Know Your Meme: Double Rainbow

Know your meme does it again.........

Ah....the weekend.

We've got a special birthday to celebrate today, so we're going somewhere appropriate - here. Can't wait. I've actually been there before, for one of my catastrophic lunches with Johnny, Kevin and the late, great, Richard. I'm struggling to recall details, but I'm sure it was wonderful. Let's see how it shapes up tonight.
The rain came overnight, which means for the first time in a week or so, I've not had to wander out to the garden first thing to water all of the plants. The shower seems to have perked them all up - the Dahlias in particular seem to be going through a growth spurt, and have flowered spectacularly.

Garden update...

The Penstemon is about to flower, the Spirea is attracting a massive amount of wonderful flying insects, and the edible chili pepper seems to be bearing fruit - hurrah!
And I've found a nifty Gardening blog too - here.

What a night...

And one I don't want to repeat in a hurry. As I said in yesterday's post, I've got a bit of a virus. Me and Pip both have gastroenteritis, and it would seem to be Norovirus too, what with the huge waves of nausea, aching limbs, stomach cramps, as well as the usual unsavoury symptoms. But we were most concerned with keeping Marnie safe and well. that all fell apart about 7pm when Marnie began vomiting up her feed - she's not normally prone to sicking anything up, so the ferocity of her reaction really scared us both. We took her to the hospital, where they checked her for dehydration and assured us she'd be OK. However, when we got back home, and after attempting to give her some more food (keeping the food routine going is obviously very important) she was violently sick once again. So, with both of us feeling more ill than we ever have, Marnie joined us in the bed, and we spent the whole night checking she was OK. Today is a day for slow, gentle feeding, little and often, and monitoring the situation. the doctor has said she may well have the vomiting for two or three days.

Kings Of Leon cancel gig after pigeons poo in bassist Jared Followill's mouth | Metro.co.uk

Kings Of Leon cancel gig after pigeons poo in bassist Jared Followill's mouth | Metro.co.uk
I've had a slightly upset stomach today, and the news of this pigeon-related poo-squad taking their revenge on KOL is making me feel a lot better.

And here's the Sun Kil Moon Tune that helped me through just about everything...

I've blogged about it before, but here it is, in all its glory.
Enjoy
x
08 - Duk Koo Kim by courtneywilliamson

Music for your Sunday

From Sun Kil Moon, AKA Mark Kozolek.
Regular readers of this blog will know I was obsessed with the Sun Kil Moon album "Ghosts Of The Great Highway" a couple of years ago; it helped me through some fairly dark times - divorce, the end of Shadowglobe, a period of drift, transition and uncertainty. Ultimately, of course, there was a lot of happiness at the end of it all, and there's something of that same redemptive quest in all of the Sun Kil Moon material. Yes, it's melancholy, maudlin, even: but there's flickers of silver amidst the clouds .
The new album "Admiral Fell Promises" is just perfect (and ignore the Pitchfork rating, it's at least a 9) - it's been glued to the stereo for the last 18 hours. I suspect it'll be the record that keeps me company as this summer turns into autumn.
Sun Kil Moon - Australian Winter by pitchfork

Saturday Morning

And once more, I'm sitting in the kitchen, waiting for the water in the bottles to cool, having watered all of my plants, just quietly welcoming in the day. It's definitely become my favourite part of the day - this early morning ritual - and a welcome moment of silence in a life that's got a lot more noisy since Marnie arrived!
Was on my own last night (which actually ended up rather fraught as Marnie was grouchy, then decided to poo all over me, vomit on the sofa and decide to refuse her food) so I was somewhat frazzled by the end of it all. I ended up messing around online, searching for things to put a smile on my face. I found this (again) and went to bed a truly happy man.

History Lesson for you....

"I never smoked me no cigarettes, I never drunk much booze"
Well, I think Bon Scott might have been stretching the truth somewhat, don't you? This is AC/DC at their finest, and it's taken from "Let There Be Rock".
However, it's interesting for another reason. It's the touchstone for quite a lot of what we did in Jesus Jones. Have a listen:

Now, listen again, and sing "...Yes you know how some things seem like God's Gift.." over the top of it. See what I mean? It's the inspiration for "Song 13", as well as " Don't Believe It" and a couple more as well. It's not that Mike ripped it off, it's just his favourite chord progression - so a little of "Overdose" bled into a lot of what we did. Mike knows this song in absolute minute detail, and there are other fragments of it that have ended up influencing the way we sounded. And people thought we were just a Baggy band? Hah. Think again.
The reason this has ended up on the blog today? It popped up onto the car stereo as I was heading to Homebase to buy some bamboo canes for my Roses. How's that for incongruous?

