear. It doesn’t protect you 100% and you wouldn’t expect it to. Estimates of protection of the different vaccinations range between 60 and 80%. To put it another way if your group of four people at the bar or in the club on Monday are all exposed to the virus then one of them could be anticipated to contract the disease. It should make you think.

Of course the vaccination should make it much less likely that you would contract it with serious effects and you are less likely to pass away or end up in hospital. Whoopee! That is great news. And all the data shows the deaths have continued to be low despite that major rise in the virus.

It is nice to know we are less likely to die. But the complacency about the virus now seems to be endemic. Cultivated by the Government’s attitude and push to open up. I of course can’t wait to be able to buy a pint at the bar rather than the whole “wait to be seated” and then be served at the table thing. And it’ll be great for the businesses not to have to employ more people to do the table service - just when there are fewer people in the place than they’d normally have.

Hopefully as everyone gets vaccinated the disease will fall away substantially, but that is not going to happen next week. In the meantime a lot of the younger people - including many of the staff who work in the hospitality sector - wont have had two jabs yet so will be more exposed than us old uns.

Then there is Long Covid. I actually don’t directly know that many people who’ve had the virus. But of the few I do know there are two who have bad Long Covid symptoms involving either losing their taste completely or worse still having an awful taste & smell replacing what they should be sensing. Neither of these two had severe Covid at the time (six months ago) but have now been suffering for months - and one is in their twenties.

Apparently other symptoms of Long Covid includes brain and heart damage. I mean both of those sound like things you don’t want. The Government seems not to want people to avoid the virus. They don’t want you to die (always good for a government I guess), but they are happy for you to go out and catch something which could be permanently life damaging (apparently okay for a government and seemingly okay for the majority of the electorate - go figure).

I for one don’t want the disease. And I don’t want anyone else to get it either. I’ll continue to try and drink outside or in the better ventilated or larger rooms of the pubs: and in the quieter pubs. I’ll be continuing to use a face mask too. Of course, wearing a mask is supposed to reduce the chance of you passing an airborne disease on; it is not the point of it to protect you per se. So if I’m the only one in a mask then it really won’t be much use. But I’m expecting a lot of people will continue with them despite not needing to legally.

I really feel for the business owners and managers themselves. They've got horrible decisions to make now that they can legally not wear masks or ask others to. They are responsible for the health and safety of their staff - and themselves - and the government has now said legally they don't need to wear them, but the advice is on ever shifting sands. Being told you should but don't need to do something is a nonsense. How is a manager of a restaurant or bar going to feel exposing themselves and their staff right now to the virus when it's rising so precipitously? It's very much a Catch-22 situation for them with the Government washing their hands (or not washing them) of the whole thing.

Personally I think the Government should continue to persuade people to reduce exposure through wearing masks on public transport and in small and/or busy venues (especially in places of poor ventilation). I don’t want Long Covid and the Russian Roulette of what it can deliver to you. That said I'll be glad that all venues will have a better chance of getting a few more people through the door: a better chance to survive. I'll continue to venture out as I have been. But I'll also continue to try and make appropriate decisions too.

In the meantime get vaccinated as soon as you can AND remember it is not a 100% effective barrier to you getting the disease. Maybe think about wearing a mask - especially if you're ever on the No.17 bus into Liverpool. You don't want a damaged heart or brain damage because Boris and our representatives don't care. Stop and think a little.

Good luck to everyone for the duration of this medical emergency/experiment. Be good. Be careful. Support your local businesses as best you can.

Frank Turner at Top Rope

A.J. Walker — 2021-07-14T10:22:10+01:00

Last week was busy. There was a semifinal and final of the Euros for a start and our annual camping trip to Bishop’s Castle to fit in-between. But the highlight had to be Thursday’s Frank Turner gig at Top Rope Brewery. I mean my favourite current singer songwriter playing in a local brewery. I couldn’t have really designed a much better idea of a perfect gig if I tried.

There were to be two support acts from the same label appearing as well. When I was told who they were (Berries, and Pet Needs), I didn’t know them, but of course I looked them up. They were both punky alt rock types (sorry if that is an incorrect classification). I enjoyed a couple of the songs I heard from both of them when I saw their vids on YouTube. Not completely up my street, but music is elastic and it is not one size fits all. I was pretty sure they’d be good. I wasn’t to be disappointed.

I’d met my friend earlier who was coming to the gig too. She’d tried to win tickets on the basis of if she’d won she’d have given me a ticket. So when I ended up with two how could I not reciprocate? We had a bit of scran down South Road at the Liver, then headed to her guest house so she could sort that out. Then we went straight to the brewery.

With the Covid rules in place it was one way in to the brewery and one way out. It was of course inevitable I headed for exactly the wrong side of the brewery to get in first off. Sod’s Law is the strongest of the Laws. I’d headed to the side where I’d previously picked up the beer rather than the fire exit at the back. But to be fair it made sense in hindsight. We only had to go through that door the once to get our wrist bands and then we were in. It was such a select bunch of people that were there: apparently over 3000 people had tried to win tickets for the gig (there were no paid for tickets available) and there were only 60 tickets available. Every one of us felt extremely excited and privileged I’m sure - bloody hell I’ve been spouting on about it for weeks (even before I found that I was lucky enough to be one of the lucky ones).

We picked a table on the second (of two) rows directly in front of the middle of the “stage.” It was a spot on position. But even if you had the worst seat in the house (no idea which that was), you’d have been fine with just 60 people there.

The first thing to negotiate was scanning in a QR code and then go through some painful registering process before being able to purchase a beer. But at least once that was out of the way it became easier. I just stuck to the keg stuff that was on, though plenty of others (including the bands) were downing plenty of cans. I went for The Gathering (of course, it was the Frank Turner beer after all) and a Papa Mango; basically, why change a winning formula?

Berries

The first band who played were Berries. A threesome from London who signed to Xtra Mile in January this year. The three members of the band were Holly on guitar and vocals, Lauren on bass, and Lucie on drums. They were all brilliant. There was only Lauren playing on her usual instrument (electric bass), with Lauren on acoustic guitar and Lucie on a box drum (cajon). Their usual punky songs translated surprisingly well to the night’s acoustic performance. Holly was absolutely brilliant on the guitar covering an impressive territory of the fretboard from song to song. As someone who just strums open chords from time to time I was in awe. The trio looked like they really enjoyed it. Let’s face it gigs have been such a major miss over the last year or so; and they were playing a brewery in Liverpool - so how could they not?

Pet Needs giving it some welly

Not long after they finished the second act of the night arrived on stage: Pet Needs. Again it was largely acoustic bar the bass (including another cajon). The four lads threw everything into the gig; and that was a lot. A really enjoyable performance from the four piece punk outfit from Colchester.

Frank and a grinning loon

Then it was time for Frank Turner. He gave us little time between the last chords from Pet Needs until he played. In fact I had to listen to the first song and half from the small queue for the two toilets. It wasn’t far away so I didn’t miss a note. I don’t know what to say about Frank’s gig to be honest. It was just perfect. He has such a back catalogue of songs I could have picked a different twenty songs than he did and been just as happy - that said I’d have probably have picked many of the same songs too.

And so it begins

There was no backing band. It was just Frank and an acoustic guitar. For the majority of the set he followed a chronological catalogue. In fact sod it; it’d be easier to just provide the set-list wouldn’t it? So here it is. Let’s face it if you know Frank and read this list you’ll nod and be a) happy to see it and b) really really wish you’d been there. Like I said, it was perfect:

The Ballad
I Knew Prufrock
Long Live the Queen
The Road
If I Ever Stray
Plain Sailing Weather
The Way I Tend To Be
The Next Storm
Love 40 Down
1933
Be More Kind
Sister Rosetta
The Lioness
Punches
The Gathering (it’s a beer and a song)
Get Better
Recovery
Photosynthesis
I Still Believe
Polaroid Picture

Finale

Members of Berries and Pet Needs came on to join him for the finale which was fun and beautifully chaotic - just like an encore should be. The first time I saw him was in the Wembley gig in 2012 he got himself a tattoo between finishing the set and coming back on for his encore. When I saw him at Glastonbury he had to make a sharp exit to play a fete at his old school after going against his mum by getting a tattoo on his hand. This time, in sunny Bootle, there was to be no tattoo action. Which is funny… because I said I’d get a FTHC tattoo if I won a ticket. I haven’t so far. But I have many more weeks in my life to get that sorted - all things being equal.

After the gig I managed to get to talk to the maestro himself after a quick elbow bump. He was an absolute gent. My friend Ken, who passed away in January, had given me the book, 'The Road Beneath My Feet' and he kindly signed it for me too. I couldn't have asked for a better memento for the day.

Elbow bump

Meeting the man himself.

I really don’t know what more to say about the gig. I DO feel marvellously lucky to have got a ticket to go and to be there with a friend. I was smiling for days before and for days afterwards about it.

Bishop's Castle 2021

A.J. Walker — 2021-07-12T21:23:05+01:00

Bishop's Castle '21

What a busy week. Started of doing stuff down at me dad’s old house. Then there was the semifinal game on Wednesday, which I watched in the Head of Steam in Liverpool with Ste and Toe. This was followed on Thursday by an epic - and much looked forward to - day at Top Rope Brewery watching the brilliant Frank Turner gig with my Twitter/Flash Dog buddy, Sal (will report that in a separate blog piece). And to almost top it off it was the annual pilgrimage to Bishop’s Castle on the weekend that would normally be the home of the annual Real Ale Trail. The camping in Foxholes campsite at BC on Friday and Saturday night was then to be followed by a return to Liverpool - and back out to the Head of Steam - to watch the Euro Final with many of the usual crew: yes, we did get six who managed to make it on the same day at the same time. Miracles do happen even after a tiring few days.

Didn’t leave Liverpool on Friday until almost one and the roads turned out to be a bit of a nightmare with roadworks aplenty - and several accidents as far as I could tell (four ambulances passed me at one point). But I got to BC before 3:30pm, so not too bad in the grand scheme of things I guess - about twenty five minutes longer than it should be.

Bishop's Castle being Bishop's Castle and the last of Steve's pants

All me buddies were already there, either with their tents up or working on them. I ended up doing a pretty rare thing: I sat down with some of them and had a beer BEFORE putting my tent up. A most unusual occasion. It was perfect start with it being dry but the ground softish. I didn’t even require my mallet (which this time I remembered to bring with me). The tent went up pretty quickly and once Carl had turned up on his motorbike (his tent already kindly erected for him) then everyone was there.

We listened to some tunes and headed down to BC in piecemeal fashion. We weren’t sure what the situation would be in the village. There was obviously not going to be the festival due to the restrictions and the inherent doubts about things coming up to this month. Last year as we came out of one of the lockdowns only two pubs were open on the same weekend: The Three Tuns and The Castle, and both were trying to get to grips with what the H&S rules were at the time.

This year all the pubs were open. Of course it was still constrained by the current Covid-19 rules. There’s still the scanning in or writing out your contact details at each pub, the six per table rule and the table service. There was no festival. Some pubs had three or four beers to choose from - as opposed to the usual festival of choice. One pub just had the one beer on. And of course there was no music. On Friday we managed a pint or two in each of the Three Tuns, The Vaults and The Six Bells.

There were twelve of us there on the Friday and eleven by the Saturday - due to one of the lads having a ticket for the Men’s Final at Wimbledon. Not sure whether that’s lucky or unlucky; depends how much of a tennis fan you are I suppose. With the six person rule we couldn’t all sit together which meant the get together in the pubs was not quite the same; and the possibility of flitting between groups was limited. But at least we had more options than last year AND it remained dry during the hours we were out. There was some rain over the two days but it thankfully relented to just appear while we were in our tents in the early hours.

A lot fewer photos were taken than in the usual years as the socialising was more constrained. And we got together more back at the campsite than in the village. We had tunes playing each evening and got some scran down - including an epic chilli provided by the hostess with the mostest (that’d be Jeanette). It had to be calm in terms of spice as Steve doesn’t do hot chilli. But it was tasty nonetheless - and needed. I managed to snaffle a second portion a day later. Yes, two of us had the cast iron stomachs to deal with three day old chilli without refrigeration.

Some of the guys were a little lost without the usual pilgrimage to the chip shop at the top of the village. The owners were apparently away for a week or so for a wedding apparently. So the usual fish or sausage & chips was swapped for a Chinese - not far away down the road. I never made it to the Chinese and can’t say how good it was, but there didn’t appear to be any complaints.

Cool day in Bishop's Castle

The morning butties were provided by the Hungry Fox within the campsite. The bacon & egg butties are a lovely start to the day.

The drinking as far as I could tell - and certainly from my perspective - was a lot less extensive than usual. You are not drinking with the same kind of group or whilst watching bands, and you are waiting for everyone on the table to be ready before putting in an order. The result was a pretty sedate affair compared to some years (especially in The Vaults).

It wasn’t as dynamic by necessity in the village. Around the fire pit and stereo at the end of the day there was some more relaxed fun and a little wobbliness from certain people - and even the apparently now annual Burning of The Shorts: last year it was Tony, this year it was Steve's turn. Despite some unsteadiness and an incident with Dexter the Dog's sharp incisors there was nothing that quite necessitated A&E, which is always a bonus. There were some surprising moves on to shorts in the form of whisky (Haig Club and Glenlivet) no names, no pack drill: don’t worry Jeanette I wont tell anyone about you two timing gin with a night on the whisky. And separately a bottle of rum also seemed to evaporate on Saturday night - despite no one admitting drinking it.

At the end - The BC21 Team

Sunday was dry again when we got up. There was a quiet, orderly start to the day: just a butty and tents down then an early dart to get back home to catch the football. Before that Jeanette suggested we had a team photo. It was a good call. We normally have one at the start of the weekend down in the Castle or the Three Tuns but that was impractical this year. So this year’s team photo was a more raggedy affair as an early morning “After” as supposed to a lunchtime “Before”. But it is good to have the photos to look back on. For the years ahead when we can’t remember who was there and who wasn’t as much as anything else.

Everyone got back in one piece. And six of us got back into Liverpool and the Head of Steam in plenty of time for the football. We had a good evening there. We shared a couple of pizzas just before the match. Maybe we should have picked something a little less Italian. Sorry.

In summary, it was a busy week topped off by the as usual excellent Annual Bishop’s Castle Bash. It was a lovely and most welcome affair. Roll on next year. Hopefully by then we may even be able to go into a pub and buy a pint at the bar. How mad would that be!?

Eng-er-land

A.J. Walker — 2021-07-05T12:29:19+01:00

Very much enjoyed the England v Ukraine match on Saturday. Had a brilliant table at the Head of Steam, on Hanover Street, for the match. On Tuesday there had just been the two of us watching the Germany match in there (i.e. I was with a mate, not that there were just two of us in the place). This time, for the Quarter Final against Ukraine, there were the maximum of six of us sat together. Seeing England score early goals in both halves was great - and highly unusual. So roll on Wednesday and the semifinal vs Denmark. The other semi on Tuesday between Spain and Italy will be fascinating too.

I have a strange relationship with England. I mean I’d rather they won than lost but ultimately it would be water off a duck’s back when they lose too. Basically I think the correct term is ‘not that arsed.’ Some people around here wear it as a badge of honour not to support England - the “we’re not English, we’re Scouse” thing - but it’s not a Liverpool thing for me - at least I don’t think it is. I think it is a mixture of growing up as a kid in the 70s and 80s and seeing so many dire (or just uninspiring) performances under Don Revie and Ron Greenwood years (especially when compared to the mighty Reds of course); and seemingly a generation of players not showing that much pride in pulling on that shirt. It's also all the friendlies. I mean who cares? A player may be happy winning a cap, but ultimately what does the result in a friendly matter to anyone? - and if you can't get excited why even tune in to watch it. At least we did have the British Championship back then which gave players some fear of losing - and desire to win. It was a shame when that had to go. The feeling is exacerbated by the whole hooligan and associated nonsense vibe too particularly back in the day. Football violence and racism and all that doesn’t really get me all gooey inside.

I understand jingoism but it’s not a nice thing when it’s channelled as it is towards anti-this and anti-that. I mean at the same time as not being that arsed by England football team I'm mad for England cricketers winning in the Ashes. And winning the World Cup against New Zealand a few years ago was one of the best things that I’ve seen on TV. Sport at its very best. I love the Brits doing well in the Olympics or when Murray won Wimbledon. And the Brits doing well in the Tour de France. So yeah, it’s not the supporting England thing (or Britain or UK) it’s the way jingoism in relation to the national sport has been corrupted for years by people who actually love the shit that goes with it more than the football itself.

I’ve never seen England play - and I don’t really have the desire to. I had tickets for an International match once: Italy v Russia at Euro 96 at Anfield, but ended up working on a project in Mexico so missed it (as excuses go that’s a fine one ). On our first night in Villahermosa (Tabasco) we went to a night club (we’d been told to keep a low profile prior to going - and we did) but the locals all knew about us and rumours spread like wildfire; it says it all about our nation’s sport and how we are viewed overseas (or were in 96) that on the giant screen in the club it suddenly flashed up “Villahermosa Welcomes Los Hooligans.” I mean FFS. It transpired that the limited view of the UK at the time involved three main things: The Beatles; Lady Di; and Mad Cow Disease. I am only remotely interested in the band. We were presented with a wind-up dancing plastic cow - or La Vaca Loca - as an apparently funny and sympathetic joke. It was good job Los Hooligans were thick skinned. In the nightclub they obviously also knew about football hooliganism as a famous export to rank alongside these luminaries.

At least if we can play a few decent matches now, and win something, then the years of bore draw nil-nils can fade a little into the distance of my youth. Maybe we can bring back the British Championship too and not play so many pointless friendlies (which is another thing that puts me off England - I mean I have no interest in watching any team play friendlies!). Ultimately it would be nice if they won something in my lifetime and they can get that 1966 monkey of the back.

So come on England. I'll shout at the screen if you score. I'll probably just shrug if you lose.

The Life of An Amazon Driver

A.J. Walker — 2021-07-01T09:34:32+01:00

Oh my. Where do I start with this one? There’s so much to impart on multiple strands. It could be a book rather than a blog…

I started delivering for Amazon thinking I'd do it for a few months at the most. I think the people I trained with thought I'd last a lot less than that. It ended up being years. Too many. I'll be writing a blog about it once I can get my head around the way to approach it. Daunting.

It's A Holiday

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-30T14:27:54+01:00

It's A Holiday, Not A Bloody Staycation

There have been so many bad words and terms coined over this last 18 months or so of this pandemic - and I can probably complain noisily about many of them. But the worst of them all is that foul stench of an idea called: ‘Staycation.’ For one slightly innocuous word it has so many slanted ideas crammed into it.

In a world full of The Entitled who feel the world owes them everything and the whole Pandemic is aimed at spoiling their day to day life it seems the word has been coined for them - the very idea of a staycation putting people out makes me want to scream. It is not a staycation. If you are going away for a few days in the UK you are on holiday. If you are sat at home watching Netflix and ordering food via Uber Eats then that may be termed a staycation - if you must - but if you are on a trip down to Cornwall, across to East Anglia, on a city break in London, or walking up hills in Snowdonia or the Western Highlands… It’s a fucking holiday. The fact you didn’t fly anywhere doesn’t make it anything less than that.

Growing up in the 70s and 80s my holidays, like so many of the people around me, were with my family in places as near flung as the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, then down to such 'exotic' locations as Devon and Cornwall. We had epic trips to caravans and bungalows in Cricceith, Abersoch, and Morfa Nefyn and stays in guest houses in Ilfracombe and Torquay in Devon, and house stays near Padstow in Cornwall. All these holidays are indelibly marked in my head: and all of us who went on the trips. There was a week here, or two weeks there. The weather did what it chose to. The places we went while on these trips were variously brilliant, boring or average. There were nice meals, average meals, ice creams, ciders, sunburn and accidents. In short: they were holidays. We were away from home - we weren’t at school and we weren’t at work. They were holidays - plain and simple - not fucking staycations. Of course they weren’t.

So if you can all do one good thing for the rest of your life… if you are away from home on a break - and have not been abducted - just say you are on holiday. A holiday be it in Algarve, the Caribbean, on Route 66 (I know: it no longer exists), or in a tent on a wet peninsula in some lonely British extreme - or within ten miles of your house or beside the M62 - it is a fucking holiday.

Never utter that word again. You know which one.

Stood Up

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-22T10:29:20+01:00

Stood Up, Deffed Out and Desperate

Well I was stood up, deffed out and desperate when I met this girl from Tuam. That’s how it starts. But how does it go after that?

Good question. I was going through a file with some music in the other day. And when I used to play a few songs in a band of mates in the early 90s I always needed some notes to remind me (if not the full lyric) to play through the song without bailing early. In ones I knew I would just put a key word or so from the start of the verse or the last words of some lines. That is what I found for the song “Stood Up, Deffed Out and Desperate.” This was a fun song written by your’s truly, so you’d think it I’d know the words. Well, I did. In 1993. Having found the sheet last week with the keywords on it I could only remember a couple of the verses completely. The other bits were fragments.

So it was that on Saturday I sat down with my guitar and notes and tried to fill it out. Needless to say, as well as not having the words written down I didn’t have the chords either. Yeah. Lost in the mists of time and all that.

Picked a few chords and worked on some lines and Hey Presto (or something like it), “Stood Up...” was back. There was no #ReadMeSpeakMe this weekend so I decided to strum and sing these ancient (if amended) lyrics once again. It was the only song we did that wasn’t by someone else. Amazingly sang it at a Christmas gig we did at the Irish Centre where my mum and dad came. As well as singing Fairy Tale of New York with my cousin “You’re a bum.. you’re an old slut on drugs...’ etc I wonder what me mum thought?

Assume this is Stood Up’s last stand - after a 28 year break - and it won’t see the light of day again. Dare say it shouldn’t. But it was fun to see an almost familiar face again - even if it “looked just like me mum.”

Glory Hallelujah

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-22T08:53:57+01:00

Glory, Hallelujah!

Well bloody hell, I got a great email: won tickets to see Frank Turner in Liverpool. Now as you may well have spotted, or if you know me even a little, he’s been my favourite singer songwriters for heading towards ten years now. And I’ve been lucky enough to see him several times including the sold out Wembley Arena gig in 2012, Liverpool Academy, Bath, and two sets at Glastonbury Festival.

Watching Frank at Strummerville, Glastonbury (day before his Other Stage appearance)

And this gig in Liverpool is at a top local Brewery. Literally top: Top Rope Brewery. They have a beer out now with Frank Turner all over it. It’s called ‘The Gathering’ which is Frank’s recent release celebrating all things about the end of lockdown and singing and getting together and having a good time and all that. It’s honestly the first time I’ve drunk a beer out of a can: and then kept the can. Hell, I told you I’m a fan.

It’s a gig by my top singer songwriter playing at a brewery. I mean come on “If Carlsberg did gigs...” well, not Carlsberg. But you know what I mean. Funnily enough last time I saw him in Liverpool it was the Academy i.e. the Carling Academy and there was a Frank Turner beer out then: 'Believe' a wheat beer brewed by Signature Brew. Because it was the Carling Academy they wouldn't stock it, so we were directed to Mojo to grab a bottle there before the gig - which I did of course (and it was Movember).

Believe (Signature Brew) in Mojo (with a Movember tash)

The Gathering is about the end of lockdown and we’re not quite there. Things won’t be normal until all restrictions are gone. Not sure when that will be now. But hopefully we are heading that way. The location and the restrictions means there will be fewer than 100 people at the gig. I mean that will mean I’ve seen him play at a packed Wembley Arena first and my latest time seeing him will be in front of 100 people. How bizarre is that? He loves gigging more than any other band or person I’ve seen. He itemises all his appearances: yesterday’s show at Download Festival was show No.2562. That is A LOT of shows. And it must have been such a release for him to perform in front of a crowd again.

At Top Rope Brewery with a can of 'The Gathering'

Wonder how many bands and singer songwriters have winked out of existence because of not being able to play live for over a year? In an industry where time is of the essence we could have lost a lot of seriously good artists. They don’t make money from plays on Spotify or YouTube, they need gigs and merchandise to survive in these days of no longer selling physical albums.

This will be my first gig since seeing Romeo Stodart at the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room in March 2020 (I’ve also got tickets to see The Magic Numbers in Liverpool in September), and I can’t fucking wait!

A Kilo of Beer and The Auld Enemy

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-20T11:56:02+01:00

Watched the England v Scotland match at home last night. Usually with a big game like that there would be a few of us out in town to watch the match. But with the current situation we were of the opinion not to go in as there was too big a risk of getting into town and then not finding anywhere to watch it. The current restrictions mean that all customers have to be seated and it’s table service etc. So most pubs were anticipating quite a high demand for the game (let’s face it, in normal times they would have been packed - especially on a Friday night) and they therefore operated a system where many, if not all, tables were bookable from earlier in the week. A few had ‘some’ walk-in availability too. But it’s a Friday night and the walk-ins could easily fill up quickly from people coming out of their offices and making a decision on the night to stay out.

I did consider popping into town and going with the flow, then coming back home if I hadn’t found at place to watch it by 7:30. But going into town for 2 hours only to come back with 30-40 minutes each way waiting for buses didn’t make sense to me. So i was that the England v Scotland match became another victim of the Covid-19 situation for me. At least all the Euro games in the UK are on terrestrial TV - that makes such a difference. That said it was on ITV, not BBC. But beggars can’t be choosers.

As it transpired a) The Fly were calling out for ‘walk-ins’ at 7pm, so I could have got a seat to watch it, and b) it was a shite game. I was simultaneously disappointed I hadn’t gone into town for the game and happy that I hadn’t gone into town for the game. Oh, yeah... it finished 0-0. And the Scots celebrated the 0-0 like Everton would do against Liverpool.

I had a couple of beers at home including a mega (1000ml) can of Faxe Royal (5.6%) beer I’d picked up from B&M, which I drank from my dad’s old 1 litre German glass. Dad was a Scot and he’d have been up for the match against the Auld Enemy, of course. And on a Friday night he'd have been watching it down 'the club' with his usual posse. Though I suspect my dad never actually drank anything out of this glass. He must have picked it up in one of the trips he had with my mum over to that neck of the woods. He was more likely to drink a pint of mild than two pints of lager. A litre of mild sounds a bit heavy in all respects. Not sure he’d have been too happy about the result (or the game itself). But I suppose being a Scotland fan is like supporting Everton: it’s not about winning anything, it’s about taking two points of your biggest enemy.

There's been a few good games in the Euros so far, but personally I can’t wait for the Premier League and Champion’s League to be back. Also I need to do some work on my arms if I’m going to be drinking a kilo of beer again. It's Father's Day today, so maybe I'll drink out of his old glass again; then again I also have his old tankard too - a much more manageable size.

Covid, Bars, Risk and Reward

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-17T10:34:41+01:00

As many of you know I do have as couple of Twitter accounts, namely: @zevonesque and @RealeLiverpool. And the latter one is almost entirely Liverpool and Real Ale related (there’s a clue in that name I think) whilst I mention beer and beer related trips on this website from time to time I haven’t really blogged about it much for years. Though if you look in the previous couple of months I’ve done a couple of blogs on the pubs that were open in Liverpool City Centre, both when it was outdoor opening only and just afterwards. I’m wondering whether to do a more regular blog, however short, on related subjects. Perhaps it’d need another section heading on the site to keep things all together; like my Health section - which I only introduced after my MS Diagnosis earlier in the year. We shall see. Could get a bit “samey’ though unless I come up with an effective list of subjects and plans for it. Or if samey turns out to be called for.

We are living in strange times and there appears to be such mixed views and reaction to the virus and all that it entails. This range of lockdown and post lockdown strategies has been messy. And of course it is warranted. There are too many people who happily write off ‘only the old’ or ‘at risk’ in the community. Bloody bastards the lot of them. And of course in reality we still don’t know what the actual long term affects of the disease will be - we can’t know what damage Long Covid will leave us: people of all ages. Incidentally I know a couple of people (including fit people in their 20s) who got over Covid-19 in a few days: then Long Covid came out of nowhere around the corner and hit them and has left them with severe currently life affecting issues. But we can’t know how long these effects will last, nor if the current impacts will go away and then be replaced with different ones. The NHS could very well be dealing with this impacts of this pandemic for decades. In short, whatever age you are you don’t want to catch it and risk your long term health (including as yet unidentified impacts); or risk passing it on to one of your friends or family members

In the UK the currently rife Delta variant has rapidly changed the situation here from one of finally being all sunshine & light to one of doom & gloom. The opening up of shops and bars & restaurants and the improvement on options for other social occasions beyond your single “bubble” has surely been a positive thing for people in terms of the return of some normality. But things haven’t returned to normality - and looking at how the current stats have been going (in the North West of England in particular) nor should they. Each step does need to be risk assessed on a global level right down to the individual person. You don’t cross a road without assessing the risks and addressing them and nor do you stand in traffic. And if you cross the road without doing what you should it’s not the government’s fault: it’s yours. Much of this is not “rocket science” but common sense. And while much of the UK has been vaccinated - particularly the older bastards like yours truly - not everybody has.

The opening up has in particular been good for the oldies who have been isolated to one extent or another: finally they can go out and meet & chat to other people (not everyone had or wanted to use Zoom). Meanwhile the youngsters who feel indestructible (we all did once you know) are certainly meeting in larger groups and without socially distancing AND without masks. I’m not saying that to get at the youngsters. I was young once and there are things I did when I was younger that I would think (and were) risky now (racing up scaffolding anyone?). But it is these very “indestructible” people who are told they don’t need to wear masks at school and then go on public transport without masks, then go shopping in Primark or in Next, then head to Maccy D’s and hang around town for a few hours before heading home on public transport unmasked again. Honestly I’m not getting at them. They’ve been told they don’t need masks in school with hundreds of people in: why would they think that they need one in an airy bus with twenty people on it?

Now the graphs for Covid-19 in Liverpool (for example) look horrendous in some ways - the very illustration of “exponential.” This largely comprises the younger people and either unvaccinated or “only vaccinated once” peeps. Us oldies aren’t getting it anywhere near as much - thanks to vaccination - but maybe also because we’re still trying to keep doing the distance thing and are following masking rules too (less so the over zealous sanitising hands and all that: it’s airborne and it’s indoor air, people). Hopefully these youngsters aren’t going to get too ill from it - either right now or in the months or years to come (but we can’t know). We should do all we can to limit the potential for this damnable virus to spread, whilst at the same time allowing companies to survive and ultimately flourish (or at least allow people to make a living out of it). Which leads me to pubs (yes, this was supposed to be a blog about pubs)...

My experience since pubs have reopened indoors has been good and bad in very different respects. Firstly the good: it’s good to go back to places that have been shut for five or six months and see (some) familiar faces. Been great to drink some nice beers; both local and national/familiar and unfamiliar. Been nice to increase the options of going to other places and having the different experiences on offer from them. And boss to have increased the options for meeting mates. All the real ale pubs I have been going to in town have been brilliantly run in terms of getting people to scan in to the NHS App or fill in contact details; wear masks when traversing around the pub; not letting too many people congregate or stand up in groups; and decent table service under difficult circumstances.

The bad: people... in terms of some robbing bastards either running away at the end of the night having accrued a bill on their table (horrible bastard chancers) or even lowlifes stealing glasses; these businesses (in your local community) don’t need another expense due to your obnoxious thievery. Then there’s the not letting too many people congregate or stand up in groups, and decent table service etc. Hold on, that was above in the positive bit, wasn’t it? Well yeah, it’s been good from a risk and fear factor and all that for potential customers. But the other side of that coin is that these things (just as much as stealing bastards) have significant costs for businesses just when they don’t need them (or can’t survive them): you won’t be catching a virus in an empty pub, but they won’t be making money to survive either.

Quiet pubs may be good for me and others in the short term at least in terms of risk and getting served, but these hostelries and their suppliers can’t survive on almost empty “but safe” rooms. The virus needs to be beaten by vaccination and short term sensible, risked-out, options, and ventilation (and maybe even masks for kids hey!?). But surely in the short term hospitality businesses need to be FULLY supported by the Chancellor. A business that can’t open fully can’t survive for long without it. There is no business model for an empty pub.

I can’t have a car accident if I don’t have a car, I can’t get a virus in an empty pub: I can’t get a drink in a pub that no longer exists: and the people who own the pub, the people who work there, and all their suppliers are out of a job too. That’s not risk management: that’s insane.

The government needs to support all these businesses. Meanwhile if you can, and are happy to, get yourself down to one of your favourite hostelries - or at least give them with good messages about going back when you are comfortable to do so. They need every bit of support you can give. Cheers and beers, people.

The Caravanette

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-11T11:42:50+01:00

Well when I started doing ReadMeSpeakMe at the back end of 2020 I never expected to be reading my own poems on here. And of course then it is the rest of the RMSM regulars reading your words out loud. It is an interesting experience and I'm thankful for Meg coming up with this - and for asking me to send a poem in.

Cheeses picked up at Wensleydale Creamery in Hawes

The poem chosen was 'The Caravanette' which I wrote when I was doing an Open University course a few years back. It's not a brilliant poem but I like it because it completely true and evocative of a holiday gone wrong. Be it down to inclement weather or, in this case, unrealistic expectations. It was nothing to do with the destination of Dent, which is in a lovely spot.

Monument to the geologist, Adam Sedgwick in Dent. He knew his graptolites!

The Dent Carpark

As I'd been camping this week in North Yorkshire, in Hawes, Wensleydale, I had to take the opportunity to drive to Dent so that I could read the poem in the very carpark that we ended up staying overnight - in that wee sad vehicle. After a quick pitstop into Wensleydale Creameries for some Wenselydale Cheese (and others) then I headed to Dentdale. Here is my reading of the poem, 'The Caravanette.' Enjoy.

As I've been looking at all the tweets about this poem this week, and listening to Soundcloud retellings and YouTube videos of it, I am now getting a mountain of camper van adverts when I'm on Instagram and YouTube. I've yet to see a photo of anything like what we were in though.

Thanks to everybody who got involved this week. Every one is appreciated. And I've got to give a special mention to Swarn Gill who not only read a great version of it, he also recorded his YouTube video along with a beer and a bit of a chinwag before the poem akin to a certain somebody. Kudos! It made me smile a lot.

And lastly, but never leastly, it was great to see Sal record it too. Her first go on ReadMeSpeakMe (I've no idea, it could be the last too) and I thank her for the Special Guest appearance.

________________________

Twitter:
@megwaff
@ReadMeSpeakMe

Website:
www.megwaffling.wordpress.com

Wensleydale Camping Trip

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-11T10:43:16+01:00

Hawes and Semer Walk Walk

A couple of weeks ago a suggestion was made to go camping somewhere. As per usual there’s a fair group of us going to Bishop’s Castle in early July (usually the week of the Real Ale Festival). But the idea of going away to the countryside for two nights was an attractive one. After a little discussion we settled for a site at a farm on the edge of Hawes (Gayle).

Four of us went up in two separate vehicles around Tuesday lunchtime. We all arrived within a few minutes of each at around 2pm. The forecast for the the two days was grey but no rain. But there was more than enough blue sky and the sun was pretty damn warm. We’d have taken grey of course, as long as it’s not wet when you’re putting up the tent we’re happy.

It was a simple site. Just a small undulating field next to the farm entrance with a little footbridge to access it. So unlike Bishop’s Castle there’s no rucking up and planting your tent right next to your vehicle. The toilet block/shower was a one person only affair - with one female and one male. The water was hot. Decent enough. At £7 a night it was a bargain. It was just ten minutes or so to walk into the town of Hawes, which has several good pubs, and shops and a decent chippy. Between Hawes and Gayle (which to all intents could be considered the same town) is the Wensleydale Creamery, where the spirit of Wallace & Gromit permanently resides.

After pitching our tents up I barely had time to pour my traditional tent erection beer before we left on a walk over the other side of town, across the river and up to Hardraw for a pint or four in the Green Dragon. Other than Tony continually declaring he knew the way, but constantly proving otherwise, it was an uneventful but lovely walk in the sunshine with much of the walk on footpaths through farmland with sheep, cattle, and even free range hens.

The Green Dragon was lovely. We started in the back garden when the sun was half in us and we were in constant conversations with a local robin redbreast along with his juvenile compadre and several inquisitive sparrows. We moved to a table outside the front door, by the Hippies Use The Backdoor sign as the sun disappeared from the back. My drink of choice was predominantly ‘Semer Water’ from Wensleydale Brewery. We would have all liked a few more drinks but were conscious of the 45 minute walk back before eating: Jeanette had kindly sorted out a chilli the day before. We got back all happy from the beer and the pretty much constant sunshine. Whoever had posted the weather forecast was a fraud! But in a good way.

The chilli was lovely, though it had needed to be tamed for Stevie, who struggles to deal with spices. But it was good anyway. A couple of beers whilst chatting and listening to music via Spotify (yes, there was phone signal in this part of the Dales) made it a really nice night.

We hadn't made any plans in advance of the trip (unless Jeanette making a chilli counts as planning). So it was the following morning before we decided on where to go. In the end we drove a few miles to the next town of Bainbridge and parked up there before walking up north a little to Askrigg, it was virtually all footpaths rather than roads - which is of course the plan. We stopped in Askrigg for a coffee (and the other three had scones) in a cafe called Bake Well. After recharging our batteries there we turned around south and headed back across the river, passing over large stepping stones on the River Ure - the stones were marked on the footpath signs as a bridge, which is questionable. The water was crystal clear and seemed to be running slowly and relatively low. I wondered how much rain it takes to cover the stones or at least make them more slippy.

Walking up past a farm we crossed the road to head for a row of trees. passing through a field of sheep: as we were doing almost constantly for our time here. There wasn't really a clear path marked through the field and we simply headed up to the far corner of the field in a diagonal trajectory, where we could eventually see a gate through the stone wall. The other thing we saw was a large group of bullocks all crowded together. They seemed to stare at us for a while, then began to walk towards us as we continued on our path. And then we noticed they were speeding up to a trot then a canter (or whatever the bullock equivalent of cantering is). Having just had a conversation earlier in the morning when we'd gone through a field of cows and a bull about how it wasn't uncommon for people to get killed by cows crowding in on them, the view of a crowd of bullocks beginning to run after us was not a sight we wanted to see. I am not ashamed at all of beginning to run a little myself (as did Jeanette) with the main thought in my mind being I didn't need to be the first away from them, I just needed to be the last. It was a moment of fear and hilarity. The bullocks ran after the four of us, whilst Tony shouted 'Don't Run!' at us: knowing how many times Tony has ended up in hospitals around the world after various incidents I was not minded to take on the shouted advice as gospel.

Long story short: the bullocks sped up as they bounded towards us and then as they ran down a little slope they suddenly veered right and away from us. I can only guess what caused them to do this. I'm thinking there was a particularly vicious sheep in the corner we were getting to. Whatever it was it was a relief.

Hey, you don’t need to know everything do you? We climbed out through the gate, up a scree/dry water bed to beyond the tree line before taking the flat path west back towards Bainbridge. There were no more incidents with animals. The biggest danger as in fact the walls, or more precisely the narrow gaps in them. These ‘squeeze stiles’ were dangerous. Generally the safest way was to take your bag off and try and push one leg through at a time. It was impossible to turn your foot once you’d started through, which was dangerous if you’d picked a less than ideal way through: you often wouldn’t know you’d selected the wrong foot forward until you were half way through and then faced with either a trip hazard or a big drop on the other side. In theory the squeeze stiles are designed to stop livestock (other than bullocks) from getting from one field to another. In reality they must cause a lot of injuries to people too. We were lucky that it was dry, as slipping when half way through a stile could be a disaster. I only bashed one knee once, and got my foot a bit stuck once too. But there but for the grace of god and all that. It must also be a severe problem for people of the larger persuasion - if you were to start a keep fit regime by going walking in an area full of livestock and stonewalls... beware the issue of stiles.

We walked downhill back toward Bainbridge for a short while before hanging left through a particularly narrow stile. We all got through it - eventually - before heading up hill. We were now on the path toward Semer Water (we’d been drinking the beer the day before at the Green Dragon after all). We were not beside the river to begin with as the path follows the top of the hill above it and there is no access along the river. Steve manfully managed it with only a couple of stops as he is only really getting into walking a bit now and this is mostly on the flat; truth be told I was happy he stopped too (I know Tony would happily just plough on otherwise). Tony declared he had qualified as a Team Leader for outdoor pursuits back in the day. But given he’d volunteered that he had THREE maps of the area with him, but had left each and every one back at the campsite I think he may need to resit whatever non-examination was involved to class him as a Leader. Luckily I’d brought my map with me. There were enough roads and landmarks around to not require a compass; it was not orienteering, just basic map reading. We didn’t got lost for even a few metres (although there was a small panic around the whole bullock ‘almost’ incident).

Once at the top it was downhill all the way towards Semer. Steve was a little alarmed when I pointed out we had to do the same walk in reverse to get back to the car. Team Leader was disbelieving and wanted to take another route. There wasn’t one without largely walking along roads, which to me kind of defeats the object of walking in the countryside. We got to the lake, had a brief rest and then walked back. Steve managed the slope even better than on the way and it went off without incident. It had got a little cloudy, but never threatened rain. In any case the clouds, together with a nice breeze, took the edge of the sun. The weather forecast had proclaimed it was going to be grey for three days solid. As it was we each caught the sun a lot over these first two days.

Back in Bainbridge it was a Wensleydale and Ham baguette with a coffee at the Corn Mill cafe (which TL declared was known as Mrs Miggins). I know; a long walk and not a pub to end it. Who’d have thunk it?

The afternoon ended up at the campsite with a race to see who could post their photos on Instagram and (in my case) Twitter first. The TL went for a sleep in his tent - and everyone knows that the one who snoozes loses.

The night finally ended in the pub (The Fountain) after a visit to an excellent chip shop in Hawes. A few pints of Buttertubs capped a lovely day. At the campsite we quickly decamped back to our tents for a relatively early night to see how we could sleep after a few of us hadn’t got much sleep on the Tuesday night.

The final day was a short one. Breakfast was a sausage and bacon, cooked and sorted by TL and Jeanette, and a cup of coffee. The local sausages were lovely. The only plan for the day was to go to the Wensleydale Creamery to pick up some cheese and then go home. We each bought a lot of cheese: both Wallace and Gromit would have been proud and jealous. Then we got off.

I was travelling on my tod and had decided I really had to get over to Dent to record myself reading the poem which was this week’s ReadMeSpeakMe. It needed to be uploaded by Friday and I thought it would be quite cool to read it in the very car park we’d ended up in with the infamous caravanette. See the last blog...

Poetry Rules

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-07T10:10:52+01:00

Nine years or so ago I did an Open University course in Creative Writing. I’d had years of writing and reviewing technical reports for environmental consultancies (and before that my degree in Geology) and this meant a large number of words had been unavailable to me inside this world. In reports like this many words are absolute and description is always blandly factual; adverbs and adjectives were to not so much frowned upon as outlawed - to be fair any repors could end up in dispute or court so ‘quite blue’ or ‘very contaminated’ has to be a no-no.

Anyway I’d written some song/poem/descriptive extracts back in the early 1990s when I was strumming some songs in a band of brothers (and a cousin). But as a whole I wasn’t doing much in the way of writing outside of work. By 2010 or so I longed to get into away from technical reports. When I took the opportunity to do the OU course it was mainly to extend my writing and to take me a little outside my comfort zone. It was just one course which could have become part of an MA degree if I’d wanted to go that route and do a couple more courses, but I’d never even considered making a degree out of it - I really just wanted to give myself a bit of a nod and a nudge before taking myself off the leash with the adjectives. Honestly, that was very much the point.

At that time I hadn’t been involved in any writing groups. But once I got to the end of the course I had the confidence to join a writing group (The Poised Pen) and from there I went on to get stories published in anthologies and the like - and also find myself to be involved in the fabulous Flash Dogs.

But hang on, I’ve missed something out here: a stepping stone - Poetry. Shush! Keep this quiet.

The OU course involved a range of writing requirements, one of which was poetry. When I signed up for the course poetry was the part I was looking forward to the least. At my crappy Secondary School in Southport we’d done a cursory nod at Keats and a few other bits and bobs, but ‘Ode to a Greek Urn’ and ‘Ode to Autumn,’ whilst interesting, and indeed lovely, were not something I was wanting to build on myself.

As it transpired the poetry part of the OU Course turned out to be enjoyable. I think partly because of my love of songs, of word games and of quizzes. Writing to fit into a required number of lines or a rhythm is very much different to just writing a sentence that works to convey information. Poetry often requires every word to become part of a solution... hopefully.

So it was that I had to write poetry for the first time for an absolute age: and for a purpose (points towards the Course). One of these poems was called ‘The Caravanette’ and I’ll talk more about this at the end of the week. But needless to say it is both bizarre and cool that it has made it beyond the OU course, and my immediate family, to Twitter and the World Wide Web via the wonderful #ReadMeSpeakMe. It is going to be well weird to hear other people reading my words out loud as part of this Twitter phenomena. Get involved if you like the idea. And I’ll tell you about the poem later in the week.

But the link between the poetry and my writing as it is now? Well, before I joined The Poised Pen and then getting confidence and getting published; I used to go to watch lots of the poets at The Dead Good Poets at Blackburne House - one of the organisers of the Dead Good Poets was my local OU contacts (Sarah McLellan) - and then after several weeks observing I went up and read some of my poetry in front of everyone. That was always one of the hardest things I’ve done - there’s something about reading your own poetry which is so much more exposing than reading prose. Anyway if the poetry thing hadn’t happened, and then the confidence from reading at Dead Good Poets hadn’t then maybe I would not have moved on to write my silly stories and be confident enough to put them out there.

In summary: Poetry Rules. Or at the very least it has its place.

England and Strange Goings On

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-06T14:59:13+01:00

Was talking to several people about camping yesterday, which inevitably brought the conversation around to Bishop’s Castle in Shropshire. It is a camping destination for a few of us every year: usually associated with the Real Ale Festival that the village has but I also go outside of that weekend from time to time.

It reminded me of the time I went on my own for a weekend in June one year. It was a combination of walking, reading, taking it easy and some beers in the multiple lovely pubs in the village. And it was great.

The Walk From Foxholes Campsite to Bishop's Castle

But going down for a breakfast on the beautiful sunny Sunday I found I’d walked into the set of something akin to The Wicker Man. Knowing nothing about it in advance it is pretty much the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. It wasn't a set by the way, it was real life.

Just Walking Into Town - As You Do

I’d walked down from the Foxholes campsite through the Shropshire fields into the village and almost the first thing I saw was a man leaving a house with a strange bright costume and a blacked up face.

He walked ahead of me down towards the centre of the village. As I walked down several more similarly dressed men came into view. A mix of young and middle aged. I kind of shrugged it off despite being perplexed by it. What could it be? It’s only a small place and I was soon sat in the sunshine with a cup of coffee and my Kindle awaiting a bacon sandwich.

And then it got weird. Not the sandwich: the day.

Breakfast And A Kindle - Normalcy Amongst The Strangeness

Some music started. And now I can’t remember anything about that because what I saw became the focus of my tortured brain. A parade began to walk up the street towards and then past me. It was led by a religious group led by a man in a long white robe carrying a cross high in the air. Behind him were his three subordinates in blue and further cohorts in white behind them. At this point it looked like it was straight out of church - but that didn't last.

Behind the men the religious section of the parade came the women. Thankfully they weren’t wearing the black make up sported by the men, but were dressed in nice simple yellow dresses with green jackets and mixed green and yellow tights. As they danced to the tune through the village they waved their white handkerchiefs in the air to the drum. So far so normal…

The Religious Part Of The Parade

The Relatively Normal Part of The Parade (ie the women)

Not far behind were the blacked up men. Some in their multicoloured, multilayered shirts, some sporting white shirts and sashes. They all circled and dancing to a beat. Several turned to face me, smiling or pulling faces. There was even a character dressed as a woman in the style of a Monty Python sketch. The entire event was getting beyond surreal.

I can’t tell you how long the whole thing took. However long it was I’d been transported into some parallel universe or backwards through time. I never found if there was Wicker Man equivalent or where it was, but was glad not to have been chosen to be their sacrifice as the stranger in the village. The strange mix of religiosity, blacked up faces, bizarre costumes and relatively “normal” dancing women had been made all the stranger by me not knowing anything about it in advance and the wide range of people involved in it: it wasn’t a simple Morris Dancing troupe. It was a lot of people.

Who You Looking At? - Note the full on Monty Python character in the yellow…

Apparently the parade moves on to another couple of villages after Bishop’s Castle and it is something to do with celebrating the longest day of the year. The mind boggles. I wonder how many other strange local customs happen around the county that we (or at least I) don’t know about? There’s definitely a story or two in this. But maybe they're best left untold.

Kudos

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-05T14:36:03+01:00

For the first time in an age I submitted a story somewhere. I’d started writing it for a previously mooted anthology which later passed away, as so much has in the last year or so. I was late seeing the call for this anthology but I thought the story I’d started may be an appropriate fit and would therefore save me writing something from scratch. I did a little work on it, but not much, and sent it off. I’m not anticipating an acceptance but it was good to finally submit something I’d written again. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for other opportunities over the coming months.

One of the positives that has come out of it already is that a recent acquaintance volunteered to read and comment on it. He’s got a book published himself and has worked on screenplays and the like - and also has another book out for review at the moment. His review of my piece would be too late to impact on the submission but it was a lovely offer and he has now fed back comments to me. I’m not going to name him as a) I haven’t asked him if I can, and b) I don’t want him to be inundated with other works - as I may want to use his time again!

His feedback was great: asking a few questions and making some suggestions; including extending the story from the current ‘short’ (5k words) to a Novella length piece. I certainly think the story would be much better with more depth and some extension of the ideas within it. So at some point I think I will indeed extend the story. I’ll let you know if and when I do. In the meantime I think I will re-edit the first two or three chapters of my current novel (The Wobbly Odyssey) and see what my lovely new reviewer thinks of it. The story he’s read was a horror short so seeing how the comic novel compares will be interesting. The reviewer himself deserves my grateful thank yous (and many of them). One day I may name the gent. Kudos!

Long Long Covid and All That

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-04T18:45:07+01:00

As we aim to get out of this virus nightmare and we see things trying to get back to some sort of normality it leaves us in a strange position of being cognisant of the risks whilst continuing with life. As someone who along with a third of the population or so who is ‘double jabbed’ up (a member of the AZ Club) it is strange. I mean this protection has been afforded to us yet we must continue to wear masks and sit in smaller groups – and not hug uncarefully.

I am happy to do this. I bought more masks this very week (and will have to get more as the ones I got were shit) and am going to wear them everywhere that I should i.e. in enclosed environments when walking around and on public transport etc. And don't get me started on the Covidiots and Plandemic people.

When you are out and about, especially on public transport, it is clear that many people - particularly the young - do not wear masks at any time and are not attempting any kind of distancing: be it outside or on the train or bus. Of course these are the people who are almost entirely unvaccinated at the moment. There are multiple reasons for this attitude and allowances that are made, but now of course as schools are back and there is a more virulent variant of the virus (and whatever ones are coming next) it should not be presumed that these young people around us are free to catch the virus if they want, or they don’t care. There definitely is complacency in a variety of groups of people.

We should be trying to protect everyone not just the old, who are more likely to suffer dire consequences of catching it, but the young too. The catch all term of ‘Long Covid’ is an unfortunately bland and almost meaningless name. Of course it is early days and it is impossible to know what the myriad range of issues Long Covid may leave on people: both young and old. If a youngster gets the disease now and may not even know they have it, then they could pass it on to someone who very much does get impacted, but they themselves could end up suffering consequences not now but in the years to come. These unknowns should not be shrugged off. We owe it to the children, indeed everyone, for their well being - but also what will be the long term costs of dealing with these unknowns for the NHS? It is impossible to know.

The more virulent Indian/Delta Variant currently doing the rounds and winning in all the big statistics leagues may or may not be of genuine concern but who’s to say the next variant wont be worse still. Complacency can only make the potential impacts on us worse.

My feeling is that while there has to be a ‘life goes on’ reality that doesn’t mean that it goes on without consideration of what we do to reduce the risks for one and all; we don’t light cigarettes up on a petrol forecourt and we dont smash up asbestos cement sheets in our homes. Everybody needs to be vaccinated as soon as it can be done - and that is the one and only thing we seem to doing okay at in the UK - but it’s not a matter of clicking our fingers and it happens, and in the meantime risks can continue to be mitigated. Clearly the main issues are not the cleaning surfaces rigmarole: there is next to no evidence of anyone picking up Covid19 from a contaminated surface. It is an airborne pathogen and mitigation is through ventilation, masks and distancing. So please continue to wear your masks, open the windows & doors, and keep up with the distancing. AND get vaccinated as soon as you can, both for you and your fellow humans.

Things ARE getting better but that should not mean you are free to get complacent. Stay safe and don’t be stupid, people.

Password Protected

A.J. Walker — 2021-06-03T12:20:53+01:00

I don’t have Sky Sports these days but for the nightmare year of the football season lockdown combo I’ve had BT Sports so I could at least watch Liverpool in Europe whilst everywhere where was closed. I then stooped to NOW TV on my phone for a while with a Sky Sports Pass so I could watch a couple of league games on my phone - you can’t stream to an iPad or a telly and only watch on your wee phone screen but it’s a lot cheaper than having Sky on the telly.

Season over and they’ve both been cancelled. Whilst going through the process online the BT Sports website warned me that my account had been compromised - along with many others - and that I should change my password. Not sure I ever got me an email informing me about this compromise - and I have no idea when it occurred. Needless to say as well as saving money cancelling these two things I no longer need then I had to change several website login details.

It is inevitable as night follows day that I will forget these new logins (I’m already not entirely sure). I really need to develop my own clever/silly password generation protocol to stop me having to repeatedly go through the ‘Forgotten Password’ rigmarole. Thinking about it now... it will be pure genius. If I can remember where I’ve hidden my genius.

I dare say if I do find my missing genius it will be password protected.

So Many Things

A.J. Walker — 2021-05-31T07:59:05+01:00

My sister and myself have finally got around to trying to clear my parents old house: our own family home we grew up in. It should have been done many months ago but this horrendous Covid year seems to have took the winds from our sails for it. But we are where we are and we are slowly getting stuff to do.

Of course it is an horrendous thing to have to do. The time it takes to look through everything. The time that stops you progressing anything - looking through old photos and documents both brings back old memories and highlights things that we really don’t know. I mean who is it in this photo? Where is this? Is this a relation or a friend or anything to do with us at all.

Thankfully back in the days before Smartphones and Digital Cameras photos were rarer and were often treated with care. The handwritten notes on the back of many of the tiny black & white photos are priceless. There will be so much to got through at some time. I’m thinking we need to box up all the photos and documents and go through them in detail at some later time: AND get scanning.

As well as the documents there are the possessions from massive tables and chairs, sofas and beds, to porcelain services, glasses, paintings, and even a grandfather clock and all the general bits required for life from cutlery and cooking gear to TVs and computers. There is a lot isn’t there? It’s time consuming and you question yourself about every little thing that you look at binning. It’s a brutal nightmare. I guess most people go through it at one point in their life and I envy not one of them.

The saddest thing this weekend was saying goodbye to my dad’s old Chesterfield chair. I think it has found a good home. I certainly hope it has. But the space it has left in the house seems to shout at us now.

Anyway it is onwards and upwards getting the other stuff out of the house - one way or another - and then doing whatever we end up doing with the house.

In and Local

A.J. Walker — 2021-05-30T23:46:03+01:00

Well the pubs are open now for people to sit inside. Still waiter service and max of six and all that but it’s better than none at all I guess. May had been cold and wet so anyone having an option to get inside to survive the onslaught is positive. Now we’ve had some good weather this week so the inside or outside question can be asked for those few Liverpool pubs that had outdoors as an option. And in the meantime pubs that didn’t have outside as an option have had the chance to open their doors for the first time this year.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve called in at the Sanctuary, Lion, Denbigh Castle, the Angus, Head of Steam and the Fly in the Loaf. It is good to have them all back: walls, roofs and all.

One of the best things in this reopening has been seeing how many of the pubs are selling beers from the local breweries. There’s been plenty of excellent cask ales on offer from Neptune, Top Rope, Chapter, Carnival, Brimstage, Black Lodge, and the like. This has to be good for the local breweries after this horrendous year; and it’s also good for the customers.

It’s amazing how the local beer scene has changed in the recent years. It really wasn’t that long ago there was Cains and nothing much more in Liverpool. And while the mild, FA, and raisin may be missed they have been more than replaced by the options from these breweries.

So whenever you’re back in (or out) the pub then raise a pint of local beer and drink to the brewers as well as to the pubs (and all those that work at them).

Cheers.

Old Found Poems

A.J. Walker — 2021-05-19T12:32:04+01:00

I've just recorded and put up my reading of this week's #ReadMeSpeakMe onto YouTube. It was written by Vanessa aka @puzzledgoddess on Twitter.

Afterwards I was looking though some stuff on my computer and found some old poems from nearly a decade ago, which I'll post here; it's not like they deserve to be anywhere else. One is about waiting for a train at Fazakerley station (the clue is in the title) whilst the other was written whilst walking along a rocky coastline in Portugal and is an ode to geology and time more than anything. I can remember it well too.

May copy them over to the very short "Poems" section of the site later. It could be the thing to do.

Ode to Winter on Fazakerley Station

Reflective workmen sit beneath a tree,
smiling and laughing - on a tea-break high.
Bitter cold breeze sends shivers right through me;
a pale yolk sun smears the Wedgewood blue sky.
Winter freshness always invigorate.
Clarity of the light, sharp as a pin,
train from Kirkby visible along the straight.
Meanwhile a lone blackbird jauntily sings.

Fleeces keeping others toastily warm,
while screeching brakes make me shiver again.
Stresses melting on the railway platform.
There’s something comforting traveling by train.
These relaxing moments precious to me,
but I’m gasping for a cup of tea.

Going Home to Bed

Sculptured isolated hardness,
skyscrapers of tumbled fossiled ocean-life.
Sea rumbles in relentless.

Sonic booms when the waves strike just right.
Jurassic souls separated from their sedimentary beds,
Restored to the sea by its might.

Vaccine #2: The Return

A.J. Walker — 2021-05-16T16:01:41+01:00

Vaccine #2: The Return

It’s a been a strange bitty week for me. Got some things done and got some things to do. But the highlight was very definitely getting my second jab. As I said in one of my last blogs I had the first (Astra Zeneca) jab a couple of months ago so I was anticipating getting the second any time within the next four weeks.

The way I was allocated the first jab was just a text from the GP through to a link to book it. It wasn’t the NHS website one where you booked both the first and second jab so after having the first it was a question of waiting for the second invite to come through. I was hopeful I wouldn’t have to wait the whole month. As it happened it came through at 4:49pm on Wednesday afternoon and when I clicked through five minutes later I found that they had availability the very next day. I can’t tell you how happy and surprised I was at that. Anyway I was happy and surprised at that.

So at lunchtime on Thursday I was back in to Aintree Community Centre for my second vaccination. My appointment had been booked for 12:50 and I’d arrived at 12:45 with not one person in the queue. I was quickly processed and ushered through and after a quick jab at my left arm and, without a drop of blood or the need of a plaster, I was straight out the door again. Incredible. Apparently in the morning they’d already vaccinated around 400 people in the small centre. Hats of to the guys and gals there. Great organisation. Smooth as a very smooth thing that’s been through an extra smoothness process.

So now I’m fully vaxed up. Well until they decide we need boosters in the autumn. As I’ve said previously I’m still very much in the ‘use a mask and keep your distance’ camp. Not so much because I’m worried about myself, but because until the vast majority of people are vaccinated–and we won’t know on public transport or in a bar or restaurant who is–the message to everyone should be that the virus is still here and can do you. or someone you come into contact with damage.

From tomorrow we can go into a pub or restaurant which is great, but they are not going to be right and fully comfortable until we can go about establishments without too much consideration–or worry about other people taking liberties with the rules (well basically doing what is morally right for everybody). It will continue to be a difficult time for these businesses. The business model for a pub kinda expects people to be stood around in groups and at the bar buying drinks and packets of nuts (or better still Snyder’s Jalapeño Pretzels), they are not based on people sat down in groups of a maximum of six requiring table service. Not to mention requiring herding around and being talked to for not following the rules on mask wearing or numbers sat a tables etc. Just be kind to the people working at these places. And remember, even if you are jabbed up, the majority of the people working in the bars are lucky enough to be so young they haven’t even had their first jab yet.

In summary, I’m made up to be fully vaccinated but I’m looking at buying some more masks–maybe with nice logos of pubs or breweries or some bands on– for the coming weeks and maybe months. We need to continue to act correctly, be nice–and avoid the dicks (unfortunately there always be some). Hopefully the vast majority of people will be vaccinated sooner rather than later and the NHS can go back to treating other people for other conditions and our world can go back to some sort of normality..

Onwards and Upwards.

Time To Plant A Tree

A.J. Walker — 2021-05-08T16:49:20+01:00

In these days of multi social media hangouts creating a place where the links to all of them are in one place is a neat idea. I’m not sure how late I am to the Linktree party but I’ve arrived and I’m glad I have. The set up is quick and clean. No messing about. As simple as it should be.

Set it up on Thursday night and put the link in the Bios in my two Twitter accounts and my two Instagram pages - one each for my personal Zevonesque account and for my Real Ale Liverpool (Realeliverpool) accounts. As well as having links to both sets of Twitter and Instagram it of course has a link to the website (i.e. here) and to the YouTube Channel.

Haven’t yet linked it to Goodreads or anything else and I may well not. Goodreads seems to have become a more problematic place these days. And obviously I’m not on TikTok or Facebook. These Linktrees must be pretty tall trees for some people. Anyway, in short, you can find me more easily than you could before. ‘Hurray!’ I can hear the cheers from here.

If you’ve got multiple hangouts on the internet thing then I can thoroughly recommend getting on Linktree and connecting those buttons.

One thing I’ve noticed on my YouTube Channel is that it is predominantly me reading poems at the moment: I’m going to call this my ReadMeSpeakMe period. I need to get strumming some new songs to rebalance the channel.

'In'

A.J. Walker — 2021-05-08T15:16:56+01:00

Are we ready for 'In'?

If there’s one thing the last couple of weeks has shown us it is that we have neither the weather nor the infrastructure for year round outdoors drinking in the UK. Okay that’s two things, but I’ve bundled them together like a beer with a scotch egg.

Cheers! from the Key Stone

Cheers! Cheers!! at the Coach House (nee Hard Times & Misery)

Of course the virus is still here albeit happily currently decreasing. It’s just over a week until the pubs can actually let people inside. Oh happy days; a beer with friends without feeling unduly uncomfortable. When the pubs and restaurants first open it is with restrictions in place: seated at tables, and table service, and the fabled Rule of Six and all that. But at least we’ll be protected from the vagaries of the British weather.

Bring your own insulation if the sun's not round your way

The Inaugural Meeting of the Bridwell Writerers and Twitterers Group
(under cover and with a heater)

I am a little concerned that people in general will be too relaxed about the rules. Not just in the hospitality sector but with public transport in particular. Yesterday when I went into town on the bus it was school kicking out time and the driver let far too many people on the bus. He didn’t seem bothered that all the seats with the crosses and Not In Use signs were well in use. I’ve already witnessed several people close bus windows whilst they watch their TikToks and Facebook too.

The Stagecoach #17 was a little overcrowded at school chucking out time

Like most of my mates I’ve had just the first (AZ) jab so far. It was about seven weeks ago so I should be getting my second jab in the next few weeks - I can’t wait.

Yesterday the CDC in the States finally announced what most people suspected/knew; that the virus is airborne and can be passed through the aerosols i.e. way in excess of 2m. It is not just close contact that results in passing on the virus: it is Enclosed Spaces that it loves. While we are outside getting soaked and wind blown we’re more likely to get a chill and a little annoyed rather than pick up Covid. But indoors is a different proposition. Most pubs though are fairly breezy affairs with doors opening and closing and people moving about. Air changes/ventilation really shouldn’t be a major problem, particularly while the pubs not at full capacity. Come the end of June though it is expected that the brakes will come off and the pubs can be full once again.

Philharmonic pub door. Won't be shut much longer

I’m cautiously optimistic in the main. Hopefully come June the figures will continue to be low. But the sooner everyone is vaccinated the better for everyone. Yeah, what I’m saying is: Get Vaccinated when you can, people. And in the meantime ‘Don’t be a tit.’ Wear a mask, follow the rules (even if the bus driver doesn’t shout at you), and keep your distancing. We’re so nearly there it would be a shame to fook it up now.

My current usual seat in the Key Stone is Table 7. Perhaps soon it will be inside…

Short Stories: A Lot of Words

A.J. Walker — 2021-05-07T09:11:17+01:00

Several years ago I had a document where I copied most of my short stories over from various Flash Fiction challenges. Unfortunately I got out of the habit when I slowed down on the flash front along with many of the disappearing challenges. I decided to update the document and import it into Scrivener so it can be imported on to my Kindle and have an active contents page.

I had to import the more recent stuff like stories from the #MidWeekFlash and #SeedlingChallenge. None of these had been saved in the original document. There's still about sixty stories from the latter to copy over. But even without them just these added up to 20,000 words. By the time I copy the remaining Seedling Challenges over the whole record of the flash stories will amount to something like 130k words. That is a lot of words for tiny fictions. It goes to show it all adds up. And thats the same for your latest novel: just keep adding bits and you'll get there.

Contents page for the amended Scrivener document

It is amazing how many of the challenges have been and gone, some of them are like friends I've forgotten about. I know too there will be loads of stories I've missed from not keeping up with this originally. But I guess I've got the bulk of them, which is nice both as a record and a compendium of ideas. I'm sure most of you writing guys are more methodical and better at keeping a good record than me, but if not then I recommend putting all your short stories in one place. You never know what you may find in there.

One thing I couldn't believe when copying the Seedling Challenges over was how recently the challenge stopped: and I stopped it! In my head it was well over a year ago not bloody August. This pandemic year has done some masterly work fucking up how time flows.

Ale M. Banks

A.J. Walker — 2021-05-05T08:55:36+01:00

It’s a little bit beyond Limboland for some hostelries now. Well for those that have outside areas to utilise - and in cities that is not many. That said the weather for the last few days has not been inviting to all but the hardiest punters and on Monday the rain and wind was so bad many bars and restaurants sensibly decided to shut up shop for the day. During the last few weeks some places have been able to provide heaters which is nice - as the sunshine has been intermittent at best and not exactly cracking the flags. It’s a shame heaters have been needed from the point of view of the bills for the bars (like they need another bloody expense right now) and from the environment. But it’s England not the Mediterranean Riviera so heaters it is.

I’ve managed to get to many of the very few city centre places that sell cask and have outdoor spots. When I say many it is a relative term with so few real ale places able to open at all. It’s been a bit of a mixed bag in some ways but largely those that have opened have been very good. My particular favourites have been the Keystone (on Hope Street), the Coach House/Hard Times (on Maryland Street) and The Bridewell.

If I’ve been on my tod I’ve been happy to let someone come to sit at the table of course: who wouldn’t? And I’ve met some lovely people either as ‘guests’ on my table or others on adjacent tables. To be able to have a chat and a laugh has been quite liberating for a lot of people I am sure.

One of the most surprising outcomes over the last couple of weeks is how many Iain M. Banks fans, and fans of SF in general, I have met. I have been attempting to read a book of essays and interviews about the Iain M. Banks SF books in these places and the amount of people who have commented on the book and then about their love of the books has been incredible.

Obviously fans of real ale are discerning individuals anyway, but it turns out they are even cooler. I’ve not managed to finish the book yet partly due to ending up being in happy conversations about The Culture (and none Culture) books. Looking forward to finishing the book and reading re-reading some of Banks’s books. But I may have to carry this book around with me just to see how many other fans come out of the woodwork.

Here’s to real ale outside of a pub: and even better IN one. And here’s to Iain M. Banks and the fans. You rock!

In the meantime if you don’t know Iain’s books or only know The Wasp Factory, the Crow Road or Whit or anything from the telly then do yourself a favour and dip into The Culture - apparently all the best ale drinkers are (and me too). These are his Culture books in chronological order. But there is no need to read them in order:

Consider Phlebas (1987)
The Player of Games (1988)
Use of Weapons (1990)
The State of the Art (1991)
Excession (1996)
Inversions (1998)
Look to Windward (2000)
Matter (2008)
Surface Detail (2010)
The Hydrogen Sonata (2012)

Happy reading.

The Very Wobbly Odyssey

A.J. Walker — 2021-04-28T19:39:12+01:00

Hoping to be back at work over the next couple of weeks. My head’s been a bit mashed for the some of the last six weeks with the out of nowhere medical issues. Have done some flash writing, such as Miranda’s #MidWeekFlash, and a bit of blogging, but nothing more substantial during these weeks. Have been trying to keep active in terms of steps and all that, but not got into writing more substantial pieces. If the whole staying at home thing hadn’t been because of head mashing diagnoses and issues then I could have written more, couldn’t I?

Miranda's #MidWeekFlash

As I’m nearing the end of being off and the doctor's appointments have been more positive than the inevitable early fear that hangs over you in Limboland then I've become I’m more up than down: and writing for more than 500 words seems more doable. One of the things I long to do is finish one of my two NaNoWriMo drafts: I’ve two partially written novels from previous NaNo years. Both are around two thirds or more complete. For my own balance I need to finish at least one novel length book this year and if I can work on one one of these two stories it is very doable. Even if a) it’s just the first draft and b) it never sees the light of day other than to a few mates.

But it’s not just a case of starting from where I finished. Well it is, obviously, in some ways. But these are several years old and at this point may as well have been written by somebody else. Going back to where they are finished it feels like trying to start from the last chapter you’ve read from of any famous author's book. Like starting from scratch...ish - or at least starting a race in a different car and not knowing the track.

To that end I have been rereading my second NaNo story, which is currently called "The Wobbly Odyssey", to get back into the zone so I can (at least try) and hit the ground running. It’s been really interesting. I like how the story has gone so far but dropping on to it now it would be so easy to take the story a rather random way and get the characters acting out of character from what's been presented so far.

Other than some geography nothing much about the story was planned. It’s been very much a "pantser" exercise. Maybe it’s just a bit more so now.

The current story is at 56k words and up to Chapter 6.5 of an anticipated 11 or so. I’m estimating there’s about 30-35k words to go to finish. If I set myself to do 1600-2000 words a day that’s only three weeks or so. So no excuse, A.J. Walker. Get writing and get it done: at the very least I want to know how the story ends!

Onwards and Upwards.

A Reading From 'The Ormering Tide'

A.J. Walker — 2021-04-16T19:28:36+01:00

I accidentally made a rod for my own back for this one. In a potentially throw-away tweet I said that 'The Ormering Tide' was so beautiful I felt like I should be reading it aloud rather than reading it to myself. I think maybe that morning I hadn't had my second coffee by the time of the tweet and wasn't fully awake. I was certainly very much in the #ReadMeSpeakMe way in any case. Anyway's I ended up saying I'd read the prologue aloud after I had my haircut sorted.

So true to my promise this is the Prologue to the lovely book by Kathryn Williams.

Follow Kathryn on Twitter and get into her music, her art or her books - or all of it.

@kathwilliamsuk

Get yourself a signed copy of 'The Ormering Tide' at Forum Books:

Got a Haircut for the ReadMeSpeakMe Party

A.J. Walker — 2021-04-15T20:15:48+01:00

Haircut

This week was the 3rd Anniversary of ReadMeSpeakMe which meant it was party week. As I said last week I wasn't going to do RMSM until I had my hair cut - as the barbers finally were allowed loose with their scissors on Monday 12th April. Huzzah. My last haircut was in the first week of November so I'd gone fully five months - and some - between cuts. Even if RMSM wasn't having a party, getting a cut felt like I deserved one. Happy days.

Before the Haircut

I'd got on the 17 from Fazakerley full of hope if not expectation. As it happened I managed to get in the barbers I've used for the last three cuts (which lets face it is most of a year now): Istanbul Barbers on Dale Street. It didn't require booking or anything so strange for us of the 'boy' persuasion. Just turn up and wait in turn.

All light headed: Haircut after shock!

With haircut done there were three things to do 1) see if I can get in the other newly permissible places (pubs) 2) attend the #ReadMeSpeakMe Party and 3) do a reading of the prologue from Kathryn Williams' 'The Ormering Tide.'

Outdoor Beers

I managed to do 1) pretty much off the bat with being one of the first two getting a beer at the Dispensary and also being one of the first served at the Coach House (Hard Times). Read the blog on Pubs to find out more on my feelings about this and on pubs in general.

ReadMeSpeakMe Party

Next up, a few days later, has been attending the ReadMeSpeakMe Party. The call was to read a recipe for food or drink. Well as I always have a beer with my wee recordings then it had to beer really for the party. Unfortunately from a reading perspective four basic ingredients didn't make for compelling reading:

Malt Barley
Water
Hops
Yeast

It'd be short and sweet, which may have its attractions but it ain't suitable for our party.

Anyways whilst I was reading a book about alcoholic drinks, 'Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks' jam packed with great recipes and details, I found the first part of a poem about beer written by Thomas Warton in 1750. Two hundred and seventy years ago and they were still extolling the virtues of a nice pint over the, 'Riot stirring wine. Unwholesome draught!'

#ReadMeSpeakMe 3rd Anniversary Party Invite

Thomas Warton was an Oxford Don lecturing and writing on poetry and became the Poet Laureate for a time. He liked his beer and smoking too. Cool poetry dude. So I decided I'd read the first section of his 'Panegyric to Ale' (originally 'Oxford Ale').

The Ormering Tide

So that was 2 of 3 sorted. The third part I had pencilled in to do was a short reading from 'The Ormering Tide.' Kathryn Williams, who hails from Liverpool, is a brilliant singer-songwriter who I last saw her perform on her Anthology Tour at the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Rooms. She performed some great songs and told some excellent anecdotes. I couldn't not buy her book when it came our this year. When I tweeted it was so lovely that I felt like I should be reading it aloud rather than to myself she tweeted back 'Do It' (although I may be paraphrasing there). So I have to, don't I?

'The Ormering Tide' by Kathryn Williams

Hope I can do justice. But hey, I'm ain't a professional. It's a beautiful book and I loved every page. I can wholeheartedly recommend you getting into the Tide and finding yourselves on the cliffs or beaches of the Channel Islands - or even in the pub. You won't regret it. And don't miss listening to some of her songs. Like all the best people Kathryn is on Twitter too @kathwilliamsuk so give her a follow.

Kathryn Williams 'Monday Morning' from Crown Electric

I will record my reading of the prologue tomorrow and get it up on the YouTube thing - I bet you can't wait. Watch this space: or better still just listen to some of Kathryn's songs.

Pubs Pubs Pubs: Closed/ Outside/ Inside

A.J. Walker — 2021-04-15T14:31:45+01:00

Pubs. Pubs. Pubs. Closed pubs - outside pubs - inside pubs. God, they are such an integral part of my life. It’s not a daily thing or anything like that. And it’s not bad ones - these days anyway. No, it’s real ale pubs. I suppose many youngsters would call them “old men’s pubs”. Hell sometimes I do too. Generally though it’s just pubs that sell real ale. Ale on hand pulls. So the last year has been a wee bit disappointing on that front.

They’ve been closed several times over this pandemic year. The last time they were open the rules rather (completely) arbitrarily required you bought a main meal with your drink. Like the virus would go for you if you didn’t have a burger, but would avoid you if you did. Ludicrous ill thought out concept. Of course at one point that was partly in conjunction with the “Eat Out to Help Out” idea too. I’m sure there were good intentions there somewhere. But maybe not much in the way of thought.

During those strangely open/not really open time I was out every so often. And asking questions of whether the guy or gal serving me thought a) was a plate of chips classed as a “substantial meal” and b) how slowly could I eat them from a legal perspective i.e. could I get in two or three pints with one plate of chips. Nonsense of course. If you watch any "end of the world" dystopia films there’s never been a scene in it when people are seeing how little they could eat in order to get a pint in. But hell, it was dystopian.

One step closer to normality. So close but so far.

That ended on the run up to New Year when the pubs were closed for the next lockdown. And here we are over three months later before they could open again. This time the requirement for eating with your drink has been removed. Instead the rule is that you can only drink outside a pub. With April weather that is full on roulette territory. On April 12th this limited opening came in, with the next change pencilled in for May 17th. At that point the inside of pubs can open, but still with restrictions like the ‘rule of six’/two household thing and such like. The unrestricted opening is lightly HB pencilled in for June 21st. Oh my, how good that will be?

As I say, I like pubs and pubs and pubs. It’s a social and aesthetic thing. Drinking at home for me doesn’t do it. Don’t get me wrong I do buy beer regularly. It’s just that I’m more inclined to have one or two bottles or cans rather than the pintage I would get to whilst out and about. I’ve lost weight during this pandemic and that’s partly down to work being mad but I mainly down to fewer beers passing my lips and getting to my hips.

First pint up was an Oakham 'Citra' at the Dizzy

Ale for me is very much a mix of the taste of the stuff, the environment and the people I’m drinking with - including the sometimes fabulous staff (hey, I'm not gonna say they all are). Maybe the ale will get me drunk, or happy - or into whatever mood it wants to get me to - on a particular day, but getting drunk is not the be all and end all for me. I’d rather read a few chapters of a book with a couple of pints in one place, then chat to someone in another place, than get drunk. If I just wanted that I’d be happily drinking cheap plonk or vodka at home and not going for mini pub crawls in town. It would be less hassle too without messing about with buses.

But no, for me, having a pint is about going on a wee pub crawls to take in various beers available in different places and seeing a few people. I’m quite happy whether I meet people I know well or not: happy to do a spot of a people watching with the best of them. Most real ale drinkers I know prefer to visit three or four pubs on a night out rather than go to one. But flexibility is key. After all if the first pub you’re in has your favourite beer on and some of your fave people in then there’s no need to roll that dice for the next place. Like going to a music festival you've got to enjoy where you're at and not worry about what you're missing.

Not so Hard Times at the Coach House with a Neptune 'Mosaic'

Can’t wait to get back to doing a few mini crawls. The Fly, Roscoe Head, Dispensary, and Grapes. Oh yeah! Then there’s the Lion, Rigby’s, Denbigh Castle, Excelsior, and the Ship. Or how about Baltic Fleet, Bridewell, Head of Steam, Hard Times, Belvedere, and the Caledonia. Or how about the… well you get the picture.

We’re going to have to wait until June until we can do these properly. The May reopening will be constrained in terms of numbers and therefore the ability to wander between pubs and expecting to get in. I mean the demand for the Grapes... it doesn’t bear thinking about.

Right now the reopening this week has allowed pubs with outdoors to give it a go. For city centres this means many pubs can’t even try or those that can have severely limited options for customers. In Liverpool many of the best pubs will not be reopening until May.

I made it to a couple on Monday after first getting a rather crucial haircut. First up was a pint of Oakham 'Citra' sat outside the Dispensary, which had a nice circularity to me. My last pub pint was in the Dizzy between Christmas and New Year where I was rung at 7:30pm in the pub by my GP to be told to go to A&E to get an MRI scan; it was not the usual night out. As it happened I wasn’t to get an MRI for another couple of months. I’d had to eat a portion of Scouse with my drink that time, this time no food was needed - but a coat was definitely required: the early afternoon sun doesn’t get to the outdoor area. Brrrrr.

A pint in the sunshine at Hard Times

Second pub up was the Coach House. I’d seen the managers working on it on Saturday when I walked into town. I’d sat outside with them in the cold - without a beer. I suppose it was a dry run. It’s the third name for the place and like anyone I dare say I’ll stick with the original name: Hard Times & Misery. In between it was called Dickens and King. They’ve created a nice seating area outside and I think the capacity out there is more than inside the place. I was one of the first customers and it became busy in no time - but not overly so with the whole rule of six thing at the tables and all that. Had Neptune ‘Mosaic’ on which meant nice options all around - especially as there was sunshine on me too.

Hotch having bar snacks - even though now they aren't a requirement of entry (beware those sharp teeth)

Met some people I knew and chatted to some I didn’t too (and met a puppy I’ll see again over the coming years). It was great. But it’s not normality yet. It won’t be until all the pubs and bars are open and you can get inside without significant restrictions. I can’t wait. Though I rather suppose I must. Roll on June 21st - HB pencil notwithstanding.

Last Zoom Open Mic?

A.J. Walker — 2021-04-14T13:50:44+01:00

We last had a Zoom Open Mic on New Years Eve, which is apparently about three months ago but definitely feels like a year or so. At the time we said it’d be a regular event especially with the lockdown which just arrived the day before. As it happened it did not become a regular thing at all. I’m out of the loop as I don’t have Facebook so I miss the chat about it and get a handle on whether it’s almost taken place a couple of times or not. And can’t really help in the organisation of it if I don’t have FB.

Finally last Saturday we did have our first Open Mic of the year. And hopefully the last one to be done using Zoom - if the lockdowns have finally worked their stuff along with the vaccinations. In theory the pubs will reopen indoors from May 17th, although events like the Open Mic won’t be permitted until another month or so after that (21st June). Fingers crossed for that.

The Open Mic was accompanied by a good portion of a mini keg of Mosaic that I’d picked up at Neptune Brewery the day before. I took the keg out the fridge and brought it into the spare room so I didn’t need to go up and down all the time to top my glass. Certainly helped with getting through a few pints.

Cloud Strife watching over the Neptune Mosaic

In the end I was on the Zoom call from about 7:45 through to 1.00am. So it wasn’t much of a wonder that a few beers were breached.

As it happened there were quite a few missing regulars, who’d kind of indicated that they would/may be there but didn’t turn up. It was a bit of a shame really not to see everyone’s familiar faces - and hear their songs. There were only three of us playing songs using guitar or keyboards, and Matt telling us stories. I only sang four songs as if I’d done any more I’d have felt like I was taking it over a bit. I’d have happily sung six or seven if others had been doing the same. Never mind.

Not many of us online this time. Think there some good repeat on the telly.

I sang Chuck Prophet’s ‘Somewhere Down the Road,’ Ryan Adam’s ‘Sweet Carolina,’ Bright Eyes ‘Landlocked Blues’ and Barenaked Ladies ‘It’s All Been Done.’

It was good to see the familiar faces that were there - on what may be the last weekend of the year that we couldn’t be in (or at least outside) a pub. Roll on the next Open Mic: wherever and whenever it may be. It’ll be a while, I dare say, but it will be fucking great.

A Most Difficult Hunt

A.J. Walker — 2021-04-09T13:09:28+01:00

I’m on the lookout for a new job. But it’s a bit difficult not knowing at this stage what I want to be when I grow up. How do all you guys do it?

I’ve been too long away from my time as an Environmental Scientist really to get back into that. Unless maybe it was on a project by project basis (or auditing). Can’t see it happening. I enjoyed report writing and reviewing - and the fact that every job was different. The management side less so, especially during trying and pressurised times.

I’ve being doing delivery driving for a few years now, which has its positives and negatives. But Amazon have been pushing more and more deliveries on to drivers over this last year. It’s basically been like Xmas every week since last March: but Xmas without any bonus. They have been wearing younger guys than me out at a ridiculous rate. At least at Xmas you can see a light at the end of the tunnel as it's just four or five weeks of madness. There’s no upside currently. I could definitely write a good blog or four about working as an Amazon driver. But I’ll have to wait until I’ve finished there and want to burn any bridges. At the moment whilst I’ve got an eye out for something else, but don’t have anything, I’m still planning to work for them - needs must.

I do need to find another job locally. Preferably something enjoyable - at least at times. I know not what though. It really is hard to look for a job when you don’t have a specific aim. I dare say I'll need a variety of CVs skewed to what I may apply for. Wonder where I’ll end up? Later in the year I may need to look at retraining, but as what? There’s only so many web designers or copy editors needed out there. It’s all so up in the air: like going for a hunt not knowing what is out there and what equipment you may require.

In the interim I’ll get a lottery ticket if I remember.

It's Alchemy I Tell Ya

A.J. Walker — 2021-04-05T11:29:09+01:00

Yesterday was Easter Sunday and I didn't get any Sunday roast sorted or a single egg, but I did end up with a couple of beers and I did get the weekly #ReadMeSpeakMe sorted too, so I had my now traditional Sunday then.

I'd intended to walk into Liverpool to get my daily steps in and take the opportunity to pick up a couple of bottles of something. Always good to kill two birds with one stone. Thanks to my far too aggressive addiction to Twitter though I spotted that Top Rope Brewery, which is based in Bootle, was open for a few hours. My plans were basic and flexible - the result obvious. I duly went of to Top Rope and picked up three different beers: 'The Road to Helles,' 'Papa Mango' and 'Big Simcoe.' Better than anything I'd have picked up in Sainsburys or Lidl by an infinite distance.

Plenty of choice available at 'Top Rope' today

At Top Rope Brewery. I am smiling. Really.

Had a nice chat with Neil and the team and took a few photos before packing away my beer. Of course I still had my steps to get in and being in Bootle the obvious next stop was the coast for a walk on the beach. I headed to Waterloo by South Road and then to the beach and a stroll around the Anthony Gormley installation 'Another Place.' Been there so many times. But its always a lovely walk with the sea and the weather making it like a dynamic art installation. It's cool. I thought it would be busy and it was quite but it wasn't as bad as anticipated. The weather was sunny but there was a brisk breeze off the sea and it was a bit cooler than it had been. We're at the start of a cold snap apparently.

Me and my mate, Tony

Tony looking thoughtfully out towards Ireland

With a bit more reading in the eveningI didn't get round to doing the Read Me Speak Me until late: after Line of Duty But I always try and do it on the Sunday; though not next week (haircut week starts Monday 12th). The poem for Read Me Speak Me No.137 was 'Alchemy' by Syreeta Muir. If you are on Twitter you can find her on @hungryghostpoet

No need to 'Run to the Helles'

ReadMeSpeakMe 137: 'Alchemy' by Syreeta Muir - preceded by 5 minutes rambling about Top Rope beers, a walk in Crosby, and a deceased Wilco t-shirt

I was glad to get it done. Although I'm conscious I did waffle on even more than usual. Think I may need to set a timer next time.

Alchemy recorded. Now to get it on to YouTube.

I loved Syreeta's poem. A great read. It was a tad coincidental that I ended up being in Crosby today as Syreeta used to live there. Spooky! Don't forget to follow @ReadMeSpeakMe on Twitter too.

Doing the Loop

A.J. Walker — 2021-04-04T12:17:07+01:00

Living in the north of Liverpool walking options with nice vistas or architecture are decidedly limited. If you are trying to walk daily do you really want to circle the same park multiple times just to have a nice environment? It would get a bit much to walk the same walk all the time. I’ve been walking to and around Walton Hall Park quite regularly lately. And it’s nice enough, but it’s nice to switch it up.

From the direction I come from I walk under an old rail bridge and enter the park at the corner beside it. The bridge, over the East Lancs road, is part of the old Loop Line. Like so many railways in the 60s it closed down (in 1964). The way it sweeps from the south from Hunts Cross north to Aintree it in some ways mimics the Queens Drive circular (or quarter circle in reality). It has been turned it to a footpath/cycle way which forms part of several routes. Work started on the path in 1988 with the last section by Aintree finished in 2000.

Walking on the Loop Line (remain vigilant for bikes when taking selfies)

Part of the northern section (which I am yet to visit) goes through railway land where I used to walk with my grandparent’s dog, Patches, in the 1970s. There’s probably a blue plaque for that somewhere there.

Anyway, on Friday I went for a walk starting at home with no real plan of where I would end up. But I did think I’d take a look at the Loop. Really glad I did. Makes such a refreshing change in North Liverpool walking around so much greenery and away from busy roads or housing estates. I kept walking and walking, eventually getting to a point where it would have been as far to walk back as it would to finish the whole thing. Of course I could have got off somewhere and worked out how to get (multiple) buses home. It was lovely day though, the sun was out, there were lots on people on bikes and a running event. It was Good Friday.

Platforms at West Derby Station

It was lovely to see the trees and greenery, to see the sandstone cuttings of the railway and the old station and platforms at West Derby. In the end I got to Hunts Cross which was a 9.2 mile walk from my house without getting hit by any of the bike riders (although there were a couple of close calls) or runners (many of who were running at my walking pace). Pretty good few hours.

West Derby Station

The age old problem with linear walks of course is getting back. From the end of the walk it would be a minimum of three buses (as far as I could tell on maps) or a train and a bus. I went for the latter option as a train was just due in as I got to the station. A train to Liverpool Central and then a No.17 back. Sorted. When planning (or in this case not planning) a walk the time built in to get back is potentially important. All in all that 9 miles with transport back took me around 4 hours, which is a fair chunk of anyone’s day. But it was a Bank Holiday: and it was definitely worth it. I’ll be in the Loop again soon. I'll have to do the bit to the north too at some point. It's shorter than going to Hunts Cross and while I wouldn't anticipate it being as nice an area to walk I can turn the walk into a circular and save on the wait for trains and buses.

The path is long (just under 11 miles from start to finish). Rare is the moment there's no-one around.

________

Subsequent to doing the walk I read some things about it online. The path forms part of the National Cycle Network - Route 62. The whole route goes from Fleetwood to Selby. That would take a few pairs of socks. The worst thing I read was that in 2012, somewhere near where I got onto the walk by Walton Hall Park, a body was found on the embankment by a dog walker. The body was of a missing woman, Paula Hounslea and the murderer has never been found. The case remains open. I only want to find bluebells, crocuses, butterflies, and mushrooms, please. No bodies.

Reading: One Quarter In

A.J. Walker — 2021-04-01T16:11:26+01:00

My upwardly mobile target of reading 42 books this year is so far on track - with me having read twelve books by the end of March. Helped by some shortish books but also by good stories that have grabbed me. I’ve very much enjoyed a couple of series of books, including the ‘Hadrian’s Gate’ series (6 books... and counting) by Georgia Knight, and ‘Final Dawn’ (3 books) by T.W.M. Ashfield.

'Unstoppable' - the sixth of the Hadrian's Gate series, by Georgia Knight

'The Final Dawn' - the first of the Trilogy - by T.W.M. Ashford

And talking of series there’s the second book of Mark A. King’s ‘Mother of Exiles’ and the third book of Phillip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ to be read over the coming month or so. And at some point - worryingly - the remainder of the 'Hellicona' books by Brian Aldiss.

Mother of Exiles (Part 2 & 3) by Mark A. King

My current read is L.V. Matthews ‘The Prank’ which I’m over half way through and thoroughly enjoying. Just goes to show that not every book of mine has to be set on another planet or in an alternate reality - or needs to be part of a series. Either that or it shows there are always exceptions to every rule.

'The Prank' - by L.V. Matthews (a standalone book: not set in space)

So my reading is progressing well. Next up is my writing goals: and achieving them. That may well be more difficult; who am I kidding? Of course it will be.

Ale and Poetry

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-30T19:17:01+01:00

I’ve been getting involved with #ReadMeSpeakMe since mid November last year. The first poem I read was ‘Arrival to the Sea’ by Juan Antonio Garcia, who is on Twitter @NoosferaMedia. My first attempt took me about eight takes. Since that time I’ve been recording the ReadMeSpeakMe poem almost every week - most are done on the first or second take now.

On the first poem I did chat a little before the poem - mostly to say it took me eight takes - and have continued to prelude the poem with a little chitchat; if nothing else just to say what drink I’ve got in my tankard. I recorded the early ones on my phone and posted it direct to Twitter. A couple were longer ones and harder to fit on a Tweet so I decided I needed to put the longer ones on YouTube I decided I'd put them all on there, whatever the length. for consistency.

I've not had too much negative feedback from this way of doing it (that's not to say people are thinking such things of course) and it will probably continue. Even if it is just to say 'Cheers,' - and what I’m drinking that week.

ReadMeSpeakMe 136: 'Across the Table' by Rob Taylor

I’ve never tried embedding a YouTube video on my website... until now. I'm trying it now to see how it works, or if I can do it. So future poems could well be on here, but the YouTube channel will remain the primary place to find them. Consistency.

It’s amazing that it's only been four months I’ve been involved. In many ways it feels a lot longer. Love seeing all the community getting together for it each week: and it’s a mighty fine excuse to get out a bottle opener.

If you’ve never given it a go, and you fancy it then give it a try. Many of the poems are short enough that they can fit on a twitter video (particularly if you don't give it a preamble ramble like I do. But if you don't fancy giving it a go then just come over and say, 'Hi'.

The blog in the new Health section, on my MS diagnosis & travails, together with the poetry with beer thing has revealed that there is a gap in the market for a Health, Lifestyle, and Beer magazine. Am sure it could be a big seller. Then again it may just be pictures of beer and the odd limerick.

Incidentally I have updated the Health section so that Disqus now works on it. So it is open for comments for anyone interested. Like the Comments in this section they are moderated so don't be surprised if they take some time to show up on the page. But they will eventually (assuming that they are appropriate of course).

Gardens: Homes and Festival

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-29T20:17:41+01:00

After going out to do a shop down the Asda today I decided to go around to a mate’s for a coffee - now that we can go around to people’s gardens. Tried calling and didn’t get an answer, but I knew if he wasn’t in there was a good chance he’d be back in a while. And in any case, even if not, I could go for a nice walk through the Festival Gardens to Otterspool Prom. A nice change of route. Turned out my friend wasn’t in so the walk option was a good call.

Flyaway pandemic hair

It was a very nice walk. Bit wind blown with my hair being a little bit much at the mo. But it was a blue sky day. Lots of people about especially at the Otterspool end. The queues for the cafe were mad! Grabbed a coffee at a van half way along. - on the edge of the Garden site.

Sculpture in the Garden Festival site

Heron contemplating lunch
Picked up a few nice photos along the way.

The choppy Mersey

Ended up being a 3.62 mile walk according to Runkeeper. So I blitzed my 8k steps by lunchtime. Result.

End of a nice walk in blossoming trees

It was good to the car at my mate’s. They had just returned. So I got a couple of cups of coffee and a butty and had a good chinwag. It was good to see my mates for the first time this year (not counting Zoom). And good to show them I’m okay so they hopefully aren’t over worried by my situation. No doubt will do it again soon. Great to have the option. Onwards and upwards.

Rather Random Target

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-25T12:59:10+00:00

Over the last few weeks I've been off work. Work is a very intensive day and involves lots of walking, some stairs, some panicking and a lot of thinking 'how the hell can I find another job'. So not being in work makes it dangerously easy to stop the exercise inadvertently.

With the issues with my health at the moment being a little unknown I'v set myself the rather random target of 8000 steps per day. It's lower than the arbitrary 10k steps cited by multitudes of people. Of course those targets are as made up and pretty useless as the 5-a-day nonsense. Basically you know if you are doing enough each day or you're just pushing the sofa indentation to its limits, just like you know if you've only eaten crap all day. So I am happy with my current unscientific Rather Random Target.

The Canadian Geese like Walton Hall Park too

Over the last twelve days I've achieved this each and every day. In fact my average daily steps are over this time has been 11k steps - which in old money equates to about 5 miles a day. I've been lucky with the weather in this time. There's not been any days with incessant rain, and some days have been lovely. Taken to walking to Walton Hall Park, where I used to do my 5k jogging practice, which is my nearest at about a mile away. If I do just one lap of the park my walk to and from the park is longer than the walk in it. But if I feel like it I can do a couple of circuits, which gets the numbers up whilst giving me nice vistas of trees, and water and the sound of birds - which has got to be better than walking around housing and industrial estates - for the head if nothing else.

Back in the day when I used to do the 5km Park Runs and whatnot I started using Runkeeper. I've gone back to this now. Handily, whilst it's called Runkeeper it is great for any activity which may involve you moving from A to B - including walking. It's great to keep track of the bigger activities with it mapping out where you went and giving you your time and splits etc. Could help some people with motivation but in this instance it is just a recording tool really (which makes nice maps). On top of that for the entire day record my £40 smartwatch shows me what my total daily steps are too.

