This week, I started a diet. It’s been a long time coming. Today I’m trying to hold out until 10.30 am before I eat an apple.  I’m probably not actually hungry.  Last night me & Lynne went out for sushi in YO! Sushi.  Expensive but filling and not too bad for the calories.  I reckon I scraped under the daily allowance.  I lay off the beer completely.

The music project over at http://hearingvoicesmovement.com is ramping up. We’re looking to start gigging sometime in the not to distant future.  Probably early in the new year; it’s all very exciting.

In parallel with mixing the album we’ve had a few sessions to jam some material for what will be the next album.  It’s sounding like it’ll take a completely different direction to the current album, it’s all very exciting sounding and I can’t wait!

Will endeavour to update this more often.

All in all this was a nice weekend. Started off rather well, nailed a
bug last thing in work.

Friday night, Lynne and I knocked up a lovely stir fry. We’re getting
really good at them – along with adjusting to the new gas cooker.
Turkey and lots and lots of veg. Whipped up a lovely stir fry sauce.
I was worried that it wouldn’t be that great as it tasted a bit like
ginger nut biscuits in the bowl but it tasted lovely in the dish. We
cracked open some bottles of vino and watched telly. Lovely.

Saturday, Lynne was working. I listened to the Adam & Joe show for a
half hour or so then got up. I started to potter about and think about
what I was gonna make for dinner then my mum phoned with the news that
they are moving to Turkey. It shouldn’t have come as quite a surprise
as it did but it did. I was pretty scunnered. I’m not too upset by it
really but it’s just a biggish deal not having them in the country.
They were a 4 hour drive away, now they’re a 4 hour flight away; with
the cost of hiring a car for the weekend compared to getting cheap
flights out to visit them, it’s not that much of a hard ship.

Besides, when they sell the house in the UK, I’ve claimed the super
king sized bed. Super king. We’ll have room for the cats AND us to
sleep on it.

Based on the news, and the fact the weather turned to shite, I decided
it was suppers from the sportsman for dinner; something of a
speciality of mine ;-)

I pick up the electric guitar and start fiddling with some scales and
out pops a whole new riff. It reminds me – possibly a direct rip off
- of Ten Year Plan by Therapy? I then remember reading an interview
with T? about one of their songs on the last album and about how the
bass line had a Ruts style riff going on so I start scratching around
on the same scale for what I thought would constitute a Ruts come
Therapy? influenced riff. It comes together nicely, it fits with the
first riff. Fit it all together with a swinging up stroke ska chord
thing and I had the start of a reasonable tune.

The day goes on, Lynne confirms suppers for tea and I keep jamming
these riffs, I’m getting really excited.

We have dinner and Stuart comes to take us to the pub to celebrate
Stevie’s birthday. There was plenty of discussion about
the SPL season and maelstrom of issues that have surrounded it this
term. Boxing was on the telly so there was no music, boo. Nevertheless I went on to the classic grand til closing,
dunno why but there was good chat. Stevie is the definition of “dance
like no one is watching”.

Sunday, Richard came over to work on music stuff as is our routine
these days. He plays me a mix of One Day Closer to Tomorrow. It’s
absolutely jawdroppingly awesome. It’ll be a set closer for sure. We
then fire up Reaper and start working up some beats for the riffs from
yesterday. This takes the rest of the afternoon and by the time we’re
done we have the kernel for a really good short punchy song. Richard
has some ideas for how to develop it. I suspect it’ll be a set opener,
that’s us got the bookends to a set. Really exciting, given the
quality of work that we’ve got accrued so far.

We also briefly discussed what we should do when we actually want to
start promoting this. All interesting stuff.

The moment Richard leaves I phone in a chinese. Lynne’s glands are
awfy swollen and she’s not well at all. We’ll be phoning the docs
first thing in the morning and get that sorted.

We’ll also need to get some shopping in as we can’t eat take out all week.

Fun week at work planned; should be interesting.