17lbs and 13 ounces.

Five months in and she's doing just fine.
Yesterday was spent tasting the food for the upcoming nuptials, at the venue on the King's Road. Walking down the length of the King's Road, I couldn't help feel a slight sense of nostalgia for what it used to be like - the Goth T-shirts, the hair dyes, the stalls piled high with cheap leather jackets, DM's.....edgy, cheap, fun fashion, constantly changing and renewing. It's not like that now - all you have is a never-ending cavalcade of big-name stores, coffee shops and designer boutiques. The crowds are still there, but the fun, and the zeitgeist has long gone. I'm just praying that the same fate doesn't befall the Portobello Road.

Because every Monday morning comes.......

Have some of this.

What a wonderful morning in West London.....

Marnie is eating her breakfast (well, she's actually wearing her breakfast) and I'm plotting the day to come. I've got to head of to the doctor's this morning to have the stitches removed from my foot (OW!) then it's off to the venue for our wedding reception, where we're tasting all the food and wine. Yes, that's right, ALL the food and wine. I'll be needing a nap later.

Sunday Morning.....

I always hear the Velvets whenever I write that, don't you?
Anyway, the garden is watered, the kitchen tidied, little Marnie has been fed and I'm getting ready for the day. We're off to Ifield later, to see the (almost) in-laws, and I'll see if I can squeeze in a visit to the Farmers Market. There's a wonderful stall which sells herbs for planting, and I could do with some Sage.

So, just to prove how rock'n'roll I am...

I went to the garden centre and bought some more herbs (Tarragon, Lemon Thyme) and a wonderful Fuchsia, a Spirea, and assorted accessories for the garden. I'm now cooking my dinner - meatballs with honey-glazed Carrots, herb-baked Courgettes, and some Broccoli. I may finally have grown up.

It's a Sunny Saturday....

And I've got Marnie with me in the Kitchen. She's sitting in her doughnut, munching on her favourite toys, and I'm listening to this.

Not really sure what today will bring, but I'm thinking about heading off for more garden supplies. Strange - since I became unemployed, I've loved getting out there and watching all of the plants flower and Bloom, and have really appreciated getting my hands dirty.
When I was a kid, we actually had a small farm attached to my school, and were taught lessons in agricultural science (this was the depths of Wiltshire, don't forget) so maybe it's a throwback to my youth. Whatever. It's fun, and I'm going with it.
Hey, I've got the time!

And the tune that was in my head as I awoke this morning...

Early morning is my favourite time of day....

Not very Rock'n'Roll, but there you go. The patio doors are wide open, the Sun is flooding in, I can see all of the plants in my tiny little garden (the Asiatic Lily flowered yesterday), the radio is on with the morning news and I'm having a light breakfast. I always feel energised in the early hours, and that tends to fade as the day passes.
Today sees me heading off to the doctor's (all to do with the foot injury I suffered last week) and also need to think about food for the weekend. There's Spaghetti Squash on the menu, I think.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised

That after all of the incredible warm weather we've had over the past week, I get a cold. The kind I hate the most: lots of tickly coughing and interrupted sleep.
Today's weather looks like it's set to break though - there's rain in the sky, and that means I could perhaps have the first morning for weeks which doesn't see me traipsing round the garden with a hose. Since the demise of NME Radio, I actually have done some gardening leave, and have spent all my time filling pots with Dahlias, Hydrangeas and Patio Roses. My Grandmother would be very proud indeed.

I love being obsessed by music....

And currently, that obsession is with The Mynabirds album "What We Lose In The Fire, We Gain In the Flood". It's available from the ever-reliable Saddle Creek, in a number of format choices.
Mynabirds is the latest project from Laura Burhenn, one-time vocalist for Georgie James, whose one and only album was one of the best things about this entire decade.
If you need to hear how good the album is, then check this out:

Where to start? (again)

A busy year for me, with as much going on as the last couple....
Marnie is my big news, obviously, but also, NME Radio is no more. A real shame, as we were producing something of real quality, with great content, committed, passionate and knowledgeable presenters, and great music, to boot. The state of alternative music radio in the UK is really starting to worry me: Six Music may have been saved (well, for now, at least) but Xfm is a shadow of it's former self, and there isn't much else, to be quite honest.
So, if anyone has any need of a Radio Presenter, do let me know, won't you?
Right, I'm off to look after my garden.
And BTW, how's the new template?