I've also been going to the B&M and Iceland around the corner on foot. It's a round trip of a mile and in the past I'd (sadly) have driven it rather than walk it. Though I'd have put off going until I need a few things. Now I'm happy to walk all the way to B&M for a loaf of bread, just to keep the legs going and get the fresh air (that said I can also pick up bottles of Oakham 'Citra' or Wickwar 'Platform 6.1' too).

Spring has sprung in Liverpool

Podcasts have accompanied many of my walks, though my last couple I've gone without the headphones. Though with my flyway hair yesterday it was worth putting the headphones on just to control my hair a little; I was seriously considering Brylcream or gel yesterday - God, I can't wait for the barbers to reopen. Thankfully it IS only three weeks until they can return. Hallelujah!

Flyaway hair aka Pandemic Hair - one side effect of lockdown

Anyway. May my 5+miles per day continue. It will be interesting to see if I can force myself to do it in the rain. Though I suspect I may just wear a hole in the carpet walking up and down. In the meantime feel free to use my RRT if you think it'll be more useful to you than that 10k nonsense.

The House of Shazam

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-22T13:41:28+00:00

Been watching a lot of House over the last month or so. Will have binge watched the entire eight series by April I think. I’ve seen every episode before over the years it was on. It was made between 2004 and 2012. I think Hugh Laurie was the highest paid TV star in Hollywood for a time then. The series were long compared with many series these days. I mean over twenty episodes per series is epic fir a fifty minute programme. I could only dream of twenty episodes of The Expanse per series. That's a wapping 176 episodes. Wow! And throughly bingeworthy too.

Going back to House though has been good. Such great characters throughout the show and nice long threads throughout it. House is such a tragicomic flawed individual, that gives laugh out loud moments with his ill thought out (or quite brilliant) schemes, and so sad with his addictions and fear of love and getting close to people.

His various team members are always fascinating characters too with plentiful flaws that make you hate or pull for them whenever they go off piste or get back on their inevitable rails.

One of the best things about it for me is the music. Whoever picked the songs can select my music playlist any time. In fact I wonder whether they’ve been through CD collection at some point.

The end of each episode always brings a song in while they show the various characters doing their thing; usually thoughtfully and/or with drink, drugs or sex. These songs are always great. ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ by the Rolling Stones is one of the most famous ones, that gets referenced several times, that most people will know. But they use lots of artists that are less well known - and straight out of my CD library - like Iron & Wine, Josh Rouse, Bon Iver, Ben Harper, Richard Thompson, and Wilco.

Several times I’ve had to use Shazam (a smartphone App) to identify the end song. I can’t believe now how quickly that Shazam can identify the track and artist from the tiniest of listens. It is great to have that ability, but I find it a bit scary how tech can listen and regurgitate the information to you.

If you haven’t used Shazam, or have no knowledge of it, it’s a free app that will listen to music around you, be that in a film or TV programme (though not whilst characters are talking through it of course), or while you’re listening to the radio after you’ve missed the intro, or in a pub etc (when they are back open). You just ‘Shazam’ it - which just means pressing the button in the App - and it will listen and report back to you the answer. It won’t be able to do it if the music is too quiet or there is too much background noise, but if the volume’s right my god it so good and mighty, mighty quick. And so far I’ve never seen it throw out a wrong answer.

If you’ve ever heard a song somewhere that you’ve liked but never hear what it was then this is the answer to your dreams. But like I say, a little bit scarily good. What else are your phones and apps listening to and regurgitating elsewhere? Best not think about that - or at least don't verbalise it in listening distance of your phone.

Strolling Podcasting

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-20T16:08:16+00:00

Whilst I've had a few weeks off I've had to keep up with keeping some level of fitness up - especially in my legs. To that end I've made sure I've been getting 8000 steps+ a day into them for the last week. Last week I was doing 5000 a day on average. This week I've been up beyond 10000, which I'm happy with.

I've a little circular walk around mine along Long Lane and back down Lower Lane. It works out around 4.7km, which is a nice (almost) round number. It's not the prettiest route, but it's straight out of the house without any travel required. I've done it three times now and will no doubt be doing it quite a few times more. The time is not important, it is not a race.

There's not to much photogenic on the Long Lane Circuit.

But I'll try and take some shot when I can.

Whilst it is not a pretty walk the location straight out the door and the distance is spot on. And best of all it has been great for getting back to podcasts. When I was working in Wales I'd listen to a podcast or two with the commute time on the way there and back. I've been working more locally lately with no time for any podcasts. These fifty minute walks have got me back on my old favourite podcasts. It's been great to catch up with some of the New York Times Book Review Podcast. If you like books and intelligent discussion about all types of them then I can do nought but thoroughly recommend it.

I've got loads of the NYT Book Reviews to dip into as and when. And I'm looking forward to listening to more Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry and Something Rhymes with Purple. The fifty minutes of walking will be good for my legs and good for my head.

Flash Dogs and The Updated Website

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-18T23:06:28+00:00

The website rejig was definitely the right decision. I didn't want to put another page up there to go on the top menu, as it would get a bit too squashed up with the current layout. When I looked over the layout I found that one of the pages I had was on 'Writerers' which I haven't updated for years and was well out of date - in fact not entirely relevant. The only items on it I wanted to retain were the Flash Dogs website links, so I've copied those over to here rather than lose everything in one fell sweep.

I haven't checked yet whether these are all still live or not. But I will do over the weekend.

Flash Dogs Website Links:

Mark A. King - Recent UK based novelist with 'Metropolitan Dreams'
Liz Hedgecock - Another UK novelist and novelleta.
Beth Deitchman - Yep, another US Flash Dog writerer from the lovely Luminous Creatures Press.
Emily June Street - California based noveller, including the Velocipede Races.
Casey Rose Frank - A freelance writerer and voracious readerer from the east coast of the US.
Tamara Rogers - Writing and Images from the wonderfully talented Flash Dogs cover artist.
Holly Geely - US based writer of novels, novellas, and short story collections.
Steph Ellis - the prolific and wonderful Steph.
Tamara Shoemaker - fab writerer and wonderful editor from Virginia, US of A.
F.E. Clark - Great artist and writer from up in the north east of Scotland
Emily Livingstone - Fictionalist from New England

Removing my writer's section gives me room up top to put my 'Health' Section. A win, win or something like that. Sorted.

Redesign Time. Probably.

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-18T21:47:12+00:00

Contemplating a wee redesign of the website. Nothing too major, and I’ll probably retain most things. But I’m conscious that I have been blogging about health related issues over the last few weeks. Depending on how things go for me with the MS this could continue to be a topic I feel I have to keep coming back to. But at the moment it is sandwiched with all the blogs about writing, music, beer, Liverpool, and even poetry.

The health stuff could be a mighty turn off for some people and if there is a run of blogs on it then other of my usual witterings could be hidden in the avalanche. Equally if people are interested in the MS stuff (don’t let me ever call it a journey) then they may not be interested in my latest beer experiences - and certainly not my singing. So to that end I think I will create a new Health section and do all the related blogging within that.

I think it makes sense - though not sure how quickly I can turn that around. Watch this space - or that space: who knows?

Cool Club to Join: Vaccination #1

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-18T20:20:18+00:00

This morning I had my first COVID-19 jab: like a lot of people I know this week seems to be the week for getting jabbed. A few of my older mates, or those with other medical issues, have already been done, but this week so many of my mates, acquaintances, and Twitter buddies seem to have been marching around with one arm of their shirt up, whilst marching through doctors' surgeries and community centres up and down the country.

My vaccination place was just 3 miles away in Aintree Community Centre. I got up there in under 15 minutes and was in and out even quicker. The whole process was quick and seamless. I was told they were vaccinating 450 people there in the one day, which is pretty impressive for the wee place.

It was an Astra-Zeneca jab of course. I think most of them are at the moment. After all the bloods taken in the last couple of weeks - and the COVID tests up the nose & through to the back of my brain - the jab was nothing. Not had any issues with pain or flu type issues yet, but guess it’s only 8 hours ago and that’d be tomorrow if at all. Given my other problems at the moment a bit of temporary flu would be neither here nor there. That said, I’d prefer the issue to bypass me if it’s feeling kind.

Next up for me will be the second dose, which will be due some time over the next twelve weeks - which means by early June. In some ways that doesn’t seem that far off. Time is playing some mighty strange games at the moment though.

Good luck to those of you who haven’t had it yet. Hope you get it soon (apart from those idiots who were celebrating Paddy’s Day in Sefton Park yesterday. Fucking idiots, the lot of them).

Walk into Town: Onwards Downhill

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-17T10:23:47+00:00

Since my diagnosis of MS less than two weeks ago I have been conscious of my movement and the requirement to keep some miles in those legs to keep them going - even if I've nothing in particular to do. My standard aim for those pesky 'steps' prior to MS was 8000 a day. With work I was always doing between 12 and 17k steps, and on days off in these Covid days a lot lower (no pub crawls to walk). The average though would be well over 10k. I'm going to keep the aim at 8000 now and I don't feel any reason to change it. Indeed it may be more important than ever.

I decided to go on a walk yesterday with the aim of exceeding 10k and I did easily - finishing on 15k. The main thing was a long walk into Liverpool from home taking in Anfield Cemetery, Anfield Stadium and the walk down to the Adephi via Everton Valley Park. The walk was about 5 miles.

The walk took me along the East Lancs and Walton Road before I ducked into Anfield Cemetery, as it's always nice to walk through where all the dead people are, and then on past Anfield. I was a season ticket holder back in the 1980s and in more recent times a Priority Ticket Scheme member, but I haven't gone to a match at Anfield since they built the fantastic new stand. God it's enormous.

After Anfield I decided to walk on, trying to get some more miles in. Thought I'd go to Everton Valley Park for the vista over Liverpool. The skyline along the Mersey looks great from there. In the end I decided it was al downhill from there into town so I'd continue and get the 17 or 19 back. It was a good call. Met a nice bloke walking his dog who chased after me to tell me my laces were undone on one of my trainers. I couldn't hear him with my headphones on. I thanked him, as there was no way with my current lack of feelings in my legs and feet I'd ever have felt them being loose. Got chatting to him, and despite his Everton hat he was a sound bloke. Explained about my numbness and he told me about his son dying at 19 and daughter at 24. Bloody hell. There is always someone else worse off out there isn't there. Had a good chat about all things cheerful, and football (which is a mixed bag for both of us at the moment).

Town was an absolute mess with so many roadworks around the centre. Hope they are timed to be sorted by the time everything has opened up - if not it is more disaster for the companies that have been shut for months. Sod's Law and bad planning dictates that the works won't be completed in the next couple of weeks. I saw hardly a workman anywhere along the hundreds of metres I walked past. Fingers crossed though.

Didn't fancy walking back - it's uphill. So hopped a No.19 and I was sorted. It was a nice day and a good walk. It's good to know I can walk five miles with no ill effects. Though my feet were sore.

Onwards and upwards.

Boss People, Good Food - Don't Mention the Coffee

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-06T16:06:40+00:00

This week I was in Fazakerley Hospital for two nights/three days, and then in The Walton Centre as an in-patient. I was looked at by some great doctors and nurses. The nurse who looked at me at A&E was particularly excellent. The Covid brain skimmer was eye wateringly scary, but efficient. Even the food and drink was really good: with the exception being the "coffee" - and maybe the portion size ;-).

Fazakerley Hospital - the return to the 9th Floor

The nurse who performed my Lumbar Puncture in the Walton Centre was brilliant, and the initial involvement from the Centre has been really good - and I'm sure that will continue.

Met a really nice woman who worked at Fazakerley and the Royal who has written a book, due out soon, on her experience with breast cancer. Had a nice chat with her. I'll definitely be buying her book when it comes out; 'Bald, Brave & Bloody Beautiful' by Danielle McDermott. And better still she's related to a former Liverpool great too: Terry McDermott. Cool.

The Walton Centre

The biggest negative issues I had was; 1) sleep, which was incredibly difficult due to myriad issues with other patients and the noise from a variety of machines, and 2) my phone - I brought multiple plugs and a full battery pack with me; but I picked up the wrong cable for the phone. A true schoolboy error on my part. Can't really complain about either of these things; particularly my schoolboy error. The wrong cable mistake will never ever happen again. Hopefully.

Not sure whether I'll be writing more than the few blog things about this new part of my life, but maybe I'll get some new storylines for some fictional stories. Hopefully this blog will continue to be much about music, writing and beer rather than becoming a health log. That's my intention anyway; that said if you want to read about this last, very eventful, week then look no further that the previous post.

- PS I'm hoping not to have a reason to write another 'health' only blog for the next week or so. Fingers crossed.

Tests and Tests and M&S

A.J. Walker — 2021-03-06T13:53:29+00:00

After four days of either being in hospital, or going back for tests, I’ve got a doctor free day. Yippee! So what’s been happening folks?

This week has been a bit of a kicker. After two weeks of numbness and tingling in my legs and feet the only test result I had come in was a low folate in a blood sample last Friday. By Monday I had not been able to speak to my GP so did not know whether this was supposed to be the reason for the issues with my legs, or something else completely unconnected. On Tuesday I tried again with the GP, on the phone from 8:30am but didn't get through until 9:30am - of course the doctors were all fully booked up for calls or actual appointments by then. Sometimes calling for a GP appointment can be as exciting and as fruitless as trying to get a festival ticket. The receptionist suggested that I try the eConnect method, where you fill in an online form and they reply by email to your query. Unfortunately when I tried filling in the form it wouldn't let me submit as it said that it said my issue was urgent and I must call 111 (it also does not send the information on to the GP at that point).

On 111 and after twenty minutes or more chatting to them it got to a point where they said they would call me an ambulance. Eek! Meanwhile I had the plumber working on my pipes (not a euphemism). The woman on 111 then told me the waiting time for an ambulance (which I was confident I didn’t need) was hours. She suggested getting a neighbour to take me to A&E (a neighbour during a pandemic?), and told me not to get a bus (it’s just two stops to the hospital).

Needless to say, after the plumber finished with my pipes (still not a euphemism), I packed a wee bag (again not) - just in case I’d have to stay over - and headed up to A&E... by bus.

After a long time looking at me - scratching and not scratching my legs, and taking multiple bloods - it was time to get a Covid test. I think she took a piece of my brain out with the sampling. It was the quick test: Negative. After the nurse consulted with a doctor or two it was decided I needed an MRI (which I was supposed to be getting after the Xmas issue and was sure would answer some questions). It couldn’t be done until the following day though, so I needed an overnight (if I’d not stayed in I was told they would be unable to put me forward for an MRI for quite a few weeks). As I was straying in I required a second (laboratory) Covid test. so another lump of my brain was pulled out though my nose.

I've found there's wifi (though my phone is dead. REM: take right cable next time)

Oh god, I’m rambling, and only a few hours into my three days in the hospital. At this rate it’d take ages to go through my three days.

Let’s rush it out then: on Wednesday evening I was subjected to the horrific experience of an MRI scan of my head and then my spine. Loud doesn’t come close. I think it was circa 50 minutes of hell. At one point I became worried about the titanium rod in my right arm being at least part steel and therefore getting ripped out of my arm. Scary. And did I say it was loud? It was VERY LOUD!

Because it was late in evening of course I wouldn’t get the feedback until Thursday. So it was another night in. I was worried about a brain tumour or something. I mean my legs are doing what I want them to. If I want to move either leg or foot it’ll go where I tell it. They just doesn’t send the clear feedback on to my brain as to how they feels. Something has cut through a cable and is disrupting clear communication.

I didn’t get the MRI results until Thursday afternoon (though before the report came in a doctor tried to mislead me in the morning. I don't now why he came to talk to me before the report was out!? - I’ll leave that there though). The neurologist, Dr Mills and two of his young colleagues, came to talk with me: it was almost a Gregory House four man team.

Long story short, the diagnosis: MS. Or, as I’ve mistakenly said a couple of times, M&S.

They suggested that they could do a lumbar puncture (or Spinal Tap if you prefer) the next day if I was up for it. As that could firm up the diagnosis: unfortunately there is no simple 100% test for the disease. It is a combination of clinical diagnosis with probability analysis and fingers to the wind. Or something like that. With the LP they take spinal fluid and can look at what’s in it, including viruses, macrobac, and lots of bits & bobs that can act as indicators for MS. In the meantime there was no need to remain in hospital thankfully.

At the bus stop on the way for my LP

So I got home on Thursday evening - so, so nice after two nights in hospital (how does anyone get any sleep there?). Got the call on Friday at 9:30am to come in to the Walton Centre for 11am for the LP. I was in and out in no time. I actually left home at 10:30 and was back having a coffee by 12:30. I’d been a bit nervous about the whole syringe in the back procedure, after seeing far too many bad examples of it on the telly. But the LP was undertaken without me feeling a thing; I've given bloods which have been more painful, and I've never had an issue with bloods (ie. that ain't painful either). The nurse was obviously bloody good at Lumbar Punctures - and the patient was obviously amazing too.

M&S: not good news at all. But ultimately it is better to know than not to know - I wish I could have had the MRI earlier: I mean I don’t need to worry about a brain tumour now, do I?

I’ve got a big learning curve. MS is an odd disease. It is one of those auto immune things where your body attacks itself. The MRI showed various bright points on my spine and in my brain where there was inflammation. These are spots where the nerves are being attacked and stripped of some of the myelin coating. It is these damaged nerves that stop doing their job and sending my brain bits of handy information (like is it hot or cold, hard or soft, sharp or smooth?). It's pretty difficult to know how things will progress and what treatments can work for different aspects of it. I mean once this episode is over and I'm dancing again (ok, not dancing) it could be months, or longer still, until a following flare up. And next time it may not be my legs. It could also be very soon. It could be something and nothing, or something worser. Basically the way it impacts seems totally random.

I'm quite ancient for the diagnosis: normally it first shows up in people between the age of 20 and 40. Maybe I've had it for decades and it hasn't done anything to me until now? Maybe I've been lucky in that respect. Of all weeks, what a week to get the MS diagnosis. Yup, March is MS Awareness Month. Well I guess I'm aware now.

The crazy thing is I actually feel very well - and long may that continue. It's going to be a case of taking each day as it comes and seeing what M&S has in store for me. This is not just numbness, it's M&S numbness. This is not just freaky, it's M&S freaky. For now though I have to wait a couple of weeks until I hear back from Dr Mills on the findings from the LP. The Walton Centre have already been in touch to say their MS nurses are there for me if I need to talk to them at all. It was nice and reassuring to hear from them without me calling them.

Anyway, onwards and upwards. And I really can't wait for the first real ale pub crawl of 2021.

The Keys & Future Moths

A.J. Walker — 2021-02-24T15:43:49+00:00

This week's Mid Week Flash (188) is up and had this photo of two beautiful ornate keys. As ever not sure where my story came from but it came anyway - check it out here. And if you want to read others, or have a go yourself, then take yourself over to Miranda's website.

Now I just need to get on and finish the story I started from last week's prompt (below). Maybe later…

To You, To Me, Two YouTube

A.J. Walker — 2021-02-22T18:23:57+00:00

Got busy with it for a bit yesterday and managed to record myself reading a poem I'd written around nine years ago, and then followed it up with a bit of singing. Two vids for the price of one. Who'd have thunk it?

ReadMeSpeakMe is still on a holiday so it was back to reading a poem of my own again after last week's effort, 'Schrodinger's Poem'. It was serendipitous this week as I found the poem printed out in a notebook I was contemplating throwing out. Even more serendipitous the poem was called 'Serenity'. Spooky, hey! It's a lovely word, serenity, but the poem is the story of a growling drunk angry at the world and quite looking forward to death. So not so lovely at all.

Click on the pic to discover how unserene

The vid starts with a brief mention of Neptune Brewery, my favourite local brewery, as I had a few of their cans yesterday in a quite rare event of drinking more than two beers at home. It's funny but while some people have been driven to drink, during these long lockdown months, I've been driven away from it. I'm drinking less than I do when normalcy reigns as I find drinking a social thing. Even if I'm by myself with a book in a pub it is social: you're getting served by someone, chatting to them, and you're drinking in the company (or at least vicinity) of others. Often you end up chatting to people you know and/or complete strangers. Drinking in pubs is a social thing in a group or not. Drinking at home is not a social thing. Most days if I open a bottle of beer at home I rarely get around to opening another - and sometimes I don't even finish the one I've opened. Drinking at home doesn't grab me, which I take as a good thing (and is why I won't buy wine, because if I open a bottle of wine it is going down like the fruit juice it is - you're asking for trouble with that stuff). Anyway I ended up over a period of over five hours drinking five whole beers! The insanity (you can get thrown out of pubs for drinking that slowly). Had five different beers, but my favourite was 'Turbulence'; get your tasting tackle around that stuff.

So there is the beer and there was the poem. All very serene. There was also a quick strum, which only came about because of yesterday's VSS365. The prompt word was load, and for some reason it made me think of the Eagles song 'Take It Easy' - and trying to loosen your load when there's seven women on your mind (good luck with that one!). I wrote the VSS365 and got a couple of comments from people who seemed to think it may be me with seven women on me mind; rather than a classic song lyric. It made me post a link to the original song on Twitter and further than that; me to have a wee strum.

Click on the pic to Take It Easy.

This brought out the guitar I was given by Sue, which was my mate Ken's lovely Tanglewood. He only passed away last month and in some ways it already seems ages ago. It is so lovely to have such a gift from Ken's long time partner. To think he sat in his room learning songs on it, and now I am. I'd never played the song before, and it shows, but I will add it to my practice to maybe get onto an Open Mic repertoire at some point. We shall see.

So that was Sunday. A two video, five beers kinda day. Cheers.

Where Is House When I Need Him?

A.J. Walker — 2021-02-22T11:58:18+00:00

After years of not going to the doctors and only suffering from the odd episode of gout in one or other of my knees (treated with ibuprofen and time - it is a strange disease in itself) I find myself going to the GP again.

Before Xmas I had the whole numb on one side of the face thing, followed between Xmas and NY by visual issues. Putting the two together the GP told me to go to A&E as it sounded like I needed an MRI to look into it. At A&E they decided the numb face thing was shingles and the visual issues were down to Labyrinthitus (though they saw no evidence of that, and there was also no pain or rash associated with the ‘shingles’).

Since then the numbness of the face disappeared and the visual issues cleared up too. I went to an ophthalmologist department and they told me my eyes were alright though they weren’t sure what had caused the issue in the first place. Both the ophthalmologist and later two of the GPS discounted the Labyrinthitus diagnosis.

I was better. But I was put in for an MRI to box things off and see if there were any reasons there that they could identify that would cause the strange no pain/no rash/no other damn symptom issues. The date for the MRI could not be given, but it was thought it could be in the order or six weeks or so.

So in the meantime I was okay and back at work. No problem.

Then last week came along with a new sideswipe and yet again ‘unusual’ symptoms. Basically numbness was the main symptom, but instead of it affecting half my head it inflicted me from the waist down. Pretty weird and maybe a bit scary - I mean if it was numb one day what would it be the next day, or the day after that?

Got through to the doctors eventually and the receptionist told me to call an ambulance. I thought that sounded a bit OTT and couldn’t work out quite why. But on reflection, at the time I was worried the odd symptom was maybe a side effect of the Amlopidine they have me on for elevated blood pressure, I may well have said something along then lines of ‘I can’t feel my legs and I think it’s the drugs I am on.’ So maybe she thought I was a druggy in the process of ODing. You’d think they would be used to people referring to pharmaceuticals as drugs in a doctor’s surgery? Maybe she should have asked me to verify what I had taken. Lol.

In the end she talked it down to getting the GP to give me ‘an emergency call.’ Three hours later the call came through and I was told to come in. Chatting about the issue and then testing if I could feel the difference on my legs between cotton wool and being stabbed ensued (I think I could). The doc concurred that the issue was highly unusual, and that it wasn’t my due to greedy drug habit. He said he’d call the 'neurological helpline'. Unfortunately the helpline operates between the hours of 11 and 1pm. So it would have to wait until the next day.

I walked from the surgery to the chemist to pick up my Amlopidine; which I’d put off getting until I knew whether that was the issue.

Walking is weird. My legs at the moment (and long may it continue) are working fine to a point. The weirdest thing is as there is numbness for the full length of my legs and pins & needles in both feet, wherever I walk and however long I don’t feel it properly. The closest description I can think of is that it feels like I’m walking on a continuous row of mattresses. Which may sound nice, but it really isn’t.

The GP left a message for me on Friday. He had spoken to the neurologist and he had concluded that the symptoms were ‘unusual’. That at least seems unanimous. He would check on what was happening with any MRI appointment - and I hope chivvy it along. I guess the MRI now be extended to look along my spine (I have no pain anywhere still) - as well as the head for the Xmas time issues.

It is weird having an issue which involves no pain or other issues. Normally if you are off sick it’s awful because of all that extra time to yourself you can’t use because you can’t face reading or watching TV - because of a headache or other issue. And certainly you wouldn’t be able to play an instrument or write or whatever. But other than moving around or bathroom issues - I'll leave that there - I feel fine in myself in the main.

Today is Monday and there has been no obvious change one way or the other - maybe a little more discomfort to the right leg but I'm not sure. I still have numbness from the waist down and pins & needles in the feet - and the gods continue to throw mattresses in front of wherever I want to go. Tomorrow I am going in for blood tests (I think just B12 related). I had bloods taken between Xmas & New Year and everything came back okay - apart from elevated cholesterol - I don’t expect the bloods to be the answer. But then again I had thought that it was ‘obviously the drug I was on’ and it wasn’t.

So it’s bloods Tuesday then MRI... when?

The prognosis is what!?

I’m beginning to feel like I’m in an episode of House and I'm expecting to be tested and prodded by multiple strangers in whites until House arrives on the scene and has to guess Lupus (it’s never Lupus) before some interesting and obscure cause is identified. My GP has already asked me about any poisonous or hazardous materials I may come into contact with at work - I could only think of Pringles. Fingers crossed the symptoms like the Xmas ones just disappears or they can identify it and treat it. Well, either way I'd like to know the cause. The not knowing is not good at all.

It reminds me of back in the 1990s I went into a isolation ward in Fazakerley hospital. I was quite seriously ill after returning from Nigeria. The most obvious symptom being my tongue swelling to fill my entire mouth so I hadn't eaten for days and found even drinking a great difficulty. Anyway after a few days my body returned to normal and they let me go. I left with the doctors never having identified what I had. I wonder if the same thing will happen again (although this time we’re all ostensibly in isolation)?

ReadMESpeakME

A.J. Walker — 2021-02-19T11:31:17+00:00

#ReadMeSpeakMe is on a break at the moment. The first week off I didn't do anything although I did consider doing one of my own. So when the second week came I couldn't not do it. I've only got a few poems on here, but I picked one of them and did it. This week then Read Me Speak Me is really reading ME the poem by me, not just me the poem. Or something like that.

Schrodinger's Poem is a fun poem about the best poem ever written, which also happened to be by me: if I've remembered right. Then again if the box containing it is opened maybe, just maybe, it'll just be my misplaced shopping list with beers and cheeses on it. We'll never know now as I seem to have misplaced the box. Typical.

Click on here and be transported to not the best poem, but to 'Schrodinger's Poem' a poem about the best poem.

Haven't written any poems for a while - hey it's hard when you've already created the best poem ever, everything else is a disappointment. But maybe I'll get the poetry pencil out again.

Horses and Poems

A.J. Walker — 2021-02-11T13:38:24+00:00

Well it's Thursday which means that a new photo prompt for Miranda's Mid Week Flash has gone up. It's the lovely image below. Click on the photo to check it out… Haven't got to it myself yet, but I definitely will do. I've done the last four consecutive weeks for the first time in a long time (Weeks 182-185).

Mid Week Flash Prompt, Week 186

I eventually wrote one for last week - on Sunday. I found it a tough one to write for again. I can't put my finger on why. Needless to say I ended up writing too much… and have only just edited it to get it down to the maximum of 750 words. It's called 'Recycling: New Gods and Old Ways': click here to check it out. Hope to get this week's up quicker this time. Love that photo of the Milky Way!

Mid Week Flash Prompt, Week 185

There was no #ReadMeSpeakMe this week. So I'm actually considering reading one of my poems out to fill the gap. Haven't written poetry for a long while so it'll be an oldie, but not necessarily a goldie. May do one from the tiny section on here, then again I may surprise you (and me). Anyways, watch this space.

This Year's Reading

A.J. Walker — 2021-02-05T11:26:21+00:00

Been a strange start to the second year of reading under Covid. As last year it has been a very slow start. I've aimed for 42 this year for some reason (I always aim for 40). So with the additional couple of books it was inevitable that for the first month I only finished ONE book in January ('Believe Us' by Melissa Reddy). I've finished another since ('Helliconia Spring' by Brian Aldiss) and I'm currently getting on with two others now, which I should get through quite quickly. They are both great books.

And yes, I do read two books sometimes at the same time. But not two novels. One novel and one non-fiction is fine or two non-fiction, but never two novels - that'd just be weird, and asking for trouble.

My current reads are 'The Writer's Map: An Atlas of Imaginary Lands' by Huw Lewis-Jones, which is a stunningly beautiful book on lovely thick paper. I've always loved maps, both real and imaginary. It really sends me back to so many books I read both as a kid and more recently. The other book I'm reading is 'Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness' by Peter Godfrey-Smith. As a coincidence both titles include colons and both are authored with double barrelled surnames: spooky.

Writer's Maps is hardback, pretty large and heavy and not really made to be read in bed, which is where the Octopus comes in - it's on my Paperwhite, so is much better for reading before sleep. It would be a waste to read Writer's Maps on a Kindle too because of the lovely images of all the maps.

So while I've got off to a slow start I'm really enjoying my reading. May come up with a plan of reads for the year. I never stick to them usually, but because second hand books are less of a possibility these days then this year (or at least the start of) planning may actually be an option; usually I'm constantly buying second hand books from charity shops. But not leaving the house this ain't happening for a while yet.

A Short Story with Giants

A.J. Walker — 2021-02-03T14:22:14+00:00

As per last week's post I do aim to put at least a couple of old flash stories up here every week for a few months, to give an old story a new home - and who knows maybe a new lease of life. I well remember writing this story which I enjoyed very much. This one along with several other other I wrote about this time deals with fairy tale creatures in this case giants. I've several others, either from traditional folk stories or made up entirely. It has been a long while since I've written mythical/folk stories. I don't think it will be that long until I do so again.

The story is called 'An Ocean Apart (the Giant's Lament)', which is at the upper word count range for most my flash pieces - at a bit over 700 words. Like the previously posted oldie 'Dogs and Lust' it was written for a Mid Week Blues Buster challenge (hosted by Jeff Tsuruoka). The MWBB challenges stopped back in 2016. This story is from August 2013.

Old Stories To Reemerge

A.J. Walker — 2021-01-31T12:47:34+00:00

As per yesterday's post I have revisited stories I have written for flash fiction challenges many years ago. I used to have many on the website in years gone by, but as the website was updated these have been lost to time. So I am going to revisit some of the hundreds of stories and post them in the 'Fictions' section.

I expect to upload stories a couple of times a week. They'll be going up randomly from one or other of the challenges, and the stories could be as short as 33 words to around 700. But I'm fairly sure most will be be closer to 150-350 words.

First up today is 'Dogs and Lust' a 408 word story of unrequited, forbidden love and lust - featured on Mid Week Blues Buster back in February 2014. Woof!

Flash Memories and Lost Memories

A.J. Walker — 2021-01-30T11:58:44+00:00

I found a document in my Dropbox yesterday called 'Snow' and I really quite enjoyed the story. The thing is that I don't remember writing it or why it is in my Dropbox. I searched my Hard Drive for the story and can't find it on my computer. So did I write it? Or did someone send it to me for some reason? But if so why would it be in my Dropbox and not emailed to me? I've checked my emails both sent and received and there's no sign of it. Currently I am running out of ideas about where it has come from. I'm fairly sure it is mine, but normally it would be on my computer if that was the case. All very odd.

Whilst I've been searching my computer I've found so many flash stories of up to 500 words. I used to write so much more of these as I regularly took part in Flash Friday Fiction and Angry Hourglass and a range of other writing opportunities that don't seem to be there anymore. I've got a single document that I've inserted over 250 stories I wrote for a range of challenges and competitions. I can barely remember some of these.

The 250 stories were written for all these:

Race the Date
Visdare
Mid Week Blues Buster
Finish That Thought
Thursday Thoughts
Microbookends
Trifecta
Last Line First
Angry Hourglass
Flash Friday Fiction

Blasts from the past a lot of them. Which others do you remember doing? Or not…

A lot of my stories have good titles that make me want to read them. It is amazing how much you (or at least, I) don't recall. I'm thinking of dipping into that document and putting up some of them up here in the Fictions section. Would be a shame to just leave them sat there (though most were put on websites for the above challenges at the time. Not sure how many still exist). So keep an eye out for such stories as;

Dogs and Lust
Cheesecake
Sometimes Only a Boo Will Do
The Sausage Lesson
Old Owl and the Arrogant Giant
The Ape Factory
Shooting Unicorns Is Bad Form
Widdle Finishes One Enterprise and Begins Another
Your Future in a Soup
A Meeting of Pasties
Christmas: Plausible Deniability
Mister Bunnykins Goes for a Spin
The Infamous Uncle Enzo

I mean, I'm intrigued and I apparently wrote 'em.

Anyway it makes me want to get back into writing at least a couple of flash stories a week (up to 500 words - or even beyond) and I can start a new document to put them into so that when I look at it in five years time I can marvel once again at what I've forgotten.

In the meantime I'm at a loss at what more I can do with the 'Snow' in the Dropbox as I can't be sure it's mine to do anything with. Crazy, I think you'd agree.

Mid Week Flash - Week 183

A.J. Walker — 2021-01-25T11:59:46+00:00

For the second successive week I've written a wee story for Miranda's Mid Week Flash challenge. I found it difficult this time as the photo didn't scream a story to me this time. But at the end of the day any prompt should be able to get you somewhere really. My story is 'A Washed Up Memory' and you can read it here.

Mid Week Flash - Week 183. Photo Prompt.

Where would this photo take you? If you have an idea why not get creative and write it down. Go and look at the website at purplequeennl.blogspot.com to find this week's photo. And if it really doesn't get you this time then maybe it will next time.

#KeepWriting

Missing An Important Bit

A.J. Walker — 2021-01-25T10:10:50+00:00

Went to my mate, Ken's, funeral last week on a very dark grey and wet Wednesday in Thornton. It was my first funeral in the time of Covid restrictions - and hopefully the last. It was not the most pleasant of experiences with the restrictions. I hadn't actually thought about what they would mean. I was a pallbearer in the rain adjacent to an old buddy, Roger, who I used to play five a side football with along with Ken back in the 1990s. Only 20 people were permitted in the room, with another 10 outside. I sat with Roger; me in my spanking new Liverpool face covering (which had fortuitously arrived in the morning) and Roger in his Everton mask - that's Liverpool for you. And next to Roger was Mark, one of Ken's go to gig and festival partners. We both didn't see as much of Ken this last year because there haven't been any gigs or festivals to go to since last March. I found it difficult to recognise people on the other aisles due to the masks we were all wearing.

The music choice was nice. Procul Harum, 'Whiter Shade of Pale,' The Beatles 'In My Life,' and Black, 'It's A Wonderful Life.'

The guy doing the service was okay, mentioning Ken's love of dogs, Sue and music. Though he must have had problems reading his writing as he perplexed everyone saying Ken had enjoyed talking about football and his Leicester: he's a Liverpool fan. Members at the service came out most perplexed by that.

The saddest thing about the Covid restrictions is not being able to have the wake. The opportunity to move on from the service to a social occasion where everyone sits or stands around with a drink reminiscing about all the good times and daft memories - and supporting those who need it. I hadn't realised how missing this part was so crucial to the day. Just moving on home direct from the service is not nice at all. Normally there are opportunities to have some uplifting conversations and moments of joyous memory, but this is gone with this damn virus. Sue is keen to have a get together later in the year when we can and I look forward to that, but it can't be the same as being on the day it should be.

We all drove off into the rain afterwards. And I had to take a diversion as the road I'd taken on the way in had become completely flooded.

We'll have our memories of Ken: good, bad, fun, daft. Mine are mainly around music, festivals, football, beers, some travel and his many vicarious texts.

But none of my memories about Ken will involve Leicester. Apart from this one.

Health Matters: Keep Taking the Tablets

A.J. Walker — 2021-01-24T13:24:47+00:00

It's been a bit of a month and still don't know where it is heading yet. So far the main thing that's occurring is more tablets. To be fair I haven't been taking any tablets for years other than occasional Ibuprofen. I haven't been to the doctors for years (not sure if it was four or five). Back then I was taking something for my blood pressure (Amlopidine) and previously years before that I was also on Allopurinal (anti gout medicine). But I stopped taking both. As I'm over 50 they want to send you into an annual MOT where they take your bloods to look at liver and kidney function and cholesterol, as well as an ECG and obviously blood pressure.

The week before Christmas I had a worrying symptom, which I woke up with when my right hand side of the face (and up an beyond to include the scalp) was very numb. A numb face on one side… what do people think? 1) stroke and 2) Bell's Palsy. Well, I hadn't had a stroke and I didn't have palsy. Got through on the phone to the GPs surgery on the Monday morning, but thanks to Covid there are no in-house appointments but a phone triage system - and there is no time given for when the call may come. In this case it came at lunchtime and I was called in straight away, which was good.

It wasn't much use as far as the issue to be fair though. I was told I hadn't had a stroke and didn't have Bell's Palsy, which I kinda knew. So then my blood pressure was taken and it was very high (although I was sat in a doctor's office with a quite worrying issue). At that point the GP just took all her focus onto my Blood Pressure. I was prescribed low concentration aspirin, and Amlopidine. So straight away I'd gone from taking no tablets to two. I left the doctors and went down the chemist none the wiser as to what the issue was with my face (other than obvious) and basically it seemed to be 'wait and see; it'll probably go and we'll never know' (but maybe put it down to the blood pressure).

First problem was I was given a paper prescription for the aspirin, which I'd said was probably cheaper over the counter. The prescription had notes on it on taking the Amlopidine but it wasn't an item on the slip. So all I bought was a pack of dispersible aspirin for less than £2. It wasn't until a phone call with the GP almost two weeks later I found out that prescriptions are generally sent electronically to the chemist. So I'd had two weeks without taking the medicine I'd been prescribed. Obviously things have changed since the last time I've had a prescription and I should have know about this through some sort of osmosis. The only way I found out about this was a different GP had called to see how I was with the numbness issue. It was whilst I was on this call I said I'd only been prescribed aspirin and the electronic thing was revealed to me.

After the meeting with the GP I had invested in a blood pressure monitor, which arrived on Xmas Eve as a kind of bizarre Xmas present to myself (it wasn't wrapped). Generally now I take a daily reading and put it into an App so I can track it.

On Christmas Eve I started to get another symptom (from same or another illness?) this time it was dizziness, vertigo, balance and visual issues. Together with the numbness this was more than a little disconcerting. Of course happening on Christmas Eve there was no access for SIX days. For the GP was closed for Christmas (including the Monday which was the Boxing Day Bank Holiday). Apparently Amazon can deliver pegs, pens and pads etc as this is essential work, whilst a GP is not essential. So on the Tuesday fully six days after the appearance of the new issue I called the GP (I had called on Monday and couldn't believe it was shut). 'We'll phone you up this afternoon.' No time or general indication possible.

I'd dropped and cracked the phone I use, which was fine at home to use in the dry but would no longer work outdoors in damp weather. So I needed to buy a new one. Didn't leave my house for a good while - as if they'd called and then asked me to come in I needed to be near. But if I wanted to work, I'd need a phone. Argh. Come 3:30pm there was no call and I judged it would be unlikely they'd invite me to come in much later than that. So I headed into town for a quick visit to Argos for a phone (which I ordered online). After that I popped into the Dispensary for a pint and had a Titanic 'Plum Porter' and a Rat 'White Rat.' It was soon beyond six and no call.

Gone 7pm I got a call from the Dr and when I told him the new issue he told me to go to A&E as he thought I required an MRI scan. Eek!

So here I was in a pub, between Christmas and New Year, being told to go to A&E. I ordered one more pint of Rat and I dare say never have I looked so introspective and worried in a pub. I made my plan. I had to go home first and pack a bag with the all the essentials - if I was going to get an MRI scan there probably wouldn't be anyone appropriate to review it later in the evening, so I was bound to be kept in. A rucksack was duly packed with T-shirts, socks, underwear, iPad, phone, Kindle, charger cables and plugs; then it was a walk to the hospital (for the buses were stopping early). Ended up being in A&E from 8:10pm until 3:30am. Had to keep drinking coffee as an excuse to take my mask off. The A&E was pretty busy all night. I noted at triage my blood pressure was substantially below that taken at the GPs. That was probably the highlight of my 7 hours in the hospital.

The doctor at A&E spent a long time with me - around an 80 minutes - on and off (i.e. disappearing to speak to other people). The upshot was that I was diagnosed with shingles for the numb face thing (without the usual rash and pain), and some sort of Labyrinthitis for the vertigo and visual issues. Though he couldn't see evidence of any vesicles or other signs in the ear (partly from my habit of having wax stuffed ears).

As the 'shingles' was already a few weeks in there was no need for any medication. It should clear up in a few weeks to a month. And similar for the Labyrinthitis. So I walked home with my packed rucksack at 3:30am almost dancing after the fear of all sorts of what was causing the issues.

After new year I saw the GP who had told me to go to A&E on the expectation they'd want to do an MRI scan. He wasn't entirely happy with the diagnosis. And myself I was more of the feeling the issue must be to do with something around the eye rather than the ear. The GP said he couldn't see anything in the ear for wax - and no-one else could have. He called to speak to a neurologist keen to try again. The waiting list for such equipment is no doubt an issue. Anyway, I'm now in line for investigations at the Orthoptic Specialists, which will hopefully find out what is wrong. It's another ten days or so away. And if it turns out to be a viral thing that is gone by then, then all I will say (very loudly) is 'Huzzah!' - probably should take a hat with me so I can throw it in the air as I shout it for the third time.

Following the (BP)GP getting the ball rolling with my annual MOT I'd got my bloods taken and then went to in to see her. There was some good news from the MOT. Liver and Kidney function normal. Cholesterol high but lower than it was four years ago. I don't want any more tablets (more of that shortly…) and want to eat better anyway. The guide currently for cholesterol is below 5 is good and above is bad. While mine came out at 6, it was over 7 four years ago. She seemed a bit unsure how I'd got it down so much if I wasn't taking anything and actively trying to control it. Lol. I got weighed whilst I was there and I was also found to be lighter than I was the last time I was weighed. I have scales at home but I never use them - I had no idea how many stones I was. Maybe I should keep an eye on it - particularly if I'm intending to eat better etc.

Doing a delivery job I think many people think it is not that active. After all I think people take more notice of the vans driving around than the drivers wandering around trying to find the right address or how to get to the shed. But on a full route I never walk less than 10k steps and it usually between 12-18k steps. So that must be doing some good (despite the inevitable stress from the piss take of the ridiculous routes).

Anyway, as I said I saw the 'BP' GP and she was keen to get me on a statin or some such nonsense. I said we can review this after I try to get it down through my inevitable excellent home made living plan. As above I'd already gone from having no tablets to having aspirin and Amlopidine. But I occasionally suffer from gout don't I, and what is one of the worse things you can take if you have gout? Yep, aspirin. So I've now had to add Allopurinol to my daily regime. Arghh. Every time you take a damn tablet you end up having to take another to counteract one aspect or another. This is one reason I hate taking tablets.

I'm also worried that tablets are overprescribed, It is in the industries interest to put pressure on the medical community to err on the side of caution to sell more drugs. I mean 'if 6 is safe, we'll say 5.5 to be sure. Oh, 5.5 is too high, lets be extra safe and say 5.' etc. Where does this leave me at the moment?

So my current mediation status comprises:

Amlodipine (blood pressure - daily tablet)
Aspirin (blood pressure - daily dispersible tablet)
Allopurinol (gout preventative due to higher risk from aspirin - daily tablet)
Naproxen* (during any gout attacks - tablet)
and cholestorol stuff waiting impatiently in the wings…

The medication list before Christmas Eve:

occasional Ibuprofen (if felt gout coming on - or other pain related issues - tablet ad hoc)

* Naproxen is a great anti-inflammatory and is the only thing that works on gout, in my experience. Unfortunately you need a prescription for it. Although it is the same as Feminax Ultra, which doesn't need a prescription. You can rarely find FU, which I assume is partly because people know this. There must be loads of old guys going to chemists for their (very much younger) girlfriends back home. I was surprised that my BP GP wasn't aware of this fact. She also didn't know if dispersible aspirin was a) available in the chemist or b) whether it was cheaper than a prescription - Shrug emoji.

Any more tablets and I'm gonna need one of them lidded boxes with the days of the week on to stop me taking too many - or none - when my memory isn't sure… I may also start worrying about how many calories are in them. I'm a bit unsure why one GP is concerned about the very reason I went to the GP in the first place, whilst the other just seems just to focus on blood pressure full stop.

Assuming nothing gets worse over the next week and a half then the big thing will be the ophthalmic investigations (the letter says leave 2-4 hours for the visit, depending on what investigations may be required). Badly worded, surely it should simply say leave up to four hours - or 'the visit will take 2-4 hours'? Anyway now, I'll be crossing my fingers for it being a departing virus. So do I take an overnight bag to the appointment?

Mid Week Flash

A.J. Walker — 2021-01-14T20:51:46+00:00

I wrote a quick story today for Miranda's 'Mid Week Flash' (Week 182). I can thoroughly recommend this weekly challenge. It has flexibility with a whole week to dip in and do it. And with no minimum word count and a maximum of 750 words there is a lot of flexibility. Just set yourself a target of 100 or 200 words if the photo doesn't take you that far, or if you're short of time. No hassle. Go for it.

The photos are always interesting and sometimes they are stunning, like this week's one (above) from beside a glacier in Iceland and made even more lovely by a fantastic sunset. Photo credit: Lurie Belegurschi.

My story this week is called 'The Last Enchilada' (750 words) . Check it out here.

Check out Miranda's website by clicking here.

A Change in Relationship Status

A.J. Walker — 2021-01-11T12:59:01+00:00

I've an odd relationship with food. I like food and all that, but if it's not there I don't miss it, whilst if it's there I'll eat it. More often than not my breakfast comprises two cups of coffee and then I'll either have food or not after that. Lunch may be a sandwich at an approximate lunchtime or I may not eat anything until gone 4pm. If there is a packet of Pringles or biscuits sat there the Pringles would disappear in a click of my fingers or a half a packet of biscuits just as fast. That's why I generally try to avoid buying the buggers - I can go months without seeing a biscuit or I can eat a packet in two days and contemplate buying another packet. I could live on coffee and one big meal in the evenings (when I say big that may be a plate and a half). As often as not I won't know in the morning what I'm having for an evening meal - and that may be decided by what 'Yellow Sticker' bargain I find. Like I say an odd relationship.

Many of the issues are habits; be it not having breakfast or not shopping to a plan.

I need to fix this.

I'm not there yet, but heading towards meal planning, even if it's just a three day thing rather than a whole week. Just to get into good habits. I hate throwing away food, and if I buy a loaf I don't often finish it before it is going off. So planning would help in that; and similarly with veg: there's no point in buying three courgettes and a packet of peppers if I then buy a yellow sticker 'bargain' and eat that instead, only to throw away the veg.

Planning the meals should make me eat more variety too. At the moment if I have mince I'm having chilli or I'm having shepherds pie. Give me chicken and I'm probably having a chicken curry. It would be good to expand my choice.

At this point I am also thinking that I may aim for 3 days a week eating vegetarian, not for any idealistic reason (give me a chicken or a steak a day I'd be very happy), but to make sure I eat all the veg I buy - as a side issue eating veg only makes the dish washing easier with the lack of fatty waste, and because of cooking time veg meals can be a lot quicker to sort than a meal with meat in it :-) That said when I did go through a period of semi vegetarianism in the past I often got hungry not long after dinner (cue lots of cheese and crackers).

Lunch may be the bigger issue at work. What to have, when to make it (and not eating it on the way into work!).

Eating properly in terms of three meals at the right time (and not buying Pringles or biscuits) would be better for me in terms of health I am sure. It has to be better for you if the energy levels are more stable through the day. Knowing what you're cooking and being less random from day to day can help you plan your day too - you can always be flexible if the work day dictates due to a late (or who knows, an early) finish.

Anyway, I'll start getting into planning this week and let's see where my new relationship takes me.

Sad Day: Happy Memories

A.J. Walker — 2021-01-05T18:16:57+00:00

Awful news today about my good friend. Ken. Won't put anything into words yet, but he loved his music and here are some photos from fun times; largely from T in the Park and V festival. I'm sure I'll put some words together when I am ready. But in the meantime it is nice to recall some brilliant happy times.

Mat, me & Ken at T in the Park, 2007

Just into T in the Park

T in the Park (where else)

V Festival Style

V Festival

T in the Park queuing for Beer Tokens

T in the Park - after some Beer Tokens

Belgian Bar, Bergamo

Glastonbury 2015. I can't find a shot of Kenny, but he took this one of me.
So it is indeed me and Ken together.

Voice Activation 5: RMSM 127

A.J. Walker — 2020-12-28T21:40:39+00:00

It had snowed overnight in Liverpool and it looked all very Christmassy. Not much like. It was not like it ended up with estates full of snowmen or snowball fights breaking out everywhere. Just enough snow to comment on and cause consternation for walkers and drivers alike. Later in the day some snow was still here whilst I was trying to get to grip with this week's interesting 'ReadMeSpeakMe.' RMSM 127 comprised a poem put together expertly by RMSM chief Meg @megwaff by slotting together first lines from dozens of poems from previous ReadMeSpeakMe poems and actually included poems from 44 writers.

As previous few poems I've put it up on the YouTube channel. Had one annoying issue as I got to the end of a recording the device informed me it was full and just stopped recording. I very nearly shouted out 'Flipping heck!' or something akin to that. But I stayed strong and only minor work will be required to fix the head shaped hole in the wall's plaster. Got the recording done with only a couple of stutters and one wrong word (I think). Don't be too critical.

ReadMeSpeakMe 127

Read more about the poem on Meg's web page www.megwaffling.wordpress.com/2020/12/27/the-rmsm-beast-of-a-poem/ and you'll realise what a big job she had on her hands to compile the poem. Great work, Meg. Kudos.

As ever my lovely pewter tankard makes its appearance. This time it has a bottle of 'Platform 6.1' from Wickwar Brewery. A decent pint at a decent price from B&M (£1.60).

________________________

Twitter:
@megwaff
@ReadMeSpeakMe

Website:
www.megwaffling.wordpress.com

The Last Flash Dash

A.J. Walker — 2020-12-18T09:31:51+00:00

Well it's a bittersweet day. It's the last day of Flash Friday Fiction. So get your head switched on; it's time to write a story. It's the best type without a minimum (or worse 'exact') word count. A story of fewer than 200 words - and don't do what I did a couple of months ago and be word blind… yep, I wrote a 200 word story. Idiot. Deep breath and read the question like you're back as a teenager doing an exam.

Of course it is a shame to see it go, but it's been good while it lasted; and there's not much in 2020 we can say that about (unless you're a Liverpool fan, then there's a couple of other good things to have enjoyed).

The photo prompt for the final Flash Friday Fiction is this shot of the Torii Shrine but don't just use the phone - read all the prompt before writing (and remember that it is fewer than 200 words, not up to 200 words).

It goes without saying that all the best vibes and wishes should be sent to Rebekah and Deborah for bringing back the institution this year. Kudos!

A Solo Christmas - Ho Ho Ho

A.J. Walker — 2020-12-15T19:41:53+00:00

Well in Liverpool we are in Tier 2 at the moment and that should be the same until at least the New Year. This means there are some places open that aren't in Tier 3 like museums, galleries and some hospitality. Which is good, but then again not that great for many people. If you are going to meet someone indoors it is a maximum of six people and they should be from your household and/or bubble. Now I've not been in a bubble until last week, when I went to my mate's house. Unfortunately I have not had the chance to go back to see him as he's ended up being in hospital since then (nothing to do with me being there, he's just quite ill). I must have one of the shortest tenured bubble.

So if I want to go to a pub or restaurant I have exactly zero people I can go with - in accordance with the regs and guidance. Great. I haven't even been to the pubs in Liverpool since they reopened a couple of weeks ago tomorrow. On any day I've had off from work I just have not had the desire to go into town to spend money and time eating something in a pub just so I can have a couple of pints. Normally if I went into town I'd go to three or four pubs and at the moment that would mean three or four things to eat. Even where there are 'cheap' options you can be looking at a fiver for a pie & peas or a ciabatta. So straightaway you can add that £15-20 to the price of your beer - as well as the calories to your waistline and the anguish of the whole experience.

You can think, well hey this is great for the virus. I mean I ain't gonna catch or spread a virus if I just don't go out. So well done with this legislation. Then again, that business and its suppliers won't be selling any beer to keep themselves going either. How many people haven't the money to spend or the inclination to go out in the current circumstances? The real ale pubs in Liverpool have all gone the full mile to provide Covid safe environments and the whole NHS track thing. I've never felt anything but safe in them (even when I didn't have to eat food). But I just don't have the money to spend on three multiple meals or the desire to eat them either. It is a nonsense for the individual and the business. The pubs that are trading aren't doing what they could be doing in terms of custom (especially at Christmas).

The virus is still here and we need to be doing the best we can to control its spread: I completely agree, but with distancing, cleanliness and masks then we can do a fair bit just being sensible. The virus is still here and if we do things wrong or relax it will grow in the community without a doubt.

And then we have Christmas. My god, the government in their wisdom tell us not to mix and keep alert etc but for five days at Christmas we can throw our caution to the wind and not be in any danger: of contravening any law. But it's not a football playing WWI truce, the virus isn't putting its weapons down for the event. So the virus can do nothing but spread more over that five days. How can they justify this? I mean if I can't safely meet with a couple of the family or friends indoors this weekend then how can I the following weekend? It is a bad decision. Of course we'd all like to meet up with whoever we want at Christmas, and every other damn day. But we understand why we can't at the moment. It is just one Christmas. It'll be nice next Christmas if everyone could look back at this one and think that they hadn't caused people to get ill - or die - due to the need pass out a few presents, eat a roast dinner, play a sill game or two, and then fall asleep in front of the tele.

The weeks around Christmas last year were bad for family reasons, but the actual day itself - at my sister's - was really nice; and she did a fabulous job. But this year I'm not going to go around. Because the right thing to do is not risk spreading the virus. My sister works hard in a food environment and has not been ill this year, and has been very conscious of the risk, and me similarly. If I went I'd be there with at least five people all of who have friends or family they bubble with, and people they work with, which soon makes the risk substantially higher. We all see people on the TV or via Social Media who are a little more relaxed (or don't give a damn about the whole thing). I'm sorry not to be going, and I do feel pressure to go because the government says we can. How many people will be pressurised this year to go to houses and meet with people who may be infected and two or three weeks down the road be 'a statistic'? And of course after the inevitable rise in cases in January how long till everyone is in Tier 3 again or even a full scale lockdown for the sake of a stupid decision made about Christmas?

Don't feel pressurised to go. Do what's right for you at this time. And also don't pressurise your friends or family to do things that they don't want to do this year, or is outside the regs and guidance - shit I'd love to go down the pub with me mates. But I'm not going to. Boy I can't wait until we can.

So on Christmas day I'll be watching a boxset, or a film or two, and making a roast dinner for one - Ho Ho Ho! But I know it is the right thing to do. I will be trying to get a mini-keg or two of local beer in for Xmas and Boxing Day too to make it feel at least a little better - and to support the local breweries (it's a true win-win).

Cheers.

West Midlands Again

A.J. Walker — 2020-12-15T16:34:00+00:00

Had another day in the West Midlands yesterday. It was longish but not as long as last week - got back in daylight. And the van is - in theory - sorted now (or at least has its MOT). At the garage and then the MOT garage there was nowhere to stay with Covid. In the case of the former I had a few hours to kill and with Covid closing everything from museum and libraries to cafes and pubs there was nothing to do but walk. I ended up walking from the garage to the West Brom stadium. It was an urban walk through the middle of West Brom past the shops, the town hall and library etc. I was surprised at some of the places open in Tier 3 - hadn't realised the barbers and betting shops could still open. Unfortunately I didn't need a haircut or a bet. The weather was nice though.

I did a walk around a couple of sides of the Hawthorns, but couldn't do an adjacent circuit as it was largely closed off with the current situation. It is not a lovely setting right next to a busy dual carriageway and an industrial estate on two sides and residential and a bizarre standalone Greggs on the other. As I was walking around it a local said, "Yow walk quickly." Not sure whether he'd seen me earlier or whether he said it to everyone, but the accent confirmed where I was in case I hadn't known. Never been to a game there. In fact the only stadium I've visited in the area was to watch Liverpool in the away end at Villa Park back in the 1980s. I should get down there sometime for a match - if we ever get to full stadiums again.

Like last week I also took some pictures of some pubs. No idea which ones were any good (one looked dodgy, one was a Wetherspoons (former Billiard Hall), and the other two looked more promising (the Wheatsheaf and the Old Hop Pole, which were opposite each other).

The return walk from garage to stadium was 7.5 miles and some 16k steps. This is not dissimilar to the steps I do each day with work, where I normally do between 12 and 16k. So basically I cover 6-7miles with work each day. No wonder I'm so bloody tired each evening (though early starts and dodgy sleep patterns may be at fault too). By the time I got back to the garage after just over two hours (I didn't stop as there was nowhere to stop!) my legs were surprisingly tired. Anyway, shouldn't have to get down there again for a while: certainly not this side of Christmas anyway.

Of Canals and Discovered Writing

A.J. Walker — 2020-12-11T20:36:38+00:00

Had a strange day yesterday. Long and boring story about van hire which I wont go into, but I needed to get it down to Birmingham for a new windscreen and clutch and MOT. Long story short, I got the windscreen and a new clutch, but didn't have time to get the MOT done. So I need to go down again next week.

Birmingham is in the middle of a Tier 3 area, so I couldn't pop in a cafe or a museum to fill time up. I went for a couple of walks along various canals in Smethwick and Dudley and other than a few nice, if post industrial, views and photos, the main thing I got was cold.

I'd set my Kindle aside to take down and went into my bag only to find I'd not put it in the bag. With the amount of time I was down there I could have finished the book I'm currently reading ('The Koh-i-Noor', by Dalrymple & Anand). I also didn't have the keyboard with my iPad. And there reception in the clutch place wasn't exactly set up for typing anyway.

I did go back to my Scrivener and found a couple of pieces I was working on a while back. One in particular, which had no name but for now I've called 'Close to the Wind', I read and couldn't recognise it until I read most of it. It was ridiculous as I only wrote it about a month ago. I'm yet to decide whether to continue with it, but I do like it at the moment. Take a look and see what you think.

If I'd had a keyboard I may have felt like writing Thursday Threads from Siobhan Muir, which I used to do from time to time. Unfortunately I got around to writing it tonight; the challenge is just on the day itself (rather like Flash Friday). So I couldn't put it up. For the hell of it I've put it ('Gintastic') on the website. Largely because it reminds me of somebody and it's just a bit of fun.

Anyway, next week when I'm back in Brum I'll definitely be remembering to pick up my Kindle. Though I hope I'll have already finished the current read. In any case it should be a lot shorter day down there. In theory.

__________

Twitter links
@SiobhanMuir

Voice Activation: 4

A.J. Walker — 2020-12-09T10:15:17+00:00

Sunday is rapidly becoming 'ReadMeSpeakMe Day'. And this week's Sunday was no different, at least from this perspective. If you are not aware of it (and I wasn't until a few weeks ago) it involved @readmespeakme posting a weekly poem every Sunday with the request for people to record themselves reading the poem and posting it on - or via - Twitter.

For the last three weeks I've recorded vids short enough to put within a Tweet but this week it was about ten seconds too long and I didn't want to edit the start or ends of it. This meant the obvious option was to put it up on YouTube. So that is where it has ended up. I may well put all future ReadMeSpeakMe efforts up on YouTube even if they are short just so there is a one-stop-shop for it.

This week's poem was from @sojourner97 titled 'The Storyteller'. It was just three verses and as I was setting up my phone and iPad to do the recording I was messing about with my guitar and it came to me to read the poem over a few chords, which I did. I of course read it as a poem too. All in one take as well - no editing required. After the day I had, or maybe because of it, I was remarkably relaxed. Due to playing and reading it the vid was over the length permitted on Twitter which is why I had little choice but to put it on YouTube.

Anyway, if you click on the photo it will take you through to the YouTube vid and you can see for yourself.

And why not get up on to @readmespeakme and check out the poems and the readings from the many talented people who get involved?

_______

Twitter links:

@zevonesque
@sojourner97
@readmespeakme

Dragon Kind

A.J. Walker — 2020-12-01T11:16:40+00:00

It was good to judge with @voimaoy for Flash Friday Fiction once again this weekend. It was the third and final time for this incarnation of Flash Friday. Some nice stories using both the Ice and Fire prompts - and so many bananas. Good to get a new winner for the challenge too - I was worried we kept picking Flash Dogs.

There are just three more weeks of the weekly challenge and I can relax and write for it now and not worry about the judging. Just three weeks… real shame. Get involved writers while you can. See you Friday over at Flash Friday.

And a big thank you is owed to the wonderful dragons for bringing this community together for a time, particularly during this most turbulent of years. Such lovely dragons.

Flash Travel Solo Style

A.J. Walker — 2020-11-27T21:43:28+00:00

Tomorrow I am helping judge this week's Flash Friday Fiction so I don't need to worry about getting a story written myself for it in the early hours again. Thought I'd put some words on something up though, as I have written very little this last week or so - and it's good to keep the blog a little live. Sassy Lia on Twitter asked a question earlier today about whether any of her followers 'had never travelled solo before, and if so why.' Needless to say I first misread it as 'ever' but I thought I'd write something anyway - because an affirmative answer is as useful as a negative one I'm sure.

I'd never travelled properly on my own - as a holiday - until 1996. It was a big year for me. I went to work on a project in Tabasco and Chiapas in southern Mexico. The proposal written by my elders and betters had the project timed as a 5 week one - and on the infamous first day the MD said we'd get it done in four and all have a week on the beach. As it happened I ended up being there for five and half months - and only had about 7 days off. It was a crazy time. Being young we worked hard and played hard. And didn't sleep much at all. When we did get days off we made the most of it in terms of sight seeing - like going to the amazing Palenque, Tuxla & the Sumidero canyon, or the Atlantic coast - and best of all climbing up (and into) El Chichon volcano.

We didn't get the opportunity to do much on our own there. But I loved everything about Mexico. Once the project finished I made it so that I travelled back a few days late so I could take a look around Mexico city and get up to see the Teotihuacan pyramids. After the initial nervous few days traveling around Mexico City by myself I began to relax and go with the flow. The feeling of freedom was the thing that made it for me I could truly go anywhere, in my own time. Don't get me wrong I was genuinely quite apprehensive for the first couple of days - especially on public transport - clutching my bag hard against my side. But once I got into it I soon realised it was fine; be aware of what's going on and whatnot, but don't be paranoid. Enjoy it.

Back in England I wondered about getting back over there. It was cheap once you were there so it was all about the flight over. And I found an unbelievable flight to Mexico (less than £200) for two weeks later in the year. It was a package flight and everyone bar me and one other girl were holidaying in Cancun. It was back in the day when flights were smoking at the back and I was sandwiched in the middle of a smoking family. It wasn't the nicest start to my first solo trip. But boy it got wonderful. One night in Cancun due to a late afternoon arrival then I was off around the Yucatan, down to Belize and then into Guatemala for Tikal. I did so much in that two weeks, but at the same just enough so I could smell the coffee and taste the cerveza. Just getting to Chichen Itza and Tikal was worth the trip alone. But the main thing I found was I totally comfortable with traveling on my own. I saw some wonderful sights, got up/went to bed when I wanted, stayed a day or two longer whenever I wanted, ate and drank what I wanted, met some lovely people. Well, basically I paced myself exactly how I wanted and did just enough each day to make me inordinately happy.

In subsequent years I've had wonderful trips around the world by myself from city breaks in the Baltics, to road trips on the west coast of the US and a whirlwind trip to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, I've never had a trip away that has been disappointing - even just 60 miles from home. Going with the flow is nice at home and it can be even better away from it. I'd recommend anyone giving it a go, if your nervous about it why not give it a go in the UK first? Get yourself to Bristol, York, Glasgow or wherever.

Voice Activated: 3

A.J. Walker — 2020-11-23T12:02:38+00:00

After reading the Read Me Speak Me poems No.120 and 121 last weekend it is time for poem No.122: it's almost like they are in numeric order or something. This week's poem is 'Journey Along The Banks' by Swarn Gill @theedemaruh

Haven't decided whether to put it directly onto Twitter, or whether to create a folder and put it up on my YouTube. I'm thinking ultimately YouTube makes sense as for some of the longer poems as they won't fit onto a Tweet. That said this one would fit I'm sure so perhaps I can do both.

We'll see later on.

Voice Activation

A.J. Walker — 2020-11-15T16:04:14+00:00

It's funny how you can find yourself doing things out of the blue. This week I came across #ReadMeSpeakMe for the first time. I dare say I'd seen it lots across Twitter over the months, given the people who are involved with it, but it hadn't hit home. It seems a really neat idea. Each week they post a poem for people to read, record and post to see how the poem changes with different readers. I'm assuming all the poets are from within the Twitter writing community as opposed to Keats and Wordsworth (you never see them on there). Anyway, yesterday I decided to give it a go for the first time. The poem (below) was 'Arrival At The Sea' by Juan Antonio Garcia (@NoosferaMedia).

It took around eight attempts to get it down. And there were a few issues. Firstly there was how to record it. I'd have done it on my iPad ideally as I'd have more options for saving it. Unfortunately I couldn't read the poem on the phone to record on the iPad, but could do it the other way around. I never got around to printing it out. Then it was time to put it up on Twitter. But the 80 seconds of video made quite a large file. Whilst it would have gone up on Twitter (I think) it was taking a while. I couldn't change the size of the file on my phone directly. I had to download an App to compress it, which I sorted next.

So all in all with multiple attempts of recording it, then messing about with uploading it and downloading a new app and what not, it probably took me about an hour to get it sorted. I suppose on my next attempt it shouldn't take as long with the app sorted.

That said, this week's poem has gone up today and it looks like it'll take a few attempts. It's good to see it's from someone I know on Twitter though. The poem is 'Epoch Song' by Margaret Lonsdale (@fhaedra). And yes, I will be giving it a go. If you fancy trying it then get yourself over to @ReadMeSpeakMe and maybe I'll see you there.

Flash Friday HM

A.J. Walker — 2020-11-10T22:32:33+00:00

Yet again I managed not to get around to writing my story for Flash Friday until the early hours of the morning on Saturday. Submitted it around 1:30am again I think. Actually found the photo not that helpful for me. I don't know why. But I got something done.

And yes - Huzzah! - I got my first mention of this year's Flash Friday challenge. Both judges found themselves smiling at the comedy of it and gave the story an Honourable Mention. Which for me is great to hear. I suppose so many of my stories are not literary masterpieces but they are light hearted and heartfelt and if anyone finds them even slightly amusing then to my mind it is job done.

Thanks to the judges for giving me a mention this week. I will continue to galvanise myself to write for challenges like this and drive those lips into a grin where I can.

Farewell, Wales

A.J. Walker — 2020-11-08T13:18:00+00:00

After delivering across North Wales for so long things have suddenly changed and I'm now closer to home delivering in areas in and around Warrington. It's swings and roundabouts in terms of what this actually means in terms of whether this is a positive.

Clearly the miles going to and from Wales every day were sometimes significant. I could be delivering around Corwen, Llanwrst, Caernarvon, or even Holyhead. That would mean I'd be doing up to 280 miles a day - or well over 1200 miles a week. Now doing Warrington, and a little beyond, the maximum miles will likely be between 60 and 100 miles a day. This will take a lot less time (though there will be a consequent up tick in number of deliveries).

Unfortunately instead of going out a 8-9am we are now going out a 10:30-11:15pm, which means a knock-on later finish (albeit less of a commute home). And at the moment with the nights drawing in every day it means delivering in the dark. To be fair delivering in the dark in urban or suburban areas of Warrington should be better in terms of finding the addresses because a) streetlights and b) numbered houses instead of named properties - if you ever do a delivery job the No.1 bane of your life is named houses. With a numbered property you can guess what's next door - generally two numbers or one number different. With named houses there is no way of guessing and the time wasted walking up the wrong driveways is significant.

That said, delivering in some areas of Warrington (I won't name them) does not look like it'll be particularly fun - or safe. And there are surprisingly large areas of estates with few roads, meaning walking around between blocks of flats and houses trying to work out the numbering. I'll either be getting fitter with all the walking or making it damn harder on my knees. I've been doing 12-14k steps this past week at work.

Working in the winter has its own issues including snow and ice as well as the dark, and whilst some of the areas don't look like they'll be great, from a driving perspective there are some advantages of Warrington over North Wales. Especially the road lighting and road conditions. Trying to turn in the road, or even just reverse down a country lane or driveway at some isolated farm, in the dark is an absolute nightmare in a van. You really could do with headlights at the back - and the risk of going onto grass in the wet or skidding on ice can be a scary proposition. It is not uncommon for drivers to end up stuck just off the road or fallen in a ditch. Costly and dangerous. I won't miss that fear.

All in all the change in delivery area from North Wales to Warrington is a mixed blessing and we'll see how it goes. I'll certainly miss some of the countryside, views and amazing properties I've been getting to. The photos (like #DailyDeliveryPhoto) I put on Twitter and Instagram certainly won't be the same. But I won't miss: the M56; the A55; tailbacks behind tractors/horses/cyclists; reversing down a hill a winding road when meeting traffic; flooding; mud or ice on a bendy road; isolated properties on one side of a valley or other; and, of course, named houses. Farewell, Wales.

NaNoNo

A.J. Walker — 2020-11-06T09:27:47+00:00

Well, I appear to have fooked up my NaNoWriMo projects page (think I clicked on update an old project rather create a new one) and there's no sign of help getting it sorted yet. I've only written about 2800 words on it at this point, but part of the fun and inspiration in NaNo is updating and seeing the progress of the project each day. So without that I think I'm going to bin off doing NaNo this year.

Of course that doesn't mean that I have to stop work on the project. In fact it means I can now spend some time planning it making it easier to be better in the long term. I've also got the 2018 project to finish of course.

In short I've given NaNo the heave and will sort something out in its place. Maybe I should sort out some nice visuals too - would be nice to see a graph that isn't about Coronavirus, or votes in Pennsylvania.

In the meantime good luck to those of you doing NaNo this year.

History Lessons Indeed

A.J. Walker — 2020-11-04T11:43:07+00:00

Bit late in the day, four days into NaNoWriMo, but I have finally decided to jump in with both feet. On Monday I was having a think about it but hadn't done anything about it. Was in work yesterday and watching the footy yesterday evening (a fantastic 5-0 win for Liverpool at Atalanta).

Think I've clicked on the wrong thing trying to create my project and instead of creating a new one have modified 'Fergie Time' my project from 2016. Will see how I can fix that - if indeed I can.

I have done NaNo twice before: 2016 and 2018, with 'Fergie Time' and 'The Wobbly Odyssey.' Both were completed - as far as writing 50k words in the month. But they were completed in very different ways. The first one was planned pretty well and completed within a framework. This was relatively easy to do as the story was timed to take place over a set number of months, making it easy to split into bite size chunks. The follow up was much more random. I had tried to plan it, but it didn't work. I couldn't get it to flow within the framework. Once I took the brakes off and went full on pantser I finally got going and things fell into place to allow the story to be told.

So although I've lost three days and done next to nothing in the way of planning I probably lost more days in 2018 due to getting stuck. This one is full on pantser so I can't get stuck in terms of writing against a plan - I just may get stuck due to writing myself into a corner or two. We shall see. I haven't got a proper name for the project but for now, for no good reason, it's titled 'History Lessons' - wish me luck.

Anyway, as of November 4th noon, I have no words on my project and and I guess 4,800 words behind. Better get to it then.

All Day Football: Or Not

A.J. Walker — 2020-10-26T12:32:09+00:00

On Saturday it was 50:50 whether I’d be off. They are usually short on weekends which meant they may have needed me, but as I’d done five consecutive days anyway it would mean I would be off on Sunday anyway (not permitted to work seven consecutive days). I was easy about being off on Saturday or Sunday either way. In normal times (sorry) I’d always take the day off that the Liverpool match fell on so I could watch the game down the pub with a few mates. But the city is in Tier 3 currently, meaning the only pubs open are foody ones, where you need to buy a ‘main’ meal with a drink - in addition you can’t meet with anyone not in your household (or bubble).

So on Friday night I looked into getting the football in the event I was ‘spared’. I mean it was quite attractive to be off. I could get a few beers and maybe a pizza in and make it a whole day of football with:

West Ham v Man City
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Man Utd v Chelski
Liverpool v Sheffield Utd

It’d be great.

I don’t have Sky Sports though - too bloody expensive (and normally I’d be watching the game with friends in a local hostelry). I do have BT for this month, which I only got on Tuesday to be able to watch the Liverpool European games during our Tier 3 lockdown - it's £25 for a month. First off I thought I could get a Day Pass and watch the Liverpool game, but no. It was on Sky Box Office i.e. it’s one of the additional matches not originally taken up by the TV companies - which is dearer to get than one that was chosen: go figure.

At lunch time the Man City game was on BT Sport, which was okay for me, this one month. Then there was El Classico on at 3pm. I thought maybe that was on BT, but no, it’s on a Premier Sport package just showing the Spanish League - which costs £5.99

The Man Utd match was on ‘normal’ Sky Sports. I could get a day pass for Now TV.... however (as someone who hasn’t looked into getting the footy before) I discovered that you cant watch NowTV via Sky or on an Amazon Firestick, so I’d end up having to watch it on an iPad. I was not going to pay £10 to watch a match on my iPad in front of a perfectly good, but ultimately useless, TV. Then there was that Liverpool match on Box Office. FFS.

On Friday evening I had initially been quite looking forward to having Saturday off and watching four games in a day for the first time in many a year. However I would have to spend over £55 to watch these matches (would have been over £40 if I hadn’t already succumbed to BT Sport for the Euro games) - and I’d have had to watch one of the games on a bloody mobile device. Ridiculous.

Roll on the end of Tier 3 restrictions when we can spend time with some mates and have a few beers in a nice friendly environment - and spend less than £55* in the process.

Incidentally as it happened I ended up working on Saturday, but was given a really short route and got back mid afternoon (in time for El Classico). Sod’s Law dictated that the only game I could have watched without paying more for was the City game at lunchtime. That’s life. Oh and the results as a Liverpool fan were great; Liverpool winning (2-1), and City, Man Utd, Chelski all dropping points.

* Of course if you weren't in a lockdown you could invite someone around and share the burden. But if you weren't in a tiered lockdown you'd be watching it down the pub.

Strange Weekend, Again

A.J. Walker — 2020-10-18T22:09:49+01:00

Another strange weekend, but aren't they all? At work on Friday I went from having work, to not having work (euphemistically called being 'spared' in the gig economy), then being told I could have have a route - due to drivers not being given all their parcels, to then being told just to deliver to the drivers that didn't have them. So I nipped out to Queensferry, Neston and Great Sutton to deliver the bags of to three unsuspecting drivers - who hadn't been informed that they didn't have the bags and they were on the way (grrr).

On the positive side it allowed me to get to Neptune brewery to pick up some beer for the weekend. You've got to support your locals during these difficult times - and it helps that the locals these days are so damn good. I'd asked for Saturday off as I had a lot on: judging with @voimaoy on FFF, watching the derby at lunchtime, and Open Mic in the evening. Picked up the last mini-keg (5l) of 'Abyss', which was a result and two pints of Equinox for the Friday. Roll on Saturday!

Um… Then I got a text asking me to confirm for Saturday. I rang and told them I was off for the judging (and footy). They said they had no record of me being off and that they had me down as in. Argh! You can't turn down the work really though. And it's not like I could go out to watch the game with Liverpool being in a Tier 3 lockdown. Said if they were short I'd work but asked them to put me down as first to be spared if there was a volume cut overnight.

Then a call. 'Can you help out with a driver who was sent out late? Take 40 drops off him and you'll get a full day pay.' Two to three hours work by the time I got from Maghull to Warrington. Then it was thrown in that they could 'almost guarantee' if I did it that I could have Saturday off. That was the clincher. So after waking up to find I had work then didn't, then did. Well I got home at the same time as usual - around 7:30pm after a messy day.

On Friday evening I looked into getting a pass for my TV on Saturday to watch the Everton v Liverpool game. Unfortunately it was on BT not Sky, and they don't do Day Passes. I'd have to buy a Month Pass. But I realised that on the plus side BT have the European games so with the lockdown meaning I wouldn't be able to catch them any other way (legally) £25 for a month of football wasn't so bad (3 Liverpool European matches in the month). I didn't get it though: just in case the unlikely event of me working on the Saturday came to pass.

Well surprise! Saturday came and so did the text asking me to confirm I was in. So much for the promise; was never going to happen. Anyway I confirmed but asked for as small a route as they could find so I could get back and read the stories for Flash Friday. To be fair they did give me a short route. Got back for around 2:30pm.

Meanwhile Liverpool seemingly lost to Everton the way their fans celebrated. But on checking all the press it was a 2-2 draw. Henderson scored a perfectly good goal in injury time ruled out by VAR because presumably someone pressed the wrong one of two buttons (we've all done it). And worse still the Everton keeper, T-Rex, had nobbled our serene man mountain, Virgil van Dijk. It turned out by Sunday that he may well miss the entire season as a result of that unpunished assault. Breathe in. Breathe out.

So I missed the game. And it was a good derby in many ways, but awful in others.

Fire & Ice Prompt: Sol 10/19

In the afternoon it was time to get on and read tehstories that 35 people had written for FFF. The remit was a tough one. Using the photo prompt and the Ice or Fire inclusion the story needed to be exactly 89 words. Tough. I picked my top ten after a couple of passes and my co-conspirator did. From there by Sunday we sorted our winners, honourable and special mentions out. I still don't know who has won and will wait until the Dragons put up the results later. Wondering how many Flash Dogs make the cut again after a good showing last time.

Later on Saturday I discovered that the Open Mic, which I'd been told would be regularly every fortnight (and our last one was two weeks ago), wasn't happening. Argghhh! All in all my Saturday's plans were in tatters.

But at least I still had my Neptune 'Abyss'.

On Sunday in lieu of the Open Mic I played a song I haven't done before, 'Landlocked Blues' by Bright Eyes. I recorded a version of it and put it up on YouTube. Hoping it will prove the start of me doing new songs to me; maybe a couple more Bright Eyes and a Frank Turner or two. We shall see.

Anyway all in all the weekend proved to be very different from that planned. How could it not with the lockdown - and the gig economy - being what it is? Probably still get the BT Pass so I can watch the European games whilst we are tied to our homes. And I've no idea who our centre back pairing will be.

Flash Aa..arrgh!

A.J. Walker — 2020-10-16T09:53:16+01:00

It's Friday which means it's Flash Friday Fiction day. Yay! However I won't be writing for it this week as, along with @voimaoy, I'm tasked this weekend with picking the best stories. It's the second of three occasions we are teamed for it. It is an honour - and is always a difficult too. Bring on your magic, people.

… and this week it is full on Shake's length stories only. Yep, just EIGHTY NINE words. Do you darnedest. We're both looking forward to it.

Over A Month

A.J. Walker — 2020-10-09T09:11:07+01:00

Shockingly, for me, it has been over a month since I wrote a blog - I usually write between 5-8 a month. The thing is it seems I wrote the last one a few days ago. I mean, it was before my birthday, for crying out loud. Time has just been playing the strangest tricks. I've really just been working throughout this period, with a bit of reading, a little writing, catching some footy on the TV, and less guitar than there should have been.

The highlight of the last week was the surprise return of the (Zoom) Open Mic last Saturday - I only found out about it on the day. There were only six of us online for it but it was great to be back. Social interaction with a few mates and a bit of singing - with a glass of beer - it was ace.

Anyway, there will be more blogging from this point on. I may even put it in my diary to ensure even these horrendous time slips don't stop me again. See you soon.

It's Not Just Ten

A.J. Walker — 2020-09-05T12:36:16+01:00

The Government’s decision to bring forward the closing time for bars and restaurants to 10pm this week is a non-thinking disaster. It is wrong-headed in terms of reducing the health risk to people in the towns and at the same time couldn’t have been much better designed to make it impossible for these businesses.

Let’s be clear, it’s not simply a reduction of one hour in drinking. For a start it is 10pm chucking out time as opposed to last orders – so it is more like an hour and a half. But it is not a case of having an hour and half less out drinking, is it? In the media they keep playing Vox Pops of the people saying ‘well people will just go out an hour earlier’... Who the hell are these people? Most people have a job of work to do one way or another. Going out an hour earlier is not an option or something they would want to do.

In my case, which I can’t see as uncommon, I get home at say 7pm or so. There’s no pub near me worth a dime, so I go into town. Even if I just have to grab a bit of beans on toast and slap on a fresh shirt I’m not getting into town until 8:30. Last orders is an hour later! So ninety minutes waiting for and getting buses and the same for a couple of pints: basically it’s not going to happen. 8:30 till 11 would be fine for an evening, but 8.30-10 is just a no-goer.

Then there’s the football. Games kicking off at 8pm will be finishing of after last orders. And god help them if there are any significant injuries, then you’ll be chucked out of the pub before it finishes. Ho hum. Even if things run to time there will be no time for post match chit-chat with mates about the game; that’s half the fun of watching the footy.

So, instead of going out for a night or two on working days for a quiet pint that ‘one hour’ change means people with work won’t be going out at all – unless they are lucky enough to have a pub nearby. How many people are making the same decisions? Plenty.

The problem bars are those that are busy, with extended hours, and little or no regard to Covid securedness, so why not just say 11pm closing to give the pubs, bars and restaurants a chance of pulling in some coins, then concentrate any policing on the problem places? I’m sure they haven’t done this maliciously but boy they’ve done it unthinkingly. One would hope they’d reconsider it at some point. I’m assuming they are being approached constantly by representatives of the industries, so hopefully this awful decision can be pulled. Let’s face it looking forward to December they are going to have their worst Christmas ever with no Christmas work parties possible etc. They need every quid they can get.

At the same time it shouldn’t be forgotten that as well as the risk to the businesses there is the mental health side of people getting out of their houses and spending some time out and about and having some interaction with real people - friends and strangers – socially distanced of course.

Personally it looks like unless I get unusually early finishes at work I wont be out on working days – whilst the government say they want us out keeping the economy going. I may be able to go out ‘an hour earlier’ on days off I suppose. In short: what a fucking mess, what a nonsense. Let's just hope things are different in a week or two (let's face it things change from hour to hour). Lastly, follow the Covid secure rules. Keep your distance (all day, not just in the pub), wear a mask when you have to, and wash your hands with soap and water and/or use hand sanitiser when you can't. It's not that difficult.

Seedling Update

A.J. Walker — 2020-08-31T09:29:16+01:00

It's the end of August and I've done the maths (or math) and decided to stop bothering with Seedling Challenge. Basically the seedling failed to take – I don't have green fingers. I started it as a means for people to write flash fiction in the way we were lucky to do back in the past with Angry Hourglass and Flash! Friday. It seems fitting to do it while Flash! Friday is back, if only for a short while.

It never took off as a place to write even though it used the VSS365 prompts which so many people do. I suspect only myself and Sal will miss it (and I may even be over egging that!). So when I write my story this week it'll be my last Seedling Challenge. Maybe someone will plant some other seedling now.

It's Practice and It's Fun

A.J. Walker — 2020-08-26T10:47:47+01:00

With the return of the great Flash! Friday fiction challenge comes the relative furore that it deserves, And that raises several interesting points. The fact that there is a ‘winner’ drives more people to enter than one that is just for your own challenge (the Seedling Challenge being a case in point - no winner and hardly any interest). Having a winner drives more people to go for it. And yet what is the winner in actuality? Hopefully it is one of the better entries that week. But there is no guarantee of that. And of course so much is subjective. One person’s piece of genius is another’s ‘what the fuck is that all about?’.

There have been other challenges that as well as having the winner chosen by a ‘judge’ (often the winner from one of the preceding weeks) also have a comunity winner - or one that gets the popular vote in ‘likes;’ or whatever. Is this a better way of choosing a winner - I doubt that. Often the writer with the most followers or maybe just the first person to get a story up could win that one.

No. Having judges decide it is the best idea. And the feedback from them is nice. But there’s the luck of the draw too. If your style doesn’t hit the judge’s appreciation meter that week then maybe you would have won the previous week with a different one who loves your work.

The desire to be chosen as a winner must be important (or else other challenges that don’t have them would have similar entries). As far as I am concerned the winner is the winner in that judge’s eyes that week. Everyone has preferences. We all have our own favourite authors and genres. There can be no definitive ‘winner’ unless there is only one entry (and in that case they would also be the worst entry of the week).

Look, all I’m saying is enjoy it for what it is. If you win: great–enjoy the moment,the love and kudos. If you don’t then don’t sweat it either. Just enjoy the process, the vibe and all that. Don’t decide you are doing something wrong because your genius prose this week doesn’t win you the plaudits you expected. I’ve ‘won; challenges with pieces I’ve not been happy with and come nowhere with ones I’m very happy with. Just take every bit of writing as practice towards bigger goals–whatever they may be.

Write your piece; click your likes on the stories you like; comment if you want (and can–depending on the vagaries of WordPress at the time) and enjoy the community. Don’t sweat it. Just enjoy it. I’m not an everyone is a winner guy (god help me) but look it really is all practice and let’s face it a bit of fun.

_____
Incidentally I’m one of two judges in the coming weeks on Flash Friday and if I pick your story it’s cos I like it. And if I don’t, then maybe I am wrong or just don’t understand it. #keepwriting

Flash! Friday: The Return of the Dragons

A.J. Walker — 2020-08-13T23:19:54+01:00

Out of nowhere Flash! Friday is returning and I for one am made up. Of course I am not the only one. It is one of the first flash fiction challenges I got into regularly. Along with Angry Hourglass these were my two favourite weekly challenges and when it went away (I won't say died, for this is no resurrection) I was a little sad. This was compounded later by the long walk taken by Angry Hourglass too (um… I wonder if that will be back one day?).

The friends I met online through being involved in these two challenges have endured the years since. Many of the regulars who wrote most of the weeks in these grew to become the fabulous Flash Dogs, who produced amazing books in the following years. Yes, from writing in these challenges and meeting regularly on Twitter we actually produced hard copy beautiful books. Champion!

Who knows where this return will take us, maybe not so far. Maybe further. Wherever it goes it will be a fun ride. And it will be fabulous to introduce the dragons to all the new brethren who have discovered the joy of micro fiction through VSS365 (which after all is a love child from the Flash Dogs).

Please get involved. It's great writing practice and may give you ideas for longer stories too. I can't wait to see your stories there. And hell, some weeks I'll be helping judge them – yeah, didn't I say? It's a judged challenge. It's great that I'll be teamed up together with @voimaoy for this again. Winners get a virtual badge and a warm feeling. I was lucky to win and get placed several times – and it did make me feel warm and fuzzy.

When does it start? That'll be Friday (there's a clue in the name, you know).

Follow @FlashFridayFic on Twitter and if you are tweeting about it use the hashtag #fireiceflash and, of course, get one over to the website: flashfriday.wordpress.com

Back to Work

A.J. Walker — 2020-08-08T08:47:26+01:00

Amazingly this week I've been back in work after my accident last week. The accident was quite horrible and very discomforting over the following period. It was quite a fall as I'd gone up some steps in a back garden to deliver a parcel. On the way down I stupidly stepped backwards rather than turning around. And as the steps were not finished (the garden was being worked on) my foot went into free air and I went spinning through the air from a foot or two above the ground and as I twisted through the air in something like an ice skating move, perhaps it was a Salchow. Anyway this exciting move was aborted early by my back finding a rather uncomfortable sudden stop on a metal railing. From where I bounced down to the concrete path. It was all quite dramatic. Severely winded and sore I lay there for a while wondering how far my swearing had travelled. I went to sit in my van for a while wondering what damage I'd done. I couldn't breath properly due to the pain. I wondered whether I'd broken a rib and pierced my lung. All sorts of things swam around my head. But ultimately I decided it couldn't be that bad as I could still move albeit painfully it wasn't making me faint or anything.

Eventually I wen on to the next stop, before ringing work and telling them about it - and that I should be able to finish the route but would likely not be in again for a while. It was sure to stiffen up and get worse. And it did.

The next day the agony getting out of bed - where I'd had to sleep sat upright, wedged between two pillows - made me think I had indeed done more damage. I struggled through a shower just in case I needed to make a last minute call to go to A&E. Over the next couple of days I thought the same on several occasions. At one point I was pretty sure I wouldn't get into work until late this week at the earliest. And what happened? I ended up being off work from Thursday through to Sunday. I've been in for a normal working week - 5 days. They gave me an easy day on Monday, and I finished quickly but was sore the next day. The following day I was back on a normal route and boy was that hard. I struggled with the pain in the evening. Next day was a smaller route in terms of number of drops and was a lot easier.

Anyway, here I am ten days after a most painful accident and I've done a week's work. In terms of working days lost, incredibly I only lost two days. All in all, if anything, it shows how resilient the body is. Where it can fix itself it does an amazing job. Looking back at the accident it could have been a lot worse I guess - as a glass half full person - the railing could have had sharp edges instead of being curved and maybe if I hadn't landed on the railing and bounced to the ground I would have landed on my head and done some more serious damage. If I'd bashed my head I'd have lost a lot more time off work, at the very least.

Moral of the story: don't walk backwards down steps you don't know. And the world is precarious for each of us.

Words, Words, Words

A.J. Walker — 2020-08-01T10:50:25+01:00

Looking at getting stricter with my writing which is partly why I want to record it: as a document of success or failure and a rod for my own back (or something like that). I’m not sure what to aim for. It will probably be a matter of finding what works for me as I get into the writing daily habit. Be it 300 words or 2000 words (hell, I know it won’t be that initially).

I found a website called The Daily Word Counter <www.wordcounter.net> which had an article giving an idea of the daily word count of many famous writing as follows:

Ernest Hemingway - 500 words
Stephen King - 2000
Jack London - 1500
Tom Wolfe - 135
Mark Twain - 1400-1800
W Somerset Maugham - 1000
Sarah Walters - 1000
Sebastian Faulks - 1000
Michael Crichton - 10,000
Kate DiCamillo -600-900
Nicholas Sparks - 2000
J.G. Ballard - 1000
Ian McEwan - 600
Lee Child - 1800
Anne Rice - 3000
Arthur Conan Doyle - 3000
Arthur Hayley - 600
Graham Greene - 500
Holly Black - 1000

I’m not sure of the voracity of these numbers and whilst they show a wide difference; most are between a pretty manageable 500 and 2000 words. Given I can crack off a blog of 300-500 words or a flash of 365 words in less than an hour then having a daily word count of 500-1000 words should be achievable, I’ve also done NaNo successfully twice, which equates to 1666 a day.

I don’t think having the NaNo tick-tock is necessary but it certainly helps over the relative short term of a month. Without it maybe the very act of recording it will be the kick up the backside.

So let’s see how I go with achieving 500-1000 words on projects (not counting blogs) – incidentally this will be about 380 words.

Writing even that much/little will drive me into more projects and ideas i.e. finishing existing ones and getting me to new ones. Let’s see where I get to come November . In theory that should be 45-90.,000 words. Ha, we shall see.

First thing I’ve done is write down where I’m up to in various projects in terms of current word count so I can check up on progress.

Current Word Counts and aims:

TWO1 - 56,267 : 80,000
TM2 - 3946 : 6000
SC1 - 601 : 4000
TT1 - 1193 : 50,000
THS1 - 73 : 50,000*

* may get broken down into multiple short stories.

Writing, Damn Writing

A.J. Walker — 2020-07-28T21:58:06+01:00

It’s been too long since I’ve done any proper writing. A 365 word flash fiction once a week doesn’t count and neither does VSS365 or the other occasional Twitter prompts or prompt rants I get involved in. I mean writing on specific projects.

I did some writing for the defunct/no longer defunct GetIntoThis website between March and June and when this went I realised I should force myself to write to my own deadlines on the pieces I want to write, be it blogs on the website or projects for potential publication – or just furthering my writing practice.

And so I need to get back to it. Thinking I may do a weekly diary on the blog. This could act as a kick up the backside as well as a simple record. So my thoughts as of today (Monday) is that I’ll start that from next weekend. As it’s a nice date to start with Saturday being the 1st of the month. It’ll give me a few days to make my plans on the projects and to get back up to speed on those already started.

I am particularly wanting to finish the ‘Wobbly Odyssey’ which has some five chapters to go (some 20-25k words). I’ve been reading it again lately and quite enjoying it – which is weird to say about your own story but hell I am. I’m wondering how difficult it will be to get back into the groove with the characters and the story after so long away from it. I am thinking it will be quite hard, but willing to be pleasantly surprised.

Then I’ve got the story for another project to rework or start again for the umpteenth time. That’s only about 5-6k and I’ve done my usual trick of saying too much upfront rather than just running hard with the story from the starting pistol – I also wonder if it would just be better as a longer story in any case.

The other thing about recording my writing progress this way is it makes me write a blog post every week which keeps the blog updated regularly too. It could be a win - win: but only if I actually keep up with writing regularly. It’s actually been quite difficult lately with work being long and hard; making me tired when I get home and not in the mood for writing (or just falling asleep not long after tea). I’ve got to experiment to see what works. If I wake up early perhaps I should spend some of that time writing rather than hoping for the best in the evening. It’s a difficult concept as a certified night owl, but needs must.

Anyway between now and the weekend I’ll have a think about the projects and how best to write and record a blog about it – and do the writing itself of course. I guess something short and simple will be best to avoid eating into writing time, and to ensure I do it in a timely manner (should be easier for any reader too). Or maybe something largely visual. I’ll have to come up with a snappy title for this part of the blog too and decide where to put it i.e under Writer’s Block or a new sub titled section under the Writings section. I am minded for the latter, lest it get lost in this blog with all the general hubbub of Open Min, Reading and Work blogs. Anyways, watch this space...

Reading, Damn Reading

A.J. Walker — 2020-07-28T21:58:04+01:00

I always now seem to set myself a target to read forty books a year. Some people smash that, others don’t read one. Obviously I find people who don’t read books weird – it’s akin to not being arsed about music. But maybe it’s the way people have been brought up. I guess for people who haven’t regularly read it may seem a strange thing to get into. I know some people who say they struggle with the habit but love reading. Hell, we all have other things that get in the way.

This year the thing that got in the way was this damn virus of course. I know some people have found a load more free time but I’ve been working full time either five or six days a week throughout. And let’s face it whatever we are going through individually it is a stressful time. So even when I have had time to read I hadn’t been reading as much as I did the last couple of years. I raced through books in January and February but fell away and a long way behind my forty books pace between March and May.

Don’t know whether it is because I’ve grown used to the stress of the death of everything but I caught up with where I should be come to the sixth months. I’ve now read 22 books and so with 18 left to reach my goal then that’s just about one book a week from August (or to put it another way 15% of a book per day: not entirely sure that is a better way of putting it).

One thing that was difficult between March and July was the closure of all the second hand shops. No browsing of second hand books in Oxfam and the like. Horrendous! My first time back in the book shop in Penmaenmawr I ended up buying six books (for the princely sum of £10).

