At last we’ve reached the final day of this weird blogathon. I’ve enjoyed it – and I hope some of you have too.
My last song is currently top of the list in terms of number of times played on my iPod. To be fair, if ITunes had been available way back in 1973 the song would have been something completely different I am sure.
And yes, you’ve guessed it, the song is a progressive rock masterpiece, in my opinion anyway. It is called Drive Home by Steven Wilson and features an extraordinarily emotional guitar solo at the end by Guthrie Govan.
Steven Wilson has the uncanny ability to write sad songs and this is up there with the best of them.
The song is about a man who loses his wife in a car crash and blocks the incident out completely until, later, his wife comes back as a ghost to remind him what happened, urging him to move on and deal with the pain.
The accompanying video is equally sad – but despite this, the song is absolutely beautiful. If you don’t want to listen to the entire song, just listen to the guitar solo from about 5 minutes into the video.
Anyway – that’s it. I’ve completed my second 31 day blogathon and I must say that it has been fun and has actually ticked off a couple of “resolutions” for 2017 (although not completely). I don’t really want to highlight resolutions but if you set yourself a target and (kind of) achieve it, you suddenly feel a warm and fuzzy feeling inside – something akin to happiness and contentment.
I moaned earlier about how dreadful 2016 was and how January as a month is dark, dismal and depressing and how I needed a distraction and this series of posts has helped a lot. I have increased the amount of writing I have done and also resurrected a 30 day challenge and this has helped me forget about 2016 and this, the worst month of the year.
As we enter into February I am content. I still haven’t lost my temper with a rant about Brexit and Donald Trump despite provocation of the highest order and I can hopefully put all that behind me and start being more positive.
It’s tough but I recommend it.
What’s in store next?
February will bring more misery in terms of the cold British weather but in terms of writing, I am going to aim to complete the first draft of my terrible novel.
I am also currently attacking my language skills, by brushing up on my German and French and taking on another language – Italian. We are thinking of a trip to Italy in September so I would like to impress the locals by at least being able to ask for things in their native language. My exploits with Spanish have shown that this is very difficult – but I like a challenge.
Whether I’ll achieve it or not, who knows – but it will be fun trying.
I will also continue with this dreadful blog and maybe try to post more regularly. Sadly, for you dear reader, that means more garbage from Manchester but it at least it will help those who want to see “How Not To Write A Blog Post”.
See you in February sometime.
And, as a footnote, I hope you’ve experienced a wider range of music and enjoyed a little bit of prog!
Don’t the years just fly by? It seems like only yesterday that I was waving goodbye to 2014, and now here I am showing 2015 the door as it heads off into the sunset of the past.
I’m starting to feel old.
Anyway, tradition dictates that I simply must summarise the past year with a meme that I stole some time ago.
This could be a long one – so here goes – dive in with me:
1.What did you do in 2015 that you’d never done before?
I travelled to South America for the very first time, visiting a country that is absolutely huge – Brazil, As part of that trip, I also spent six hours in Argentina too.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
2015 was a very good year for achieving some of the things I have procrastinated about for the past few years.
Firstly, I took it upon myself to take up a few 30 day challenges and I completed every single one of them. Here are some of the highlights:
(a)Improve my photography (completed January).There is still a long way to go but I have learned lot of technical stuff.
(b)Creative writing (completed March). All I did was read a book about the subject. I just need to put it into practice.
(c)Learn basic Italian (completed April). I did this because we visited Bologna in May. I learned a few choice phrases and some basic vocabulary, which I have since forgotten.
(d)Japan travelogue (completed August). The travelogue is still incomplete but at least I put a massive dent into this unwritten travel diary for our visit to Japan a couple of years ago. Another 30 day challenge may just complete it.
(e)NaNoWriMo (completed November). I actually wrote over 50,000 words of a novel that I have had in my head for the past couple of years for National Novel Writing Month. And I won. The problem is that the novel will end up being about 80,000 words and is, in its current form, full of major plot holes and is in fact rubbish. However, I hope to have completed it by the end of January, to set about rewriting huge swathes of it later next year. This particular challenge is the best of them all.
I also actually cycled to work one day this year. Can you believe that??? No – neither can I!! 3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
A couple of guys at work became fathers but they didn’t actually give birth themselves.
4. Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully.
5. What countries did you visit?
I visited friends in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates in April.
The Grand Mosque - Abu Dhabi
In May, I went for a weekend away to Bologna in Italy with a group of friends.
View of Bologna from the roof of our hotel
In June, we visited Prague in the Czech Republic to celebrate Mrs PM’s mum’s 70th birthday.
A busy square in Prague
Also in June, I visited Beijing in China for a week with work, where I gave a training course.
Finally, in October, I visited Brazil for the first time and also popped across to Argentina for the day.
A famous statue in Rio de Janeiro
6. What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
I won several major battles in my war with procrastination this year so I would like a bit more willpower to gain the upper hand.
I think it’s achievable.
7. What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
March 22nd sticks in my memory because my beloved football team, Walsall, reached Wembley for the very first time in the Johnson Paint Trophy Final. I travelled to London with Mrs PM and my eldest lad and the atmosphere was fantastic.
The score at this point was 0-0 - so I was happy (briefly).
Sadly, we lost the game 2-0 – but at least I was there.
My eldest lad graduated from university on 10th July.
Like father like son?