So far my reads this year have comprised (K: Kindle, SH: Second Hand):

‘Moon Over Soho’ - Ben Aaronovitch (K)
‘Whispers Underground’ - Ben Aaronovitch (K)
‘Broken Homes’ - Ben Aaronovitch (K)
‘Travels with my Aunt’ - Graeme Greene (SH)
‘Bottled’ - Stephanie Ellis (K)
‘A Wizard of Earthsea’ - Ursula Le Guin (SH)
‘The Tombs of Atuan’ - Ursula Le Guin (SH)
‘Flowers for Algernon’ - Daniel Keyes (SH)
‘Fleet of Knives’ - Gareth L Powell (K)
‘The Subtle Knife’ - Philip Pullman (SH)
‘Light of Impossible Stars’ - Gareth L Powell (K)
‘Sunfall’ - Jim Al-Khalilli (K)
‘The Mercies’ - Kieran Millward Hargrave (K)
‘Slipping Through’ - Miranda Kate (K)
‘About Writing’ - Gareth L Powell (K)
‘How to Argue With A Racist’ - Adam Rutherford (K)
‘The Last Day’ - Andrew Hunter Murray (K)
‘One Last Time’ - James Hampson (K)
‘How to Build a Time Machine’ - Brian Clegg (K)
‘Scouse Gothic: the Pool of Life’ - Ian McKinney (K)
‘Username: Eve’ - Joe Sugg (SH)
‘The Psychology of Time Travel’ - Kate Mascarenhas (K)

There’s a few things of note in my reading so far (other than my impeccable taste). Firstly there is not a single new book bought there from this year or previous years. Secondly there are a lot more Kindle books than usual. This is because of the lockdown and it being impossible to go into shops (new or second hand) during that time. I have read loads more on my Kindle this year that’s I have in previous ones. To save you counting them there’s SIXTEEN Kindle books there and just SIX second hand ones.

I am fairly sure until the next lockdown comes that there will be a few more actual physical books being read for the second half of the year. Maybe some of those ones I got from Penmaenmawr for a start and the second of the His Dark Materials Trilogy too (which I also bought from there last year or the year before...).

Not sure I will get to forty books, will have to see how the second half of 2020 goes. Right now that really is anyone’s guess.

More Pub Distancing

A.J. Walker — 2020-07-27T13:48:00+01:00

The last Open Mic got cancelled and I was away camping at Bishop's Castle for the one before so I was looking forward to this one. Picked up some excellent ‘White Rat,’ ‘Cold Stone Cream Austin’ and ‘Aiwass’ from Craft on Smithdown on the way home and that was my preparations done –apart from some quick strumming for fifteen minutes. As it happened OM was to prove a low key affair with only four of us on it; with Bobo and Nette, Matt and myself.

There wasn’t too much in the way of singing. Matt started of with a story then Bobo did a couple of songs. I did three in the end and having decided to do new (or very old) ones I went for ‘Half A World Away’ (always contentious doing Oasis - sorry), ‘House of the Rising Sun’ and ‘Wild Rover’. Bobo did another and Matt gave us a longer story.

Said to Matt he should try and write for the Seedling Challenge and use all seven of this weeks prompts - a tough one this week - and that we could then read the resulting stories out at the next OM. We agreed to give it a go.

Then after lots of interlinked chitter chatter about all things travel, pubs, and Covid-19, we went on Jackbox to play some games. Suffice to say funny as fuck – but you would have had to be there (and probably have had a few beers) to appreciate it. Apparently OM is going to go to fortnightly now, which is a shame but I guess a sign that now that things are opening up a little bit people have less time or need for it. Anyway, I am looking forward to it; whenever it is. At least two weeks gives me more time to learn some more new old songs.

A Quick Visit to a Distant Past

A.J. Walker — 2020-07-24T22:42:20+01:00

Trefignath

With the long days and longer weeks at work over the last five months – not to mention historic/tourist sites and parking bays being closed throughout Wales – I haven't done any of my archaeological visits since last year. Today I was over in Anglesey again delivering to the Morrisons by Holyhead. It was only a few weeks ago that I saw from the main road a neolithic tomb just a couple of minutes from the supermarket. Today I decided (after getting a wee shop in at Morrisons) to pop over to it. Funnily enough now with all the summer's growth of trees and bushes the site is not as evident from the A55 as it was when I saw it earlier.

Trefignath view from site entrance/stile

Trefignath Selfie

There is no proper parking for the site. But it is by a new and relatively quiet road, evidently built for an industrial park which is yet to be built. After a short walk from the road, along a narrow partially tarmac path, there is a stile entrance into the site. There actually don't appear to be any signs, at least in the direction I came from, showing where the site is, which is a little odd. Maybe it is to do with all the 'new' roads along the edge of the area.

The site at Trefignath is a mind boggling 5300 years old, according to the information board at the site – charcoal found at the site date to 3300 BCE (plus or minus 70 years). It comprises three chambers built over a long period in the Severn-Cotswold cairn form. The first chamber has some very large stones forming the walls but no roof. There is little evidence on the surface of the second chamber. The best one (at least in terms of having a roof) is the third more recent chamber.

Burial chamber view chamber one nearest and main chamber three furthest away

Whilst the site doesn't appear to be signposted there is at least an information board half way along the northern western boundary of the site outlining the history of the site and describing the three chambers of the tombs. Unlike other sites I've visited, which have been at least partially excavated into the ground, due to the geology the chambers appear to have been constructed directly onto the bedrock. Some of the stones used are very large, particularly the large wall stone of Chamber 1, the two vertical stones at the entrance of Chamber 3 and the roof stones of that chamber.

It has been heavily reconstructed (despite the lack of much of its form) and you will see brick and mortar columns supporting some of the stones in Chamber 3.

The sides of the cairn are made with loose stones and rocks. I'm not sure whether originally it would have been left as stone or grassed. I assume it would have just been stone. Why this spot was chosen was for the cairn unclear. Who knows, maybe it was where the people lived, or maybe they just wanted to be handy for the Morrisons. An alignment of stones at the site though are apparently in just 1 degree away from the winter solstice sunrise, which I guess may be more relevant than the supermarket.

Chamber one

Chamber three

If you are visiting this site you may also want to go to the single, large standing stone "Ty Mawr" several hundred metres to the north of the site in another field–you can't miss it from the road. I didn't go over to see it on this occasion as parking again didn't look straightforward and because I needed to get home via a debrief with the one parcel I had been unable to deliver (mistakenly on my route – Grrrr.)

It was only a tiny diversion from my return home and I didn't spend long here, but it was nice to take the opportunity to visit the site. Definitely worth a visit if you'd otherwise be whizzing past on the way to or from Holyhead. It's not up there with Capel Garmon, but then again it is a very different position and up to 2000 years older!

If you fancy seeing Capel Garmon take a look at my blog from November, which was now several life times ago.

Some People Think It's All Over

A.J. Walker — 2020-07-20T12:57:20+01:00

Opening Up, Staying Apart and Being Dressed

I’ve not been sure about writing about Covid-19 as doesn’t everyone want to forget about it? But then again it’s what life is almost all about now, isn’t it? Or at least it should be. I’ve decided to put my twopence worth in on my view of things as they are now anyway.

Throughout the pandemic I have been working. At least it’s not affected me in that way. Listening to the radio on my delivery routes, and finding everyone in, it appeared that most of the world was furloughed. And delivering in North Wales means that this has gone on a few weeks beyond England. The roads in Wales this weekend though were back to normal summer weekend levels: the pandemic is over: huzzah! Not.

Some People Think It's All Over

In Towyn and Kinmel Bay I was stuck in traffic on the coast road on multiple occasions on a very cold and wet Saturday. The caravan parks were open and busy again. It is understandable how people want to get away for a few days once lockdown has been lifted: my weekend camping last week was lovely for me and the group. But the issues were on the streets and shops where groups could be seen everywhere. I wanted to scream “SOCIAL DISTANCING!”

After the camping last week it was clear that people that have been in work throughout this time have been getting used to rules and PPE. Just the simple things: Keeping two metres apart, wearing a mask, using hand sanitiser. Of course people sat at home for weeks on end doing shopping once a week or getting deliveries haven’t had to get into these habits or mindset. Maybe the opening of the drawbridge now has simply made some people think it is all over. It is not.

The virus is still here and nothing has changed from when lockdown was declared. Well that is not entirely true. What has changed is we know more about the virus (but by no means all – it is an odd little fucker) and we know the ways that we can best protect ourselves.

I was glad that the Government mandated face coverings for shops from this coming Friday. As much as anything for the psychological impact it will have on everyone. If you have to put on a mask it makes you think that the virus is still here and it is important. Maybe it’ll make people think about the other things - mainly social distancing and also hand sanitising. This is the key thing. Wear whatever your want as a covering. A bandana type does the least but still enough to cut transmission in terms of distance by more than 2/3rds. Personally as I have to wear it all day to over a hundred stops the bandana type suits me best - and I know that if I was putting a mask over my ears each stop then the back of my ears would suffer. Whatever you go for just consider it as an item of clothing – and if you're going out of the house you are not dressed without it.

Wearing a mask is no biggy even if you do find it uncomfortable. I don't like putting my glasses on but if I don't I am definitely a health and safety hazard on the road.

Opening Up

The economy needs to go on. Not for any greedy capitalist reasons, but if you want to eat and drink and get water and electricity in your house someone has to go out and make the stuff and deliver it. Maybe you have to pay for it too. And your favourite clothes shop, cafe, restaurant or pub need money coming in soon or else your favourite place will fall and when you finally leave your house it won’t be there for you.

It’s easy with hindsight to say we should have closed on such a such date. But we are where we are and saying what can open when are horrendous decisions to make. Put yourself in the place of a decision maker who two weeks after saying “open business type-X” finds hospitalisation and death rates rising in them. Horrible. At the same time the owners of those businesses are wanting to open them – safely for their staff and their customers.

The Government are walking a tightrope with winds gusting and a horrendous chasm beneath. Whatever they do there will be experts on either side saying they should do more, should do less, should do it later, should have done it before. Don't worry about that, it's a useless thing to argue about and doesn't help you and yours stay safe.

Ultimately you, me and everyone else have responsibilities for ourselves and whoever we may be meeting along the way. I for one went to pubs the day they reopened, as evidenced by a previous blog, and I went camping last week. I am doing my best to keep socially distanced, to wear a mask and to use sanitiser. It’s not rocket science. It’s to reduce your chance of getting and/or transmitting the virus. As a delivery driver in North Wales I’m seeing over a hundred people a day across a large geography, I don’t want to be delivering an extra unwanted package to anyone (or taking one from them – I don’t do pickups). Businesses too are all doing it differently as they are on a learning curve as much as we are. Wherever you go bear that in mind and make your own assessment of how they are doing things. Stick with their rules – as a minimum – and if necessary do more or swerve completely if you're not happy with what they are doing.

The pubs I’ve been in have been very aware of the issues and they have not felt normal at all (bear in mind I go to old men’s/real ale pubs and not bars you may see on TV though). But we are living in strange times and this is just a hardship we have to live with for now. Hopefully this will be the closest I get to being in a war. What our grandparents and great grandparent lived through is much worse than this. For fuck’s sake they used to have to go to school with gas masks and get sent out to live with strangers in the countryside during the Second World War. Putting on a bandana, cloth mask or a medical mask is not really a hardship let’s face it: we can do this! And then there’s keeping your hands clean... I mean how dare the government suggest you should be fucking clean! FFS just do it.

The hardest thing seems to be the social distancing. Of course it is. Places are designed for people to be people. And people congregate in groups. We don’t stand two metres apart (or one meter apart with mitigation etc). We shake hands, hug, kiss, clap each other on our shoulders, we watch sport or music together, we shout, we cheer... whatever. We are social animals and we do things together. Anything else is odd. It feels wrong. And now whilst I’m travelling around the Welsh coastal towns I can certainly see social distancing just isn’t happening. Like I said before: “SOCIAL DISTANCING!”

Risk Assessments

Look, I know – we all know – that we will be seeing an uptick in the virus and maybe hospitalisation and deaths. And to some extent that cannot be avoided and shouldn’t panic – though some journalists and MPs will try to make us (we can stop car accidents by banning cars but we don’t because.. duh!). What we have to do is to minimise the risk of catching and spreading the virus. And how do we do that? Well, we do our own personal risk assessment and use appropriate mitigation. It’s not something you need to do any training in to complete your own personal assessment. Oh, no. You can cut and paste previous risk assessments; and guess what you need to do... Yep. Keep your distance – keep your hands clean – use face covering where appropriate. I won’t say “stay alert”, but yeah kind of.

We are living in strange times to be sure. And people are suffering and dying. Until there is a cure this will continue (unless Trump is right and it just goes away) and we need to remember this. The Government are in a Catch-22 in having to promote businesses restarting, wanting us to get out there and spend money to get the engine of the economy going again. Whilst at the same time telling us to be alert. They basically want us to “stay safe and carry on”. It’s a difficult message to deliver. And they don’t appear to be selling the safety side of it very well at the moment – all the government promoted Tweets I’m getting at the moment are about going out there and having holidays, spending money in shops and all that: nothing about social distancing.

So is it any wonder people aren’t keeping apart and continuing as they were before the pandemic? Personally I don’t blame the government or the current messaging for this. If you catch the virus because you went to a house party or had a barbecue then it is on you. I know the virus is still here, you know the virus is still here and you know how best to avoid it. Going to someone’s house for a party where social distancing is impossible is not a thing you should be doing and if you can’t understand that then I suspect you shouldn’t be allowed near water or electricity.

Whatever happens the economy here and around the world will be fucked for years. If margins are tight, which they generally are, then a few percent of people going out of their house less to spend money in their community is disastrous - and at the moment it is not a few percent. Then at the same time there are the groups going out like nothing has changing meaning the extent of the virus will go up . The two sides of this equation are a bloody nightmare.

Keep On Keeping On

All I can say is that I will go out to places that I feel are doing the right things with respect to health and safety AND I will be doing my part. I will not be attending venues that don’t appear to care or worry and that includes house parties and barbecues. If I have to wait a year or two to go to a party or other social gathering so be it. If you can, and you feel comfortable about doing it, go out and support your local businesses (and the bigger ones too) and do it safely. We all want to get through this and I don't want you buggering it up for everyone.

You guys really should do better. At the moment I’m scoring you all an "E-" but it’s only little things you need to do to get up to a "B" (for pity’s sake don’t slip to an "F"). You know the deal; don’t say you don’t.

Not That Strange I Suppose

A.J. Walker — 2020-07-14T18:26:03+01:00

On Friday I drove down to Shropshire to the beautiful village of Bishop's Castle. As I said in my last blog I was a little apprehensive but broadly looking forward at the very least to being out of the house for a few days.

The drive down was uneventful and was the usual 2 hours or so, with just a couple of roadworks there to slow the day down–they do seem to be everywhere at the moment. I was the first to arrive and was surprised to see how busy the campsite was. I paid the £9 per day and set up exactly where we camped last year. But last year there were thirty of us there, partly due to the 'stag' nature of some of the attendees prior to Paddy's upcoming wedding. I wrote up last year's fab weekend in a blog of course. This time there was to be ten of us, which given the Covid-19 pandemic seemed quite a few people. Especially as I haven't been seeing anyone–no bubbles for me.

First drink after putting up your tent is always one of the best

Tony K and Jane came next with Jane's son; then Tony and Jeanette, quickly followed by Rob and his cohorts. We all managed to camp close together (socially distanced, of course). Uniquely for a Bishop's Castle camping weekend we didn't go down to the village for a beer or two. It didn't seem necessary as we had lots of beer between us and it is not like there was any entertainment down in Bishop's Castle. Jeanette fed us with a homemade chilli and then we got in with drinking and chatting. All with some tunes from playlists by myself and Jeanette. It was pretty cold and got colder as the sky cleared. But of course that meant with clear Shropshire skies we had a beautiful view–which even encompassed satellites and shooting stars.

Social distancing was pretty well done in the main. The folding chairs and dark night keeping everyone together around a fire pit. It was a nice night.

Group drinking in the Three Tuns. Wonderful.

The next day started with a sunnier forecast if a little cloudy. Breakfast was sourced either at the Greedy Fox from the Foxholes campsite we were on, or cooked by the various volunteers in the group. And then the final member of the group, Ste, arrived. He'd had to delay due to doing a good thing in terms of looking after a neighbours dog. We then finally headed down into BC around 1pm–again around 2 hours later than we would normally have. On the basis of only two open pubs rather than the usual five or six this seemed to make sense.

Sunshine pint in the Three Tuns

We first headed into the Three Tuns. There we were asked for one member of the group to scan in a QR code and provide details through that before going in and getting seated. We headed outside to one of the two benches in the yard. Normally during this weekend of the year there would be a music playing and a barbecue going, as well as the Three Tuns brewer selling beers straight out of the barrels there. This time: nothing. Of course. We ended up staying there for about four hours or so before heading up to the Castle. The only issue I had was someone squeezing in between me and someone else on a bench. I shot on up and out of there and left it to the girls. Social distancing guys (and gals)! Went through several pints of Solstice, XXX and Cleric's Cure (which I settled on for a few).

The Shropshire Way walk into Bishop's Castle

In the Castle the garden was full. Most having being booked in advance. No-one was in the garden on the grass, they were all seated at tables. We stayed in the tables outside at the bottom of the steps. Here the staff all wore visors, which was visibly different to the Three Tuns, where the staff concentrated on limiting touching the glasses (using trays and asking us to load them with empty glasses etc). Like Liverpool last week, every establishment is having to find their own way with the reopening.

Most the boys and girls of our group went into the BC chippy for sustenance. I kept away: just not hungry. Then we all went back on up to Foxholes for the evening. It was spent drinking beer (or wine in the case of Rob and Co.), chatting and listening to tunes. I even got my guitar out and played a few songs–it would have been Open Mic tonight if I had been home. There was no WiFi available to log into Zoom on the campsite. Tony talked loudly all the way through most of the songs. But to be fair that made my 'gig' more like an Open Mic than if he'd kept quiet. There's always one. The night was a clear as the day before and again we saw shooting stars. It closed around 1:30am or so after some surprising spoons and a collapsing chair and table incident.

Playing in the sun to an appreciative crowd (me)

Sunday brought us even more sunshine. The forecast was it would be there for the day. And boy, it was. I ended up getting a little sunburnt on my face, mainly on the nose and forehead. Steve got off early, as did Rob and the boys, whilst I wasn't sure whether to stay or go. I was torn, as I was off on Monday and was thinking I'd do some writing if I got back on Sunday, but then again another night relaxing whilst away for the first time for months was very attractive. In the end I decided to stay. Tony K took the rest of the intrepid group on a truncated walk (basically adding a few hundred metres to getting into BC and then walking along the road rather than on the Shropshire Way. Most surprising. Not.). They all heading into Poppy's (where we normally go for breakfast on our last day camping) and had a Sunday Roast.

Meanwhile I was still at the campsite listening to the screeching of a couple of the red kites what whirled above the countryside, whilst strumming the guitar and burning my face; before walking down to the Three Tuns. Had a pint of Solstice and three of Cleric's before heading up to the site with a takeout. I began reading 'The Psychology of Time Travel' (Kate Mascarenhas) which seems really good.

The evening was its by now standard form. A couple of beers, some music and bed. But this time finished much, much earlier. Everyone was getting a bit more tired which after a few days trying to sleep in a tent is par for the course.

And then it was Monday and time for me to go. The remaining five stayed in BC to do a walk along the Long Mynd from Church Stretton. I got home at 1pm and it didn't take me long to fall into some serious napping.

All in all the weekend had been excellent. There hadn't been much in the way of any rain and we all got into the two pubs that were open. Clearly the logging in, the directional information, the toilet occupancy, and cleaning stations (as well as staff methods and PPE) make the pubs a different proposition to the BC real ale trail. The lack of entertainment, and a hog roast or two, being an obvious miss. It is hard to see how and when this can come back prior to a vaccine. It really is a worry and I really wonder if even this time next year the real ale trail will be back. That said, even if it isn't I expect we will be. Camping is great. So is Shropshire, the village and the campsite. And of course, most of all, our group of people make the event the success it always is.

Three Tuns quieter than usual.

Cheers!

A Strange Return to the Bish

A.J. Walker — 2020-07-10T08:57:16+01:00

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a while now. But I've got to admit it is going to be a strange one. For years now a group of us has been going to Bishop's Castle for their annual beer festival trail. It's always one of the first things in the calendar. And we camp at a great campsite on the Shropshire Way called Foxholes just above the village. There is always lots of great beer, good food and fab music. And all round good craic.

But this year… well until last week the campsites were closed, as were the pubs. The real ale trail was obviously cancelled ages ago and so it should have been. Normally the entire village is bustling for a day and a half. This year I'm not anticipating many people there at all. And indeed I hope not.

There's a much smaller group of us going to Foxholes. I think most will just be glad to get out of the house for a day or two after over three months staying in the same few rooms. I'm only expecting two pubs to be open, but we may find another one. Both the Three Tuns and the Castle have decent outside areas where we can do our distancing thing. I'm taking a lot more beer than I normally do as I'm expecting we'll have much less time in the village–it's not like there will be any entertainment on either.

So it's going to be quiet. Fewer beers. No music. Limited food choices. Not sounding like a great advert, but hell, like I say, a weekend away may well be the closest thing I get to a holiday this year. Forecast is dry weather too, which after a couple of wet weeks is a bonus. Let's hope next year things will be more normal – though I'm not convinced it will be.

Liverpool: Reopening Crawl

A.J. Walker — 2020-07-07T18:04:04+01:00

So over three months after all the pubs, bars and restaurants (and hairdressers) closed pubs were finally allowed to open again to sell beer to people to drink at their establishments. This has become a thing of dreams to some, but no doubt a thing of nightmares to some people. I wrote a piece previousl about the closure of pubs back in March which you can read here.

The media called it Super Saturday along with other crass headlines. Personally I was looking forward to it with the understanding that it would not be the same and I was intrigued how it would work. But more importantly my hair really needed seeing to as I was looking like a cross between Michael Hestletine and Alan Partridge. I hadn’t booked anything. As I go to a little barbers I wasn’t sure how they’d do it.

Ready for the bus

First up after putting up the Seedling Challenge page was to get ready to go. I had my bandana of course. It was strange putting jeans, a shirt and my leather on. I don’t think I’ve left the house not in shorts and T-shirt for a couple of months (though recently with hoody or other top due to all the wind and rain). Then it was of to get the number 17 into town. It was my first time on a bus since March 19th. From the seven people on the bus the only two who didn’t wear masks was what appeared to be a granny and grandson. She seemed mortified as we got on and she realised they had nothing and she told the boy to pull his hoody down over his face.

With stickers on the window indicating which seats were open for use and which weren’t it was interesting to see. I saw a couple of women sat next to each other which wasn’t in accordance with the rules. But in the main it wasn’t too bad and the windows were ajar too.

Got some cash out at a machine on London Road with the intention to walk down the hill past my usual barbers. If it was quiet my aim was to get a haircut. It wasn’t and the customers waiting were sat elbow to elbow in there: not for me!

With a haircut put on hold I was ready to head into a pub or two to see what was going on and to support them. I walked past the Crown towards the Dispensary first. There was a last minute adjustment being made to a rope barrier by the front door, and I asked when it was opening. I was told “Now” if you want. And so it was that I went into the Crown as my first pub for reopening. But as I looked across the floor to see the markings on the and was guided to where I should go and sit I couldn’t see any cask on. “Any cask on, mate?” “There’s only Doom Bar–you’ll be lucky to find any cask in town today, mate.” “I think I know a few places...”

And so it was, my first pub post reopening was left before I got 2 metres from the door, let along 2 metres from another customer.

I reverted to my original plan to head to the Dispensary, but had to pause to take a photo and genuflect in front of the Sanctuary. Very depressing.

First thing at you spot at the Dispensary are the smart new (and large) tables and umbrellas. A great addition for an outdoor drink or two compared to the ad hoc wee table and chair arrangement they had previously. Indoors I was directed to a single chair to sit at near the fireplace and told before I could order I needed to text a phone number and then when I got a reply text my name. For groups of people only one person in a group would need to do it. It was an interesting way to do it and I wondered how much texting I’d be doing after another few pubs. Service was at the table.

New Dizzy Seating

There were only three cask on, which is fair enough given the unknowns and the smaller number of people they can get in the pub–with no standing. So my first reopening pint was an Ossett ‘Silver King’ and my second was a Rat ‘White Rat’. Other than the signing in the only issue I had was the seating. Drinking alone as Billy No Mates you of course don’t get offered a table but a standalone chair without a table. The chair was rickety, so I moved to a second chair. A group of three sat on a nearby table which eventually became six. Once there were six there then they were right on top of me (not 1 metre) so I had to return to the first chair again. Ultimately everyone is on a learning curve. The landlords, the service staff, and the customers.

First Reopening Pint: a Silver King in the Dizzy

Bumped into a couple of CAMRA guys who were similarly looking to support the pubs and see what was happening.

Next up I’d decided to head down to the Bridewell. The service is always great with Dom works so table service would be right up their alley anyway. And his ale is always good too. This time the pub was pretty full and I ended up sat outside in the mizzly rain. Not ideal but not the end of the world either. This time there was no texting. Just write down your name and phone number on a record sheet by the door. Less messing about.

Bridewell Pint: note damp (and long) hair

Read a couple of pages of a book on my Kindle but the rain wasn’t helping. Ended up with two pints once more, this time Kirkstall ‘Three Swords’ and ‘Pale’.

Third up was another pub I knew from Twitter/Instagram was open: the Baltic Fleet. Here I picked my beer at the bar and then it was brought around to me. I didn’t fill in any sheet or text anything. At least I got a table inside this time. Had a Brimstage ‘Trapper’s Hat’.

The Baltic Fleet

I decided I’d head into town. I knew the Ship & Mitre, Rigby’s and Dr Duncan’s was open which were all worth a go. But as it happens I saw a couple of people walk out of the side street by the Cornmarket and found it open. Here I bought the beer at the bar and took it to a comfortable leather sofa by the window. Again I wasnt asked to fill anything in. The pub was quiet, the moment: nice.

Cornmarket beer, Alan Partridge hair

Just had the one and headed next to Rigby’s. Incidentally I’d heard earlier that they’d laid of the manager of the Fly in the Loaf which I was incredibly disappointed to hear. The Fly has always been run very well since Dom and beyond. Not sure who or when the Fly is reopening, but it is strange that one of the Okell’s pubs was opening and not the other.

As it turned out I had a mixed blessing at Rigby’s. I was told to wait by the entrance while they found a table for me. I could see an empty table with one chair in front of me. The pub was quite busy though. Whilst I waited some guy came in and walked straight in and sat at the table (there was a couple behind me too). I was then told there was no room at the Inn. I was not a happy puppy. After a bit of a harrumph I left only to find it had been a wonderful conjunction of events, for I walked past a barbers a few doors down which was large and empty. I ended up being the last person in getting a haircut. No issues with social distancing: in and out, and a bloody great haircut. Hallelujah!

Forget Accidental Partridge, I got an accidental haircut!

Having calmed down I thought I’d try Rigby’s again. I failed to get in again (and the bastard who’d taken my table was still there reading some crap tabloid... grr). Like I said; we’re all on a learning curve. Deep breathe.... ahhhhhh.

After finding Cornmarket was open the next one I found that I hadn’t spotted on Social Media was the Vernon–I knew the Lion wasn’t open yet. Was directed to an uncomfortable position in the back room. Definitely an issue for solo drinkers: if you don't get the choice you’re gonna get given the worse places to sit.

Nearing the end of my Reopening Crawl I headed into the Excelsior. It was pretty quiet. Picked an okay seat and had a Titanic 'Plum Porter'. It was dearer than the last time I was in there–when they were selling it off at £2 a pint on the last day I’d been out before the lockdown closures. It felt symmetrical. The Ship & Mitre had an early closing (and was closed on Sunday to evaluate how it went) so I never made it in there.

Titanic Plum Porter once again in the Excelsior

When I’d gone out that day (19th March) Dr Duncan’s had been closed. It may have been a bit early closing but it was open again the first chance it could. Hence my last pint, back by Queen’s Square buses, was Dr D’s. Had a nice chat with the staff and a couple of customers. Suitably distanced off course.

All in all a nice crawl and good to see so many pubs open.

Key findings (other than the actual beer):

Everywhere is doing the name taking (or not) differently (it is currently guidance, not a legal requirement).
Fewer beers on (fewer customers and fewer beers available so no issue with that).
Prices had gone up considerably in one pub (I’ll let you discover which one). That may be a difficult balancing act with drinkers used to drinking at home now, but these guys have been shut for ages and need to make money with a smaller number of customers allowed in.
A bit random getting seated. And being on your tod, or maybe in a group of two, you can anticipate being hidden in a corner or in an awkward area of the pub where they cant fit a group.
It’s not the same having to be seated and not roaming around as and when. But you can still socialise a little with the nearby customers and anyone you spot from your seated position–which after over three months not seeing anyone is bloody marvellous.
Everyone is on a learning curve - us–the drinkers– and them–the guys and gals serving the stuff. Be good, be calm, be patient.

I had no issues with social distancing other than having to move myself away from a group in the Dizzy, but that was easily dealt with. Everywhere staff were cleaning regularly and there was hand sanitizer available.

Great to find these pubs open–and for me to drink in seven of them:

Crown
Dispensary
Bridewell
Baltic Fleet
Cornmarket
Rigbys
Vernon
Excelsior
Ship & Mitre
Dr Duncans

Looking forward to the Grapes, Head of Steam, the Lion and the Fly reopening: when they are ready. Still absolutely gutted about the Sanctuary.

And the best thing about Super Saturday? Accidentally getting a haircut. Get in!

A Pilgrimage To A Real Sanctuary

A.J. Walker — 2020-07-06T18:16:02+01:00

Note: This article was featured on the GetIntoThis website which I've reposted here following the closure of that website. It is about the last visits to the Liverpool pubs as closure approached in late March and a dream of a crawl after reopening. It is made even more poignant following the news that the Sanctuary is to close:

A Pilgrimage to a Real Sanctuary

I don’t know about you, but I rarely remember my dreams or my nightmares. Sometimes I wish that I did. You know those cinematic ones that you can kinda control in some way? It’s like going to the cinema for free - and with you as one of the main characters. Still, if it’s a nightmare maybe it’s best not to remember, hey? But in all my dreams I have never had one where all the pubs were closed for days, then weeks on end. I mean I’m not sure I could sleep if I knew there was a risk of that.
And here we are. In that real life nightmare. The pubs are shut. The beers are getting flushed down the drains. And it’s already weeks in. Forget the lockdown bollocks, I want lock-ins.
Of course we could see it coming. Each day, each meeting, the Government reeled out their stats and their methods: how we’d beat Coronavirus. Meanwhile Italy, Spain and the like all closing down. It couldn’t happen here, could it? Damn straight.

In the final week of open hostelries, as the inevitable approached, I had to go out to support them: to see them one last time. So it was that on the Wednesday and Thursday, before Boris and His Boffins said social distancing needed to be extended to the closure of pubs, bars and restaurants, I went into Liverpool for beer. I really did go out without wanting to, just so I could say my farewells; and cry a little into a pint glass in-situ. On the Wednesday evening I went into the Head of Steam. It was only 9pm and tellingly they’d already rung last orders to the six people there. I headed up Bold Street next to the Dispensary - for a White Rat of course, then a quick one in the Roscoe Head before heading up to the Fly in the Loaf. The Fly was already shut for the night; it was ten o’clock. My heart was heavy. I ended up with two pints in the Caledonia before the bus home. As crawls go it felt a wee bit painful. It was like someone was lying in bed for their last hours and we were waiting for the inevitable (sorry, bad analogy, but it was).

I’d only visited a few pubs and there was a couple of telling omissions. I wanted to go into town even less on the Thursday. But felt duty bound to show my support. Or was it to hold the hands of the grieving? I headed a different way this time, around Dale Street. The Ship was quiet, with barely double figures in there: social distancing was not going to be a problem and the Excelsior was quieter still, despite selling their cask off at stupid pence a pint. I helped them out by getting rid of one of their pints of Titanic Plum Porter I’m nice like that. I chatted to the bar man as he wiped the bar with disinfectant. The pub was pristine. Too clean. Any worse and it’d have stung your eyes. Third up was across the road to Dead Crafty. Now I’m a cask man, but I recognise good beer and good people, and Dead Crafty have both, so it had to be visited. Besides, it was clearly open and there was no telling how many other bars would be. The Lion Tavern was open but deader still; Liverpool’s only just crowned CAMRA Pub of the Year - what timing for the award. I had a pint but wasn’t even in the mood for the free juke box. I needed to head to the Sanctuary on Lime Street. It’s one of my regulars and I didn’t want to miss it in case the pubs would be closed before I made it out again. The staff and regulars are friends; even if I do my best to put them off with the odd open mic performance. On the way I noticed Dr Duncan’s was closed, so I popped in the Crown instead. All this talk of social distancing and responsibility was getting to me. Was I being reckless going to pubs in a time of the virus? It’s less than four weeks - aka ‘a lifetime’ -ago and I didn’t feel so, though I still felt a bit guilty. They kept saying the youngsters were ignoring it and would get the oldsters killed. Well hell, I’m in my 50s and in the Crown I was the younger demographic that night (apart from the stoic bar staff). And so it was that I made it finally to the Sanctuary for a couple. There were three of us there, plus two bar staff. A suitable end to my two day wake.

And so iIt came on Friday. The 20th March: the announcement that all pubs and bars would be expected to close that night. It still sends shivers down my spine. All those lovely days and nights; the great people who work in the bars and make the beer. All those empty buildings. It’s haunting. I didn’t go out on the Friday, I’d done my bit. One landlady contacted me via Twitter to ask if I wanted a cask which would otherwise go to waste. I turned it down. I couldn’t drink it in a week - not without taking the week off anyway. Me turning down a cask of beer? Strange times indeed.

The two day pilgrimage around some of my favourite (and even the not-so-favourite) pubs of Liverpool was an unusual affair. Not exactly uplifting. But I was glad I’d done it. It was like my own version of ‘Last Chance to See...’.

I’ve hardly mentioned the beers. And of course they are integral to the way of life of a real ale fan, but they are not the be all and end all. I’m not a ticker. I love the pubs, the ambience, the people - customers and staff alike. AND the beer. I’m of the view that if I’m spending a few quid on a beer it’s got to be nice. Like many ale drinkers every time I go out it is not to go to one pub, it is to got to three or four. And boy, I am missing them. I’m still working as usual. My job has not been affected by this virus yet, but my social life obviously has. Jeez, I feel for anyone who is properly locked down. At least I get out five times a week to work. I’m going crazy just missing the damn pubs.

As I say I love beer. Anyone who knows me probably has that as a (the?) defining feature of me - I’ve got a damn Twitter and Instagram account devoted to it. But it’s not the beer I miss. It’s the pubs. I don’t drink much at home at all. A bottle here - and sometimes these days - a can there. It’s not the same drinking at home. It’s probably a good thing for me that I feel that way.

Well that was my pre-closure pub pilgrimage, what will the return be like? Firstly, let’s really hope that all the pubs survive this. Margins are tight at the best of times, and this is as far from the best of times as I could have dreamt. But when they do reopen I for one will be taking a couple of days off to undertake the return pilgrimage. It’ll be difficult as I’m sure they’ll be heaving - though many will be nervous about being in crowds again. And of course, when they first open it could be a 2m distancing thing. And a one in one out. Who knows? But all things being equal my first days back will take in the Head of Steam, Dispensary, Roscoe, Grapes, Fly, Dickens & King, the Caledonia.... and the Sanctuary. I can’t wait. Then maybe on the second day I’ll return to the Dale Street for the Ship, Excelsior, Dead Crafty, Vernon, Lion, Hole in the Wall and Rigby’s. They’ll all need supporting when they come back and I for one will try and do my bit.

Look I can but dream - I just wish I could remember them.

Finally, that’s just the pubs, what they sell to us is the beer and we are lucky in Liverpool now to have so many good breweries on our doorstep. If this had happened a few years ago we’d only have had a couple to miss, but these days there are so many great little ones around Merseyside and the Wirral. My favourites are Neptune, Chapter, Top Rope, Black Lodge and Peerless, and then there’s; Brimstage, Love Lane, Melwood, Rock the Boat, Scrapyard, Southport, Parkers, Red Star. I mean with these breweries you are spoiling us. Sorry if I’ve missed yours off, but you get what I mean, we have so many good options to keep it local - beer and pub wise.

So whilst I don’t drink much at home I will do a little bit and there are local supplies of local beers for lockdown. So whilst you are waiting for our locals to reopen, if you want to go beyond Oakham Citra from your B&M (which ain’t a bad option though), there are some options out there to slake your thirst. It’ll have the bonus of supporting local businesses too, so you can feel good twice. Here are a few:

Black Lodge - Delivery only. Online order: www.blacklodgebrewing.co.uk

Carnival - Cans via online store: www.carnivalbreweing.me

Cask micro pub - Bottles and Cask cartons. (Deliveries 5-7:30pm). Check out their Twitter feed: @LiverpoolCask

Craft Taproom - Online store: crafttaproom.myshopify.com

Dead Crafty - Online order for delivery. Check twitter and Untappd for menu. Orders via email: deadcraftybeer@gmail.com

Londis, Penny Lane - Shop. Get yerself down there. (Check stock updates on their Twitter account: @LondisPennyLane

Love Lane - Online shop for delivery or click and collect: lovelanebeer.com/

Red Star - Range limited: www.redstarbrewery.co.uk

Rock the Boat - Boxes available for delivery: www.rocktheboatbrewery.co.uk

Scrapyard (Wallasey) - Beers in a box (£20 for 5l). Check out their Twitter feed @scrapyard_bar

Top Rope - online shop for deliveries: www.topropebrewing.com

Happy drinking. See you on the other side. Sweet dreams.

The New Normal (Not So Much)

A.J. Walker — 2020-06-30T12:08:06+01:00

What's the new normal going to be like? Clue: it’s not.

So this weekend, on the 4th July, a normality is to return. With pubs and restaurants to reopen. And almost more importantly... barbers. I for one can’t wait.

Or can I? It’s been over three months since the pubs closed the door because of Covid-19 and one of my major pastimes was given the heave-ho. Have I got into drinking at home instead? Will I stay in and save money with a few bottles rather than going down the pub for a couple? Will I hell.

I love my beer, don’t get me wrong. But beer comes with the pub, it's not for watching the TV. Not in my book at any rate. Can’t wait to get back to doing little five or six pub crawls around Liverpool city centre. Or getting on the train for the Southport run, or a CAMRA coach trip to Derby or Leicester (?).

Apart from it’s not going to be normal yet at all. If you live in a village with a lovely old coaching inn with big gardens then you’ll be okay, maybe you won’t notice much difference at all. But for the 99% of us who live in an urban area–particularly a city–we are going to be buggered. Or, more importantly, the pubs are.

The rules are such that there can’t be more than 30 people in a pub–however big it is. I mean one size does not fit all. Asking pubs to serve outside where it is safer is all well and good, but how can a little pub on a city street accommodate that? Taking names and details from all the customers is going to be fun. Minimise contact with the staff, but take their life story (okay, not life story–and it does make sense). No live music, or football to be shown: nothing to get the customers excited lest they spit out their germs everywhere. Then there's the PPE, the hand-washing and the one way system and one in/one out to the toilet. No standing at the bar chatting to the staff. No... well no anything.

So pubs are reopening and normality is returning. Apart from the pubs can’t attract enough people to survive. Can’t generate atmosphere. Can’t entertain. Can’t make their customers feel comfortable. Oh yes, definitely back to normal.

How can the pubs survive with so few customers? Without the joy of a group of friends out for the evening? How can the music economy (the proper gig economy) survive this? It's all a matter of time before more and more establishments fall at the wayside. This will damage individuals who work or own these businesses and harm the towns and cities we live in. The impact of this virus is going to go on for years even if a cure falls into our laps this year.

We put a lot of faith in everyone not to catch and spread this most strange of viruses. And seeing the recent footage from parks, beaches and of course our Pier Head, that faith is not held tightly. If we look at what happened in the US where hardly anyone wears masks, and they opened up businesses as if there was no virus, it is rampant like never before. Trump's inability to say 'Wear a mask' has fucked them. They opened bars like they were normal in many respects so it was no surprise what has happened, and we are not doing that so maybe we will be a lot better of in terms of the virus. But in terms of the business it is untenable without government support.

Whenever you do go out, be sensible. Follow the guidance. Because if the Covid-19 numbers get out of control or even just take longer to come down then it'll be a longer time before the new normal becomes the old normal. It's simple folks: keep your distance; keep your hands clean; limit touching your face; wear a mask in enclosed areas or in close proximity to others. That's it. It ain't rocket science. Be calm and patient and be very, very nice to all the staff looking after you.

______

So far I’m not sure which if any pubs are open on Saturday–obviously when I say pubs I mean real ale pubs and not the Concert Square or Wetherspoons variety. I want to give my custom to my favourite pubs that I used to go to: they deserve it, even if I don’t. I am going to head into town first thing though to see if I can find a barbers to deal with my problem and then I’ll see if I can find a pint in an environment that doesn’t make me want to cry. I may well come back with no luck on any front at all. Watch this space.

There Is No Sanctuary Anymore

A.J. Walker — 2020-06-30T11:59:36+01:00

Well this weekend brought the news that the Sanctuary on Lime Street is to close its doors permanently. One of the first confirmations of pubs in Liverpool to be closing as a result of the damnable pandemic: it won't be the last.

It goes without saying that I wish the owners and all the staff all the best at this time.

It has been a great little boozer for the last few years for me. One of my most regular haunts. Often I would pop in at the start or the end of a wee crawl–or even both ends of one. It was always laid back. There was always music on (I’m not saying it was always to my taste, but hell yeah. Music!). The decor was ‘interesting’ if built-in distressed is your thing. From outside if looked like it could be a wine bar with the logo on the window, whilst inside it was spit & sawdust. It was a contradiction in many ways.

Beer choice could be a little up and down, but usually there was one or two–sometimes even three–that were worth staying for–or else I wouldn’t have, would I?

There wasn’t a big turnover of staff. And all of them were friendly and outgoing. Going out of their way to look after the customers (even giving me control of the music on several occasions. Yeah, an evening of Frank Turner, Wilco or Magic Numbers anyone?). One of last year's highlights was going in there for a few pints whilst waiting for the parade for the European Cup. We watched the progress of the parade on my phone so knew exactly when to leave to catch the buses, got some fab photos and then went back into the Sanctuary within about twenty minutes or so. A perfect afternoon, which unfortunately we won't be able to repeat for any parade for winning the league.–more's the pity.

Best of all I was in one Thursday evening reading a book when I noticed someone walk upstairs with a guitar and found out it was Open Mic. I popped up to watch, telling myself if they weren’t all shit hot I’d get up and play a song–partly on the basis that I didn’t know any of them and I need not show my face again if it all went tits up. I nervously strummed a couple of songs in super fast time and sweated like a pig… and since then I’ve hardly missed any. I hadn’t played in front of anyone for about twenty years. Unfortunately I hadn’t been practicing much either. But rediscovering the guitar was great and it has been the highlight of many a week since.

The continuation over recent weeks of the Open Mic online has been a lovely way to break up the week, especially the monotonous evenings (so much TV watched). Our little Zoom Sanctuary has been great, but it’s not a pub. It’s not the same.

It won’t be the last pub to go and I’m fearful for which of my other favourites may not survive this most painful of years. I’ll miss meeting up with the Open Mic crew at the Sanctuary. I’ll miss the banter with the staff and customers. I’ll miss sitting there reading or writing. Hell, I’ll just miss the Sanctuary.

RIP The Sanctuary. It was good to be in you.

A Very Good Evening

A.J. Walker — 2020-06-26T19:19:31+01:00

Last night was Open Mic #4 of the Sanctuary Zoom Open Mics. It was the oddest one. Lots of people couldn't be there due to life commitments and/or watching Chelski v Man City. So as it was there were only three of us online rather than the usual nine or so. In addition to myself there was Matt Holland (.author.com) and Rebecca. Matt does stories and Rebecca does audience–and does it very well. Yeah, I was the only 'musician'. At least until the end of the night.

It was almost nine when I logged in. Despite the low attendance there was never the question of cancelling it and we had a good night. Matt read a couple of old stories and gave us a trial run of a new one he's working on. And I did at least eight songs, which I'll list below. Other than that we reminisced about pubs and drunken exploits and talked about if and when we'd go back to the pub again.

All this with one eye on our phones to see how the footy was going. When I left the commentary after twenty odd minutes City had been on top. But football is a funny old game and if they failed to win Liverpool, after their 4-0 thrashing of Palace the day before, would be Champions for the first time in thirty years. As the designated old git at Open Mic I'm one of the only ones who was alive and going to watch Liverpool back in the 1980's when we won all that came before us. I could understand the excitement of the youngsters not there at the evening's possibilities.

As it was, of course, Chelski scored first and it was 1-0 at half time. City equalised with a worldy free kick… and then a sending off and a penalty gave Chelski the game. Liverpool were fucking Champions of absolutely everything (currently holding the European Cup, the Super Cup, the World Club Cup and now the Premier League Champions): it's not been a bad year. If you discount the coronavirus (or indeed only count the footy).

At this point the Zoomers all left to go to their doors or windows to hear the singing, watch the fireworks and hear the street noise. It was brilliant. I just wish my dad was here to have shared in it. A day so long in the waiting. Back in the early 80s before I had a Season Ticket myself my mum and dad would take it turns to take me to the game with the parent and child ticket. As well as going to several games with both mum and dad. Mum was a red, dad was a fans of the Sons (Dumbarton to you). He'd have enjoyed the day and celebrations immensely.

Getting back onto Zoom it was time for another bottle of beer (I was drinking Platform 6.1 and Oakham Citra) and I played another song or two.

Niall came on from Dublin looking suitably very happy and gave us a rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone–which the rest of us did our utter best not to wreck, but probably failed. The night ended after much talk about football, beer, celebrations, fireworks, car horns and the wish to be able to celebrate it properly at some point.

We all decided 1:30am was late enough and called it quits. We'll probably change the day next week as next Thursday it is the Man City game–guard of honour and all that. So maybe it'll be on Wednesday or Friday. Either way I'm sure there will be more than three of us (with a late a guest appearance). We shall see.

My setlist (for it must be as set once you're over five songs, surely?) comprised:

Homeward Boud
You Ain't Going Nowhere
Down By the Water
Congratulations
N17
Hotel California
Somewhere Down the Road
Sweet Carolina

Argh. Almost Painful

A.J. Walker — 2020-06-20T23:20:01+01:00

This morning I found out I'd looked my website up. I'd done some housekeeping on my laptop and as part of that it appears I deleted an important Rapidweaver file (an .rwsw one). This meant that while all the main files were all fine the thing that basically holds it all together was gone and there aint no way of creating it backwards from there. Argh. Had me worried a bit during the day. But realised that I did have a back up from a month or so ago.

The simplest, maybe the only way, was to copy the file from the last back up from May. This meant I'd lost my last six blogs and, more worryingly the Seedling Challenges from 71-75. Of course I could copy the text from the online website and paste it back in the website creator, but it would mean I would lose the comments (stories from those Seedling Challenges I needed to update. Luckily and sadly in the last month there have only been stories from me and Sal - and one last week from Nina. I've copied all these and can upload if required, but assume Sal and Nina will want to put there's up from their address. We will see.

Main thing is it could have been a lot worse. And I'm glad I do backups occasionally. Keep up with your backups people - and do be careful deleting shite from computer. Schoolboy error.

In the meantime if you fancy doing some writing then check out the Seedling Challenge. Don't leave it to Sal and me. :-)

Surprise! Zoom Open Mic 3

A.J. Walker — 2020-06-19T22:46:29+01:00

Last night I noticed a WhatsApp message from Bobo with Login details for a meeting on Zoom, and I realised there was bloody Open Mic on. Hell, yeah! I'd had no idea that it was on. I think the guys and gals message about it on Facebook and just assume I know these things through osmosis. The Open Mic at the Sanctuary is every fortnight so after having it last Thursday I’d assumed the next one was next week. So I was pleasantly surprised - and late.

Rushed-ish upstairs and logged in to Zoom and found five or so peeps already there. There was no Olly this week so I volunteered to play first. Started with ‘Homeward Bound’ (which last week was missed through a Zoom muting issue), then went on to ‘Couldn’t Get Arrested’ (which I fooked up last week), then finished with ‘Somewhere Down the Road’.

Later on after songs from Bobo, Dave, Niall, John and Anthony - and stories from Matt - I played three more songs: ‘Sweet Carolina’, ‘Heart Breaks Like the Dawn’ and ‘Take Me Down (to the Infirmary)’.

I ended up staying on from around 9 until 12:30am. Still glad of not needing a bus home afterwards. In the morning I found out that several of them stayed on Zoom till 3am. Defo longer than a standard lock-in.

A good time was had by all and at least now I know that there will be another Open Mic next week, and I'm already looking forward to it.

Guitar is Back (and I need to practice)

A.J. Walker — 2020-06-18T22:08:42+01:00

At the end of last year, before my father passed away, and before this year began - and brought us this hellish pandemic, I made plans or at least the skeleton of them for this year.

The fundamental one was get a proper job. Others included writing aims and getting guitar lessons to bring me to another level (not difficult you’d think). Of course the virus has likely put paid to the job thing with little going on but growing unemployment rather than jobs galore. Writing has stalled due to concentration going out of the window in the first half of the year, and guitar lessons are not exactly possible with social distancing. Or maybe not.

I’m starting to write stories again (one of my next blogs will say more on that) and now I’m looking at doing an online guitar course rather than lessons. Having done a couple of Zoom Open Mics getting lessons via computer seems like not a bad idea. Not that I’m going to get one-on-one lessons. I’ve done a bit of online research on what’s out there and feel that the style of the teaching and the one-off payment model for Jamorama suits me best. The vast majority of the courses are a monthly payment model and would soon mount up above the cost of the Jamorama course. The cost is just shy of £80 which isn’t bad when you think that this is the cost of 3-4 guitar lessons locally (guitar lessons locally are generally around £18-25/hr).

I really can’t see it not being money well spent. We shall see. Watch this space... I aim to get better and hope to see it show once proper Open Mic is back.

Check out the website at: www.jacorama.com

Footy is Back (and I need to watch some)

A.J. Walker — 2020-06-17T22:06:23+01:00

Well hello, it’s 17th June and it’s been so many long days since the last Premier League game (they say it’s been only three months but bloody hell it seems much longer). This morning I was thinking I’ll get Sky Sports for the month. Liverpool are on Sky a minimum of three times and at the moment just the first one - the derby on Sunday - is Free to View.

Assuming that there will be at least four Liverpool matches on Sky over the month and then there are other interesting matches so I may end up watching six to ten games for £18 not bad; so £2-3 is a no brainier really. I’m not one for using dodgy streaming sites unless I’m full on desperate.

It’ll be strange to watch without an atmosphere from the fans. But we are in a strange place in all walks of life. I’d rather the league continued this way than it be sorted by Points Per Game.

We’re going to win the league one way or another but not being able to celebrate it like we did last year for the Champion’s League will be the strangest thing. Having a parade when it is safe to do so will be well weird. Can you postpone euphoria?

So it’s not going to be normal but boy I can’t wait for the build up, the matches and the post match autopsies of every game. Bring it on.

_____

Update: looked up offer and it’s £18 for Sky Sports and then another £18 for the football. And the website is so damn unclear about it all. Grrr. Maybe I’ll just for for a Now TV pass when I want one instead. Umm,,, then again that’s £10 for a day pass, or £25 a month, but for that you need a three month subscription. Grrr… Maybe I’ll go for the NowTV mobile phone option, which is £6. Can only watch on phone - and not cast it anywhere.
______

Decision made. Went for the phone option. Went smoothly enough adding the pass and app to my phone, so I'm good to go. It'll be just like being there… not. Better than nowt and all for the price of a pint and a half. Wonder whether the sound will play through my bluetooth speaker. That'd be a bonus.

Podcasts

A.J. Walker — 2020-06-11T22:03:35+01:00

I removed the Podcasts page on the website the other day. It basically wasn’t anything I had time to keep live and relevant and was a waste of menu and page. A shame but time is limIted, ain’t it?

It had comments and links to some of my favourite podcasts like ‘13 Minutes to the Moon’, ‘Sodajerker’ and ‘NYT The Book Review’. These are still very much in my regular listening - apart from 13 Minutes to the Moon once I finished it.

The podcasts I regularly listen to and/or recommend anyway, are:

The Book Review (New York Times) - weekly discussion on books.
The Infinite Monkey Cage - science programme from Brian Cox & Robin Ince and guests
The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry - another great science programme from Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry
Sodajerker - interviews and discussions with songwriters
That Peter Crouch Podcast - funny look at footy, footballers lives and all sorts of shit (with occasional swearing)
The Football Daily - as it says on the tin. From Radio5
13 Minutes to the Moon - awesome documentary on the first manned moon landing.
Tunnel 29 - documentary on a tunnel beneath the Berlin Wall
The Art of Process - with Aimee Mann - discussions with arty peeps about how they work
Blank - gentle discussions with creatives
No Such Thing As A Fish - chat with fun ‘facts’ from the QI crew. Always fun
Forest 404 - nice story with a great vibe
The Archers Omnibus - hey it’s the Archers!

And this week I’ve discovered a new one to me, which has been going a long time (over sixty episodes to catch up on), called:
Something Rhymes With Purple - presented by Gyles Brandreth and Susie Dent. All about word origins.

All in all there’s a lot of listening there for when you’re out and about. Or travelling. Maybe even commuting... it is coming back isn’t it?

Boom! We Made It On Zoom

A.J. Walker — 2020-06-02T22:00:47+01:00

For the last couple of months (yes, it’s only been than long) I’ve had to listen to so many people on the radio and TV complain about working form home and then extol the possible long term virtues of it thanks to getting used to using Zoom from everything between Zoom Work Meetings to Zoom Quizzes.

Working, delivering shit all day to the masses, I had not used Zoom and most my mates would have no interest in calling into a remote quiz or drinking session. For me communication remained phone calls, texts and WhatsApp group messages.

But finally on Sunday, after two aborted attempts, the guys and gals who sort out the fortnightly Open Mic at the Sanctuary arranged a Zoom Open Mic session. It had been a long day at work for me in the sun and I was bushed, but called in at around 9pm. It took a bit of messing about as I got a WhatsApp message with the connection link and couldn’t enter the details on my iPad, which I was going to use for the event. In the end I had to copy and paste the invite into an email to myself and then open it up on my iPad from there. Already there were five or six logged in when I joined.

Being the first time I’d used it I had just propped up the iPad on my desk in the spare room. There was still some natural light to begin with but as evening fell I had to use the desk light. Considering I hadn’t put too much thought to it the set up worked okay. I had plugged the Blue ‘Snowball’ mic into the iPad. It’s difficult to know how much that helps with the sound as you count hear how it goes out. Suffice to say that some of the others had problems with the mics in their complex terms/devices and the sound came and went some rather randomly. On the positive side for me that meant some of the others were brought down to my level in terms of results. Hurray!

Despite sound and stuttering issues and the effect of replying not quite in real time, the event went really well. Nine or ten of the regulars came in and played or told stories, and the time and beer flowed quickly. The main issue was having to serve your own beer and not getting our loyalty card stamped. But at least at the end of it I didn’t have to get the last bus home (particularly as I would have missed it - I left the ‘meeting’ at 12:30). I’d had five beers, played four songs, went for three toilet breaks, wore two different tops, and had one big grin on my face.

Many thanks as ever to Bobo and John - and their better halves - for the organisation and time involved in events - both online and in the Sanctuary. Everyone who attended it really enjoyed the opportunity to meet up again. It's not the same as down the pub, but needs must at this strangest of times.

We’re hoping to have another Open Mic in the next week. And I’ll definitely be phoning in.

______

The songs I played were:
‘Mostly Water’ - Bap Kennedy
‘Homeward Bound’ Simon & Garfunkel
‘Somewhere Down the Road’ - Chuck Prophet
‘Sweet Carolina’ - Ryan Adams

Difficult Time: Still Writing

A.J. Walker — 2020-05-27T21:57:08+01:00

It goes without saying....

.... Anyway, notwithstanding all of that, one of my aims this year was to do some more writing outside my normal short fiction and VSSing and to that end I have put my head above the parapet with the website GetIntoThis.

My first piece for it was a gig review of Romeo Stodart (of Magic Numbers fame) at the Philharmonic Hall. Two days later the Phil shut down and by the end of the week all the venues were closed. So that put paid to doing any more live reviews. Since then though I’ve managed to do a couple more things for the website including a piece on Liverpool pubs, which discussed my last two days of going to the pubs and dreams of returning - along with a guide to some of the places that you can still go to to get beers in.

I’ve also done a couple of pieces from Press Releases on new albums, namely Laura Marling (by the way get the album, it’s wonderful) and Kamasi Washington.

Wrote a quick 160 words about my view on Sefton Park with its 148th birthday on Monday (there is a shortage of things to write about without gigs).

Another piece has gone up this week on driving during lockdown and another will go up shortly announcing an upcoming album. So that'll be seven bits of writing, not prolific but not bad as it’s six pieces more than nothing.

Keen to do more as and when. But I need to do some serious fiction writing - that is seriously getting it done, not necessarily serious of subject. Wondering how best to do this. How many times have I planned, or almost planned, but not committed. Yes folks, even if you didn’t already think it, it is time for A.J. Walker to be committed.

That Was The Month That Was

A.J. Walker — 2020-05-01T10:14:31+01:00

An April Playlist

Last time I was the VSS365 prompter I took all the words from pub names in Liverpool or names of hop varieties. This time I went for one of my other loves: music. All the words chosen were from song titles from some of my favourite recording artists. Quite a few of the songs were picked up by some of the VSSers even if they didn't realise all of them were sourced that way - I mean why would you?

In order that the words came up in April, I suppose your unwitting playlist, the songs were as follows:

‘Run Chicken Run - Felice Brothers
‘Kicking Television’ - Wilco
‘We Will Rock You’ - Queen
‘Orange Crush’ - R.E.M.
‘Classic Cars’ - Bright Eyes
‘Hell is Chrome’ - Wilco
‘Crane Wife’ - Decemberists
‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band’ - Beatles
‘Telegraph Road’ - Dire Straits
‘Splendid Isolation’ - Warren Zevon
‘Rescue Blues’ - Ryan Adams
‘Desperado Under the Eaves’ - Warren Zevon
‘Somewhere down the Road’ - Chuck Prophet
‘Shelter from the Storm’ - Bob Dylan
‘Tumbling Dice’ - Rolling Stones
‘Desolation Row’ - Bob Dylan
‘Couldn’t Get Arrested’ - Green On Red
‘Blue’ - Jayhawks
‘Sullivan Street’ - Counting Crows
‘Smack Dab in the Middle’ - Ry Cooder
‘Ruby Tuesday’ - Rolling Stones
‘Radio (Free Europe)’ - R.E.M.
‘Space Oddity’ - David Bowie
‘The Needle and the Damage Done’ - Neil Young
‘Mittens’ - Frank Turner
‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ - Reverend & the Makers
‘Killing Moon’ - Echo & the Bunnymen
‘I am the Resurrection’ - Stone Roses
‘Perfectly Good Guitar’ - John Hiatt
'Alcoholiday’ - Teenage Fanclub

Not a bad jukebox - if I do say so myself - and not a bad month of VSS writing either. Thanks to all those that got involved and for the kind comments too.

Oh, and if you fancy some background listening while you're writing then I've put the April Playlist on Spotify. One of my faves ('Somewhere Down the Road') is missing as it's not on Spotify, but all the others are there.

VSS365: An Introduction

A.J. Walker — 2020-04-26T18:22:17+01:00

VSS365: An Introduction

It’s come a long way since it began. And boy has it grown up and beyond anywhere it was expected to be. I mean, it even spawned an actual book. Yep, a real solid thing. It continues to go from strength to strength. Of course new people keep coming to it, or want to know what the damn thing is, so here is a quick introduction into what it is now. I won't go into the history of it, but there's mainly a few people from the Flashdogs to thank for its genesis and continued existence. More power to the Flashdogs.

So what is VSS365?

Well VSS is short for Very Short Story and 365 means it’s each and every day. VSS in this instance means Tweet length, which is currently 280 characters, twice the length it was when it first started. And the daily prompt is a word prompt provided by the designated prompter for that month. Oh, did I mention it's a Twitter thing. Yes, Twitter only. So get on it - it's not just Trump and bad people on there. It's great really.

Anyway, I’ve been hosting the prompts for April 2020 and the following months of 2020 are being hosted as follows:

MAY @fhaedra
JUNE @kara_goughnour
JULY @AvyeAndonellis
AUG @49JDBlood
SEPT @TheWritingKind
OCT @LitmanSpencer
NOV @whithernow
DEC @ESWarriorPoet

Follow these guys and gals if you're wanting to get the prompts as they go out.

When does the prompt go up each day?

That will vary by prompter, who may put them up manually each day or schedule through an automatic scheduler (I used Buffer and uploaded them from 6:30 through to 6:00am - a minute earlier each day. Why then? No good reason whatsoever). The prompter may of course be in different countries in different months and there may be IT problems on occasion (I had one this week on one day), just don’t sweat it and badger the host. It’ll be there when it gets there.

How to look up the daily prompt

If you are not following the current prompter the easiest way to search for the prompt is to go into Twitter and search for #VSS365 and #prompt then order the results by time. Simple (assuming the host has remember to put #prompt in their Tweet. Obviously if you’re planning to do it regularly that month then follow that month’s prompt host (as above).

What do I write?

Anything you want that the prompt word makes you think of. Just remember to include the prompt word and # it. Prose, poems, acrostics all sorts of writing gets completed under the auspices of VSS365. As long as it fits in one Tweet then go for it.

What’s the purpose?

It’s for fun. It may just be a wee tease of your brain in the morning. I don’t overthink it (as anyone who reads my Tweets can testify too) but some people give it some serious thinking. Some write extended stories following on each day from previous days - there’s some clever people out there. It may lead to other ideas for you beyond VSS. If you find yourself writing something a bit different that looks interesting to you why not think about it a bit and then expand on it and take it to a longer story? Who knows, you’re next novel or prize winning short may have come from a single prompt word.

It’s only for fun. Don’t worry about. Write one if you want, if the word doesn’t do it for you, then just wait 24 hours for the next one.

Community

The VSS365 peeps are a mighty fine bunch. See a Tweet you like then ‘Like’ it or ‘Retweet’ it and/or give them a follow. In the main everyone is lovely, so be lovely back.

How can you become the prompt host?

Ha, what a question. What are you doing in 2026? The months and years ahead are already booked up. Not sure if the list is being updated at the moment Arthur Unk is the man to ask. Just bear in mind you’ll need a long term planner.

Reusing previous words

If you are going to be the prompter and want to use only words that haven’t been used before then search the #’word’ you’re thinking of using along with #vss365 #prompt. If nothing shows up then you’re good to go, if not then try another one. I tried hard not to re-use words, but there is nothing really to stop you doing that - you just wouldn’t want to use one that has been used recently (I assume).

Anyway, that's enough to read about it. Just get yerself over to Twitter and get writing some. You never know, you may love it. Plenty do.

#keepwriting
#amwriting

Pasta Packets, And Beans

A.J. Walker — 2020-04-09T15:53:22+01:00

Last week i put a song up on that there YouTube thing. And it wasn't a cover, no it was something with my words in (albeit the same chords as my usual strumming). I had to pen something about the situation of course. 'Pasta Packets, And Beans' a song for this generation. Or at least for this week.

Featuring Pasta, Beans, Toilet Roll, Gin, Closed Pubs - and my chippy - and the severe lack of Football. It's all just a bit of fun.

Postcard from Zevonia: A Week In

A.J. Walker — 2020-04-09T14:54:29+01:00

Postcard from Zevonia

April's just over a week in, and what a strange April it is. But the less said about that the better. Anyway over here in Zevonia I've been getting my prompts out (promptly) each morning for the VSSers out there to get their teeth into. And boy have they. Loads of you lovely people.

Here in Port Crown the Spring started last Thursday and was over by Sunday. That may not sound long to some of you but last year Spring was over with in one day. It's 27C now and there's been some nice evening breezes off the sea making it feel lovely in the evening. I dare say in a few weeks it'll be too hot and I'll have to sleep on the roof for the duration through to next Winter; I do envy places with four proper seasons. Mind you at the moment I don't envy you guys and gals much with that virus malarkey going on. It's nice to focus on something more ephemeral like tweet length stories. And you guys are certainly getting stuck in.

The first nine prompts I've put up have been these choice words:

chicken
kicking
rock
orange
classic
chrome
crane
club
telegraph

A strange group of words I suppose, but I hope you've enjoyed it so far: another 21 prompts to go. I trust some of you will stay along for the ride. It's lovely to see both the familiar faces and the new ones. When I last did the prompts I wasn't the Official Unofficial Zevonian Envoy, but my time was taken up by writing for NaNoWriMo at the same time. This time I don't have that to work on, which I must say I'm grateful for. Not sure with all that's going on I could focus enough to write a novel in a month. A Tweet length story is about right!

Zevonia: A Brief Introduction

A.J. Walker — 2020-03-28T22:38:00+00:00

This Extract is taken from the First Edition (1982) of the 'Rough Guide to the Lonelier Places on the Planet'. Note: this was also the last edition as there was only one sale of the book which was to the main author’s mother. If you see one in a second-hand book shop it is probably an edition given free to one of the contributing authors as most of the print was sent for pulping in 1986. If you do see a copy I recommend buying one, as although it is somewhat out of date (the capital city has changed three times since its printing) the geography has not changed and indeed many of the bus time tables have not altered either (sounds unlikely until you realise that the buses run only twice a week between most towns).

Introduction

The Occasionally Free People’s Republic of Zevonia is situated in the Far East of the Central East, if you are that way inclined, or it may be in the Far West of the Far East (lying on the edge of the Central East). It all depends on how you look at things and where you are both geographically and politically - and we dare say, just as essentially, philosophically. It is a land of wonder, in so much as you will wonder why you are there. And while we largely mean that you could of course find things to make your days there interesting and as Travellers we would never say never about going anywhere. The fledgling tourist board (interestingly currently comprises just one woman who also works at Calypso Fish Market) has started a campaign with the strap line: 'Come to Zevonia: You Never Know' and we think she's hit the nail on the head there. We certainly don't know.

The Towns

The country is in the northern hemisphere with a mostly continental climate. The Summers are long and hot and the Winters long and harsh. Spring and Autumn visit sparingly and if you have a lie in the wrong day then you may miss it.

The Capital city changes at the whim of the ruler and is currently in the small south western town of DISPENSARY in the shadow of the Mysterious Mountains. It is there for no good reason other than the current President was born there and felt it was a good idea, at least for his family. It isn’t. Its connectivity is arguably amongst the worst of the towns in the country and due to geographical constraints that is unlikely to change. It does have a tiny airport, but it is only capable of taking small turbo prop planes (c.18 seats) when the wind is blowing in the right direction (or, ideally, not blowing at all, and the accident rate is eye-wateringly bad. Note: anyone in need of spares or repairs for such planes could do worse than spend a day in the Mysterious Mountains. It is improbable you wont find a crash site without even looking.

The fairest city of them all is CALYPSO, on the south western coast. Its favourable climate, abundant sea food, and relatively easy transportation links make it a popular spot to visit these days. In historic times its location and ease of access was often its undoing, as it was sacked on too numerous occasions to be sure of. Suffice to say if you had any treasures or even just small change you would find a place in the countryside to bury it lest it be seized by brigands from one neighbouring state or another. Or even one neighbour when times were hard - which was usually the case.

One city you cannot fail to visit (for it is the only place with a dedicated Immigration Office) is PORT CROWN on the north east edge of Zevonia. Words like; pretty, bijou, safe, fun and exciting are never used in describing the city (and we use that word advisedly) although 'exciting' could be used in the event you link it with police brutality, running to save your skin and being robbed. It is not without its charms. It’s just that you have to work hard - or be damn lucky - to find them.

The city (yes, it really is) has been the Capital more frequently and for longer than any of the other towns in the country. It certainly makes more sense than the current one. It is relatively rich, though it does its best to hide that with the brutal architecture and brusque nature of the inhabitants (think Londoners, meet seedier areas of a no-go Moscow suburb, and a Red Light area in a downtrodden port town at 4 am - yeah, pretty off-putting). It was founded by the British or the Portuguese, or some say the Russians, in the 1700s or maybe later. It is difficult to be sure as no records seem to tally up in any of these countries and no-one seems to want to own up to it.

If you have the time you must spend some of it travelling around the interior, where you will be rewarded by sweeping views of nothingness a lot of the time. Due to the levels of dust in the atmosphere, both in Zevonia and adjoining states the sunsets can be unbelievably satisfying. Due to to the sparse nature of the countryside it can be difficult to get something interesting as a foreground for the sunsets though. During the sprout season don’t miss the opportunity to get a silhouette of the sprout stalks against the painted sky. Predictable for Instagram, but evocative of your time in Zevonia.

I trust this extract is of interest to you. I'm going to see if I can find a decent map of the country; everyone loves a map. And I'll see about uploading some more extracts on the geography and history of this intriguing country.

Greetings From Zevonia

A.J. Walker — 2020-03-28T19:45:03+00:00

In April the word prompts for VSS365 come to you from me (@zevonesque on Twitter) on behalf of the Occasionally Free Peoples’ Republic of Zevonia. Since the last time I was the Prompt Meister I have become the Official Envoy for Zevonia. Despite the title it is actually an unofficial role, as that’s the way the country rolls. Last time I presented words which were a celebration of the history and the people of Zevonia and Zevonistan (and by pure coincidence also names of pubs in Liverpool and hop varieties; Spooky!). As I am now the Unofficial Official Envoy then I’m afraid I’ll have to ditch reference to our upstart neighbours in Zevonistan.

Please note, that whatever you hear from Zevonistan’s troublesome media and state (which is the same thing) I am not dissing them because they wouldn’t take me as an envoy. I did not, and never would, set up a bidding war between the two nations, whatever you read. Suffice to say I am happy where I am and will be seeing out my contract here as long as the bosses are happy with me. I note that there was a Bored Meeting of the Cabinet Makers* last week and they gave me a ringing endorsement in my un/official role saying ‘He’s doing okay’ - and so there you go. You can’t say fairer than that.

So what of Zevonia you ask? (And please don’t ask me about Zevonis...) Well things are pootling on pretty much as standard. It remains a little known, and little visited or cared about country. The Sprout Festival goes from strength to strength, in relative terms, and some intrepid tourists have visited in recent years - deviously written questionnaires by yours truly suggest that they may have come in order to ‘tick the country from their list’ and sometimes they say that they will come back. That said the data is limited to three completed questionnaires, and one of those was spoiled. To date there has been no evidence of such repeat business but we live in difficult times and the routes into the country are affected by strained transportation and a questionable tourist bureau; hey I’m unofficial I can say these things.

There have been no visitors this year at all. Some readers may put this down to Coronavirus, but to be fair last year our first tourist arrived in mid May - and that was by mistake: he’d confused Zevonia with Zevonistan! Incredible mistake to make.

Anyway, with 2020 having started so badly with regard to worldwide travel and whatnot we have downgraded the countries expected visitor numbers to zero, so we’ll be pleasantly surprised if anyone turns up. Incidentally as we’ve had no visitors since mid October we’ve had no cases of that dreaded virus and unless it can blow in on a wind, or land on a beach with a message in a bottle, we can consider ourselves blessed. And our 28 qualified doctors can sleep well: though the 437 quasi-registered (for tax purposes) quacks will probably start some rumours so they can sell more snake oil (unsurprisingly actually made from sprout juice, for this is Zevonia).

You don't need to know anything about the country or its people it's just where the words are coming from. Anyway, enough of my rambling. I’ll see you in April. Keep well my friends and may the road rise to meet your sandals and your sprouts be healthy. Cheery bye, as they say around here (it’s weird what they’ve picked up from their various colonisations).

* This would be Cabinet Ministers in any other country but historically someone of importance, who turned out also to be pig-headed, misheard the title. Similarly the official minute taker (some say mischievously) typed Bored instead of Board and that stuck too. Never let it be said that Zevonians like to admit they’re wrong. No, never say that.

The Last Gig

A.J. Walker — 2020-03-20T08:56:21+00:00

As mentioned on the previous blog I got to see Romeo Stodart play at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Music Room on Sunday. I was lucky to be able to see him on several counts. Not least because now the gig industry has ground to a halt. The Phil was closed from Tuesday. This damn Covid-19 virus is wreaking its toll like a Sten gun, its just hitting everything.

Anyway, my review of the gig is over on the Get Into This website. Check it out.

The poster boys for not social distancing: wouldn't do this now.

If Music Be the Food of Love...

A.J. Walker — 2020-03-15T12:48:07+00:00

'If music be the food of love, play on.' (from 'Twelfth Night' by Billy Shaks) is lovely, ain't it? Billy had a wonderful turn of phrase and I bet he loved a good gig - or even an average one. You really can't beat live music. I'm hoping to get to more and more after a hiatus and tonight I'm going to see Romeo Stodart from the Magic Numbers. I've seen them a fair few times in various venues and seen Michelle do a solo gig, but this will be my first Romeo one.

Back in the day I had a great time in Amsterdam before a Numbers' gig drinking with Romeo on the banks of a canal with several of my mates. Talked so much about music with him as we sank a few continental lagers. It was a great gig and we ended up drinking until the early/late hours after it. He's a fabulous guitarist and songwriter and a lovely guy to boot.

Really looking forward to it - not least because I am going to it as a reviewer for the website 'Get Into This.' Hoping it will be the first of a few. Sod's Law though with the way things are going with CV19 that there may not be too many gigs about for a while. Who knows? I just gotta go with the flow.

It'll be interesting to write a review too. I've done them before but - well you know - it's been a while. Reviews sit somewhere between factual report writing and fiction. In so much as whilst it is a factual report you can throw in verbs and adverbs and plenty of feeling. And at a length of between 250 and 500 words it sits right in the comfort zone of us Flash Fiction writers. If music be the food of love and all that jazz.

In the meantime, if you're interested in music, gigs, dance and the arts then check out: 'Get Into This'

Out the Other Side

A.J. Walker — 2020-03-15T12:00:40+00:00

It's unusual for me not to write a blog for over two weeks, but let's face it we are living in damn unusual times. Living through the constant daily onslaught about Brexit since 2016 I thought it would be nice for things to die down once that path was taken. But boy oh boy how wrong I was. I hark back to those simpler Brexit Apocalypse times. COVID-19 truly is a Black Swan event. It's one of those things you could kinda imagine happening and we've had smaller scale events like it (SARS, MERS, Ebola) but this has evolved into something else. I well remember the post-9/11 issues of flying and the lack of flights with all that entailed. Seeing countries pull up their collective drawbridges is a whole lot different, and I dare say once a virus is in the community pretty much useless.
Anyway, I'm no expert - though everyone else seems to be - so I'll just take this opportunity to wish all my friends and their families (and the whole world (minus a couple of people maybe)), the best through this time. Let's hope this toilet paper apocalypse suddenly disappears or at least becomes a damper squib than it appears right now. We have to hope the experts who are doing what they can to minimise the effects have luck and a fair wind behind them. Don't listen to people pointing in every other direction saying these guys are right and we are wrong - it is a perverse version of the grass is alway greener (though we won't know how green it is until we see it in a month or twos time) - we must accept that there will be deaths - that's diseases for you - and that they cannot be laid at the door of an individual. What I'm saying is don't play politics with this. If this is our Battle of Britain moment it won't be the RAF who save us and our friends but doctors and scientists.
Stay safe peoples. Keep the faith. Do the best you can. Try not to get too paranoid, but do the basics. Do wash your hands. Keep in contact with people. Keep your humanity.
See you all out the other side: if I don't see you before.
And now, I'm of out for a pint or two before the Government, or cruel economics, closes all the pubs…

Not Exactly Prepping

A.J. Walker — 2020-02-28T09:00:34+00:00

I regularly buy what I am going to eat on the day. Only cooking what I’ve got in the cupboard as and when. I don’t have a freezer, just a small fridge. So if I do cook a meal with more than one portions I either eat it over two days - or worse over one extended night. Bad Boy! Cooking for one can be a pain; particularly if you don’t have a freezer.

The other day I noticed the only food I had in the house was a tin of peaches and some crackers (but no cheese!). A bit bad. But usually not an issue. At least I still had some coffee (but only enough milk for one coffee). I am out and about every day and often just get myself whatever is in the mythical section of the fridge of the Co-op or Asda: the Yellow Sticker bit. Usually I end up eating very well for not much money.

I am aware though that my eating has gone a bit haywire. Particularly since my dad passed away and I’ve had far too many take outs, which I didn’t use to do all that often. Clearly with an empty cupboard it is all to easy to justify getting a takeout on the way home.

With the Coronavirus coinciding with my particularly empty (don’t think it has ever been that low) cupboards I decided I needed to get some food in. Stuff that will last weeks or months, just in case the shops do get empty for a day or two - or close. Of course, I’ve kept this quiet as I don’t want to be seen to be part of the problem by panic buying a load of shit.

So today I went to a couple of shops and have got 80% of my planned stuff together now. Including pasta, rice, potatoes, tinned veg, tinned tuna, cheese, spices, cordial, cheese (for the oatcakes and everything else). And some Ibuprofen - always handy. And, accidentally, far too many sausages: I will be eating sausages for every meal this coming week.

Of course the purpose of having this is partly not to have to rely on Yellow Sticker shopping, and cut back on take outs, whilst also leaving me not to worry about going hungry for a day. So I need not eat much of it, or if I do I need to backfill with the same.

It sounds like I’ve gone mad, but I haven’t. I really did have empty cupboards. At the end of the day it was only two and half bags of shopping. Some people get that every week anyway. I’m not exactly digging a bunker yet. But I know I can have a decent pasta meal or a corned-beef hash - and I have some painkillers to boot, if required. I’ve got loads of reading to do and writing projects too. Bring on the end of the world (for a couple of days anyway).

Have tech, will travel: and write

A.J. Walker — 2020-02-15T10:54:36+00:00

For ten years I’ve had a MacBook Pro and it’s a lovely bit of kit (I’m still using it ten years later and use it for my website and writing). But let’s face it at 5.5 kilos it’s not designed for walking around on the off chance you may want to pop a few words down. For that you need a notebook and a pen. Yeah, but then you need to type it up when you get home. That’s some double handling you can do without, surely. As well as being large and heavy a proper laptop like that is very attractive to thieves. It’s not like you can have a coffee or beer and walk away and leave it without worrying about it not being there when you safely got back with a lighter bladder. No: not conducive to carrying, opening, running software, writing and saving, closing, packing away, bringing back and repeat.. etc. For the sake of the odd hundred words or so you just don’t take it out in the end.

I’ve finally bit the bullet and gone for the cheapest of the standard iPads and got an integral case with keyboard. It is brilliant for me. A friend offered me a none Apple tablet (which he didn’t want , nor could think of anyone else that might either) but as I mainly wanted it for writing it had to Apple so that I could link it with Scrivener on my Pro. Not knowing anyone with the same set up it was a little bit risky in case it didn’t work. But I did plenty of online research. Now I have it... what was I worried about? It is perfect.

If you’ve got a Dropbox account, it’s flawless. If you haven’t, just set one up. It doesn’t take long. Then save your Scrivener projects into Dropbox and you’re away. An iPad is 5 kilos less than your laptop; it’s like carrying a small book.

Smaller and lighter and less obvious than a laptop. Easier to open, close, save etc. Less of a risk and at the same time more likely to be used for your writing whilst you’re out.

I’m sure it would be great without Scrivener and Dropbox, but it’s just so seamless the way these two bits of software work if you already do.

One of the first things I did, which I hadn’t planned to do , was create a diary using Scrivener, knowing I’d pick up the iPad once every day or two. It’s so much easier than guaranteeing doing that with a paper copy book. I simply created twelve folders for the months then the requisite number of pages for the days of the week. Then saved that as a Template I can use for later years. Now I find me typing out a simple diary each day - it’s been a few years, but I used to keep a regular diary and loved it. It’s nice to get back to it. So far I haven’t thought about adding anything other than words to it - but if I wanted I could add photos, links, anything to the diary. We’ll see how it evolves,

Anyway, in short, if you are away from home, your PC and (hardback) notebooks regularly then having the option of a tablet to put your notes or stories into can be a massive plus in multiple ways. I’ve only had mine for a week or so and reckon I’ve written at least 4k additional words than I would have without one. Even this blog post has been written in one sitting at a pub, with a single pint (of Oakham ‘Citra’, in the Dispensary). It certainly increases productivity and options - and I reckon writing habits.

Returning to Zevonia

A.J. Walker — 2020-02-13T11:54:21+00:00

It's getting close to holiday time. Yep, in a couple of months I'm returning to Zevonia and Zevonistan and I'll be taking a lot of you with me. I introduced the little known countries when I last held the VSS365 baton - and I'm getting passed it again shortly. Last time my prompts were all words associated with beer (hop varieties) and Liverpool pub names. This time…? Well, we'll see.

Obviously as the VSS365 train has been rolling for some time now there have been lots of words used. But there are plenty left out there running wild in the environment. So I have started choosing my words (have got my first twenty) and have checked that they have not been used in this challenge before. There's nothing wrong with reusing prompt words, but I really don't want Sal to recycle her old VSSs. For anyone prompting in the future it's easy to check whether your chosen words have been used before, just search in Twitter for: #VSS365 and #proposedprompt (where 'proposed prompt' is the word you are considering using).

Little clue on my prompts: I will not be using Liverpool pubs or hop varieties this time. That's all I'll say.

Bloody Phones

A.J. Walker — 2020-02-09T09:32:25+00:00

Been a mixed week on the IT side for me. Whilst I am doing a delivery job the mobile phone is second only to the vehicle (or third if insanity is counted) as a requirement to undertake the job. Amazon stopped providing equipment years ago so drivers have to get their own phone that will run the delivery application. This saves Amazon money and time in caring and charging for equipment but means the drivers have to have a decent phone - but not too decent. Taking it out for deliveries all day, whilst carrying parcels and asking people to sign on it - in all weathers - there is a great risk of dropping the damn thing. Once there's even a tiny crack on it the phone becomes useless once it starts to rain.

Battery life is also important. My rule of thumb is that the app makes the phone use about 1% battery per delivery. This means if you've more than 100 deliveries (or start with less than 100% battery) you need to leave it connect to a power source as you go for a great deal of the day.

After dropping my previous phone several times (a Redmi one) the crazed screen meant it only really worked on dry days. After that the route was all in the lap of the gods. In addition to that one more little drop and it would no doubt be useless. So I had to bite the bullet and buy another phone. After a bit of research I went for the Blackview 5500. A reasonable price and very rugged. It worked well and survived several drops completely unscathed, with its inbuilt rugged cover and toughened glass. And the battery life was fine. It was ideal for the job.

Until Tuesday. Suddenly it went wrong. The battery didn't charge up fully overnight and then it was using the battery up rapidly through the day. Changed cables over the next four days and could get it to 100% charge, but the battery was dropping faster than West Ham in the league. Hadn't put on any new apps. Went through and deleted some - just in case - and made sure all the notifications and locations were turned off for everything but the work App. But to no avail.

Couldn't find any information online about current issue and in the meantime I could barely finish a day at work when I only had 63 drops - let alone a day when I would get over 100. I needed to sort it. Only advice I could see was trying a factory reset. This would be painful: having to reload all the apps (and fail to remember all those usernames and passwords). In the end this was not a problem I had to deal with… as when I attempted the reset it failed and the phone will not even boot up. I think they call this a 'soft brick'. So basically I have no phone to do my work. Arghhh! I may be able to fix it but it may take some time - and still may fail. A lost day for not being able to work due to phone is the same as buying a new phone. So, I'll have to bite that bullet.

So I'm off to buy another one. And then yet again another bloody case. I'm not going for the Redmi again as it was too full of bloatware that couldn't be deleted, or the Blackview as now I don't trust the software/firmware. Think I'm going to go for the Motorola G7 Play: good deal at Argos at the mo. Will have to get a case online.

Anyway, thanks goes to Amazon for not providing equipment, and to gravity for causing screen breaks, the weather for causing difficulties in the rain, and software issues for affecting batteries: thanks to all.

Reading the Numbers

A.J. Walker — 2020-02-02T11:51:55+00:00

I love listening to podcasts about books - especially the New York Times Book Review (every Friday) and the BBC Radio 4 ones from Alan and Mariella - but when they talk about all the books they are looking forward to in the coming months (or year) I feel a bit bemused. I don't know what's coming from many authors at all. I don't follow them like I do favourite bands waiting for their next album. Maybe I should. It made me think though about my reading and I thought I read mostly older books. In no small part due to my frequent appearances in any Oxfam or British Heart Foundation (or other) shop browsing for little prizes.

So I thought I'd look at my reading for the last couple of years to see how old the books were that I have been reading. And I was surprised to find the majority are actually only from the last five years or so. In my head I was sure I was reading a lot more from the 50s and 60s. Just goes to show how much I know about what I actually do myself - what chance has anyone else. And yes I have even graphed it - didn't take long, don't shout at me. I've only broken it down into decades at this point, but if I were to do it by year the greatest numbers would be for 2016-2019.

The numbers of more recent ones are skewed a little by reading the anthologies that I have been featured in but not that significantly. I guess I'm more modern than I thought. Basically I just read what I want, when I want. May have to show some of those missing decades some love though.

Yay! First Open Mic of 2020

A.J. Walker — 2020-01-24T09:15:49+00:00

Yesterday was the first Open Mic of the year at the Sanctuary Bar. I was told variously it was on/not on. And only got told it was definitely on near the start time. By then I'd arranged to watch the Liverpool league match against Wolves in the Head of Steam. I was a little disappointed, as originally I'd said I'd miss the football to go to Open Mic, but once it was arranged it was too late to change things. In any case, I don't like missing games on the telly when they are on. Had a nice couple of pints in the HoS with Ste - watching Liverpool win again. Woohoo!

As it happened we went down to the Sanctuary and I got a slot to go and play. After a few beers I'm usually not great remembering all the lyrics (at least not in the correct order) so it was a risk. However I ended up playing four songs and did pretty well. So all was good: I saw the game and played some tunes and listened to some too. Win, win, win.

Went for four of my most usual songs:

Somewhere Down the Road
Couldn't Get Arrested
Sweet Carolina
Splendid Isolation (with a wee segue from Knockin' on Heaven's Door)

Ste hadn't seen me for ages and commented he was surprised how good I was now. Which basically means I was shit when he first saw me.

Onwards and upwards. I need to get some songs written and learn some new ones too. Here's to many more Open Mics throughout 2020!

Plans

A.J. Walker — 2020-01-22T16:50:00+00:00

Not going to put the gubbins of my plans here but here are the very broad outlines. Needless to say there's a lot to do.

This year’s plans to include:

Writing

Finish story for anthology I’m working on
Finish at least first draft of one novel length book
Start another novel or novella
Keep an eye out for other submission options
Aim: get Published a minimum of FOUR times (eek!)
Write for local website
Keep my website and blog up to date

Work changes

Look for other work opportunities
Consider re-training if appropriate
AND GET ANOTHER JOB

Guitar

Fix the Takamine
Continue with Sanctuary Open Mic
Expand repertoire
Write own songs
Take some lessons to identify best way forward to improve - esp. strumming

Reading

Same as last year a minimum of 40 books (tracked on GoodReads)

Food & Fitness

Eat better (more cooking/fewer take outs)
Run and/or walk
Consider other options eg cycling

Activities

More gigs than last year (shouldn’t be difficult) to include at least one festival
Walking (I’ll put it here as well as the food/fitness as it’s for photo/story opps too

House

Needs a lot of work chucking and some repair/maintenance
Basically turning it from A house to my HOME.
Lot's more (and similar) shelving for all me books (and CDs)
Priority is to turn spare room into an office/music room.

Would clear things from downstairs, whilst being a better environment for writing and strumming the geetar.

Transport

Need to consider a lot here too. Re: car/bike/motorbike et al.

All in all a lot to consider and move on.

Some of these, including the food/fitness, guitar and writing may well result in a weekly update on my blog (a fine reason to keep the website ticking over whilst also acting as a prod to do better at some things).

Next thing is to firm up some/all of these and more importantly act on them. Eek!

Planning on Planning

A.J. Walker — 2020-01-22T12:56:34+00:00

The last few months - and longer - have been difficult one way or another. And I have not bothered with New Year's Resolutions. Then again, there shouldn't be a time for resolutions. If you decide you need to do something don't wait til January 1st to get it into motion. Anyway, it's the well into the second half of January and I ain't doing resolutions, but I am doing planning. In that I am planning on planning with respect to all sorts including; work, writing, reading, guitar, and fitness.

Will put some of the planning up here and then track progress as the year goes on.

But now I've got to get some of these plans down. Catch yer later…

Flower of Scotland

A.J. Walker — 2020-01-17T10:44:17+00:00

You may have noticed that I have been a bit quieter on the blog recently - usually I write 7-9 blogs per month. But I've had good reason for disappearing a little as my dad died in the second half of December. He hadn't been ill and it was a shock. There's never a good time I know but coming up to Christmas it is a complete bugger on multiple levels. It is doubly difficult for us as mum died in the same week of the year 4 years ago. Christmas is going to be a bummer going forward. I nearly hid from Christmas this year - we were to have it at my dad's - but in the end I did go to my sister's family and I am glad I did.

One of the other problems around Christmas is if an autopsy is required then you can't arrange the funeral for weeks as the coroners office is closed over Christmas and New Year. In our case the funeral, which was yesterday, was over four weeks after he passed. It is frustrating and extends many of the immediate issues (you can't contact anyone important to cancel things (or claim for funeral)) without a Death Certificate. Anyway, we are there now.

The funeral went as well as such a day can go. Lots of family and friends turned up, apparently with some people not even able to get in the room. Dad was a respected man and will be missed. Many came back for a drink and a sandwich later at the Fleetwood Hesketh, where my dad used to go every week. The service itself was nicely presented by the chaplain from Southport Hospital and the music choices went down well. I still can't get Flower of Scotland out of my head.

Will probably write a couple of follow up blogs on this and dad. I'm always a bit unsure about how much personal stuff to say and how much to keep to one's self: my dad would say nothing I know. We'll see, after time, where I get to on thinking about that.

In the meantime it was a nice goodbye with everybody. Like mum, he has gone too early.

Books 2019

A.J. Walker — 2020-01-03T10:20:01+00:00

I made it to my goal of reading 40 books in 2019 and just got to 42 before the year was up. Life sometimes got in the way but in the main I made steady progress through the year. Usual suspects in terms of style and types of reads (lots of SF & F with some non-fiction) with a few new authors too. My last book was 'Embers of War' a SF saga from Gareth L. Powell, which was a nice easy read. I am in danger of mixing all my SF reads up though with reading that so close to reading books from James A. Corey's 'Expanse' series and Stephen Donaldson's 'Gap' series. Reckon I'm going to have to refresh my head between each SF book by resetting with another style else my head will explode.

I have set my goal for 2020 for another 40 reads and I can but hope they are as good as last year's. Bring them on. I'm not going to plan what I'm reading in advance as I always seem to veer off and just go with the flow.

Volcanoes, Guitars, Aeroplanes and Motorbikes

A.J. Walker — 2019-12-10T13:19:29+00:00

When I was a young kid there were four things I wanted to do at some point in my life. One was learn the guitar, another was to fly in a plane and I wanted a motorbike. Lastly, but not least, I wanted to climb onto and into a volcano. I've got a couple of guitars, I've flown countless time and I've had a couple of motorbikes (and want to return to that too). I've also climbed up (or been driven up) few volcanoes.

Seeing the people in New Zealand on White Island (Whakaari) it is horrible to see what has happened, but I understand the desire they had to go and see a volcano, preferably an active one. I'm sure they'd have preferred it a little less active, but they probably wouldn't have wanted to go there if it had been dormant. Then it would just be a hill.

Arenal, Costa Rica

Arenal

I've been up a few active volcanoes and a few dormant ones. My most disappointing one was Arenal in Costa Rica, because for years it had been bubbling away reliably putting on a lovely show at night with the lava plopping up into the air. But I got there about a year after it had stopped - and I don't think it has restarted again yet. The locals want it back as the tourists come for the volcano (and the natural heated waters - albeit in awful naff attractions). The two best volcanoes I've been to were active in so much as there was a great deal of steam and sulphur coming out of the craters which I walked into. These were El Chichon in Chiapas, Southern Mexico and Mount Sibayak in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

Mount Sibayak

Sibayak

Sibayak

The first one, El Chichon, I went into with mates from work back in 1996. It was an epic day which I have described previously (click here). The latter was several years ago when I was travelling in Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. I expressly went to Berastagi so that I could climb one of the volcanoes - either Mount Sibayak or Mount Sinabung. As it happened, on the day I chose Sibayak as there was a trail which went right by my hotel and it should have been a bit shorter. It turned out to be a more difficult walk than I expected as for every thirty metres you went up it seemed you went down another twenty before going up again. It was really tiring. But when I got up I was rewarded by colourful lakes, steaming vents and sulphur. It was everything a volcano should be–minus the lava and pyroclasts. Still, it felt safe and I was glad to have put the effort in. As it happened the other volcano, Mt. Sinabung, exploded about ten days after I was there causing 10,000 people to be evacuated. There but for the grace of whatshisface and all that.

Irazu

Vesuvius and the other dormant volcanoes I went to in Costa Rica were all impressive - especially the latter ones with the beautiful lakes in the crater - but being dormant or extinct they weren't the same. I can understand the desire to go to an active volcano and would do it again and again given the chance.

Anyway, about that motorbike…

A Fine Line

A.J. Walker — 2019-12-07T14:08:39+00:00

Doing a delivery job is a bit of a lottery every day. Imagine all the bad driving you see every day and then put yourself on the road for 200 miles plus each day, whilst having to stop regularly on every type of road and track you can think of. That's interesting enough on any day, but in the winter when the days shorten the difficulty is multiplied painfully by the early fall of dusk and then night. At the moment come 4pm it is very hard to read numbers or names of houses/businesses and when you are looking at delivering twenty or so an hour in a suburban environment you are suddenly down to 12-14. Which can add hours and stress to your working day. As for finding isolated houses on unlit country roads… well that's harder still (not to mention slowing down and parking up on narrow roads to make your delivery (or just to read a house name)). Oh, then theres the cold, the wind, the wet. The ice. Yep, winter stinks.

Yesterday I was driving around 4:15pm on the road south of Llanwrst which is a National Speed Limit road. And I was doing around 50mph with only one vehicle ahead. So far, so standard. Then I see the reverse lights come on the black van in front of me. On a National Speed Limit road! And they didn't have hazard lights on. I did well to even realise what it was doing. I swerved out a little to give it room. In the horrible dusk light I then saw across the middle of the road step ladders. So there was the explanation for his sudden reversing. I had to swerve again to miss them. I actually just clipped the top of the ladder and in the mirrors saw it rocking slightly in the road. I was terribly lucky not to damage the van seriously (or even 'just' get a flat) or veer into the oncoming reversing van. Anyway, I breathed a sigh of relief and got on with the last few drops of my day in the dark thankful. I hope the guy who didn't secure his ladder properly has unusable ladders, but I dare say they'll be usable still. At least next Friday maybe he won't be in a rush to get home and he'll do a better job.

The day before one of my colleagues fell when she was getting out of her van. She smashed her arm and feared it was broken. After six hours in A&E she was relieved to find she'd only dislocated her elbow. At least that means she'll be out of work for a week or two rather than months. There but for the grace of… well, we all each day could have this type of thing happen to us. Trips, falls, dogs, all sorts of hazards are so much more dangerous in the dark. Not so often step ladders.

It's nice to be lucky. And hopefully that luck can hold out.

Stay safe out there people. And please secure any roof loads.

No Singing, or Dancing

A.J. Walker — 2019-11-29T16:01:49+00:00

Missed four Open Mic nights on the trot in October and November due to work and a dodgy throat on the last occasion. I finally got up an running again a couple of weeks ago when I made it and played four songs at the Sanctuary. It was the first time I've played on the ground floor. Did four of my usual songs: 'Sweet Carolina', 'Somewhere Down the Road', 'Couldn't Get Arrested', and 'Whiskey in My Whiskey.' And so it was that I was looking forward to getting back up again yesterday.

I got back quite late thanks to a rather heavy work load in and around Denbigh (officially 126 drops, probably 140 in reality). Most of the town is okay but the ones around the old town centre are horribly slow with the narrow streets and little one ways and the like. Wasn't sure I'd get home in time to get out again, but in the end I was home for 7.25pm. After a quick change I was out and at the bus stop for 7:45pm, then into town and in the Sanctuary for 8.30pm. Huzzah! I could see plenty of people downstairs, but no guitarists or PA. I was happy to see it would be upstairs or downstairs then…

But no. There were no guitarists there 'cos the Open Mic had been cancelled. Apparently it had been heralded on Facebook, which is all well and good but I don't do FB, do I? So it was a couple of beers and home without giving the singing muscles a go. Ho hum.

I suspect the next Open Mic will be cancelled. As in two weeks time it will be Election Night. Hopefully get one or two more Open Mic's in before the end of the year.

Tick Tock, Dandelion Clock

A.J. Walker — 2019-11-22T22:56:20+00:00

Been a while since I've done a Mid Week Flash Challenge from Miranda over on the Purple Queen website. But here is one for this week. The challenge is for stories up to 750 words (my story below is 699 words). Click on the photo to go through to the website and have a read of the site and give it a go sometime.

Sculpture by Polish artist: Mirk Struzik

Tick Tock, Dandelion Clock

Karl Hosman hated dandelions when he was young. They took over his parents lawn quicker than the Germans circled the swimming pools on their family holidays (and that is quick!). But he did like them whilst they were dandelion clocks. They had an undeniable beauty, especially on a sunny day and whilst he wouldn't no longer blow on them it was hard not to as a child - it would be like walking past a football and not kicking it. He thought dandelion clocks and their flowers related to each other like caterpillars and butterflies; albeit that the damn flowers seemed to take over whole towns sometimes and for months too.

In art college Hosman focused on sculpture and mostly he’d build mythical towers with marble and steel, and studied busts of everyday people he knew. His art was all about people and what they built, he eschewed nature: apart from dandelion clocks, which many people noted to him. He claimed they’d invaded his psyche as some alien presence which he hadn’t been able to shake. He got several commissions for his sculptures; mainly for his fantastical towers and castles - some were in galleries in the Americas and Asia as well as Europe. He was a master with mixed modern materials.

And so it was that he was commissioned by his own city council to create something unique for the city park, but something with a nod to nature, he eventually chose to produce a single shining steel stalk of some ten feet tall, which over a period of a week produced a giant dandelion clock. People came and marvelled at it from many miles, and in an area where art was not usually a thing (apart from graffiti along the railway lines) that was something to be proud of. He quickly became a bit of a celebrity, getting on the local and national news - not a common thing for a young artist. The headlines were positive: he was The New Real Deal and live sculptures were going to be the next big thing in public art. He anticipated more commissions.

Things went wrong a couple of weeks later, whilst he was on holiday. He was sat at the pool (inevitably behind the Germans who he was sure had moved his towels when he was at breakfast) when he received a text from local planning officer he’d dealt with for the park: ‘What’s going on? You never said about this. We only have planning for the one sculpture.’.

Hosman was puzzled and went online to see if he could find anything about it online.

‘Shit!’ he exclaimed, before taking a large swig of lager. ‘I don’t believe it.’

His wife sat up and removed her sunglasses, quickly regretting it as she couldn’t see anything in the brightness. ‘What’s up?’

‘It’s the dandelion. It’s gone rogue.’

‘What?’

‘The park’s now got three sculptures not one.’

‘I was there, love. I saw it. How can it be? Someone copycatting your work?’

‘I wish. I think it’s a tad more problematic than that. I think it’s the nanobots. They’re replicating each other.’

‘I thought they were programmed to build the clock then stop.’

‘So did I, so did I. Me thinks that there’s been a problem in the software.’

‘So when will they stop then? Maybe it’ll be just these three. That’ll look quite good in any case.’ She secretly thought that there should have been more than one anyway and thought a collection of them would look more balanced. Still, it was worrying that it was doing things out of their control.

Hosman sat up. He’d found a live feed from the park. There were images of the metallic seeds blowing across the park. He could see from the trees behind that there was a strong westerly wind. Not good at all. Suddenly dreams of myriad commissions seemed to be disappearing to be replaced by multiple lawsuits. By the time he got back from holiday the town could be swamped by the things and his career could be over. Still, at least he hadn’t programmed the sculpture to go beyond the clock to a flower. Now that would have been really bad.

Capel Garmon: a clearer visit

A.J. Walker — 2019-11-21T22:47:46+00:00

It was a lovely day on Monday this week and I was back in North Wales around Llanwrst and Trefriw, including getting down as far as Capel Garmon. I switched the order of a couple of drops so that I could finish the route there in order to take the opportunity to revisit the neolithic burial chamber - on a much nicer day than two weeks or so ago when it was very wet and immensely grey. It gave me the chance to go and look at the Gorsedd Stone on the adjacent rise. I didn't have my camera with me but got some okay shots with my lightly battered phone instead. Easy to get nice shots when the day was so nice.

So here they are (the previous photos, and the write up, can be seen here).

As well as being much clearer in the late afternoon light I also got proper shots where you can see the massive cover stone above one of the chambers. In addition to this I went over to the Gorsedd (throne) Stone on the adjacent rise which is obviously part of the site assemblage.

View of the Capel Garmon burial chamber.

View into the burial chamber.

Covered chamber.

Beautiful view from the covered chamber.

Massive stone covering one of the chambers.

Original entrance way into the burial chamber (with chambers on either side of it). Gorsedd Stone on rise roughly in line with it.

Second, uncovered, chamber

Gorsedd Stone

Gorsedd Stone (burial chamber in background on right side)

All in all a worthwhile revisit on a beautiful afternoon.

Calexico and Iron & Wine Gig

A.J. Walker — 2019-11-20T23:16:18+00:00

Went to the third gig of the last month. Wow! I say wow because it's also the third gig of the year too (discounting pub bands). Following Kathryn Williams in the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room and Rival Sons at De Montford Hall at the Liverpool Uni a couple of weeks ago it was time for another class act (or two really): Calexico and Iron & Wine.

I'd last seen them together years ago but seen them separately several times in Liverpool, Manchester and at festivals. And I have even seen Iron & Wine (aka Sam Beam) at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall before with my sister several years ago. The album they are touring with is Years to Burn and is absolutely beautiful. If you haven't got it, what's stopping you? (Okay, stream it if you must)

I had an eventful time getting to the gig. Having a late start at work meant I didn't get home until 18:58. I managed to get showered, changed and out of the house by 19:10 and to the bus stop for 19:14, with the bus due at 19:17. Brilliant. Come 19:30 still no sign of bus and me getting anxious. What this time? It wasn't like there was a big footy match on or anything. Oh no. Theres always something with the infamous No.17. What could it be this time? Well a lady got of a 62 and asked us if we were waiting for the 17, for if we were we'd be waiting a long time as the woman driving it had crashed into A&E at Fazakerley Hospital. I mean, WTF? How do you not see a hospital? Still, I suppose dispensing any injured passengers would be handy and wouldn't tie up any ambulances.

So I had to get to the next bus stop to double my chance of getting a bus - with both a 19 and 17 a possibility. The next 17 was late so I ended up on a 19 and running about 45 minutes late. Meaning I'd get to the Phil about 20:20. I checked on Twitter for stage times… Calexico and Iron & Wine due on at… yep, 20:20.

Dispensed out of the bus at London Road and took the ten minute walk to the Phil. I realised I was parched after the long wait and realised I hadn't drunk much at work either. I decided I'd throw myself into the Pen Factory for a very speedy pint. Took me about three mins, including ordering, to get a pint of Dark Star 'Hophead' down. It hit the spot. I speedily passed on down Hope Street arriving at 20:20. Get in! The bar in the foyer had a queue but was handily placed. I needed one to last through the 1.5 hours of the gig (as the bar was closed during the performance (shocking state of affairs). A security guy said 'Sorry, the bar is shut' - my face fell and I blurted out the tale of woe getting there and the hospital jumping in front of my bus and a lovely lady (the loveliest) said 'Go on, get in the queue.' Woo hoo! So five minutes later I had a pint of Love Lane Pale Ale and then went through to my seat. As it happened they didn't start until about 20:35 or so, so I didn't miss a note (though I missed the support, Lisa O'Neill).

Sam, Joey Burns and Lisa O'Neill performing 'Dreams'

I was sat downstairs in the stalls on Row L. Not a bad spot to be in; that said to be fair anywhere in the Phil would be a good place to see a gig. Of course, I'd much rather stand than sit through music but sometimes you don't have a choice. From the first notes of Father Mountain through so many of their songs, and some of the Calexico's and Iron & Wine's, and several great covers; including the Everly Brothers' 'Dream' (sung with Lisa McNeill), and Echo and the Bunnymen's 'Bring on the Dancing Horses', it was musicianship of the highest quality. The level didn't drop.

Accordion Solo

Only slightly negative thing for me occurred when three late arrivals, all guys in their sixties, sat down and talked through parts of several songs. And then did some American style Whooping. I mean, NO! I was half expecting a 'Get in the hole'.

They played around an hour and half before I plodded of with a large grin on my face to the merchandise where I got a tour T-shirt and a signed poster. Bit odd this, as I never used to buy merchandise at all - despite years and hundreds of gigs I only have tour T-shirts from Ryan Adams, Wilco, and Frank Turner. I think a Calexico and Iron & Wine T-shirt is a mighty fine addition to the not-even-collection.

If you can get to see them: do so. If you don't know them and are interested in finding out what they are like here's a link to a live performance of 'Bring on the Dancing Horses'.

Finally I got back home on the No.17 and it managed to get back without hitting any buildings, well not so you'd notice anyway.

Gwytherin Stones

A.J. Walker — 2019-11-10T12:32:57+00:00

My third visit in a week to see some ancient stones was to see the Gwytherin Stones. This is a line of four stones in the churchyard of St. Winefred's Church in Gwytherin. As a simple line of stones within a church environment there is not much in the way of setting for them to be able to date them and the age of them are disputed from Bronze Age through to something more modern. I won't say who knows, it's a no-one knows - at least yet. The church itself dates to 1869 but there is thought to have been a church on the site since around 600AD.

The stones are each around 1m high and one of them (the western most one) has writing on it. They are aligned perfectly in an east-west direction. They are the closest to the church and it is nice that they have been left in place and not destroyed during its development. You do wonder if other stones may have been on the site previously and how they may have been arranged. The four stones sit above a steep slope down to a stream, a tributary to the nearby River Cledwen, and I wonder how it has moved historically - has it eaten into this embankment and taken away archaeology?

As well as the stones the churchyard has three ancient yews. Three? That's just greedy.

Gwytherin itself is a pretty little village and one literary claim to fame is that it is the setting in 'A Morbid Taste for Bones' the first book of Ellis Peter's Cadfael series (written in 1977 and set in 1137)/ Haven't read it. Wonder if the stones are mentioned by the monks? Will have to buy the book, and maybe read it in front of a roaring fire in the Lion Inn, which is lovely looking old pub opposite the church.

The Gop

A.J. Walker — 2019-11-05T11:58:49+00:00

The Gop

Saturday, another wet autumn day and another Neolithic site in North Wales. Yep, after the previous day's visit to Capel Garmon this time I found myself near to Trelawnyd and The Gop. As I had the time I decided to give it a go and once more, despite squally showers and continuing camera issues, it was well worth the small detour.

I'd only found out about the place the previous night when reading about it both online and in Julian Cope's excellent tome, 'The Modern Antiquarian'. As I approached Trelawnyd from the west in the afternoon I looked up the hillside to see if I could see The Gop and was surprised at how distinct and obvious it was - in so much as I'd travelled this road so many times and never noticed it. Now I know it's there I will never not see it.

View of The Gop walking up from the path from Trelawnyd

Of course this area is full of hills and sometimes any strange shapes can be interpreted as due to geology or often down to quarrying. In this case The Gop is a man made hill (Neolithic c 3-4000 years old) on top of a hill. It is the second largest Neolithic mound behind only the very famous Silbury Hill. Which makes you wonder why this place isn't more well known. I suppose being a hill on a hill it is less obvious than being a hill on a plain like Sllbury. Unlike Silbury you can walk right up to The Gop and onto it too. Which I did. I parked at the bottom of a path in the village and took the short walk via just one stile and a kissing gate. The path up to The Gop was wet, muddy, quite steep and very slippy. It was actually easier getting up the mound itself.

The mound is massive, but because of its place like a pimple on a hill you really don't feel it from distance. In some places, especially on the northern side of the mound, you can see the construction materials which comprises fragments of limestone, much of which are incredibly small in that you can hold multiple pieces in your hand. To think of the number of people and time it would have taken to construct it is a bit mind boggling.

In the late 19th century there was investigations into the mound looking for burial chambers (or dare I say treasure) which didn't find anything. That doesn't mean there's nothing there given similar early investigation of Sutton Hoo. Given the type of material (loose limestone) it must have been hellish to dig. Nearby at lower levels of the hill are caves where ancient human and animal remains have been found and could well be linked with the site. I can't see it would have been constructed as a hill fort - you'd be better protecting the existing hill top rather than building the hill on a hill - not to mention the issues with constructing on it. Surely the mound is related to the importance of the caves?

View south east from The Gop

The views from The Gop are great. Or rather would have been on a better day. Apparently on a clear day you can see Blackpool Tower (the universal SI unit for distance viewing in the north west). I was told this by the only couple I saw whilst on my jaunt. They had come up walking their very bouncy, wet, black Labrador. He bounded up to investigate me and seemed an inordinately happy soul. Unfortunately he managed to time one bounce such that the lady owner who was leaning down to say nice things to him got hit in her chin by his head. Bit through her lip, she did. Ouch! Love can be painful.

After they had gone I decided to go down the northern side of the mound to look at where the limestone is exposed towards the base. It was wet and slippy. And yes, I slipped. I managed yet again to fall in glorious slow motion whilst twisting and moving to avoid landing on my shoulder (the one which is already dislocated), and side where my phone was and land so I didn't risk my fingers or arms too much. Basically my arse took the brunt of it and other than being wet I survived without injury or damage to technology. And no-one saw it either. Huzzah!

The northern slope of The Gop, where you can see the building materials

When you see the material and the slope from that position (see fourth pic, below) you get an idea of the size of the place and the effort that must have gone into its construction. It was easier to climb back up the mound from the side - I'm not sure if it was practical to walk around, with the long days of rain I feared further slippage events or a twisting of an ankle. And getting down the mound on the south side is easier as there are paths (after a fashion).

Like Capel Garmon it only took me around half an hour from parking to returning. And the benefit to myself far outweighed getting home that half hour earlier. Next time I'll go when its a blue sky and I'll check out where the caves are (though they are closed off now I believe).

So, lastly, if you're ever on the road through Trelawnyd look up the hill to The Gop and see it for the first time. Then maybe even go and see it close up. On a blue sky day you may be able to see Blackpool Tower (incidentally I would suggest this is about as close as you would want to get to Blackpool).

View south west from The Gop

Capel Garmon

A.J. Walker — 2019-11-01T21:57:14+00:00

Have been around Capel Garmon, which is a few miles south of Llanrwst, a few times over the last couple of months. The very first time I went through I saw this sign to a burial chamber:

Sign at the main road

When I got home I looked it up on Dr Google and found that it was for a very interesting burial chamber indeed. It is estimated to be around 3500 years old and the site was used for a long time - including by the Beaker people. The working day doesn't always give me half an hour to take a break (or have lunch) but I said to myself if I got the chance sometime I'd go down and take a look. As it happens, whilst there is a bit of walk from the main road, it only took me about 20 minutes to get there and back. It was a shame it was wet and grey day (and that my camera was acting up) but I took a few shots. It was well worth using 20 minutes of my day to pop down to see it.

As you walk down the road towards the site the first thing you see is a massive stone - known as a Gorsedd, or throne - which on the adjoining rise, which is associated with the chamber. The burial chamber is not well signposted (one sign is missing from one of the gates) but as you walk down the private road to the farm there is a swing (kissing) gate through to the public footpath (no real path), which at the time was pretty muddy. And fifty yards up from there is another gate (with the missing sign), go through this and then you should see the fenced off area of the chamber. This field was even wetter than the first one but it has been a very wet couple of weeks.

Current entrance into the barrow beneath the one remaining top stone.

There was no soul around though somehow one of the sheep from the surrounding field had somehow got in for a gander himself. Not sure how he'd got in through a swing gate. The chamber is of a type known as Severn-Cotswold construction and is one of the most northern examples of it (though Trefignath on Anglesey is of the same classification).

View out of the barrow from the first circular chamber

Second circular chamber, which is uncoverered

This would have been the original entrance into the barrow - with the two chambers either side at the end of the passage. The Gorsedd stone is on the rise in a straight line from this entrance to the chamber.

I'll definitely go and see it again when I get the chance. Preferably when my camera isn't acting up and on a blue sky and dry-underfoot kind of day. I'll also go and look at the Gorsedd.

It's got me fired up to keep an eye out for other ancient sites whilst I'm traveling around. And I've now found, for example, I've regularly driven past The Gop cairn hill which is the second largest Neolithic mound coming behind only Silbury Hill. I have never noticed it (or heard of it before). I also need to see how long it would take to get along to the Druids' Circle above Penmaenmawr; the Four Stones of Gwytherin; and the stones of Tal y Fan.

Unfortunately November on the run up towards Christmas and of course the shorter daylight… well all in all not ideal to try and fit these in now. Though I'll keep my eye out for any which are near a road side.

Reading - The Way I Roll

A.J. Walker — 2019-10-29T18:46:02+00:00

It's been a good year for reading. I've already surpassed the book numbers I read last year and am just four books shy of my 40 target. From my initial plan back in January I have read the majority of the non-fiction books from the reading list, but I've been a lot less successful with the books from the fiction list–in that I keep getting other second-hand books to read.

I have just finished 'Rivers of London' by Ben Aaronovitch, which actually is one from my initial list - I'd previously read a later book from the series ('Lies Sleeping'). Have loved both of them - and it didn't matter too much that I read them out of order either - I will defo keep my eyes open for other books in the series when I'm in second-hand bookshops. So that is basically just two out of eleven of my fiction reads achieved–so far.

Currently reading another book on my Kindle, which wasn't on my list for the year but has been on my TBR list for several years. It's 'Station Eleven' by Emily St. John Mandel. It's another dystopian story to follow on the footsteps of Margaret Atwood from last month. Not sure which books will follow but it would be good to catch up on some of the fiction ones; maybe Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman, and They Came and Ate Us by Robert Rankin.

That said I suspect it'll be four completely different books, because that's the way I roll.

By the way, clearly I only know where I'm up to because I use Goodreads. It's a great website/app for tracking your reading and seeing what books are out there that you may like. One of my favourite apps, it's got one job and it does it very well.

VSS365 Anthology

A.J. Walker — 2019-10-23T09:52:11+01:00

Since the early days of VSS365 I've been involved in writing from these daily word prompts. It has grown immensely over the years and in the last six months in particular it has become a bit of a juggernaut. 'Back in the day' these wee stories were confined to 140 characters–I ask ya! But now we're back in the realms of flash fiction with up to 280 characters–wow!

Back in November 2018 I hosted it whilst travelling around the distant states of Zevonia and Zevonistan - from the foothills of the Mountains of Ruin and the famous Sprout Festival, along with my mate Benzo Diazapan - and it was very much a fun month.

Despite being a keen as mustard VSSer and evangelic about it I wasn't sure when the news of the anthology came out. I wasn't sure about an entire book featuring tweet length stories and wondered whether anyone would be interested in reading them. But I must say having just finished reading the anthology it hangs together very well indeed and looks great. I found it compelling to see how different the stories or poems were from each single prompt. And it is amazing how beautiful some of them were with so few words to play with. The quality of the stories are fantastic. It is sometimes difficult when reading one after the other to remember what the prompt was when they take you in different directions.

The work of Mark and the Ambassadors in producing this book has got to be appreciated. They have done a fab job, as it has paid off in spades. It is a book to pop in and out of–Maybe even one for the small room.

I've only got the Kindle version at the moment. But I think I'll have to get myself the paperback.

Follow Mark King on Twitter @Making_Fiction

Buy the book: VSS365 Anthology

Kathryn Williams Gig

A.J. Walker — 2019-10-20T12:36:51+01:00

On Wednesday I went to watch Kathryn Williams play a gig at the Music Room in the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Not sure what my last gig was or when, it must have been sometime last year I think. Whatever it was it could not have been better than this one–or else I'd remember it (even with my ever growing years and diminishing brain cells).

The tour is to showcase the release of Kathryn's 'Anthology'. And by anthology I don't mean a single or double CD with all her best songs, oh no. The anthology is a release of the majority of her whole albums (ten of them), each of which is accompanied by a CD with alternate takes, covers, live stuff etc (aka 'rarities'). That's a lot of music.

It was the first time I've been to the music room, which is at the rear of the Philharmonic Hall–at the same time as Kathryn's gig Christy Moore was playing the hall. Had an okay keg beer on (keg = expensive and cold, but better than a bottle of lager) and was glad to see it was a local brewery. The gig itself featured Kathryn, largely playing acoustic, accompanied by Neill MacColl (and yes, Ewan's son/Kirsty's brother). Whilst she was born in Liverpool, so it was a bit of a homecoming gig, she is based in the north east. She went through her back catalogue chronologically and interspersed it with some short stories and reminiscences–and occasionally jokes which didn't hit the mark, but were nonetheless engaging. It's amazing that her second album 'Little Black Numbers' – which was nominated for the Mercury prize that year – was back in 2000. Where does the time go when it's not around here?

It was a gentle, spine-tingling occasion. I won't spend much time going over it, in fact I'll give you my eight word summary: Great songs, beautiful voice and a wonderful soul.

I bumped into four people there I knew, which goes to show some of my friends have fabulous taste in music. If you get the chance to see Kathryn play anywhere: don't miss it. In the meantime you can always buy an album or two of hers, or check her out first on Spotify. I went for the Anthology (sold at the gig at a good discount from the RRP), which I bought from the lady herself, and so I now have 20 CDs worth of music to enjoy.

Website: kathrynwilliams.co.uk

Gigs... It's Been A While.

A.J. Walker — 2019-10-11T23:42:37+01:00

Been a while (ages) since I've been to any gigs. I used to go to loads but with one thing and another I just haven't been gigging lately. But I've actually got a couple coming up now and I can't wait.

Firstly, next week I'm going to see Kathryn Williams at the Liverpool Philharmonic in the Music Room and I've got tickets for Calexico and Iron & Wine in November also in the Philharmonic Hall. Last week I got their recent album 'Years to Burn' which I've hardly turned off. It's bloody brilliant. I saw them play in Manchester many years ago in the Academy. Acoustically the Phil will be miles better - the acoustics in the Academy seem better designed to magnify the volume of people chatting away about the current issues on Eastenders than the bands. Why do people spend money to go to a gig then chat all the way through it - just to say they were there? That said I would rather be standing than sitting. So the Phil will be both better and not as good - although very comfortable.

Calexico and Iron & Wine: Years to Burn

Anyway roll on Wednesday, and Kathryn. It'll be the first time I've seen her live. Perhaps I'll write a wee review. In the meantime if you don't know either of the artistes I recommend you check them out. I've put a link to a song each on YouTube for each of them (click on the photos) and their websites and Twitter details are below. Happy listening.

Kathryn Williams: Monday Morning
____________

Website: www.kathrynwilliams.co.uk
Twitter: @kathwilliamsuk
YouTube Video: Monday Morning

Website: casadecalexico.com
Twitter: @casadecalexico
YouTube video: Father Mountain

Words with Bots

A.J. Walker — 2019-10-08T22:28:00+01:00

I've been playing Words with Friends with… well, with friends, for years now. There's only a couple of people I play with regularly now, which is good - when I used to play more people it could eat into a lot of time. Now I just slot it in every now and again.

Last week something odd happened when someone I didn't now invited me to play. I know it always asks you to 'play with someone new' and gives you 'coins' if you start a match with someone that way. So I thought maybe it was someone winning a few coins for playing a match with me. Anyways I beat her easy enough and wondered if she'd play again afterwards, but no. Instead a few minutes later another 'woman' invited me to play. The timing could not be a coincidence; no new people had invited me to play for many months so to get two consecutive like that was clearly wonky. I suspected bots.

I went back to the one I'd just beaten and saw on her profile she played in multiple languages (six or so), not just English and American English. And so did the new invitee. I smelled a rat. Since then I've declined all these games, as they keep coming.

I like the game. I like challenging friends not a bloody computer. So why does the App do this? And why suddenly now? I'm assuming it's to collect more ad money. If I'm playing more games then I'm seeing more adverts. But who knows, perhaps there is some other more nefarious reason for this uncalled for activity. Or perhaps it has something to do with the recent hack of Zynga from Pakistan?

Interestingly all these new players have attractive women avatars with professional looking shots–apart from one; which had a cat. Their algorithms aren't working if they thought I'd go for a cat! There doesn't seem to be a setting to turn off these bots. And I haven't seen anything from the software maker, Zynga, on their use. All in all; very poor.

So far the bots who have invited me to play were:

Holly Rose
Emma Radcliff
Gaby Spiers (the cat)
Alexa Dimitrov
Tara McClusky

If you play Words with Friends keep an eye out for these characters. You may find you're playing them too.

Microcosms Results

A.J. Walker — 2019-10-07T10:00:08+01:00

The Microcosms website still seems to be having severe issues. I posted the results off a couple of weeks ago and due to those issues the results have yet to be posted up. In the interim whilst the website elves deal with the gremlins here are the results. Hope the Microcosms site is sorted soon.

RESULTS - WEEK 172

As someone who never spins on principle I was surprised at how many did this week. That said, I hadn’t looked at the page until after I had completed the judging (which reminds me: thanks Sal for sending me the stories minus the authors so I could do the judging blind). I assume the spinning was to avoid the steampunk form, which may be a bit constraining and not an obvious choice so I do understand the spinning; and after all the option is there for a reason.

There were eight entries this week, but one was using the previous week’s prompts which I’ve discounted - not sure whether this has appeared in the wrong section due to some of the current issues the site has been experiencing.

There was a fun range of stories taking in time-travel to Stonehenge, steam-driven aeroplanes, environmental activism, transcendentalism, and the mundanity of war. Well done to all, it was pleasure to read them.

Favourite Lines

Earth Daze
After the massive marches in the States, the exhilaration of them, the fear of what they signified, Lucy asked, “What if…” and she hesitated a fraction, “what if we dedicated our lives to the earth?”
Sunset At Stonehenge
All human eyes were fixed on the sunset, so none noticed the otherworldly traveler who stepped from the shadows of the eastern arch.
The Transcendental Artist
‘I’m going to paint my way out of here,’ I told myself.
Five Words Screaming
But the message itself – the message was always the same:
I regret to inform you…
Per Ardua Ad Astra
It was a large machine, larger than any steam-powered aeroplane flown so far, it had to be to accommodate all the coal required to reach the fabulous speed expected of it.
The Gold Mine
A gigantic steamy bird is taking off: miners are on board cheering and screaming towards the freedom
On Pain of Death
“Everyone,” her voice cut through the flurry of screams. “Remain calm.”

Oscar (previous week’s challenge)
“Having trouble finishing my sentenc… ” Oscar said. Oscar 99-101 refilled his bowl with organic, unsalted puffed peas.
Er… maybe an issue with the website?

Winner:
Five Words Screaming : Ellen Grace
Tightly written story and evocative of the hopes and expectations of the protagonist. Dreaming of helping the war effort, sending messages that would impact on the war effort–help in winning it. Then these hopes to be dashed (and dotted) by being given the task of sending out death notices time and time again. Well done. Lovely job.

Runner-Up
The Transcendental Artist : KJ Watson
What fun we’d have if we could paint what we needed or wanted to happen. Great idea, nicely paced, well written and totally fun.

The (New) Dispensary

A.J. Walker — 2019-09-30T09:55:59+01:00

It's been an interesting couple of weeks seeing how the Dispensary transitions after the long reign from Pauline and Dave came to a quite abrupt end. It is understood that the tenancy came to an end on the 15th September and they decided not to renew it. The Dispensary under their stewardship won the Liverpool CAMRA branch Pub of the Year on multiple occasions and the beer choice and quality was never less than exceptional. They kept their decision to leave pretty quiet and it was only in the last ten days of their rule that it became common knowledge. Wherever they end up going and whatever they end up doing I wish them the best of luck.

In the meantime the new managers of the Dispensary require luck and hard work to maintain the tradition of the excellent cellar here, lest it become just another pub. I've been in a few times since the change of the guard and although it's very early days things are looking good. There have been a few changes which are mostly positive or at least neutral. The board with the beers on now has prices on it which is always handy in decision making and getting your money ready at the bar. And talking of money they have entered the 21st century and like many of the other nearby pubs now take card payments. Yay!

The beer choices so far comprise the same breweries that Dave and Pauline took, including Titanic, Ossett and Rat. Definitely a great big plus. Got to be good to have White Rat still available.

There is now no fear of the answer at the bar if you ask for a coke (not that I ever would) but sometimes people require a soft drink. Here is my mate with half a coke…

They still have TVs and the footy channels (BT and Sky) for those interested. And Liverpool are still winning. They've retained the bar staff too.

They also now sell Guinness. It is a drink from my past, but I have often heard people ask for it here and been disappointed not to find it. Not a big fan these days but hey, at least they've got themselves a nice old school pump display for it. They also have a small heater perched at the end of the bar for pies and whatnot. Food in the Dizzy! What next…?

… well, toilet roll in the toilets for a start which is nice.

In the last few days there have been returning customers who were previously banned or at least felt unwelcome. No doubt the customer base will settle down in the coming weeks when the novelty value has ended.

So, in summary, a positive start for the new guys. The key to its continued success will be all about the cellar and the bar staff.

Judging Malarkey

A.J. Walker — 2019-09-25T12:00:36+01:00

It's been a while since I've done any judging, mind you it's been a while since I've entered a challenge where winners are chosen. Last week I entered Microcosms for the second successive week after a long hiatus and was given the win by the judge (thank you, Dana) who evidently has a similar sense of humour to me. Anyways, as a winner you get asked to judge the following weeks entries which this week I agreed to.

There were seven entries this week (week 172) which covered a wide variety of subjects based on the fun range of prompts. Judging is always an interesting process and it was as enjoyable as ever to do this time. Good to get it done and dusted by Tuesday too. Hopefully the results will be up on the website soon–once I've found out who I should be sending my review to!

If you haven't tried Microscoms before I can recommend giving it a go. It's a weekly writing challenge for Flash Fiction of up to 300 words posted on their site: microcosmsfic.com It's always a fun challenge. And maybe when you win it you'll can lay your rule over the following week's stories–and find that just as much fun (or at least interesting) as writing for it.

Go on. Give it a go. In the meantime have a look at the site and see how it all works.

VSS365: The Anthology (Volume 1)

A.J. Walker — 2019-09-23T12:03:29+01:00

Today is the publication day for the first ever VSS365 anthology. Huzzah! And I've already bought and downloaded the book on to my Paperwhite as I am sure many VSS365ers have.

Congratulations to Mark and the VSS365 Ambassadors for their work in getting this done. It's been turned around in super quick time, especially considering how many people they had to deal with in proofing the pieces. Great to be featured in it, within the bonus section, and there's a nice shout out for the Seedling Challenge too. Thanks.

It's the sixteenth book that I've featured in which is nice. I know that for many of the contributors in this anthology this will be their first time in print. It will no doubt be a great feeling for them and I am sure it will give some new writers the confidence to write more AND put themselves out there for more opportunities. Go get 'em folks! Onwards and upwards.

If you haven't got it yet, click on the book and follow the link to Amazon for your copy. All proceeds to charity (The Book Bus) to give you a bonus warm fuzzy feeling included in the price.

Welsh Place Names

A.J. Walker — 2019-09-12T12:51:14+01:00

Starting work on a new short story and it's to be set in an isolated village in North Wales. The kind of place I drive through regularly. But in all this time I've been going there I haven't really bothered with the language, which is a shame. I mean, if I was going on holiday abroad I'd try and learn a few of the words at least for pleasantries, but I haven't for Wales. And that is my bad.

Anyway, for this story I am setting it in a fictitious place in the countryside where clearly it would have a Welsh name, not an English one. So I've had to look up some place name words. I know a few like pont for bridge, aber for river, coed for wood, and capel for chapel (of course). And Isaf and Uchaf is lowest and highest. Other than that I'm a bit at a loss or rely on guesswork. With this limited vocabulary I'd be a bit stuck for a place name. I mean Capel Aber Uchaf is not going to cut it.

I've looked through a lot of the place name segments and have come up with my fictitious hamlet now. Looking through the list it is clear how many places are named so simply on such geographical descriptions (and why with so few names used Isaf and Uchaf has to be used so often (or bach and mawr for little and big) to differentiate places).

allt - hillside, wood bach - little bedd - grave
betws - chapel bwlch - pass caer - fort
carnedd - cairn cefn - ridge clogwyn - steep cliff
coed - wood craig - rock cwm - valley
divas - city dwfr - water dyffryn - valley
eglwys - church fford - road ffridd - mountain pasture
ffynnon - spring llan - parish maen - stone
mawr - big moel - bare hill mynydd - mountain, moorland
nant - brook ogof - cave pistyll - waterfall
plas - hall, mansion pont - bridge pwll - pool
rhiw - hill, slope rhos - moor, promontory rhyd - ford
sarn - causeway stryd - street tafarn - inn
traeth - beach tref - village, town wyddfa - burial mound
ynys - island, river-meadow ystrad - valley floor

There's not going to be any conversations in Welsh so this may well be all my language research required for this story.

Hwyl fawr.

Belters

A.J. Walker — 2019-09-11T12:02:38+01:00

In the last week I've discovered The Expanse, on Amazon Prime in the UK. I started watching it after a recommendation from a guy in the Tap & Bottles in Southport who made good noises about it. Funnily enough I'd already bought two of the books 'Cibola Burn' and 'Nemesis Gates' from a second-hand book shop not knowing at the time that the SF series was based on them.

Crew of the Rocinante: Naomi Nagata, Amos Burton, Alex Kamal and James Holden

Unfortunately now I've binged watched over one and a half series of the Expanse I now want to read the books and the order becomes important. These books are books 4 and 5 out of the current 8. Earlier in the week I found (and bought) book 3 'Abaddon's Gate' in the same bookshop. So now I'm either gonna have to root out the first two books in a shop, or maybe I'll just go on Abebooks for them. In the meantime I'll carry on watching the series. It is already up there in my Top 3 SF series now alongside 'Battlestar Galactica' and 'Firefly'. Don't ask me to put the three in order. Please.

The eight full length books to date (2011-2019) and in order are:

Leviathan Wakes
Calibans War
Abaddon's Gate
Cibola Burn
Nemesis Games
Babylon's Ashes
Persepolis Rising
Tiamat's Wrath

The ones in orange are the ones I've got on my shelves. They are all meaty tomes and when I've got them all they will fill a decent sized shelf.

Incidentally, James S.A. Corey the author of the series is not a person–in so much as it is two people. Namely Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, check out Wikipedia.

In the meantime I've started reading another SF book, coincidentally written by another duo, 'Nightfall' by Isaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg.

Winner Winner Not Chicken Dinner

A.J. Walker — 2019-09-07T13:10:07+01:00

Been a few months since I've won something on Twitter but this week, which has been pretty crap in other ways, has been made better by TWO wins with a book and a CD winging their way to me.

First I won the soundtrack for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood from FACT in Liverpool. Only listened to half of it so far, but it is fab. Then today I won a brand new book; 'Bottled' about alcohol and its relationship with English football (players and teams). Looks like it'll be a good read.

Now they say things happen in threes. So I better find another Twitter competition or two.

Yesterday I was waiting for a replacement van to be delivered (don't ask). Cleaned the van out, took photos and all that then waited. Expected them to come in the morning or maybe lunchtime–I mean who wants to be working late on a Friday? What time did it arrive? 8:30pm. FFS. I hadn't gone out, having to wait, and was starving. With all the KFC coverage yesterday I fancied some fried chicken but by the time the van arrived that mood had gone. Ended up with a beef green pepper and black-bean sauce. Wasn't the best. But no doubt better than the KFC.

Anyway, I'm of to Twitter to look for another comp.

The Once Poised Pen

A.J. Walker — 2019-09-05T11:18:35+01:00

I've officially left the Poised Pen writing group, in so much as such a thing can be official when there is not a membership per se–basically you go to a meeting and you pay your dues, that's your membership. I haven't been going for the last 20 months, so I've asked to be taken off the mailing list, as it gets frustrating reading the apologies. I stopped sending them in as it seemed superfluous when people aren't expecting me to be there. There are PP members now going who I have never met.

I think I went to one, maybe two, meetings once they changed from having the meetings in a real ale pub (the Fly in the Loaf) to the backroom of a restaurant (Porto).
.

It's a shame to cut the ties in some ways but I've just not been going and can't see me going back in the short to medium term. Ultimately I know where they are if I find I want to return in the future. The PP was my first and only writing group where I read out any of my stories, following my few appearances reading poetry at the Dead Good Poets. It also gave me my first opportunities to be published with the Poised Pen anthologies and I can't thank them enough for that: these were 'Half Baked' (2014) and 'All Things Considered' (2016).

I used to be a very regular attendee, pretty much ever present after I started going in 2013. I helped produce Half Baked including sorting it out for the Kindle and using my photo for the cover: unfortunately I was also responsible for a typo on the spine. I enjoyed meeting at the Fly as it combined two of my loves (ale & writing) and cutting one out was the driver for me stopping. Time is a finite resource and something had to give. The writing community outside of the group from, amongst others, the Flash Dogs and VSS365 guys and gals, has given me the confidence and pals I can call on for reading queries or writing advice–albeit without the pint in hand and a post reading chin-wag.

So I'll take this opportunity to say thanks to the Poised Pen for the friendships, the opportunities, the experience, for meeting a lovely group of writers, and for some of the best meetings ever. Good luck to all who sail with her and I look forward to reading your work in the wild–or hearing it on the radio or seeing it on the telly-box. I expect I'll still bump into you; be that in the Fly or at some book or screenwriting extravaganza.

Keep writing.

The Writing Habit

A.J. Walker — 2019-09-05T09:40:28+01:00

It's so easy to come up with reasons not to write sometimes. I mean there is always a film to watch (sometimes again), a box-set to finish or a new one to start, then again there's that once in lifetime (or once in a week) sporting occasion. These damn essential unmissables. Then there's the whole shopping, cooking and eating thing. And don't even mention that washing and ironing thing.

Do you want to fucking write or not? Well let's not fall at the first hurdle, let's just assume you like writing a bit. You're doing some, probably not enough of course. But then again where are you finding the time and how much time do you need? On the face of it not that much if you get into an effective habit. Just get an envelope out and write out a few ideas. If you can find half an hour to write 350 words every day that's over 127,000 words a year. There is your first novel with words to spare. And if you could do 500 words in a day then you're up to 187,000. That could be two books–five hundred words.

So if you want to get to a book's worth of words in a year it could be about finding just half an hour a day and getting into a habit, could't it? Pick a time, in the morning before work, at lunch time, or at the end of the day–maybe over a beer. Whatever works. I will if you will.

Okay, I will anyway. Will have to keep some sort of writing diary and see how it goes.

I'm sure it's all about good habits.

Better Be: A Retune

A.J. Walker — 2019-09-03T12:24:47+01:00

Been a while since I've done any recording of my guitar practising so I've done one today which is a reattempt at the classic Crowded House song 'Better Be Home Soon'.

This is actually my third attempt. My first one was an open chord version which I struggled and failed to get to the highest notes, so for the second one I played with a capo. This was deeper and easier to hit the high notes but in some ways less lively to sing. So for the third version I've gone back to the open chord version.

Still struggle with the highest notes but hell it's better than it was and is a livelier version than the capo one. I may not have a good singing voice but it's improving with practice.

The other thing I am trying to do now is practice strumming patterns. Eek! Think that should be the quickest way to get better to be honest. Do wish I'd had some lessons when I was younger. Anyways, onwards and upwards. And whilst I'm practising I've got the aim to write three songs before the end of the year. Perhaps I'll choose a theme from a VSS365 prompt.

Two Thirds There

A.J. Walker — 2019-08-27T12:58:27+01:00

This year's reading plans have been progressing well against the plan to read forty books this year. That said it feels like I've read more somehow. Go figure. Struggling to see how people read one hundred plus - then I think of the box-sets I've seen and think okay, fair enough (I've just binge watched Gomorra, which was excellent).

Two thirds of the way through the year and I've read twenty eight books. Next few books are lined up 'Last and First Men' by Olaf Stabledon, 'The Subtle Knife' by Philip Pullman and 'The Invisible Library' by Genevieve Cogman. Yep, lots of SF and Fantasy then. Standard.

Will I make it to forty with other constraints on time ahead, we'll see? You can follow my reading progress on GoodReads at zevonesque.

Neptune Saturday: Beer & Footy

A.J. Walker — 2019-08-24T10:12:11+01:00

Saturday was a nice day weather-wise, beer-wise and footy-wise. First up I went up to the Neptune Brewery Tap in Maghull, for the first time since going on the opening weekend, for a couple of beers with my good mate, Tony. It was Tony's first visit.

'Jester' and 'King of the Sea' in the Neptune Brewer Tap

Started with a couple of cask ales, which were 'Jester' and 'King of the Sea' (they have two cask lines and then the rest in keg) and then I went for their collaboration beer with Brass Castle 'Bozza Don't Surf'. So that's why there's a rare pic of me with a half pint glass. The ale (7.3%) is gorgeous and I thoroughly recommend getting your mitts on some if you see it around.

A rare event for me… a half AND it's a KEG! (don't tell anyone)

Pump clips for some of the many beers Neptune brew - one of each please…

Merchandise, branding and snacks in the Neptune Brewery Tap

As it was a Bank Holiday weekend they had food on from The Great British Chip Shop on the Sunday and Monday - not on the Saturday. Nice to see companies working off each other that way. Les and Julie and the rest of the crew have done a fab job creating the tap and I'm sure it will be a brilliant success. If you are ever in the Maghull area over a weekend you should check if the Tap is open and get your chops around a few of these guys beers. You won't be disappointed. The brewery is at Unit 1, Sefton Lane Industrial Estate, Maghull, L31 8BX. Easiest way of getting there is usually just to get the train to Maghull Station and from there get a taxi - Blueline taxis have an office opposite the railway station.

Had a problem waiting for a taxi to return back to Maghull Station (should have booked it earlier: I blame the taste of the beer making us want to stay longer). Julie very kindly volunteered to run us down to the station. A star!

Got the train back to town and went to meet Ste in Fly in the Loaf where we watched the Liverpool v Arsenal match. Well, what can I say. Another nice ale or two in the Fly and a fab win from Liverpool (3-1). Happy Days!

Like I say, it was nice weather wise too. But largely it was spent indoors. Enjoyable nonetheless.

If you wanna check out these guys on Twitter they are:
Neptune Brewery - @neptunebrewery and neptunebrewery.com
Brass Castle Brewery - @BrassCastleBeer
Fly in the Loaf - @FlyintheLoaf

A Wee Bit More Pratchett

A.J. Walker — 2019-08-19T13:15:54+01:00

After my weekend purchase at Henry Bohn's I've now only three books to get to complete my Terry Pratchett 'Discworld' novels:

Soul Music
Witches Abroad
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

Wee Free Men

I'll no doubt sort these out later this year, which will be awesome and a shame at the same time. I mean, not having any more to read will be very sad. In the meantime I am reading a non-Discworld Pratchett novel 'Nation' - I'm only about a quarter of the way through but I am loving it. He was such a smart writer and produced such stories that are so easy to read ever time.

The wonderful Henry Bohn's

Eight Pubs

A.J. Walker — 2019-08-19T11:15:57+01:00

On Saturday, as I mentioned on my previous post, I decided in the absence of the North Wales CAMRA coach trip to go on a local jaunt around many of the Liverpool hostelries I enjoy. Here is how the afternoon transpired.

I got the infamous No. 17 into town and got off on London Road. My route for the day was undecided at that point, but it was best place to get off and get some cash out by the Tesco. I took out thirty quid and then made the happy mistake to go into Henry Bohn's - a wonderful second hand bookshop at the bottom of London Road by the Empire.

Twenty minutes later I came out with a much heavier bag (and eleven quid lighter) having bought two Terry Pratchett's: The Wee Free Men and Nation, and an Olaf Stapledon: Last and First Men. However the day transpired this would make it a good one.

I was in the process of reading 'Moscow Drive' by a local guy, Mark Porter, who I'd met on the aforesaid infamous 17, in which he name checks lots of Liverpool hostelries I have been know to frequent, including the Raven at Walton Vale, and in town the White Star, Lion, and Ma Egertons (which I'd just got up to in the book). Ma Egerton's is behind the Empire so it seemed the obvious place to start in a way. Unfortunately it hadn't crossed my mind that it was only around an hour or so before kick-off and Everton had their first home game of the season at 3pm. Egerton's was an obvious meeting place, being next to Lime Street Station and a taxi rank. So it was packed. I walked in and then out. Ma, I'll catch you another time. Instead I went to the Crown. It too was busy with a fair few fans, but I'd timed it to perfection as far as service was concerned. Sizing up the selection I went for a beer (and brewery) I hadn't had before, a 'Sunshine IPA' from Wooha Brewing Company. A decent, hoppy, low abv pint for the start of a session. I drank it in the backroom, the only place I could find a seat, and perused my new old books surrounded by people eating massive coronary inducing platters (looked good).

Next up was only a hundred metres down the road and one of my regulars, The Sanctuary. Here I bumped into a Twitter friend I've never met before, but knew was a regular at the Sanctuary, Stephen Ackers aka @beefynets. He has got into doing VSS365, which - as well as liking ale - makes him mighty fine. Here I went for an Adnams 'Mosaic'. Whilst it is a bit of a large brewery for me I do like the single hop brews, and it was a nice (hoppy again) choice. After bidding farewell to Ackers, whose bags were heavier than mine thanks to Lidl's 'beer festival', I went on to number three. The area of attack was now clear - I couldn't be out for too long (having work on Sunday) and I never want to miss the Grapes, when I have the choice, so basically I knew I was bound to continue around the Hardman group of hostelries. Therefore next up was the Dispensary.

Say what you like about the Dizzy (and boy people do) the cellar is the best kept there is. They had White Rat and King Rat on from Rat Brewery. Whilst not ideal for a session I went for the stronger (5%) King Rat for the extra oomf. Was not a mistake. Gorgeous. Got into conversations with Dave, the landlord's husband, about things football and CAMRA related. We agreed to disagree on some and agreed to agree on others. Liverpool scored against the run of play whilst I was there (not on telly) whilst Archer was beating the daylights out of Steve Smith (also not on telly).

Next up was the Roscoe Head, one of only five (who knows, maybe fewer now) pubs in the entire country to have been in every edition of the Good Beer Guide. I'd bumped into Carol (the landlady) on Wednesday in the Fly and said I'd pop in soon. She wasn't in, but I bumped into a couple of people I knew. After the heavier abv. in the Dizzy I went for another light one and the Red Willow Brewery 'Effort Less', whilst I continued to read some more of Moscow Drive.

(the Strawberries and Cream was from a different day - these images are from my @realeliverpool Instagram account)

Got a quick bite of something and nothing from the Co-op before heading on to The Grapes. It's a wonderful pub and one of the most improved over the last couple of years - just be careful if you are visiting Liverpool not to mistake it for the aberration (at least from a beer perspective) for the Grapes on Mathew Street. Here it was time for a local brew from Neptune Brewery (I think the best brewery on Merseyside, but there are lots of great ones these days) and another new beer for me, the Cabo Baja Sur. Sat in the bar on the right I got chatting to another reader (she was reading the Time Traveller's Wife, but was not over enamoured with it). Good beer, nice chat. Excellent. But I couldn't be resting up, as I'd intended to make eight different pubs and time and beer was of the essence.

I headed next back over Hardman Street and up to the Hard Times & Misery, which is now called the Dicken's and King. I was happy to see they had another Mosaic on and, even better, it was from Neptune. It was lovely. Probably my Beer of the Day, if I was handing out awards. Again bumped into a couple of people for chats about things beer, football and writing related.

The late kick off was Man City v Spurs and as a Liverpool fan I had a little interest in it, even if it is so bloody early in the season (Liverpool had beaten Southampton in the 3 o'clock kick off, after apparently playing pretty poorly). Anyway, it made sense to head next to the Fly in the Loaf and catch a beer and the end of the game there. It was 2-2, then Man City scored in injury time to get the winner. A big cheer went up as there were Evertonians in the house post their game and they already want City to win the league - can't think why. Thankfully VAR stepped in (ridiculously) and disappointed blue noses of several persuasions. I enjoyed it muchly with an Ilkley Brewery 'Summer Golden Ale'.

That was pub number seven. So where for eight? There were plenty of good local options including the Pen Factory, the Belvedere, even the Phil, but I went for the Caledonia. They've had an Americana festival on all month, and there was a chance I could catch some music. As it happened I did catch a couple of tunes from Alex Gavaghan all accompanied with another local brew a 'Session IPA' (words that really shouldn't go together in my view) from Liverpool Brewing Company.

Good beer, fine music, interesting conversations and reading. All in all a damn good crawl.

Alex Gavaghan in the Caledonia

Pub Crawl

A.J. Walker — 2019-08-17T11:55:00+01:00

Time has been a bit short this week, with the new routes in Wales I've been given one of the short straws with Llanwrst and Trefriw. Bugger of a route with narrow roads, one ways, wrong geocodes, named houses and some very isolated properties – even deeper into Snowdonia, past old lead mines, deep in forest and into hiking territories. With up to 80 drops a day a single drop that takes 30 minutes is very frustrating - however beautiful the locality. I was lucky to just get back in time to watch the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday, which has been the highlight of the week.

Isolated walking territory, Snowdonia

Hafna Lead Mine, Snowdonia

Maenan Hall Folly

Gwydir Castle, Llanwrst

Was originally hoping to be on a real ale trip to Conwy and Colwyn Bay today with the Wirral Branch of CAMRA, but the coach was booked up. Meanwhile my usual couple of cohorts went on a last minute holiday up to the Isle of Bute, which looked lovely. So I have been left to my own devices. Um'd and ah'd about going to Manchester, or doing the Southport Run or maybe Chester or a Wirral trip. But hell I've opted for closer to home and a go-with-the-flow wander around Liverpool hostelries. Will try to get to a few more than usual, which means shorter stops and quicker drinks. Unfortunately I'm working tomorrow, which means I can't be out this evening.

Will see how it goes. Will try and take some photos and make a few notes to turn into a blog - partly because I haven't done any blogs this week. I'll also try and do my Seedling Challenge.

Have a good weekend folks.

Tony's Bus Pass Party

A.J. Walker — 2019-08-10T11:38:25+01:00

Of out later to go to my mate Tony's Bus Pass Party. Should be a blast with all his mates and the beer flowing.

Thought I'd dig out some photos of the lovely lad. Not many without a beer in hand, or Steve, or a rye smile.

Happy Birthday Fella!

Cheers!

Bite Marks

A.J. Walker — 2019-08-07T22:55:12+01:00

One of the nicest parts of delivering stuff all over the place is the lovely scenery and nice places I get to see. Also lots of lovely dogs and animals (not cats). Of course though not all dogs are lovely, often due to their owners and the way they are or have been treated. Sometimes they are just doing their job as they see it - guarding the property and/or owner, albeit it over zealously.

I've been quite lucky really as getting bitten by a dog kinda goes with the territory of the job. Whilst we are not paid to take risks we can't hide every time a chihuahua
barks at us. Sometimes the issue can be unforeseen other times all too obvious.

The other day I arrived at a farm and two border collies circled the van whilst I sat in it. One going clockwise, one anticlockwise. Meanwhile a third dog sat impassive, watching. What do you do? You have a delivery to make. Are the dogs going to be okay when you get out of the van? Are they ALL okay or is one a bit of a nutter? You can see these three, are there more around the corner? In the first instance I beeped my horn to see if anyone was about. No one was. Then I tried ringing the customer to see if I could ask them about the dogs. No answer. In the end I risked it with a bit of trepidation. They were okay. Although as soon as I got back in the van two of them tried to bite my rear tyres and it made manoeuvring risky: 'You're parcel's in the shed–beside the run-over dog. Sorry…'

This kinda thing happens every day. I got bitten over a year ago on a hot day when the customer had left his front door open to cool the house. The customer was on the sofa and as I opened the gate I saw him let his dog run out. It ran straight out and bit me on my thigh. He asked if it bit me, whilst I walked around in circles crying out 'It bit me, it bit me. Fuck, it bit me.' – which I thought should have been a giveaway. The man shooed the dog (a border collie) into the house, asked if I was okay and whether I needed any water or antiseptic etc. I said yes please, at which point he realised that he'd closed the door after the dog and of course after being sat on the sofa who wears their keys on them? Yep, he'd locked himself out of the house. I limped away, leaving him to is and sorted wound cleaning in the local co-op car park.

There but for the grace and all that, it could happen every day. But it doesn't. And most dogs are great–If you follow my Twitter feed or Instagram you'll know I regularly put up pics of dogs I see whilst I'm out. I didn't take one today. Yup, I got bit.

It was a strange one. I went up to the house and they didn't use to have a dog (I've delivered there before). The dog was on a long leash (basically the length of the garden) and was sat by the door. I hardly noticed it until I got near the door. The dog (another border collie) lay down disinterested. I knocked on the door. It is sometimes then, when you go to the door, that they do get bothered - protecting their entrance and all that - but no, the dog remained disinterested. The customer came to the door. I chatted with him. The dog stayed lying down. I even said I'd managed to get past his guard dog and he laughed. It was sometime after this that the dog darted up (perhaps he was offended by my 'guard dog' jibe) and bashed into my knee. It came out of nowhere, the speed was rapid. I swore a bit and felt my knee bashed and bitten. As it happened he'd at least gone high enough that it went through my shorts, which would have afforded a little protection. Only one tooth got through and pierced the skin. It could have been worse - there was no clamping of jaws! The customer had only had the dog three weeks, it was a rescue dog and they were 'just getting to know it' – I guess they learned a little more today. All I got for my troubles was a baby wipe to clean the wound and a bit shook up.

Needless to say for the rest of the day when this happens you remain a bit more concerned around dogs than you are normally. At one farm a dog which does have an attitude was being a bit too close at one point - I'd mentioned the incident to the farmer and he said the only one he worries about if that one - it then snapped at my arse. I could feel the nose against me. Luckily the teeth missed thought they gnashing together audibly. The farmer shouted at the dog. Personally I think maybe if he worries about it, then maybe he should, at the very least, hold on to him whilst visitors are there doing him a favour! No? In future I will bring the parcel into the front at this farm and stay in the van.

Then on my last delivery a house with an open door. When I was half way up the garden a black dog came careering down the stairs outside and straight at me. I used the parcel as a defence between me and his snarling mouth before backing out of the gate. I'm not sure whether that one was going to bite me or not. But I wasn't going to take a chance. The woman said 'don't worry he doesn't bite' but they all say that before they follow up with 'well, he hasn't done that before' or 'it's the hi-vis' (not sure how they see that from upstairs).

Hopefully I won't get bitten for another year - or, even better, ever again. Maybe #DailyDeliveryDog will be back tomorrow. Fingers crossed (whilst I still have all ten of them).

goodreads

A.J. Walker — 2019-07-31T13:41:41+01:00

I haven't got a goodreads author page yet. Well, not exactly. If you click on some of the books there are links from my name to an author page for A.J. Walker, and there are five or six books which I am featured in, but it's not my author page. It appears to be an amalgam of at least three A.J. Walkers–I have not written a book on 'Retirement Strategies' or 'The Timeless Empire Series'.

I have emailed goodreads and hope that they can disentangle my books from the other A.J. Walkers out there.

In the meantime if you want to check out what I've been reading and what I've got lined up you can check out my (non-author) goodreads page at: www.goodreads.com/Zevonesque

Think it may be time I updated my photo on there, or maybe I should just go baby face shave again?

I've Opened the Door

A.J. Walker — 2019-07-31T10:38:55+01:00

On Friday 'Don't Open the Door' was published on that there Amazon. The horror anthology, edited by Cory Mason, comprises thirteen stories from ten authors (including me, of course), namely;

Augie Peterson
Yawatta Hosby
T.H. Willoughby
J.A. Sullivan
Cory Mason
Kimberly Wolkens
L.M. du Preez
A.J. Walker
Johvan Calvo
Luke Elliott Alphonso Jr.

I've finished the book now, and enjoyed it. Three of the authors had two stories in the book, the remainder one each. I haven't counted the words but they are probably mostly between 3000 and 6000 words, I reckon. There was a mix of styles, some cerebral and some decidedly more gory. My favourite stories were: 'Chalk' (T.H. Willoughby), 'The Locks' (Cory Mason), 'The Dark Room' (L.M. du Preez), and the 'Ten Fingered Man' (Luke Elliot Alphonso Jr). But don't take my word on it, there are some reviews up on Goodreads already, click on the book and take a look.

I enjoyed being involved in the book. The authors have all been active behind the scenes, thanks to Discord. Most of the authors are from the western side of the Atlantic, with six Americans and two Canadians. The Old World was represented byTH Willoughby from south western England and myself from the North West. Goes to show that there's trouble behind doors everywhere. Maybe we should get rid of them. Looking forward to reading some more reviews and seeing the blogs from other authors; as well as hearing a podcast about the book–I'll let you know when it comes out. Particular thanks goes to Cory, who devised and edited the anthology; give him a follow on Twitter @TheBestTomo

If you read the book please remember to give it a rating and/or a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Thanks, in advance.

Fantasy Footy's Nearly Back

A.J. Walker — 2019-07-29T17:38:57+01:00

The football season is almost upon us–I know, it already is for some none Premiership footy fans, but I'm talking Liverpool. Anyway, I'm also talking Fantasy Footy. I've done it the last few years. Generally the better Liverpool do, the better my team does. Stands to reason with the reliance on three players from Liverpool every time. Just put up my provisional team and the most difficult thing was picking which Liverpool players to pick (on the Fantasy Footy League I'm in you can only pick a maximum of three from any one club; I do the fantasy.premierleague.com one).

How could I not pick Robertson or Allison? I ended up going for Salah, Firmino and Keita. I wanted Mane but couldn't afford him, and maybe Origi is worth a punt or Ox; this football management lark is quite difficult.

It asks you to select colours for a kit. Of course you could ignore it. But then again you could just select: red, red, red, red.

May set up a league for VSSers. But not sure how many would be interested. Need at least eight to make the league look like a league and not just a match.

I've selected a crap team name. And defo need to change that before the season starts–now that's not a problem a manager usually has (unless he's at Hull). Something based around Six probably.

Shrewsbury Pub Walk

A.J. Walker — 2019-07-24T21:44:58+01:00

As I was down in Atcham, just outside Shrewbury for the wedding, I thought it was a nice idea to stay for another day to spend a day wandering the streets of Shrewsbury popping in a few decent boozers – I\d been to the town a few times before but it had been a while.

I walked from the Ishmore to Shrewsbury, which is around a five mile march, but I had a pit stop at the Mermaid and had a farewell chat (and cider) with the Lee's (and newly named Rachel Higham) before plodding on.

I ended up visiting eight pubs, which in order were:

Wheatsheaf
Three Fishes
Coach & Horses
Albert's Shed
The Armoury
Shrewsbury Hotel
Salopian Bar
King's Head

The best pubs were the Three Fishes, Coach & Horses, and Salopian Bar – though I enjoyed watching a singer-guitarist in the King's Head, called Luke Day.

First up after the somewhat sweaty walk in was the Wheatsheaf. At least I could sit outside to cool down. Had a pint of Ringwood (can't recall the actual beer unfortunately). It was okay, then again after the walk in anything would have been.

Pub 1. Wheatsheaf. With a Ringwood. A little hot and bothered.

Pub 2. Three Fishes with a pint of Thornbridge 'Twin Peaks'

Pub 3. Coach & Horses with a Salopian 'Oracle'.

Pub 4. Albert's Shed with a Salopian 'Lemon Dream'.

Pub 5. The Armoury with a Three Tuns 'XXX"

Pub 6. Shrewsbury Hotel (a Wetherspoons) with a Tring 'Colley's Dog'.

Pub 7 (and 9). Salopian Bar with an Oakham 'CItra' and HappyToo and HappyTwoToo

I may have had a five mile walk in, but I was always going to get a taxi back to Atcham. It didn't break the bank at £7.40.

All in all a relaxing and rewarding afternoon.

Did I mention the cheese?

A.J. Walker — 2019-07-22T19:30:55+01:00

Just had a cracking weekend down in Shropshire once more. I'd booked a camping spot in a National Trust site at Atcham (Ishmore Camping Site) and got down there about 8:30pm thanks to the high volume of deliveries on Friday from Prime Week. Having set up the tent last week for Bishop's Castle it was an even quicker process this time and it was sorted by 8:45pm when I had my post-put up pint of BrewDog 'Instamatic'. There was only one other tent there when I arrived and another started putting up their family sized teepee whilst I was finishing off. Turned out the first tent there was for a couple also going to Rachel & Paddy's wedding the next day. I followed them down to Atcham to go to the Mytton & Mermaid pub – it's the only pub in the village and many of the bride's side were staying there. The walk was about a mile through grassland first then along a busy A-road. Fifteen minute walk and a nice pint awaited. Or did it?

Not initially, no. The Mermaid had a Summer Ball on and in their wisdom was closed to the public; only the people of the Ball or guests could get a drink. We were told that we could sit in their garden, but we couldn't buy a drink. The other two set about finding where the nearest alternatives might be; over a mile further on. I called Chris, the father of the bride, who was staying there. They were on their way (they'd had to drive elsewhere to get something to eat of course, 'cos the kitchen was focused on the Ball). Bit of shoddy treatment for a wedding party really. In the end they arrived on mass and finally I got a deserved drink about half an hour later than anticipated. The staff were then happy to take our money once w'd been served with the guests – *sigh*

Left the Mermaid around midnight after a most pleasant evening with many of the Lee's, including the bride, parents and Sam, and some of the lads who had been at Bishop's Castle the week before.

Thankfully the wedding was relatively late on the Saturday (2:30pm) so there was plenty of time to relax before getting ready. The campsite was very basic – two composting toilets and a sink with a cold tap. Washing my hair in the morning was very cold and surprisingly refreshing. I can't believe how many people thought I'd have trouble getting ready in a tent – I mean, why on God's earth would I take my suit into the tent. I dressed in the car park of course. The weather proved to be better than anticipated, in so much as showers were forecast but seemed to miss us. The rain on Friday daytime had been very heavy but the campsite showed no evidence of it at all, thankfully.

Ste and Tony were staying in a Holiday Inn east of Shrewsbury, quite close to Atcham and they headed to the Mermaid (which handily is adjacent to the church, St. Eata) and I met them there for one pint in the sun before going to the church. The bride looked stunning in her dress and the bridesmaids weren't put in the shade either. All the boys in their tails looked very different from the week before in Bishop's Castle. Some of them scrubbed up surprisingly well. And of course there is always someone in a kilt – I'm half Scottish so I just wear tartan underwear for the occasion. Or do I?

The service was lovely – although the digs at the scousers by the local vicar felt a little uncomfortable (to paraphrase 'put something on the plate, don't take the money off it' – I ask ya!), but overall he was fun and largely a hit. The Lee's had kidnapped their own priest to come and do a cameo, which was nice (and he didn't have a go at the locals in retaliation). After a bit of miming to hymns I didn't know, with occasional bursts of words coming forth by accident, and then the vows getting done without incident (no mobile phones went off at all) I managed to get a shot of the couple after signing the book, then it was time for throwing some confetti and taking some photos before heading up to the house for the reception. It was a bit disorganised about how people who weren't driving were to get up there (the ushers need some retraining), so myself and the other two amigos headed up on foot. Thankfully Chris and Sue were driving past and picked us up.

I won't talk about the house – I'm sure it's not the done thing – but boy, what a house and grounds (end of). The reception was in a massive marquee (I think there were 128 guests) and on arrival we were attended in the grounds by a myriad of lovely ladies and gents who plied us with champagne and canapés. It's hard to pick a favourite canapé - the monkfish was nice, the cheese and asparagus thing was beautiful, the mini-beef and Yorkshire puds were lovely and the wee Scotch Eggs (quail, I assume) were spot on. Meanwhile the harpist was playing cool pop songs, but acoustically the harp isn't really made for outdoors gigs. It was then an hour or two of canapés, champagne, ales and chatting to friends from Bishop's Castle and friends we hadn't met yet and all that malarky. The Higham's had laid on a couple of casks of local ales from Salopian: 'Oracle' and 'Darwin's Origin'. The Higham's, with the Lee's, basically put on a perfect event.

The speeches were great from the three boys – all funny, with no meanness. Then the meal was spot on - no starter - just main course, a venison Wellington, with second servings ('Want some more?' 'Er, go 'ed.') and a dessert of Eton Mess. Tony liked that so much he decided to eat Sue's. I rescued his and did a swap. Oh my, I almost forgot the wedding cake. CHEESE, CHEESE, CHEESE and some pork pie. Did I mention the cheese? The blue cheese from the Lakes (not Shropshire Blue, surprisingly) was lush. Let's say that again… they laid on real ale and cheese. If I should ever meet the right person and one thing leads to another, it will be ending in ale and cheese too.

Then that was almost it bar the shouting, avoidance of dancing (apart from 'Sweet Caroline') and lots of good natured chats and banter. The three piece band were excellent. Oh, and there was the small matter of a mahoosive fireworks display before getting the minibus back to the Mermaid and a happy stagger back to the tent.

In summary: Congrats to Rachel and Patrick Higham. It was a truly wonderful wedding. Did I mention the cheese?

That's enough for now, I'll do a small follow up blog about Sunday and the pub crawl in Shrewsbury.

Camping Weekends: Part 2

A.J. Walker — 2019-07-19T08:00:17+01:00

Of to Atcham today for a wedding tomorrow. Camping at a National Trust site beside Attingham Park, less than a mile from the church - St Eata - where the wedding will be; and handy for the one pub in the village (the Mermaid) where some of the friends and family of the bride will be staying; so all in all a handy location.

Weather poorer than last week with rain a lot of today and showers tomorrow. Ho hum. I've remembered to buy a gas lighter for my Triangia stove - just need to get hold of some more meths today.

May go and see the Roman ruins at Wroxter on Monday, or even tomorrow morning before the wedding? And a Shrewsbury pub crawl on Sunday if I'm up to it. A busy weekend all in all.

Van packed. Just need to get through a day's work first.

See yous later…

Another Fab Bishop's Castle

A.J. Walker — 2019-07-17T23:43:10+01:00

The weekend brought my first camping trip of the year at the lovely Foxholes campsite in Bishop's Castle. As I said in the previous blog, it was my ninth Real Ale Trail here in succession - and I think sixth time camping.

Tent up: celebratory pint

Most of the gang got there well before me, setting up early afternoon, but I put in a day at work and travelled down straight after finishing. Got down there about seven and put up my (new) tent and, after the traditional celebratory bottle of beer (you can't drink a bottle until your tent is up, but you MUST have one after doing so), I headed down to the Vaults to catch up with everyone. Some were more well oiled than others, but it was not a night I needed to play catch up - the festival is officiallly the following day.

There were plenty of Bishop's Castle newbies (and young ones), as one of the Shropshire Lads was taking the opportunity to use the event as his stag do. There were many members of his old cricket club from Shrewsbury - I reckon a few of them will be back next year. Patrick (the stag) did sterling work keeping hold of his teddy AND his faculties over the two days and nights.

Had a few in the Vaults, listening to the music and enjoying the mood of the peeps, then popped down the hill to the Six Bells for a couple and some more live music. After that it was time to walk up the hill back to Foxholes, thankful that I'd remembered to bring my headlamp for the walk through the field of oats (which is split by part of the Shropshire Way).

In the evening there was a fire, which went into the early hours, where I brought out two things for such a moment - a bottle of Bowmore Islay Malt and a guitar. Ste and Tone had already gone bye-byes and Ste was providing his own background music, much to the amusement of the campers who hadn't witnessed such a noise before.

All in all a long and excellent evening.

The start, in the Three Tuns

In the morning the grass was damp from some light overnight rain - it was time a bacon and egg barm (the campsite brought in hot food last year - they must coin it in, but it is worth it). Before too long it was time to head on down to the Three Tuns, which is the traditional start of the crawl/trail. We always take it in order from there to The Castle, then down the hill via The Vaults, Kings Head and the Six Bells. This year the Boar's Head was staying out of it for the landlord's own spurious reasons and actually closed on the Saturday (an odd business decision, but hey). There was also a small addition, in the form of Mr Whittingham's Gin Emporium, which had three local casks on.

Group shot in the Castle garden

It proved a dry day, often cloudy, but when the sun came out it was very warm and required some slapping on of sun lotion. There was music everywhere and it was a fab and (largely) uneventful day (I won't mention burning of stag-do hats or pants…). The Castle had a nice new stage in their garden and the beer was in a different place to accommodate the new layout. Apparently there is some concern from a planning perspective with it being in the area of some archaeological interest (overheard, I can't be sure - I'm no journalist), notwithstanding this it was substantial and looked good for its purpose.

Sun is out in the garden of the Castle

There were free bottles of water spread around the town, which was provided free to the festival by Montgomery Water. This was requested by the police during the meetings for approvals of the festival. It certainly seems a very good idea - especially how hot it often is when this festival is on. It must have helped as everyone lasted the day pretty much in tact (barring the burnt clothing) and much fun was had. Another one to add to the memory banks.

Oh, and I stayed for an additional day. Everyone got off by eleven and I wandered down to the Bish to see where I could watch the cricket World Cup Final. Turned out the the Three Tuns was shut. I didn't fancy the Castle for the match or the Vaults, really, so I headed down to the Six Bells. The pub didn't open until noon. I sat on the bench by the church and downloaded the Channel4 App and watched the match there until 12:20 before heading into the pub. They had no telly. But they had ale, and I got myself a pint of something local, light and pale: it was also £3.30 instead of £4 per pint, which was the blanket price the day before across the festival. I found a corner and set up my phone to watch the match in the company of the two dogs, who's space I was evidently invading. The pub was very quite, with the landlady basically moving the plastic glasses out and bringing back the glass ones. I was, happily, informed that the cask ales out the back were being sold off for £1 a pint to get rid of them. I was very happy to help.

Clearing the Six Bells. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it

I commandeered the corner for the game, and reported the incredible game progress regularly to the landlord, regulars and other customers, whilst continuing to 'help' the pub in the slow clearance of liquids. In the end I was in the same pub from 12:20pm until 7:30pm. Pretty much a full working day. Went back to the campsite via a pint each in the Vaults and the Three Tuns (where there was a relaxed Celtic session on). No whisky or more beer was drunk (there was a little guitar).

And bloody hell, that cricket match was one of the best sporting events I have ever watched. Brilliant stuff.

Camping at Bishop's Castle (Again)

A.J. Walker — 2019-07-10T11:50:44+01:00

This weekend it is my now annual pilgrimage to Bishop's Castle, in Shropshire, for the Real Ale Trail Festival. I think it's my ninth in a row as ten years ago I was at T in the Park, in Balado, this weekend in 2009 watching bands including; Kings of Leon, Snow Patrol, Blur, The Killers, Regina Spektor, Mogwai and Squeeze (incidentally, looking at the band list I note that Mumford & Sons were playing in the King Tuts (first on, on the Saturday) though I didn't see them).

Once I stopped going to T in the Park with my music festival buddies (after 2009) I began to go to Bishop's Castle Beer Festival with my ale drinking buddies instead. So basically this weekend has been a big one for fifteen years or so, albeit with very different festivals. Both involve camping though and I very much enjoy it. Every time I do it I wonder why I don't do it more. It will be my first camping trip of the year and will be swiftly followed by camping the following weekend where I am camping for a wedding! I dare say there won't be too many people leaving their tents suited and booted (although I believe there will be at least one more doing the same).

Last year at the festival it coincided with England doing rather well in the World Cup. There was a lot of sunshine, lovely booze, boss people and all round good vibes (these peeps in the photo are all looking suitably in the pink). Incidentally, Rachel in the front there, behind her dad on the right, is the lovely lady getting married next week - and the groom is lurking there on the left too.

It's nice to get a new Eurohike tent for this year - even if it is the same design as I used to use. It served me very well (including back in T in the Park).

Roll on a couple of weekends of fun camping, lovely beers, decent bands (largely in the Vaults), and good people & times.

Podcasts and Web Formatting

A.J. Walker — 2019-07-06T11:06:06+01:00

Created a page on Podcasts a few weeks ago and put up four of the podcasts that I currently listen to, namely;

Sodajerker
13 Minutes to the Moon
New York Times - The Book Review
Blank

During the week I realised that whilst my blog was displaying fine on a mobile the Podcast and Publications page was not displaying correctly (they were all fine on the desktop). I've ended up having to double up what's in my website creator (Rapidweaver) then hide/display the relevant pages. Bit of a pain, but not the end of the world. It has however meant I haven't had time to update my blog (or the podcast page) whilst I dealt with it. Anyway, I'm getting there now.

I've taken the opportunity to update the Publications page with the link to the upcoming 'Don't Open the Door' anthology, which is due out on the 26th July.

It's been a good week for podcast listening. Yesterday I listened to a couple of the Art of Process pods, produced by Aimee Mann and Ted Leo. Incidentally I have been a fan of Aimee Mann from the 1990s onwards. The album 'Whatever' (1993) is a wonderful listen and if you ain't got it then you must get on it. I was lucky enough to see her a few times in Manchester.

I can thoroughly recommend the Art of Process to any of you creative types. As the name implies it is about processes people use for the creation of their arts, be it writers, songwriters, comedians etc. The podcasts are around an hour long and involve discussions with successful artists. The two I listened to this week were Ian MacKaye (Fugazis) and Jean Grae (a multi talented hip hop, actress, comedienne etc). Whilst I knew little about the former I knew nothing about the latter. But both were fascinating podcasts and a great listen.

The Blank podcasts fit well with the Art ones with conversations with artists (very much UK, whilst the AoP one is US) about periods that they may have suffered to get through, their Blank times. Sometimes in these podcasts there isn't actually that much about the blank times to be fair, and they can be just as much about their processes. Yesterday's pod was with the lovely comedienne Rachel Parris, of Daily Mash fame, who is most personable during her chinwag with the genial hosts. Equally recommended.

Of course earlier in the week my Podcasts included the unmissable 13 Minutes to the Moon and The New York Times Book Review. And needless to say my weekly Archers catch up (poor Jim).

New Songs, New People

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-28T11:58:49+01:00

Open Mic again last night, so of course I was there again. Ollie arrived later so I went up first to be followed by Matt Author.Com. There was another poetry performance, which was funny. And a couple of the excellent regulars as well as a couple of Open Mic virgins.

Started and ended with a few of my usuals, which sandwiched in a few new ones for me from the Waterboys and Green on Red.

Set list:

Somewhere Down the Road
Heart Breaks Like the Dawn
Strange Boat
A Man is in Love
Shed a Tear (for the Lonesome)
Whiskey in my Whiskey

There was a bit of a CAMRA event on in the pub with Karl, the brewer from Liverpool Brewing Company there, so downstairs was busy with some CAMRA bods. I introduced a blue nose from CAMRA to the event and he enjoyed watching one of the newbies and a couple of classics from Dave Glyn Jones.

As I was off on Friday I even went on for a pint with everyone, in The Swan, before getting the last bus home. A predictably good evening.

Approaching the Door

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-19T09:56:39+01:00

This week the cover for the upcoming horror anthology 'Don't Open the Door' was released. I love it.

Looking forward to receiving the book and reading all the stories. The book release is going to be soon; I dare say I may mention bits and pieces about it from time to time.

The anthology is edited by Cory Mason and has stories from:

Luke Elliott Alphonso Jr.
Johvan Calvo
Yawatta Hosby
Augie Peterson
L.M. du Preez
J.A. Sullivan
A.J. Walker (that'd be me)
T.H. Willoughby
Kimberly Wolkens

I'll put some links through to the authors pages and/or twitter accounts - once I've got my shit together.

The cover design is by Christine M. Scott - Nice job!

Strange Love

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-16T15:44:41+01:00

Made some time to play some guitar this afternoon and went back to some oldies from The Waterboys.

Strange Boat

Went for Strange Boat and A Man Is In Love two classics. Next time maybe Fisherman's Blues and A Bang On The Ear. We'll see.

First time up I ended up with lots of background noise before I realised I had on my CD, amp and PS3. Turned these off and the noise disappeared. You live, you learn.

Anyways, now time to write something for the Seedling Challenge.

Steeling Myself

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-14T20:51:14+01:00

Going on my second Wirral ale trip tomorrow. Back to the great Yorkshire beer city - Sheffield. Looking forward to it. Know my way around the city's boozers pretty well by now.

Yesterday I played at the Open Mic in the Sanctuary once more. I was back in a checked-shirt (green). As well as being back in a proper garb, we were also back were we were supposed to be upstairs with a microphone and PA. Huzzah! We were down one Bobo though, who was home with Delhi Belly or some such. Shame. Hope the evening's rest did him good.

I was first on (always good for me, as following Dave Jones is a killer!). Played six songs, including an encore (well the next guy had gone for a smoke) and got asked for a request ('Couldn't Get Arrested'), which I played. A request… that's a first!

Yesterday's set;

Sweet Carolina (Ryan Adams)
Somewhere Down The Road (Chuck Prophet)
Take Me Down to The Infirmary (Cracker)
Whiskey in My Whiskey (Felice Brothers)
Save It For A Rainy Day (Jayhawks)
Couldn't Get Arrested (Green on Red)

Couple more newbies turned up later on, who were both great.

Si supplied some nice beer including a new local one from Tyton Brewery and the famous Beartown 'Creme Bearlee'.

A good evening, as ever.

Getting Close to the Door

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-09T09:57:32+01:00

Got sight of the cover for an upcoming horror anthology that I will be featured in: 'Don't Open the Door'. I can't wait to see the finished book. The cover looks ace and I am looking forward to getting it out in front of you soon.

I haven't read any of the other stories featured in it. But there are some great guys and gals involved and it will be fab. Really enjoyed writing my story, which has a nice setting and a bit of a folksy background. The brains, brawn and editor behind the anthology is Cory 'Tomo' Mason, who you can find on Twitter @TheBestTomo

Watch this space (and follow Cory) for details - and the cover. I'll no doubt be writing a few bits and bobs about the anthology on this blog and in numerous tweets.

In the meantime, if you're really not sure, well… don't open the door.

Too Good TV

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-06T12:13:52+01:00

Part of the time problem lately has been because there has been so much good TV that I've not managed to avoid. Much of it on the BBC, ably supported by Sky Atlantic.

In the last couple of months we've had:

Game of Thrones (Atlantic)
Fleabag (BBC)
Line Of Duty (BBC)
Follow the Money (BBC)
Cardinal (BBC)
Chernobyl (Atlantic)
Gentleman Jack (BBC)
Inspector Montalbano (BBC)
Summer of Rockets (BBC)

and this week we've got the wonderful 'Killing Eve' returning to BBC. Oh, and there's 'Good Omens' too on Amazon Prime.

We really are living in a time of some great TV. Whilst it's great to be entertained by such wonderful productions it doesn't half get in the way of your own creativity. It's too easy to get home and stick an episode, or four, on of any of these programmes. Damn you writers and producers! And I haven't even mentioned Blue Planet or Springwatch or any of the great BBC4 docs. Or the wonderful football season.

Whilst I am not suggesting missing any of these programmes, indeed I am suggesting the exact opposite, I think if you are watching anything less good than this lot then perhaps turn it off and do something creative instead. When there's so much good TV about there is no need to waste any time with dross.

Becoming A Writer

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-06T11:47:24+01:00

Have just read another book about writing: 'Becoming A Writer' by Dorothea Brande. It's an interesting one. And is not about the rules of writing and there are no plans or plots in there. It is more about the methods of getting into it. Turning off and switching on. Or something like that.

It is from 1934 so one can only wonder at what she would say about TV and Social Media. Basically, I dare say, she would say 'Turn it off and just write, you damn fool!' Then look at that stuff, if you must — once you've hit your goal. It's not exactly mystical: don't read before you write, or else your writing will be affected by it. Ditto listening to radio or films, or even conversations; basically, avoid anything with words in it.

'Becoming A Writer' Dorothea Brande (1934)

A decent read with some nice writing exercise ideas. Strangely she says nothing about word processors or writing software. She does suggest having two typewriters (one desktop and one laptop). ;-)

To save you reading it: make some me time, make it quiet, relax, get into the zone… then get stuck in. Or something like that.

It's a worthwhile read and it's made me think about my writing. This blog is called 'Writerer's Block' but other than some flash and VSS365 related things there hasn't been much about my writing lately. It's largely been music, football and beer.

I am going to replan my writing and attempt to get into a groove or at least try to manufacture better habits. I won't herald what I am doing quite yet. I will give a few things a go and see what works for me in terms of getting things done, including new writing projects and finishing the almost mythical TWO.

#amwriting

Some Parade!

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-04T09:35:37+01:00

Well, what a weekend. Had to go to the parade, of course, to soak in some of the colour and noise, but most of all to welcome the boys back. Town was heaving with something like 750,000 people out to see them, so it was a bit of a headache to decide where best to watch them. The last time me and the lads went to greet them was after we beat West Ham in the FA Cup Final in 2006 and I decided (for it was my call) to watch it around the same place again. That time we had quite a long time waiting around, but this time we the advantage of being able to watch the stream of the parade live, so we could watch it to see where they were up to and leave in good time to watch them.

As it was up behind the Walker Art Gallery it was only up the road from the Sanctuary, so it was a no brainer to get a nice couple of ales in there then walk up when they looked about ready to make it down the road. My only fear (being the one making the call) was there was a delay on the stream and as we walked up past Lime Street Station I did think it seemed remarkably quiet and wondered for a moment. But I needn't have worried. As it happened we walked off the closed fly-over on to the dual carriageway, where there were plenty of people about but lots of room too. We were only there for a couple of minutes before the motorbike police came down to clear the way, followed by police on foot - we could not have timed it better. We were close enough to touch the buses as they went past. Brilliant.

The Liverpool boys were all up for it, swinging their scarves, singing, banging the side of the bus. Milner and Robertson looked particularly energetic. Maybe it's the Ribena (or lime and soda) but I don't know where Milner gets his energy. All the guys were obviously loving it - especially Klopp.

Got some fab photos. Shouted and sung a bit. Followed the bus down to the bottom of the road. And basically loved it.

Then was back in the Sanctuary within about 45 minutes of leaving it! Win-win-win!!

Number Six - On The Fly

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-02T13:06:31+01:00

Oh Happy Days! Yep, yesterday Liverpool got to Number 6 with that loverly cup which we have that love affair with. Not the bestest match but who the hell gives a toss about that?

I've been lucky enough in the past to go the UEFA Cup Final in 2001 in Dortmund, which Liverpool won 5-4 on a Golden Goal against Alaves, and then again in Istanbul for the miracle, 3-3 and then winning on penalties v Milan. In 2007 I went to Athens but didn't get a ticket (or get in) but had a great time with the build up and watched the match in the Craft Beer Bar (where else?). I also went to Paris for the European Cup when Arsenal got beat by Barcelona as I'd booked flights and a hotel 'in case' Liverpool got there, which I had done for Athens.

Anyway, I am not in a situation now where I can currently follow Liverpool like that (money - I'm not banned from travelling or anything) so for the last couple of years I've been following Liverpool in the pubs and bars of Liverpool. Usually this is in the Dispensary or the Fly in the Loaf, and this season it's largely been the latter. For the second leg of the semifinal versus Barcelona there was just me and me mate on a table in the Fly. The pub was not heaving at all. Not enough belief in our brand of European brilliance! But yesterday it was bound to be mad in town, and it was. Needless to say we had to get into town early and grab a spot to watch it, whilst leaving enough time to find somewhere else to go if it was already full. As it happened me and Ste got in the Fly for 4pm and grabbed the last couple of seats. Yes! Other mates risked it getting in an hour or so later and we all managed to watch it together perched on tables or against the walls.

In summary, the atmosphere was great. The beer was great. The result was great. And the Fly was great.

Managed a celebratory pint in the Sanctuary after the match and more incredibly got the last bus home!

Now got to go off into to town for the parade. There will be oceans of beautiful red everywhere. Bring it on.

YouTube - It's been a while

A.J. Walker — 2019-06-01T11:59:19+01:00

It's been quite a while since I've put a song up on YouTube (other than the Flushing Song, which I need to update) so before going out in search of a screen, with accompanying decent beer availability (via a hearty breakfast at the Shiraz), I've been strumming a couple of songs.

First up an oldie, which everyone tries early on when trying the guitar - 'The House of the Rising Sun'. It's one we played a bit at the Open Mic the other night.

Apologies if anyone is offended by my choice of top, but it is the Champion's League Final today and I'm off out after this. I've recorded another oldie (which is currently beyond my capability but you've got to push yourself, ain't you?) which will go up tomorrow, as it is currently 'Processing' whilst 'The Rising Sun uploads. Two for the price of one. Been a good morning strumming anyway. Here's hoping for a great evening too!

Come on you Mighty Reds.

YNWA

Open, but No Mic

A.J. Walker — 2019-05-31T21:26:15+01:00

Yesterday was Open Mic day again. It comes along almost every fortnight doesn't it?

In the morning I was delivering in Penmaenmawr on the North Wales coast and was parked up opposite a music shop. It came to me that it was worth popping in to see if they had any guitar cases, as for a while I have been thinking about buying one in the event I got asked to bring in a guitar. I always just use one of the guitars provided by the Open Mic guys, but there is always a chance they may have an issue one day. One day I thought I may want to take my own guitar in any case (sic).

I actually had been looking online from that Amazon lot and have had one in my Shopping Basket for several weeks. But they are not that expensive and I thought that if the price in the shop was not extortionate in comparison I would rather give the money to a local shop than to the behemoth. As it happened the padded soft case was £17.50 which seemed reasonable, so I went for it.

So, last night for the first time I took my own guitar, which is a lovely old Takamine 363 Semi-acoustic. It is a beautiful piece of work, particularly the three piece back and the inlay, but it sounds good to. Well, it would if a) played by someone else and b) played with new strings… I have no idea how long the strings have been on, but it is years I think. Only when I was strumming there downstairs in the Sanctuary did it dawn on me that maybe I should have invested in some new ones. Of course, John just turned up with a newly strung guitar and the zingy difference was obvious. I'll be getting some new strings this weekend if I get the chance (amid the Champions League shenanigans).

It was a disappointing night in one sense, as the upstairs room including the PA, speakers and microphones were all in use. We'd been usurped! The regular few were sent down to the dungeon to play and were left with playing and singing unassisted by speakers. That said, it so happened that the week was much quieter than usual with only six guitarists. The lack of speakers meant that one of the regular poets didn't get the chance to get involved really. In the end we had a mix of singing songs on our own and teaching (or at least playing along with) each other. It was fun though. I even ended up singing Wonderful Tonight and There She Goes.

Hopefully Open Mic next time will be back upstairs and with the equipment e.g. with the Mic that goes with the Open thing.

Time for Some Old Fashioned Writing

A.J. Walker — 2019-05-27T15:02:22+01:00

For the website I use a couple of external sites for providing information and permitting comments. For the latter I use Disqus, which I remember at the moment. But the other day I forgot what the site was I used for monitoring the website usage - e.g. number of visits, type of device visiting and operating systems etc. I mean clean forgot, couldn't for the life of me remember it. It's one of those things that usually shows up on my webpage frequently visited but for some reason had disappeared and wasn't showing up as one of the go to short-cuts.

First thing I did was try looking on Google for sites that did website monitoring, thinking I'd recognise it when I saw it. Of course Google produced lists and paid for adverts for lots and lots of sites, but inevitably not the one I used. Sod's Law.

Realised today that of course I've got Keychain on my mac and can look up the sites I log in to through that. I was a bit slow coming up with that bit of genius. Next time a similar thing happens I must remember to look there first, instead of wasting time Googling random stuff. The other thing I should do is go old school and hand write some of these things down in a notebook.

Oh, and the site I had failed to remember was GoSquared.

Ho hum.

Buxton Beers

A.J. Walker — 2019-05-22T19:27:01+01:00

Had a very enjoyable trip to Buxton on Saturday, on a real ale trip arranged by the Wirral branch of CAMRA. Visited some lovely pubs and had a few great pints — including my beloved 'Jaipur', and another Thornbridge 'Crackendale' and some great Redwillow 'Faithless 108' (in the Redwillow Tap, surprisingly).

Cheshire Cheese

Buxton is an attractive town, quite similar in appearance to Harrogate — which I guess shouldn't be surprising given the location and age of the towns (and of course the similar geology). It's not a big walk around the town centre, but there are plenty of nice pub and bar options. I went to eight pubs.

Thornbridge 'Jaipur'

Redwillow 'Faithless 108'

If you're considering visiting the town I can thoroughly recommend it.

Thornbridge 'Crackendale'

Redwillow Tap

Open Mic & a Return to Ale Trips

A.J. Walker — 2019-05-17T22:46:45+01:00

It was Open Mic again yesterday in the Sanctuary and once again I made an appearance. We were shifted downstairs, as upstairs was occupied for some Light Night shenanigans, and just being in a different room makes it feel like a different 'gig'. In another effort to make it different I was not wearing a checked shirt for the first time here. In a shocking turn up I had one my 2012 Frank Turner Wembley T-Shirt.

Ollie was there again, so I made it up for my songs second again.

I ended up doing five songs:

Somewhere Down the Road
Heart Breaks Like the Dawn
Whiskey in My Whiskey
Down By the Water
The Flushing Song

The first two by Chuck Prophet, the third by Felice Brothers and the fourth by Decemberists… and the fifth… yep, that was the one I wrote last week. So I've performed a self penned song for the first time in over two decades (the last one was a similarly daft ditty: 'Stood Up, Deffed Out and Desperate' which I don't remember all the words or the chords for. It was a Saw Doctors style pastiche with some interesting lyrics). Anyway, The Flushing Song went down pretty well, and I was glad I gave it a go.

Afterwards one of the regular attendees commented that she was becoming familiar with my songs, after not knowing them previously, and that she enjoyed them. That was nice to hear. My next task, other than practicing the damn guitar, is to try and write a song that's not just tongue in cheek. Then again a few Loudon Wainwright III style songs wouldn't be a bad destination either.

Onwards and upwards.

In other news, tomorrow I am going on my first CAMRA real ale trip for many months. I used to go on every Liverpool branch CAMRA coach trip, which are undertaken on a roughly monthly basis, but have stopped going as a stand against their move to booking through Eventbrite. That decision was frustrating as it disenfranchised so many of the regular trip goers - who maybe didn't want to start paying for things online (put it this way, I am part of the younger demographic on the trips). So tomorrow I am going on a trip to Buxton with the Wirral branch, who in any case pick up at the same place as the Liverpool branch (only difference is that it's 15 minutes earlier).

Looking forward to the trip. Buxton is a nice place and, as it happens, one of my favourite beers I've had this week was Buxton Brewery's SPA on cask in the Grapes.

Flashing

A.J. Walker — 2019-05-12T10:32:07+01:00

Recently the National Flash Fiction Day "Flash Flood" guys and gals were looking for flash fiction for their annual event. I submitted three stories over three days — none were selected (insert sad face). Not bothered, I've been up there several years and as everything sent was "off the shelf" it wasn't like I put any effort into it — also saw plenty of good writers who failed to get chosen this year. But it did show me something, as I looked on my hard drive for stories to submit: I have fewer flashes from this year than I have from few years ago.

Peak flashing was back in the hey day of Flash Fiction Friday and Angry Hourglass. With the demise of these I have certainly written for challenges less frequently, but the other reason I have fewer more recent stories is that I have got into a bad habit of not saving my work. I mean, I've submitted stories on Microcosms and other sites (including the Seedling Challenge) and then not saved the story to my computer. Seemingly, in my head, the stories are written and out there and I don't need to keep them myself. Not sure when, or why, I came up with that idea.

Anyway, in future I will be saving all my wee stories, be they little bits of nonsense or pure unadulterated brilliance. Who knows, maybe next year I'll get in Flash Flood with a piece I've written this year; one I've saved and not had to search for online.

It also highlights why I need to complete the Seedling Challenge each week (and not just because I put the idea out there). It's only half an hour a week and there's the chance that one, or more, goes from being a VSS365 to a Seedling Challenge story, then who knows maybe onwards and upwards to a fuller story.

#amwriting
#keepwriting
#amsaving

Flush The Floater

A.J. Walker — 2019-05-10T13:56:21+01:00

Started writing a daft song yesterday and this is it as it stands now - yes, it's up on YouTube already. Needs a bit of tidying, but okay for first writing in decades. Hope it comes across okay. If I finish it off properly, who knows, it may get a try out at the Open Mic sometime soon.

Save the planet, people. But don't stress to much about the floater — flush when you need to.

Books, Books, Book

A.J. Walker — 2019-05-06T11:40:32+01:00

Just finished 'Crome Yellow' by Aldous Huxley. An enjoyable romp published in 1921, and not at all indicative of the Brave New World (1932) to come - though there was some postulation by Mr. Barbecue-Smith in one chapter which did include some thoughts in that direction.

Been an excellent selection of reads so far from some top authors and a few classics too. Can't fault the authors to date:

Aldous Huxley
J.M Barrie
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Terry Pratchett
Cormac McCarthy
Frank Herbert
Edward Brook-Hitching
William Dalrymple
Jack Vance
Frederik Pohl
Ursula Le Guin
Ben Aaronovitch
Kurt Vonnegut
Stephen King
James Barr

Next up will probably be the Iain M. Banks 'The State of the Art'

I've picked up rather a few books lately from charity and second-hand bookshops, and I probably should swerve visiting any more for a while now - I am in no danger of being short of reading materials for the rest of the year; or probably the next one too. But it's hard not to go in and take a look, isn't it?

After submitting the edited version of the 'Don't Open the Door' short story I will get back on to writing my own book: The Wobbly Odyssey.

This, That and The Other

A.J. Walker — 2019-05-03T22:47:59+01:00

Been making some edits to my story for the Don't Open the Door anthology, no spoilers but hell, of course they open the bloody door! Hoping to finish that off tomorrow and then give it a final brush on Sunday and get it to the editor. Should be a tighter story when I've finished it.

Had a bit of sad news that I didn't get selected for the Pulp Idol final. It was a bit of a shame, but, after the IT cock-up meant I never got the invite to the heats, I was expecting it anyway. I'd recorded a reading of the first three minutes of the first chapter and put that up on YouTube for a judgment to be made, not ideal but hey, beggars can't be choosers. Doesn't change anything about the novel, and once I've got the Door story sorted I will get back on to it and finish it. I want to know what happens in the end after all.

Considering some alterations to the website, with a new section or two. Should get at least one of the ideas up and running this week. Watch this space (or maybe the menu bar).

Talking of the website, of course tomorrow the weekend starts, so it's time for the Seedling Challenge. I've been religiously putting it up each week so that it's been there to be used by anyone who wants to, but I know I need to push it a bit more. So be prepared to be pushed - at least if you're exposed to Twitter in any way.

At some point I'm going to start writing some songs, now that I'm playing the guitar more regularly. I'm still surprised that the songs that I've been playing aren't known by the other guys at the open mic. But they are all of a type I suppose, and if I write in a similar style (or at least perform them that way) then there's every chance they won't know what's mine and what's someone else's. We'll see. If I start doing my own stuff then I can pop along to the Monday Night Club at the Cavern and play a tune or two (they only allow people playing their own stuff). Now that would be cool, wouldn't it?

Currently reading 'Crome Yellow' by Aldous Huxley, which I bought last week as part of a charity shop haul. I've only read Brave New World by Huxley before (which I loved), and this is so very different but enjoyable. It's my fifteenth read of the year, which puts me on track for the forty.

What with website updates, short stories and novel writing, reading, guitar practice and songwriting, it's a wonder there's time for anything else. Then there's football tomorrow night and Tuesday and then next Sunday (not to mention an important match on Monday night). Oh, God, and there's Line of Duty on Sunday. Clearly there's not enough hours in the day or days in the week. If any of the political parties yesterday could have promised to sort out the 'not enough hours' issue they'd have got my vote.

Anyways, ta-ra for now, I'm getting back to Crome.

Whiskey in my Whiskey

A.J. Walker — 2019-05-03T19:12:30+01:00

Ollie turned up about 2 hours late (due to a job interview; poor excuse), which meant the normal opening act was not available. As the guy that normally comes on second it was therefore up to me to move down the list, which seemed fair enough. Whilst I'm still trying to get better an early relaxed little session is a a good thing.

Ended up playing five songs:

Somewhere Down the Road (Chuck Prophet)
Down by the Water (Decemberists)
Whiskey in my Whiskey (Felice Brothers)
Heart Breaks Like the Dawn (Chuck P)
Sweet Carolina (Ryan Adams)

Bobo came on next playing a couple of his bluesy tunes, followed by the newest father of the night: Dave Jones (congrats, new dad!).

Usual suspects followed including Matt Author with a new story.

There were some off mic incidents involving a collapsing woman, and a birthday girl downing an impressive quantity of rum and coke. A couple of great singalongs; including my fave Queen song: 'Don't Stop Me Now'

Roll on the next Open Mic. Always great.

The highlight for me was two people independently coming to me and saying 'Great Set.' I mean, I have 'a set?' Let alone a good one. I've gotta be happy with that. And I am.

Thanks to Bobo and John for organising the night, and Dave tonight for the use of his guitar. And Bobo, once more, for the up-close-and-personal photos.

Cocks and Nozzles, and a Busy Week

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-29T10:31:53+01:00

This week is going to be busy. Worked yesterday and my days off are today and Saturday, but in-between there's lots going on. I've got to do the edits of the 'Don't Open the Door' story for a start. On Wednesday there's the small matter of Barcelona vs Liverpool in the first leg of the European Cup semi-final (yes, it will always be the European Cup to me). On Thursday there's the next Open Mic. And next Saturday there's the next Liverpool match v Newcastle (at 7:45 in the evening… on a Saturday - what's that all about!?). Got to go and see my dad. And have personal things to do and plans to make.

Then there's other life shit to do, including installing a new ball cock! Not to mention work.

There really aren't enough hours in the day. No idea when I'll get to strum my guitar before Thursday. Maybe a short while today and tomorrow night. I haven't even watched ONE of the new Game of Thrones series yet, though I am up to date with the ever excellent Line of Duty and Follow the Money.

Anyways, first things first, my printer was acting up, I thought it was a problem with the cheap printer cartridge I'd bought, so I bought a better make. Turns out the issue was not the ink it was the damn nozzle on the printer. After cleaning that everything is ship-shape and working right. Just means I've wasted one ink cartridge - as the first one is sure to dry up whilst I use this next better one. Ho hum. Advice to everyone out there: make sure you do regular nozzle checks and do your head cleaning. Should go without saying that.

Now I can print out, I can get on with the editing. I really would struggle if I couldn't review the final piece on paper. I find it impossible to catch things on the screen. That said, an option would have been to keep putting the updated piece on my Kindle Paperwhite. But a) that's a bit clunky and b) comments seem to transfer into wrong locations (rather than disappear) when you save a new file in place of an old one - so not ideal. Anyways, it is moot, as I have ink and paper.

With Wednesday and Thursday being out of the picture for evening work I better get on with DOTD. Then I'll go and see my dad before getting this cock sorted.

Not a Song Video

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-27T09:56:19+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I submitted my first chapter of TWO to Pulp Idol, which is part of Liverpool's 'Writing on the Wall' festival. Unfortunately due to a glitch my invite to read at one of the Pulp Idol Heats never materialised. The first I heard about the heats was from a judge on Twitter saying how good the writers had been that night. When the guys and gals at WOW realised, they were on to me and we're very apologetic. I rang them a little bit annoyed at it, but by the end of the two telephone conversations I felt so sorry for them - they sounded genuinely more gutted than me. Apparently at least one other invitee never got their email too.

After the consideration of a fight to the death between me and the other unfortunate was discounted, it was decided that, if I wanted and could do it, I should do a video of a 3-minute reading of the first chapter and the answers to a couple of questions so the judges could see it this weekend. This would be too big to email so needed to go on to YouTube. I did that on Thursday; apologies to anyone following my YouTube channel who got pinged to be told I'd uploaded a new vid and found it was not me and guitar, it was me and my Kindle.

I'm not actually sure of how the Pulp Idol thing really works. They have the whole chapter to read and then hear 3 minutes, which is a tiny proportion of it. I guess they read the chapters and listen to the answers on where the book is up to etc rather than judging on the performance. Anyway, alls I can do now is wait.

In other writing news I had submitted a story for a horror anthology, 'Don't Open the Door,' several weeks ago, and have now received my edits/questions from the editor. A wee bit of work to finish it, which involves tightening up the start (as usual) and will probably end up cutting 500-1000 words!? We'll see. Gotta get on this. Now if I can just get my damn printer to work…

Another Whiskey Song

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-21T13:28:18+01:00

It's been a few weeks since I've played a new (or new old) song and with me being off today I thought I'd do one as part of my guitar playing practice. The last one I put up was 'Whiskey in my Whiskey' which I've done at the last couple of Open Mics along with 'Down by the Water'. So with all these liquid songs I decided to do another one and have gone for a slow slow version of the traditional Irish song 'Whiskey in the Jar.' It's no Thin Lizzy or Metallica version.

Anyway, I did it on the first take which is at least ten takes fewer than usual.

Whiskey In the Jar
(apologies for the lack of a check shirt - confusing, I know)

My song list is expanding slower now. But if I can concentrate on them I can improve them. Think my singing is improving a little from its admittedly rather low base.

Current songs that I am playing and have put on YouTube are:

Whiskey In The Jar (trad. Irish)
Whiskey In My Whiskey (Felice Brothers)
Down By The Water (Decemberists)
Love Hurts (Gram Parsons and Emmylou)
My Heart Is Living In the Sixties Still (Saw Doctors)
Save It For A Rainy Day (Jayhawks)
Take Me Down To The Infirmary (Cracker)
N17 (Saw Doctors)
Shed A Tear (for the lonesome) (Green on Red)
Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon)
You Couldn't Get Arrested (Green on Red)
Somewhere Down The Road (Chuck Prophet)
One I Love (REM)
Van Diemen's Land (U2)
Sweet Carolina (Ryan Adams)
Better Be Home Soon (Crowded House)
Heart Breaks Like the Dawn (Chuck Prophet)
Hotel California (Eagles)

Written out like that it looks like a whole setlist. Anyway, in a few months I'll start putting newer versions of the same songs which should show some progress. Bloody hope so anyway!

VSS365 vs Seedling Challenge

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-21T10:28:23+01:00

It's Easter Sunday and eventually on Saturday I found out I could take the day off. Now as a devout atheist (not sure who Athe was, but I follow him) the main thing is that the day is sunny, Liverpool are live on the telly box later and it gives me time to play some guitar, read AND write. So far I've only achieved 'Second Coffee' and sausage sandwich along with some reading (Peter Pan!).

First up in the writing thing though is the Seedling Challenge of course. So I've got to pick one of these to use as my starting point:

Our family had our own Easter tradition. As a thinly veiled threat dad would get his bagpipes out; he'd use them if we didn't let him watch 'Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines'. We'd seen the film so many times. But God, so preferable to the alternative.

On their first date Bob had told Lucy he was vegan. Now he looked forward to the hours they were apart when he'd stuff his face with myriad cheeses.

Lucy cursed herself for telling Bob she was vegan. She now had a twice weekly appointment with a KFC bargain bucket.

That Lisa is so full of venom and vitriol whenever I can I cross the street to avoid her. I wouldn't feel safe with a Hazmat suit on and a large barge pole. I suspect her tears are pure acid. Don't know how her husband puts up with her. Either he's deaf or on a penance.

The lie was a big one, covered at first by a thin veneer of truth. When the truth fell away the lie was laid bare, but it was too late the people who mattered had fallen for it. The lie was now truth and the truth the lie.

Dr. Nostrum looked like he'd gone ten rounds. He supped anxiously at a cold coffee.
The FBI guys hovered around him.
'Do you know what's wrong with him?'
'There's a void where his brain should be and just a damaged Russian computer board. You need IT not a doctor.'

'Have you seen Amy? She's a real fox.'

'You mean a vixen. Don't they have fleas? Or is that hedgehogs?'
'She's not a real fox.'
'But you just said...'
'I mean she's a wow! A ten out out of ten. Hubba-hubba.'
'Does she even have a tail?'
'She's not a fox. Oh, forget it.'

'I'm wanna be a villain when I grow up. Take what I want, when I want. If I get caught I get given bed & board and don't have to do the washing up. It's a win-win.'

'I'm gonna be a policeman and lock you up, motherfucker!'
The kids had been watching Law & Order again. #VSS365

Now which one will I go for?

A More Usual Open Mic

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-19T14:23:55+01:00

After the last Open Mic was quirkily small but perfectly formed, yesterday's returned to the more usual with the return of John, Dave, Oliver et al. It meant that there were six or seven guitar playing singers, along with Matt Author Dot Com, another couple of poets, and even some standup.

All in all another sound night- and the Oakham 'JHB' wasn't bad either.

Ended up playing five songs:

Somewhere Down the Road (Chuck P)
Heart Breaks Like the Dawn (Chuck)
Down by the Water (Decemberists)
Whiskey in my Whiskey (Felice Brothers)
Splendid Isolation (Warren)

No photos this time, but suffice to say if there was then it would have shown me wearing a checked shirt.

Oh and Bobo had a new guitar - a jingle jangle 12-string. Very nice indeed.

Cracking One Out - VSS365

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-12T14:29:36+01:00

The #VSS365 bandwagon rolls on and on subsuming all in its wake. Or something like that.

Those that get it get addicted to it. Those that don't scratch their heads and wonder at it all. And others… well there will always be others - and they can keep to themselves. It was nice this week to find that, in addiction to the barman from one of the pubs I frequent (@GoseSocialist) at the Sanctuary, one of the customers who has heard us talking about #VSS365 has gone in feet first this week and is already loving it (@BeefyNets). The small bite size chunks and ease of cracking one out - as it were - makes it quick and simple for anyone anytime. Let's face it unless you're in an area with no signal there's a possibility of doing it every day, if you are so inclined (and it won't make you go blind, promise).

This week Mark King, the original VSSer and nuzzle loving FlashDog, announced the idea of a VSS Anthology - nay not an idea for it is a fully formed thing. There IS to be an anthology and you could be in it. You'll need to be writing your VSS365 on any day in June through to July 7 for a chance to get in. Check out Mark's blog for full details about it, which has all the nuances, including who will be the helpful Ambassadors (with or without Ferrero Rocher). Click on Mark's lovely @FlashDog / #VSS365 logo above to read all about it.

It's a neat idea and certainly demonstrates how much the innocent looking hashtag has gone from its humble beginnings. Kudos, Mark for the original idea and for running with this along with the Ambassadors and supporters. Also, if you haven't read Mark's 'Metropolitan Dreams' I can thoroughly recommend it.

#VSS365
#KeepWriting
#AmWriting

The Wobbly One Two

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-12T11:56:35+01:00

I've not finished writing 'The Wobbly Odyssey' yet, but I've gone a wee interesting side step with it by submitting the first chapter of it to Writing on the Wall: Pulp Idol. It's the first time I've entered this annual competition.

This is open for submissions until Sunday midnight so if you're an amateur writerer from the Liverpool/Sefton/Wirral area and you have a first chapter already written there's still a bit of time left to submit it. If it's already written then why not, what have you got to lose?

Well, even if not this is a little boot up the arse and may help give impetus to the characters to get to their goal (with a little help from me); I've completed seven chapters and have about four to go. That's a month if I can do one a week…

It's the first time I've submitted anything to WoW for several years - I think since the very scary Dragon's Pen.

The Wobbly One

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-08T21:35:29+01:00

After my reading of the first chapter of The Wobbly Odyssey at last Thursday's Open Mic I was asked if I'd be reading subsequent chapters at future Open Mics. I said I wouldn't be - there's no way I should subject people to it. And with different audience each time there's no way most people would have a clue what I would be going on about. However as they were keen to find out what was going to happen next I said I'd forward a copy of the WIP as it stands in Kindle format.

To that end I needed to sort out a cover. Hence this current placeholder:

Cheers!

A Quite Different Open Mic

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-08T17:22:46+01:00

Last Thursday I was at the bi-weekly Open Mic at the Sanctuary once again. Whilst I was on the way into Liverpool on the No.17 my phone rang and it was Bobo checking if I was coming. His message to me basically being 'It may well just be me and thee.' It was the first day of the Grand National meet and it was a crap, wet day. In addition a few regulars were either ill, away and/or not answering their phones.

It turned out in the end that there were three of us who played guitar; Bobo, Kevin Zen and me. I ended up playing about seven songs or so including a couple of new ones out there live for me: 'Down By the Water' and 'Whiskey in my Whiskey'

Can't remember my set list completely but it included:

Heart Breaks Like the Dawn
Down By the Water
Sweet Carolina
Whiskey In My Whiskey
Somewhere Down the Road
You Couldn't Get Arrested
One I Love

Even without Matt Author being there a couple of people did readings of stories and poems.

This galvanised me into action and I read three of my poems which I could access from my website after putting them up last week: Schroedinger's Poem; Night Football and New Year Audit.

And then most audaciously read the entire first chapter of my WIP: The Wobbly Odyssey. It seemed to go down quite well and definitely makes me think I WILL tidy it up a little and submit it for Pulp Idol.

All in all it was a quite different Open Mic night, but not poorer for it.

Updating Software: Bah!

A.J. Walker — 2019-04-03T21:09:37+01:00

After updating the website from http to https protocol on Monday the comments on the website, including most significantly the Seedling Challenge, disappeared. The comments are via Disqus, and on their site it suggested that changing the protocol shouldn't have had an impact. However patently it did. The reason for me making the change was that the website written on the old version of RW kept showing up on some (most?) web browsers as 'unsafe' because it was using the older http:// protocol. Little did I know it would fuck it up and stress me out.

I'm not completely sure why they went but my suspicion is that it was my old version of Rapidweaver 5.3.2 (about 7 years old). I think it kept changing the automated site name to http within the webpages where Disqus was specified.

I've ended up spending a couple of days trying to get it sorted. In the end I've bitten the bullet and bought the new RW software - which incredibly is now 8.1.7.

Unfortunately it wasn't a case of importing the old website into the new software - oh no! No, I had to download a newer version of RW5 (5.4.1) and save in that format and then open that in RW8. So I currently have THREE versions of the software on the laptop.

Unfortunately I'm also going to have to buy a Plug-In for the software (Stacks) which is going to cost me a bit more too. But it is a necessity really for RW. Really it should be integrated into the thing (you'd thing RealMac and YourHead could do a deal and sort that) as not many people wouldn't use it.

Anyway, as soon as saved it into RW8 and uploaded it the Disqus comments worked again. Painful, but hey ho I got there in the end.

Poems - after a fashion

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-31T10:42:26+01:00

For Monique's last day hosting #VSS365 today she only had to go and mention poetry. Flip. Not dabbled in that in a long time. It's made me root out a few anyway and post them under the 'Writings' section.

Schrodinger's Poem
Super Sunday
Night Football
New Year Audit

None of them involve love or clouds, but there's some beer and football. Of course.

First up is 'Schrodinger's Poem' it could be the best thing ever written. Ever. By anyone. Honest. And second is 'Super Sunday' apt with the Liverpool v Spurs game later. After that is 'Night Football' because it goes well with Super Sunday and finally there is 'New Year Audit' because Sal remembered it and I didn't.

And if you don't like any of them blame Monique for making me unleash them again!

Reading - One Quarter In

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-29T23:31:04+00:00

Not been doing too bad with my reading so far this year. Probably one book behind where I should be to get to the forty this year - just finished my ninth. I've been doing particularly well with my non-fiction reads. The ones I aimed to read this year (as per my January blog) were:

Planned 2019 Non-Fiction Reads to include:

A Line in the Sand (James Barr)
In Xanadu (William Dalrymple)
Milk of Paradise (Lucy Inglis)
On Writing (Stephen King)
The Golden Atlas (Edward Brooke-Hitchings)
Homage to Gaia (James Lovelock)

(the ones in blue I've finished and the red ones remain)

The five fiction books I've read, between January and the end of March, have all been SF/F (nothing if not predictable):

Jem (Frederick Pohl)
The Farthest Shore (Ursula Le Guin)
Lies Sleeping (Ben Aaronovitch)
Emphyrio (Jack Vance)
The Sirens of Titan (Kurt Vonnegut)

And my two favourite so far have been 'A Line in the Sand' and 'Emphyrio'. Top reads!

Not sure yet what my next read will be; possibly the planned Philip Pullman or Mervyn Peake.

Sodajerker.

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-27T18:06:25+00:00

I used to be a big user of podcasts but haven't been for a while due to technology issues (my iPod not talking with the Ford stereo for some reason). In recent weeks though I have returned to them using my phone (a Redmi6) and the PodBean app which the stereo seems to be happy with.

To that end I've returned to a few of my favourite Podcasts including:

'A Good Read' (BBC4)
'The Book Review' (New York Times)
'Clarkesworld'
'That Peter Crouch Podcast' and
Ok, and the Archers Omnibus (BBC4)

It's been great to get back to these, but best of all I've discovered a new one to me called 'Sodajerker... on Song Writing,' which comprises a couple of guys (local lads too - a happy coincidence) in interviews or, what feels more like relaxed conversation, with an enormous range of songwriters about their art and process. I've only listened to two so far - the recent one from Dido and an older one from Elvis Costello. They were both bloody excellent.

If all the others are half as good as these - and I've no reason to think they won't be - then I've found something wonderful and I am sure that anyone who is interested in music will find an episode (or 138) to enjoy. Yes, 138, it's been going since 2011. How the hell have I missed this for all that time? The thing that caught my eye whilst i was looking at Podbean in this instance was the name - as Soda Jerk is a song from one of my fave bands - the wonderful Buffalo Tom. So whilst I've found it by happy accident in some ways (because of the name), equally surely I could have spotted it exactly the same way earlier. Anyhoo, the main thing is I've found it now and I've got 136 episodes to plough through. Happy days!

Next up for me will be a couple more locals with the conversations with Paul McCartney and The Coral. There's also Adam Duritz, Mike Scott, Loudon Wainwright III and Paul Simon... like I say a wealth of material to go through.

So in case you haven't found them yet, and you don't know Buffalo Tom so miss my attraction to it, if you've got a musical bone in your body; just get on it, folks. You won't be disappointed. Click on the picture above to go to the website or look them up on iTunes or with your podcast app of choice.

Love Hurts and Stuff

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-24T16:14:46+00:00

Set myself a target of 2k words this morning on a horror short and got there easily enough. Hope to get it finished by midweek. Probably be around 5k ultimately.

Next up was some guitar/singing practice. And I ended up recording two songs I've just taken on in the last week including 'Love Hurts' (Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris) which I sang at the Open Mic on Thursday. If you don't know the original then get on and find it. Not sure if my slightly sore throat helps or hinders.

Then I went on and played a more recent song from the wonderful Decemberists, 'Down By the Water' which I'd love to play along with 'This Is Why We Fight' ideally.

Anyways, all practice is useful.

Heart Breaks and Blondes in the Sanctuary

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-22T19:57:36+00:00

Had an enjoyable night at the Sanctuary Open Mic last night. Much better to get on before Dave Jones rather than after the blues master. After only playing three songs last week I played five this time to get the average back up to four. As I've been playing more I've added a few more strings to my bow, even if they are all slightly wonky.

In the end the songs I went for were:

Somewhere Down the Road (which seems to be my go to for getting me going at the mo)
Heart is Living in the Sixties Still (following Paddy's Day last week)
Take Me Down to the Infirmary
Love Hurts (an ambitious duet for one)
Heart Breaks Like the Dawn

It was good to see both Bobo and John, the Open Mic organisers, play this week - it's been a while.

A couple of regulars didn't turn up, which meant that the chilled night was even more chilled (and gave me time to not worry about playing five songs either). There were I think six singers and a poet and short story teller. Just need to cram in 10,000 hours of practice before the next one.

The Ossett 'Yorkshire Blonde' was bloody lovely last night too and I didn't even try anything else.

Livin' in the Sixties

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-19T23:07:57+00:00

After writing the two pieces last week for NFFD writing has taken a bit of a backward step. I aim to get something done for the Seedling Challenge tomorrow morning. Had a late finish yesterday and will do again tomorrow - so hoping to do it in the morning.

At least I've managed to do some guitar practice. Played for over two hours on Saturday, which is the most in one go for years I reckon. Recorded a Saw Doctors number 'Heart is Livin' in the Sixties Still' on St Patrick's Day (Sunday).

Heart Is Living' in the Sixties Still

Actually did that on the first take. Okay, you could argue I should have tried a few more takes but I had the Fulham v Liverpool game to get out to watch, didn't I?

It's Open Mic this week and maybe this one will get a try out alongside my usual slow Americana.

Not sure what songs to go for, but probably four from:

Heart is Livin' in the Sixties Still
Heart Breaks Like the Dawn
Somewhere Down the Road
Couldn't Get Arrested
Sweet Carolina
Splendid Isolation

There's a couple of other possibilities, but we will see.

I've still got to get to grips with my TWO WIP. Especially if I'm to submit the first chapter for Pulp Idol. Arghhh! Not enough hours in the day or days in the week.

NFFD 2019

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-12T10:59:28+00:00

Submitted two flash stories today for the National Flash Fiction Day anthology competition (theme: Doors).

Closing date is... today. I mean, of course it was. Why is it people like me always but always leave it until the last day to submit?

Anyway at least I didn't have any I.T. issues this week, which meant I didn't to suffer a last minute panic.

Enjoyed writing them. One of them more than the other.

Good luck to all those that entered or (there are a few hours left) are going to enter. Tick tock.

DeFlickring

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-12T10:59:25+00:00

Decluttering Flickr last night took a lot of time. It turned out in the end I had over 4900 photos in my Flickr account, which by today needed to be knocked down to teeny 1000 permitted for a free account.

It was a brutal exercise.

Needless to say the Flickr account now contains a lot fewer photos of Liverpool, pubs and North Wales. Although there are still a fair few of them.

Of course now all the albums are worthless with many of them now containing as many as one photo in them. So after all those deletions I will still need to go and edit/delete all the albums.

In future I'll have to be careful about what photos I put in the account. It'll have to be some sort of one in one out effort. Ultimately I suppose it'll end up being a bit of effort if more curated.

If you fancy seeing photos of beer, pubs, Liverpool, north Wales and some travels then check out my new leaner Flickr.

ARGH!: IT Issue Two: Flickr

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-10T10:50:39+00:00

Read a shocking email the other day saying Flickr was limiting the free account to 1000 photographs. Then my computer went down. So I hadn't been able to see how many photos to see if I need to do anything (ie if I had more than 1000 photos).

This morning I check. Oh dear, 4761. This is going to take some serious editing.

And I've two days to do it.

Oh dear.

Yay! Zevi's MacBook Lives!!

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-08T21:16:57+00:00

Well it's cost me £75 but my MacBook Pro is working again: mother board issues. At least it didn't need to be replaced wholesale (would have been more costly) or even worse be unsaveable. The main thing is the MacBook is going again. It's old in computer years but it has been very good to me. Other than this the only thing I've had to do is to replace the charger - standard cable issues for all electronic items let's face it.

It was amazing when I suddenly didn't have a computer I realised how much I rely on it. On the day it died I was intending to; write circa two thousand words on my WIP, write a blog, issue my weekly invoice and do something on online banking. Of that the only thing I ended up doing after rushing my laptop up to A&E was issue my invoice which was very fiddly on the phone (requiring me to download two apps I didn't already have on the phone). If I'd had to buy a new (second hand computer) I'd have had to go for a mac again and it no doubt would have taken me some time to get everything back to how it is on this one - which would have put the kibosh on my website blog for a while and of course the Seedling Challenge; which I've only recently started so that would have been a real shame.

At least I do back up the whole thing every now and again (I'll definitely be doing that again today!). I think I'd 'only' have lost about a month of writing (and of course all my website updates; though I could have downloaded them back of the server) so it wouldn't have been disastrous, just a wee bit painful.

Anyways, I'm hoping I'll get a few more years out of my old reliable. And I'll be backing up at least once a week from now on.

Lastly, thanks to the guys at FixIt on County Road FixIt - Liverpool, who sorted it for me. Great, quick and efficient service. Thanks boys!

And thanks to anyone who crossed your fingers for me or prayed for Zevi's MacBook. ;-)

Seedling Challenge Seven

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-01T21:09:30+00:00

Tomorrow will be Week Seven of the Seedling Challenge. There's only one word left to be revealed for this week from the new prompter on the block: Monique (aka Starfish 72 on that there Twitter).

Many thanks to the Unkmaster for February's words and good luck to Monique for the month ahead. Keep writing folks and maybe see you over the weekend on the Seedling Challenge.

Not sure which VSS365 I'll be using from my week's VSSs, think I've missed a couple and will only have four or five to chose from:

Yesterday:

Between the major and the minor I picked the minor yesterday fitting my mood like a handmade suit. But today the sun and the light touch from a minor god gave me a spring in my step and led me away from the blue notes - for one short day.

Epiphany:

It came like an epiphany to Trumpette Bambini; the daily prompt was supposed to be incorporated into the teeny weeny VSS365 Her next mission was to discover what that toaster was for.

Celebration:

The council in their wisdom set up a 'festival of celebration' to highlight all that was good in the town. They'd come up with the idea over a coffee in Costa- and that was the extent of the planning. Four people turned up, said it was shite and went home. It rained too.

Escape:

Getting in the lift with smelly Sutton was a great mistake. When it broke down there was an air of inevitability and an air that stank like death. There was no escape until the fire brigade arrived swinging axes and air fresheners.

Keep an eye on here for when I update the Seedling Challenge page. And to keep bang up to the minute with this month's prompts follow Monique:
@starfish_72

We Are Liverpool

A.J. Walker — 2019-03-01T19:26:45+00:00

On Wednesday I had to put the van in for servicing. Was a little painful in terms of waiting and finding it wasn't done on the day. In the end I walked bloody miles all the way from Stanley Dock to the Baltic Triangle and back then back again. A lot of walking. Still, it was a beautiful day and I had my camera with me so took a few nice shots around the city. Including talking the opportunity to get the Klopp mural and angel wings in the Baltic Triangle. With beautiful architecture throughout and public art around it's a very photogenic city at any time - but on a blue sky day it's even better. And the start of the this week, including Wednesday, was an absolute belter.

Klopp, our wonderful manager.

I put quite a few on Instagram the other day (as you can see above). I also put photos up there from my travels around the north west and Wales - as well as Liverpool. Click on the photos and take a look.

Former Adelphi Bank Building, Castle Street, Liverpool.

Of Tyres and Strained Faces

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-22T16:03:35+00:00

It made sense to take today off with going to the beer festival last night, although with the relatively late arrival at the festival I didn't actually have that many to drink so would have been okay to drive today. That said I had two tyres which definitely needed changing lest I risk a fine and points (or a blow out etc) so I scheduled that today and have boxed that off.

Given me a bit of time to strum in any case so I started with a new song today - 'Save It For A Rainy Day' by the Jayhawks, from their wonderful album 'Rainy Day Music' - if you ain't listened to the Jayhawks then you're missing a treat. Timeless pop songs with beautiful harmonies. Get on it, people.

Harmonies? Well that'll have nothing to do with me then, but a quick strum later and I've put it up on YouTube. I think now that I have enough songs to be getting on with the next thing to do is to learn to play the buggers better. Which means strumming patterns and throwing in some different chords or - god forbid - some riffs... Eek!

In the meantime I should also work on gig faces. 'Cos my lord the current ones aren't fit for purpose.

My initial practice for 'Save It For A Rainy Day' is on the YouTube music blog thing or whatever that thing is. Hopefully in a few months I'll be playing all these songs better in increments. Practice practice. Not sure I can do much about the face though.

Liverpool Beer Fest

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-22T14:05:00+00:00

Made it to the Liverpool Beer Festival last night after work - a little later than I would have liked. Thursday night is the opening session and has the advantage of being the cheapest ticketed session (a bargain £3) and of course all the beers are available - come Saturday afternoon and evening the cask choice will be getting limited.

It was a nice session, busy but not so much that you couldn't walk around. Didn't have any beers that made me go "Wow!" but certainly had some nice ones. Liked a couple of the local ones including the Ad Hop 'Robusta' and the Liverpool Brewing Co/Team Toxic 'Koheutek'. The Hawkshead '5 Hop' went down well. But I was disappointed with my beloved 'Jaipur.' There was some talk that the beers were not at the best and that that maybe partly because of the unseasonably warm weather (it was T-Shirt weather yesterday, which is ridiculous for February). There is no entertainment on the Thursday which is a bit of a shame (particularly with me missing the Open Mic night). Still, it was a good night. And anyone heading there will no doubt have a great time.

No guitars, but a Liverpool Supergroup.

Missing Mike

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-20T15:25:22+00:00

It's Open Mic tomorrow in the Sanctuary Bar and this will be the first one I've missed since discovering it and my new found love for all things singer songery.

It's a mate's birthday celebration which means I is going to be at the Liverpool Beer Festival in the wonderful Lutyen's Crypt of the Roman Catholic cathedral. As excuses go for not attending to the Open Mic it's not a bad one.

Realising I'd had five attempts at recording the song without the mic working.

Notwithstanding my night off from the Sanctuary I'm still looking at expanding my range of songs available to play at future events. After last week going back to an old one I used to play previously with the Smithdown gang (the Saw Doctor's "N17") I've gone to a song from a similar time. I'm not sure we played it back then, certainly we probably did when messing about in Kev's front room, but I'm not sure it ever got released into the wild. It's another one of my favourite bands that I could never understand weren't successful in the mainstream (like Green on Red and Chuck Prophet): Cracker. If you can get your hands on a CD or find them on Spotify do it. Loads of great stuff.

Anyway I chose another slow downbeat one (cos that's what I do) called 'Take Me Down to the Infirmary' from the album Kerosene Hat. I may do the title track at some point but the vocals are hard to get right - probably another capo song.

I recorded about five versions of me playing it before playing it back and finding the mic wasn't working. Not sure whether it wasn't plugged in right or what. Bit odd - as I would have thought if it wasn't plugged in then the laptop's mic would have kicked in in its stead. So I put the USB mic back in and gave it one more go. And that, my friends, is now up on the YouTube thing along with my other meandering practices.

At this rate by the time I've practiced all my current repertoire I'm gonna have a difficult choice to make at the future Open Mics. Which is a good thing, of course.

It astounds me that I have 5 Subscribers. Thank you whoever you are. Wonder how long it will be until I start writing and playing my own songs... Not imminent, but then again maybe over the next few months.

Some Computing and a Bit of WoW!

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-18T14:27:58+00:00

My MacBook Pro is still periodically having its panics, but not too often to scare me completely. In any case it meant I took a little time to look at some of the stuff I have on it. Included finding apps that no longer work or that I don't use any more. These included: Logic Express, MacJournal and Montage. Decided it made sense to delete them, which of course it does. The fewer apps on the device the less potential for issues; perhaps.

I've never used Montage which is an app for formatting for screenwriting. Looked quite neat. I even wondered about getting it upgraded before I came to my senses and thought a) I've enough other writing on my plate at the moment to warrant not getting involved with another learning curve and b) I've got Scrivener which will do the job along with all the other things it can do. So if and when I want to write a screen or radio play I can go straight to Scrivener. Huzzah!

EXIT STAGE LEFT

Apps: Trashed

It frees up some memory too but in the grand scheme of things only about 1GB. Now thats nice to have in reserve, when I see how much memory my photos takes up it pales into insignificance (173GB). I really need to spend more time deleting photos.

55GB free (173GB used up by photos)

It doesn't help that I am now using iMovie and recording things now I've rekindled my love for the guitar. That really does eat up some memory. Will need to keep on top of photos and movies now. Ho hum.

In other news I managed another 1300 words today for TWO* which keeps me on track for finishing the first draft by the end of March. I really don't know what is going to happen next to the guys. Seat of the pants writing. I am considering working on the first chapter and submitting it for Pulp Idol. Now that would be a first for me. I haven't really done much for Writing on the Wall since Dragon's Pen; which was the scariest thing I've ever done. They've had the odd flash fiction competition but they haven't taken it that seriously in recent years as WoW itself has got bigger, but Pulp Idol has gone from strength to strength. If I've got the thing written then I should at least fling it their way. It can't do any harm.

* The Wobbly Odyssey (aka Project Jaipur)

Long Forgotten Songs

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-15T16:22:57+00:00

After achieving my aim of writing more than one thousand words today I treated myself to playing some guitar - if that is a treat. And I looked at playing something I haven't played since back in the 1990s: 'N17' by Saw Doctors. I strummed it a few times then tried to record it with iMovie using the Snowball mic to practice using both - I'm not used at all to this iMovie yet. This time I put the mic in the mic stand though it is just loosely held as opposed to screwed in as the old stand doesn't have a screw fit. May have to consider buying a swing arm for the mic. But hell, I'll leave that for today. In the meantime I put N17 up on to that there YouTube channel.

Finding the lyrics in my old music file led me to looking back at our old 'posters' and set lists for gigs we ('Smithdown') did in 1993 and 1994. The main thing it illustrates is how much computing has changed since that time - can't even recall what word processor we were using back then (I think Wordstar 6 or maybe 7?). The other thing is how many songs we bloody played - over twenty. I suppose we did actually practice back then. I'm only just getting back up to double figures now #musttryharder

These are the posters for two gigs - one at Kitty O'Shea's (RIP) 'Don't go on Saturday, GO ON TUESDAY!' in August 1993 and the other at the Liverpool Irish Centre (also sadly RIP) at Christmas 1994, where we got the 'The Hooleys' to play - and ended with the 'Terry Tuppence' disco. I've not got the set list for the 1994 xmas gig but I've got the set lists for the Kitty's gig and the 1993 Xmas gig at the British Legion, Mossley Hill.

Maybe I should go back to some of these songs to up my current repertoire back up towards twenty a bit quicker than I have been. I could definitely feel a rendition of 'I Useta Lover' (or the infamous 'Stood Up, Deffed Out and Desperate') would go down well at the open mic; currently the only songs from these sets that I have played at the open mic are 'One I Love' and 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn'.

That said, I think there's only a few of these I would want to (re) add to my repertoire - probably '110 in the Shade' (yet another Chuck Prophet), 'One' (U2), 'Fisherman's Blues' (Waterboys) and maybe 'Sweet Child of Mine' (Guns and Roses). Let's see...

The BDSM Thing

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-15T12:47:43+00:00

As I said the other day I have decided I am going to finish the story from last year's NaNoWriMo - 'The Wobbly Odyssey' (aka Project Jaipur) and I've set myself the target of the end of March. I'm not entirely sure how many words it will be but I've updated the Project Goal in Scrivener from 50k, which it was for NaNo, to 80k and set a Daily Goal of 1000 words. Both seem very reasonable. Reckon 1000 words will be between an hour and an hour and a half - but that depends on focus and any time spent researching bits - or wasted getting lost in Twitter and Google nonsense: the most important rule for writing on a computer MUST be turn away from Twitter and limit distractions.

In addition to setting the new project targets I also wrote my quota of words today (1083 to be precise) -Huzzah! And I am getting back into the minds of Bill, Colin and Sandy again. They are not big minds so that helps. '.... other than the BDSM thing.'

It'll be good to get more practice with Scrivener too. Maybe after finishing a novel and some other writings on it I'll get around to giving it a review.

Faint Light

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-11T22:59:53+00:00

I would love to have a novel length book published, hell I'd be ecstatic with a novella. Then again there's tons of writers out there with the same aim. I was happy when I got some flash out there and got some recognition (or maybe just familiarity), I've been published in terms of flash, short stories and even poems. I've had a couple of gig reviews and a pub review and even a photo published in a book too. But this wish for having a novel published I'm short of by some infinity. Why infinity? I've never written a novel length story. And I'm not gonna get a novel published if I haven't written one. Stands to reason.

I've done NaNo twice (2016 and 2018) and got myself over the line with 50k words both times. But neither are finished drafts. The first one had a bit to go - but more fundamentally had issues with the use of real people. My bad. Fun to write but not gonna get out there. The second is about 60% complete and is more of a possibility. I'm bursting with ideas for stories but this is the one with 50k words already written. It'd be daft not to get it finished. At least I'd prove I can finish a novel and get that doubt out of the way.

I've had one lovely beta reader, who you may know from VSS or FlashDog circles (the wonderful Sal Page), who has given it the once over: I've had six pages of notes back. I recognise the issues and I can go back and fix them during editing / redrafting but in the meantime they can really help me whilst I finish the next 40%.

With an estimate of circa 36k to go a target of six weeks to complete would be 1000 words a day. And six weeks would be 25th March. I'll give myself a few days to get back up to speed to begin with then I'll go for it. So let's say first draft by 31st March. Does that sound reasonable? Possibly.

Anyway the thing is on. Can you see a light? I think it's on. It's faint, but it's there, yes?

The VSS Six

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-10T18:42:54+00:00

Last week's words from Grand Master Unk were:

close
convict
deliberate
desert
object
bougie
rando

And I wrote for six of the seven (missing the rando one). The six VSSs are below.

It's time to close the door on my past. I poured my heart into this and you just kept handing it back. You're nothing to me now. Though you'll always be close. I know you like roses so maybe there's some poetic justice that I'll be using you as fertiliser.

Convict #00001 asked if he could wear a different coloured jumpsuit as the orange clashed with his skin. The board pointed out that after a couple of days his Good Genes spray tan would wear off.

Bob sat in his spare room he called The Office and deliberated his next moves. He hadn't been sure whether Carly had deliberately crashed into his car the other week. But now with overnight graffiti daubed across his front door it was clear: this was war.

'It's not nice to realise that you're just a missed heart beat away from death.'
'Don't you dare, Jimmy. You're not going to desert me in my hour of need. And be warned it will always be my hour of need.'
'Sorry. It's just been one of those days.'
'Well, get over it.

'I object to being objectified. You treat me like a blow up doll.'
'I hate to break it to you but you are a blow up doll. And you are the voice in my head.'
'Really, so why would I be moaning?'
'I'm after semi realism.'
'Fair enough. Well I'm after more than a semi.'

First there were the conversations; stocks, pensions, schools and Caribbean cruises. Then there were the cucamelons in the 'name that veg' salad and the ridiculous range of flavoured gins. I'd gone over to the dark side with my boogie nights replaced by bougie nights.

Now I've just got to pick the one to use for the seedling challenge.

Of Mics and Men

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-08T10:38:26+00:00

Open Mic at the Sanctuary last night actually had a mic and multiple guitars. Huzzah! There were multiple singers as well as poetry and short story readings. Excellent, as ever. Not sure why but all the open mic'ers are men. Come on ladies, bring your plectrums.

I didn't play Shed a Tear, which I was working on this week, in the end I went for my current favourites:

You Couldn't Get Arrested
Somewhere Down the Road
Sweet Carolina, and
Heart Breaks Like the Dawn

I sing most each song with my eyes closed. Don't know why or how I stop that - or even whether I should. That said a brief video has emerged on Instagram showing that maybe they're not quite as closed as I thought they were... click on the photo.

Couple of mates turned up, including one who doesn't have a musical bone. Not sure he'll be back often unless it's just for the beer (didn't like the stories or poetry either). It takes all sorts to make a world.

I was made 'spare' on Friday so at least it meant I could have a couple of drinks. Unfortunately there weren't extended drinks in the bar so had to settle for one in the Fall Well (Wetherspoon) here I had a lovely Peerless Oatmeal Stout whilst I waited for the bus (not even the last bus).

Plans re the guitar playing include in order: work on strumming patterns; write some songs! Then maybe get into scales and riffs. Strumming and songs very much first though.

In other news I have a beta reader of my first six chapters of the 'book' I wrote for NaNoWriMo in November and it's getting to the point where I should get on with writing the rest of it. I reckon it should be another 30-40k words. If I did 50k in one month then I should be able to do that in a month too should I? It's all about motivation and getting in the groove again with it. Having not touched it since getting to the 50k at the end of NaNo I need to finish reading where I'm up to and get writing.

I'll give myself six weeks (I have the guitar to work with too - which I wasn't playing until the second part of November). So watch this space. Could I finish my first whole book?

Mo Music

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-05T17:26:50+00:00

A day that should leave me feeling a bit more relaxed one way or another, but we'll see.

Updated my mate's business website. Nice to get that boxed off in quick time. In other news I managed to get around an hour or so playing the guitar which was nice. I've got a bit of a sore back at the moment - I think a trapped nerve - which has left me a bit pins and needled on my fretting hand which isn't ideal. Recorded 'Shed a Tear (for the lonesome)' using the Blue 'Snowball' microphone and iMovie. The movie is a bit dark and freckly as it was getting dark out and I was only using the computer's iSight camera. At some point I'll see if I can attach or use my Lumix instead - would be better for image quality and flexible recording.

Yesterday I received a Twitter message from Getintothis to tell me I'd won a couple of tickets for a gig tonight at Sound on Duke Street. There's three or four bands on with the headline act being 'Allusinlove'. Looks like it may be fun. More music and on another school night. Unfortunately most the usual suspects I'd go with aren't available tonight so looks like I may be there on me lonesome - awww!

Suppose I better get ready for popping out for some tunes then.

The VSS Seven

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-02T18:03:38+00:00

The VSS prompts this week were in order: parents; stick; London; pantomime; bliss; read; bow. Pretty open for story ideas then. These were my seven:

The children were separated from their parents, who stood outside in fear. Forced into the toy emporium with their contactless credit cards it was an epic free for all. Two children were packed off that night never to be seen again. Probably in a Lego grave right now.

'Dad, I'm scared.'
'I know, son. It's terrifying, but stick with me and we'll get out of here.'
'Promise?'
'Of course. I should never have brought you here. Deep breath, keep close to the wall and follow me.'
Eventually they made it out of the Trafford Centre alive.

Five days before Brexit and London was a mess. The press had stoked the fear factor up to 11 and half the shops were shut and boarded up; the shelves bare. I looked down on the crazy town comforted by the walls of tinned baked beans behind me. I'd live. With open windows.

'Thank fuck he's gone.'
'Aye, a dick.'
'Thinks he's the big I am. More like a big knob. Not in a good way. A big flaccid knob.'
'Gordon.'
'Of course. Who else?'
'No, I mean Gordon... he's behind you.'
'No he isn't.'
'Oh yes he is.'
'Shit, my life's a fuckin' pantomime.'

The week by the Borneo jungle was beautiful. The food impeccable. Wild boar with the rice from the fields outside; picking the shot out of the meat. The pineapples; otherworldly. Lights off at 8pm with the generator. Reading by torchlight. No WiFi. No signal. Bliss.

I read yesterday that there was an App that could your read your mind. I dismissed it as nonsense until last night I took a delivery of chicken pakoras, chicken jalfrezi and garlic naan BEFORE I'd rung my order through. Spooky shit!

Mildred and Milicent the magnificent moo cows, spooked by Beau the bow legged beagle, shivered and slithered, hither and thither, till sensationally skating the ice 'cross the river.

Now I've just got to decide which one to use as the base for a Seedling Challenge story. Decisions, decisions.

iMovie

A.J. Walker — 2019-02-01T20:53:30+00:00

After getting the new microphone for the computer it made me consider the software I've been using. I haven't really be looking at that which is daft. The little practice vids I've put up on YouTube were recorded using PhotoBooth, which is one of the bundled pieces of software with the Mac and then I've edited it using iMovie to get the clip length right, flip the view and add appropriate titles.

As it is I've looked into the recording now and it seems at the very least I should be recording it straight into iMovie rather than using PhotoBooth. The picture quality would be better - not sure about the audio (haven't found a reference to that yet). To that end the version of the software on my 9 year old MacBook Pro is 9 years old itself (iMovie 9). Found that iMovie 10.1.10 was issued in November 2018 AND importantly is FREE; which is always a nice price point.

Downloaded and installed the new software. The key thing will be how stable the software is on my computer. If it is then it could be a winner. It has already automatically updated all the previous videos I'd recorded with the old software. Proper Mac. Easy.

Though let's see if I've spoken too soon...

Snowball's Chance

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-30T16:36:37+00:00

Ordered a Snowball ICE USB mic from Amazon today. It's currently reduced by £12.50 off at £42.50, which I think is probably a mighty fine bargain. One of the organisers of the Sanctuary Open Mic (Bobo from the Vapery, Waterloo) had put on Instagram that he'd ordered it and I couldn't not jump on that bandwagon. I think that the reduction is because they are about to release a new mic. But if this one does the job, well then it's worth dipping in.

Should get it in a few days and by the weekend I hope to be giving it a try out to see what the difference is from the MacBookPro's internal mic. I assume it will be significantly better and prove well worth the money. It has 4.5 stars on Amazon from over 335 reviews, which is pretty good for tech. The specification and the reviews certainly look positive.

Will do some recording of both guitar/singing and narrative and see what it comes out like. Will report back on here. So if any of you out there are considering podcasting or recording (or just Skyping) then I'll let you know what it's like.

A Seedling Challenge

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-29T22:41:23+00:00

It's only Tuesday and there may be more to come, but even if not I'm happy with the interest in the fledgling 'Seedling Challenge'. In the first week we had six entries and this week so far there have been eight. From a standing start I'm satisfied with that. I think Angry Hourglass tended to get around 8-15 entries each week (give or take) and was always full of fab writing. If it gets anywhere as regular in terms of numbers and quality of AH then bloody hell I'd take that as a success!

Of course one of the good things about posting the page each weekend is that even if I'm late everyone knows what the prompts are going to be - they are their own VSS365 from the previous week after all. So writers can get on with it in advance of me getting the page up. Happy days all around.

I've also found that although I'm moderating the site I can make people 'Trusted Users' which means they can post without having to wait for me to moderate. So it may be that for the first few times you have to wait for me to moderate your story (or comments on other people's stories) for it to show on the site. But if after I trust you (?!) you may well find your comments going up straight away.

Anyways, onwards and upwards. Keep on writing you VSSers! If you want to get in on Week #2 then just click here to put up your story or read the existing ones.

Thanks for getting involved, cheers!

Revisting Angry Hourglass

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-25T12:31:44+00:00

It was Open Mic No.6 at the Sanctuary for me last night. There were a couple of guitar issues during the evening (starting with a complete lack of one for a while) but I managed to perform three songs. I didn't use the mic either - so I'm not sure what the event night should have been called.

Played three songs I've done before:

'You Couldn't Get Arrested' - Green on Red
'Somewhere Down the Road' - Chuck Prophet
'Hotel California' - Eagles

Like last time there were two new (and very experienced) guitarists who came along and did their stuff; word seems to be spreading. Enjoyed it as ever.

Matt Holland started the night of reading some of his stories and when the second guitar issue occurred I went up to read a couple of my flash stories. Not having my Kindle with me I had to find something online so I headed to Angry Hourglass to look for some of my stories. It took me a while but I found a few and chose two of my 'winning' stories (although on the drop down for winners there is no A.J. Walker for some reason).

Not sure how many times I won on the challenge (think maybe it was four or five times), but I still remember the first time I did win - I'd had it as a writing goal that particular year to win AH at least once - I was so made up when it finally happened.

The two stories I read yesterday were the apt 'Taking Names' (April 2015) and the less apt but fun 'Sanderson Filibuster’s Amazing Shopping Emporium (somewhere off the beaten track)' (December 2016).

I was intending to upload some old flash on this site under the new 'Writings' section so this seems an appropriate time to put some up. They are both 360 word stories which show what you could do with respect to flash if you are contemplating getting involved with the Seedling Challenge this - or any other - week.

SC365: First Ups

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-22T19:41:43+00:00

After the bolt from the blue at the weekend I put out the idea of writing a flash story based on one of the #VSS365 stories from the previous week. A simple idea. Don't know why I haven't thought of it before.

It got some positive vibes on that there Twitter which made me feel all warm and maybe a bit gooey too. And so far there are four stories up there on the #SC365 Challenge No. 1 page. Huzzah! I'll take that. There may be some teething problems with people submitting their stories or comments. And I hope to get to the bottom of that one way or another. I have tried to make it so that you can comment without creating a Disqus account. I'm not yet sure if that is working. One of the advantages of creating an account is that you would get an email (if you want to) informing you when people make any comments on your story etc. Though I understand that you may not want to sign up for yet another company - this internet thing is massive isn't it?

Many thanks for the first three writers up there, namely and/or twitter handles:

@aurumsella : 'Evil'
@lexikonical : 'Miss Nicoletta and the Mysterious Mech-Dinosaur'
@michellenadasi Michelle Nadasi : 'Untitled'
@zevonesque A.J. Walker (that be me!) : 'What's A Beach?'

Anyway, like I said, as there are no winners with the weekly challenge in its current form there is no need for a time limit so feel free to add a story as and when using last week's prompts. Or just drop in and have a read of what these guys have done with it - and clap them on their collective backs.

Keep Writing and Enjoying It!

#KeepWriting

VSS365: Little Seedlings

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-19T12:08:45+00:00

The words from Sal for this week's #VSS365 have been:

teach
drive
grass
push
spread
lean
beach

I managed to remember each day and write one VSS for each of them:

TEACH

‘Teach me how to love, gorgeous.’
‘You’re too old. Everybody knows you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.’
‘Who you calling old?’
‘You’re not questioning the dog bit then?’
‘Nah, you’ve got me bang to rights there fella. Woof!’

DRIVE

I need to drive the blues away.
I need to find a way to stay.
With you beside me every day.
I’d be faithful come what may.
You make my heart go bumpetty bump.
And give my trousers this embarrassing lump.
Come on baby, fancy a jump?

GRASS

The grazes on her elbows would heal eventually, probably before she got the grass stains from the knees of her jeans. Still, it had been a wicked afternoon with Ben. She smiled as she remembered seeing the curtains twitching next door. Mr Spencer must have got an eyeful.

PUSH

The men looked at the screens in front of them.
‘It’s such an easy game this.’
‘We’re just talking about tiny percentages. A little push here a brash headline there.’
‘We’ll change a few minds. Just a few, it’s all we need.’
The Russians embraced the info war with gusto.

SPREAD

Kev came home early to find his beloved Samantha spread across the sofa wearing nothing but a smile. His mate Dan came out of the kitchen with strawberries, chocolate sauce and cream and all Kev could think was that the pair of them were using the last of the strawbs.

LEAN

The Lean Mean Menace Machine. that’s what they called Eddie back in college. At one point it looked like he’d make it in football. He was like the Refrigerator but thinner. Should see him now. Not mean really, but definitely a menace and very lean. Bloody meth head.

BEACH

'Dad, why does mum call Deb from next door a beach?'
'What?'
'Well she's not sandy or stoney, or near the sea. So I don't get it.'
'I don't know, son.'
'Perhaps you can lie on her. If you've got a towel. Is that it?'
'Go and watch cartoons. I need to talk with your mum.'

________________________________________________________

A right mix of ideas from the one word at the top of the page each day.

An Idea

It takes me back to the one day I had doing a creative writing course a few years ago in a classroom in Liverpool. In that the tutor asked us to write a colour (I think) at the top of one page in our book and another on the facing page. Then we were asked to write five sentences that each colour made us think about on the following page. Then we had ten complete sentences representing all sorts of ideas. After that we were asked to choose one of the ten sentences to write a flash story on.

It was amazing the stories that came out that day from all the writers; which could be traced back to one word at the top of a page in a notebook. Sound familiar? Each day that's what we VSSers are doing. But we stop at the 280 characters. How many of us are taking them to the next level? From a sentence or two to a flash or short story? Anyway, here's my idea... how about looking at your VSSs you've produced during the week and choosing one to write a story about. Let's say up to 365 words (a nice circularity there and a similar length to the great stories that used to come out from Angry Hourglass back in the day).

Anyone up for it? I've created a page for it. Let's see where it may lead.

The Seedling Challenge

Glastonbury - Photos

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-17T12:36:13+00:00

I've said I'd write a memoirs piece on Glastonbury festivals after the Twitter vote last week so I've been digging through some of my photos from them. I've been lucky enough to go five times in 2007-10 and 2015. For some reason I don't seem to have any photos from 2010 but hey. Haven't decided where to start with the writing yet. But in the meantime here are some photos showing the usual; bizarre parades, mud, beer, the Bimble Inn, the Park Stage and bands including Broken Family Band, My Morning Jacket, Ryan Adams, Frank Turner, Neil Young.

I'll come up with something. But whatever I write it'll never be good enough to say how special and different the event is.

Glastonburys

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-14T17:58:32+00:00

Last week I ran a vote for the subject of my next memoir piece where I pitted some of my experiences in the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation versus music festivals and the winner was... 'Glastonburys.' Who needs world travel when you can just pop down to Somerset? Huzzah!

Well, I say huzzah! But it's going to be a tough one to write and keep in decent bounds - I've kind of kept the maximum word count at around 2000. Keeping to that with the bands and experiences I've had there will be a test. First thing is to decide what to focus on, because it can't be the music per se, for where would you stop? It's got to be the experiences. My first one was a lovely bewildering episode, the next few were different with the bigger group of people and the last one - when I won two tickets and took a mate - was lovely. However I end up writing it I hope to get it written and up on the site in the next ten days. It's going to be a fun journey.

In the meantime why not read one of my older pieces, like the Raul vs the Volcano: the El Chichon episode.

Wanted: New Job

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-14T17:03:49+00:00

It's the new year and I definitely need to find a new job. Something that pays enough and provides me with a decent work-life balance. Ideally something I enjoy doing. But if it pays enough then I can live without that - as long as I earn enough to live and have proper hours so that I can have the enjoyment outside of work that balances out the tedium from any crap job.

So to that end I'll be updating my various CVs, including my writing one.

Of course I still have the problem of not knowing what I want to do when I grow up, which is not ideal. It's hard to look up jobs when you're open to consider lots - you end up seeing countless useless soul destroying adverts.

I'm not even sure what my ideal job would be. I mean I love writing, reading, music, beer, football, social media (well Twitter anyway), websiting from my Mac, photography, driving, train journeys, flying (in planes), boats (less so). Britain, Europe, the world, the planets. I love conversations and enjoy solitude too.

So what the hell would be the perfect job then?

Writing content for a beer and music site with lots of travel and a bit of footy thrown in - based in Merseyside with plenty of world travel. Look I'm your man for that. Not seen the advert for it yet and not sure where to look for it. Searching for 'Dream jobs' isn't delivering that. I'll keep looking. You never know.

In the meantime I'll carry on practicing my writing, reading and strumming the guitar and I'll keep an eye out for jobs and training opportunities. If you see this advert anywhere in the coming weeks, please drop me a line!

A Story Setting

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-14T13:26:23+00:00

When you could print out a bridge in fifteen hours, how long would it be before it was a house, a road, a school; a city? How long before the haves and have nots would be separated by a wall printed over night?

But it’s never that simple. Events don’t happen in isolation. There are needs and wants. We are creatures quite simply needing to balance energy in and energy out. Then’s the procreation desires. That used to be simple. One way of life and all that. Now each one of us can literally contain multitudes without the complication of personal interactions.

Our minds are massive complicated beasts, ostensibly tameable but often fragile. They need stimulation and freedom not containment and control; sometimes freedom.

Always freedom.

We have never craved conformity, not completely. A Ford ’T’ with a furry dice. A front door painted pink. A left field band. A tattoo. The love of art, of music, of architecture. The love of the wrong girl; the wrong man. A dangerous liaison.

We are not the same and we should glory in that.

Then there’s power. People who have it will do anything to keep it. Monitor the people: Stop the people. Manipulate. Build a wall. Build many walls. Close the cities down, until you can’t trust anyone. Art is banned. Free speech is banned. You are not safe in your own home. It is not your home. Your life is the government’s now.

Life is precarious. Freedom was special.

And you don’t miss your water until your well’s run dry.

Open Mic #5

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-12T11:54:50+00:00

On Thursday I went to my fifth Open Mic at the Sanctuary, was a top night. Initially it looked like the numbers may be a bit down but in the end there were more than usual including a couple of excellent newbies who spotted the Open Mic as they were passing the pub. I think they'd gone somewhere else first and found an open mic was not on, so it was fortuitous for them - and us.

As ever there were plenty of guitarist singers and in addition there was poetry and short stories.

I did four songs and as ever nobody else knew three of them. It may well be the way to continue - if they don't know it they don't know when you're singing it wrong. The songs I did were:

'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn' - Chuck Prophet
'You Couldn't Get Arrested' - Green on Red
'Somewhere Down the Road' - Chuck Prophet
'Hotel California' - Eagles

I'll let you guess which ones the viewing public knew... Put it this way I'm spreading the Chuck Prophet/Green on Red gospel.

Here are some photos from the night (I didn't bother with the interruption from the drunk speed fuelled guy).

Not sure if I'm going to do new ones next time or just try and get better with the ones I've been doing to date first. Strive to get better!

Colonel Panic

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-10T15:24:27+00:00

Had a few time consuming issues with the scary Kernel Panics shutting down my computer at random times over the last few days. I haven't been able to identify what the issue may be. Assuming it's software and not hardware. Could well be memory issue when I'm using iMovie and other programs at the same time. I had just started removing photos again to help. Will hopefully happen a little less the more I remove. The iMovie files themselves are pretty large and I've only been using them with the messing about with my guitar recordings; I currently record using Photo Booth then edit in iMovie. May look at alternative options at some point.

The scary 'Problem Report'

Seen a recommendation to keep 20% storage memory free and I'm only just around 11% at the moment. It's largely photos and music. Not much I can do about the music so I better get back on to tidying the photos up.

Current state of storage

Will see how it goes... fingers are crossed.

Writing Plans 2019 (WIP)

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-10T11:07:33+00:00

Still working on my planning for this year's writing. Have the two NaNoWriMo projects to finish off and after that I'll then consider the re-editing and completion of one or both of these. Then there's the consideration of other projects. I've a couple of ideas which could spread across several stories/books, including YA and SF. One of these ideas may come to the forefront.

I'm going to keep an eye out all year for publication options for short stories - whether it being anthologies or competitions. I've already got one lead which looks promising.

I've the few memoirs pages on the website to continue adding to - it looks from the current Twitter vote the next one will be about my Glastonbury experiences, which is going to be fun to recall.

One thing under consideration is a weekly serialisation - of something between say 1000-5000 words - being put up on the website under the Writing section. It seems a neat idea in terms of getting into the swing of writing regularly a decent size chunk and getting it out there.

Anyways, the plans will be firmed up soon. With or without a serialisation... watch this space.

Flipping Heck

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-07T15:49:18+00:00

After uploading a song yesterday, where I'd flipped it to the correct orientation, I've had to re-upload all the older songs after flipping them the right way round too. A bit painful, and it means I've lost all my 'views' and 'likes' and all that but hell that doesn't matter.

It also means all my old links from earlier blog updates are wrong too, which is a shame.

Anyway, they're all sorted now so my T-shirts will read correctly in English - and I'm no longer looking left handed.

Heart Breaks Like the Dawn (Chuck Prophet)
Sweet Carolina (Ryan Adams)
Hotel California (Eagles)
Somewhere Down the Road (Chuck Prophet)
Couldn't Get Arrested (Green On Red)
Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon)
Van Diemen's Land (U2)
One I Love (REM)
Better Be Home Soon (Crowded House)

And I've put them all into a playlist 'Andy's Acoustic Practicing.'

Updating the Website

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-06T13:38:13+00:00

Beginning to update the website. Starting to make it look a little cleaner by removing the colours, thick lines and rounded edges on the boxes to begin with. I need to sort out the header to make it smaller (need to look that up as to best way of doing that and keeping it consistent) in the meantime I've just made the header plain colour rather the distracting backgrounds I had before. In actuality that will mean the different appearance will be least evident on the blog.

I've moved the Memoirs pages beneath a general heading for 'Writings' as I intend to put up some small fictions and none fictions under here at some point, possibly starting with old flash from sites like Angry Hourglass and Flash Fiction Friday and the like, but ultimately to include new writing too. I'll see about that over the next few weeks but in the meantime I need to decide on my immediate goals for writing in the coming weeks, months and indeed years.

Just done another Chuck Prophet song 'Heart Breaks Like the Dawn', probably a few bpm too slow but hell it'll do for now. I've also flipped the video so the words read right on my t-shirt. But of course that now means all my other videos have me mirror reversed. Oops. More editing work required at some point.

Reading Plans 2019

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-03T10:49:03+00:00

Having read 41 and 48 books in 2016 and 2017 I failed last year to get to 40, falling six books short. But I've set myself the same book goal this year for reading. Having read just shy of three books a month i need to get it up ten percent or so more this year.

The books I read by the end of the year always end up changing a bit from the ones I aim to read at the start. Partly due to new finds in second-hand book shops making me jump horse constantly. But of the forty I am setting myself the task of reading the following within that:

At least one:
Iain M Banks
Charles Dickens
George Orwell (Homage to Catalunya or Road to Wigan Pier)
Doris Lessing (The Good Terrorist)
Philip Pullman (#2 of His Dark Materials trilogy)
Mervyn Peake (#2 of Gormenghast trilogy)

I Am Pilgrim (Terry Hayes)
Hangover Square (Patrick Hamilton)
They Came And Ate Us (Robert Rankin)
Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch)
Lying Under An Apple Tree (Alice Munro)

Non-Fiction to include:
A Line in the Sand (James Barr)
In Xanadu (William Dalrymple)
Milk of Paradise (Lucy Inglis)
On Writing (Stephen King)
The Golden Atlas (Edward Brooke-Hitchings)
Homage to Gaia (James Lovelock)

I have all these books on my shelves apart from The Milk of Paradise, On Writing and Rivers of London, so I'll be keeping an eye out for them in the second hand shops or sales. I'll no doubt keep you posted on the blog and via Twitter (@zevonesque). If you are a GoodReads user then you can also find me at: https://www.goodreads.com/Zevonesque

If you are a writer who is not writing then the next best thing is reading. Call it research.

Happy reading in 2019 to all of you.

Not So Sweet Carolina

A.J. Walker — 2019-01-02T20:55:55+00:00

Uploaded yet another song on to YouTube: 'Sweet Carolina' by Ryan Adams. That's eight songs now, eek! One of the songs (along with One I Love, Van Diemen's Land and Splendid Isolation) that I can currently play without requiring the words there - at least as comfort for me. Current song list up there comprises:

Sweet Carolina (Ryan Adams)
Hotel California (Eagles)
Somewhere Down the Road (Chuck Prophet)
Couldn't Get Arrested (Green On Red)
Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon)
Van Diemen's Land (U2)
One I Love (REM)
Better Be Home Soon (Crowded House)

'Sweet Carolina'

I need to choose another song to learn this week. Will have a wee think about that tomorrow. Will also be re-doing 'Better Be Home Soon' as the version up there is absolutely pants at the moment.

Have kept the original poorer Hotel California up there for now - just for the comedy value and Football Focus moment. ;-)

Practice Practice

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-31T18:32:20+00:00

Don't know how many times I've played Hotel California over the last couple of days. But I'm getting better at it - which I suppose is the point of practice.

So here's a link to it.... IT.

Currently considering what songs to learn in the new year. Anyway, now I'm off out for a couple of beers to bring in the new year. Should do a couple more blogs tomorrow. In the meantime though...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

CHEERS!

Check Out Any Time You Like

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-29T12:32:05+00:00

Had a wee bit of a strum today playing Hotel California - such a fab song. When I played with a few mates back in the 1990s one of them had written out the lyrics for it, but we never got around to playing it. It predated Google and all that and I realised today that he'd got a few words wrong, which is quite off-putting when you're playing along. Anyway, got them sorted now. Shows how long it is since I've been into playing; handwritten lyrics as (mis)heard from the LP?

Decided to record my playing it. A minute and a half into it though I noticed Footy Focus was starting so had to pause the TV (I wasn't going to miss it with Liverpool being top of the league). It was quite funny so I've left it in the vid anyway. The end of the song is a bit nothing. But I'll re-record it at some point. The question now is whether I'll learn the song and play it at one of the Open Mics in 2019?

Anyway, should you like a laugh then my strum is here....

I do like the Eagles. I was lucky enough to see them in Moscow back in 2001 or so. Funnily enough they played their gig in two sets and opened the second set with Hotel California. Russians being Russians most of them missed it as they were beneath the stands still drinking. The gig ended with the Russian audience chanting 'Cal-if-forn-I-A, Cal-if-forn-I-A...'. They were gutted when they didn't come out to play it again. Still makes me laugh now.

I am currently reading 'VOX' by Christina Dalcher. Nice easy read and over half way through now so should finish it before New Year, which will mean I'll have read 34 books this year (according to my GoodReads records). A bit down on last year, but it is what it is. Need to make some plans for my reading next year and more importantly my writing. It's been a mixed year for writing for me. I got published just the once which is the least I've been published since I first was back in 2014. That said I was made up with this publication, with it being the third of the Infernal Clock anthologies: 'Deadcades'. I've been lucky enough to had stories in all three of them and they are all excellent, this year's though seems a cut above. Unless we're going to get to a situation where Infernal Clock get to Part 5 of a Trilogy, in a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy style, then I'm going to have to find some suitable places to submit stories for. And this must form a decent part of my planning. I've still got to find a home for the original story I wrote for the Infernal Clock: Calendark too.

The other positive was finishing NaNoWriMo for the second time. It was a bit chaotic this time, but I think I've learnt a lot from that which makes it worthwhile in itself. I need to go on and finish that in 2019 and then edit, re-edit etc if I think it is worth it. At the same time I've got to consider whether to finish and rewrite the NaNo from 2017.

As you can see I have some planning to do. Now I've finished strumming for the day - and writing a quick blog - then it IS planning time. Well as much as I can before watching the Liverpool v Arsenal game with a couple of mates and some ales.

No doubt will report back on here with writing and reading plans. It's kinda what the blog is for really.

Books, Books, Books

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-26T22:12:06+00:00

Last week my lovely sis' asked me if there were any books that I wanted for Christmas and I gave a list of five:

'VOX' by Christina Dalcher
'The Golden Atlas' by Edward Brooke-Hitching
'On Writing' by Stephen King
'Milk of Paradise' by Lucy Inglis
'Norse Mythology' by Neil Gaiman

She told me at the weekend that she had got me one. Huzzah!

Then on the 23rd December Christina Dalcher tweeted out a link that the Kindle Version of VOX was available via Amazon for 99p. Flip an absolute bargain! But did I already have a copy neatly wrapped up ready for Christmas Day? I thought about it for a while then decided to take a risk. There was a one in five chance that the wrapped pressie was VOX so I risked buying it - hell it was only 99p.

Whilst I was there I found another interesting and highly rated book for the same price on the French and British carving up of the Middle East in the early 20th Century: 'A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle that Shaped The Middle East' by James Barr. It looked a boss read so I picked that up too. The two Kindle books were the first I'd bought for the device for quite a while - I've been very much second-hand book shopping most of this year.

And then came Christmas and the book from my sister... had I wasted that 99p? Nah, of course not. She'd got me the beautiful Golden Atlas. Fab!

So I've got two from that list of five and a bonus interesting book too. Well in.

I've been looking forward to getting my hands on VOX as the premise looks right up my street and it has been getting some great reviews (some of more than 100 words). And of course there was a second reason to be keen on getting hold of this one: Christina kindly wrote the foreword to the Infernal Clock anthology: Deadcades - which this year has been the only book I've been published in - and very proudly at that. Hope to get it read next before the new year.

Last Class Song Of The Day

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-26T20:44:01+00:00

This evening I've scheduled in the last of what I'll call the 'official' Class Song of the Day songs. I've been doing this since April of last year and have only accidentally missed a couple of days in that time. As said previously though it does take a little time and I have put pressure on myself to keep it going. Now that I've decided to finish it of as of December 31st then I won't have the time pressure to keep up with it.

That's not to say I won't tweet out songs from now on. It just means if I don't I won't feel I've messed it up if I miss a day, or a week, or if I repeat any songs. In fact I've actually carried on and buffered songs a week into the new year. And I now don't care that a few of these are repeats of earlier songs I've tweets out links to. Ha! Who cares? Not me. I've not added the hashtag #ClassSongOfTheDay to the songs for next year. The hashtag may or may not remain dormant. We shall see.

Anyways carry on loving music. Because there aren't many legal things much better than music out there.

Final Open Mic of the Year

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-21T18:00:34+00:00

Yesterday I went to my fourth Open Mic event at the Sanctuary Bar, Liverpool. It was the final one of the year.

There was a decent turnout and it was very enjoyable. There were six or seven guitarists performing as well as a fab poet and an author reading a couple of his stories out.

There were a couple of teething issues with a dodgy connection between the guitar and the PA and a severely struggling mic stand which was taped up and unadjustable. This meant I was a wee bit hunched up to get down to the hobbit level of the mic. I trust that at Xmas the Open Mic team will get a new mic stand. Er if they've been good.

I did a couple of songs I haven't performed before: 'Somewhere Down the Road' by Chuck Prophet and 'Couldn't Get Arrested' by Green on Red. In addition I did 'Better Be Home Soon' (Crowded House) and 'Van Diemen's Land' (U2).

Getting more relaxed playing which can only be a good thing.

New year I hope to start writing my own songs.

I've uploaded a few of my practices of these songs on my YouTube Channel so I'll be able to chart my hopeful improvement as I get back into playing again.

Thanks must go to the Sanctuary Bar and the organisers of the Open Mic. It's a cool relaxed event and I'm glad to have found it. Roll on 2019.

Last Eight Days

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-19T09:27:44+00:00

With Elton John being my last artist getting a whole week for himself on #ClassSongOfTheDay this week,I've gone and picked my artists for the last eight days of the year, but not the songs - incidentally it was supposed to be the week for Pixies then Lykke Li. The artists I have gone for are:

Decemberists
Jayhawks
Neil Young
Teenage Fanclub
Chuck Prophet
Warren Zevon
Ryan Adams
Frank Turner

Unsurprisingly it has come out largely as Americana and singer songwriters. A difficult pick with Bright Eyes, John Hiatt, Blue Aeroplanes, Felice Brothers, Thea Glimore, Adele and Iron & Wine all waiting in the wings.

More Strumming

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-18T20:34:56+00:00

It's been good to get back to strumming the guitar again. I've had too many months and years not playing the thing. It's just been sat there. I should have continued with it. Anyway, I've found it again and I'm loving getting back to it. Looking at what I used to play back in the 1990s I've evidently forgotten a hell of a lot.

The main thing I need to work on in the short term is sorting some decent strumming out. I'm posting some of my practicing on YouTube hoping that it will serve to act as a baseline for me to move away from.

I've played three Open Mics in the last six weeks or so and aim to get to four shortly and next time I'm going to play some different songs as I am trying to expand my repertoire. I'm minded to give 'Somewhere Down The Road' by Chuck Prophet and 'Couldn't Get Arrested' by Green on Red a go. I can always throw in a couple that I have done previously. I've never played these before in public. So will be nice to see the song options improve if not the quality of my playing... yet.

I've put me wee attempt at Somewhere Down the Road up. A class song, if not the way I play it ;-)

Once I can play better maybe I should do something about the sound and lighting and maybe I'll get some dancing troupe to distract any accidental viewers.

#ClassBrexitStrategyOfTheDay

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-16T12:07:32+00:00

Brexit: My Two Euros Worth

It says something that I don't have a Category on my website to put Brexit or politics into. I've got plenty for reading, writing, music and travel. Let's face it politics is something that happens around us and to us rather than involves most of us most of the time - other than voting. And that's the way it should be. If politics is suddenly the be-all-and-end-all, or the major topic of conversation, then it tends to mean something is wrong. So here we are on both sides of the Atlantic - and the Channel too - in a wee bit of a mess because something appears to be broken which we thought wasn't - akin to starting your car which worked yesterday but you concede today when the engine blows that maybe you haven't been checking the oil as much as you should have.

Anyway, like I say this is just a quick one before I go and play some guitar and read a book, before going to watch the Liverpool match with a pint and a couple of mates... get it? Music, books, beer, mates and football: that's the kind of stuff we want to be enjoying and talking about. Not the nonsense in Parliament, Brussels and beyond.

But these guys and gals on all sides of the House are fucking it up for us and it's doing my bloody nut in.

My points (and I won't expand on them at this time because my coffee is getting cold and my Takamine is saying 'play me') on the whole horrible debacle are thus:

1. We should never have had a vote on it.
2. But when we did surely the majority required should have been something more sensible, like a two thirds for something so important.
3. That said the vote was made and - unfortunately, in my view - the UK voted to leave and so we should.
4. Scotland did not vote to stay any more than Liverpool or London did. And every time I hear someone from the SNP saying 'their' vote is getting ignored it makes my blood boil. The vote was for the UK as a whole. I voted to remain, Liverpool voted to remain, but the UK voted leave and that's that. QED.
5. These guys and gals in Parliament are playing internal power games as if they were playing the fiddle while Rome burns. The myriad of different thoughts on what the Brexit that people voted for is a complete nonsense. There was not a type of Brexit that people voted for. People just voted to leave. That's it. Did any of these politicians see the ballot paper?
6. It is as clear as the clearest day through the clearest glasses with the clearest hindsight that it is going to be impossible to satisfy everyone. Indeed due to the nature of the issue everyone will have to give ground and ultimately there will need to be an agreement that no one in the UK is happy with. Well that's surely just the nature of the beast. 48% of "The People" will be pissed off, whilst the other 52% can be divided into say ten or more camps. Okay, so maybe we can satisfy 5% of "The People" then.
7. The Second Referendum: How the hell is that going to solve anything. The 48% will hope they suddenly get to 50.00001% and then everything will return to 2016 and all will be well in the world? I don't see that as right at all. What if we make it best of three? Or maybe get Barnier and May to play stone, paper, scissors and televise it. It would be nice to think that one day we'll get a Government that governs. The problem with asking the people is that the wrong results happen (see 8. below).
8. Maybe give each of the Strictly dancers a Brexit strategy and we get the BBC viewers to phone in and vote for the one they want (not that they ever actually vote for the best of course - it's all about the journey).
9. And don't even get me started on the 'Six Tests' the first one saying "we must be no worse off from where we were..." may as well say we want to have our cake and eat it and the cake better be a nice one too. And then the other five tests include a magically refilling pint glass, unlimited cheese and a perpetual motion machine. The impossible list is something from a children's book: "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum I smell the chaos of a referendum". How do people actually go on the TV or radio and spout that shit without cracking up?
10. The politicians have got us into this mess by holding the vote and not preparing for the result. Whether they didn't expect it is neither here nor there. The leave campaign was inept of course, but surely in a two horse race you've got to be ready to consider that maybe the horse you're backing may not win. They are now lost and squabbling in a pitch black maze, whilst occasionally dropping hand-grenades and swinging swords (or maces) about. In the meantime the general public watches in awe at the incompetence and stupidity of it all. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't go in there carrying the purse of the nation and future aspirations for all who sail with her.
11. At least they'll have sorted the immigration issue. Before too long Europe will be worried about boats coming the other way across the channel. Okay, maybe not France, Spain or Romania perhaps.

Anyway, my coffee is now cold and needs topping up: for some reason I can't seem to drink my coffee and still have coffee. I blame Brussels for that.

Enough of this nonsense. I'll try not to comment on politics again.

TV and Time Creation

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-16T10:28:56+00:00

So I fixed my TV earlier in the week by disconnecting the buttons that work it (yeah, who'd have thunk it?) and what did I do last night? I only went and watched the Strictly Final and Michael Bloody McIntyre. I mean WTF!? If ever there was evidence that my remote control wasn't working that would normally be it. But no, I saw through most of the former and all of the latter with only two bottles of Wild Bill's IPA from Aldi to keep me company: Living the Dream on a Saturday night. To be fair I did actually quite enjoy them - but, in my defence, I was also quite knackered. With respect to the winner, I do like Stacey Dooley for what she does on the telly box, but I thought (assuming we weren't basing it purely on actual dancing - when clearly the American Pussycat should have won) then Faye deserved it. Anyway, congrats to Grimsby and all that.

I then went all dark and watched the latest two episodes of Sinner (Season 1) on BBC4. An interesting crime in a fucked up little American town with a fucked up police detective investigating the crime. It's hard to think of any detectives on the box that aren't at least a wee bitted messed up in one way or another. I assume at detective interviews if you claim you have a calm and stable life with no messy backstory, or a closet full of weird shit, you don't get to the second round of interviews. In this one he's got a messed up marriage and spends most his none investigating time getting beaten up by an ex (who he now pays to do it) in a severe masochistic relationship. Still, I'm sure he'll uncover the crime and all the baddies in the end; as long as he doesn't get accidentally suffocated first in a bizarre sexual encounter. Now that's an ending... and all the criminals lived happily ever after in the ultimate sliding doors moment.

In other news, I announced I'd probably stop Class Song of the Day at the end of this year (frighteningly just 15 days away) and one of my (okay probably my only) regular clicker and listener has said 'I won't miss it...'. Now that is a damning indictment if ever I've read one. I suppose if not doing it gives me another 26 hours a year to do something and it does for others too, then I have magically created at least 6 working days of time out of nothing. So sometimes stopping something can be a job well done then. Huzzah!

Talking of time creation... watching that much TV in a night can't be a good thing. But I was tuckered out and moving not a jot was the way to go. Won't be watching too much TV today other than the Liverpool v Man Utd match (and if we win MOTD).

Class Song of the Day

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-15T20:09:16+00:00

In April last year I came up with the idea of Class Song of the Day, where I would post on Twitter each day a song I rather liked - in theory for others to listen to too. And I've been doing that ever since.

Partly it was to avoid a habit of not posting a song for ages then inundating my poor Twitter followers with loads of songs and bands in a flurry of some Friday evening or other. Such Tweet barrages are hard to stomach when you receive them. As often as not you'd ignore a sudden influx from one source - well I do at any rate. So a regular timed, once a day effort, kinda made sense.

Anyway I am of a mind to end it now at the end of this year. I've not run out of bands or songs and whilst it doesn't take that much time its regularity is something that requires me to keep on top of once a week or so with respect to the website and a maximum of once every ten days to put the Tweets into Buffer. In truth it probably takes about half an hour a week or so. But ultimately whilst I've enjoyed curating this music - whether it is to people who haven't heard it before or have (or reintroducing the music to me) - there are not many people listening to it and it won't really be missed. Maybe it is only half an hour, but I could use that half an hour for writing a blog or even - god forbid - stories. Or maybe applying for jobs. Or baking cakes.

Well, not the latter.

Half an hour a week is 26 hours a year - or three working days - to do writing (or baking or eating cake).

At the end of the day (or week) I've only got my No.1 music follower Sal as a regular visitor and clicker who may miss it. Maybe I'll just DM some band names or links to her instead. ;-)

Samsung TV Fix

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-10T21:33:54+00:00

I reported a few weeks ago my TV had started going a bit random on me. It would turn itself over to other sources, cycling through TV/PC/HDMI input 1/HDMI input 2 etc very frustrating. In actual fact it has been relatively well behaved and only doing it occasionally for a while. But when you're watching something and it suddenly goes off and you can't get it back on it is more than frustrating.

The Remote had stopped working completely - apart from the On/Off button - and the buttons on the side of the TV were not useful (I could turn on the Menu, but could not select anything from it).

I had looked through pages and pages of issues for Troubleshooting on the net looking for possible issues and fixes and was fearing it was a board/capacitor issue which would end up being either messy or expensive or both. These days it is often as cheap to buy a new TV (or any electrical good) rather than get something fixed.

But today I was lucky enough to find the right page for me; it doesn't help with the Samsung TV naming standards - my TV is snappy titled: LE32B450C4W. Rolls of the tongue that one doesn't it? It's a few years old okay, but my last TV lasted longer and when I started looking into the Samsung issue it is all over the net - but complicated by the naming thing in terms of which problems are common to groups of 'similar' TVs (how can you tell if LE32B..... is similar to LF54Cxxx.... etc? No chance.)

The page I found today was on cnet.com and the specific answer is from 'Kimberley3g' near the bottom of the link. If you've got a similar problem take a look at it. In summary though the issue, which seems widespread, is with the button array at the side of the TV. And the fix... disconnect the little bastards.

So basically all you need is a screwdriver or two, half an hour and some confidence. I found the screws were easy enough to take out. It was a bit fiddly disconnecting the cables - I tried at both ends. In the end I disconnected the connector on the button board (the other end is on the Infrared board (see pics). The buttons are on the bottom left of the TV (looking from the back) and the connections are to the IR board at the very bottom of the same corner.

Anyway, got it disconnected. Screwed the back and base back on and plugged all the connections back in (satellite, playstation, audio) and crossed my fingers.

Turned the TV on and hey presto! The Remote Control was miraculously working again for the first time for a month or so. The lack of information on the Samsung website and Forums on what is a known issue is very frustrating. I'm pretty sure I won't buy a Samsung TV again (this issue has carried on through to much more recent TVs).

Fingers crossed it continues to work - I suspect it will. I don't know Kimberley but I'll be raising a glass to her tomorrow.

Huzzah!

Return to Reading

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-05T23:09:10+00:00

Played some guitar tonight, which was nice as I still don't do it enough. But the other thing I did which I haven't done much lately is read a bit. November was a wash out for reading with NaNoWriMo and dealing with VSS365 (together with long work days), so it was nice to get back to it. Picked up a couple of good second hand books yesterday with Doris Lessing 'The Good Terrorist' and Patrick Hamilton 'Hangover Square' good stuff to look forward to. In the meantime I've started one I got on loan the other day from Liverpool Central Library - a 'SF Masterworks": 'City' by Clifford Simak. My hope is to read this and at least one or two other books, that would get me up to 33 or 34 books for the year - against my aim of 40 books again this year. Just been the year it has. It is what it is.

Been a good year again of course - any reading is good. Lots of SF and a few classics. A few books on writing too. Just a couple of Terry Pratchett's - the sad thing is I'm running out of ones to read of his. Will undoubtedly do a fuller reading review at the start of 2019 - and think about my aims for next year.

CSOTD2

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-04T19:12:45+00:00

All the November excitement of VSS365 and NaNo has to some extent passed. It seems an age ago (er it is 4 days since my stint at the helm of VSS365 came to an end). But my other scheduled daily Tweet is still very much alive, that is: Class Song Of The Day. This evening I've updated the CSOTD (Year 2) webpage and the next ten days of songs are Buffered.

This weeks songs are from the living folk legend that is Steve Earle. Enjoy.

Can't believe there are only three artists to come after him before Christmas. The year, the year is disappearing right down the plug hole. That said I've got the next six artists lined up as far as the end of January. Should be a breeze to get the full Year 2 sorted. Not sure what/if I'll continue into Year 3 with if. We shall see when we get there in the middle of April.

Since April I've been selecting an artist that I like, putting them up for the week and choosing a song each day for them. It's been a cracking group of artists. Let's face it if I was a DJ it'd be bloody great - I'd like it anyway.

The CSOTD Tweet get's sent out each morning at 8am (UK).
#ClassSongOfTheDay

Prompting the Prompts

A.J. Walker — 2018-12-01T19:16:05+00:00

It seems a wee bit sad to me to have finished the month of November as it means I've now finished doing the prompts for #VSS365. It really has been fun.

If you look back at the initial prompts I presented them with fewer words of my own and largely with the 'from Planet Zevon' introduction. This morphed more into stories of the fabled quiet and distant States of Zevonia and Zevonistan. I quite enjoyed the idea of these as the month went on - I've never mentioned sprouts so much (and, yes, I like them). The States certainly weren't on the horizon when I first chose the words or started writing the scheduled Tweets out.

I hope you've enjoyed getting involved and that my rambling Tweets didn't wind you up too much.

I'm not sure how many of you guessed, if any, but ALL the prompts were beer related with them either from pub names in Liverpool and its environs, local breweries, or were names of varieties of hops. So the full list of prompts for November with their - none Planet Zevon/Zevonia/Zevonistan - origins, is as follows:

VARIETIES OF HOPS:

AURORA
CALYPSO
CASCADE
CRYSTAL
ENDEAVOR
LIBERTY

PUBS (LIVERPOOL AND ENVIRONS)

TAP and BOTTLES
The DISPENSARY
Baltic FLEET
SANCTUARY Bar
The FLY in the Loaf
Hard Times and MISERY
PEN Factory
TRAP and HATCH
GLOBE
Caernarfon CASTLE
The CAVERN
The HOLE in the Wall
CRAFT (could be a Brewery too)
The CROWN
LION TAVERN
PILGRIM

LOCAL BREWERIES:

NEPTUNE
CHAPTER
PEERLESS
ORGANIC
TOP ROPE

Come on! It was predictable.

Good luck to @TheWritingKind and to you all.Cheers!

Come in No.2, Your Time is Up

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-30T13:35:08+00:00

Hell, yeah!

It's been a bit of a bumpy ride but I have got there. I've gone and done my second NaNoWriMo following the completion of one back in 2016. I'm pretty sure I wrote every day, or certainly almost everyday last time. This year I missed six days of writing. I haven't done the maths here but I reckon that that is almost a week.

Looking back at that if I could even have just written 500 words or so on each of those days it would have made the end a little less 'seat of the pants'. It does go to show "write little and often" is very much worth doing.

I've hit the fabled 50k mark this afternoon and whilst I've achieved that marker I have not by any stretch finished the story. I'm reckoning its about two-thirds finished. So I've a way to go. It's very much been an organic process with my fingers taking the story to places I had no idea it would end up, with stories of gangsters and leaving someone at the altar and all sorts of shenanigans- and I know there's much to come too. It's strange how much different it has been from the first one, but it's been a lark.

The main thing I found I had to introduce which I didn't have originally was some jeopardy. The original plans really had a travelogue with some people going from a to b with things happening. But there was not enough to drive it along to create an interesting narrative. As soon as I put in some danger and an interesting history with current implications to the story it held together a lot more and made the writing easier. An experience worth learning for me. No matter how much planning you have for every little detail some big picture stuff needs to be there to hold it together lest the whole thing fall apart.

Anyways, I am made up to get to goal and I now aim, by the end of January, to finish the first draft off (December is a bust with work).

If I've learnt one thing on this odyssey it is write a little every day. And if I've learnt two it is; chocolate hobnobs do not a breakfast make, but when needs must...

Late in the Month NaNo Progress?

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-27T18:49:07+00:00

It's the 27th November which means just four days to complete NaNoWriMo. I can say that this generates a real "Eek!" when you've only done 35,901 by then. That's 14,099 words to write in four days, which equates to 3525 words a day to get it done - assuming writing each day. I've achieved that three times this one this NaNo so it can be done. But that four days writing is a big assumption when on one of those days (tomorrow) Liverpool are playing PSG - and I'm not going to miss watching that. So really it's more like three days and 4700 words/day, which I've not done once during this month. Like I said, "EEK!"

That said I am off today and Friday so I thought this morning when I got up that maybe if I got three to four hours or so writing done on both those days then I could get there.

------

Well by lunchtime I have got to 39,113 words, which is a good hit. If I can do another two thousand minimum - and I can't see why not - then I could see me completing NaNo for the second time. Even if I can just do a thousand or so tomorrow on top of what I finish with today then that will leave Thursday and Friday in the right ball park.

The story is still clunky and will require vast redrafting at some point in the future, but pushing it out there and along the track is all I can do for now; the chasing unlikely drugs dealers are now leaving Manchester by train - having had their car impounded - whilst two of the protagonists are in Leeds with the other one accidentally in Newcastle. Standard.

------

Having not done much more I reached 40k at 5pm. Still, it is a bit of a milestone at 80% of the way there and pretty fine from where I started the morning.

But I'd set myself the aim of getting to 41k, so I set to it for another hour or so to get there. I ended up writing until 6.40pm and where did I end up... only bloody >42k. In your face! Assuming I don't write tomorrow I have two days left to write 7800 words, having done 6081 today.

The story won't be finished at 50k, I reckon it would still be at least a 70k story - depending where the main characters end up and when...but my second NaNo on my second attempt is within sight if not quite within my grasp.

Happy? Me? Yup.

VSS365 Stint: The End Is Nigh

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-27T13:17:21+00:00

It's almost four weeks since I took the role of VSS365 prompter on and it has been fun. The words, the stories, the sagas, the one liners and so so many people out there getting involved. I must say big thanks to @Voimaoy for trusting me to do it and to @RozLevens for handing it over to me with such aplomb. And talking of handing it over just make sure you're following Camilla @TheWritingKind in good time for December so that you do not miss the prompts. I'm not sure what time she'll be putting them out there, I just picked a random time myself!

It surprises me sometimes when people say that they can't find the prompt easily, but I suppose not every one uses Twitter quite as much as some of us (i.e. especially me). But my suggestion for anyone who doesn't want to follow a new prompter each month the easiest way to find each day's prompt is simply to search Twitter. It's not rocket science and I don't want to teach grandmothers to suck eggs or whatever. But just in case you're not used to Twitter or any general searching methods just do this:

Search: #VSS365 #prompt

It automatically lists in terms of some sort of wrangled algorithm (aren't they all) and may come up with top answers equating to previous days or weeks prompts, so once you have that list in front of you just select Latest and hey presto you should have it. Just bear in mind that there are some people (not many but you do see it) who put #VSS365 along with random #words which have nothing to do with the community. Go figure. But if you see more than a couple of Tweets relating to the same word on the same day then that should be the day's prompt. Simples.

With regard to the prompting scheduler I have been using twittimer.com it's basic and not quite as user friendly as Buffer but I needed a second scheduler for this monthly stint. It worked every day without any messing about so I can certainly recommend it if you want to schedule up to ten tweets at a time and perhaps need a second scheduler like I did.

Anyhoo enough of that, there's only three more prompts for me to go after today's word: Tap. Wonder what the last one will be?

______

Remember, follow @TheWritingKind to get December's prompts without having to search for them.

Open Mic 2

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-23T12:54:56+00:00

Yesterday I went to play a few songs at the Open Mic in the Sanctuary Bar on Lime Street. It was the second time after playing three songs there a couple of weeks ago. Last time there were fewer people in attendance which made it easier to play after I'd heard a couple of people playing. This time there were more singer guitarists I'm not sure if I hadn't played the other week whether I would have got up in front of them.

I was second up and played three songs: Van Diemen's Land, the One I Love and Better Be Home Soon. Struggled a bit with the One I Love which is daft, because its the easiest one to play - or at least the one I've played the most. I think the nerves of like playing probably made me play it too quickly. Still I managed to force myself into the high notes and then did the Crowded House number. It's the first time I've played that in front of anyone and it wasn't too bad.

Following me on to the mic was Dave Glyn Jones, who I've never seen before and bloody hell he was good. If he'd come on before me there is no way I would have gone up and played. Very very accomplished. Great guitar and a gravelly blues voice and funny with it. Damn talented. The next two came up, who I didn't catch the names of, and they were great too. It was an enjoyable night and my mate who had never seen me play before had come along. Surprisingly he really enjoyed the night as he's not really into bands that much, but he found it all excellent (especially Dave).

Dave spoke to me afterwards and kindly told me not to be so self deprecating up there and that I had a nice voice (?) and good musical taste. I'll take that. Just need to play the guitar a lot more often and learn some new tunes. I know if I keep at it and keep throwing myself in front of an audience I should get more confidence and with that get better at the whole thing. It's been a nice distraction to start doing this and I'm looking forward to seeing where it will go.

Blank Friday

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-23T12:03:16+00:00

Forget that Black Friday nonsense, what about Blank Friday? Maybe that's more relevant for me. I've been struggling a little, or a lot, with NaNo and I'm still not sure about the whole story as it's going. I'm just over 33k words in and looking at my original 'plan' which to all intents is kinda defunct now, I think in broad terms as a buddy travelogue I'm not even sure if I'm 40% along the timeline. That would make the story end up over 70k at this rate. If that's the case I'm not going to finish writing the story by the end of the month, but I could still get to the magic 50k if I keep at it - it would take about 2100 words a day from this point.

Thinking I need to give it a basic replan from where it stands now as it's turned into a different monster than was envisaged. For a start I've ended up with the three protagonists being chased across the country by a couple of drug dealers, which wasn't in the original plan at all. And that could well be the main storyline. I mean FFS, from not being in the plan at all to becoming the principal storyline; all that planning time wasted?

So is there a point in planning again from this point or do I just type away and see where my fingers take me? I'm currently of the view that a wee bit of planning is worthwhile to keep some sort of order to it, else it is likely to go well of the rails.

It's definitely harder work than my last NaNo. Fingers crossed I'll get there.

Updating

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-19T13:29:20+00:00

Several aims today included getting the scheduling of #VSS365 and #ClassSongOfTheDay up to date and updating the Class Song page with this week's links (Talking Heads).

I also have the aim of writing over 3000 words for NaNoWriMo. At the end of today the par word count is 31,667 and at the start I was only at 25,081 so I need a decent amount to close the gap a little. It's got to the point now where a par daily count is around 2000 words, which sounds fine, but when you think of a missed day adding that to the fewer remaining days it all adds up quite quickly.

Well first things first was VSS365 and I've updated the Twitter Scheduler to bang in the next words. It being the 19th and the scheduler having a maximum of ten then it takes it up to the penultimate day of the month. So tomorrow I can schedule my very last VSS prompt tweet. Ahhh! How sad. It's been great fun so far anyway and have been loving all the stories, though I have been able to read them all. There's so many. It's been good to meet so many new people on Twitter through it to. Top flashers.

I then updated the Class Song scheduler with the remaining songs from Talking Heads and next week's band (which will remain nameless until next Monday but it's one of my fave from uni days) and sorted the Class Song page links. Huzzah! Click on the link to get listening.

On top of that I have written 2500 words for NaNo. Want to write another 1000 or so to dig into the total just a little bit. It's hard work and I think it may be about fifty fifty if I get to the end at the moment. Onwards and upwards and all that.

#KeepWriting

My Muse Zevonia

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-16T18:13:22+00:00

It's past half way through November and my residency at VSS365 Towers. So it may be time to introduce you to the Occasionally Free Peoples Republic of Zevonia, I know not many of you know of it, so I've sourced a wee map of the state. It's an interesting place and rarely visited, in fact it's less connected to the outside world than North Korea. That's probably why you don't know much about it. You may see a few familiar place names and sights on the map because, yes, i's where I've sourced the words for VSS this month.

I do have a second map (including the poorer relation Zevonistan) but I can't put that up as it would give away the remaining words for the month. And you wouldn't want that would you.

The first sixteen words for November have been:

Aurora Bottles Calypso Cascade
Castle Cavern Chapter Craft
Crown Crystal Dispensary Endeavour
Fleet Globe Hatch Hole

Wonder what the next two weeks will bring from Zevonia (and maybe even Zevonistan)? Well I'm not wondering; I know.

Half Way to Comatose

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-14T23:01:58+00:00

It's halfway through November tomorrow which means in theory I should be at around 25k words by close of play tomorrow. It's not going to happen. But I'm over 20k at any rate. The story is still very much stuttering along at the moment. It ain't gonna be a quick one to revisit once it's finished for sure - if it ever is finished. We'll see if I hit some kind of eureka moment.

It also means I'll be halfway through the hosting and posting of the VSS365 words. It's been a lark. The scheduling has been working fine, which is a bonus. It's great to see how many people are straight on it as soon as it goes out. Great work people.

On top of that I still haven't had chance to strum my guitar anymore. Been considering a few songs to practice in case I go and play another open mic night in the coming month(s). I must get some more practice in soon.

Anyways, whether you're doing NaNo or VSS365 or just ploughing your own furrow just keep writing folks!

One Busy Week

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-12T22:06:57+00:00

A busy week last with all sorts going on. VSS365 has been going well. The scheduling site I use has continued to successfully upload all the Tweets at the right time... happy days. And so many people getting involved, it is great. Yesterday a few people suggested I should have been writing my own VSS365 rather than just setting the words free and so I wrote a quick ten to catch up with the rest of the guys and gals. I promised I'd write for all of them now.

At the same time I have been doing NaNoWriMo and up until Saturday have been right on track. Yesterday I wrote nothing though and don't think I'll get any - or at least not much - done today, so I will end up being some 3200 words down. Eek! Some catching up to do.

Meanwhile on Saturday and Sunday my #ClassSongOfTheDay tweets weren't sent out on time. Shock and horror guys! A handy reminder was sent to me from my listener in chief and I had to send them both out yesterday. Today I have scheduled the next ten days on Buffer, so there won't be another gap for at least that time at any rate.

Last Thursday I played guitar (and sang) in front of some people in a Liverpool pub - The Sanctuary - which was the first time I've sung in front of anyone publicly since 1997. There maybe some video evidence of it somewhere apparently, but I am yet to see it. That may well be a blessing. In the meantime I am contemplating doing it again but picking another song or two to do. Made a couple of CD playlists to see what may be easiest to work on: should time to work on playing guitar suddenly appear.

Steady Erratic NaNo Progress

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-08T17:37:49+00:00

As the VSS365 words wend their peculiar way through November (I promise tomorrow IS the last C word of this month) I've tasked myself with writing my second NaNo novel. It's progressing most oddly. I am spot on in terms of planned number of words by this stage of the month (just over 13,400) which sounds quite organised and steady, but in reality the story has been stuttering around like a forgetful old woman in PoundLand.

I had written a few ideas for tasks, quests and little set pieces and so on. And so far my biggest set pieces written over the last couple of days weren't even featured as ideas in my notebook. I may as well give up planning the damn thing.

Anyway, I quite like these set pieces and versions of them will no doubt be kept. I now feel like I'm reading a new book rather than writing it, as I've no idea what is going to happen next. Quite looking forward to seeing where it'll all end up.

After Sal mentioning she may put my thirty VSS365 words into her book I'm thinking I could too. I think I could accomplish that without them standing out like a sore thumb - and making myself put a castle and a cavern in there could take the protagonists into unexpected positions. Leading, no doubt, to much hilarity. Haha!

All the Cs

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-07T00:39:23+00:00

After my first seven days of curating the words for VSS365 I must say I have been mightily impressed with all the storytellers out there and the amount of engagement. I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am - even though I'm not writing any myself. The six words so far for anyone who has not been following it have been:

aurora
bottles
calypso
cascade
castle
cavern
chapter

It's almost like they are in alphabetic order. Weird that. But it can't be another C-word tomorrow can it? Or can it? In fact could it be even be 'can'? Well it could be...but then again that wouldn't be alphabetic. Assuming it's going to be all month.

Haha. Maybe I should run a book on it.

Search for #VSS365 or follow my Twitter account @zevonesque to see the future words for the remainder of November (they are being tweeted out at 6am GMT). In the month of December the new word dessiminator will be coming from @TheWritingKind

NaNo Update

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-05T23:08:28+00:00

Five days in and I've got 8773 words down for my story so far, which is pretty much on track in terms purely of numbers. But so far the story is not going smoothly. It needs some serious planning and I need to get the flow of the story going from there including the story element and almost as importantly getting the comedy into it. So far I've got lots of chit-chat but not much humour - which is a bit of a critical warning at this stage when it's supposed to be a comedy.

I think once I get the planning firmed up a bit better then I can look at getting the set-pieces in there and the comedy will flow from there. There's not been any proper set pieces yet. I'll need to insert something in early in the book at some point otherwise it'll just meander too much, which is no good to anyone.

On the positive side I don't think I've written anything which would require consideration from lawyers.

Anyways, onwards and upwards.

In other news VSS365 has been progressing well. Only five days in, but I've scheduled the next ten days in which takes it through to half way for me. It's really going to fly by. Will write a blog about VSS365 sometime in the coming week or so. With the words already chosen and being on top with the scheduling then the main thing is to concentrate on the NaNoWriMo.

Very Short Blog #VSB

A.J. Walker — 2018-11-01T21:06:42+00:00

November has arrived which has meant two things today. One: I took over the responsibility of selecting and scheduling the words for this month's VSS365. As I've said previously I looked at getting a second (free) scheduler to send out the tweets given I use one already for Class Song Of The Day (Buffer) and didn't want to half my quota for scheduling those. I scheduled this morning's Tweet for 06:30 (GMT) with a different scheduler and waited to see if it was working. As I lay in bed I began to hear buzz after buzz of the phone by my bad and knew that it must have worked.

Huzzah! If it works for the rest of the month I may even tell you which one I've been using. But so far so good.

Considered today that given that it is a daily tweet - which is like almost 24 hours usually - it made sense to schedule the future tweets at a round number rather than half past. So from tomorrow onwards it will go out at 06:00. It was great to see so many people get involved again today and I hope that I can see you all through the month to come.

It is great that the scheduler is working and the next ten days are scheduled and can be basically left to run itself.

And the second thing? NaNoWriMo has begun. Not written anything yet after a longish day at work, but going to put some words down later tonight. Right now I'd be happy with three figures and just a start.

Ready, Not Ready

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-30T22:41:27+00:00

I've not been entering many flash fiction challenges lately (not counting VSS365 as a challenge per se) but have done the odd Microcosms over the last three or four months. I was working on Friday but it was a late start so I wrote a quick story before heading to work and found out the judge chose mine as the top one this morning. So a nice start to the day. Normally the winner would take on the judging the following week, but as I'm doing NaNoWriMo and I'll be curating VSS365 this weekend I've asked to put back my judging duties to another month (which has graciously been accepted - thanks Geoff!).

If you're looking at a <300 word challenge on a Friday then head on over to Microcosms some time (preferably on a Friday).

I've got #VSS365 sorted now. The first ten words are in the scheduler and good to go. I think I'm largely happy with the words, but hell I dare say there aren't many words we couldn't or wouldn't want to work with (probably words Trump uses). I'll have to see whether I get to change any of the words in the daily tweets. May be best to just keep it simple. After all you're all just wanting to know what the one word is...

So, I'm ready with regard to VSS but I am far from ready with respect to NaNo. I've sketched out some ideas, but boy there's a lot of question marks about how it will go and a damn load of space to fill. Whilst I've done it once before and completed it I think I am less confident about this attempt due to the existing woolliness. We shall see how it works and whether it will come together over the coming weeks. Good luck to all who are giving it a go.

I have sorted the images for next four bands and singers for #ClassSongOfTheDay which will save some time later in the month and today I've updated the CSOTD2 page with the songs for this week from the mighty slide of Ry Cooder. If you like some fab guitar slide on over and listen to some great tunes.

The Ghost of a Skeleton of a Plan

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-27T12:47:10+01:00

Began reading the classic Jules Verne 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' today (my 30th book of the year according to my Goodreads reckoning). It's my lovely Folio copy too. You've got love a folio book, they do a beautiful job. I'll hopefully finish reading it before November and NaNo begins, because more writing time will eat into potential reading time.

Thinking about losing reading time to help me complete NaNoWriMo is one thing, but this morning I found myself spending over an hour on Twitter retweeting and sending Tweets out on all sorts of matters from Hi-Vis vests to Putin and the Liverpool Echo - and of course VSS365. I mean all sorts. Now with an hour and half that time could be spent on writing and achieve the 1667 words per day - with just that time alone. Cutting my Twitter time in November could be a fantastic.... so of course I am curating #VSS365 aren't I. Just the way it's fallen. I'll be making sure the Tweets go out every day and will keep a little eye on it whilst I'm out and about, but when I'm back home I'm gonna have to be writing, so I may not be able to be quite as hands on as the wonderful Roz has been in October. Apologies in advance, but I'm sure you understand.

Basically if I lose 30 mins of Twittering and 60 mins of watching TV time then that's all the time I'll need if the story flows.

This morning and early afternoon I've been looking at my NaNo story for November, trying to sketch out the skeleton of it a little. It is only a skeleton of a skeleton. In fact more like the ghost of a skeleton and needs a bit more work to allow me to run quickly with it once November arrives. But my aim for today and tomorrow now is to sketch out the three main characters and I think that this in itself will help develop the ideas for the story. I know once I start it'll end up running its own course. But having only a month to write it I need a framework to hang it around. Doesn't mean you do, if you're going for NaNo. But for me, this year, it does.

You'll be able to follow how I'm getting on with NaNo on my blog here (and on Twitter no doubt) and if you fancy giving #VSS365 a go then check out the hashtag on Twitter or if you want you can follow me @zevonesque

Anyway, nows I'm just about ready to head out with my notebook and a pen when I'll sketch out a character and have a beer or two. It's okay the setting will help with the theme. Hoping Liverpool will go top of the league with a win against Cardiff this afternoon. It's one of those rare nights when the Liverpool match is not on the TV; a shocking state of affairs.

Cheers!

Keeping Up With The Class

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-25T21:40:09+01:00

Have had an hour or so updating the Class Song Of The Day song list and now have the next 33 songs all selected and raring to go. In addition the bands and singers are all lined up as far as the new year. The next bloody year, people! 2019, my word.

So I now know that there will be songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s - and even THIS century. Incredible.

The CSOTD page is looking mighty fine already, but will look even better once the next ten bands are up there too.

I've spotted a few gaps so have some bands ready for next year. Like I say, bloody hell.

Mr Popular (Temporarily)

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-24T17:42:21+01:00

With a week to go until I take the temporary reins of VS365 from Roz she kindly sent a Tweet out yesterday and today suggesting the VSSers out there follow yours truly to ensure they don't miss out on any prompts in November. That has led to a ridiculous surge in my popularity on Twitter with about 125 new followers in just over a day! I would be quite overcome if it wasn't that I knew it was just my prompts you were after. But it certainly shows how popular the little hashtag has become out there; from little acorns and all that. Anyways you'll see my #VSS365 #prompt from next week either by following me or just searching for #VS365 and clicking on 'latest'. At the moment I have them scheduled for 06:30 UK time (which will be GMT I suppose after Saturday night's clock change).

I'm sure come December 1st I'll be losing some 125+ followers too. If you do stay then great. Either way it's nice to meet you all. As I've said in previous posts I'm doing NaNoWriMo in November too - just happenstance - so I may fail completely in reading and commenting all your VSS tweets, so apologies in advance for that. Any of you VSS guys and gals doing NaNo too? If so, best of luck to you.

Keep writing and enjoying it.

Class Songing and Scheduling

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-22T18:44:58+01:00

Have updated the website with this week's song links for the wonderful John Hiatt. Only seen him once live, down in that there London far too many moons ago. Would like to see him some more.

And I found that second Twitter scheduling site. I use Buffer for Class Song of the Day and for free you can only schedule a maximum of 10 Tweets; with me needing to schedule 30 Tweets for VSS365 next month I needed to find a second site to do the scheduling - or else I'd have to log in and just do five of each (ie every five days). With going for NaNo this year every bit of time saving and general assistance is a god send. Trying out a little used one. Will see how it does, I won't name and shame it until I know if it works properly and if it does I will sing its praises of course (maybe it'll come in handy for someone else). I've scheduled the first ten words already. So watch Twitter at 06.30am on November 1st to see if it works - and maybe give it a whirl.

NaNo and VSS365 Double Header

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-20T13:14:59+01:00

Been doing a little planning for next month's NaNo attempt. Unlike in 2016 when I just used Pages on my MacBook I'll be using Scrivener. It'll be interesting to see how it helps. It certainly should as far as planning and sketching out some ideas and the view for distraction-less working is nice.

This morning I transferred some background info about the settings into the 'Places' folder in Scrivener. So far that is basically some headline words rather than any detail - in fact I haven't put anything in yet about Unique Features, Sights, Sounds etc but the standard sheets in the folder could prove quite useful to consider to help focus on the writing when it comes to November rather than looking things up on the inter web and all that (and the inevitable distractions that will bring).

Talking of distractions I'm hoping it's not bad timing for me being in charge of the words for #VSS365 in November. It may well mean I can't read and reply as much as I would like to all the contributions, which is a bit of a shame. I may also have to find another automatic Twitter timetabling programme as I currently use Buffer to upload the link to my daily song every morning (Class Song of the Day). If I use this then I will have to log in and put the links in every five days instead of ten (you can only schedule 10 messages on a free basis), which will be a bit of a pain. Will see if I can find another free (and easy) way of uploading the message each morning - of course I could go 'Old School' and just type it out each morning when I get up... How old fashioned? But then the messages would potentially go out at rather random times.

NaYesWriMo 2018

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-16T09:50:55+01:00

I've decided to give NaNoWriMo a go this year. Hoping I can make enough time to do it It's one of those things where you've got to keep going at it, as 1667 words a day sounds fine but if you miss a couple of days you've got 4800 words to find, so it can suddenly get quite daunting if your not careful.

I've only tried once before and I found it okay with a relatively straightforward format. It was totally linear and in effect by compartmentalising it I could write it in ten bite sized chunks as if I was writing ten 5000 word short stories. I managed it anyway and 'Fergie Time' exists. I've had a couple of people read it and it largely held together pretty well considering it was written in a month. It does have fundamental issues though - it includes real people in imagined situations, which may have legal issues... Anyway, we'll see I do intend to finish it, even if it only every gets read by a few friends and family. But in the meantime I have NaNoWriMo 2018 to be getting on with.

This one will have only fictitious people and venues (albeit in real cities) so I shouldn't have any of the potential legal considerations this time. I had a couple of options for running with including Project Jaipur and Project Sarah Hughes or even expanding the short story from the recent DeadCades short story into a full length story. In the end I've opted for Project Jaipur now as 'To Hull and Back: A Wobbly Odyssey'. It's set as an epic comic odyssey across seven towns and cities and in some ways can therefore be similarly compartmentalised into effectively 7-10 sections or short stories.

So now I'm in the process of planning the chapters and set pieces and identifying the main characters, though once the story telling gets going next month heaven knows where it will arrive.

Here's to 50,000 words in 30 days. And a fun time.

Zevonesque Prompt Takeover Extravaganza

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-12T14:28:56+01:00

It is great to see how popular #VSS365 has become on Twitter and as Roz Levens gets well into the second week of her prompts it is fast approaching my turn; as I have the privilege of picking the prompts for November. So today I've selected my 30 words for the 'Zevonesque Prompt Takeover Extravaganza' and looking at them I think you VSSers should find them all easy and varied enough to come up with some boss stuff. I'm not giving anything away by saying they range from a measly three letters up to a whacking ten letters long. I'm also kinda thinking you'll not require a dictionary or thesaurus for any of them.

Looking forward to seeing what you'll do with them.

In the meantime, enjoy the next two and half weeks of Roz's - whilst I keep an eye on them to check if she has picked any of my words. If she does then I have a few choice ones in reserve.

A Wee Flash Outing and Some Thinking

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-12T10:50:19+01:00

As the days grow colder and shorter and the grey cloud blanket envelops the days we must enjoy the rare blue autumn days when they come along. This week that was Wednesday. And now Friday is upon us and the weekend is almost here we are in for rain and wind, or wind and rain, apparently. I suppose it makes you appreciate those moments of low sun beauty all the more, but a fifty-fifty split would be better than 1 day in 7 please.

In the early hours of this morning the wind began to whip up, getting especially loud around 6am, waking me up on my day off. It was bound to happened for I am working Saturday and Sunday and today is therefore my weekend. I normally pick one day of the weekend to have off and try and coincide it with the Liverpool game (which 8 times from 10 is on the tellybox), but this week there is no Premiership. Yes, it is the second worse two word combination in the English language: 'International Break' (the most dreaded being 'Rail Replacement'). The day hasn't got any lighter since 7am this morning yet and the forecast suggests it won't. I'm hoping Saturday and Sunday will be slightly better than this for work. I can but hope.

Today I've done a Microcosms (300 word) challenge, which is the first time for quite a few months I think (though time seems a more fluid concept than usual at the moment).

I am going to try and write every day of the remainder of the year and whilst this is only 300 words it's a start. I've also to consider whether 30 of those remaining days will include doing NaNoWriMo and, if so, which of the ideas to run with. Got about two weeks to decide and get some plans in place. I know I've been watching TV too much lately and an hour or so less of that (if the plans are defined enough) should provide the time required to write the 1667 words a day (or a good proportion of those).

Freeing those Gigabytes

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-09T21:58:40+01:00

Tonight I've managed to delete another 1250 photos and I've now got 8GB more free space on my hard drive than I did four weeks ago (from 52.6 to 60.5GB). Can't be bad. I've now gone from 54k photos to just under 47k.

12 Sept

Today

I need to delete some more, perhaps get it down to 40k photos, which should give me a very healthy additional c.10GB space. Huzzah! Then there's the thorny question of creating and managing some bloody substantial photo albums so I can find stuff when I need it. Maybe, one day.

After a nice day in the sun today I even managed to take a couple of photos for #DailyDeliveryPhoto Just need to put them up on Twitter now.

Oh, and I've also lined up another 7 days worth of #ClassSongOfTheDay for next week with some fab classic songs (well 1980s).

Giant's Farewell

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-07T12:59:14+01:00

I was off on Friday so took the chance to go hunting for Xolo and the young boy Giants in Liverpool's 2018 Giant Spectacular: Dream.

These humongous marionettes are something else. It's difficult to describe how good they are if you haven't seen them for yourself (a bit like trying to describe what Glastonbury Festival is like to someone who's only ever been to V or Reading). The point is they are incredible and the who shebang that goes with it makes it seem more than the sum of its parts. Liverpool is lucky enough to have had three visits now from these wacky French guys and of course we had La Princesse (the amazing spider) too.

Last time they were here was the summer and a ridiculous hot opening day, which meant that they ended up running very late. This time the weather was cool, grey and overcast and so the running was not delayed at all. My tardy arrival meant that I got there with a requirement to play catch up and I did over toward the Anglican cathedral. At that point I only caught the rear end of Xolo bouncing up the road and then waiting for the young boy who was travelling up in an open car. He only started walking again further up the road on the way to Prince's Park. After that it was breakfast, reading and writing and a couple of beers before catching them back on the way down.

In the afternoon I caught up with them on Duke Street. I stood on a bit of street furniture for a better view and this time caught Xolo and the lad. Xolo at one point running past before going to investigate a group of people sat atop a container. The controllers of these marionettes do a brilliant job of animating the character out of them. It does really do the movements you'd expect of a dog (giant or otherwise). Once more the boy was sat in the back of a car, but just after he passed me he was hooked up on the following contraption to begin the walk down the lower half of Duke Street.

The crowds were enthralled and I met and chatted with people who'd travelled from all over the UK to see them. The hotels and restaurants must have had a boss weekend.

Yesterday I was working (and had a horror of a day). The pictures of the crowds on the Strand looked incredible, but have made me have second thoughts about going down to see them this time - I'll never get a spot like I did last time they were here and in any case I'd have to pop away pretty early to get to a pub to watch the Man City match. So unless I have a last minute change of heart (or the company does and they return) then on Friday I saw the last of these wonderful creations. Incredible art and entertainment for the young and old. Thanks to all involved for this year and all the previous ones. Wonderful.

Class Song Of The Day

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-04T23:28:42+01:00

Class Song of the Day has been moving amazingly smoothly from one week to another in Year 2. Since Dylan and the Stones in July I've continued with a mix of big bands and a few lesser known ones and a few singer songwriters, namely;

Broken Family Band
REM
U2
Neil Young
Bright Eyes
Iron & Wine
Barenaked Ladies
Queen
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Cracker
David Bowie

I've got the weekly bands lined up now as far as Christmas. Yes, that bloody holiday thing. There is apparently an almost never ending supply of my favourite bands. Of course next year that may well be tested, if I continue into year 3.

#ClassSongOfTheDay

Reading the Giants

A.J. Walker — 2018-10-02T16:24:48+01:00

Today I was given an extra day off i.e. there was no route for me. That is not a good thing as that means no dosh for today. Apparently training someone tomorrow so should be an easy-ish day. Hope so as I want to get back for the Liverpool match if possible. Still the day off today has meant I could finish the book I was reading, which was my first Robert Rankin: 'Armageddon: The Musical.' An enjoyable orchestrated televised armageddon romp dodah.

I've now got two books on my Kindle to read. Namely: 'DeadCades' and a beta-read of a fellow Flash Dog. Really looking forward to getting stuck into DeadCades but first up I need to finish the beta-read so that I can pass my comments on in a timely fashion. Hoping to get that sorted by the weekend, as the weekend may be a little short of reading time as I'll no doubt be chasing the last visit to Liverpool of the Giants - which apparently may well be the last visit of the Giants to anywhere. Loved following them around the city last time.

Next week the city is going to be packed and buzzing with it once more. Though I'll no doubt miss the very end as it'll coincide with a certain Man City v Liverpool match.

The Infernal Clock: DeadCades is Out!

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-30T22:04:39+01:00

It's the First of bloody October for crying out loud! Where has the year gone? Anyway the good thing about that is that October is the month of Halloween, ain't it? So there's no better time to release a horror anthology I reckon. And so here it is, the latest anthology pulled together by the infamous Shakes and Ellis: 'DeadCades - The Infernal Decimation'. Click on Tim Youster's brilliant cover below and it'll take you to that there Amazon lot and there you'll be able to purchase it. I know I'll be reading it this week. Dang! I've a lot of reading on at the moment.

My story, which is for the 2020s, is right at the very end so you'll have lots of great stories to read first before getting to my vision of the future. When you've finished reading it don't forget to put up a review on Amazon and/or GoodReads.

Now I've just got to get Amazon Author Central to get my name added as a contributor. I'm hoping it'll be easier than last time.

The Weekend Starts and Ends Here

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-29T10:26:02+01:00

I've got me a one day weekend. Back in tomorrow. So will be out for beers later in Liverpool for a wee crawl, after buying a few bits and bobs, then it'll be time to catch some footy. Should be another great game between Liverpool and that Chelski shower with a quick retribution in mind following Wednesday night. May even catch some of the Mancs match. Expect I'll get to five or six top hostelries - you'll have to check out Twitter to see how I do.

Started beta-reading a FlashDog novel this morning. Up to the third chapter and it's really good so far. I shouldn't be surprised by now that there are such accomplished writerers within the FlashDog community. After meeting everyone via the very short stories we composed in Flash Fiction Friday and Angry Hourglass it is with great respect I see all these guys stepping on up and out to novels. Hoping to finish the book this week and get my comments out by next weekend.

In the meantime it is anticipated that 'DeadCades' will be released this week. Exciting stuff. And releasing a horror book in October... seems like it's almost by design. Many thanks to Steph and David in advance for all their work on getting to this point. Definitely top dogs (in a good way).

Went to the PO earlier to pick up a parcel from a couple of weeks ago. Er, I'd been sent me some cheese and biscuits. I wish I'd known I'd have made an effort to pick it up earlier. Not sure if the cheese is supposed to be this stinky. Will report back later... many more thanks for the surprising gift! You know who you are ;-)

Apparently it's World Guitar Day - who the hell makes all these things up? - perhaps I'll strum a little later. Made me think who are some of my favourite guitarists. It's a tough call, and if I thought longer or on a different day, my top picks (no pun intended) would no doubt be different and just as defendable. Here's today's top four anyway: Ry Cooder, Chuck Prophet, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

As for guitars, I have two; a lovely dark green Telecaster (I know three of the four above are on Strats, but hey I love a Tele) and a Takamine 363 semi-acoustic.

DeadCades Cover Reveal

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-26T07:59:09+01:00

The cover reveal for the upcoming 'DeadCades' book has us getting more excited for the book. Tim Youster is once again the artist for the third Infernal Clock cover and he has done a fabulous job, he just keeps getting better.

DeadCades cover by Tim Youster

Now the cover is out it makes the book seem that bit more real and it's expected that we should be able to get our hands on a Kindle version of it by early October. Together with the fabulous cover Steph and David have managed to snag a fantastic author to write the introduction for the anthology too; Christina Dalcher, the author of this summer's super hot noval'VOX'. DeadCades is going to be boss. Just a week or two to wait. Watch this space...

For Twitterers you can follow Tim @TimYouster and Christina @CVDalcher

Lovely York

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-19T22:44:39+01:00

Only went to York for little over a day, but it was great. Think I should make it an annual event for me birthday - it's past the summer holidays and before people invade the place on the run up to Christmas.

It is a Mecca for real ale enthusiasts with countless ale pubs within the famous walls. Clearly they are not really countless but probably 70 or so (that's a guess - there were 55 ale pubs a few years back and more bars have opened since).

The day started with the helping hand of a Liverpool victory at Wembley against Spurs. Can't be bad. Last year when we lost to them in Game 9 we had 13 points, this time up we've played 5 and have 15 points. Bloody excellent.

Had a lovely load of beers across countless (really this time as I can't recall them all) York pubs with several mates and it all ended up without any of us dancing on tables, falling over, falling asleep in the corner or any other embarrassing stuff - not even a kebab (though I did have a battered sausage with chips and neon green mushy peas - yum!).

Some of the pubs we got to that I do remember the name of included in no particular order: Brew York; House of Trembling Madness; Blue Bell; Hop (Ossett tap); Duke of York; the Wonky Donkey (aka the Three-Legged Mare); Old Starre Inn; Old White Swan. All nice pubs set in a beautiful and interesting city. Lovely stuff.

Haven't Changed A Bit

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-14T08:43:44+01:00

Well it's this chap's birthday weekend. I don't normally do much special on my birthday and certainly not parties since I was a kid. A couple of years ago I went to York on me tod and went to about 20 pubs over two days. Now that was pretty much ideal. Anyway this year it's York again but with a few mates. Should be good. Very good. Got to get to York early to get ensconced in the first Sky real ale pub we can find - for it's Spurs v Liverpool at 12:30. Really hope Liverpool can start the day off with a bang. Just for me of course.

Expect many pictures of pubs and beers on Twitter - until the battery dies on me phone.

Haven't changed a bit:

Reviews, Reviewing and Deleting

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-12T19:20:40+01:00

Had feedback from two of the Flash Dogs on Fergie Time and have made the decision to finish it based on their comments. Thanks to those guys for their time. Once I've finished it I will have to develop the tightest disclaimer ever to protect my ass if the story is ever to be released to the wild (look these guys are real, they're obviously in a parallel universe very close to own but clearly not our own etc).

And to repay the grace of these Flash Dogs I've volunteered to review a book from another Flash Dog. The Dogs are really producing stuff right now, aren't they?

Talking of reviewing I'm getting around to going through the photographs on my computer, the damn things are clogging it up. I had over 54k photos on it, and you can see above the effect on my Hard Drive. Have deleted 2k today, but I'll need to get on top of it and aim to at least knock a third off. I mean I can't even need 30k photos can I? The 52k photos apparently equates to 195GB. It'll take ages to go through it. If I can knock it down to 150GB in the first instance I'll have doubled the free space on the HD so it's got to be worth the time.

With respect to reading I've managed to catch up with a few books over the last four weeks and have gone from 6 to 3 books behind schedule so maybe I could achieve my original goal. That would require me to read about a book a week or more. That could be affected of course by reviewing and writing myself and maybe NaNo if I chose to go for it. Right now I'd be happy with reading 32 or so probably. After finishing another Pratchett yesterday I've moved on to another classic writerer with a Philip K. Dick, another Oxfam buy - 'Confessions of a Crap Artist'.

The Seagull

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-11T10:18:50+01:00

Today's #VSS365 was #Control so I wrote a wee bit of non-fiction for it referring to this amazing bit of space memorabilia I saw in Karaganda, Kazakhstan:

Back in the early 2000s I did some work on a project in Kazakhstan. It was the cold time of year. They only really have summer and winter on the steppe there. An autumn wardrobe or a spring catalogue would be the biggest of wastes there. Day time temperatures were circa -40C. But to be fair once it's below -20C anything lower doesn't really make much of a difference. If you're out in it and the wind can get to your skin then it feels like razor blades. Moral of the story. Stay in and out of the wind as much as possible.

Anyways, at one point I was in a city called Karaganda in the middle of Kazakhstan. It's an old coal mining area. In fact the original centre of the city has been destroyed following the collapse of the shallow workings there - it really is a bizarre sight. The hotel I was staying in was a grand affair. But no one goes to Karaganda and the only people there were us from the project.

You couldn't make some of this shit up, so I won't. There were about seven different salads on the menu. All consisted of tomato and cucumber and it seemed that the seven salads involved slicing the two ingredients in different creative ways. On the first night we were asked what drinks we would like with our meal. We all chose beer. The two waiters and then a third person came into the corner as they had a conflab. They came back. 'How many beers will you be wanting during and after the meal?' I think we settled around five or so. 'Okay, can you pay up front for that?' Yep, they had no beer and no money to buy any. Some poor bastard had to go out in the freezing night to get us beer (baring in mind it was -40 day time, it probably was at night too).

When the beer came it was warm. Couldn't chuffing believe it. They said the fridge in the hotel wasn't working very well (which was a worry for any meat based products but was of more concern re the beer). One guy pointed out that maybe they could just fill a couple of buckets with snow and that would do the job. They did, it did.

Karaganda is in the area of Kazakhstan of the Soviet space base, where the rockets have been sending up satellites and spacemen since the 1950s. And not just men but space women too. The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova who in June 1963 went up from here in Vostok 6 for 71 hours and circled the earth 48 times. The Soviets call sign for her on the flight was Seagull (Chaika) and that was what our hotel was called.

What was amazing when I asked about the name at reception was that the space pod that she returned to earth in was in the garden of the hotel. I eventually went to look for myself and ... yep, there it was decaying away. It was tiny from the outside, but when you looked in my god, it was hard to believe any person actually fitted inside it yet alone encircled the earth in the thing. There also appeared to be four Bakelite controls on it. All very Steampunk.

And below the whole thing was a pile of asbestos which was dripping from it. I really hope that by now it has been brought into a museum and/or restored and protected. Here's to the amazing seagull anyway, I'll drink a warm beer to her.

Haircut 100 or well, almost 50

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-09T20:21:35+01:00

Strange week for me this one. There was a Liverpool CAMRA trip to Derby and I chose not to go. I am still pissed off with them that they've gone to a booking system which requires you to purchase a ticket on EventBrite in advance rather than just telling them that 'Yeah, I'll be there on the next trip' and then paying them on the day. It really does disenfranchise some of the older customers who never, and don't want to, buy things over the internet. Ho hum.

So I was off on Friday instead of Saturday. And I went for my bi-annual haircut (ok, not quite that bad) and then went to Southport to see me dad for a chat and a couple of pints in the always excellent Tap & Bottles. The beer was excellent there as always but the day was marred by some bad news. It's not for this place though.

The haircut was speedy and spot on. I do like these efficient Turks. A mother coming in with her daughter mid-haircut proclaiming loudly 'Can someone do my daughter's nose, please?' was a new one on me. By the time I left with my smart new cut the young girl was sat in the window with two long sticks up her nostrils. Like I said, a new one on me.

I'd finished reading the excellent 'Sapiens' by Yuval Noah Harari in the morning and started on David Landford's book about Josh Kirby's art 'The Cosmic Cornucopia'. I love Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and I love the covers that go with them - especially the Kirby ones. I was lucky enough to go to the Kirby exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery a few yers ago. Brilliant stuff. Anyway the haircut was quick and left me time to pop into Henry Bohn's second hand bookshop in search of SF or a Pratchett. There was less SF there than usual is there and no Terry Pratchett at all. So I walked downstairs disappointed, only to see a wee bookcase on the stairs which only had TP books in it. Result! Or was it? As I've not many left to get. I ended up consulting my own website to see my list of TP books before confirming that there was one there that I don't have on my shelf: 'Mort'

I knew I'd read it. But I've no idea where it's gone (or who has not returned it). Anyway, £2 later I've one less Pratchett to complete my set. In fact I've now just got six to get, namely:

Soul Music
Witches Abroad
The Fifth Elephant
The Last Hero
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
The Wee Free Men

I didn't have to get too far into Mort to confirm I had read it, for on page one it has my favourite Pratchetism ever, which I've paraphrased myself often:

'Scientists have calculated that the chance of anything so patently absurd actually existing are millions to one.

But magicians have calculated that million to one chances crop up nine times out of ten.'

I mean, come on. That is awesome, and completely right. Probably.

Continuing CSOTD2

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-04T23:17:50+01:00

Class Song of the Day has continued unabated - it's a good job I like a lot of bands. With the latest being the wonderful Canadian band Barenaked Ladies who consistently record fab albums and are great live - although I last saw them many moons ago when they played in the Royal Court, Liverpool (so I guess that would be mid-1990s!).

Of all the bands and singers I've had so far in Year 2 there are only the Beatles and Warren Zevon who I haven't/can't seen live (although I did see Paul McCartney when he played Anfield in 2008).

The bands coming over the coming months will include a lot more bands that I haven't seen because I can't be everywhere or every-when.

It's my birthday week next week and whilst the No.1 when I was born was the Beatles 'Hey Jude' I won't be having the Beatles again next week, but I do have it all set up with one of my favourite bands from when I was a youngster. But that's next week and you'll have to wait to see who they are. In the meantime enjoy the songs from the Barenaked Ladies and all the other bands above with links on the CSOTD2 page.

Owl Canyon Comp

A.J. Walker — 2018-09-04T07:54:30+01:00

Results for the Owl Canyon Hackathon came through last night and I was unsurprised not to be on the shortlist of 24.

To be fair the way in which I completed it, writing a third of it from about midnight on the day of entry, it was to be expected. Of course that is not to say I'm not disappointed. Nothing wrong with expecting rushed genius.

Next time though I am going to finish before the last hour of acceptance.

The winning three writers were:

FIRST PLACE: "The Biggest Salmon Barbecue in the Galaxy" by David Greenson
SECOND PLACE: "Half of What You See" by Lorain Urban
THIRD PLACE: "Birds of a Feather" by Julie Hall

Congratulations to the winners and all those shortlisted and thanks too to Owl Canyon for the competition.

Port Amlwch and Parys Mountain

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-28T21:43:10+01:00

Was delivering in Llanfairfechan and a few drops in Bangor, Caernarfon and Holyhead today. Finished at a decent time so thought I'd take a wee detour on the way home and turned to the north east of Anglesey to go to Port Amlwch. I'd seen the port on an episode of Coast and thought it looked pretty interesting. It's actually the northern most town in Wales and damn interesting historically too. The town of Amlwch was at one stage the second biggest town in Wales when the adjacent Parys Mountain was at its peak. Parys Mountain stands out like a blister on the countryside scarred by the mining of copper there in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was once the biggest copper mine in the world, which is pretty impressive for a little ole Anglesey.

The port was pretty. Looks very tidal. Didn't seem that full of boats but then again it's very narrow over much of its length. I don't know nothing about boats so I can say nothing about them - though I'm pretty sure some were fishing boats. On the port side there was a museum on the 'Copper Kingdom' which is the kinda place I'd like to have visited as an enthusiastic geology loving kid. But it wasn't for today.

There were two nice looking pubs by the car park for the port both of which had nice Liverpool connotations with the Adelphi Vaults opposite to the Liverpool Arms. Apparently the former does real ale but the latter does not. The Adelphi also had a nice paint job.

Anyway here are a few photos.

Parys Mountain

Amlwch Port

Amlwch Port

Amlwch Port

Amlwch Port

Amlwch Port

Amlwch Port

Liverpool Arms, Amlwch Port

Adelphi Vaults, Amlwch Port

Liverpool Arms and Adelphi Vaults, Amlwch Port

Maybe, Just Maybe

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-27T10:25:19+01:00

Thanks to Scrivener I managed to quickly and easily convert a document into Kindle format. Woo hoo! I had chosen the NaNoWriMo effort from 2016, 'Fergie Time' for no particular reason other than it was formatted in chapters and pretty substantial (50k+). It certainly wasn't the aim to do anything with it. I hadn't looked at it for ages, but seeing in on the Kindle it looked better than I expected and reading the first couple of chapters at it with fresh eyes after so much time made me think that maybe, just maybe, there is something there.

Talking of fresh eyes I made a shout out to several Flash Dogs to see if anyone would read the first few chapters and feedback whether it was worth working on to finish it. Within about an hour each said they'd look at it and almost as quickly - these Flash Dog types are super fast and super friendly - I've already got feedback and far from disheartening too. It wouldn't have been the end of the world if it had been all negative given it was effectively written over a single month. I'd really enjoyed writing it, but with the time gone since looking at it I don't feel overly invested in it at this point. Perhaps that is about to change.

Each Dog has carried on reading beyond the first two or three chapters, which must be a good sign. The humour seems to be okay. Though some of the pointed barbs maybe need to be less pointy. And I probably need to make it less blokey. I know everyone says writing humour is hard and I get that, getting the level right for the story and not putting in funny line after funny line or throwing things out there just for a punchline to come along, or then again not having enough fun in it so you forget it is supposed to be funny... well it's not something I've really tried before.

I wrote it back in 2016 and maybe I didn't think about it enough before hand, for my story is chock full of real people i.e. named football players, managers and pundits (as well as Mary Berry and Sue Perkins). Let's face it the clue is in the name of the book. But I hadn't considered any legal issues of having real people in a fiction story. It could kill it dead in the water in terms of publishing it.

So I was in a bit of a quandary as to whether to finish it anyway, whether or not it could ever get published. Or I could spend that time on a fiction with all fictional people in it. Bearing in mind it's 50,000 words long and I reckon it'll take another 10-20 to finish it I'm minded to finish it for my own sake. Maybe I'll end up with a book that can't be used but I'd have a complete novel length story and know that I can do it. And there may well be lines, passages and ideas I can use in other projects.

The genesis of Fergie Time goes back beyond 2016 to an idea I had years before which I presented at the Writing on the Wall 'Dragon's Pen' event at the Bluecoat in 2013. The panel consisted of AL Kennedy (writer), Kate Haldane (agent), Esther Wilson (playwright) and Gordon Wise (literary agent) and it was one of the scariest things I've ever done in public. I got good feedback from them and from the audience despite my wobbly legs, but never progressed it until NaNo.

So it's gone from a Writing on the Wall project (2013), to a NaNoWriMo project (2016) to maybe just a reopened current project (2018).

Anyways, I now need to finish reading it all myself and get a notebook out whilst I do. Maybe my NaNo 2016 will bear more fruit than the 'Winner' sticker at the end of that month. Maybe I'll properly finish a whole book. Maybe just maybe.

Will It Ever Be Fergie Time?

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-25T11:59:20+01:00

Getting 'Fergie Time' on to my Kindle was great. Both in terms of seeing how to do it with Scrivener but also in revisiting the NaNoWriMo story from almost two years ago.

Scrivener makes it so easy to get a Kindle copy sorted anyway. Let's face it the last thing you want to do is spend lots of time messing about with formatting and importing and exporting and effing and blinding. Unless you are a sadist you want your time spent on the creative bit.

Going to read the thing on the Kindle over the next few days and send to a couple of canny volunteers just to see if the story idea works and whether there is any mileage in revisiting and finishing it. Or whether I should just concentrate on one of my other projects and leave it as a NaNo experiment. Not expecting them to read the whole thing just the first two or three chapters.

Talking of NaNo who's doing it this year? Doubt I will. But we'll see.

Kindling

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-23T08:28:12+01:00

Last night I finally got Kindlegen to work so that I could save something I've written in Scrivener direct to Kindle format and hence on to my Kindle. A few things of note here;

1) I'd downloaded the Kindlegen app to my Mac then spent a day wondering why I couldn't find the .zip file I needed. Schoolboy error; Safari automatically unpacks the files and so the folder I was looking in (for the zip file) was actually the folder of unzipped files! ('These are the files you're looking for')

Anyway then it was just a question of saving these files in the Applications folder then pointing Scrivener to where it was. Simples!

2) I saved the story to the Kindle format with a single press of a button. Huzzah!

3) Now it was a question of dragging the file into the Kindle. Well it would have been if I'd known where it was - I haven't been using it this year. Looking at Goodsread only one of the twenty one books I've read this year has been on the Kindle ('Heart of Darkness' back at the beginning of the year). Found it eventually and of course the battery was drained. So it's on charge now and once it's got some juice in it I can put the file on it.

Seeing how little I've used it made me look back on Goodreads to see how that's changed and the result was: not as much as I thought lately. I found that last year I only read two of forty eight on the Kindle, four of forty one in 2016, two of fifteen in 2015, and eight from twenty six in 2013 (I'm not sure where the records for 2014 have disappeared). Oh my, so much data there. Only read fifteen books in 2015? Clearly in 2013 I read a lot more on it with almost a third of my reading on the device. I'm surprised at how few books I've read on the Kindle overall in recent years I used to use it a lot more. Mind you I have targeted reading more books from my shelves, that have been hanging around for years, and I do keep popping into second-hand book shops both of which pushes back the requirement to read from the Kindle. The other thing is I've not been commuting on trains and buses or traveling much in the last few years. When I was the Kindle was ideal.

Anyway, now I'm ready to put my writing on it I can use it for reviewing something old and substantial I've written, rather than printing out 120 pages, carrying that weight around and requiring the consideration of carbon offset and chiropractor.

St. Mary's Church and Canovium, Conwy

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-20T20:25:43+01:00

In north Wales again today and was delivering around the Conwy valley between Conwy and Dolgarrog and Glad Conwy. Saw a sign for an 'Historic Church' when around the same route a week or two ago and today decided to go and have a gander - sounds familiar? Again it was very worth while. The church turned out to be the Parish Church for the Rowen district: St.Mary's Church.

St.Mary's Church (with a few swallows in the air there)

It's in an isolated spot on the banks of the Conwy and is a thirteenth century church thought to have been built by Cistercian monks from Maenan Abbey. And whilst there are no other buildings currently within about half a kilometre of the church there used to be a lot going on here as the church was constructed on the north eastern corner of a Roman Fort constructed around 75AD. The settlement was known as Canovium a timber built fort which housed around 500 foot soldiers which were there to look after the river crossing at Tal-y-cafn. The site is thought to have been in use at least for the bulk of time from then until the fourth century.

View south along the top of the embankment used by the Roman Fort

The markings in the arable and sheep grazed fields have been very strong this year with the dry summer and there have been some great aerial photographs showing the layout of some of the Roman buildings such as the bath house. The most obvious evidence of the fort though is the rectangular platform of the fort which the church sits on the north east corner of.

The sky was alive with swallows and I saw hawfinches in and around the churchyard - but unfortunately I could not get any photos of them. They are elusive indeed.

The church itself is a familiar shape and appearance in this area of Wales. It has a double bell cote though apparently there is no evidence that there has ever been more than the one bell which is currently there. There is an interesting medieval stone crucifix above the entrance to the church. The tidy church unlike the one at Celynnin is still in use - as I say it is the Parish Church. There is a lovely stained glass window on the the left as you come in. But with only small windows it was pretty dark in there.

Medieval cross

The churchyard is pretty and the setting with the River Conwy below the embankments of the old fort and the hills forming the valley make the spot very attractive. There are two ancient Yews in the churchyard. Unfortunately one has crashed some of its substantial branches on to some of the grave stones which were marked off with tape. The gravestones are well worth a wander around and it's amazing to see the longevity of some of the locals from the 1800s - forget the Mediterranean Diet, what were they eating in the Conwy Valley back then? And whilst you're looking at the inscriptions it's worth keeping an eye out for those hawfinches.

Reading, Writing, TV, Same Old

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-19T11:57:50+01:00

Finished 'The Honorary Consul' by Graham Greene this morning. I must say I really like all his stories they do evoke a time and place very effectively as well as involving some sad and interesting characters. Recommended. According to my GoodReads tally it was my 19th book of the year and I'm fully 6 books behind my 'schedule'. Ho hum.

I can't put my finger on why I'm so far behind where I was last year. I can only think I'm falling asleep quicker in the evening, not reading quite as much in the morning before work or maybe I'm watching more TV. Maybe it's the latter - I've spent far too much time blindly following the Trump presidency for a start. I need to turn the TV off and get an hour a day minimum reading. Doing that getting to the 40 books can still happen and it'll save my tired neck muscles from my regularly shaking head. Reading more rather than watching the news channels will have the happy side affect of making me feel better too; a little escapism rather than the sad realism of this last couple of years.

On top of that I didn't succeed in doing two blogs or more this week. But I did update the Class Song of the Day with all the Neil Young songs earlier on in the week and made significant formatting changes to the Publications page - which was worth doing more than a blog. The larger images are much better for this page than the previous version. Looking forward to getting the cover and link up for the DeadCades book in the next month or so.

So I'm going to give myself an hour a day to read, right? Well we'll see, but what about the writing? Is there another hour I can find for that? Maybe. Finding reading time is much easier as you can just take five minutes here or there whereas writing requires bigger, if fewer, blocks of time to get in the zone.

I'm still unsure whether it is best to set a target of 1000 words a day or maybe 5000 a week. I'm edging towards the latter, given inevitable constraints in time on certain days. It really is a question of getting in a groove and seeing what works. I was pleased to do 1450 words in a day the other day. On that basis do that three or four times a week 5000 is very hittable and surely you can fit an hour or two into three or four days a week? The other thing you need is the actual writing goal itself i.e. what will those words be for?

Slugs, Elvis and Instagram

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-10T21:58:25+01:00

Gutted today when I saw a massive slug on the pavement in Dolgarrog and I thought I better take a photo of it for Sal (who apparently really loves slugs), when I went to the camera I found the battery had been drained. It was an awful moment I tell you. I think I'd left the wi-fi on after when transferring photos from the camera to the phone yesterday. Doh! Anyway after that schoolboy error that meant that Sal hasn't got a photo of a slug from me today.

Still, I managed a few photos with my poor phone and a couple were good enough to make it on to my Instagram feed as part of my #DailyDeliveryPhoto

I didn't use Instagram for quite a while (i.e. when I was without my iPhone) but am back in to using it now. Feel free to click through and see lots of photos of Liverpool, pubs, Wales and random stuff (like me and Elvis).

In addition to the general Instagram above I also have one just for pubs and real ale to run alongside my @RealeLiverpool account, so if you're more into beer, pubs and Liverpool then you may find a couple of suitable pics there too to whet your whistle.

As for tomorrow, I have my camera on charge. So if I see any slugs I can sort, Sal.

Back to the Future

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-08T18:13:10+01:00

I realised today that I've been away from Facebook for over 5 months now, how that has flown. The only tenuous link I still had was my GoT avatar which I have grown used to, but I think it is time to go back to the pre-FB avatar; to my very own Liver bird with Pen which I so painstakingly created. So farewell Tyrion Lannister 'the Imp', hello again Liver bird 'the Pen Wielder'.

It's also a little nod to getting back to some more writing. That's the hope at any rate.

At the same time I've moved on from the artwork from Weird Ales (Vol.1) to a photo I took some time back in Snowdonia. So it's all change on Twitter but in a back to the future kind of way.

Unwanted: Dead (Questionnaire) Time

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-08T10:28:47+01:00

Today started badly. Up for work then get a text saying 'there's not enough routes, stay at home'. Been promised work for rest of week, so not the end of the world - just like to pick my weekend (today's my Sunday I guess (after last Sunday was my Saturday)). The damn gig economy.

On the positive side it's given me time to get my Infernal Clock Questionnaire finished and sent of to Steph ready for DeadCades. It'll probably need more editing than the actual story did - sorry Steph.

It'll also give me time to type up my edits from the weekend for Project: Jaipur - yes, Jaipur is still alive, write a blog or two (including this) and get stuck into more writing (probably on Jaipur) and yes, I will manage a bit of guitar strumming.

Last night I rushed out a quick Fantasy Footy team, naffly named the Anfield of Dreams. May have time to revisit it today to swop a few players - and maybe rename. Starting point anyway is:

Keeping faith in Salah and Firmino though think it'll be hard for them to repeat last year's heights. Not a Man Utd player in sight - which is nice.

Owl Canyon Press Hackathon

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-04T20:53:43+01:00

Owl Canyon Press ran a short story competition a couple of months ago which was due to be announced in August. It was an interesting idea with the first and last paragraph of the story supplied by them the writers had to write the story in-between. To make it harder still the entire story was to be exactly 50 paragraphs AND no direct speech was allowed. Ouch!

So I thought well hey, worth a go. Not many people will wanna take that on. And I've hardly seen anybody mentioning it on Twitter which kinda supported this.

Cue email from OCP yesterday with an update. Er, seems my second guessing wasn't exactly spot on. There were over 900 entries! Results therefore around the start of September with so many to read. Bloody hell, 900+ entries - there really are a lot of writerers out there.

DeadCades Anthology

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-03T12:38:02+01:00

Looking forward to the Deadcades Anthology which is due for release in just a couple of months. Such great authors in there and they've nearly all got website things where you can read about them and their writings.

Deborah Sheldon : 1880s
Martin Fuller : 1890s
R.J. Meldrum : 1900s
Sian Brighal : 1910s
Alyson Faye : 1920s
Chris Milam : 1930s
Sal Page : 1940s
Christopher Long : 1950s
Robert Lupton : 1960s
Stephanie Ellis : 1970s
Stuart Conover : 1980s
David Shakes : 1990s
Rushelle Dillon : 2000s
Marie McKay : 2010s
A.J. Walker : 2020s

Yep, I'm the future - that's never been said before! Then again it could be why the future doesn't look good.

There's plenty of class acts and familiar names within the drabblers and dribblers too:

* Christopher Stanley * Michael Carter * Andrea Allison * Sean Fraser * Pattyann McCarthy * Dominic Davis * Ewan Smith * Arthur Unk * Bart Van Goethem * Voima Oy * F.E. Clark * Marc Nash * Stella Turner * C.R. Smith * Catherine Connolly *

Keep an eye on the Infernal Clock website to see how it progresses. Though I dare say I may mention it a few times.

St. Celynnin Church, Conwy Valley

A.J. Walker — 2018-08-01T21:35:14+01:00

Back in June I saw a church on the top of a hill miles from anywhere which looked interesting but didn't go and see. As I said at the time I wish I had once I looked up a bit about it. It's a 12th Century church which is impressive in itself, but its location makes it doubly intriguing. Well today I was up there again and the weather was good so I took the opportunity to walk over to see it.

Glad I did. It's a pretty building and the location makes it look beautiful. Didn't have time to look over all the graveyard much but I saw gravestones dating back to 1717 (Stella would be impressed).

There's a holy well in the corner of the enclosure, which may be why the church is there in the first place. Apparently there used to other buildings around the vicinity including roundhouses and even Roman buildings. And an adjacent pub (probably not Roman).

I'll put up some more background to the church - and maybe St. Celynnin, when I get the chance. But in the meantime just look at the pretty pictures.

Writing and Strumming

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-25T13:54:54+01:00

A week on from looking at playing the guitar more and how am I doing? Well, not brilliant but not all bad either. I've printed off some of the songs from the first twelve and have had two days from the last week when I've played at least an hour. Which isn't great, but it's better than I've done for many a month (year). So onwards and upwards. I will get more regular at practice.

I will.

Over the last couple of days I've not been playing, I have been writing. Following the completion of the second draft of my Infernal Clock 'DeadCades' story it is time to move on to something else. The first thing I did was edit an older Infernal Clock story originally written for 'CalenDark' which is worth considering for using for some other submission. That is all boxed off and now it's a question of keeping an eye out for a potential home for it.

Since editing that I have not written anything fiction though (other than VSS365 of course), but I have over ten pages of planning and ideas in my BuJo. It will be used to focus my next project. Maybe something more substantial - giving me a chance to stretch Scrivener a little beyond the 5500 words.

Return to the Guitar

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-23T23:02:05+01:00

Yesterday I sat down to think about getting back to playing the guitar. I've two in the house; a lovely green telecaster and a semi-acoustic Takamine. Can't even remember when I last played the electric but from time to time I pick up the Takamine for a quick strum. The thing is I've forgotten so many songs that I used to be able to play and have lost the ability to play most of the riffs I used to know a bit. So I've decided to get a bit more methodical and timetable some specific guitar practice. To learn (or relearn) a bunch of songs I used to play (at least after a fashion).

Ideally I want to get to a point where I can face playing in front of someone again. In fact maybe play at an Open Mic or two. The Sanctuary pub in Liverpool being one possibility. So I need to learn a few songs from start to finish, words and chords, with appropriate strumming patterns and all that malarky.

To that end my initial aim is to learn again twelve songs, which is kinda an album length of tunes. Then from there go on to twenty four and thirty; then who knows?

Should I get into playing again then I'd like to write a few songs once again. It's been a long time since I have done that. Then that opens up the possibility of playing my own stuff at an open mic too. That maybe for next year, but learning the first of the 'twelve' should be a lot easier in theory so who knows I may end up at an open mic sometime over the next two or three months.

I've got four to six I should be able to box off relatively quickly, say over next couple of weeks. Then if I aim to learn a couple of songs a week thereafter then maybe I can box of twelve songs in five weeks or so.

First up I'm going to create a playlist of all 30 songs to practice the words and feel of them. Then I'll print off the words and chord sheets for them all and have a nice neat file (that said I probably have half of them at least already printed out in one file or other). Then, lastly, I need to get my guitar ready and begin playing the thing again. Regularly.

So in five weeks will I have twelve songs I can feel confident enough to stand up (or sit down) and play from start to finish? We'll see.

Watch this space.

Class Song Year 2

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-17T21:21:21+01:00

Class Song has been progressing well with these weekly song lists. So far the artists have included a lot of biggies, but I've tried to mix it up with some smaller ones. The artistes so far have been:

Warren Zevon
Wilco
Counting Crows
Ryan Adams
Jayhawks
Frank Turner
Pogues
Chuck Prophet
Beatles
Thea Gilmore
Aimee Mann
Bob Dylan and
Rolling Stones

A mix of rock, country and singer songery types. Let's face it if I've covered Beatles, Stones and Dylan I've pretty much done the biggies. That said there's lots of cracking bands coming up. Next week I've got songs from Broken Family Band. A criminally underrated English band who were not big at all - so don't expect many videos.

Not sure how many people are listening to any of them. But I do know whoever is should be finding some decent tracks. And if I can introduce one new person to a band they didn't now before then the job has been a good one.

Keep listening.

Dead Reckoning

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-15T11:13:14+01:00

Last week on the evening before going to Bishop's Castle I finally sent out the draft of the DeadCades story to the editor, Steph. It was great to get it out. I was given a little kick to do it when I saw Shake's Tweet that he was close to getting his done - and let's face it I didn't want to be the last one.

Awaiting edits sometime over the next week or two. And then I can look forward to getting my hands on the book in the months ahead. With all the great authors in it (and me) it's definitely going to be a doozy.

The first two books of the Infernal Clock trilogy (the Infernal Clock and Calendark), which I am proud to have been included in, are available from that Amazon behemoth if you ain't already got them.

Gone Fishing

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-13T12:39:42+01:00

I've got over England being beaten by Croatia in the semi-final of the World Cup, a lot faster than I do any Liverpool result. That said if they'd got to the final I'd have bloody loved it.

Anyway away from sport there's some good TV about at the moment, loving The Handmaid's Tale again of course. But my current highlight is the wonderful 'Gone Fishing' with Mortimer and Whitehouse on BBC2.

The banter between the two old mates cover serious growing up issues (ok, largely men's health) and features lots of drug taking (Whitehouse surely rattles when he walks), alcohol (Mortimer likes his ale, huzzah!), cooking and even some fishing. The filming of the British countryside is reminiscent of The Detectorists making it seem all low key whilst beautiful.

Behind it all Bob and Paul's friendship shines through and leaves you with a warm happy feeling and a buzzy grin throughout. And the barbel is quite a cool fish. If you haven't been watching it yet then get yourself on that iPlayer thing. It's brilliant TV.

18 Books

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-13T11:09:59+01:00

Not caught up on my reading target but hey, no-one died.

Eighteen books in and still going on. Next one may be quick (it's got lots of big pictures of maps in it).

Reading has included some cracking authors including;

Arthur C Clarke,
Bill Bryson,
Terry Pratchett,
Neil Gaiman,
Anthony Burgess,
CS Lewis,
Colson Whitehead,
Paul Beatty,
Kurt Vonnegut, and
Joseph Conrad.

Reading for next six months expected to include some more of the usual suspects including at the very least;

Iain M. Banks,
Margaret Atwood,
Philip Pullman,
Mervyn Peak, and
George Orwell.

And, yes, I will leave some time for some writing.

Over All Too Quickly

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-09T22:41:52+01:00

This weekend was hot hot hot in on the Welsh borders of Shropshire but being in Bishop's Castle it at least meant there was plenty of liquid options to keep hydrated and cool with. This year rather than just the three usual suspects camping (Toe, Ste and yours truly) we were accompanied by double figures of top ladies and gentlemen from Liverpool and beyond. Pop-up tents filled the Foxholes campsite almost as much as the snoring.

The festival actually seemed a little quieter than usual. Not sure if that is with people staying at home and having home made BBQs and wee festivals while the World Cup was on. The England match was shown in a couple of pubs and we watched from the car park of the Castle Hotel. It was a cauldron in Samara and seemed at least as hot in the tarmac bowl. The result made it worth while.

Saw several good bands in the Castle Hotel and The Vaults over the two days. Hats of to them for their work in the heat.

Saturday evening inevitably ended up with regular renditions of Vindaloo and Three Lions between the bands playing in the Vaults. Top night.

The weather, the music, the company and even the England match all made it a top weekend. The beer wasn't bad either. Not sure whether it was the footy in the middle of the day or the size of the group we were with but boy the weekend absolutely flew by. See you again, Bishop's Castle. You always deliver.

Have put a selection of photos up from this weekend in an album on Flickr.

Bishop's Castle (Again) 2018

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-04T23:45:36+01:00

It's Bishop's Castle Beer Festival this weekend. I've lost count of how many times I've been now, but I'm of there again camping on Friday and Saturday at the fab Foxholes campsite. There's a shed loads of us going this year from Liverpool. Well, well into double figures anyway. It's always a cracking day (or two if you go camping) and usually the weather is wall to wall sunshine. Of course with the way the weather has been in the last few weeks this won't be different this year.

There's always loads on at all the pubs and a great atmosphere (my fave is the Vaults for the live music). As well as plenty of lovely beers there will be great food and loads of bands on. What's not to like?!

This year this is happening at the same time as the World Cup Quarter Finals. Not sure how easy it will be to find anywhere to watch the England match on Saturday afternoon. But shouldn't have a problem finding room to watch the Brazil v Belgium match on Friday night I expect.

Need a decent weekend. So roll on Bishop's Castle.

Lots of photos next week I predict and a wee blog.

England, the World Cup and the End to Agnosticism?

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-01T10:44:06+01:00

Been loving the World Cup so far, though I have not seen as many games as I would like. It is a strange one as an England fan(-ish). So far I've not made it to the pub yet to watch an England match. Three games in. That said, I definitely fall into the demographic that calls himself a Liverpool fan first and foremost and England gets a minor look in during a tournament (which let's face it usually lasts just a week).

I've always struggled to get behind England due to the years I've grown up with them. For decades we're played beneath ourselves. Draw and boring draw for years; or defeats of course. Experts (okay, journalists) and then managers seemed to criticise the team for not being able to retain the ball like our adversaries do and so the drive seemed to be for England to play like other teams. To retain the ball and pass it around and around waiting for the opportunity to put through a key pass to a runner who never came. If the other team hasn't got the ball they can't score and all that. The problem with that is that for years we've played boring football and it hasn't actually achieved anything but mediocrity even when we've had plenty of class players in the squad. The attackers haven't had the opportunities and the defence has not been up to the task.

Watching an International match on the weekend of those awful Premiership international breaks has never been something anyone really wants to do - except to check if the manager was overplaying 'our' players and risking injuries to our stars. The product of Premiership football is so far ahead of the average international match especially friendlies when there is nothing to play for but a pride none of the footballers have these days. The most frustrating thing is that many of the shortcomings have been so obvious to anyone who watches the game that it defies belief. All our footballers are involved in teams that play exciting and sometimes innovative football, many from great counter attacking teams. Why constrain the England team to play in a way to defend and keep the ball to pass it around like Spain or Italy do or in the fashion where football is played differently because the climate dictates it! We're not Spain, Italy, Brazil or anyone else. We're England.

And what are friendlies about anyway? They are not a product anyone can value. At least back in the 70s we had the British Championship even if the results were largely predictable they were proper games, with players really playing with pride in their shirt. Perhaps now football fandom and hooliganism has changed they could bring that back. I'd rather watch England v Wales or Scotland v N.Ireland in the British Championship than England v Portugal in a friendly with below strength teams and ten changes at half time.

For years we have not played to our players strengths and it is crazy and mightily frustrating as an agnostic England fan. Why not play fast counter attacking football? Why put a straight-jacket on the teams and make players play in a way that makes them uncomfortable and stiffen them up? But for years they have. We've also tried to stuff all our best players in, even if it meant putting players in the wrong position, trying to put the eleven best players on the pitch even if they all played in the same position it's ludicrous. By doing that we created teams that couldn't play as teams. Teams should play as more as the sum of their parts (Iceland anyone?) or at least be equal. Square pegs in round holes means it's never going to work.

We have played crap boring football for decades and for no good reason and, importantly, to no good end. Play as well as you can. Let them play with freedom and without fear and okay we may get knocked out early (poor Germany, Portugal and Argentina have already gone home), but at least we can see we've tried and for pity's sake the fans may actually enjoy watching the match for a change. New fans and old fans may come to the fold and support their international team, God forbid.

And that I think is what Gareth Southgate has tried to get the team to do; get a balanced team, put players where they should be and play with the hand brake off. It's not rocket science and it's a crying shame that we've had so many teams over the years with plenty of players with obvious abilities who've not achieved their potential. Or let's face it entertained us. Sport IS an entertainment after all.

So who knows, we may go out on Tuesday to Columbia. But if we do let it be whilst playing a brand of football that shows what English football is about. Let them play with a smile on their face and all that. And maybe I'll smile too.

Come on England! (there, I said it)

A Saturday of Some Limited Successes

A.J. Walker — 2018-07-01T09:37:37+01:00

The sunshine in the north west has continued solid for a couple of weeks now and yesterday was not to prove an exception. I was down for working but had one overdue issue; the courier's bane: balding edged front tyres from all those damn curbs we climb up on. It had got to a point which was borderline a potential losing argument about legality. After failing to get them sorted on Tuesday I finally got it booked in for yesterday (doing about a thousand miles a week tyre issues can quickly change from borderline to "what rubber?") This meant an increased likelihood of yet another unwanted day off, but better a few quid down that a £1000 and 6pts on the licence.

At least it meant I had the chance to take a walk in the early morning sunshine and go get a breakfast, albeit in a County Road kind of way. I had a piece of writing I wanted to work on for a competition Owl Canyon Press were running. The closing date was yesterday and I had been working a little on it on and off over a couple of weeks. Needless to say that I was only half way through but if I had to take the day off I could at least work on it and get something submitted however rushed.

Two phone calls later. A route in Altrincham if you want it; over 140 stops with a very late start? No thanks. Second call. A miss-sort route, ready now. OK. 21 drops spread all over: Liverpool city centre, Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port, Wavertree, St Helens, Warrington, Timperley, Lymm, Kirkby. Ended up being a bit of a late finish with the delayed start (and actually 168 miles), but less tiring than 140 stops in that sunshine. Oh, and driving on new tyres was a lot more relaxing not worrying about pulling up next to the rozzers or parking next to one in a car park. And relax...

Driving around whilst listening to the exciting France v Argentina match was good. Normally you can't hear much as you're in and out of the cab so much you miss more than you catch, but with 21 drops there was more driving than delivering. Huzzah! Whilst it meant I missed watching a great game there was the Portugal game to come - Suarez vs Ronaldo. So I got to watch that. And the joy of watching Ronaldo knocked out of the World Cup at this early stage made it a mildly joyous evening.

So a quick bit of reviewing at breakfast had been overtaken by work and left me fifteen hundred words short of the story with the deadline of the competition looming quicker than a German exit from the cup. The closing date was 30th June, but it was an American competition so there were more hours to play with from Blighty. By midnight I'd printed it out. Read and edited. Made the changes and uploaded by 1.30am. Yay! I got it in with over 5 hours to spare. Result. 5,500 words. All the right ones, just not necessarily in the right order etc etc.

Memo to Self: Don't leave it to the last minute next time.

Reply to Memo to Self: Yeah, right!

Not Visiting Church, A Wardrobe and Not Tyres

A.J. Walker — 2018-06-26T11:19:39+01:00

Yesterday I saw a church virtually on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere and was intrigued. I took a shot from distance. In retrospect I wish I'd spent twenty minutes walking to and around it. Looked it up when I got back home and found out some interesting things. It was Llangelynnin Church, which is 12th or 13th Century and even has a holy well along with loads of interesting features. Next time I'm up there I'll definitely take at least a quick look.

Been reading C.S. Lewis 'That Hideous Strength' the last couple of days. First thing I've read of his since the Narnia books when I was a kid. Really enjoying the story - another one that's been on my shelf for a while (I think I got it in an Oxfam in Lancaster a year or two ago). I just thought of him as a children's writer I'm glad to have found out differently. It is the third of his 'Space' trilogy and I haven't read the others. Plenty of reviews (and the preface itself) says it's fine to read as a stand-alone and I concur. Looking forward to seeing where it goes and how.

...and also whether anybody or anything will climb through a wardrobe.

Not quite gone to plan again today. Took day off to go and get tyres sorted and told "Oh, no. You can't just ruck up. It'll take a few days to book something in." Can't I just turn up at an ATS or similar? "Nope. A man will be in touch and he'll tell you a garage you can go to." What's the bet it's and ATS or similar I could have just turned up to anyway? Grrr.

I have my two writing projects to get on with, which both have deadlines this week. So that's another couple of hours to work on them then.

Some Writing. Some Bull.

A.J. Walker — 2018-06-23T15:06:17+01:00

Bit of a bulshit day today. Was told to go in late for work. Then told. Ah, sorry there is no work for you. Enjoy the day off. Bull.

Anyhow, meant I could do four things a) do some writing b) update the website c) catch some of the World Cup and d) get my haircut.

I have a writing project I'm working on which is due for finishing over the next week so I've got stuck in with that. This afternoon I've eeked out 1700 words on it, which means I'm about 1/3rd through and have sketched out a little where the story will go. Have been using Scrivener for it, along with another 5000 word project. I must say I do like the writing environment and also the appearance of the finished product. Once I've finished these two medium sized (for me) projects then I'll get stuck into a larger one and see how Scrivener really works with though. Doesn't need any bells and whistles for a short story.

Have got the song buffering up to ten again for Class Song of The Day and updated the website with this week's songs from the Beatles - and then this blog of course.

Just watched Belgium ease past Tunisia in a quite enjoyable match. Now it's time to print off today's story as it stands and go get my haircut.

And maybe catch up with some more footy later. Maybe? Of course I bloody will.

A Malenky Bit of Reading

A.J. Walker — 2018-06-21T10:15:31+01:00

Well it's only ten days short of six months and I've read 17 books this year now I've just finished 'A Clockwork Orange'. With all the quasi Russian speak in it, it was definitely the time to read it during the World Cup. Now I'm a malenky bit confused that according to Goodreads I'm only one book short of where I should be if I'm going to hit my aimed for 40 books this year. So in the next nine days it's expecting me to complete two books? I think not likely - and doesn't add up, surely I am at least two books down?

That said, I've a few smaller non-fiction books which I could read to get me back on track (if it is all about the numbers, which it isn't). However I've got some serious writing to sort out over the next week or so which need to take some sort of priority. So we will see.

Today whilst looking after a mates poor foster dog I intend to do some editing of a story and maybe work on another. And now's the time for that, since I've updated the #ClassSongOfTheDay page with the Beatles pic and written this wee blog.

Onwards and upwards, my horrorshow droogs.

#amreading
#amwriting

The Forecast Calls for Flash

A.J. Walker — 2018-06-14T18:46:50+01:00

This Saturday is the seventh annual Flash Flood event, where flash stories are posted on the Flash Flood website throughout an entire day to spread the goodness that this writing provides. I've been up there previous years, including last year, but I'm actually not sure how many times.

The deadline for submitting was last night at midnight after being open for a week. Needless to say I only got around to thinking about it late last night. After a mean furrowing of eyebrows I thought why the hell not? I've plenty of flash stories from over the years, but I didn't want to go too far back. As previously published stories were allowable I decided the easiest thing to do was to revisit some of the FlashFeed stories written for the FlashDogs challenges. Messages on Twitter yesterday suggested that maybe some upbeat stories would be welcomed given a surfeit of death, destruction and Donald Trump (ok, I made the last bit up) had been coming in, so I found three feel good-ish (or at least no 'impending doom' laden) stories and did a quick check on them. Made a couple of minor tweaks then sent them off; with fully 1 hour and 56 minutes to spare. Loadsa time!

This afternoon I received an email to tell me the good news that one of my stories has been accepted for the Flood and that it will go up around noon (BST) on Saturday. Excellent.

I won't tell you which story it was. You'll have to wait and see.

Keep an eye on Twitter and follow the flood at:

http://flashfloodjournal.blogspot.com

Well done to all who have made it. Expect we'll see a few Flash Dogs there.

Woof!

Am Writing/Am I Writing

A.J. Walker — 2018-06-09T10:49:57+01:00

This morning I managed to scramble out a swift 1450 words to add to the Memoirs piece I had started on Turkmenistan. So 1450 words is good right after a week with barely a jot in the Bullet Journal (yes that is still going)? To be fair it's now a 2300 piece and I'm not at all sure it will hold up that well as it's been written in two ad hoc moments from various smashed jar fragments.

I've printed it off now and will give it a proper read and see about editing it - so don't be surprised if you see another blog saying Turkmenistan memoir finished. It'll be deja vu all over again. Maybe get it down to 2000, then again if it deserves more then really it is more about structure and telling a story. Last week I finished reading a book about writing fast. The key take-home from that was planning the pieces you write. Er the exact opposite of what I've done with this one. Ho hum. You live, you learn, you forget (or ignore).

For the next bit of writing (fiction) I have started planning. We'll see how that goes shortly.

Have to decide too - once I'm happy with the Turkmen story - what Memoir piece to write next. I'm thinking maybe a Russian one given the World Cup coming up there next week.

Expect colourful (okay maybe black and white) views of Moscow, Perm, Vogograd and er... Yefremov.

Dirty Ole Tunes

A.J. Walker — 2018-06-08T23:14:16+01:00

So far this week has been very poor for writing. Hoping to get an hour or two done this weekend - at some point.

Finished reading Neil Gaiman's 'Fragile Things' which of course was excellent - and makes you realise how good short stories CAN be. Now I need to get more practiced at it. Pen to paper, mate.

Been an odd week with a few things. But whilst writing and reading has been a bit limited I have at least managed to update the website a little, especially getting Class Song of The Day up to date. So far Year 2 has been a breeze. As well as 'Buffering' the next ten songs I've selected the following 32. I'm keeping up with keeping up.

This weeks songs have been from The Pogues. Let's face it, who doesn't like them? An easy job for me then. Now get yerself drunk crooning, no need to remember the words just grunt along folks.

Next week is one of my fave singer songwriters and underrated guitarist... but I won't spoil the surprise. You'll have to wait until Monday for #ClassSongOfTheDay on Twitter

Frank Turner Week #1

A.J. Walker — 2018-06-04T20:30:34+01:00

CLASS SONG OF THE DAY YEAR TWO: FRANK TURNER WEEK

'They've started raising walls around the world now
Like hackles raised upon a cornered cat
On the borders, in our heads
Between things that can and can't be said
We've stopped talking to each other
And there's something wrong with that

So before you go out searching
Don't decide what you will find
Be more kind, my friends, try to be more kind'

Lyrics: 'Be More Kind'

So after the glorious harmonies of the Jayhawks along came one of my favourite singer songwriters (and I mean of all time even though he's only a young pup right now) the wonderful Frank Turner. He is a prolific writer and performer and the quality doesn't seem to be a problem. He keeps track of all his gigs and currently as I write this he's up to gig #2183 (in Baltimore). I've been lucky enough to seem him at five of those gigs and they were all boss (Bath, Liverpool, Glastonbury (Secret gig) and Glastonbury (Second Stage)).

That's four not five. Well yeah. The first time I saw him was incredibly at Wembley Arena on April 13, 2012. I'd gone down to watch the Liverpool v Everton semi-final at Wembley and found that the night before Frank was playing the Arena. A very lucky accident. It's hard to get over how bizarre this gig was in some ways. I mean a folk(ish) guy without big record company backing and not that well known filling out Wembley Arena through little more than word of mouth. It was a fabulous gig. A massive singalong from start to finish. Support was great too with Beans on Toast, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Billy Bragg. I was lucky to keep some of my voice for the following day (when Liverpool of course beat Everton).

The seven songs I chose were:

Glory Hallelujah!
Plain Sailing Weather
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
Get Better
Long Live the Queen
Reasons Not to Be An Idiot
Mittens

Click on the pic to go to the Class Song of the Day (Year Two) and check them out. He's so prolific and great that I'll be having a second Frank week later in the year.

Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls are a brilliant live act. If you get a chance to see them don't think twice.

This week's songs will be from The Pogues.

Sunday Morning

A.J. Walker — 2018-06-03T10:24:00+01:00

Today's plan is based around my normal 'Ideal Day' type:

Coffee
Read a bit
Write a bit
A couple of ales

We'll see how I go.

After waking up early I got to the bit coffee early doors. Eventually I prised myself away from Twitter to get a whole hour (whoopee-do) of reading. Currently reading Neil Gaiman's 'Fragile Things' (a short story collection). I am still behind in my reading this year, but getting some done. Onward and upward.

Next up was looking at updating some Class Song of The Day stuff. Selected another couple of artists and sorted the picture for next weeks band, which I'll upload onto the 'CSOTD: Year 2' page shortly. It's a band I was well into back in the 1990s and have seen in a few places - whatever the venue invariably there was chaos with this lot.

Next up there was this little blog update. It's important to keep it a little bit alive, isn't it?

Following this the remaining plan is a wee bit of writing. Maybe 1000 words? Got a competition piece to consider as well as getting back onto the Infernal Clock story. I've also got to finish of the Turkmenistan memoirs piece for the Memoirs section (it's been half finished now for an age) and also type up 'The Origin of the Carbonatite Magma'. But that's not for today.

After completing some writing I'll be rewarding myself with a pint and meeting a mate in Liverpool centre.

I'll report back how the writing, and the imbibing, goes. Laters ...

Museum of the Moon, Liverpool

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-28T23:00:27+01:00

On the morning of the European Cup Final before popping to Southport for a couple of beers with me da I took the opportunity to go and see the Museum of the Moon which was in the Anglican Cathedral. I'm glad I did.

Really impressive considering it's just a big balloon. Made from the Nasa photos it is the whole moon in glorious detail at 1:500,000 scale It is lit from within, which obviously works well in the enclosed space of the cathedral. The 'art' was created by Luke Jerram and has been touring the country and indeed the world. Looking at photos from other locations it has been in it clearly is a knockout wherever it goes.

It's on in the Anglican until the end of the month, so you've a few more days to catch it if you fancy it. Take your camera!

Jayhawks Week

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-28T21:13:46+01:00

CLASS SONG OF THE DAY YEAR TWO: JAYHAWKS WEEK

'Pretty little hairdo, don't do what it used to
Can't disguise the living
All the miles that you've been through

Looking like a train wreck,
Wearing too much make-up,
The burden that you carry
Is more than one soul could ever bear'

Lyrics: 'Save It For A Rainy Day'

Following on from Ryan Adams in Week Four Class Song of the Day Music Weeks was brought to you by The Jayhawks a most underrated and glorious band. Been lucky enough to see them a few times, as well as seeing the lead singer Gary Louris perform in Liverpool. Top songwriting with lovely guitar and beautiful harmonies.

They is top (I like them so much my main email address is named after a Jayhawks album!).

The seven songs I chose were:

Waiting for the Sun
I'm Going to Make You Love Me
Ace
All the Right Reasons
What Led Me To This Town
Bad Time, and
Stumbling Through the Dark

Click on the pic to go to the Class Song of the Day (Year Two) and check them out.

This week's songs are from Frank Turner the prolific English troubadour. I've had a real hard time whittling that down to seven songs; pretty sure I'll have a second Frank week later in the year.

Quick Bullets

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-23T21:36:48+01:00

Three days in and I'm STILL continuing with my first BuJo effort. I wonder how long I will actually continue it? Seems a good idea so far though. May even get into making it look pretty at some point (not with my handwriting though, cos that is bloody awful).

Updated the Class Song Of The Day page for this second year and I think it looks a lot neater with the 'Weekly' lists. Makes it look cleaner and I think more user friendly too. Let's face it that's what web pages should be about hey?

And such tunes...!

Trying to keep the updates coming on the website in the blog regularly too. Mind you not sure how much this week. The weekend will be taken over by a certain footy match. Jealous of everyone in Kiev this weekend. I was lucky enough to go to Istanbul and Athens, though for the latter I didn't get a ticket or go in the stadium (ended up watching the match in the Craft Beer Bar. The chances!). My week in Sunny Beach and Istanbul was one of my best holidays ever. I mean come on, what a match. What an occasion! Traveling with loads of fans, the songs, the colour, the banners, the beer (well, okay not necessarily the taste of it), a great city, a half finished stadium, the laughs.

The victory was great too!

BuJo (Vol.1)

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-20T22:36:36+01:00

I used to keep a diary (or journal if you're from the other side of the Atlantic) and sometimes it was quite detailed. But I stopped doing it quite a few years ago now. I think partly because even if I had a boring day it would take me 15 mins or so to write up my day and thoughts and while looking back at them now they were okay to read I felt those 15 mins could be better spent. Or something like that.

But I have missed it in some ways; it was always nice to be able to go back over events (and dates of when they happened).

Over the last few weeks I've seen a few people on Twitter mentioning Bullet Journaling. And the idea has piqued my interest. As well as my previous love of writing a diary journal thing I'm also a bit of a sucker for a list. So the idea of BuJos seem good in both ways.

I've been on a few websites looking at how it works and think I've got to grips with it. But it is a shame none of the websites seem to have a single page 'cheat sheet', which surprises me as the websites suggest the idea is a bit clunky - and it's not really.

After a quick look at the websites today I realised I had a spare empty notebook so I thought I'd give it a go and see if I can keep it up. At least after a fashion.

If you are interested have a look at the BuJo website.

I may well put up a 1 page cheat sheet/background up here at some point soon.

Much More Class Ryan et al

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-20T12:27:15+01:00

Just updated the next ten songs on Buffer for the upcoming days with some fab tune age. Disappointed how little decent live footage (or even official videos there are of next week's class act). Ho hum. Some bands don't get the coverage or investment they deserve. Ryan Adams week has come to an end there was no probs finding decent vids and lots of live stuff by him. Biggest problem was refining a selection down to seven songs. Been listening to lots of the CDs in the van this week, whacking them on loud. Let's face it I could have just put seven tracks of Gold or Heartbreaker up. Me thinks I'll be having a second Ryan Adams week later in the year.

The seven songs I chose for Ryan Adams week were:

I Love You But I Don't Know What to Say
Two
When the Stars Go Blue
Do You Still Love Me?
Let It Ride
Come Pick Me Up
This Is It

Really I could have picked seven other songs and been equally happy with the selection. So many good songs in that man's heart.

Putting ten songs in Buffer means I've selected the first three songs of the following week too and again the biggest problem with that act is getting the number down to seven songs and I can see me definitely having a second week for that artist too.

Thinking of presenting the Class Song of The Day pages on the website differently now that this year it is split into weeks. Watch this space...

Anyways, been good to keep it going and enjoying the videos and performances myself even if not many of you guys have been clicking yet (though happy to see Sal has been enjoying Ryan today!).

Have Laptop Will Travel

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-16T16:20:12+01:00

It was time today to get some writing done. I thought I'd nip out for a few hours into town and give it a go in a few places and see what worked in terms of getting a fair chunk of the Deadcades story progressed for Infernal Clock.

I had just under 1400 words already written and the ultimate aim for these stories are around 5000 words. Having given the initial 1400 words a re-read at the weekend I am pretty happy with them. Although it has started as a police procedural largely and horror is yet to surface (if you don't include simple dead bodies as horror). My aim for today was a minimum of 1000 words.

I first headed for the coffee shop downstairs in the Liverpool Central Library - I was in need of some caffeine before starting after all. That went really rather well. In just over an hour whilst perched on a soft comfy sofa with my Americano I got 1000 words done in one sitting. Jeez. But I was on a roll so it was time to go onwards and upwards up to the Picton Reading Room after bladder emptying (those medium coffees really are quite large aren't they?).

The cafe had been busy enough downstairs but the Picton was packed with largely university aged (children I tell you!) boys and girls filling all the central tables. A bit of a shame as I've always liked working on those tables. Anyway, needs must and all that so I ended up getting one of the single seats around the periphery and plugging in my laptop there. It really is a nice environment to work in - even if again I had the laptop on my lap rather than a table. An hour and twenty five later and I had down another 1400 words. Bloody hell, flying!

It was now time to redeposit some more of that caffeine and then pop out for some lunch. I couldn't avoid the unbeatable All Day Breakfast at the Shiraz on Williamson Sq. I'm a sucker for it. Then it was time for at least a little more of the writing whilst on the roll. This time I went to somewhere where it may prove a bit more difficult (beers and music) but it had some advantages (tables and plugs) - I headed to The Head of Steam on Hanover Street. And yes, bang! Another 1150 words in a little over an hour.

I'm sure the last 1000 words will prove the least useable but they in any case do sketch out how the story will go.

So whilst I left the house wanting to do 1000 words I ended up doing 3600 (i.e. I've got 5000 words of a 5000 word story). Job well and truly smashed.

Now I've got to get it printed, read, redrafted and then again and again. It's good to feel it moving; even if it proves that only the first 1400 words are still any good. What have I learned from an afternoon of writing in three quite different environments (albeit two being in the library - the Picton is different to the cafe I can assure you). Well, I can write anywhere really. I dare say attempting to write for more than an hour or two in a pub would be the most difficult in terms of the music background (in some pubs) and the consistency of the writing (after a couple of stronger beers). Whilst in all three locations I almost wrote a 1000 words an hour or so the key finding is probably that if I ensure I set aside an hour a day then 500 words a day or more really is very attainable. And I should do that.

I should. But will I?

Thanks to the Head of Steam I even managed to update my website with this wee blog. And I have a Titanic 'Iceberg' to boot. It's a win, win, win. Huzzah!

2018 Reading

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-14T20:44:41+01:00

According to Goodreads I'm one book behind 'schedule' for this year's target of 40 books. I'm pretty fine with that. Hopefully get up there in the end. Need to plan my reading out a bit for the next few months.

Predictably I've read a couple of Terry Pratchett's, along with a lot of SF and some modern and old classics including Colson Whitehead's 'The Underground Railway', and Paul Bettany's 'The Sellout', Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse 5' and Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'. The reading so far has included some excellent books I dare say the next seven months will include some similarly excellent tomes - and no doubt some more Pratchett too!

Eight out of the thirteen books were bought from second hand shops. I'll have to get back to reading some of the other things which are already on my shelves before filling them out with more ...

On the Shoulders of Giants

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-12T08:45:11+01:00

There was fab news this week in Liverpool about the fantastic French Giants returning once more. Who'd have thought 'big puppets' could be so enthralling and illicit such emotions. But if you haven't seen them live then you'll be in for a treat if you do get to see them this time. We were lucky with the weather in June 2014. In fact it was so hot the puppeteers had to keep stopping to keep hydrated (it is heavy manual work moving these lovable monsters).

Took lots of shots and some came out okay. But it is difficult getting a good position with such enormous crowds. I was made up to get one of my photographs in the official book about the event 'On the Shoulders of Giants' (the fourth photo below).

Zen & The Art Of Typewriter Maintenance

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-11T14:40:22+01:00

It's hard to believe for any youngsters (and not so youngsters) out there but back when I was at Uni we didn't have many of these computer things (or access to them) and I actually typed my dissertation out on an old typewriter with laborious two finger typing. Some students paid typists to type out their dissertation for them, but I wasn't flush. This means I've not got it to hand other than in hard copy including faded letters where not I've not pressed down hard enough or doubly dark from retyping (not to mention the white flakes of liquid paper/correction fluid). The dissertation even included hand drawn figures.

I'm a faster typer now and these days when I mistype there is not the issue of type-bars sticking and with the magic of computing the letters reorganise themselves into words instead of becoming botched smudges with dots of red from a sticky ribbon.

There was something quite enjoyable about typing on a typewriter though. Can't put my finger on it. Maybe you feel closer to it, having to be in the zone with the ribbon and the type bars, making sure that the type pressure was even and making sure each letter was right. The play of the keyboard and the noise and the return at the end of each line was all part of it. Perhaps typing on a typewriter as opposed to a computer is equivalent to the difference between driving and riding a motorbike. I should reread the first chapter or two of 'Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'. I reckon there must be an equivalent 'Zen & the Art of Typewriter Maintenance' out there.

Contemplating retyping the dissertation onto my computer. Perhaps I'll put it on my website (maybe under the Memoirs pages). Retyping it would make me revisit what I wrote back in the 1980s and discover the things I knew back then about the subject and have long forgotten. Haven't said what it was, have I? Well it was an unusual one and not a subject I've seen much about since (or indeed ever);

'The Origin of the Carbonatite Magma'

Now you know that, I bet you can't wait for it.

Ol Doinyo Lengai

Carbonatite is a very rare igneous rock and the only currently active volcano with a carbonatite magma is Ol Doinyo Lengai in the African Rift Valley. But hey, if I get around to typing the dissertation up you'll soon know that.

Drafting: DeadCades

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-11T12:33:51+01:00

Started writing the story for the final instalment of the Infernal Clock trilogy: DeadCades.

Already it has changed from the story I thought was going to write. I'd said before that I had a good idea for a story setting which I thought I could use for this almost as a testing ground. However that setting is probably a few decades later and would also, at least as a first tale, warrant a bigger story. In any case whilst driving along minding my own business the other day another story came into head apparently from nowhere. I think it must have been floating through the cosmos and got to somewhere in north Wales around the A55 whilst I was driving past and 'hey presto!' it popped into my coconut head. Story particles are like that; I reckon they'll find story particles in the Large Hadron Collider at some point. Fairy Tales will prove to be fundamental particles. Probably.

Anyways, I think it's a good idea - well of course I do!

However I am only 1200 words into a 5000 word story and I can feel it may need 15k words to tell it so I'll have to see where it goes. I haven't got to any scary bits yet, which is a bit of a worry in a horror tale (though there are two dead bodies).

Good to put pen to paper (well plastic keys into aluminium shell) and get it started. I'm using Scrivener but to be honest I could just type it out into any word processor with this length of story. But I'll find a few things out about Scrivener no doubt whilst I'm using it so it's worth using it rather than Pages anyway.

This morning I also blasted out a quick rough and ready story for Microcosms for the second successive week. Not sure I'll be writing that frequently for it, but I got told there wasn't a route (i.e. work) for me this morning so I had the time (even if I didn't want to have the time). Ho hum.

Counting Crows Week

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-10T19:16:12+01:00

CLASS SONG OF THE DAY YEAR TWO: COUNTING CROWS WEEK

"When everybody loves you,
Oh, son, that's just about as funky as you can be"

It is Week Three of my Class Song of the Day Music Weeks and following on from Warren Zevon and Wilco it is another of my big lovely favourite bands, the wonderful Counting Crows. I fell in love with them straight away when I first heard them on the new Virgin Radio through 1993 and 94. At the same time I fell in love with Cracker who (I think) toured with the Crows around that time in the UK. I didn't see them on that tour but I have been lucky enough to see them three or four times in the UK.

Given how long they've been going it is a bit surprising that they've only released seven studio albums:

August and Everything After (1993)
Recovering the Satellites (1996)
This Desert Life (1999)
Hard Candy (2002)
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings (2008)
Underwater Sunshine (or What We Did on Our Summer Vacation) (2012)
Somewhere Under Wonderland (2014)

If you haven't got August and Everything After then you really don't have a CD collection at all, so get it sorted. Mr Jones is one of the most perfect pop songs ever and don't get me started on Anna Begins.

If you don't like listening to Adam Duritz singing and baring his soul then you, my friend, have no soul.

Happy listening.

Wilco Week

A.J. Walker — 2018-05-01T20:25:18+01:00

CLASS SONG OF THE DAY YEAR TWO: WILCO WEEK

Following on from Warren Zevon Week, which was the first of the artists of the week for Class Song Of The Day (Year Two), it's now week two and this week's band is one of my most favouritest bestest bands ever ever. It's Wilco (the band not the Johnson).

Wilco - the Band

I've been lucky enough to see them several times in Manchester and Nottingham and at the End of the Road Festival. They are a top band and a brilliant live act; wonderfully melodic, occasionally very noisy, great lyrics (which is my 'thing' I guess) and most of all consistently high quality thanks in no small part to the fab songwriting of the lead man Jeff Tweedy.

Jeff Tweedy - songwriter extraordinaire

They've released ten studio albums and an excellent double live album (Kicking Television, 2005). The studio album discography comprises:

A.M. (1995)
Being There (1996)
Summerteeth (1999)
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)
A Ghost is Born (2004)
Sky Blue Sky (2007)
Wilco (The Album) (2009)
The Whole Love (2011)
Star Wars (2015)
Schmilco (2016)

Typing those out I realise I don't have the two most recent - it must be rectified. I'd find it hard to recommend just one, due to the aforementioned consistent quality. If you are coming to them for the first time maybe I'd recommend Summerteeth that said YHF or A Ghost... a difficult call.

Nels Cline - Boss guitarst and chief wall of noise meister

You can also find the two albums they recorded with Billy Bragg, performing songs to lyrics from Woodie Guthrie; Mermaid Avenue I and II.

If you get a chance to see them live don't miss them. And prepare to be blown away by a tight band, immense tunes and some stellar guitar and noise from Nels Cline.

Hope you enjoy this week's curated tunes.

Links and Buttons

A.J. Walker — 2018-04-30T19:21:54+01:00

Updated the home page today with a few big black buttons to link through to photo and Twitter accounts. I already had the Twitter links but the old links were a bit bleary with the screen grabs of my various avatars. Gone black and basic with these buttons - makes them easy to see and easy to change. I've added the Instagram link as I know lots of people use it now and whilst it's owned by Facebook I've retained the photo app. I've had Flickr for years and it's rammed with loads of photos in it from various trips both around the world and around the ale trips in the UK.

Maybe I'll add a YouTube button at some point ... if I get around to adding Class Song Of The Day to it (or updating it).

Discworld Audit Update

A.J. Walker — 2018-04-28T09:54:28+01:00

Following a brief visit to Henry Bohn's bookshop on Tuesday, where I bought Snuff and Men at Arms, it's time to update my Discworld Audit. There was a hard back of the Wee Free Men, which I haven't got yet. Um... maybe need to pop in later and just get it. They also had the Fifth Elephant, which I can't find in my collection but I know I've read... frustrating.

Have got stuck straight into Men at Arms and it is full of cracking jokes. Love it. Dare say when I finish that I'll get Snuffed.

Here are the Discworld books in the order they were written (those in bold are the books I have on my shelves, those in blue I ain't got).

So just seven to get; or six if I can find the Fifth Elephant.

Discworld Series:

The Colour of Magic (UL)
The Light Fantastic (UL)
Equal Rites (UL)

Mort
Sourcery (HB*)
Wyrd Sisters (PB)
Pyramids (PB) x2
Guards! Guards! (PB)
Eric (HB*)
Moving Pictures (PB)
Reaper Man (PB)
Witches Abroad
Small Gods (PB)
Lords and Ladies (PB)
Men at Arms (PB)

Soul Music
Interesting Times (HB*)
Maskerade (PB)
Feet of Clay (PB)
Hogfather (PB)
Jingo (PB)
The Last Continent (PB)
Carpe Jugulum (HB)
The Fifth Elephant
The Truth (HB)
Thief of Time (HB)
The Last Hero
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
Night Watch (HB)
The Wee Free Men

Monstrous Regiment (HB)
A Hat Full of Sky (PB)
Going Postal (HB - with stamps)
Thud!(HB)
Wintersmith (PB)
Making Money (PB)
Unseen Academicals (HB)
I Shall Wear Midnight (PB)
Snuff (HB)

Raising Steam (HB)
The Shepherd’s Crown (HB)

HB - Hardback
PB - Paperback
HB* - Hardback 'Rincewind Trilogy'
UL - Unseen Library Edition

Dreams of Deadcades

A.J. Walker — 2018-04-24T09:22:55+01:00

Had a couple of days thinking about my story for Infernal Clock: Deadcades and hadn't really got anywhere. Waking up this morning in a dream state I tried to push the dream in a good direction (ie futuristic and rather bad); would be nice to have the story pop into my head without much effort. But the method failed miserably with a dream that went nowhere scary or interesting at all. I'd have been better off just trying to dream about Salma Hayek walking into it, not that she ever turns up these days (I think she's too busy for personal appearances even disembodied ones).

Too busy

Anyway without Salma or a suitable Deadcade dream I had to lie there a bit and think about my story possibilities and you know what I think I've got it. I've had an idea for a long while about a larger (kinda book length) story setting and I think I can use this short (5000 word) story as a proving ground. Though the story itself would be darker and deadlier than my original ideas for the book it will show if the setting and general ideas have possibilities. Now it's time to start writing it or sketching it out.

Could be fun. In a dark way.

Warren Zevon Week

A.J. Walker — 2018-04-22T20:29:50+01:00

CLASS SONG OF THE DAY YEAR TWO: WARREN ZEVON WEEK

Well, here we go, Year Two of Class Song Of The Day has commenced with six songs by six different artists and from tomorrow onwards we'll be having lots of 'Weeks' of bands and artistes. There could be no other artist for the first week but Warren Zevon. Had real problems deciding which songs to pick, I could have picked a whole other seven and been equally happy with the choices. Anyways, I hope you enjoy them. And if you do, and haven't come across him much then get some Zevon in your record collection forthwith. A class act and a wonderful lyricist; anyone who can write verses like this from The French Inhaler has got to be loved and admired:

"Loneliness and frustration
We both came down with an acute case
And when the lights came up at two
I caught a glimpse of you
And your face looked like something
Death brought with him in his suitcase.

Your pretty face
It looked so wasted
Another pretty face
Devastated
The French Inhaler
He stamped and mailed her..."

As a starting point you could do worse then getting the best of album 'Genius' and then wend your way from there to his studio albums.

The biographical book 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead' is a fair read put together as snippets from people who were with him at various points of his somewhat chaotic life. Interesting way of sketching out his life.

I've scheduled the first three songs of the next artist too. But I won't tell you who that is until next weekend ...

ClassSongOfTheDay Year TWO!

A.J. Walker — 2018-04-16T22:03:21+01:00

Today was the anniversary of my attempt to tweet a link to a song each day, which I christened "Class Song Of The Day". In theory it was one song per day by an artist, who wasn't to be repeated in that year and it went out every day at 8am thanks to my use of Buffer. I got close enough to doing a 'damn fine job' apparently (quote unattributed; although it may have been me). The first song up was the wonderful Natalie Merchant and via another 363 songs I ended with Sheb Wooley and the 'Purple People Eater'.

Anyway that was the year that was, what about the year that is to be?

I haven't spent much time thinking about it, but I was never going to continue with the same aim i.e. another 365 artists with no repetition. Carrying on with the daily song though... well I'm happy to give it a go. So I was - or still am - after a different form.

My current thinking is to have an Artist of the Week and/or Themes of the Week (or Fortnight). I've already picked my first few bands and singer songwriters but if I'm making it as round weeks then I'm not starting it tomorrow (on a Tuesday; that'd be silly). Therefore I've picked the next six songs (and I LURVE them all) and the band/theme weeks will start next week.

Class Song Of The Day Year One Is Dead,
Long Live Class Song Of The Day Year Two!

DeadCades

A.J. Walker — 2018-04-15T19:12:48+01:00

Great to see the announcement this weekend of 'DeadCades' the third and final installment of the Infernal Clock Trilogy. The first anthology - curated and edited by David Shakes and Steph Ellis - was the Infernal Clock (April 2017) and featured twenty four stories based around different hours of the day (which will be why there was 24 stories). My story in it predictably was closing time (11pm) and therefore ended the book.

The second anthology was Calendark (December 2017) which was based around the calendar (see, there was a clue in the title) with specific days throughout the year featuring many festivals well and lesser known - my story was set around All Souls Day.

And now the final anthology goes on the next stage out ... each story will be set in a specific decade from the 1880s through to the 2020s; that's fifteen decades. I chose the final decade as I spend so much time reading SF & F it seemed appropriate. I'm not saying just because it's the future my story will include elements of SF - after all it's only 2 years away - but we'll see where my keyboard takes me.

The author's for the DeadCades are listed below. If you click on the list it'll take you through to the Infernal Clock website which is worth following to see how the new book progresses and if you fancy getting into the book yourself there is the opportunity to write a drabble. Get drabbling!

Thinking Cap

A.J. Walker — 2018-04-14T08:11:59+01:00

Well, it's Saturday and I'm a) off and b) of to Sheffield on a real ale trip. Huzzah! It's a wonderful city for real ale pubs. Me thinks a Jaipur in the Thornbridge Tap may be in order. Then of course some Pale Rider in the Kelham Island Tavern.

It's also the last weekend of the first year of Class Song of the Day. The wonderful Centrefold by J. Geils Band yesterday and Rick James' Super Freak today leaves just two days and three songs to go tomorrow and Monday.

Er and now I realise I just have TWO days to decide what to do with next year's Class Song. Or even if to continue with it at all. Um... thinking cap. I need to buy a thinking cap. As I'm of to Yorkshire maybe I'll find a thinking flat cap.

A Year of Class

A.J. Walker — 2018-04-08T22:22:52+01:00

I've done it. Scheduled up to next week so that I will have succeeded in a year of music tweets in #ClassSongOfTheDay As mentioned last week I realised I appear to have repeated one song so on the last day of the 'Class Song Year' I've scheduled two songs. The last one is a real daft one from the 1950s which I loved as a kid. Not sure how well known it really is. But hey, it's a great song so it's in. Still haven't decided what I'll do with the Class Song once the year is up. I've a week or so to think about it.

I've now created all the Class Song pages (bar this April's) with all the artists and songs. Just got a hell of a lot of links to add... hope to get that updated over the next week or so.

It's taking a few hours to do on the website but it'll look good when it's completed and then I'll have some time to do some writing. My writing has stalled a little lately. But I'm keen to get on with some. Watch this space.

December and January Class

A.J. Walker — 2018-04-02T20:42:50+01:00

Updated the Class Song of the Day pages with all the links to the songs from December 2017 and January 2018. Only the previous eight months to get up over the next week or two. Getting there though.

Two things that have come to notice during obtaining these links included finding one of the songs had not gone out on twitter. 'Dodecahedron' by Beth Jeans Houghton should have been tweeted on the 13th December but wasn't. I can't tell if the song went out on Facebook having just deleted my account.

Worse still I've found a song I've put up twice over the year. I'm really not sure what has gone wrong there. Will have to have a double song day to ensure I've 365 different artistes over the year. I thought I was doing so well too. Damn!

#ClassSongOfTheDay

Trying Some New Skillz

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-28T22:42:28+01:00

Out with my camera yesterday and I created my first Time Lapse vid. Haven't yet worked out how to get it to 'Time Lapse' other than on my camera as in Photo it is just 40 individual photos. Not sure yet if there is a quick and easy way to import it as a time lapse vid or whether I need to create it again in iMovie rather than Photo. Will see over the weekend.

Also made a tiny vid of me with a pint of Brass Castle in the Head of Steam, Liverpool. Just turned it into a quick and dirty GIF using GIPHY. Works nicely as a first try. I think I'll end up creating a few more GIFs when I have the time. Have camera ... just need ideas and time. In the meantime ... cheers!

via GIPHY

Facebook and The China Syndrome

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-27T09:17:00+01:00

Finally did it yesterday. Logged on to Facebook last night and deleted the account. Flip! Years of bits and bobs gone in the press of a button or two. Apparently bits of me will be on there for up to two weeks before it all disappears. The image of me fading away electronically on there is quite something. That said I'd deleted so much off there over the last few years there was mainly just photos and music stuff on there anyway. According to the message on Facebook if I log in over the next two weeks I can change my mind and reactivate it. I won't.

I've just deleted the account from my Buffer account (which posts the #ClassSongOfTheDay) so now it's just got Twitter to post to.

The only thing I may miss from Facebook is a few events that I may see through others going to on there, which is unfortunate I suppose but no biggie.

After deleting Facebook last night I watched Only Connect which I seem to watch to demonstrate my ignorance and difficulty at lateral thinking (and to see the wonderfully quirky Mrs Coren-Mitchell of course). It was great to see the BBC show advert afterwards for 'The City & The City' by China Mieville. He's one of my favourite authors and this will be the first thing I've seen on TV by him. Looks like a great cast, including David Morrissey, and it will be very interesting to see how they show the city (and the city); it wouldn't seem the easiest thing to show on the telly. Click on the pic to go through to the BBC page about the production.

David Morrissey in The City & The City - BBC

Can't wait for someone to make some fab feature film or better still a mini-series of any of the New Crobuzon novels. Even thinking about it now I think I need to get re-reading these. If you haven't read any yet get on 'Perdido Street Station' and then catch the China bug.

More Photos

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-25T22:42:59+01:00

Haven't taken many photos lately, I need to get back to doing it regularly. Put a couple of Daily Delivery Photos up on Twitter today and up on Flickr. It was a nice day after all.

My Flickr account has many more photos of course. Click on a photo to visit Flickr.

View towards Llanfairfechan from Sychant Pass.

Blue sky day on Llanfairfechan front

More Class Songs

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-25T19:06:45+01:00

I've finally got around to putting some of the links through to the songs from Class Song of the Day on to the website. Partly this is because of me getting off Facebook. My FB page has largely comprised just the Class Song being automatically copied over there when the tweet goes up each morning at 8am. A few regular visitors to my daily song on FB aren't Twitter users so I thought maybe if they are going to keep following the songs then they are more likely to peer at the website than head over to Twitter.

As I've already posted 340 links with this Twitter quest that means I face a lot of Copy and Paste to get the links checked and sorted so it will take me a while, but I've made a start with getting March to date and February links sorted on one page. To minimise pages but also minimise scrolling I've decided to display the links with two months per page and it seems to fit alright this way. I won't be updating the links page each day. I'll probably end up doing it once a week playing catch up with the Tweets of the previous week or so - I don't want to give away each of the daily songs in advance now, do i?

It'll definitely be easier to click through songs on the list than trying to find individual links through the hashtag for anyone who doesn't follow me on Twitter. So first 50 or so links posted, just another 290 to go through. Flip! A rod for my own back maybe, but once the year is up the effort will have made a nice whole. When I've a moment I'll consider whether to put other information up there in addition to the song links. That said, I only have so much time ya know!

Head over to the Class Song (Feb-March) page to check out the links to the songs from the last couple of months. There should be something there for everyone.

Facebook Analytica

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-20T09:59:54+00:00

The news about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica over the last couple of days is fascinating and concerning but in the end it comes as no surprise, does it? I've been on the edge of leaving Facebook for a few years and have spent time deleting many old posts in the past. These days I only put an update up there two or three times a month - other than 'Class Song Of The Day' which is linked with the zevonesque Twitter account - so it will be no great loss. The thing that stops people leaving, or at least puts any pause on it, is the risk that you're cutting ties to friends who have no other easy way to contact you. Of course if you're really friends then you will have one way or another to keep in contact (at the very least just ask a mutual friend) - unless you are just using it to cyber stalk. It may be hard to believe but we all lived perfectly well in the days before Facebook with nothing more than a little book with telephone numbers scratched into it, scrubbed out, rewritten and slotted with post-it notes.

Anyway, long story short I am going to delete my Facebook account sometime this week; maybe even today. End of.

Facebook: useful when it started but won't be missed at all at this point. Sorry to anyone who can't find me easily ... er but I'm still all over the www like a rash with a website and Twitter so you can find me with a wee bit of a google anyway. And of course Class Song Of The Day can still be found on Twitter - just search #ClassSongOfTheDay - I'll see about putting a decent page or two on the website too. My biggest fear is losing all my Words with Friends data, but if that disappears in to the electronic ether then so be it.

Links to my Twitter accounts are on my Homepage, you patently don't need the link to the website: you're here!

The Cambridge Analytica affair is not the reason I'm leaving it's just another nudge in the right direction.

Time's Eye: FlashFeed & Liverpool Links

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-13T20:54:42+00:00

A couple of weeks ago I wrote for the Flash Dogs FlashFeed 1.21 the prompt picture (below) proved serendipitous when I later went into the Liverpool Bold Street branch of Oxfam and found the SF novel 'Time's Eye' with a suitably similar sphere on the cover. The book was written by Arthur C Clark and Stephen Baxter. If I hadn't just written for FlashFeed I may have looked past this book. As it happened I didn't.

I've read a few Stephen Baxter books previously including three he wrote with Terry Pratchett ('The Long Earth', 'The Long War' and 'The Long Mars'). I read the first one so long ago (2012) it's not even showing up on my Goodreads. I haven't read Clarke for years, but back when I lived in sepia toned times I loved 'Rendevous with Rama', 'A Fall of Moondust' and '2001',.

I'm two thirds through Time's Eye and I'm loving it - Ghengis Khan is about to go to war with Alexander the Great and some soldiers from the British Raj for the city of Babylon. Of course. I'm certainly glad I took the opportunity to buy the other two books of the trilogy which were in the Oxfam at the time; else I'd no doubt be searching for them forlornly in second hand shops for a while.

Didn't realise until today that Stephen Baxter is from Liverpool too. Nice that Liverpool has a few links with Pratchett with Josh Kirby, the artist for many of the early Discworld books, coming from Waterloo. Funnily enough one of the few books I've read so far this year was 'The Girl With A Symphony in her Fingers' by Michael Coney; the cover of which was by Josh Kirby (below). Check out some of the artwork from Kirby on the website (click on the Light Fantastic!).

NFFD 2018

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-13T19:59:59+00:00

National Flash Fiction Day 2018 is on June 16th. The closing date for submissions for <100 word pieces is coming up a lot sooner though:

it's this Saturday 17th March

So if you fancy the (free) flash competition then dig out some old pieces or write some new ones and get them emailed over to them in the next few days. Click on the banner below to check out all the details.

I wrote three fresh pieces for it and have submitted them today. Two using a couple of my own photos for prompts and one prompt-less!

Real Life in Fiction

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-12T09:38:30+00:00

I haven't yet decided whether to run with Project Jaipur or Sarah Hughes yet, but I have done a little more thinking about Jaipur. It is (expected) to be a buddy road (well probably rail) movie with beer - okay an epic pub crawl across many miles and days. It would like to grow up to be a comedy, but who knows?

I've already set out the nine chapter headings, which are largely geographically based, and I've the three main characters (and the princely sum of 2769 words down in Scrivener for it).

So it's basically the story about a pub crawl. I should be on firm ground here, right?

I started of thinking I should use real pubs, to almost produce a travelogue that could really be followed. There are several issues with this. For a start I'd need a week or two off to 'research' this which would be costly (if fun) - and the notes each day would get progressively more patchy and scrawly. Of course the way the pub business is things change so fast that by the time the story was finished a couple of the places would probably be closed, have their names changed or at the very least refitted - and the people change all the time - making any focus on real life descriptions pretty pointless.

While as a real ale fan and even more a fan of actual pubs it was quite attractive to make these places real. But in reality it is the story and the characters which matter most. The settings will be important, but they can be totally fictionalised. Should the finished article ever get read by anyone the important thing will be the story not whether the pubs and bars are real places and they could in fact distract the reader if I did a bad job of it.

So whilst I may use some real pubs in my head to set the stories in I'll change the names in all the cases to protect the innocent (and the guilty). This will mean less worrying about getting descriptions 'right' and more focus on getting the story right. When I wrote 'Fergie Time' I had a few real named places in it, but there were a lot less of them than would be in this story and the settings were less important than the narrative.

In summary, with Project Jaipur I have decided that while I will have lots of real venues in mind I'll change all the names. It'll be important to evoke the sense of these venues be they genuine or totally fictitious. Of course there will be plenty of real named places in Jaipur - just not the pubs - let's drink to that.

Over the next week or so I'll be deciding whether to run with Jaipur or Sarah. Looking forward to making the decision and then going with it.

Scriv and NFFD

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-11T15:43:44+00:00

Not had much chance to get writing in Scrivener yet. Have actually imported the legendary "Fergie Time" into it in case I decide to get back into it at a later date. It was nice and easy to do. So now I have three projects in Scrivener with the decision not yet made on which one to go with. Hoping to make a decision on that over the next week or two; Project Jaipur or Project Sarah Hughes. I think I know which one it will be, but I'll see how a bit more writing on each goes first.

Fergie Time

Have written a first draft of a couple of flash stories for the National Flash Fiction Day competition (theme: Food). Still got a few weeks to iron them out or re-write! Will have to write a few 100 word flashes for it too at some point (closing date is a bit closer - 17th March).

Get Some Writing Done

A.J. Walker — 2018-03-09T11:56:15+00:00

Not done any writing this week yet, not even a blog update. Ridiculous. Even worse it's not because I've been reading too much - I've only read six books this year. This time last year I'd read thirteen. Motivation has been an issue and a general malaise. I've watched some good TV since the new year (Shetland, Collateral, Endeavour (and some fab Match of the Days thanks to Liverpool)), but that's not the same is it? Worst of all though I've watched some pretty average TV too (Modus anyone?). I'm gonna to get back in to reading instead of TV and get that damn writing habit. First up .. FlashFeed to get on up the FlashDogs ranking (I'm currently a St Bernard don't you know). Woof!

Second up will probably be a story or two for National Flash Fiction Day.

Then I need to get with it and get something going properly on the larger scale; something Scrivener based.

With respect to non-writing skills I got a couple of things I've set myself to learn. With my camera I need to learn to how to use the Time-Lapse function, I always love seeing them things, and I want to make some GIFS just for fun. But first... FlashFeed.

My Goodreads list of Want to Read is getting a little long. Think I may go for the first of the Arthur C Clarke & Stephen Baxter (Time Odyssey Trilogy) books 'Time's Eye' which I bought from Oxfam last week.

#GetWriting
#GetReading

Scrivener: Bit the Bullet

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-26T19:38:37+00:00

Getting the FlashFeed done was my first and probably only bit of writing to be done today; other than this couple of blogs. But there is writing news in that I've bitten the little financial bullet and purchased Scrivener 3 from Literature & Latte. I am 99.9% sure it'll be an investment well worth every little pound. The only way it won't be is if I stop writing, which I have no intention of doing.

I'm moving the PDF of the manual from my mac on to my Paperwhite so I can scan through that a bit and get an idea of all that it can do, which is patently a lot. It'll be especially great for both novel and any non-fiction work I want to do; for Flash Fiction pieces I can stick with Pages or a notebook. I'll have to do occasional updates on the blog on how I am using Scrivener and finding the software. Forty odd quid for something that I should get years out of is only a few pence a week, I shouldn't have procrastinated about getting it.

If you fancy looking at it you can always get a Trial Version of it over on their site (click on the link below):

Literature & Latte

So I've bought Scrivener, written my FlashFeed and written two blogs. Anyone think I may have been off today?

I did brave the Beast from the East which seemed more like the pussy from Wussy when I went out for a drug and alcohol test. I must say I'm always disappointed when they don't bring out a range of beers and spirits for me to identify. All they do is ask me to pee in a bottle and blow into what looked like a vibrator. How boring?

Everything in Moderation

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-26T17:15:41+00:00

FlashFeed Fed

Wrote a story for FlashFeed1.20 and have submitted it. Not showing up there yet so assume it's under 'moderation'.

Moderation is crucial of course. As most my submissions these days are on other sites I don't have to moderate on my website so much. In fact last week I had a comment to moderate, which was shockingly rare. Back in the day when I wrote for the Visdare prompt the submissions were written on your own site and that meant the comments back would be too. The good thing about that used to be making the website dynamic, but of course sometimes if you're away from your computer - god forbid - then it can take a while to get the comments up. Of course that is better than not moderating and risking all sorts appearing on the website.

Anyway, gotta disappear for a bit. I think there may be another blog later or tomorrow.

#amwriting

FlashFeeding but Not Pasting

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-25T11:33:30+00:00

Liking the FlashFeed for this week (no.1.20)

1. 2. 3. Jump!

I've alway fancied skydiving. A bit weird as I am often not good at heights (not sure why sometimes I'm okay and other times I'm not - a part time phobia). Looking at this photo my first thought is... what if my boot fell off? And oh! great selfie opportunity. Oh, bugger I've dropped me phone.

Good to see that there are already six stories up there from some of the usual suspects. Click on the photo above and check them out over on the Flash Dogs website and then write your own story. Now sure where am I going to take this one? 1.. 2... 3....

First though I've got to cure my Mac. The Cut and Paste has stopped working (a dodgy 'clipboard' I suspect). It's amazing how much cut and paste you do when you blog and twitter. Not being able to is equivalent to a broken arm. Probably.

#amwriting
but not cut & pasting.

VSS Amusement

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-22T15:55:39+00:00

Whilst last week there was a worry about whether Flash Feed may not last the marathon distance one thing that has gone from strength to strength recently has been the daily #VSS365 (VSS = Very Short Story) tweet. There seems to be so many people getting involved in that lately.

I came up with a bemusement park the other day (from the prompt: Lemon) and that may well get its own short (rather than VERY short) story before too long just because the idea tickled me - and they say you can't tickle yourself!? I suppose that is the purpose of VSS to some extent. It's not like we are writing wonderful sections of prose necessary within the 280 character limit. But anything it can do to help coming up with story ideas should be a good thing. Right? Write.

If you've not tried it yet then check out the #VSS365 on Twitter.

Mr Bemusement

Kicking the American Car Crash Habit

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-22T11:57:44+00:00

Time is always ticking. In many ways that's the elephant in every room. While we choose to have a lie in, climb up a mountain, ski down a mountain, read a book or watch television whatever we are doing there is that constant countdown to our own personal armageddon - or at least a final checking out. Tick tock.

And yet so many people choose to waste so much time. They are often unable to help themselves. And me, how do I chose to waste it? In the last few months it has been spent with a little too much TV, the stupidest being watching CNN. I mean there is nothing wrong with CNN per se, but after all it is the news network of another country. Looking forward to watching 'The State of America with Kate Bolduan' (or not currently as she's off with babs) and Wolf is daft surely.

I find it a good watch though. They get some interesting people on with daft views to the left and the right of the issues and the arguments are fun. When I say 'issues' obviously that largely means Trump and/or his mates those pesky Russians and his dysfunctional family and oddball corrupt cohorts. The daily grind of twitter stupidity from the dotard and the onward progression of the Mueller investigation both form fabulous grist to the news mill. And I watch it like it matters. I don't even buy newspapers anymore so why do I find myself watching this nonsense from the US?

Suppose watching the car crash of this awful President takes my mind of British politics and the self-harming Brexit phase we are going through. I should be more interested in this local stuff, shouldn't I? Not sure I should.

Years ago I used to buy a broadsheet (any from Times, Gurniad or Independent) every day and I used to watch Question Time - out of interest. But now, I see the odd 'I' small and the Metro - only if one is left next to me on the bus and that's it. As for QT I've given up; why wind myself up watching these liars and shifty characters play games with agendas and feelings. The whole issue with Trump and Brexit and Fake News is all tied up together with the MSN and Twitter and people playing high stakes games to no good end. The politicians announce what they are going to say in a speech in advance - I mean what the hell is that about? It's about controlling the agenda and using the news for soundbites in the knowledge that the news these days doesn't predominantly require journalism; when you see the nine o'clock news reporting people's twitter comments as news they seem to have abdicated their responsibility in that area.

So I don't watch the news. I don't watch Question Time but I watch The State of America. I can only think that it is the equivalent of being unable not to look at a car crash while you're driving past, seeing the carnage and thinking 'there but for the grace of god' and all. Watching the US channel must be like watching that car crash but in the knowledge that it could not affect me; whereas if I watch out British equivalent I'd get the added soul destroying impediment, that kick in the gut feeling, that every one of these decisions and agendas, that all these guys and gals are doing bad stuff to me and everyone around me. Every day.

But now I've got to stop it. Or at least wean myself off it. My daily fix of some Wolf and Bolduan stand-ins is costing me an hour a day at least. That's an hour a day I could be cooking & eating, reading, writing or playing the guitar. An hour a day is valuable and it shouldn't be spent watching the car crash of America under Trump. So tonight I will strum my guitar through a few songs or read a chapter or two of The Underground Railroad or write an hour's worth of the next great British novel.

And the TV will be off.

Tentacles & Alt. Flash Futures

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-18T15:34:02+00:00

The Flash Feed was a little late going up this week after a comment that the numbers who'd entered last week's challenge was low and that participation was in general declining. I feared that perhaps the last one would end up being the actual last - and I'd end up being a St Bernard for ever. But the photo prompt came up and it was another lovely shot; they have been choosing some lovely photos.

I'm hoping the challenge keeps going. It does take a while for them to get into their comfortable niche. It took Microcosms quite a while but recently it has been going from strength to strength. I think of the Flash Feed prompt as being closer to Angry Hourglass than anything else - partly because there are several days to write it, the length of the pieces and the strength of the photos. The main difference is that the challenge is not judged and maybe some of the flashers prefer to be able to 'win' a challenge, I don't know. Adding a judging element adds another level of difficulty in keeping it live - ie more people and more time input. Personally I don't mind not being marked as a winner or an also ran. And in any case the community still can make comments so you still get feedback.

Long Live Flash Feed!

Mixed Up Class

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-15T11:34:56+00:00

Been another good few songs in the last few days from Class Song of the Day including some excellent indie stuff from the 90s with They Might Be Giants, Echobelly, Elastica, Lush and Orange Juice. Been nice to listen - some of these which I haven't heard for years.

Sleeper / Elastica

Lush / Orange Juice

The next ten days are up and ready to go on Buffer which will take it up to day/song #315 and includes a right mix of classic rock and roll, rockabilly, folk, country and blues rock.

Keep listening!

#ClassSongOfTheDay

Crash and Bruise

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-11T12:34:53+00:00

Well I said I'd do it. Hope you're not eating as you clicked on to this. As I indicated on Twitter on Wednesday (though no one sent sympathy - I'd have rejected it anyway as I much prefer stoic perseverance on my own) I had a nightmare last Sunday when I tripped up at the top of my stairs and somehow didn't catch myself. I crashed all the way down an entire flight of stairs taking all the pictures of the walls and smashing my face in. It was quite painful. Don't scroll any further if you're afraid of real-life gore.

Amazingly I didn't damage my arms or legs. Given that my right shoulder is already posteriorly dislocated it was a godsend not to have been further damaged; at some point I do require a new shoulder but the longer I can put that off the better those that make 'em and 'fit' 'em will be at it.

So a bashed in nose, bruising and a few grazes of the face and a bit of a bruised side was lucky I suppose. That said ... never again. Please.

It has shown to me though how amazing the body is. In the space of just 7 days I have almost gone back to my usual face (ok, not nice but not so damaged). I also now know why in crime dramas the police always say a beaten up prisoner 'just fell down the stairs' - one little trip and you really do look like you've gone a few rounds in a boxing ring.

I think I need to reconsider keeping my ironing board at the top of the stairs. It really is a bit of a silly place to create less room and a trailing cable: Health & Safety gone. Mad.

Whilst recovering through Monday to Wednesday (luckily I was due to be off on Monday and Tuesday anyway) I did at least get to watch the entire 3rd series of Gomorrah. Wonderful telly; but I recommend you should watch it without throwing your selves down the stairs.

Lastly, I can now see how fast my stubble grows. I really should trim it ever day or two.

Right. Now I'm off for a shave (and I'll be careful on the stairs).

Flash Feed 1.17

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-07T15:32:19+00:00

Yesterday I got around to writing for the great FlashFeed photo prompt for 1.17 below. But when I posted it nothing happened. A quick (if late) check of the rules and I found the date closed at midnight Monday. Doh! Anyway, for what it's worth here it is.

Click on the link to the FlashDogs site so that you too can find it and write for (preferably within the prescribed limits).

Health and Safety at Work

The fires of hell raged in front of Cameron and Ulysses slashing the sky with a scarlet neither of the firemen had seen before. Ulysses had fought fires in chemical works and waste storage facilities, he’d seen explosions from unknown gases and liquids pulsing and changing colour like a psychedelic show but he’d never seen anything like this.

Cameron shouted through the mic surprised that they could hear each other with the tumult outside. ‘What is it burning Uly?’ He checked the latest readout, which indicated the fire was burning at beyond 1600C. It had been burning now for 3 hours.

‘No idea Cameron just keep aiming the foam toward the base. We’ll have to swop with Indigo in five.’

Cameron and Ulysses stood their ground in the face of the onslaught, both having the same thoughts; it must be some sort of chemical fire, they knew no raw materials that burned with this rage or this colour and why was it not burning itself out? Something was feeding the fire.

The indicator lights flashed green on the hose. The foam was running out. Team Indigo would be tag-teaming in within the next 90 seconds.

A wall of heat broke on the men like a tsunami forcing them back it was getting out of control. Nothing the firefighters had tried had worked. They were barely keeping it within the confines of this sector of the site and no-one knew what lay beyond that hangar and storage depot; Sergeant Floyd had told them about the fuel lines and the oil storage area beyond the next hangar and there were limited cleaning and disinfecting fluids and powders all with the propensity to burn or explode, but nothing on this scale.

Then again they all knew there were unfathomable risks when assigned to Area 51.

In an emerald flash of lightning the fire disappeared and the men of Team Hawaii and Indigo, with nothing now to brace against, fell over like children playing tug-of-war.

Turkmenistan Photos

A.J. Walker — 2018-02-06T13:04:01+00:00

Can't believe it is three weeks since I held an online Twitter vote on what Memoirs piece to write next; which is another way of saying er I haven't done it yet. Let's just say one thing and another has got in its way (and I also may have forgotten about it). Anyway the winner was 'Turkmenistan' and I have now started it. Hope to get it finished and up today. In the meantime here are a few shots I took in the country.

A Government building and the Russian Market in Ashgabat and a bread seller near Guardak, north east Turkmenistan.

A seed seller and me playing Russian billiards.

One of the remains at Merv (Mary) on the Silk Road and me near the Afghan border.

Salt at the Gulf of Karabogaz and a ubiquitous statue of 'Turkmenbashy'.

An evening of vodka, beer and bbq in Krasnovodsk (Turkmenbashi) by the Caspian and a massive though apparently 'cursed' mosque in Ashgabat.

Camels running near Merv and motorbikes with modified side-cars.

The pontoon bridge over the Amu Darya (aka the Oxus), near Turkmenabat in north east Turkmenistan and a Government building in Ashgabat.

The 'Arch of Neutrality' or Tower of Power in Ashgabat (complete with rotating gold statue of the first hero of the Turkmen state).

Project: Jaipur and Thanks Vicente

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-29T16:38:04+00:00

Well I downloaded Scrivener 3 the other day and have had a couple of days using so far. Not got to grips with all it can do yet but I am liking it so far. I didn't use it on Friday for Microcosms, I just stuck with Pages. Nice to get a quick story out and today it got a Honourable Mention from the first time judge Vincente Ruiz. Thank you Vicente!

Yesterday in forty minutes of writing I completed the first 700 words on Project: Jaipur. That works out at about 1000 words an hour; I can happily live with that for now. Not sure how long I wrote for today but it was another 1400 words or so - (so maybe an hour and a half) and I also wrote a quick story for Flash Feed, where I am currently ranked as a St Bernard. Woof! The prompt is the grinning bearded man above. If it strikes you as interesting then there's still time to get on over there and get a story out.

That's me on the right.

Scrivener Trial

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-24T23:36:52+00:00

Downloaded Scrivener 3 for a Trial tonight. It was always going to happen, wasn't it?

It's nice that the 'thirty day trial' is for thirty days that you actually use it and not just from when you download it (the seven days of the iA Writer flew by and I probably only used it on three or four days). Should get me plenty of opportunity to see what it can do. It's obviously a lot more complex that iA (understatement). The pdf guide on the website is almost 850 pages for crying out loud!

Will let you know how it goes ...

iA Writer Trial Over

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-22T16:25:57+00:00

The iA Writer software trial is over. It's only a week long and the time absolutely flew. I must say it is a really nice environment to write in. I used it for a couple of the FlashFeed and a Microcosms piece. Thoroughly recommended for writing shorter pieces. But as expected I am hoping to write some longer pieces this year and beyond so I think I'll be investing in Scrivener 3 at some point soon so can't justify spending £20 on this on top of the £44 for Scrivener.

The last thing I wrote using it was the first 1113 words of Project: Sarah Hughes. It's nice to get one of the two projects begun even if none of those words end up being used in the final story. As all writers say about writing the primary advice is JUST WRITE and who am I to argue?

Get Writing. Keep Writing.

Links:

Whittling

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-21T09:53:37+00:00

The other day I sat down with my notebook from last year and looked at the plan for 2017. Boy, it was full of good ideas and intentions, but I failed to deliver. My bad.

I'd have been better off just choosing one to go with and attack that, surely? Maybe, maybe not. When I raised this on my beloved Twitter the other day Steph said write for all the projects and see which ones work the best and I think that is probably a fine idea - as long as I don't use it as an excuse to procrastinate.

So for this year I've whittled the projects down to five (yes, that does not sound like serious whittling) - and I haven't even included the Semi-Mythical "Fergie Time" from NaNo.

Project 1 - HbSt1 - Fantasy
Project 2 - TT1 - YA Fantasy
Project 3 - PS - Short story anthology
Project 4 - LRA - None Fiction
Project 5 - 2HAB - Fiction (comedy)

As I sat looking at the notebook I found myself asking some questions about the projects, including; which stories (or premise of) were the most interesting and which ones would be fun to write and get invested in? I think if it is going to be fun and/or most interesting to write I am more likely to get stuck in and run with it.

So from having five projects which were pretty equal in possibilities I got to a point where I could put them into a priority order.

The short story anthology could be relatively easy to complete, but I'm more interested right now in writing a novel or novella length piece so having that as an aim will just take me away from focusing on that aim. There is a similar argument with the none-fiction work - which also may be of limited interest. That leaves the three novel ideas. For the first one (HbSt1) I have a good idea for world setting and I think it has great possibilities, but I don't have the story to tell yet in that world. Clearly, unless an idea pops into existence within my grasp, that project should be put on the back burner. As for Projects 2 and 5 I have the story ideas together already.

That means then I have indeed whittled - I really have - and come down to two novel ideas to work on: 2HAB and TT1. It'll be much better to work on two than five. And then if one takes off then all the better.

Before I get stuck into these two beauties I need to do one thing though... I can't call them "Project 2" and "Project 5" and certainly not "2HAB" and "TT1". I need to give them cooler project titles. So what do you give them? Well, me being me, naming the projects after beers or breweries seems like a mighty fine idea (and can be extended infinitely). Here we go then:

2HAB is now Project: Jaipur
TT1 is Project: Sarah Hughes

and for completion's sake, and a bit of fun, in case I dip back into the others:

HbSt1 is Project: Neptune
PS is Project: Tiny Rebel
LRA is Project: Plum Porter

Steps Stopped

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-20T20:06:48+00:00

Today was my last day wearing my Fitbit, so you won't be seeing anymore pointless Tweets saying how many steps @zevonesque did yesterday (it was 14,644 steps today).

I found the data from the Fitbit itself (an Alta) quite interesting. Basically it showed that nine times out of ten on a working day I well exceeded the standard 10k steps 'recommended' - and 'achieved' a maximum somewhere over 20k. On days off it was hit and miss whether I hit the 10k or not.

Basically it measured what I was doing anyway, but I wasn't using it as a motivational tool - it wasn't changing what I was doing. To that end I am going to go totally old school and return to wearing an analogue watch. I'll still be able to tell the time but I won't have a record of how many steps I've made and I won't have to charge the damn thing.

So what have I learnt: I know the above. On average I walk between 150 and 190 miles a month or 11-12k steps/day. Apparently I have walked further than the equivalent of the length of Italy. As I haven't used the Fitbit to change what I do then I'll still be doing that anyway. Whoopee Do! (sarcastic)

I've already deauthorised the device from my Fitbit account and the Alta is moving on to a new home tomorrow. Hopefully it will prove useful, or at least interesting, to the new owner.

Fairwell Alta. It's been mildly interesting.

More Class

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-19T13:32:24+00:00

Class Songs Of The Days

Put the next ten days of songs on to Buffer ready to go on my Twitter feed each day at 8am @zevonesque #ClassSongOfTheDay

Amazingly that will take me up to 289 songs, which means that there is just over another two months before I'll have completed a year of tunes without missing a day and without repeating an artist (although I've cheekily done a few band and then solo acts from them, but hey they're different acts). After the year I can drown you all in Warren Zevon, Wilco, Ryan Adams and Bob Dylan. And Boney-M ...

Keep listening.

#ClassSongOfTheDay

Writing Software Options

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-14T11:46:55+00:00

I have used StoryMill a little in the past which I quite liked, however it is an old version (Version 3) and now keeps crashing to a point of uselessness on my Mac. An 'update' to Version 4 would cost £39 - almost as much getting the new Scrivener3 which I'm now quite minded to do. But rather than splash £44 out on that without seeing if I can find a cheaper option I've downloaded a Trial Version of iA Writer, which I have never used before. Not sure how long the Trial lasts, but will use it for a while to see whether to spend £20 on it or whether I should go the whole hog with Scrivener.

My initial view is that Scrivener may be better for my attempts at novel writing. But the 'distraction free' page of iA may prove enticing in a different way. From reading about it online it does actually have quite a few options with respect to Markdown (which I haven't used before but appears very simple) and Viewing the document etc. It seems it will be a case of practicing and getting used to how to access and use these options to the point where I get what works best for me.

Ultimately though it's probably a case of whether the multitude bells, whistles and orchestra of Scrivener outweigh the simplicity of iA.

Anyone else had experience of using Scrivener3 or iA Writer, or any other Mac based writing software?

(and yes, I typed this up in the iA)

Writing and Twitter Democracy

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-12T20:34:55+00:00

This week I've written three (yes three) FlashFeeds and one Microcosms; not bad over a five or six day period. They were all between 300 and about 370 words. The one day I didn't write I was out putting some thoughts on paper together on what my main target(s) could be for this year's writing. Anyone who follows my Twitter feed knows I am struggling with a multitude of ideas and not sure which to target yet. I think that Steph Ellis who suggested getting on with all of them and seeing which runs best seems a fine idea - if a tad MA-HOOSSIVE.

The other writing I've tasked myself with is doing some memoir pieces and to that end I put out my first ever Twitter vote with the choices between; Russia, Turkmenistan, China, and Nigeria. The results are in ...

It's the fabulously bizarre Turkmenistan. Where the hell am I going to start and end with that one (other than Turkmenistan)!?

Thanks to all the bods who voted. Just glad to receive more than a couple of votes! Who says democracy is dead?

Reading & Writing

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-08T23:00:04+00:00

Reading

Forty plus books is the aim again this year. And I've got piles on the floor now as well as the ones on the shelves; so no need for any more visits to second-hand (or new) bookshops is there? Yeah, right.

Yesterday I was in Penmaenmawr and there is that great bookshop there. So when I got home I had a HB copy of Ray Bradbury's 'Death is a Lonely Business', Iain M. Banks 'Inversions' and Sherri S Tepper's 'Gibbon's Decline & Fall'. So I think I must have gone in.

I seem to have bought three or four Iain M.Banks recently from that bookshop. I need to get on to them!

Not going to identify all my reading in advance - as my bookshop visits keep changing what I have - I'll just go with the flow, but reading this year will have to include some of these book piles then i.e. some Iain M Banks and "Name of the Rose", "The Underground Railroad" and the last two of the Gormenghast trilogy. And as far as a basic plan goes that will be it (and I probably won't achieve this either).

Writing

Set myself a goal of writing everyday. I just need to not let it drift with life and that damn sleeping thing getting in the way. A provisional goal of circa 500 words/day seems reasonable, but two days in and I've done about 350 each day. These have just been flash stories for FlashFeed (1.12 and 1.13). To be fair if the word limit had been 500 then I probably would have fulfilled the goal and I think it is not the number that matters but simply getting into the habit of daily writing.

FlashFeed1.13

Now I've done the FlashFeeds then tomorrow will be writing for something else. What though? TBC.

Writing Plans. Sometime.

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-05T22:28:43+00:00

All this thinking about reading and writing.... well? Well, when am I going to get time to think about it? Not got a Scooby.

So no update yet on a plan. I am however thinking that I should just make sure I set a daily target, something like 500 words a day. I think that would make a good target whatever the words may be spent on. Just making the concerted effort of regularly getting anything down on paper will be a good habit to get into however well aimed the words may be; 5 days in to 2018 and I ain't written much at all yet.

I'm of on a beer trip tomorrow so this 500 word goal I'll start from Sunday.

Will let you know how I get on (with the words on Sunday and the beer trip!)

2017 Reading

A.J. Walker — 2018-01-02T15:42:18+00:00

2017 was a cracking year for reading and thanks to Goodreads I've got all the covers bar one er, covered below (the missing cover was one for a non-fiction book about Charles Dickens). In addition to these 48 books I also beta-read a novel which I expect to see come out this year from one of the FlashDogs.

In terms of the reading as per usual it has an SF & Fantasy bias:

Over half the reading - 25 books - was of SF or Fantasy.

Five of these were Terry Pratchett.

Three history/geography books.
Two books about writing.
One book about beer/pubs (Liverpool).
One book on music (Wilco).
One on football (Liverpool of course).
One on the planets.
Classics, included books/plays by: Shakespeare, Doris Lessing, William Golding, Mervyn Peake, Graham Greene, John Steinbeck and JRR Tolkien.
Oh, and I'm only featured in one of them (The Infernal Clock: Calendark)

I'd set myself a goal on GoodReads of reading 40 books which I exceeded. I've set myself the same goal for 2018 as rather than upping it I'd like to think some of the books I won't be reading will be because I'm writing some more. Haven't made specific plans on reading goals but I suspect that it will end up being broadly the same (though I'm running out of Pratchett's to go after!).

Reading and writing are both great hobbies. So the next time you are complaining that there's nothing on the telly - or you find yourself in a Twitter Refresh stall - then pick up a book (or write one). Then again go pick up a paintbrush or guitar. Or crochet needles. Whatever, get creative folks.

And so that is my first little blog for 2018 finished - I dare say the next one may involve more writing goals than reading ones. Here's to a fab 2018.

Planning to Plan

A.J. Walker — 2017-12-27T22:31:31+00:00

God, where does the time go when it's not around here? (apologies to the BNL there) It only seems like a couple of days since my last Blog update but it's 8 days. FFS. Long days delivering and a couple of days for Xmas and that's it. Click and it's gone.

And so now we are in this weird limbo week between Christmas and New Year where many people have lots of days off and it feels like some sort of hiatus whilst we wait for the new year ahead to begin. Of course it's also the time where we look briefly over our shoulders and then look forward with plans and things for the year ahead and beyond.

Today I see another of our FlashDogs - Stella - has got her planning on the go and it looks damn good so far. Check it out ...

So I've gotta start thinking about the plans for 2018 over the next couple of weeks; when I've got a minute.

Whatever my plans are it will prove more successful than this - soon to be last - year's plan; whilst the plans were sound the implementation was pants.

I dare say my plan will be posted up here sometime in early January.

Looking forward to putting a decent plan together - it's nice to spend that time thinking about something larger in a holistic way.

Best of luck to those of you out there with plans in mind too!

Keeping Regular

A.J. Walker — 2017-12-19T10:05:57+00:00

It's been over a week since a blog update. Not good enough! I need to get more regular with programming it in.

Anyway it's getting that time of year when you look back at the year that's gone and look forward to the one ahead. I'm not quite there yet, and I'll look into it in more detail in the weeks ahead, but there are a few things that are obvious with respect to my reading and writing;

Reading:

1. I've read more books than 'planned' (I use that word loosely) and there have been some fab reads of old and new books.
2. Most my reading has been actual paper books. Out of 47 books this year I think only two or three have been on the Kindle.
3. Successfully got through plenty of books that have been sat on my shelves for years. Result!
4. That said, I keep getting second hand books in and failing to give any away (I just can't do it).

Writing:

1. My plan at the start of the year was detailed and a bit of a stretch.
2. Er, nowhere near completing any of my plans at all. Complete FAIL!
3. Still, I am happy to get published in three books issued this year (the two Infernal Clock anthologies and the Tax Tales book).
4. I seem to be on a three publications a year mission over the last few years. So for next year I will have to aim for that as an absolute minimum.
5. Have enjoyed seeing the FlashDogs come in with the weekly FlashFeed prompt. Kudos guys!

Other stuff:

I must get a proper job and a better balance to things - which will also help me do more writing!

It's Snow Feeding Frenzy

A.J. Walker — 2017-12-10T11:30:06+00:00

Well the apocalyptic snow hasn't arrived in this part of Merseyside so the match will be on. It also means that I did not go into town early to take photos of a snow blanketed city. This gave me time to write my FlashFeed1.9 and keep up my 100% record. Huzzah! Still time for you to get in there with your story - click on the pic for the link.

Flash Feed 1.9 'Send Someone a Love Letter'

Anyway, now time to get down to town to watch the Liverpool derby (and maybe that other one from down the road).

With the lack of snow today here is a pic of me and my sis in the snow (which goes well with my #VSS365 today) from very back in the day in snowy Southport. My sis looks nothing at all like my niece (well, EXACTLY really). It's an old fashioned snowman kids- having a fag!

Winter(ish)

A.J. Walker — 2017-12-09T21:03:07+00:00

Not managed any writing this week yet. Been reading Calendark though - it's excellent! Should finish it tomorrow and aim to get a review on to Amazon and/or Goodreads during the week ahead. In the meantime I've been reading Sal's chosen sentences from each story on Twitter. These extra 140 characters are giving her more options aren't they!

The week at work has been a mixture of fences and ditches. Well, cold weather and breakdowns. Was fearful of the snow and ice in Snowdonia today when I was handed that route, but it didn't turn out to be the hospital pass I thought it would be. Ye haw! Just a wee bit of snow and no slip-sliding away into ditches or trees - always a bonus!

Last night the forecast for tomorrow was heavy, heavy snow across Liverpool and the north west, and whilst I am off for the day I had two concerns 1) it better not bloody mean the Liverpool v Everton derby gets called off and 2) better charge my camera so I can get some nice pics of Liverpool in the snow.

That said, Snowmageddon has now been un-forecast and Liverpool is forecast to be a bit nippy but not under feet of snow. At least that means the game will defo be on, but the chance of getting some nice snowy photos looks to be postponed.

Really looking forward to the match, will get a few choice beers in Liverpool too - and finish off Calendark. At some point I need to do this week's FlashFeed; haven't even checked out the photo prompt yet.

The Dark Calendar

A.J. Walker — 2017-12-01T21:08:49+00:00

Yes, the day is here, it's come around very quickly. 'Calendark: The Infernal Almanac' is Out Now!

Get yourself on over to Amazon and get the lovely Paperback or download it on to your clever Kindle device thingy and start reading it now.

I've only read two stories (and one of them was mine) so I'm looking forward to getting stuck into it myself.

There's all these lovely authors in it, including two of us from The Poised Pen writing group:

David Shakes
Stephanie Ellis
Craig Anderson
Sian Brighal
F. E. Clark
Catherine Connolly
Christina Dalcher
Mark A. King
Marie McKay
Chris Milam
Sal Page
Ewan Smith
Chris Stanley
Clive Tern
AJ Walker

I'm gonna read the stories in the order they come, it is based around the calendar after all; Tick-tock that Infernal Clock.

Once again many thanks go to the Editor-in-Chief - Stephanie Ellis, the Concept Man - David Shakes and the artist - Tim Youster. Well done guys.

Infernal Clock: Calendark

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-29T12:14:18+00:00

In readiness for posting the link through to the Amazon page - possibly as early as this weekend! - I've updated the 'Publications' page to include the cover for the upcoming Calendark: The Infernal Almanac. Yee Haa!

Now I'll have to finish the book I'm reading so that I'm all set to get stuck into this after the weekend. Oh the horror of it all!

Check out the Infernal Clock blog site for news for this and other releases.

Flash Reading

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-27T23:12:44+00:00

Not done much reading in last week or two; part of the problem of having longer working days. Just started a Sheri Tepper book. My first of hers.

Only just managed to get this week's FlashFeed (1.7) in too! Still 100% though, so more self awarded Brownie Points, thanks. I think that means I've done more writing than reading this week. Now that IS a first.

PhotoPrompt for FlashFeed1.7

Writing highlight of the week was finding my 'old' foldaway Bluetooth keyboard and pairing it with my phone. I've got Writer+ on the phone and also Wordpress, that means I should be able to type out little bits and bobs out anywhere whilst on the move. Happy days!

Keep Reading and Keep Writing folks!

The Partial Demise of Zevonesque

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-23T09:44:53+00:00

Had a decision to make for a while, whether to keep zevonesque.com and awalker.org or get rid of one (clearly I need to keep one, duh!).

I had the Zevonesque site for many years, whilst the awalker site I got when I worked for myself for a couple of years. Whilst I don't need it for work at the moment I may as well keep it for writing as it's got my name in it (shame AJWalker was unavailable). The alternative would be to change my pen name to Zevonesque, which I've decided against.

The first item on the menu was 'Real Ale Walks' which I don't have on this site, but I have my other Twitter account and Wordpress site 'RealeLiverpool' for that side. Other than that it held the same things that are on this site.

Over the last couple of years I've only been updating this site and whilst I could keep both - maybe making zevonesque for ale or non-writing blogs - there is a cost implication which I can't really justify. So it is with a slightly heavy heart I have to say farewell to zevonesque.com

Of course Zevonesque will not die quite yet, Twitter will still be awash with it or to put it another way;

Zevonesque is dead, Long Live Zevonesque!

Microcosms, Flash and an Android

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-22T23:48:00+00:00

Not sure how many times I've done Microcosms but it must be in the tens. All those times I've always gone with the three story elements that are given rather than spin the wheels till I find something more up my street. But this last time I span to get three different elements. Shocking behaviour!

It must have worked for me a little as it was nice to get a Second Place from the Judge Bill Engleson all the way over in sunny California. Thanks Bill!

Think I'll go back to the Original Spin (not sin) in future though. Don't want to make it too easy on myself, do I?

Over the weekend I also managed to write a quick story for FlashFeed1.6 too. So far I've managed all the weeks and hoping to keep that going as long as possible. Nice to keep the Flash muscles going.

But the other none flash challenge stuff still needs to be worked on, especially now that Calendark is done and dusted.

I've got me a new cheap smartphone which I've yet to pair with the bluetooth keyboard. Downloaded a writing app onto it too. My first ever Android phone, and I do feel like I'm cheating on Apple. But needs must.

Will see how the phone, the keyboard and the App goes and will report back. Should mean I can type up flash at the very least whilst I'm on buses or trains.

CalenDarK arT wOrk

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-18T13:55:16+00:00

Great to see the artwork for the cover of the upcoming CalenDarK anthology. Makes the book seem that much closer.

And now we don't have to thank Steph or David aka 'the Harvesters' (sounds like a dodgy folk duo), no now we have to thank the artist for a job well done. So take a bow Tim Youster. Nice work fella!

If you take a close look at the diagram each of the authors names are included on the cover which is a neat idea.

He's over on that there Twitter thing @TimYouster

A Hatful of Brownie Points

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-17T12:16:21+00:00

A day off. On a Friday. So what can I do? Well, clearly I can't not do a Microcosms, can I?

So yip, a quick 300 words later I've gone and done three Microcosms in four weeks. I'm awarding myself a hatful of brownie points. Shame they can't be used as currency anywhere.

For the first time ever I've spun and chosen three different story elements than was originally provided. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me.

Anyway, still plenty of time for you guys to get your story on.

Clocking Calendark

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-14T21:20:10+00:00

Really looking forward to Calendark - the second of the time-based horror trilogy curated by Steph Ellis & David Shakes. The first was the Infernal Clock, which featured 24 stories each centred on an hour of the day. My story was predictably set at closing time - Last Orders folks!

Calendark is to feature sixteen stories each based around a specific day on the year. There are fourteen great writers in it (and I'm going to be in it too). I'm sure it's going to be a cracker and I can't wait to get it in my hands in paperback (and probably on my Kindle).

The authors featuring in Calendark:

David Shakes
Stephanie Ellis
Craig Anderson
Sian Brighal
F. E. Clark
Catherine Connolly
Christina Dalcher
Mark A. King
Marie McKay
Chris Milam
Sal Page
Ewan Smith
Chris Stanley
Clive Tern
AJ Walker

A few familiar names in there, with a strong showing from the FlashDogs which is great to see. Special mention must go to Steph Ellis and David Shakes for their work in bringing the idea to fruition. It is not exactly a thankless task, for there have been many thanks. And so there should be! One more ... thanks!

Keep an eye on the Infernal Clock blogspot to see how it's going. Or then again you can just keep an eye on here. Let's face it I may mention it.

If you haven't seen the Infernal Clock you can find it on Amazon (just click here).

Robots and Dogs

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-10T22:11:09+00:00

Happy to have managed to get a story up on Microcosms tonight. That's my second in three weeks, Geoff! So I can take a few weeks off now. Probably.

Yesterday I did a quick story for FlashFeed1.5 The Wooden Robot. So amazingly I have managed a story each week of the new FlashDogs 300 word (well, 2000 character) challenge. I'm now no longer a cockapoo, I've been upgraded to one of my favourite pooches ... I'm a golden retriever!

Woof woof!!

Bario and the Kelabit Highlands

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-06T20:43:33+00:00

To go with the recently uploaded memoir piece on my trip to Bario in the Kelabit Highlands of Borneo (click here to read) are some photos taken there.

View from the Jungle Blue Dreams

The 'road' to the Salt Spring

A dragonfly (or somesuch)

Rice drying by the Longhouse

Thanks to the JBD

The Longhouse

A Pitcher Plant near the road to the salt spring

Low hills around the town

Water Buffalo taking an interest

November Writing Project

A.J. Walker — 2017-11-03T20:06:04+00:00

There was the little decision earlier in the week not to drop in and try a second NaNoWriMo. It was a pretty easy call to make without any plan in place and more pertinently a lack of surety of my available time this month. The writing projects I had in mind at the start of the year have stalled and are still in sight of the starting blocks. Rather than invent yet another goal (to complete NaNo) I have decided to get back on to one of the original projects and after a little deliberation I have decided that it will be: Project 1 - A Short Story Collection. Let's face it, it shouldn't have taken too much thought to come up with doing the damn things in the order I came up with them!

Project 1 is a series of 12 short stories, initially aimed at being between 1500-3000 words each, that's a total of 18k-36k. Given I've done two already then that means probably about 1000 words a day if I aim to do them in November - or a short story ever two days or so (compared to a consistent 1667 a day to do NaNo).

In terms of achieving 12 stories that work, are independent of each other and stand up the key thing in such a short space of time will be the number and depth ideas. So this month driving time = ideas time.

Of course whilst this is to some extent to replace NaNo as a driving force to complete a 'work' it's not like I won't have achieved anything if I don't finish them all by the end of the month; I'm not going to issue myself with an internet Badge for completion or reward myself with a T-Shirt. If it goes over by a week or even more then so be it. But the main thing is to drive something forward and to at least attempt to complete one of the goals I set myself at the start of the year.

Not crossing that bridge, yet.

The ultimate aim will be to get 12 stories together that I am happy with and that I can self publish some time in the new year. It'll probably just be Kindle, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Then again if I have 12 stories I'm happy with then maybe I'll just have a bank of 12 stories I can submit to publications... Anyway, like I say, get over that bridge when I get to it.

NoNaNoWriMo 2017

A.J. Walker — 2017-10-31T08:05:27+00:00

Briefly yesterday I considered a last minute log on to NaNoWriMo to sign up for a second year of 'writing a novel in a month'. For those who don't know the aim is to write a 50,000 word minimum novel in the month of November (National Novel Writing Month). In previous years November for me has involved growing a moustache for Movember but now I'm mostly bearded anyway I haven't done that for a few years. Last year I did NaNoWriMo for the first time and managed to get to the magic 50k words a day or two before the end of the month.

The story I chose to work on last year was one I'd sketched out previously for a Writing on the Wall competition: 'Dragon's Pen' which I presented in front of such luminaries as A.L. Kennedy at Liverpool's Bluecoat several years earlier. Having the broad idea sketched out made the 50k words achievable as it was like writing ten short stories - having each chapter ostensibly as a set piece. This year, although I have two ideas for novels, I don't have them sketched out anywhere near as much. Perhaps if I did I would go for it again. But I don't.

In any case, at the start of the year I had a Writing Plan and that has been hardly touched. So instead of diverting my attention to NaNoWriMo I will use the month to get on with one or other of the Projects I had in mind at the start of the year. Over the next two days I'll decide which one to get on with and use 'Month NaNoWriMo' to get one of these a lot further down the line.

Anyway this year it's No NaNoWriMo for me. Good luck to anyone doing it this year. It is a great experience and brilliant to know that you can get so many words down on a single project - basically with 'just' 1667 words a day. It doesn't sound that difficult when you say it quickly.

Nice Autumn Day in Llandudno

A.J. Walker — 2017-10-25T20:10:25+01:00

It was a lovely day today in the north west of England and north Wales. I was over in Llandudno on a route today and managed to spend ten minutes on the beach after delivering the last parcel. It was lovely to sit and watch the waves on the pebble beach and great for my #DailyDeliveryPhoto which I do on Twitter.

I love autumn on a clear day with the low watery sun, the cool crisp days, and the colourful trees and fields. But today I was on the coast and got to enjoy watching the waves and listening to the water rush over the pebbles and hear the pebbles running back down over the beach. Was a lovely ten minutes; unfortunately after the clocks change next week it'll probably be dark by the time I finish the route... so maybe I'll have to take ten minutes in the middle of the route to guarantee a nice view and a few mins of relaxation (and nice photos).

#DailyDeliveryPhoto

FlashFeeding

A.J. Walker — 2017-10-23T13:55:47+01:00

A few years ago there were several flash challenge options to write for. I particularly loved Angry Hourglass and Flash Friday Fiction and really enjoyed the Microbookends challenge too. But now all three of these are no more. The only existing one I do quite regularly these days is Microcosms, but unfortunately with it only being live for 24 hours (and that being a Friday too) it is often difficult to fit in writing for it.

So it was great to see the arrival of FlashFeed last week. Many of the FlashDogs got together through seeing each other on the AH and Flash Friday websites and if it wasn't for these challenges we never would have got to the position of having our stories published in the Flash Dogs books. It's great that it is live for several days giving more chance of people getting something done for it. The prompt is a photo prompt and there have been two striking images so far. The two thousand character (circa 300 word) limit is a decent length, similar to AH; long enough to get a nice story told and short enough not to scare you off. Got an hour? Get it done...

Kudos to the guys and gals who are running FlashFeed and let's see where that goes. Who knows, there maybe newbies out there who develop their writing chops on FlashFeed and I'm no doubt the community will grow and be a comforting blanket for all who come along.

Why not head over to www.theflashdogs.com and give it a go?

FlashFeed2 photo prompt

A Year of Reading

A.J. Walker — 2017-10-20T21:08:24+01:00

Been a good year for reading for me (not yet for writing, but there's still time so watch this space). Picked up another couple of books during the week including the Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett, which is one of the nine Discworld's I've yet to read.

This week I surpassed the forty books I'd set as a target for the year on GoodReads.

Somehow forty books in some ways doesn't sound that much to me, but it's a struggle to get the reading time in some weeks with our busy lives and so I've got to be pretty satisfied with getting close to a book a week. And it's mad when you look at the average number of books people read or the number of books the average person reads (which is quite different). Apparently the average number of books is around 10 to 12 or so, but the median number (i.e. the number that most people profess to have read in a year) is only 4; the average number being skewed so much by the heavier readers out there. Damn stats, hey. Data suggests that more intelligent - sorry I should say better educated - people read more books, women read more books than men, and incredibly around a quarter of people don't read any books at all (FFS).

These stats seem quite reasonable when I think about it. I've got mates that read no books at all and a few who read maybe five or so. I've had years in the past when I didn't read as much as I do now and I wish that wasn't true (that said I may have been strumming my guitar more some years and I feel guilty about not doing that as much as I used to now); basically there's only so much time.

Roughly 50% of the books I've read so far this year have been SF/Fantasy (so far so predictable) and 25% non-fiction and there have been a few classics thrown in there (The Tempest, Macbeth, Lord of the Flies, Of Mice and Men, Titus Groan). All in all many very satisfying and fascinating reads. Some have made me think about my writing methods and style but mostly they have just given me fabulous escapism and provided me with worlds away from this hopeless dystopia we appear to be in at the moment.

All these hours of escapism are priceless and I wish more people would read more, but you can lead a horse to water etc. It would entertain, inform and de-stress many a bod I know if they would. If we all had a few hours away from the google-box and the news and those bloody adverts it would be a better place (imagine if Donald Trump sat back and read a history book or six, and maybe looked at an atlas rather than SNL, Fox and his Twitter feed. Ho hum.).

Anyway's for my next bit of escapism I am heading back to the Discworld to find out about the Fifth Elephant.

The Discworld on the back of the Great A'Tuin

No Phone & No Photos

A.J. Walker — 2017-10-15T22:15:41+01:00

My phone crashed yesterday. I had no phone available all day. All bloody day! I ask ya. Got it going again last night, then went out today without the charge cable, so I basically haven't had a sodding phone for almost two days and have consequently been almost incommunicado; so much so a mate who never rings me called me tonight to see if I was still alive. It's like I've gone back to the early 1990s.

Yesterday I also managed to take my camera case out with me, but left the camera at home. Doh! So no photos from my trip to some lovely hostelries in Nottingham.

Highlight today was delivering a parcel to the second hand bookshop in Penmaenmawr. I mean I HAD to go into a bookshop, no excuse. Oh well... twenty minutes later and I came out with five books:

William Golding - 'Lord of the Flies'
Sherri S.Tepper - 'Janina Footseer'
Philip Roth - 'Exit Ghost'
Alistair Reynolds - 'Pushing Ice'
James Blish - 'A Clash of Cymbals'

Not a bad haul, not bad at all.

Tomorrow is looking like it could be a challenging day out there on the roads of north Wales with the coming of Ophelia. Fingers crossed it isn't too bad.

If I get back at a decent time I may put some pen to paper - I have some writing to do folks...

Five Minutes

A.J. Walker — 2017-10-13T22:46:15+01:00

It's been hard working the last few weeks at work. Some of these routes they are giving out are really taking the Michael especially with delayed start times. Ho hum.

Still, it's nice to get out and see the country and when the weather and light is nice it's even better.

Today I took a whole 5 minutes to walk from a delivery which happened to be up by the obelisk above Llandudno Junction at Bryn Pyrdew. The obelisk is on a limestone grassland classed as a SSSI. I don't know me limestone flowers but there were some nice small flowers about even though it's mid October.

It was a tiny wee five minutes break, but it was lovely and I must do it more often.

Buffer & Six Months of Class Song of the Day

A.J. Walker — 2017-10-09T11:01:11+01:00

Last night I scheduled the next ten days of my daily #ClassSongOfTheDay tweet out which will take me past the six month mark. So far I've managed to succeed in the aim to have unique artistes for each day, so there have been over 185 bands and singers I've gone through. Expect I'll manage that over the following year, after that though I will no doubt start repeating some of the bands - probably - but never the same song and artist. Assuming I keep track of it properly.

I've had pop, rock, folk, Americana, Motown, blues and many things in between and long may that continue. The next week brings up a mix of Americana, 80s Pop and modern Indie tunes. It was sad last week retweeting an earlier Tom Petty ClassSong after his early departure from us, hoping I don't have to do that too often too soon.

Buffer, the website I use to schedule the daily Tweets, has been easy to use and I can recommend it for anyone wanting to send out a regular message when they are out and about or want to arrange them all in one go in advance. It's easy to use and has never failed to send the Tweet out on time; so basically it does what it says on the tin. You can only schedule TEN tweets (and/or FB Posts) at a time with a free account, but if you wanted it done professionally for a web campaign I could see it being very worthwhile paying for. Not for my little Class Song though - I'll just have to keep on top of it every eight to ten days or so.

If you are interested in using it then try it out at www.buffer.com

And I would walk 170 Miles...

A.J. Walker — 2017-10-06T23:15:01+01:00

Been wearing my Fitbit Alta for one month now and according to the clever little bugger I've walked some 367,000 steps in that time, equating to 170 miles. There's only been one day I've not worn it.

The days off I walk less than the work days and over the month I exceeded the standard 10k steps aim on 23 days (all the work days). The 10k steps is approximately 5 miles apparently and is 4 x more than an average American walks in a day; lazy bastards.

Meanwhile the sleep monitoring shows it is a little wayward and variable (or all over the place). This I knew anyway, c'est la vie.

Mo Writing on Project X

A.J. Walker — 2017-10-03T22:39:42+01:00

I did finish the Calendark piece on Saturday and got it sent off - some 5550 words of it. Why I always leave it up to the deadline heaven only knows. Not sure about it and the day I've submitted it for already had a piece written for it, so who know? Anyway whatever, so be it.

The main thing is I got a piece finished. Woo-flippin-hoo!

Now then, what next? Well, I've still got all those bloody Projects to do... so maybe one of those. I will take a moment (or day) or two to think about that, but one way or another I'll be doing something on one of them this time next week. I'm sure.

#ProjectX

Words down

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-26T14:25:41+01:00

After sorting the printer out I wrote 1600 words for Calendark this morning in around 90 minutes. Not bad at all. Now I'm not saying they are good words but they're words I didn't have yesterday. So now I have over 5800 words for the story down on paper (well Hard Drive). Well okay, paper now, as I've printed it out (I did fix the printer after all). Now I have reading to do and some very serious editing.

There's a lot to do.

There will be blood, bread and tears.

And a lot of editing.

#AmWriting

#AmPrinting

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-26T10:00:23+01:00

Today's game involved writing, sausage butties and fixing the printer. First up was the sausage. There were no problems there at all. Then came the Printer...

It may save you £20 and a day or two waiting for a fix to read this:

The printer is an Epson WP: 4535 and the error message read 'Maintenance Box is not recognised'. The maintenance box collects the waste ink produced during the cleaning of the printer heads etc and once full the box needs replacing. Looked it up on the net and most the searches came up with how to replace a maintenance box and nothing to do with the message. Saw a couple of references which all were 'solved' by online questioning with the answer 'replace maintenance box'. Cheap boxes (including shipping) are around £20 (and obviously include a wait of a day or two to arrive). Frustrating in view of the writing I want to do today. Got to the point of ordering but thought I'd quickly check out the box a few more times.

I turned off the printer and switched it on a few times. Same result. Switched off and took out the box and put it in again. Same results. Not looking good.

Took out box, wiped finger over the chip on the box and put it in... and hey presto! Problem solved. Err, so dust or dirt on the chip? FFS. Anyway, sorted. I can print again. And edit/write.

Now for the writing. Dang, I've got no excuses for attempting Calendark now.

#amprinting

Calendark: Plan

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-25T22:35:25+01:00

Off tomorrow and first thing I need to do is see if I can fix the printer. Really hope I can as I find it so hard to edit straight on the computer screen.

Then I need to get on with my Calendark story. Hoping to get toward the end with it tomorrow if I can. To be honest it needs to be, doesn't it? Maybe no Twitter tomorrow (in the morning at least), I will need to be strong, so strong! If I can do it then I will be well chuffed and will celebrate like it's September 26th. Or something like that.

Basic Plan: first off, a decent sleep tonight. Then sausage butty and printer fixing. Then writing writing writing with coffee coffee coffee.

If I can do it then I may celebrate with a visit to 3 pubs I haven't been to in Liverpool (yes, they exist) and then there is the Liverpool Champion's League match to consider too. Umm...

Beside writing and the printer issue this week I could consider upgrading my MacBook Pro to the new High Sierra OS. But that is a scary process to undertake and defo needs to wait until Calendark is done and dusted...

#AmWriting (or planning to)

Titus Groan

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-23T11:29:50+01:00

Just getting to the end of Titus Groan and I have one question... why haven't I read it before? It's been sat on my shelf for ages.

The story is great and the fading castle of Gormenghast, with its bizarre cast of characters and traditions, is fascinating but the main thing is how his prose evocatively presents us with his world; layer upon layer. Beautiful paragraphs pepper every page. Mervyn Peake was obviously some writer. I will have to get hold of some other stuff of his once I've completed reading this trilogy. At least I've got the next two books to go first.

Daily Delivery Photo week

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-23T11:08:47+01:00

It's been a long hard week at work but managed to keep #DailyDeliveryPhoto largely updated with some nice shots - when I remember to take my camera with me.

Next week I really want an easier day or five, but whatever plenty more pics. The days are drawing in which lessens the sunlight time but the low sun should give me a few nice pics of the ever changing colour of the trees and the hills of north Wales and beyond. I'll keep on a snapping!

Calenedark Going Dark

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-20T22:29:10+01:00

Been a bit of slowed going since last Friday in terms of writing for Calendark when I was already up at 3500 words - with an ultimate aim to get to between 5 and 6000 words for the full story. I've managed another 550 words tonight but I'm conscious time is a ticking and I am worrying a bit about finishing the story even with a whole TEN days till the deadline day. Mad really. I mean it's not many words, but getting the story to work is a worry (in fact currently more scary than the story is).

I did update my Buffer for the songs for the next ten days (some quite old classics coming up and many shy of 3 minutes long to keep with Sal's attention span (Pink Floyd? Tush)) so I don't need to spend any time doing that (or using it to procrastinate with) over this last week.

Let's face it I should get there - I seriously need to. Just need to schedule a few hours over two or three nights then have one serious editing day. Surely while the Sword of Damocles swings above my head I'll focus enough to get there. Surely?

Erm... that said my printer is currently out of action. Procrastination, moi?

Seasons of Shorts and Check Shirts

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-15T11:55:25+01:00

It's hard to believe it's September already. Where has this effing year gone? It's almost harder to believe that this time last year it was the hottest part of 2016. Thirty odd degrees centigrade?! This month is bucking the trend for September to be a really nice month; I'm thinking it may be time to upgrade from the shorts and T-shirt and get to trousers and hoodie a month early for work, but for now I'm persevering with the shorts. Can we please have a nice day or two, pretty please?

Forgetting months this week has sped faster than Cassini through Saturn's rings and so far I've not written my next 2000 words for the Calendark story. I said I'd do it by the end of the week so I've still a few days to do it, but with birthday drinks and birthday recovery there are no guarantees. We'll see.

Might write; a quick 500 or so this afternoon.

Might write, right?

But first a pint then maybe another five and a half... season change, but my check shirts don't.

Cheers!!

Bloody Success

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-08T13:06:25+01:00

Woo Hoo! I set myself a target to get to 3000 words by Sunday for my attempt to get a piece into Calendark and (drum roll please) in fact I've got to >3500 already - yes, it's Friday (the one before, not after). So big clappy hands all around.

So far it's a few scenes and It'll defo need a lot of editing but I'm happy there's a story here.

The first hard thing before the editing though is to write the real horror bit (the last third of the story). Tension building will be key but how I work out how to do the bloody end is bloody difficult.

Am Writing Some

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-06T22:15:43+01:00

Got delayed coming back from North Wales tonight due to a big crash on the A494 by Queensferry. Unfortunately that made me get back too late to get to the Poised Pen meeting. But when two people die in a car crash such delays, whilst annoying, should be put in perspective. I'm late but not late of this parish, as it were.

Anyway, not making it to the meeting at least gave me some reading and writing time. I'm still getting on with Titus Groan from the Gormenghast trilogy. I'm about a third in and it's a great read so far.

Then there is the writing and like I said on Sunday I want to write at least 1800 words this week to get the total up to around 3000 words by Sunday. I've managed in my free time tonight then to get 800 words into this with (worryingly, just a part of) one of the scenes of my story. I'm worried it may be a bit complex and it is definitely initially going to be over long. But getting the words down for the scenes as I see them now is the main thing and then I can look at culling and sharpening it up in the second half of the month (assuming I finish the first draft by say 17th September).

So far so good.

With the difference in scenes and the spread of time involved the editing process is going to be key (or a total nightmare) but it is a decent challenge. So thank you Shakes for the chance to write something more substantial than a flash. Once I get this out of the way then I'll drop back on to one of my projects for sure. Honest.

Not Two Thousand, But Not Nothing

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-03T23:16:45+01:00

A week ago I said I'd start Calendark and aim to get two thousand words done in the week - and that I'd report back.

Well, here's the report: I've only managed just over 1250 words, but hey it's a start. I've got as far as the pub (yep, there has to be a pub in it) and it's a nice pub. The dark stuff is yet to happen (and that is not a Guinness by the way). In fact all the bit I've done so far is all nice and normal. Too normal. Something must be wrong. Very wrong.

Err, well it will be when I get to that. There another 4-5000 words to get the weird shit in. Will keep you posted. Want to have done at least 3000 words by this time next week (i.e. be half finished). Anyway main thing is I am actually writing.

Cheers!

Am Reading - New Concepts

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-01T10:32:23+01:00

Onto my 36th book of the year which is well beyond where I aimed to be by September. The next five books to get to my planned forty I think will be the three books of Gormenghast, The Name of the Rose and either The Golden Compass or The White Mughals.

But more writing must and will prevail over the coming weeks. The last couple of books I've read on writing have been very useful in focusing some thought especially with regard to rewriting (something of a new concept to me).

Calendark - The Beginning

A.J. Walker — 2017-09-01T09:26:08+01:00

#AMWRITING

I said I'd try and do a couple of thousands words towards a CalendarK piece by Sunday and I can report that I have at least started it. So far just 500 words or so into it, but I could well get to the 2000 word mark by close of play on Sunday me thinks. It's starting off all nice and normal... but I can foresee it heading into Wickerman territory...

or maybe more Stepford Wives...

or perhaps a bit Rosemary's Baby...

Well dang! Let's see where it goes.

It's just the beginning.

Photos from a Liverpool Day Off

A.J. Walker — 2017-08-28T20:41:08+01:00

My one day off this three day weekend and I went into a sunny Liverpool on Sunday to catch a bit of Folk on the Dock around the Albert Dock and popped into the Baltic Fleet to catch some singing there.

Glad I remembered to take my camera with me as it was a lovely day and there was loads of great stuff to see. It helps because this fair city is so photogenic. Here's a few of them. Many more on Flickr of course...

And then I got to watch Liverpool smash a bizarrely poor performing Arsenal 4-0 in the Dispensary with a couple of pints of Rat Brewery 'Lab Rat'.

All in all a cool day on a warm day.

A Different Day Today

A.J. Walker — 2017-08-27T09:31:07+01:00

Last week I picked my Day to attempt to write a story for, for Shakes' CalenDark and then came up with a germ of an idea - I even wrote some words (really, I did). Today I've changed my mind and chosen another day. As soon as I picked it an idea formed more completely in my mind and it should be easier to write it with the story arc pretty well defined. Of course now I have 'just ' to write the fucker. A month to go: No problem. Err... anyway the aim is to get a couple of thousand words done over the next week - as a minimum. Will report back by this time next week.

Of course this weekend it's a Bank Holiday and that means more time for writing with a three day weekend, right? Wrong. Worked Saturday and working Monday. So only off today. May get a few words down, but main thing was getting this idea sketched out - an achievement in itself. Liverpool being Liverpool there is loads on at the moment. Disappointed to miss the Mad Hatter Brewery Yard Party yesterday, but today I think I'll go and check out the folk festival at the Albert Dock and/or the shanty groups down at the Baltic Fleet for a bit this afternoon.

Then of course there will be a few choice ales watching the Liverpool v Arsenal match. Come on you mighty reds!

Plonk

A.J. Walker — 2017-08-20T17:33:54+01:00

Sara walked through the anonymous Salford street laden with stuffed shopping bags, everything ticked off, the meals for the week ahead sorted and some special coffee to make when she gets back; her treat for a morning’s work well done. She looks tired and haggard, worn down by life’s daily grind. The one brightness the white fluffy clouds printed on her thin faded jeans. She says they make her feel good, like she’s walking in clouds if not up on them. Stephen hates them. But he doesn't matter. She phones him when she’s drunk and wants sex. Her drunken lover without love, his view doesn’t warrant a second thought. She used to feel guilt about these calls but not anymore. A woman has needs and he’s happy to oblige if he’s about. And while he laughs at the cloudy jeans it doesn’t stop him providing the service she wants from him. She checks the top of the Lidl bag for the bottle of white plonk, it wasn't on the list but it’s there. She’d give Stephen a call later.

Lost Class Songs of the Days

A.J. Walker — 2017-08-19T12:21:44+01:00

Class Song of the Day on Twitter (and sometimes on my otherwise rarely used FB page) is now on Day 127 with 'Handle With Care' from the great supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. The Wilburys were one of the bands that made the jump from my cassette to the CD collection and whilst I'm trying to avoid repeating artists on each of this year's #ClassSongsOfTheDay I keep finding songs and artists that I used to have in my collection that I no longer have since the cassettes got binned a few years ago.

It could and should cost me some money to bring my CD collection back up to include artists I haven't listened to for such a long while. Of course I could stream or download... but I'm a person who needs a hard copy of my songs in my hand or on my shelf.

A second hand CD shop or two may take a hammering over the coming months. That said, I'll need some more CD storage...

Dang that music!

Reading and Plans

A.J. Walker — 2017-08-19T11:40:03+01:00

My reading plans at the start of the year was to read 40 books including the following:

Non-Fiction

'White Mughals' - William Dalrymple
'Return of a King' - William Dalrymple
'Jerusalem' - Simon Sebag Montefiore
'One Summer' - Bill Bryson

Classics

'Macbeth' - Billy Shakes
'The Tempest' - Billy Shakes
'Something or other' - Charlie Dickens
'Name of the Rose' - Umberto Eco

SF and Fantasy

'Gormenghast' - Mervyn Peake
'The Silmarillion' - Tolkien
'The Golden Compass' - Philip Pullman

I'm well on for the 40 having read 32. But of the eleven above I've only read four (The Tempest, Macbeth, Jerusalem and The Silmarillion). The remaining seven are all a bit to hefty to carry around so I can't see me completing all of these. In general though it's been a great reading year, even if I stopped now. But of course why would you stop?

But FFS my bloody writing has been really neglected. Perhaps I can kick-start it with an attempt or two on Shake's 'CalenDark'. Once I've blocked that off, or at least given it a good go, I can get back to one or two of the items on my original Writing Plan. There are real life things going on, for this next few months which will take a few days and hours out, so perhaps I'll let the reading go a tad and focus on some writing.

Time and That Angry Hourglass

A.J. Walker — 2017-08-11T21:26:22+01:00

The news came out earlier this week that Angry Hourglass is no more - even if it is one day ripe for resuscitation - and it is a sad week because of it. POTUS tweeted that it was 'the biggest worsest and most scariest news and probably FAKE NEWS' and then confusing in subsequent tweets threatened 'to nuke the servers holding the AH website' And then blamed China. Like that would help.

Whilst I disagree with Trump on the nuke option (and blaming China) I do agree that it is bad news. My two favourite flash fiction challenges over the last few years have been Flash Fiction Friday (who couldn't love all those dragons) and Angry Hourglass. Both quite different but both had a great community of regular writerers producing some fab stories. Indeed it was the community that met through these two challenges that went on to form the bulk of the Flash Dog Kennels. Back in the day Friday's were for Flash Friday and Saturday or Sunday were for AH and now... well there's Microcosms on Friday if it fits with work and stuff. And of course that is the thing; it's even in the byline of AH 'Time is Short. So is our fiction.'

We struggle as individuals to put in an entry ever week or two and if we don't make it we may be disappointed with ourselves but so be it: our time is limited. Then there's the guys and gals that organise these challenges like LadyHazmat (aka Rebecca Allred). They have to spend time putting the things together each and every week: Putting together that challenge photos/phrases and ideas; Writing the blurb; Organising the judges; Uploading the results; Getting a new judge for next week; coming up with a new challenge; etc... And they have their life - and maybe even writing to do too.

Over previous years I set myself writing goals to 'win' Flash Fiction Friday and then Angry Hourglass. I think the first time I won AH was one of the sweetest moments because the quality was always so high and I had begun to think it was an impossible task. I can't remember who the judge was that week (I think once it may have been Sal?) but whoever it was thanks muchly.

I can only take my metaphoric hat off to each and every person who've been involved in producing and maintaining all these challenges over the months and years and I have nothing but happy thoughts and best wishes for all of you.

Many many thanks to all the Rebeccas (and any none Rebeccas). Angry Hourglass will be fondly remembered by many of us.

Cheers!!

Five Years Backwards

A.J. Walker — 2017-08-07T21:23:21+01:00

Watched a little of the World Athletics Championship on the Beeb over the last couple of days. So much focus of the media has been on Usain Bolt and the Gatling Gun, the wonderful Mo and the few British hopes elsewhere.

I love sport and have enjoyed the drama and excitement of parts of it, but if truth be told it has made me feel quite depressed about the world. Just remember when this venue was used for the Olympics in 2012. I'd not expecting much of the Olympics, wondered why we as a country wanted to host it; spend all that money. Let our athletes go somewhere nice and sunny, have interesting food and cultural experiences to run, throw, dive, ride etc.

But boy I was glad to be proven wrong. It was fucking amazing. It ran like clockwork. Terrorism, low attendance, apathy? Nope. Packed audiences. Wonderful performances. Great coverage. Even the transport system survived. For Britain, right from the wondrous Opening Ceremony through to the Closing, it could not have gone better on or off the stage. Britain could organise the most massive of events, throw a party, be inclusive, welcome the world with a hug - and run around with jangling gold medals. We could organise a piss up in a brewery! Huzzah!!

Fast forward (not backwards) to 2017 and these athletes are performing in the same place in terms of Grid Reference but in an all too different place in other ways.

Watching the Olympics we were filled with excitement - proud of the UK, of what we were doing, of what we could do: looking outward and looking forward. A few years later and we have had a ridiculous vote to leave the EU that the 'leaders' thought they needed to get a mandate for the next generation and box it off.... and lo! a result they (say they) didn't expect and we are left looking to what? To hopefully be okay in maybe ten years or so. And even if we are not okay at least we'll be free to 'make our own laws', 'to control our borders', 'to turn our back on those outside our island shores' (or something like that). To have the right to put our two fingers up to the world.

Basically watching these World Championships I am in awe of individual sporting performances but feel saddened by how (I feel) as a nation we seem to be backward from where we were five years ago.

Damn this stupid world. I think I'll have to stop watching it - and if we end up with only Mo's one medal then it's all David Cameron's fault!

Of course I was wrong about the Olympics being a disappointing failure and there is a chance everything post-Brexit will be hunky dory and surpass everyones bestest expectations but so far the signs aren't good. And when the planning for the Olympics was going on they had years, had a final date and knew what they needed to achieve. For Brexit we have no idea what we want (but it is not what anyone else wants of course) and the clock is ticking. We're on a train to an unknown destination with a driver who's never driven one and is likely to jump off prior to the last station. And to carry on the stupid analogy our ticket is one way, none refundable and is likely to be as much use as a Day Two ticket to the Liverpool Hope & Glory Festival.

At least the football season is back and I can take my mind of other stuff. Come on you red men!

Gathering Pre Brexit Cups in May

A.J. Walker — 2017-08-04T12:45:14+01:00

Other than the odd Friday Microcosms I haven't written much over the last month. There's no excuses. Well, there are plenty but I can't be arsed using them. Just bloody put some words down fella!

On the day that Liverpool have learned they are to meet the Bundesliga team Hoffenheim in the Champions League Qualifier I'm currently reading 'Here We Go Gathering Cups in May' (edited by Nicky Allt). It is a series of memoir pieces about each of the seven European Cup Finals Liverpool have reached with a different writer for each of the finals:

Contributors:

Nicky Allt,
Tony Barrett,
Jegsy Dodd,
Peter Hooton,
Dave Kirby,
John Maguire and
Kevin Sampson.

It's funny reading the stories of football (and football supporting) past and even more past. Some of it takes me right back whilst it's also an eye opener on how different the events can be for different people in the same place doing the same thing. I'm half way through so haven't got through to the legend that is Istanbul yet, which is the only European Cup Final I've been to (although I also went to Athens for the Final in 2007 but didn't get a ticket or get in (which is not necessarily the same thing)), but it's making me think that I should write my Istanbul experience next as one of my Limited Edition memoir pieces.

Reds (and three Italians) beside the Blue Mosque.

Reading this as the draw for the cup was made makes me want to get on the old Football Special to Hoffenheim, well maybe not. But I've loved going to watch footy matches over in Europe (random matches not Liverpool ones) and met some good people through that; especially through the European Football Weekends crew.

In the Allianz Arena, Munich for an 1860 match (before getting the train to Salzburg for another match).

I'm off out shortly for a mooch and will be with camera for photos, pounds for ale - and a pad and pen for getting some words down.

Word.

Remember folks, You'll Never Walk Alone

It's The Caledonia Americana Fest

A.J. Walker — 2017-07-30T11:44:37+01:00

Caught half the set last night from the always excellent Nick Ellis in the Caledonia. There was a good appreciative audience in there and it is nice set up for the upcoming music festival.

It's good to see the return to the Cali of their Americana Fest, which this year runs from Monday 31st July until 13th August. There is no pub better in Liverpool to see (always FREE) great quality music. Always a good bunch of people in there and they sell real ale there too (other drinks are apparently available too). So what's stopping you?

The schedule (9pm start unless specified):

Monday 31st - Hannah Aldridge + Louisiana
Tuesday 1st - Donkey Hokey
Wednesday 2nd - Cajun Session
Thursday 3rd - Speakeasy Bootleg Jazz Band
Friday 4th - Blind Monk Trio
Saturday 5th - Dirty Cello
Sunday 6th - Martin Smith Quartet (4-7pm)
Sunday 6th - The Desperate Measures (9pm)
Monday 7th - The Big Easy
Tuesday 8th - Yellow Belly Stragglers + Swampcandy
Wednesday 9th - Howlin' Ric & the Rocketeers
Thursday 10th - Rosenblume + The Whisky Situation
Friday 11th - Marley Changes
Saturday 12th - Amanda Brown & the Common Ears
Sunday 13th - Loose Moose String Band (8.30pm)

Keep up to date on the Caledonia website.
Follow @thecaledonia
Tweet #calamfest

www.thecaledonialiverpool.com

The Heart of the Matter

A.J. Walker — 2017-07-19T10:56:45+01:00

Really enjoying my reading at the moment and have just finished Graham Greene's 'The Heart of the Matter' which I really enjoyed; Scobie is a really great slightly messed up character. Will have to keep my eye out for them showing the old Trevor Howard film on the tellybox.

I'm now 27 books in to my aimed 40 for the year. In my last fifteen books I've read three Pratchetts, two Lessings, one Tolkien and one Tolkien piss-take - a bit of a fantasy/SF leaning at the mo (as per). I've only read a couple of non-fiction books; one on beer and one on maps - two fab subjects!

GoodReads book list - completed reading

Whilst all this reading can be put down as a little training for a beginner writerer I need to get these writing projects of mine properly kick started. I need to finish at least one of my four projects this year. At least one! A bit on Project 1 or 2 today me thinks... watch this space.

Top Tweets

A.J. Walker — 2017-07-15T08:01:44+01:00

I love Twitter. It's just a fab community. A fast way to find out things, identify trends. Follow the right people, ignore a lot. Sift through the mire with your eyes wide open and it is a fab world in itself.

Oh, and through it I've WON a load of boss stuff on it. In the last few years: pairs of tickets to Glastonbury, to V Festival, Low, Magic Numbers, Josh Rouse and Ed Harcourt. And meals at a couple of Liverpool pubs. A £30 bar tab. And a Liverpool Cheese Club event. All through Twitter.

Saint Motel at Liverpool, July 2017

And this week I won a couple of tickets to Saint Motel at Liverpool O2 Academy, through Bido Lito! Didn't know the band. Didn't have a song by them. The only song I'd heard a bit of was through the NowTV advert (and I didn't know it was them until I won the tickets); just break it down to different sizes and listen to the very catchy 'My Type'. Anyway, medium length story short... it was a lovely gig. Thanks Bido Lito. And thanks again Twitter!!!

Another Year Another Bishop's Castle

A.J. Walker — 2017-07-10T13:04:47+01:00

2017 at Bishop's Castle for their Ale Trail weekend and it was another cracker. The forecast two days of grey proved wrong, with just a smidge of rain on Friday evening and some very hot sunshine for much of Saturday. Dehydration was a risk despite the ale on offer.

In case you aren't aware of the place it is in Shropshire on the Welsh borders near Montgomery. For the last 21 years they've had this real ale trail where most the pubs in the village get involved and put on extra beers, food and entertainment. It is thoroughly recommended. I think I've been nine times now. Our local branch of CAMRA (Liverpool) until recently had the trip as the first one penned in every year and has even run two coaches on occasion due to the high demand. But for the last couple of years they haven't run the trip. I think people have been Bishop Castled out. It's a shame it's gone but having it as an annual trip probably was over the top with all the other options out there. Not that it matters if I can camp there and make a couple of days of it anyway.

Three of us went this year. It was almost four, but let's not go there. And thanks to Tony getting in early and booking it we got our place in the always excellent (and always full for the weekend) Foxholes campsite. The site is fab and at £8 a night including showers etc is a bargain. It is just a short walk downhill across a field (along the Shropshire Way) into the village. Usually the field is full of barley or wheat but this year was a desert so there were no people shaped holes in the barley this year where people inevitably fall off the path on the way back to the campsite after a few beverages and realise they've forgotten to bring a torch.

About five years ago, when the Liverpool branch took two coaches of thirsty Scousers to the village, there was an issue at the festival. Nothing to do with them though. Two coaches of Brummies arrived who were supposed to be attending a music festival that weekend arrived after that festival was cancelled. In their wisdom with the coaches booked they'd found the nearby 'Bishop's Castle festival' and put two and two together and come up with a triangle. Needless to say when they turned up mid afternoon and found the village full of CAMRA types enjoying ale and music from covers bands it was not what the youngsters wanted. And after they'd drunk what they could of bottled and canned lagers on the street they started fighting amongst themselves. A few cars were apparently damaged in the fracas which was kicking off as the Liverpool branch coaches left.

Of course local journalists being what they are (lazy stereotypes are always right aren't they?) well when they heard there was trouble at the festival and there was coach loads of Liverpudlians there then it was surely obvious who the troublemakers were. And the 'journalist' actually called up the branch for comments about it. Sigh.

The following year the festival was altered for good thanks to this and we could no longer drink from glass, but have to use plastic glasses. Booo! Still, they are pretty good glasses. And have been very handy to take to End of the Road and Glastonbury festivals ever since. The plastic glasses have remained a fixture as part of the permissioning to hold the festival. Ho hum.

Friday this year was the usual three pub effort. A pint in the Three Tuns. A pint in the Castle Hotel and then down to the Vaults for the rest of the evening where they always have a good band and good vibe. No change this year.

After a night ending kebab it was back to Foxholes. A relatively incident free night ,bar some 'sexy dancing' by someone who will remain nameless.

Waking up at 4am I was lucky enough to see a beautiful sky developing and it heralded the lovely day ahead.

Saturday was perfect. Bacon butty. Real ale. Sunshine. Bands. Sausages. Real ale. Music. Real ale. In addition to the three pubs from Friday (which we did again of course) we went to the Boar's Head and the Six Bells (the King's Head was understaffed and beer choice underwhelming so we walked in and walked out). In addition there were beers available in the Town Hall which made a nice change - and gave us a fab view down into the village (pic at top of page). Ste was suffering a bit at this stage from the heat but soon seemed to improve thankfully (going back to red faced from red faced via a very pale grey one).

Sunday, and I was met with a snapped tent pole. I have been totally underwhelmed by the quality of this tent (it's a Gelert Chinook 2-man). My last tent (a Euro Hike) survived ten years of festivals (multiple Ts, Vs, EOTRs, Glastonburys and Bishop Castles) and was easy to put up, this one is not as easy to put and to add insult to injury (fibre glass through fingers) has survived - just - three years and three festivals. Bloody awful.

Never mind. It didn't really spoil the weekend. I never got to like it so retiring the tent will not be painful to me.

All in all a top couple of days with Tony, Ste and me. Smile!

A selection of photos have been uploaded on to Flickr (click on image above).

Bishop's Castle Real Ale Trail

A.J. Walker — 2017-07-07T10:30:31+01:00

Yeah! Off to Bishop's Castle in a couple of hours for their annual real ale festival. I'm not sure how many times I've been now, but guess this will be my eighth or ninth time. It's my fourth time camping there too so I get to enjoy a relaxed Friday as well as the Saturday. Always enjoy a cool pint in the Three Tuns before the most of the evening in the Vaults for their music (and last year... mucho Jaipur!)

It's usually sunny or at least dry and it's lovely that all (or nearly all) the pubs in the village get involved. Live music, great food options, interesting people, pretty village and lots and lots of real ale choices. What's not to like?

Some good stories from previous trips, usually painless. The most eventful year involved the hottest day for years several years ago and walking back to our campsite through a midnight car rally stage - scary! Perhaps that story will make it into one of my Memoirs pieces... I'm over due a new one.

Even managed to get some writing in first with a quick Microcosms this morning... now where's my tent?

Reviewing & Editing

A.J. Walker — 2017-07-01T17:52:30+01:00

Not a bad couple of days for reading and writing. I was asked to 'Beta' review a novel which I've finally done. Was a great read and I can't wait to see it finished. Was nice to be asked to do it and am looking forward to Tweeting about it when it comes out!

Went back today to 'Fergie Time' and through some editing, all the way through to the end of Chapter 2. I'm not sure I'm doing a good enough job on it. Maybe by the third edit I'll be doing it properly - it's my first big job as it were after all.

Anyway Project 3 edit so far: <15%

Reading. Not Writing.

A.J. Walker — 2017-06-29T20:33:34+01:00

In a recent visit to Henry Bohn's bookshop on London Road (by Liverpool Empire) I picked up an interesting couple of books, then on going back downstairs to pay for them I spotted some Terry Pratchett. Doh! This is when the Discworld audit list I put together a few months ago came in handy. I saw four Pratchetts but wasn't sure which ones I had... a quick shufty on to my own website so I could see my list and hey presto! Two of the four Pratchett's in front of me were Discworlds I didn't have (Small Gods and Maskerade). Huzzah!

Henry Bohn Books (old pic from website Felix Goodbody website - click on pic)

Put back one of my originally chosen books and purchased these along with a book about maps. I do like me maps.

Better get back to edit my Pratchett book list to keep it up to date (don't want to buy Small Gods and Maskerade by accident again do I!).

Then yesterday Oxfam on Bold Street and I came out with One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) and The Heart of the Matter (Graham Greene).

Okay, so more of a reading time than a writing time. Definitely a time to get back on to 'Fergie Time' time. That's a lot of time which is not what I am managing right at the moment. That said reading time is never a time wrongly spent. Finished Small Gods in a couple of days and it's one of the very good ones. Most fun.

In summary, am reading and am not writing.

Enough.

Songs and Songs and Songs

A.J. Walker — 2017-06-29T20:11:48+01:00

Good to see one of my fave songwriters, Conor Oberst (as Bright Eyes), was the most popular song last week and the Killers got some love too.

Conor Oberst

Now I've updated my Buffer for the next ten days. It's mainly 90s band stuff coming up, but it's a real classic tomorrow from the 1980s and Sal will defo know it - a very famous videos too!

Killers

In fact I got a bit carried away today and I've identified my playlist all the way through to August 8th. Blimey!

Rock on! (...and folk on, and pop on too).

#ClassSongOfTheDay

Project 3: It Really is Fergie Time

A.J. Walker — 2017-06-22T18:15:53+01:00

I said three weeks ago that I'd decided to go ahead with Project 3. Like most of this year's planned writing projects there was an element of either I do a) or I do b) - and Project 3 was Novel related. Whilst I've a few ideas for potential stories which could become novel or novella length the first thing was to decide whether to progress with the NaNoWriMo project I undertook last November.

The NaNo project ('Fergie Time') is a comic story through a football season featuring silly ideas, stupider plans, not a few injuries, some football, plenty of drinking and periods of daft banter. I decided I would finish it, even if it is destined never to see the light of day anywhere. After all I have 52k words written, although like Eric Morecombe would say I suspect I have many of the right words, but they are not necessarily in the right order. So, I'm going to finish it and give it at least one edit and then go from there... to I know not where. It really is Fergie Time.

So far I've gone through the first 7 pages of 155. It's clearly gonna take some time AND the number of pages will only increase.

Task Completion: <5%

Flash Flood Warning

A.J. Walker — 2017-06-22T13:30:43+01:00

It was worth submitting to the Flash Flood event on Saturday 24th June as one of my pieces has been chosen. It's the Sixth year of the event where hundreds of Flash Fiction stories are published on the Flash Flood website. I've been published up there before, but I can't recall what years; maybe I need to keep a better record of this sort of thing?

The email says it'll be published between 5 and 6 BST. It doesn't say '05', or am/pm, so it could be in the morning or afternoon. I'll no doubt tweet it out after it goes live at any rate.

I'd sent one I wrote on the day on Monday and it was turned down (maybe I'll put that one up on here anyway) so I went back to previously written pieces. Ended up sending two that have won on Angry Hourglass hoping that previous approval by someone may prove a help. And hey presto! my second story was chosen. So some of you Angry Hourglass readers will have seen it before, but I won't tell you which one it is. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.

I know there are a few Flash Dogs going to be up there too and am looking forward to seeing you all there!

Keep writing + Keep reading.

Flash, Flood and Writing

A.J. Walker — 2017-06-19T11:36:17+01:00

Well this morning I wrote a quick-ish story for Miranda's 'Finding Clarity' midweek writing challenge. Don't be fooled by the 'mid week' moniker it is posted midweek but you've got all week to submit to it. There's no weekly 'winner' per se other than yourself for actually writing! Keep an eye on it and see if any photos get your creative writing going! It's up to 700 words so plenty to play around with and a different challenge to the usual 100-360 word flash ones and with no minimum there is plenty of freedom.

I've seen a few of the usual suspects have been entering the annual Flash Flood event and having been involved a few times so I've blasted out a quick attempt there too this morning. I may submit another one if I don't get a quick reply ;-)

If you fancy joining the Flood you've got until Wednesday, check it out: Flash Flood

So that's two flashes of a combined 1000 words today. Flash is all very well... but I now need to get on my bigger writing projects. So a couple of hours next on Project 3!

Rainy Day Play

A.J. Walker — 2017-06-19T10:46:34+01:00

Story for Finding Clarity Mid-Week Flash Challenge (Week 15)

The photo this week was of this collection of lovely old keys. Keep checking out the Finding Clarity website for the mid-week prompts (for stories up to 700 words).

Rainy Day Play

When we came to stay in Aulston Manor I was so excited. Mum said the house creeped her out, that she hated going back but ‘needs must’ while our house was being renovated. Mum believed in ghosts though, so that’s her own fault. To me the house was just an old house, big but nothing more. It was the gardens I loved. They went on forever. I couldn't even count all the different type of trees and there were all sorts of places to play hide and seek; if I’d had anyone to play with. I loved to climb trees and it was like having my own park. Mum called me a Tomboy. I think she thought that would put me off, but I liked that.

‘Eat your breakfast love. Then I’m going in to town with your grandma to get some things. Are you coming?’ mum said, as she finished washing her plate.

‘No it’s okay mum. I’ll stay.’

‘Are you sure? This rain doesn't look like it’ll stop any time soon and you’re not going out in it. You’ll get filthy.’

‘I’ll stay in.’

‘Are you sure? By yourself in this creepy place?’

‘Don’t worry mum. It’s great, like an adventure. Anyway I’ve got a book.’

Mum shook her head. I could tell she thought I was different- and I am of course. I hate shopping and standing around waiting.

As soon as I heard the sound of the gravel fade away I put down my book. It was time for my indoor treasure hunt; I’d found the keys the night before in a locked box on top of a wardrobe in one of the spare rooms. It was a lovely metal box with red and black embossed pictures of animals and trees. It was battered but somehow all the more beautiful for it.

Each key was metal and long, iron I guessed, not like our house keys for our house in Basildon. These were ornate and beautiful like they’d been made for art as much as locking a door. Just touching them gave me a tingle, like I was touching the past. Other people would probably think they were magical but I don't believe in magic.

I’d been in most the rooms in the house over the last week and they’d all been unlocked, but maybe grandma just didn't lock them these days. Doesn't mean they aren't for the doors though. I liked games and treasure hunts were my favourite. It was a challenge to find which one each key was for while the torrential rain outside kept me indoors. I knew I wouldn’t find one of mum’s ghosts but maybe I’d find something new and exciting; or old and exciting.

I raced around the house looking carefully up and down at all the doors. There were twelve rooms and the basement. I could hardly believe it but it was soon apparent that none of the doors had locks on. In any case the old timber doors were clearly too big for these keys. They’d looked big to me in my little hands and compared to modern keys, but they were like toys compared to the doors, I hadn’t noticed before how big and thick the doors were, it was like they were built for a castle! The keys were for something else then. Or more precisely eight something elses!

Perhaps there were locked drawers, secret compartments or boxes; there were lots of wardrobes, cupboards, and chests of drawers in the house; this would be like a proper treasure hunt; just without a map.

But it would take a lot of time to search the entire house and I’d have to do it when mum and gran were out - it’s half the fun doing things in secret I find - and they’d be back soon. In any case the sun was now streaming through gran’s net curtains. The beech I’d been called away from last night was waiting for me. I’m an outdoor girl and I won’t let a tree defeat me. I’m the queen of the trees!

The Great Key Treasure Hunt would have to wait for another rainy day.

-----

WC: 693

Daily Updates: Every Day

A.J. Walker — 2017-06-07T10:42:10+01:00

Been doing better with my Daily Delivery Photo and my Class Song of the Day twittering than I could hope.

Actually 51 songs in to the #ClassSongOfTheDay Will I do the full year without missing an update? Oh I suppose not, but so far so good. Aiming to go the full year without any repetition of artist which means I am having to keep a spreadsheet. I tell ya, that is serious business. Been a good mix of singers, bands and genres. But I should push the envelope a little at some point. I've got the spreadsheet sorted until mid-July and there's plenty of classics coming up!

Today's song is from Shakira when she was brunette, strummed a guitar and sang in her own language. Some things never change hey!?

Here's the 51 artists so far in the order they have appeared. It looks like a great festival line-up:

Natalie Merchant - Mark Knopfler - Pixies - Arctic Monkeys - Belly - REM - Diesel Park West - Blue Aeroplanes - Jayhawks - Teenage Fanclub - Robert Cray - BB King - Felice Brothers - Radiohead - Del Amitri - Cranberries - Black - Queen - Frank Turner - Neil Young - Ryan Adams - Bryan Adams & Tina Turner - John Hiatt - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Stevie Ray Vaughan - Stornoway - British Sea Power - Eurythmics - Cast - Boo Radley’s - Tears for Fears - Echo & the Bunnymen - Wah! - The La’s - Beatles - Cracker - Deer Tick - Gun’s n Roses - Black Crowes - Heart - Sigur Ros - Decemberists - Jeff Buckley - Magic Numbers - Adele - Ben Kweller - Blues Brothers - Jimi Hendrix - John Lee Hooker - Broken Family Band - Santana - Shakira

Every so often I update this as a Playlist on Youtube so I can find them in one handy place:

YouTube: ClassSongOfTheDay

In the meantime keep an eye out every morning at 8am (UK) @zevonesque

Time Comes Around

A.J. Walker — 2017-06-03T17:31:19+01:00

It's been a while but I've finally got around to writing something for Miranda's weekly challenge over at 'Finding Clarity'

It was a great photo for Week 13, why not give it a go? Word Count is up to 700 (with no minimum):

When the Wheels of Time went Round and Round
A.J. Walker

The giant cogs and wheels kept grinding on slow and steady circling in a audacious dance. Smaller cogs and gearing sent them off at different speeds and in different directions. The noise was constant and not unpleasant. Young Joshua was aghast at the size of the place it was beyond his comprehension. It was mesmerising; and to think his dad worked here!

‘Room after room dad. How many rooms? Perpetual motion. It’s just like perpetual motion. Don’t they ever stop, how do you keep them going?’

‘Not perpetual motion son. When the tides stop the machines will stop too.’

‘But the tides have never stopped, have they? Why would they?’ There was a little tremble in his voice.

‘There are no guarantees.’ His father smiled. ‘But in our lifetimes I can’t see them stopping. Can you?’

‘No. Never.’

And the machines ground on. In one room it was grinding flour and you couldn’t see one wall from across to the other for the yellow fog, in another ropes were lifting laden casks from a boat to the second floor as if they were as light as a feather, in the next lowering crates onto a wagon. His father walked passed an open door making to leave. Joshua peered into the room. The wheels turned here too and in this one great vats of gently bubbling liquid were being mixed by gargantuan spoons. The surface of the dark purple liquid popped and fizzed and an iridescence splashed across the little waves. Even by the door the atmosphere stung his eyes and the odours were like nothing Joshua could approach describing.

‘What’s this dad?’

‘This? This is out of bounds lad. Forget you have seen it.’

‘Forget what?’

‘Good boy.’

In the years that followed when he saw oils on a puddle or even a rainbow in a moody sky he often thought of that place. That indescribable smell and the secret held with his dad. He was sure it must have been something magical, the colours of magic in a purple blackness. It had to be. But maybe it was dangerous too. The colour of many deaths. He’d almost asked any number of people about that room, but in the end he held on to it like a private jewel.

The summer sun was scorching his parched creased face but he was too tired and old to care and the feeling was tempered by the cool water pulsing over his feet. The tides still came like he knew they would. But now the factory was on cliffs ten metres above the sea decaying like a carcass of a long extinct animal. “The tides come but the water has gone,” his father had said, more than once.

Joshua’s grandson pointed up to a tumbledown tower above them, Joshua could just make out a rusted cogwheel behind it. ‘What’s that grandad?’

‘A place of where magic was transformed into bread and beer, where we made everything from gates to windows, to spears and cooking pots.’

‘Oh, was it magic that made those grandad? What makes them now?’

Joshua harrumphed, he hadn’t seen a new thing made in their town for decades.

‘Some other magic I suppose. Some where else.’ Or do we just recycle what we had already, he wondered.

He'd never found out what was made in the room of iridescence. The secret had probably died with his father. Perhaps it was nothing important at all: Possibly it was everything. He noticed the sun hot on his feet, the water no longer lapping over them. The tide must have been turning or he’d absently walked up the beach. Or the water was retreating from this cursed place once more.

____
WC: 617

Big Little Update

A.J. Walker — 2017-05-28T22:29:23+01:00

Flip, it's been over a week since my last update. Not been too much writing from me in last week. I wrote a Memoir piece on some musical history: Smithdown; the band. And wrote a few small bits and bobs for nothing in particular. Unfortunately I missed Microcosms, which was a bit of a shame as I liked the theme idea this week (I even picked my book for it). Time defeated me after a very hot Friday at work.

I went back to reading my NaNoWriMo story from last November to see whether it has enough meat on its bones to turn into an actual fully fledged story. And... well I think it does. So yes, I am going to attempt to edit and polish it. It'll probably take a couple of months, but would be great to finish it. So bloody hell, I'm going to bite that bullet.

Heard from a mate who doesn't do that much reading who got around to reading my story in Infernal Clock and really enjoyed; he actually said 'gripped'. That made me happy.

So all in all whilst not much writing it is a big week for me... I'm going to finish writing a bloody novel. And now I've said that out loud, haven't I. So I have to. Watch this space.

DailyDeliveryPhoto

A.J. Walker — 2017-05-19T21:54:12+01:00

Great to get the #DailyDeliveryPhoto up and running again this last week. And had some loverly weather for it in north Wales this week too!

Keep an eye on my Twitter feed @zevonesque or look up the hash tag!

#DailyDeliveryPhoto

Hot Stuff at El Chichon

A.J. Walker — 2017-05-16T10:49:32+01:00

Following my first memoir piece last weekend I've gone by to my photos. Unfortunately they were print in an album. Damn that lack of digital copies. Still a quick photo of the photo and they give a flavour to go with the story. God I looked young and hot (in a temperature kind of way).

Walking up one of the ash gullies.

Looking back down the early slopes of El Chichon and all the gullies.

Climbing into our gully. Gotta go down to go up.

Our minor Guide as a scale to the volcanic deposits.

Looking hot and awkward at the top of El Chichon.

Our sweet Guides and me at the top.

The acid lake in the crater.

At the crater lake of El Chichon.

Cooling down in the red stream at the base of El Chichon.

Back at the Dodge. Gatorade and water. Water!!!!!!

The story of the epic trip up, down in and out of El Chichon is here.

A Globe Trip

A.J. Walker — 2017-05-10T14:57:05+01:00

London: The Globe Trip

Only had one night there but had a cracking quick trip to London. Had the £10 Virgin tickets to London. The hotel up near Arsenal wasn't up to much but everything else went swimmingly!

The trip started well. A full English in the Shiraz in Liverpool then off to Platform 8 for the Virgin train to London. Ended up sat next to a woman on her way to Zambia for a trip with students from the University of Central Lancashire. Had a nice chin wag about traveling and reading. She was reading Lord of the Rings in paperback.

A guy who got on at Stafford overheard us talking and joined the conversation. Turned out he had some books with him. That he'd written. Cool! And who was he? Leaf Fielding. Okay, I hadn't heard of him either. But that's what Google is for. Flip! Think I'll have to buy that first book now.

I'd booked my ticket for Nell Gwynn at the Globe the previous night and went for the standing option. Glad I did. Standing was fine (no different to going to a gig (including have the issue of tall people in front of you). The play was brilliant laugh out loud fun. It was designed for the Globe originally and it worked fantastically. Didn't know the lead, but she was excellent. A few of the actors I recognised from the telly.

Talking of which I sat next to Mark Rylance in the Swan Bar before the show (yep, Wolf Hall and all). Rubbing shoulders!

On Tuesday it was a quick walk around the Emirates stadium, home of Arsenal. A bit antiseptic as a new build stadium, but worth seeing as it was round the corner from the hotel. Then on for an hour walk around the never to be missed British Museum, before heading to a few pubs... including the oldest surviving pub in London the George Inn (near the Globe actually) and then up to Pimilico for Cask, and to Euston for the Bree Louise and the Euston Tap.

A great trip.

Uploaded some pics onto Flickr. First time I've Flickred for ages.

Memoirs

A.J. Walker — 2017-05-01T16:37:15+01:00

Projects 1 and 2 have currently stalled but I think 2 will be starting up properly shortly - watch this space. In the meantime I've decided what Project 4 is (as you can tell the numbering is purely for recording purposes and nothing at all to do with the order the works are to be started or completed).

Those of you in observant mode may have spotted another area of the site for The Memoirs Pages. Yep, Project 4 is to be memoirs. I've not tried it before. The closest being some travel blogs I have done whilst in country. Writing stories from memory will be a different kettle of wossisname though.

Looking forward to giving it a go. You'll have to tell me what you think. Well, clearly you don't have to. That would be bizarre.

More songs of class

A.J. Walker — 2017-05-01T12:58:05+01:00

Music Playlist

I'm now Fifteen Days in to Class Song of the Day and the last week has seen great music from:

Blue Aeroplanes
Jayhawks
Teenage Fanclub
Robert Cray
BB King
Felice Brothers
Radiohead and
Del Amitri

Hard to pick a favourite out of that lot for me. Although everyone else's fave seems to have been "Nothing Ever Happens" by Del Amitri. Who knew? I guess it's one way of identifying the demographic of my twittering cohorts.

Have created a playlist for all the #ClassSongOfTheDay songs should anyone want to find them all in one handy place; now on YouTube.

Amazon Author's Page

A.J. Walker — 2017-04-25T21:12:02+01:00

I'd asked Amazon to add Twisted Tax Tales to my publications page at the end of March and Infernal Clock a couple of weeks ago. Usually it goes very smoothly and go live within a day or two. I'd had emails from both asking for more information in the first instance (which previously I hadn't needed to provide) then by their second email they confirmed both and that they'd be up within 1-3 days.

Unfortunately by yesterday neither were yet up. Had to chase as something had evidently gone wrong. But they turned it around very quickly from yesterday and in fact today they are now up on my Amazon Author's page. Huzzah!

Great to see! Amazon are pretty damn efficient to be fair. It doesn't bare thinking about how many queries they have to deal with like this.

Now I wonder what will be Publication No. 13...?

Class Song of the Day

A.J. Walker — 2017-04-23T12:08:42+01:00

Started 'Class Song of the Day' last week on Twitter and to do that have started using Buffer, so that it's timetabled and consistent.

One week in and the songs have been:

Natalie Merchant: San Andreas Fault
Mark Knopfler: Going Home (Local Hero)
Pixies: Here Comes Your Man
Arctic Monkeys: When the Sun Goes Down
Belly: Feed the Tree
REM: Imitation of Life
Diesel Park West: All the Myths on Sunday

Have already lined up the next couple of weeks.

'Buffer' is dead easy to use. Neat and simple. Using the FREE version I can only line up 10 tweets at a time, so I'll still need to remember to update it every now and again. But once every ten days? Then yeah, I can keep that up.

In theory.

Main risk later in year is repetition. And I don't want any of that going on. So I've set up a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet I tell you! Is there no end to my morning of computing... Tweets, 'Buffering', Blogs, Hard Drives, Spreadsheets...

Yeah, but no fiction writing AJ. Okay, that's enough. Talking to yourself in the third person. Step away from the computer. Step away. Put the kettle, make a coffee, pick up a pen and a pad.

I said, 'Step away from the computer, you Sunday morning procrastinator.'

-----

Find the songs on Twitter as #ClassSongOfTheDay where it gets tweeted every morning at 8 BST

As Exciting as Shoes

A.J. Walker — 2017-04-23T11:29:48+01:00

The Reassurance of Shoes

I don't like shopping for shoes, they're just things that sit on the end of me legs keeping my feet warm and dry. And I never like buying them, they're just 'things'. How boring, but how essential? And that's how I feel about buying a back-up Hard Drive. It's one of those things that you have and hopefully never need, but it's as essential as insurance or a battery recharger (or shoes*).

Let's face it as a writer most of us just use computers to write and store our bits and bobs (or hidden genius epics) on them. It's like our digital photos though; we don't print them out. So if the worst happens and your computer goes down how much of your writing will be lost? 50% 70% 95% it's all too scary to think about, isn't it?

My current portable Hard Drive is supposed to back-up by overwriting the older copies on it using the macOS Time Machine. Some time ago (I dare not think how long ago) my drive stopped backing up as there wasn't enough working space to do the deletion. Eek! So all my unprinted work and unused photographs are at risk until I get that new bigger drive and get Time Machine up and running again.

I've picked out a 1 TB WD drive (plenty big enough) and it's all of £55. It'll be good to get it. I'll get it tomorrow. Lovely to know that all my stuff will be saved. But still, like shoes, I won't be excited by it.

That said, make sure you make your back-ups; or even print some of your most important bits off. If the worst happens and you haven't it doesn't bare thinking about.

* I realise that those of the female persuasion may be confused by this entire blog.

The Infernal Clock Interviews

A.J. Walker — 2017-04-19T22:03:48+01:00

Infernal Clock Interview

With the release of the fabulous Infernal Clock Shakes asked all the contributors a few choice questions as an 'interview'. My favourite bit was the 666 questions. Some were easier than others however I don't think I've done too bad in terms of picking my bad. Here were my picks:

Who do you think are the 6 most evil humans in history?

Ghengis Khan and Josef Stalin

Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot

Nigel Farage and Kelvin McKenzie

Who do you regard as the 6 most evil villains in literature or film?

Joffrey Baratheon and The Dark Lord, Sauron

The Cylons, Battlestar Galactica and Alex in A Clockwork Orange

Sideshow Bob and Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)

(if I can’t use a video game then Baron Greenback!)

What do you think are the 6 most disgusting meals or food products ever created?

Andouillette (far and away the worst thing I’ve eaten - French cuisine my arse) and Blancmange

Turkish Delight and US ‘chocolate' products e.g. Hershey Bars and Oreos

Russian cold soups e.g. Okroshka and Liver

Click here for the link to the full interview sans photos and to see all the interviews from the other authors.

Infernal Clock available in Paperback and on Kindle now

Everyday Music

A.J. Walker — 2017-04-17T21:39:19+01:00

Musical Notes

Every so often I post links to music I like or love on Twitter. Sometimes I post quite a few on a day, then I may go weeks without doing it again. Makes sense if I'm going to do it at all I should spread it out rather than have sudden bursts of inspiration!

So I've done it and linked up my @zevonesque Twitter account so that I can send out regular timetabled tweets. I've given Buffer a go to do this. So in theory at 8am (UK) every day this week there should be some right quality mixed-up music choice winging your way via my Twitter account. We'll see how/if it works.

First up today was the wonderful Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs) with a live version of San Andreas Fault from way back in the early 1990s. Takes me right back to early 1990s when I was working in Mexico, when it was my favourite album at the time (prior to discovering Shakira and Mana in Mexico).

San Andreas Fault is just a wonderful song and Natalie is such a class act. What an amazing 3 minutes or so and it's a great song to start my new daily scheduled music I think.

Infernal Clock Review

A.J. Walker — 2017-04-15T21:08:39+01:00

Infernal Clock Reviews

There's been lots of love shown to The Infernal Clock online and on Amazon and they're multiple Five Star reviews. Woo!

Nice to get a thumbs up for my story in a new review in the Dream Cage. I didn't pay for the review in fact I don't even know the reviewer; honest! Made me happy this afternoon - I'm easily pleased. But good to know my story isn't out of its depth with all the other great stories in the anthology... and relax...

The Dream Cage review

In all seriousness though the book is cracking so if you haven't got it yet then what's keeping ya! Click on the cover and get on down to that there Amazon behemoth.

Pull Your Finger Out!

A.J. Walker — 2017-04-11T22:11:57+01:00

Writing... Focus

Not much writing been done over the last week. I did manage a few hours work on Project 2 last week on a day off and to enter a Flash into Microcosms for the first time in a few weeks. Other than that writing has been a bit thin on my ground.

Work hours have been messed around with - with a late start and consequent late finish it has messed things up in many ways at home and socially. And as per my last post there has been some great TV which has eaten into my time (okay, I know that is my choice). On top of that I have been reading... including The Infernal Clock.

I finished reading Infernal Clock yesterday and have given that a solid 4 stars (why can't you give 4.5?). Some cracking story telling on all sorts of horror themes. Aim to get a review up on Amazon and GoodReads over the weekend if not before. Um, that will have to count as part of this week's writing - look I'm desperate to count everything.

Great to see that the offer to get the FlashDogs 'TIME' for FREE on Amazon for the week has resulted in great sales (is it sales if it's free?). Good to see Flash getting out there in book form and not just on web pages. Get yourself on Amazon if you haven't already.

'Clock was my 16th book that I have read this year which is good. Still well ahead of my target. Have read more books than I've bought this year (just) which means I'm ticking off some of those long unread books on these shelves of mine. Huzzah!

Got to focus on my Projects.

Focus! I tell you. Oh look, washing up to do. Is that another Trump tweet? Oh my lord Sean Spicer. Can I just watch that again. Oh, I could watch that Firmino goal again - that was top. There's washing up to do too. Did I say that earlier? Focus, I tell you!

Fabulous TV Eats Time

A.J. Walker — 2017-04-04T20:17:37+01:00

TV Eats Time Until There Really Is No Tomorrow

There has been rather a lot of great TV on for the last month or so. And I've loved watching lots of it, but it has slowed my reading down and, even more, my writing. Whilst work takes up so much time I really can't help that. TV though... I should make harder choices about what to watch or not, but flip there have been some cracking shows on. So rather than feel any guilt about it I'm calling it 'research into writing'. Just in case I end up doing any screenwriting.

Current and recent TV must watch for me:

Taboo
Line of Duty
Homeland
Follow the Money
Inside No 9
University Challenge
Only Connect

At least Taboo, No9 and Follow the Money have finished (and UC and OC have only the Finals to go) so I may have more writing and reading time without the need for making difficult telly-box decisions over the coming weeks.

Keep Writing - Stop Watching.

The Infernal Clock has Ticked!

A.J. Walker — 2017-04-02T11:35:21+01:00

It's That Time, It's Here!

You can get your hands on The Infernal Clock on Amazon - Right Now! Tick-Tock. What are you waiting for?

Each story is set during an hour of the day; so that would be 24 stories then (yes it would). And that would be 24 authors too (yes, indeed). Quite a few Flash Dogs on the contributors list and writers who like scaring the bejesus out of us in the horror genre.

Like the Flash Dogs covers there has been more beautiful work from Tamara Rogers.

I've just got mine on my Paperwhite and looking forward to reading all of them. Apart from the last one; I've read that one before.

While you're on there buying it (I'm sure you are) you should also take advantage of the FREE (yep, gratis) Kindle copy of the last Flash Dogs anthology 'TIME'. FREE. That's good that. It's definitely time to get your Kindle going this April. Time - it's like the two are kind of linked, isn't it? Anyway, time for me to round this off and pick up me Kindle!

Flash Dogs Anthology 3 'TIME'

Clock Watching

A.J. Walker — 2017-03-30T22:34:46+01:00

That Infernal Clock

1, 2, 3 .... Shakes is getting us all excited about the upcoming publication of The Infernal Clock - it's looking great. And I for one can't wait to get me mitts on it (or on the Kindle with it on). Been hard work for Shakes and Steph ably helped out by Emily and with the art from Tamara; basically it's been a full on positive for the Flash Dogs community and I'm sure their work will have paid off in spades.

Bring it on.

...10, 11, 12.

Get your Kindle ready for it and watch this space!

Writing and Writing

A.J. Walker — 2017-03-25T10:19:42+00:00

Performance Monitoring - It's Not Good News

I'm behind, I am. Tick tock. The plan is there to motivate, surely. Tick tock. Or else it is there to measure failure. Arghhhhhh!

I should be three or four stories into Project 1 - and Project 2 should be properly started. Shouldn't it?

Well. Well...

Okay, I'm behind. But it's catch-up-able. Blasted out a quick 500 words on Story 2 of Project 1 this morning. Will print out the thing and see how much work it needs (and if it's any good yet). Then hopefully complete by say... Monday? Then I can get onto Story 3. Again.

Still, 500 words is better than none. Right? Hell yeah!

And I may get a few more done later on Story 2 and Story 3 as it stands (or at least some notes on where to go with it).

Dang! I just thought of a decent idea for a book - or at least the structure of one - maybe add that to the list for Project 4. My god, stop it already and finish one of the others first. And lord, look I'm talking to myself. Indeed shouting to myself (in a quiet inwardly no-one else would notice kind of way). Arghhhhhhh!

Of course there's the Angry Hourglass challenge going live later. The decision will be whether to write 300 words or so on that today or tomorrow or use that time on one of these stories or Projects. Decisions. Maybe I'll just see what the prompt is before calling that one.

Hope to do a little on Project 2 later whilst on the move. That'll be a worthwhile investment of time.

My only other writing this week (other than a couple of blog updates) has been a job application; now that is definitely a worthwhile investment of my time!

Come on AJ. Get with the Plan. Keep writing. And writing. And tick some of these little buggers off the list...

Long cold evening out

A.J. Walker — 2017-03-24T19:49:51+00:00

Long Evening and Night - Over and Out

Well it's been a funny old week at work; and by funny I don't mean funny at all. Sometimes you just have to shrug, grin (or not) and bear it; days and weeks come and go. And some are better than others. Sometimes adversity looks great in the wing mirror. Ho hum. Maybe not but I'll just give you my bit of wisdom based on my van breaking down on Wednesday evening...

The van broke down due to a catastrophic failure of the coolant pipe. No coolant.. no drive it! (Error message read 'Hazard of Engine Failure' Eek!!! It happened at 6.15pm when I was on the A55 about 40 miles from home. I got home at 1am. Sheesh! ZZzzzzzzz

Wisdom to take on board for next time: keep on driving... just a little bit further. Or even go back to where you came but on no occasion EVER stop at a service station in a telephone blackspot (okay, I'm with 3Mobile so that may rule out a fair few service stations, but hey ho). And worse; no phone signal AND no wi-fi. Do not stop at a service station in the evening when it has a Little Chef... that closes at 3pm?!

Do always always keep a book with you. Keep a sleeping bag with you. A torch and a notebook. Gloves maybe.

Remember if you ain't got any cooling you can't run your engine - and so you won't get any warmth. When it's a starry night and 2C it's a bugger of a fault to get. I got out to walk to warm my feet. It warmed my feet but the rest of me got colder. Five and half hours in an unwarmable vehicle is not a cool place to be. Well it is. But you know.

It's also a bugger when the AA turn up 30 minutes later than they said they would be ('at the latest') and then tell you that they are due a 15 minute break!

Oh, there's more. So much more but my feet and fingers are still numb and I'm so so tired.

Over and out.

Twisted!

A.J. Walker — 2017-03-17T10:28:54+00:00

Twisted Tax Tales

Once upon a time... a tax and accountant company* in Australia ran a writing competition. And one A.J. Walker had an off the counter story which fitted with the theme (basically story needed to include 'an accountant' as a character). I actually had a story I wrote back in my days doing an OU creative writing course called... The Accountant.

So a tiny bit of editing... Attach and... press Send.

Then wait...

Wait..

Wait.

Yep, Short Listed. Whoop!

I had posted the fact that I'd entered on Facebook and one Mark Davoren spotted it. So he entered too. And yep, another writerer from Liverpool got in there too. Nearly all the rest of the authors were from Australia and New Zealand unsurprisingly. Was cool to see two Liverpool writers getting in there.

And yesterday the book arrived. Lovely it is too, don't you think?

Just a teeny wee shame about the typo on my blurb about one of my favourite books; Perdido Street Station by China Mieville has been autocorrected to Period Street Station. Doh!

The book with a whopping 35 stories in it is available in Paperback and on Kindle. It's a mahoosive £16.55 in Paperback and I blame the Australians (and perhaps their tax rates) for that. At least the Kindle version is available too.

#KeepWriting

*Success Tax Professionals

More Thinking Time Than Writing Time.

A.J. Walker — 2017-03-15T22:55:14+00:00

Time, Time, Time

Writing when you work for a living can be a right problem. Unless you write for a living of course. Then it's a whole other kettle of fish I expect.

Today though was a case in point. Expected to be back home by 5:30 or 6:00pm but got home at around 7:30. That's up to 2 hours of potential writing time out of the equation. And when the other parts of the equation include eating, dishes and winding down it leaves actual time pretty slim. I had hoped to get the bulk of one of my Project 1 stories finished tonight, but I haven't.

Still, whilst driving around north Wales on my deliveries today I did get some good thinking time for two of the stories I am doing so hope to get stuck into them and should finish them by the end of the weekend still. So that'll be fine.

There are other things of course that could help free up a bit more time... denying myself any Social Media time for one. Or having an absolute No TV rule. And maybe that 'Winding Down' time could be after the writing. But then again writing before winding down may lead to some unusually sweary and erratic writing; then again that may help with some stories.

Next time I'm short of time but keen to get something actually FINISHED then maybe I'll pre-wind write. Today I chose to write just a bit and leave it (got about 400 words down on a story). So I've got a foundation (some words). I've got my scaffolding (my ideas). It's now up to me to set aside the right write time over the next few days.

In the meantime at least it was a lovely day down/up/along here. It was stunning all day in Llandudno and Penrhyn, and the first day of the year I spent all day without a jacket on. Shorts are a-coming!

And I even had myself a (late) post work ice-cream in Rhos-on-Sea. Nice!

Keep Writing!

Project One: More Storifying.

A.J. Walker — 2017-03-13T23:49:23+00:00

Project 1: Short Story Writing

I'm behind time a little bit with Project 1 of my 2017 plan, but I have a (sub)plan to get two short stories completed this week for it. I've started the third one, just to get it rolling. It's an idea I've had for a while and hopefully will come out fairly easily ultimately. That's the theory, anyway. We'll see.

I intend to finish Story 3 this week and then go back to the story with the 1000 word start; as starts go it's not a bad one.

The lack of good telly each night should mean I've no excuse other than lethargy and sloth. And there the answer may be coffee.

Pretty sure with both Story 2 & 3 these are relatively low hanging fruit and then I can get back on target for my 'one story a week' aim.

Will report back on here with my progress by next Monday. So fingers crossed.

In the meantime I did start taking a look a my NaNoWriMo 'novel' at the weekend to see whether it was any good and/or worth looking at doing more work on - perhaps as Project 3. Only read the first two chapters again so far and I'm thinking I need to read the next two to make a more reasoned determination. But it's not a 'no', yet...

Anyway folks, keep writing!

Come On!

A.J. Walker — 2017-03-10T14:15:19+00:00

More Reading, Not Enough Writing... Come On!

Just finished reading Primo Levi's 'If This Is a Man', my thirteenth book this year according to my reliable GoodReads friend. A good and thought provoking read if not exactly a cheerful one. Wouldn't be a pick for everyone. Not sure what my next read will be, but it will probably be more cheerful and thankfully less thought provoking... so many options. Still need to finish The Silmarillion so maybe I'll just drop back into that.

That said I've got writing to do! Yes, writing! I've just written a daft quick story for Microcosms and put that up on the site. It's my first Microcosms for a few weeks. But really that's a side issue I've got to drop back on to Project 1 (and/or 2) of my 2017 Writing before I fall behind on these.

Okay, decision made... next up will be some thought, if not words on my second story for Project 1. I reckon I can finish that (thought AND writing) by Monday to remain on track.

I have it printed it out. I have pen, I have paper, will travel... and, err, think...

Am Reading...
Am Writing (Promise)

Project 1: and so it begins...

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-27T18:51:37+00:00

Project 1: The Short Story Collection

And so it begins... yep, my 2017 writing - other than ubiquitous random Flash - is now off and running! To be in accordance with my plan I need to write a minimum of one short story a week to get a collection of 12 or so stories together in three months. Certainly doable.

Well, I'm now one story in, yep! To be fair, in full on Blue Peter fashion, it was from a story I'd started earlier. It's spot on length wise, being just over 2500 words (aiming for 1500 - 3000 word stories). I'll give it a proper read through in a week or two to see how well it hangs together. It's a story that hasn't seen the light of day anywhere else yet. I'll probably try out at least a couple of them at the Poised Pen meetings over the coming couple of months. The stories are all going to be stand alone ones - the stories are to be held together by setting not theme.

The Thousand Word Prompt

I've also found another half written story which could fit right in for Story 2 of Project 1. There's a 'slight' problem with it... It is written in a well detailed way up to the point it stops; but I have no idea where I was going with the story - I've probably a note in a notebook somewhere about it, but it is now effectively a 1000 word prompt!!

Tragedy on the Lakeside

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-26T12:52:28+00:00

Lakeside Flash and Sunday Evening Fever

Off today and meeting mate for his birthday pints this afternoon, then a bizarre evening of music with.. er... Tragedy a Heavy Metal band doing Bee-Gees covers 'and beyond'. I know not what to expect with that!

Tragedy

So reading and writing confined largely to the morning along with boring stuff like washing and ironing. Grrr.

First up was reading a few chapters of Silmarillion. Another Folio edition, and another that has been sat on the shelves unread for far too long. Really enjoying the amazing world building with this. Short stories really, written as folklore or a biblical text, to set the background to LOTR and the Hobbit.

Then it was writing: it's a Sunday, so I've usually got to try Angry Hourglass. I don't know why but it took a while to get a story from the picture this week (below). But got something done in the end. So as far as I'm concerned that's a win.

Photo: Ashwin Rao

Next writing will be something for Project 1. Or maybe 2...

The First Great Discworld Audit!

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-23T11:49:31+00:00

Discworld Audit

As Weather Bomb Doris (okay, Storm Doris) struck I was told my route was cancelled so I’ve ended up with an unwanted day off. Given the winds in north Wales it is not a bad day not to be out (but it means that I’ll have to work on Saturday or Sunday this weekend instead. Bit of a bugger, but so be it).

So what to do today while I’m avoiding the weather? Reading and Writing, definitely. But I also thought it’s about time I actually checked what Discworld books I’ve got. I’ve read a fair few of the 42 book series, but I know there’s books out there with my name on them next time I’m in a second-hand bookshop. The nicest books I've got are the first three of the series from the Unseen Library - a lucky buy when they first came out!

Here are the Discworld books in the order they were written (those in bold are the books I have on my shelves, those in blue I ain't got).

Discworld Series:

The Colour of Magic (UL)
The Light Fantastic (UL)
Equal Rites (UL)

Mort
Sourcery (HB*)
Wyrd Sisters (PB)
Pyramids (PB) x2
Guards! Guards! (PB)
Eric (HB*)
Moving Pictures (PB)
Reaper Man (PB)
Witches Abroad
Small Gods (PB)
Lords and Ladies (PB)
Men at Arms
Soul Music
Interesting Times (HB*)
Maskerade (PB)
Feet of Clay (PB)
Hogfather (PB)

Jingo (PB)
The Last Continent (PB)
Carpe Jugulum (HB)
The Fifth Elephant
The Truth (HB)
Thief of Time (HB)
The Last Hero
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
Night Watch (HB)
The Wee Free Men
Monstrous Regiment (HB)
A Hat Full of Sky (PB)

Going Postal (HB - with stamps)
Thud!(HB)
Wintersmith (PB)
Making Money (PB)
Unseen Academicals (HB)
I Shall Wear Midnight (PB)
Snuff
Raising Steam (HB)
The Shepherd’s Crown (HB)

HB - Hardback
PB - Paperback
HB* - Hardback 'Rincewind Trilogy'
UL - Unseen Library Edition

Things I have learned:

I have 9 books to look forward to which weren’t on my Reading List this year. Huzzah!
I have two copies of Pyramids. (I think maybe of Feet of Clay too)
I should put all the same author books together and not spread across four bookshelves.
I’m sure I’ve read Mort, but it looks like I’ve an excuse to get again. After that I’ve evidently got a few gaps to fill in.
I should have done this earlier… how many times have I walked passed these books and not picked up because I thought I’d read them…?
I need to print-out this list for next time I'm in a second-hand bookshop.

Writing Plan (Draft)

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-21T20:31:00+00:00

Writing Plan - February 2017

Writing plan is developing folks, let's call it a first draft. Should be a bit more firmed up over next week.

Project 1 - Short Story Compilation - ebook
Project 2 - Non-Fiction Book - ebook
Project 3 - FT or 2HB - novel
Project 4 - HS1 or TTYA1 - novel or novella

I’m not going to put many details on what these projects actually comprise at the stage other than their general form. As they develop the working titles and contents will come out when appropriate.

Even with ‘just’ four projects I know I’m being over ambitious; at least in terms of finishing all four in the year. But if I work on all of them at different points I expect one or two will take on a life of their own and then the reality of things will become clear. Let's face it if I finish two of them I'll probably be pretty happy and if I finish three I'll be chuffed to little mint balls!

Projects:

Project 1 - is to be a Short Story Compilation of probably 12-14 stories of between 1500 and 3500 words. I’ll aim for c. 2000 words but let the stories get to their natural length rather than force it.

Project 2 - is a Non-Fiction Book I’ve been thinking of getting done for a while and can drop in and out of as and when.

Projects 3 and 4 - novels or novellas both Projects are currently down as ‘either / or’ and will be firmed up over the coming couple of months. If you followed my NaNoWriMo last year then you’ll guess that Project 3 is either 'Fergie Time' or a.n. other novel idea. I’ll make that call over the next week or so.

The Projects aren't necessarily in the order of commencement or completion (but probably are). That said Project 4 would definitely be started after completion (or calling a halt on) of Project 3.

Fergie Time is the only writing project that has any significant writing actually done at this stage. But the three other potential stories in Projects 3 and 4 are partially developed in my noggin and on scraps of paper.

Timetable:

Ha ha! Bit early to get that sorted but I will need to firm up a plan including schedules for all the Projects or else they will likely slip without me even trying.

Project 1. My feeling is that Project 1 should be completable in three months from start to finish in terms of writing the stories, just on the basis of simply writing a minimum of one story a week.

Project 2. Would be c. 3 months to write as well. The issue is whether I can fit the work required within the same 3 months as Project 1; dropping onto sections of it between the fiction writing. Would be great if I could. Undertaking the two Projects simultaneously is certainly a s t r e t c h goal. But back in the day of my report writing days I would often work on multiple reports, letters and proposals in a day (not to mention reviewing reports) so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility.

Projects 3 and 4. Maybe it should be Project 3 or 4? Writing and finishing a novel or novella this year is my biggest target if not my first. Fergie Time may have legs, but if not the three other potential ideas have great possibilities too and it may well be a case of starting writing the other three and seeing which flows easiest… Any of these may take 3-6 months each… er at least…

Other Writing:

Of course there’s other stuff to consider in between.

I always go in for Writing on the Wall Flash Competition even though they’ve really stepped back from it themselves. It’s just a tradition for me now.
NAWG. Poised Pen is a member of NAWG and I should enter a competition or two.
Would love to give a screen or radio play a try at some point. Will just see if it happens, but currently don't want it to get in the way of the four projects above.
Similarly submitting to a magazine or podcast would be great, but at this stage only if a piece comes naturally and doesn't get in the way of the above projects.
And of course random competitions I haven't spotted yet!

So much writing. But I have some scheduling to do...

Keep Writing Folks!

Reading Over... Time to Write...

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-19T10:33:02+00:00

With A Notebook in One Pocket

I said I'd have a plan for my writing year by the end of the month and that I'd get on to it after I'd finished the book I was reading. Or more to the point, not read another book until I've got a plan in place. Well here it is... no, not the plan... I finished reading 'The Dispossessed' by Ursula Le Guin last night so when I go out later It'll be with a notebook in one pocket and NO PAPERBACK OR KINDLE in the other one. Scary stuff.

I'm ten books in to the reading year, which is well ahead of my target while heading towards forty reads. So no pressure on my reading time from that perspective while spending time on the plan. But I'll miss the daily reading... so basically I best get this writing plan firmed up with both realistic and s t r e t c h goals my friends!

Get writing

Get Writing and Keep Reading everyone.

More Books!

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-16T21:07:01+00:00

More Reading and More on Writing Plans

Was delivering today in Llanfairfechan and Penmaenmawr in north Wales. The last delivery was a reattempt in Penmaenmawr which gave me the opportunity to pop into the excellent Second-Hand Book Shop 'Escape Reality'. It's an excellent shop - two rooms rammed with second hand books and it has a reasonable quantity of SF books, which is always nice.

Payment at the shop is through an Honesty Box (well, a slot in a door).

Ended up buying six books! A couple of which were picked as much as for the fab old SF covers as for the stories themselves.

The books included tomes from Beryl Bainbridge, Bernard Cromwell, Brian Stableford, James White, and Roger Zelazny.

Currently I'm reading my first Ursula Le Guin - 'The Dispossessed'

I've got lots of books on my shelves and on my current list to finish; and am currently reading a great book too. So I didn't really need any new old books, but I've got them anyway. Second Hand Bookshops. Gotta love 'em.

Thing is now I need to create some space on my shelves. Or else get some more shelves!

Of course yesterday I pointed out that I'm trying to get my writing plans sorted and all this reading may get in the way of it, or at least in the way of the immediate plans. So I've decided that once I've finished The Dispossessed I'm not starting another book until I've finished The Plan!

The Pen of Serious Decision Making

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-15T16:34:24+00:00

Writing Plans

Right, I'm a month and a half into 2017 and I still haven't confirmed what my writing plans are (see blog 10.01.17) and it's not good enough. It's time to undertake some serious thinking and make some serious plans.

I'm giving myself two weeks now, so I'm putting on my Specialest Writing Hat and holding tightly The Pen of Serious Decision Making and I'm going to get a plan together. Oh yeah, baby!

Er, that'll be two months in to the year before "The Plan" is in place. But it is what it is, and so on 1 March 2017 come rain, come grey nothingness I will have it.

One of the considerations in this two weeks is whether to go forward at this time with 'Fergie Time' from last year's NaNoWriMo or whether to bin it (or at least hold off on it) to concentrate on other projects. We will see... hopefully.

In other matters, following the Reflex Competition entered on the 7 Feb, I have also entered the Writers & Artists competition (now closed). On 'reflection' I should have given the piece a better title. But typically it was a finish on submission day job. Ho hum. If I get to enter it elsewhere following its failure in this comp at least I can rename it when I revisit it! There's a couple more competitions that I think I will enter over the next month or so. Unless they get in the way of THE PLAN!

Keep Writing, folks!

Metropolitan Dreams: A Good Read

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-09T22:57:52+00:00

Metropolitan Dreams

It's great to see so many regular flash writers (especially from the FlashDogs kennels) getting out and writing novels and over the last couple of days I've been reading Mark A. King's brand new and first novel: Metropolitan Dreams.

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hats off to the lovely fella for writing such a fabulous story. Great characters, lovely entwined story strands, in interesting London settings depicting the fight between good(ish) and evil(ish) in a quest for balance(ish). And on balance a great read - get it on your Kindle or bookshelf now.

Wonder which of the FlashDogs will be next up on the novel front? Whoever it is they'll be happy with it if it's as good a read as this.

Keep Reading. Keep Writing.

A Reflex Action

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-07T12:13:30+00:00

Reflex Fiction Competition

Wrote a quick flash story for the Reflex Fiction competition. The competition is theme-less so whatever you want goes - as long as it's between 180 and 360 words; ideal Flash Dogs length!

It's free to enter, has cash prizes and is open until the end of February. So why not give it a go?

Reflex Fiction website

Dreams: Metropolitan and Otherwise

A.J. Walker — 2017-02-06T21:04:17+00:00

Dreams: Metropolitan and Otherwise

Novels seem to be coming more often than ever from the Flash Dogs stable (okay, kennel) and this month it's Mark A. King's turn with 'Metropolitan Dreams'. I have just downloaded it for my Kindle and am looking forward to getting into it.
It is great to see any of our Flash Dog brethren head onward and upwards into other areas away from the flash fiction genre. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like they are having their arse gently kicked to get their own keyboard in gear. One day...

There's plenty of excellent stories from the Flash Dogs too of course in the three anthologies, all available from Amazon. Check out the Flash Dogs website for the books and information on the many authors involved.

In the meantime hats off to Mark for finishing his first novel. I'll tell you what I think about it when I've finished it. But first, well I better start it!

Twisted Tax Tales

A.J. Walker — 2017-01-29T14:16:26+00:00

Twisted Tax Tales

Nice email this morning from Down Under informing me the 'Twisted Tax Tales' book will be out shortly. It said it had taken longer than anticipated to format the book and anyone who's done any formatting of books understands this feeling. It's a book of the shortlisted stories from a competition run last year by the Australian tax and accountancy firm 'Success Tax Professionals'.

Looking forward to receiving my copy when the boat from Australia comes in.

This afternoon I managed to type up an Angry Hourglass entry I wrote yesterday; yes, wrote it with a pen on paper and then typed up. Makes a change from typing straight into my laptop. Looks like there will be more entries than last week when I was judging. Good luck to this week's judge, A.V. Laidlaw.

Flash Judging

A.J. Walker — 2017-01-23T23:41:34+00:00

Judging: Angry Hourglass 123

Hey, so this time yesterday I was typing up my 'judgement' on last weekend's Angry Hourglass (the beautifully numbered Week 123). The winner's page is linked here.

I've judged a few times now for several challenges and it always requires a combination of tough decisions, personal choice and involves a little bit of fun. This weekend the photo, as usual from Ashwin Rao, was a train travelling along a curve at dusk/dawn, as ever with AH it brought out high quality from all thirteen of the entrants and it was a tough call.

As usual @Fallintofiction cleared of the names and twittery bits so that I could judge the stories blind; I never know who I've picked until after I've sent the results off. Sometimes I have a peek after the results have been emailed other times I wait until the email/tweets start flying to tell me who I've picked.

It always takes a bit more time than you think it will to begin with, but it is an enjoyable job. I'd thoroughly recommend trying a bit of judging whenever you get the opportunity. Whilst you'll get a week off from entering the competition it is nice to see it from the other side. Sometimes you may pick up a few pointers yourself as to where you could improve.

Maybe next time I'll do a proper blog on the process, but for this time may I just give my congratulations to the HMs, the runner up and the winner, namely;

Ewan Smith
Sal Page (despite not following orders)
Mark A. King
Firdaus Parves

As ever, a big thanks to Rebecca the Hazmat for hosting such a wonderful challenge, one that always brings out the best in you writers types. Kudos!

To those who didn't place this time don't sweat it. All the pieces were great. On another day I may have picked some different 'winners' and been totally happy with justifying it too - the quality really is that good. And of course on another week a different judge may have picked a completely different list of winners too. Sometimes what floats one's boat would sink another. You're all stars for having the confidence to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

And lastly, if you haven't given Angry Hourglass a go then check it out. It's open for 36 hours over the weekend for pieces up to 360 words. It's always a high standard but that makes the winning even sweeter and the understanding deeper when you don't.

Keep Writing Folks!

Reading and Writing Two Weeks In

A.J. Walker — 2017-01-16T13:00:34+00:00

Reading and Writing and Plans

Reading:

It's only the second half of January but that's like 1/24th of the year right? So I got to get my writing plans sorted soon.

Got some good reading done already this year. First off was 'Galactic Derelict' by Andre Norton. I bought it as much for the cover as it was a gloriously gaudy 1959 paperback. Was well worth the read in any case!

Next up was 'Weird Ales II' edited by Steve Cotterill (created by Theresa Derwin). I said I'd review it as I was involved in the first volume, writing the introduction. I didn't have any involvement in the this one. A volume of short stories based around bars, pubs and drinks it is a mixed bag of great and not so, but that'll be down to actual personal preference rather than actual quality. Enjoyed the book and posted reviews on both GoodReads and Amazon.

Third up was one of my 'classics' on my aim to read this year list, 'The Tempest' by William Shakespeare. I've not had much experience of reading Shakespeare but enjoyed it and more will be read this year I'm sure. Macbeth next I think.

Last read completed this month so far was Asimov 'Nightfall Two' a selection of short stories which even included a flash fiction piece he'd written live on a TV show. He's a story writer master and every story had great merit and often fab twists. What can you say about the guy. Genius.

Currently reading 'Jerusalem: a Biography' by Simon Sebag Montefiore. It's a heft hardback which has been on my shelf for a few years now - it was published in 2011 but I'm not sure whether it's been on the shelf that long. I'm about a third of the way through and boy is it packed. Clearly a 2500+ year history crammed into 520 pages means the pace is packed and when it has had such a ridiculously packed and complicated history it feels like a head spinner. Many of the stories of the peoples involved could have been lifted straight off the pages of the Game of Thrones (or the other way around). Any of these sound familiar:

Incest' pouring molten gold onto an enemy to kill them; having a feast for adversaries - then the waiters and kitchen staff clubbing and knifing them into the stew; 'Greek Fire'; matricide; patricide; flip all types of 'cides. In fact other than the lack of dragons I could be reading the GoT. Awe inspiring 'Biography' of the city. Pretty much too much to take it all in!

Only just past the Second Crusade, so let's see how the next 900 years goes.

Writing:

I've listed a few things I want to write this year on previous blog entries - bigger pieces than flash. But so far I have not firmed up what to start with. So far this year - other than a little preparation for one of my projects - I've just done some flash fiction.

Lucky enough to get runner up in Angry Hourglass last week, which was a nice surprise. Later last week I did an entry for Thursday Threads for the first time in many months (okay probably over a year) and on Friday I wrote a quick entry for Microcosms and again did a piece for Angry Hourglass on Saturday. So a fair bit of flash there then!

I think I'm judging Angry Hourglass next weekend. So less flash options next week. Maybe, just maybe I'll be putting together something for one of my projects.

2017 Writing Plans

A.J. Walker — 2017-01-10T13:43:04+00:00

Writing in 2017

Okay, I've set some reading goals for the year, so what about my writing goals?

In the past I've set goals like winning the Flash Fiction Friday or Angry Hourglass challenges, this year I'm going to aim to do a few more substantial things (that is to say of more words). Not that I'll be avoiding Flash! of course. I'll still be doing Angry Hourglass and Microbookends as often as I can.

Nothing concrete planned as yet, but thinking along the lines of;

self publishing a book (possibly non-fiction)
submitting to a magazine or podcast (maybe EscapePod or Clarkesworld)
writing a short screen or radio play (never attempted this before)
planning and beginning a novel or novella

Not sure yet about editing the story I did for NaNoWriMo - with all the above I may be a bit too busy.

Will see how the plans go er... after I've firmed up said plans! Watch this space...

2017 in Reading

A.J. Walker — 2017-01-04T12:18:04+00:00

Planned Reading in 2017

So I've set myself a target of reading 40 books in 2017, but which books will they be?

I'm planning on continuing through my shelves picking off books I've bought but not got to yet and there will be plenty of SF and non-fiction stuff too. Of course the books can't all be picked now, but a fair few can. Some heavyweights and some lighter ones. It'll be interesting wherever I end up.

To date my 'definite' reads to come include:

Non-Fiction

'White Mughals' - William Dalrymple
'Return of a King' - William Dalrymple
'Jerusalem' - Simon Sebag Montefiore
'One Summer' - Bill Bryson

Classics

'Macbeth' - Billy Shakes
'The Tempest' - Billy Shakes
'Something or other' - Charlie Dickens
'Name of the Rose' - Umberto Eco

SF and Fantasy

'Gormenghast' - Mervyn Peake
'The Silmarillion' - Tolkien
'The Golden Compass' - Philip Pullman

2016 in Reading

A.J. Walker — 2017-01-02T12:42:26+00:00

Goodreads and Reading

I've been a member of GoodReads for four years now and I must say I quite like it. It's not over intrusive in the way Facebook and Instagram are always trying to get in your face. You can look up recommendations based on your reading, but they're not constantly rabbiting at you- which is great.

I do like to see a record of what I've read when. With my memory it's very handy.

Last year I set myself a reasonable target for me of 26 books, a book a fortnight. As it happened I managed 41, which was great- the more reading the better. A nice mix of fiction and non-fiction with of course rather a big nod to SF and fantasy on the fiction side, and ale on the non-fiction (and fiction: Weird Ales).

Unlike recent years the vast majority of the books I read were actually books. Paper books, off shelves and everything. Had the not unusual idea of perhaps reading some of the untouched or barely started books from my heavy shelves. And it was a cracking idea I must say.

Not sure if any would be classified as 'Classics' I suppose Graham Greene's 'Our Man in Havana', Philip Roth's 'The Plot Against America' and Primo Levi's 'Periodic Table' could be and perhaps a couple of the Atwood's, but what's a classic anyway?

Two of the books feature your's truly too - Flash Dogs 'Time' and Theresa Derwin's edited 'Weird Ales'. Both thoroughly recommended for other people's stuff at least.

I'm going to pick my Reading Top 10 from 2016. Why? Well, you do that kind of thing at this time of year, don't you? All of them cracking.

'Imaginary Cities' Darran Anderson
'Cloud Atlas' David Mitchell
'The Plot Against America' Philip Roth
'To Say Nothing of the Dog' Connie Willis
'Oryx and Crake' Margaret Atwood
'Tough Guys Don't Dance' Norman Mailer
'Our Man in Havana' Graham Greene
'Years of Rice and Salt' Kim Stanley Robinson
'The Anti-Death League' Kingsley Amis
'Trigger Warning' Neil Gaiman

Now I've got to look forward to 2017 and the reading ahead. I'm aiming for a similar number of books that I achieved this year (40) and if the reading is half as good as last year's then I'll be very happy.

Happy New Year folks and Happy Reading - whatever you may be getting your head stuck in to!

iGift - Secret Santa

A.J. Walker — 2016-12-24T22:25:52+00:00

In the Poised Pen Writing Group we do a Secret Santa every year. We get given a prompt and then we write whatever we want on that basis - be it a poem, prose, a play or whatever.

This year my prompt was 'And Bob's Your Christmas Uncle'. And here it is for your Christmas delectation.; Crash Bang Christmas App!

_______________________

Crash, Bang, Christmas App and Bob’s Your Uncle

Margo looked across the sticky coffee table at Jenny shaking her head. ‘What I hate most about Christmas is all this time wasted trying and failing to think of a gift. What are you like getting ones for your rellies and your friends?’

Jenny laughed, ‘I was the same until last year myself. All those thankless hopeless minutes, hours and days spent agonising over what would mum want this year. And I could never remember what I got her last year, which always made it a bit like roulette on Christmas Day in case I’d got her the same thing again.’

‘Has that happened!?’

‘I don’t think so. Unless she doesn’t remember either or is a damn good actress. If anything I’d suspect the former.’

‘I always struggle with Uncle Bert and dreary Deirdre from Number 34. I usually get him socks or a tie. I’m pretty sure he wears sock, but I’m not sure about ties, other than at funerals. Deidre gets Ferrero Roche or a Chocolate Orange and is always too excited by the experience - she’s either dead simple, a chocolate fiend or just dead and hungry.’

Jenny slurped her special Christmas Frothy Cafe Latte with Reindeer Juice and Christmas Spices. She wasn’t at all sure about it. But it was Christmas, so she’d decided it’d be rude not to.

‘What are you brothers and sisters like? Mine always get me pathetic gifts, which - if they are not drinkable - end up in the Purple Bin before January is through. I can’t even imagine where they find the tat from sometimes. Mind you I’m pretty sure my gifts to them suffer a similar fate. Although I think they have different colour bins than us.’

Margo took a sip from her Cafe Americano with an extra shot and almost sat bolt upright with the hit. ‘Woah!! Anyway, what happened last year to help your pressie purchases then? Did you get a butler?’

‘Ha! Hardly, just 89p for an App from the App Store. It’s called iSanta3000 you must have heard of it. I’m sure it’s been discussed on “Loose Women” and Radio 4 and 5. Pure genius taking the risks out of the Christmas run up and the fear on Christmas Day.’

‘Don’t watch Loose Women. Isn’t that just for men, that show?’

‘Not seen it myself, much,’ Jenny coughed. ‘Anyway it’s an app for your smartphone which uses an amazingly complex algorithm, apparently developed in the North Pole, to select the best possible gifts for you and yours. You need to fill in appropriate information to as many of the questions you know the answer to about each of the people you’re buying a gift for such as;

‘Age; Sex; Sexual orientation; religion; what sports do they like; do they wear hats; do they read; do they like films or art galleries; do they paint or sculpt; do they own a dog or a cat; do they own a guinea pig or an alpaca; what’s their favourite TV show/film/comedy/musical; what was the last gig they went to; what did you buy them for the last 3 years (if you remember); are you not on speaking terms/on speaking terms or best buddies; how much do you want to spend? etcetera.’

‘Not sure I know all that for most my buddies or even my family.’

‘Well, it’ll give a good stab anyway, but the more you put in the better it’ll be.’

‘89p. It’s worth a go. In fact why don’t I buy the app for everyone else as a present to guarantee better presents for me next year too? Mind you I’d probably have to supply them with a page of answers to those questions to help them out.’

‘Ha! Yeah, I bet your mum thinks your favourite TV show is Loose Women.’

‘She knows me better than that. I think.’

The young barista who hadn’t even started developing acne yet finally came to remove some of the stickiness from the table. But Jenny wondered if it was worth her accidentally spilling her Christmas noxiousness so she could swop if for a skinny latte.

‘I tell you what. You buy it now and I’ll give you my answers to all the questions and then you’ll see how good it is. It’ll get you relaxed for the coming week or two, and you can order everyone’s pressie from that very chair before you can say “Bob’s your Christmas uncle”.

‘Deal. It’s a deal. Right, I’ll download it while you go and get another couple of drinks. Just bin that concoction, I can see you're struggling. If you still want something Christmassy beside the coffee you could get us a couple of mince pies while your up there.’

Jenny smiled. ‘Oh yeah, you read my mind. Perhaps you don’t need the iSanta at all.’

‘Hardly, when it comes to coffee and cake you are completely transparent.’

The next half an hour was spent with Margo reading out the questions and Jenny answering them, usually flippantly.

’Sex’

‘Yes Please.’

‘Sexual orientation.’

‘Usually horizontal but open to suggestions’

‘Gift cost.’

‘Unlimited of course.’

‘Let’s call it twenty quid.’

Margo had to admit that it was easy and fun to do. The interface was neat and smart looking. And linking it through to her Amazon account made it lie somewhere between inspirational and scary.

‘Right, that’s it.’

‘Ready to go? You got to press “Santa Recommends” and wait a few moments for the magic algorithms to do their fancy stuff. It really is incredible. I’m so excited. ’

‘I can tell. You on commission for this or what?’

‘I wish. If I had a pound for every time a friend bought this; I’d have a pound!’

‘Okay, I get it. Let’s see what this little Santa recommends for you. I’m not buying you a vibrator again. Not after last year. I still can’t believe your Gordon thought it was a smoothie maker when he saw it.’

‘Ah, poor Gordie. He’s never been very good in the kitchen.’

Margo wanted to say something else, but held her tongue.

‘Right, I’ve pressed it. It’s doing something.’

Pretend wheels whizzed around like a fruit machine. She saw pictures of cars, palm trees, speed boats and houses. It seemed unlikely given the £20 limit she’d put in. She held it out in front of Jenny.

‘It’s slowing. It’s algo-thingy is getting there. Come on Santa baby, you can do it for Auntie Margo. What’s Jenny wanting for Christmas, more than anything else. Come on you can tell me.’

And then it buzzed in her hand, the perfunctory shake saying it had finished. She squinted at “Santa’s Grotto Pick for Jenny of Speke” and groaned.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me. All that info, all that time and sweat and it’s come up with that!’

Jenny laughed. ‘Yeah, it’s weird. I’ve only ever seen it come up with socks for everyone. Still, I could do with some new ones and I do hate buying my own. So yeah, the iSanta has it right again! Socks it is.’

Margo wanted to drop Jenny’s phone into her new coffee. ‘You’re telling me we've done all that for it to tell me socks, and that it always says socks?!’

‘I’m not sure it’s always socks. It has been for me though. And I didn’t look back last year. Everyone got socks and everyone was dead happy with them, I’m pretty sure.’

‘And your getting them socks again this year?’

‘Oh yes, it’s given me the same answers again. I’m getting creative and using sports socks for the sporty ones and plain M&S ones for mum, and for dad I’m getting joke/quirky ones. He’ll love ‘em.’

And so it was that for Christmas 2016 both Jenny and Margo bought socks and socks and socks for all their families and friends that year. And no one was disappointed. Or even appointed.

Margo read the reviews on the App Store for the iSanta and it was apparent that it only ever said socks; although there were reports of the App crashing on the occasion it looked like it was going to suggest something else. She was unsure whether it was a sign of age or growing senility but she found the Sock App (as she tended to call it) a new and comforting part of Christmas.

She even typed in a little review on the website giving it 5 * and saying that “for Christmas it really is The Morecambe and Wise for the App Generation”.

______________

Prompt:
‘Bob’s Your Christmas Uncle’
AJ Walker

Sanderson Filibuster - AH

A.J. Walker — 2016-12-22T22:22:57+00:00

Yay I won my fave flash fiction competition last week, the wonderful Angry Hourglass. It was for a mad Christmassy story which was almost entirely dialogue. It was fast and fun to write; 'Sanderson Filibuster’s Amazing Shopping Emporium (somewhere off the beaten track)'

Check it out here.

Photo prompt for Angry Hourglass Week 120
by Ashwin Rao

FLASHDOGS: FREE! FREE!!

A.J. Walker — 2016-12-17T09:56:58+00:00

The fabulous anthologies from the FlashDogs, of which I'm proud to be a part, are currently FREE to download on to your Kindle from Amazon. FREE! That's a ridiculous state of affairs. You could 'buy' them now for free and never read them. The decadence.

Or even better purchase them now and only read them when they they go back up in price. Then you can enjoy the apparent savings as well as the books. Mad, I tell you.

The only downside of the Kindle versions are not getting the books with these fabulous covers on your bookshelf (hats off to Tamara Rogers for them - mucho kudos!).

The books - 'An Anthology', 'Solstice:Light and Dark' and 'Time' - are cram packed with excellent writing from the dogs of flash, just click on the books to see them - and then download them. Read and enjoy over the Christmas break. Or even next Christmas.

Pain and the Angry Hourglass

A.J. Walker — 2016-12-12T14:36:40+00:00

It was my turn to judge again for the always fabulous Angry Hourglass challenge run by the lovely Rebecca - aka Lady Hazmat. "Lady Hazmat" seems quite apt for some of the stories in this week's challenge a mix of nasty and nice: chocolate coated arsenic.

The photo prompt was from Ashwin Rao as usual and was of a lady doing yoga against a city skyline (of Seattle, I think?). It's always amazing how different the stories can be from the same photo and this one was no different from usual, but how do you get so much murder and mayhem from this photo? Well, you just do. We're a weird bunch us writers aren't we?

I've been in quite a bit of pain due to a dodgy knee this week, breakfasts of Ibuprofen and lunches of Co-codamol so I was relieved to see fewer entries to go through this week, though I don't know why it was lower than usual. Just a coincidence when I needed it. Or perhaps the photo just inspired too much death and destruction for people to handle.

Anyway, I've done me judgy thing, sent off the results and I await the posting of them later.

Thanks to all who entered for the great reads. And thanks to those who didn't for leaving me with a little less to do than usual. In other news... my knee is getting better. Huzzah!

And if you ain't seen it before get on Angry Hourglass it's every weekend and you get a whole 36 hours to get your 360 words down. It's always a high quality of writing and so is a tough one to win, but anything difficult is all the better when you succeed. So... Keep writing folks!

Poised Pen Secret Santa

A.J. Walker — 2016-12-07T13:58:15+00:00

Not sure I'll be getting too much writing done throughout December but there will be bits of flash I dare say, or micro-micro flash in terms of the FlashDogs daily #VSS365 on Twitter. One thing I will be doing though is for the Poised Pen writing group, where each year we do a Secret Santa. Instead of buying some tat for a fiver made of meat products we write a piece for someone else in the group based on some Christmassy theme or other. I've been given my theme and it's... well I can't say. Not screaming out at me yet, but no doubt some muse or stick of holly will hit me.

The Secret Santa piece can be in any form (poem, prose, short story, play etc). I'm not sure about mine yet, but it won't be a novel or even a novella, but it will be longer than a FlashDog VSS365. Er, probably.

The only other creative writing I'll be doing this month is job applications and CV updates. I need a proper job. You know where I am, people!

Happy writing folks!

Post NaNo... Back to Reading

A.J. Walker — 2016-12-06T15:19:56+00:00

During November there was little time for reading with all the hours required for the NaNoWriMo writing challenge, so it is good to get back to it again. At the start of the year I set a target on Goodreads to read 26 books, it seemed reasonable to aim for a book a fortnight. I've already achieved that and now I'm aiming to get to 40 - which will be my best reading year for some many a year.

I just finished a book with a great little background to it; To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. A time travel book with a Three Men in a Boat theme; what could be finer? It was a good read and my 37th book of the year.

And now I'm on to a big hardback which has been on my shelves untouched for a good few years now.: The Years of Rice and Salt, by Kim Stanley Robinson. It won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2003.

It's very much been a year of books this year, rather than a year of Kindle. I've been trying to read some of the many books I've got on my shelves that I've never got around to. For too long I've been buying books even though I've got plenty of reading to in the house. I've tried to avoid second hand bookshops a bit more this year, not completely successfully.

Day Twenty Eight: NaNo - We Have A Winner!

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-28T19:00:46+00:00

Day Twenty Eight and it's a biggy. I only needed a par day's worth of words to get to the goal. So could I do it? You betcha!

Feel the power of my banner!:

In fact today I ended up with my best word count of the month to get near to the end of the last chapter, with a 3634 words down on the ole laptop.

I'd written all the chapters as stand alone documents so I had to string them all together into one doc and then paste them into the word count validator on the NaNoWriMo site. It took a minute or two to do its county thing and when the number came up (which was the same as the one in my document) it was lovely to see. A whopping 51,961.

I've still got some more words to go to actually finish the novel. As I need to finish of the last chapter and then go back and do the 'difficult Chapter 6' properly (I'm thinking Chapter 6 to a writer, may be like the difficult 2nd album to a band). But anyway it's there. I've hit my goal. I've gone and bloody done it! And no-one is taking that banner away.

So glad I've given it a go.

Will do my best to finish the complete draft and then come back and edit it at some point in the new year (NaNoWriMo do a thing early in the year where writers promise to edit and redraft their novels, so may sign up for that - or just do it in my own time).

Would be good to carry on with the momentum this has provided me. Then again it'll be good to get back to some reading again - I've had a whole month with little reading undertaken; so I've another book to finish albeit in another way entirely.

Today's WC: 3634
Total WC: 51,961

Day Twenty Seven: Angry Hours

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-27T23:35:48+00:00

Day Twenty Seven back into work, this time Llandudno Junction. Considering Black Friday has just gone it wasn't half bad and even with an hour delay at start of day I was back for a decent time allowing me to finish Chapter 9.

I ended up writing 2135 words today and almost 2000 of them were in Chapter 9 and the other 160 were for Chapter 10. Chapter 9 ended with another pub crawl. The final chapter will more primarily involve doctors and policemen.

Pleased as punch to get to within 1670 of the target now and if I continue an even half decent start to the last chapter tomorrow then I'll get to the 50,000 words then. So I'll finish the #NaNoWriMo challenge with a couple of days to spare. Huzzah!

And for a laugh I even went and wrote another 360 words with a silly entry for Angry Hourglass (Round #117). Me, a silly entry? I know. Hard to believe, but true.

WC: 2135
Total WC: 48,327

Day Twenty Six: Na No Yes Yes

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-26T12:03:15+00:00

Day Twenty Six and it's my one day off for the week. The only days I haven't written at all on have been two days I had off work. Today though, so close to the end, I intended to lay down some words and I have done so I'm that bit closer to the finish now.

It was Chapter 9, the last of my cunning plan chapters, which took me to Birkdale Golf Course and a bit of hiding in the woods with a homemade lethal weapon, I've all but finished the chapter now. Will complete it quite quickly tomorrow (after work) and then start either the last chapter or go back to the problem Chapter 6. It'll probably be as well to carry on to the last chapter and then go back and fill in Chapter 6 at the end, as I've got momentum and direction which can run on into the last one.

With the chapters averaging at around 4-5000 words then even if I do shorten them it will take me over the 50,000 words aim somewhat, which is fine. I just need to make the writing time fits with the time available: 4 days left after today.

Because of the chapters I have to finish I may not actually finish the novel until the last day, although I should hit 5000 a day or two before that.

Anyway, to any of you guys doing this; good luck!

I've found the experience interesting and seeing how quickly (just) writing 1667 words a day mounts up its great. Clearly some times it's about momentum but you should never get down about missing days either. We all need to have breaks, reset and recalibrate. After writing so many stories between 100 and 500 words this has been eye opening. And I know now I can do it. Again - so, thanks NaNoWriMo!

Now I'm off to reward myself at Beer Street, a beer festival at the wonderful Tap & Bottles in sunny Southport.

Today's WC: 2132
Total WC: 46,192

Day Twenty Five: A Silver Celebration

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-25T18:46:36+00:00

Day Twenty Five was a working day of course. I was delivering parcels in Deganwy again on a beautiful sunny day. It truly was lovely. Cold though, but let's face it, it is towards the end of November so put on another layer and get over it.

I was working on the first half of Chapter 9 - 110% for the Gaffer and got down 1868 words, which again was spot on. Anything between 1500 and 2500 words I'm happy with now. And that leaves me with just 6000 words to go. Four days of 1500/day or three of 2000: Absolutely Fabulous!

Then it was down town for a pint in the Fly, Hard Times & Misery and the Dispensary. A good Friday. Though it did become a black one too.

CHEERS!

Today's WC: 1868
Total WC: 44,060

Day Twenty Four: Hours from Deganwy

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-24T17:25:47+00:00

Day Twenty Four was another working one, and one with not a bad day at work. Got back okay to do some writing mid afternoon, which was good 'cos I wanted to meet me da for a pint or two. Huzzah!

After four successive days writing more than 2000 words a day the pressure was off a little, but I needed to finish off Chapter 8, if I could. And I did.

I've now got three chapters to go until I finish - Chapters: 9, 10 and yep, 6. With six days left that's two days per chapter, which is certainly doable. Thankfully I think the last chapter will be shorter - we'll see - so should fit okay.

Today my suspect Google searches were largely confined to 'ketamine' and 'roofies' - such larks!

Ended up completing Chapter 8 with 1877 words this afternoon and in the process creating mayhem in the straight at Cheltenham racecourse.

Today's WC: 1877
Total WC: 42,192

Day Twenty Three: Forty Thou

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-23T23:19:21+00:00

Day Twenty Three was another working day in sunny north Wales and a day for my writing group meeting too. I wanted to keep my numbers up on Fergie Time, if I wrote around 2k again it would look pretty good for getting to the goal some time next week; maybe a day or two early. Getting to a point where five days of 2k words would take me to the finishing line would be spot on.

Today I ended up writing in two blocks. One in which I wrote about 1800 words in the early evening and another late on when I wrote another 1100. With this I ended up with my most prolific writing day - with some 2946 words of Chapter 8 done. Got probably less than a third of this chapter to go to.

Shame to miss Poised Pen meeting tonight (it was for a valid reason and not just because they were not having the meeting in a real ale pub tonight), but getting the best part of three thousand words down seems like it was well worth it. Especially as it means I've <10k to go now (or to put it another way I'm 80% done!).

The set up is all done and the remaining part of the chapter involves an attempt of administering some illicit drugs during the Cheltenham Festival to an unsuspecting individual and another even less suspecting individual becoming the centre of attention as farce once again prevails. And thanks to Gary from Hounslow with or without insider knowledge from a Far East betting syndicate our intrepid hero dressed as a waiter becomes suddenly rich... because you can do that if you're writing this stuff.

AJ Signing at LFC (never made an appearance; they don't know what they've missed)

Today's WC: 2946
Total WC: 40,315

Keep Writing Folks!

Day Twenty Two: Of Butterflies, Doppelgangers and Chip Shops

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-22T00:20:43+00:00

Day Twenty Two was another work day, like most days. The weather was much kinder and I got back a bit earlier than yesterday from Deganwy. I wrote in two 'bursts' (or more correctly one burst and one stutter). Once in the late afternoon when I just about finished off Chapter 7, and then much later in the evening, when I did finally finish off the chapter and then started (just) Chapter 8 - Champagne Supernova.

To be honest I could and probably should have written a lot more. I wrote about 1800 words in the first stint and should easily have been able to write another 1000 or maybe even have doubled my output for the day. But I got diverted, after feeling good about achieving the 1667 words in one fell swoop, by treating myself to watching part of a box-set I had recorded on my set top box which I never got around to watching (from over a year ago!). I proceeded to watch THREE episodes of Boardwalk Empire (final series). I have only two episodes to go now, but really hope I don't come to regret not putting a few more words down when I had a bit of momentum. Still, I've ended up writing 2,308 words today which is 'above a par' score so I needn't be too hard on myself. It's just that so close to the end if I miss any days or get stuck on any I don't have that many days left to play catch up with!

Basically now with 8 days left I've got just over 12,000 words to do. If I did miss one day that would mean I need to be writing 1800 words a day (or just 1580 if I write each day). That said, the last four days I've written over 2000 words a day. If I can do that I'll finish with 2 days to spare! In short then, if I keep up what I've been doing I should be getting there. Not 'there' yet, so I'm not excited. This time next week though... ask me then.

Today I have been writing about Doppelgängers (such a fab word) and an hallucinating football player trying to catch butterflies or faeries on a pitch during a match. Tomorrow it's a story of champagne and horse racing. Cheating, gambling and more unlikely shenanigans in Cheltenham and Liverpool.

There maybe some football in the chapter, who knows? Not me, and I'm writing the bloody thing.

And I've still got the 'difficult Chapter 6' to go back to. I may have an idea. Or a germ of one.

Talking of germ; they bombed our chip shop. Erm, either that or I need to start thinking about the redraft and editing.

Today's WC: 2308
Total WC: 37,369

Day Twenty One: 21Up!

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-21T23:31:06+00:00

Day Twenty One and I was aiming for another 2000 or so words to keep on track with my NaNoWriMo - staying on par with the 1667 per day. First things first it was a bloody awful wet day in north Wales where I was delivering and although it was slow and laborious I was still back at a decent time: last week's Stress Test was over.

Back home it was back on to Chapter 7 - and the whole accidentally drugged winger thing. It went well. For me, if not the winger.

Not quite finished the chapter today but it'll be sorted tomorrow in a jiffy (in theory). So today I got myself 2214 words down. Huzzah!!

Quite happy if not delirious about the chapter and at least it's better than err... that damn Chapter 6 issue. Still ain't had chance to decide what I'm doing with that one! Got a week at most to decide on that. Thinking hat on.

To be on par I'd be on 35k... and guess what? I only am. Get in!

Today's WC: 2214
Total WC: 35,061

Day Twenty: Angel Dust and real ale

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-20T15:36:30+00:00

Day Twenty and it's another day off. Yes, I have had a weekend! A rare and beautiful thing to have two successive weekends. After writing some 2000 words yesterday the challenge was to do a similar amount today. I also had to pick up on a new chapter after finally finishing Chapter 5.

So Chapter 6 next, obviously. Well, maybe obvious to you, but not to me. I've had to skip to Chapter 7! What? Well, my idea for Chapter 6 is quite well formed but I have a stumbling block in it that I haven't been able to roll out of the way yet. So rather than puzzle that out I'v skipped straight to the next chapter - as I'd struggle to write Chapter 6 with the problem not fully resolved. I'll have a think over the next few days in quieter moments and I'm sure I'll come up with some cunning plan for it, but in the meantime it's onwards and upwards with Chapter 7 - 'A Sprinkling of Angel Dust'

It's another chapter that's seen my Google tracking take an unusual course. So MI6 or those guys in the Pentagon will be wondering about what this AJ Walker chap is up to. Recent internet searches: 'bomb making' 'drones' 'PCP' 'bazooka' 'remote controls' etc

It's an idea that has been easier to run with than C6, and I've got the main character, Joe, finally telling someone what's going on in his life. The dialogue was dead easy to write and I reeled off 2188 words in double quick time.

Hoping I can finish the chapter tomorrow and get fully back on par. Another 2150 words tomorrow would put me bang on track.

Keep writing and keep rationing your Twitter (or FB) use. I'm of for a pint of real ale down the newly reopened Lion Tavern. Huzzah!

Today's WC: 2188
Total WC: 32,847

Day Nineteen: Like a Bird on a Wire

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-19T12:05:05+00:00

Day Nineteen and it's a day off. Woo hoo! Last two days I had off I ended up - not unsurprisingly - not writing at all. Naughty! Had a full day at work yesterday and had no time to write as I battled through the hail and storms to go and watch Low Anthem at Leaf on Bold Street in the evening.

I've seen Low Anthem a few times now - the Deaf Institute gig ranks as one of my Top Ten ever gigs (probably, maybe I need to write down a top ten and see what I come up with... a job for later) - and they've changed. First gig I've been to for a while, and I'm not sure having been there that I can even call it a gig. It was more a performance piece. Certainly not a hits show or sing-a-long. Although they did get us to sing with them at the end on Like a Bird on a Wire. Enjoyed the performance piece. Even my shushing was fun. Shhhhush!

Anyway, to the writing. Having not written yesterday I'm a little behind, but not that far. I've got to make up those 1667 words up over the next few days. Shouldn't be a problem. I managed it last week after all.

This morning I've gone in and finally finished Chapter 5. Was beginning to think that would never happen. I'm now thinking I may split it into two chapters actually, we'll see. The Christmas Crawl could probably stand alone; even if the protagonists can't stand at all by the end of it.

Anyway, I rattled off 2000 words in just over a couple of hours. Chapter finished. Decent word count.

Happy with that, Charlie Darwin? Yup!

Writing hint of the day: TURN OFF TWITTER!!

Today's WC: 2030
Total WC: 30,659

Day Seventeen: Stress Test

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-17T23:56:56+00:00

Day Seventeen and another work day. It's actually been a strange few weeks delivering stuff for Amazon. They've been busy getting loads more drivers in and part of that has resulted in all of us having really small routes before the Xmas rush starts in earnest. It's meant I've had loads more time than usual to do things like... well NaNo. It would have been impossible to do this last year (we've over 50% more drivers now). Should mean it's better for the holiday period. The new guys after a few weeks of half days (or less) though won't know what's hit them shortly.

As part of the build up to the madness we started a three day 'stress test' to see how everything and everyone will do with the bigger routes. Meant a more usual finish for me (5:30pm). Losing that two or three hours I've had lately in the afternoon definitely impacted on the writing. I got down 1760 words eventually in the late evening. And still have some more to go - I'm still on Chapter 5! which I feel is probably a tad bloated now. Just need to finish it and move on. The bloatedness can be reviewed and it can be gutted at a later date.

In general I'm still on track. About 300 words ahead of par.

Part of the stress test is giving people something like 3x what we've been doing lately, which means that on one of the three days I'll be given off - as there are correspondingly less routes. So if I don't get any writing done tomorrow (I've a Low Anthem gig to attend) I'll have to write twice as much on Saturday or Sunday.

Anyway, time for sleepzzzz. More test of stress tomorrow.

Keep writing.

Today's WC: 1760
Total WC: 28,629

Day Sixteen: Magnficent Seven

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-16T23:58:54+00:00

Day Sixteen was another work day. It was nice to get back on track yesterday after a weekend without much productivity. To some extent the pressure was off - and If I wrote anywhere near 1500 words I'd be on track still.

And yes I was relaxed about it, so much so I watched a film rather than write in the evening. Shock! Horror!!

But to be fair it was The Magnificent Seven, which shouldn't need an excuse anyway but does have one, for it features - a bit - in my NaNo novel. So my couple of hours of film buffery was down to research. Okay?!

As for the writing the remaining half of Chapter 5 comprise a pub crawl of the group of lads through Liverpool (uncannily there are seven of them, though not one is Yul Bryner). I know some Liverpool pubs. And I have heard tell of pub crawls before. So a quick piece outlining an increasingly drunk wander through some of Liverpool's best pubs shouldn't present a problem. And er.. won't.

Whilst I didn't finish the chapter or pub crawl off I did get 1740 words down (I got up to Pub 7 of 10, in Chapter 5 of 10). I reckon another 1000 words to finish the chapter and then I get into the next daft month. That'd be January and Chapter 6 for those not following.

Todays WC: 1740
Total WC: 26,869

Day Fifteen: Glass Half Full

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-15T23:52:53+00:00

Day Fifteen and that means I'm half way in days to the end of NaNo challenge. Of course the challenge is 50,000 words in 30 days so all things being equal to be around the 25k mark would be a laudable goal. And you know what, I've done it: Huzzah!

It was another working day, but an early finish meant I could get stuck into it late afternoon. By the end of the day I was still working on Chapter 5 (of 10) but I should finish that tomorrow. But I've got the word count up with an impressive 2839 words today, which is pretty much up there along side my best day.

This chapter is a bit sprawling (two Christmas parties and cunning plans will do that) and I'm sure it'll take a hit when it comes to editing, whenever this story gets revisited, but I've got my ideas down, some okay narrative and hopefully the right amount of jokes, farce and downright scary realism.

'Jokes, farce and downright scary realism' umm that sounds a bit too much like this year's elections. But there's no politics involved. Promise.

Chapter 5 is set in December and the season of football club Christmas parties. My main protagonist fails to take out TB Fergie despite a detailed and all too cunning plan that could not go wrong - until it did - predictably, but it doesn't end well for Carlos Tevez and it ended even worse for Joey Barton.

And as for the pink negligee, well the less said the better.

Todays WC: 2839
Total WC: 25,129

Day Fourteen: Playing Catch Up

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-15T00:01:10+00:00

Day Fourteen was my first day back at work after a whole 2-day weekend. Saturday involved an ale trip to Leek and Macclesfield. Leek was excellent, Macclesfield less so. And on Sunday it was birthday central in my family and a lovely meal in Auberge in a less than sunny Southport. So writing took a back seat this weekend. Still, I did manage to write some notes on Saturday on the coach (before the ale) on Chapter 5.

Today after work I first had to write an article about a pub in Liverpool for BEER magazine. It was 450 words and it took me a while but I got there. Still need to dig out a few photos for the article too. Hopefully be in the Spring edition of the magazine.

Now that is out the way - barring photos and any revisions - I've no excuse. I got to write 1710 words today on Chapter 5 and hope to get to be close to finishing that tomorrow. That said that will be a tallish order. Finishing the chapter should leave me at half way in terms of both chapter numbers and total word count. It is a bit of a complicated chapter. Or it is the way I've started it at any rate. So we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, good to get some writing done again today.

WC: 1710
Total WC: 22,290

Keep writing dudes.

Day Eleven: Wing Dingers

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-12T00:04:30+00:00

Day Eleven was another work day, but an early finish meant that I could get some decent words down in the afternoon; in fact I managed over 2000. Then in the evening I watched the England v Scotland match on the telly which was very poor despite the score line suggesting otherwise. And don't get me started on why Scotland were playing in Pink... Blue doesn't clash with England's white kit, just play in blue! England ended up somehow winning 3-0 but their performance was poor with so many loose passes and poor interceptions. From a Liverpool perspective I was pleased that Sturridge and Lallana both scored, but was more pleased that they didn't get injured.

Anyway, back to the writing. I had more to do and reeled off a rushed ending to the chapter with another 850 words.

All in all today's word count was 2913, very much a record for me. Huzzah!

That said, I am dissatisfied with the way the chapter ended and it'll need a fair bit of work when I get back to editing it sometime in the months to come.

At least I got the set play rounded off, after a fashion, and hospitalised a major Welsh International in the attempt to nobble Fergie. Next time TB, next time!

Not sure I'll get any writing done over next couple of days. Maybe a few hundred on Sunday? We'll see. If I write nothing over the two days it won't be the end of the world, I'll just be some 1100 words behind par which is easily catch-up-able.

Tatty bye. And keep writing!

Today's WC: 2913
Total WC: 20,580

Day Ten: Revolution No.9

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-10T23:34:32+00:00

Day Ten of NaNo. Firstly you may have noticed that I kind of skipped Day Nine. I think a lot of people may have struggled yesterday with events in America going off like little bombs everywhere.

Well, I didn't skip the project or the city (despite the bloody Trump nightmare). I'd printed off the current chapter I'm working on (Chapter 4) and took it into town with me when I went for a beyond needed haircut. After said smartening up I went through the chapter making some minor changes and additions by hand before making notes on the remaining parts of the chapter.

I didn't have time to make all the changes before midnight yesterday. Indeed I only typed up a few of them, so my sum total of words added yesterday was 51! Like I said though I'd actually done a fair bit more and done the planning for today's writing.

So Day Ten. A day that saw the candidate endorsed by the KKK going in to the White House to meet the US's first black President. When you see the story lines of 2016 it makes all our NaNo efforts seem a bit pointless in comparison. Truth stranger than fiction; unfortunately the current happenings would seem to lie in the horror section of any bookshop (although maybe it's an Alternative History, Horror & Black Comedy mash-up).

Anyway enough of that stuff, back to my NaNo. I've managed to catch up some but not all my lost words from yesterday's short effort and written 2,606, which is my best single day so far. Over the last couple of days that puts the average at 1325 then, about 350 short of the daily aim. In short, not too bad at all really.

I've still got one more day to write up this chapter and hope to finish it tomorrow. After that I may not get writing done until Monday. But you never know, some words must be a possibility.

Total WC: 17667

Day Eight: Please God, Not Trump

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-08T18:53:45+00:00

Day Eight of NaNo and it's been another working day. I've so far managed to write every day. As I've said I'm aware though that I've probably got at least four days when I won't be writing - or at least not writing more than low hundreds if I'm lucky. So at some point during the month I'll either have to get ahead of the game or play catch-up. I suspect it'll be the latter but even if I just write a bit more at this stage, and get a hundred or two down on the 'non-writing days' it will be less daunting towards at the end.

I've done 1826 words by 7pm which is pretty much par again for number done per day so far. The chapter seems a bit rambling to me and I've found it quite hard to get down, but I've only really got the last third of it to do now which as a 'set play' type of event should be easier to write once I get into it. I hope!

Today for my brief Google research I've mostly been searching for electrical 'accidents'. Ha ha!

My hero, for want of a better word, is off to cause mayhem and it won't end well. I know that, even if he doesn't.

May get a few more words down later. In fact if I can get down another 250 or so that'll put me a full day ahead i.e. leave me okay for one of those 'days off'. Now if that's not an incentive then I don't know what is. Anyway my word counts (for now) are:

Today's WC: 1826
Total WC: 14,758
__________

Updated this website with the ability to track it on GoSquared and added Comments from Disqus. Flip I used to know this stuff. I've had to learn about it again. And it'd changed. So will see if I've sorted that right or not...

So only added another 252 words to get up to 15,010.

Tomorrow will try and finish the chapter...

now I'm off to bed and will fall asleep listening to the BBC and the news on well.... Please God, Not Trump.... Sleep well folks - it's worse than Halloween this.

Day Seven: Bitty By Bit

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-07T23:51:56+00:00

Day Seven has proved a bit bitty. I completed Chapter one... ish. I'm not sure about the end of it. But it's done for now. It'll not be revisited for a month I dare say. And that was another 900 words or so.

I then uploaded a photograph of me to go on the NaNoWriMo page, as I felt obliged with my flashdog NaNo buddies all having photos up already. All three are veterans so they may have been up for years - so I felt it was appropriate to put an old pic of me up.

And then I sketched a quick cover for it. Yes, I have a cover. I thought it'd be nice to have something up there even if it's a *ahem* bit basic. So here it is. 'Fergie Time: the cover'. Take 1.

Later I went back to the writing and wrote another 900+ words for Chapter 4: 'A Winger and a Prayer'

Anyway, onwards and upwards. Would be nice to get a couple of days above 2000 down this week - particularly as I know I'll be doing little or no writing this coming Saturday and Sunday. Eek!

______

WC: 1910
WC total: 12,932

Day Six: Ten Thousand

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-06T13:09:47+00:00

Day Six and I've made it to 10,000 words. That's a milestone that is. Never written anything with this many words in before. If I had a hat on I'd take it off and say 'well done my good fellow'. But I don't. And it would be a bit weird so I'd probably creep myself out a bit doing that. It's at times like this that I'm glad I don't have a hat.

Have gone back to Chapter 1 to create the scene setting (largely football fans drinking in a pub - no idea where I get these ideas from!?) and introduce the characters. About half way through the chapter I think, so I hope to finish it off tomorrow. Gonna print today's words off now and take it down the pub, where I'll be watching the Liverpool game. So may well get a few more words down later. We'll see. And hopefully see Liverpool go to the top of the league!

Cheers folks. Keep writing.

YNWA

_______

WC: today 1671
WC: total 11,022

Day Five: Four One

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-05T17:19:07+00:00

Day Five and after work I managed 1963 words in Chapter 3 to go with the 520 which 'came in over night' so my best day so far with 2483 words. That gives me a current running total of over 9000. Woo hoo!

Now, I'm not saying they are good words. And there lies the rub, or some of it. At some point I'm going to have to print off a few chapters and read the damn thing. I know it's not going to be great. But it's a thing which I have down on paper which I didn't have before. Something to work on.

And one of the questions must be whether it is good to start going back over it early on or else get to the end first. I can guess the answer already; 'Different strokes for different folks'.

We'll see.

Tomorrow I think I am going to do Chapter 1. If I can finish that then maybe - just maybe - a quick shifty through the three chapters will be in order by Monday. But could it do more harm than good in halting the momentum?

Tomorrow I've also got to start writing an article for BEER magazine (really). And who know... Angry Hourglass is back for its second week of this run.

Anyway, happy writing you guys, whatever you be writing on.

Cheers!
-------

Today's WC: 2483
Rolling WC: 9351

Day Four: Four Two

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-05T00:25:26+00:00

Day Four brought me on to Chapter... wait for it....

Well, yes, wait for it indeed. I got diverted from NaNo and ended up first entering a story on the Microcosms flash fiction challenge site (300 words). Not sure if that was a good idea. Let's face it if I ended up being a few hundred words down today on NaNo I'd have been a bit peeved with myself. But hey, couldn't help myself. And as ever on Microcosms I didn't spin!

Anyway, back to NaNo and I was to begin Chapter 3. This is my 'Great British Bake Off' chapter.

I had the main character variously watching crap footy, drinking down the Midden, cooking Victoria sponge and ordering chemicals from a catalog. Oh and watching far too much (aka any amount of) 'Homes Under The Hammer' and 'Bargain Hunt' too.

I managed to bang out 1680 words in a couple of hours in the afternoon. I had to dip in and out of Google to research a variety of things relating to real events and people and potential cake-based incidents. Quite fun. I'm sure my searches will have resulted in me now be being monitored from Cheltenham, if I wasn't already.

Late on in the evening, after 11:30pm, I wrote another 520 words. But as it got finished gone midnight these words have fallen into Day Five on the NaNoWriMo website. It's a shame as having done 2200 words in a day sounded really good. Now having done 520 for the following day this last spurt of creativity doesn't sounds quite as good. Anyway either I'll 'just' write 1150 tomorrow after work to take me up to par or I'll try and do another 1660. We'll see. I'm off Sunday so the pub may call me after 1150...

Anyway, time for sweet dreams of Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and a bizarre cake based accident which may not entirely be an accident.

Night night.

Day Three: Na No No Yeah

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-03T17:23:21+00:00

Day Three of NaNo and it was a question of getting in and trying to finish of the chapter. I've actually started on Chapter 2. The reason being I can plough straight into the story while Chapter 1 is more a bit of scene and character setting. I'll get back to that between chapters at some point.

The whole book is planned (and I use that word in the loosest sense) to have a round TEN chapters - I think - which is damn handy as far as planning is concerned. If I can write ten 5000 words per chapter then I am there, aren't I? If I'm short or need to finish off the story beyond I may find myself with an Epilogue as a hand word dump *ahem*. It is all go with the flow, aint it?

The first chapter is going to be short though, I am sure, so I'll be needing words elsewhere but it's too early to see how closely the sections will match. Some chapters/events will be more complicated than others.

In terms of word count today I've come in under the 1667 words again, with an almost round 1450 but that's okay with the extra words yesterday the average over the three days is just about spot on at 5188. Hallelujah!

It means I can get me usual Thursday pint in and not worry about falling behind with each word not typed. As I'm commuting for my beer I could print out the 16 pages (?!!) and see how it reads. But it may be a bit early for self criticism and editing...

BTW I realise I haven't said what the 'story' is about yet. But I'll post stuff about it over the coming week or two. Don't you worry.

See you tomorrow - for a new chapter (1 or 3? We will see.)

Day Two: NeNa NaNo

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-02T23:58:48+00:00

Day Two was another working day, and not as early a finish as yesterday but I didn't do bad in terms of word count. Not quite finished the chapter hopefully get to finish it tomorrow. I don't know when to get around to reading it to see how rambling and incoherent it is. I'm guessing best doing that later rather than sooner in terms of carrying on and getting the bulk of the story down.

After spending sometime yesterday putting an iTunes Playlist together and listening to it a bit whilst working, today I started of with a bit of Mozart and then largely worked without music at all. I think 'wordy' music or even music that gets my head nodding may be okay before being in charge of a keyboard and a story with its whims and random acts of chance, but during it those song words may get involved with the story at some point. I think I may give Sigur Ros an hour or two at some point during the month rather than silence. Will be useful to know what really works best for me.

Anyway I managed 2213 words today, which after being a little low yesterday (1435) happily brings me back on track and gives me the knowledge that I can do 2000 words in a day. Even a working one. Woo hoo!

I even had time to update my website a little and - obviously - write this blog.

See you soon! x

It's Here!! NaNoWriMo

A.J. Walker — 2016-11-01T18:33:28+00:00

Day One of NaNo (that's what I'm calling it from now on, live with it) and it was a working day like most of the month will be, but the working part of the day was short and okay. So I managed a few hours of writing late afternoon (3.30-6.30pm) and I've got myself an okay start - 1435 words.

Assuming you get to write every day you would need to write 1667 words per day to get to that magic 50k. That's a big assumption - I've already identified at least three days I am likely not to contribute many more than a few hundred or do a little re-reading/editing. So, say four days not writing at all that gets you up to 2000 words required a day. Um, that means I'm behind already. Okay, let's not go there. I'll have days above 2000 - possibly.

It's a question of getting into a groove and seeing how the story writing flows and hoping it doesn't stick much. I've already had to pop in and out of the writing to google research on silly little phrases and ideas.

The story is set around a Liverpool supporter with a cunning plan and so of course I had to create an appropriate Liverpool Playlist before I started the typing. Cue: La's, Bunnymen, Real People, Amsterdam, Space, Beatles, Boo Radleys, Johnny Cash (Ring of Fire), Gomez, Beta-Band & Steve Mason and Alun Parry.

It'll be fun this.

- I think.

Hello!

A.J. Walker — 2016-10-31T23:51:03+00:00

Hiya! It's been a while. Okay, it's been never. Not on this site anyway.

It's a blog. A writerer's blog from me, A.J. Walker. Thought I should get one up and running so I can a) put up my progress on my first ever NaNoWriMo during November 2016 and b) explain the reasons for the lack of progress on a).

Nice to meet you!