Meeting old friends in a night of drunken debauchery in Liverpool on November 14th.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Without a doubt, writing at least 50,000 words of a novel.
9. What was your biggest failure?
Finding just enough willpower to cycle to work more often (i.e. more than once!)
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing whatsoever apart from the odd cold. In fact, I've just recovered from two particularly nasty ones that waited until I had finished work for Christmas before unleashing themselves onto my poor old body!
11. What was the best thing you bought?
I didn’t buy any gadgets this year. I would probably say that the holiday to Brazil was worth every penny.
12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
As usual, I award Plastic Mancunian Knighthoods to those heroes who dedicate their lives to helping others without wanting the plaudits that many more famous people crave.
I salute you all - you know who you are.
13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
There are too many to mention. But I will.
Kanye West, as usual for declaring himself the biggest rock star on the planet at Glastonbury and then performing like an old has-been (who was never any good anyway).
Katie Hopkins for still being in the news and on TV despite the fact that she is attention-seeking little Miss Nasty.
Sepp Blatter for doing his best to destroy FIFA and football in general and then acting as if he has done nothing wrong. Finally (hopefully) his ban from having anything to do with football will remain. The sad thing is that he still thinks he is innocent.
Donald Trump for starting out as an outrageous clown and then proving that he is a bigoted idiot, I honestly worry about the possibility of this nutcase gaining any form of power.
There is also so much evil in the world but I don’t want to go into that. Nor the hypocritical politicians who continue to use and abuse us all.
14. Where did most of your money go?
Mrs PM’s had to buy a replacement car after it suddenly died and, as mentioned above, the holiday to Brazil, as well as kids and mortgage.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My first trip to South America and Brazil; it didn’t disappoint.
16. What song will always remind you of 2015?
I will discuss this in more depth in a later post in due course. However, this is probably the song that weill remind me of 2015. Steven Wilson is a genius in my view, and his music is sublime and magnificent. Every song on his latest album Hand. Cannot. Erase. is perfect. However, the title track is probably the most accessible and, for once, more of a pop masterpiece than a progressive rock masterpiece.
Judge for yourself:
17. Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c) richer or poorer?
Happier, slightly fatter and perhaps a little richer.
18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I had cycled more. Having dusted down my bike, removed the cobwebs and actually rode the thing to work, I put it back to gather dust again. Whoever thought that having national cycle to work day in September, just as the weather is descending into dark wintry horror, needs to be sacked. If the day had been in the middle of April, I would have taken it up – honestly.
And yes, I will try to cycle in April 2016.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
I wish I had gone to work less. Sadly, I have to work to live and sadly that is something I can do nothing about.
20. How will you spend New Year's Eve?
Exactly the same as last year.
21. Did you fall in love in 2015?
I am already in love – so yes.
22. What was your favourite TV program?
Of all the hours I spent watching TV this year, I reckon that my favourite was – and still is – Dr Who. Yes, I am a sad geek.
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Hate is too strong a word but all of the people I disliked last year are still disliked this year.
24. What was the best book you read?
I quite enjoyed Hunter by James Byron Huggins, not a brilliant book by any means but an enjoyable romp.
25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I will reveal all in a later post.
26. What did you want and get?
I wanted a kick up the arse to force me to write a chunk of a novel. Somebody or something gave me that kick.
27. What did you want and not get?
The power and means to quit my day job.
28. What was your favourite film of this year?
Avengers: Age of Ultron but honourable mentions must go to SPECTRE and Terminator Genisys.
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I am now 53 years old. I spent my birthday exploring Salvador in Brazil.
30. What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Sorry to mention it again, but actually attempting to write a novel. 31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?
I reduced the length of my sideburns last month. Does that count? Also, I have been lazy for a couple of weeks and I now have a bit of a beard. Sadly, it is irritating and I can't see it lasting until 2016. Bizarrely, Mrs PM approves of it (apparently because beards are fashionable at the moment).
32. What kept you sane?
Mrs PM – apart from when she played her music.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
There are a lot of attractive female celebrities but nearly all of them are too young for an old git like me. 34. What political issue stirred you the most?
Lunatic extremists and the ongoing hypocritical antics of the current party in power in the United Kingdom.
35. Who did you miss?
Nobody leaps to mind.
36. Who was the best new person you met?
Again, nobody leaps to mind.
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015.
Coca Cola is a disgusting sugar-filled sickly drink that doesn’t even taste nice – but it is a great hangover cure.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
It's a thousand pages, give or take a few
I'll be writing more in a week or two
I can make it longer if you like the style
I can change it round and I want to be a paperback writer
Paperback writer
Those are the ideal lyrics but the truth is more like my own version:
It’s a thousand pages if I finish it
And if the truth be known, it’s a pile of shit
But I’ve had a go and I’m proud of it
Even though I know that I’ll never be a paperback writer
May is approaching and with it, improved weather and the holiday season, the time of the year when the days are longer and brighter and I get to enjoy the prospect of a trip or two abroad that isn’t work related.
The first of those trips is a long weekend to Bologna in Italy. Mrs PM and I plus five friends are popping across to the home of spaghetti bolognese and I can’t wait.
You may also know that this year I have decided to attempt to improve myself by adopting several 30 day challenges throughout the year. My reasons for doing this are as follows.
First, I have been tired of the same old tired New Year’s Resolution because I fail miserably. By forcing myself to concentrate on something for 30 days.
Second, other bloggers have attempted something similar and it yields results.
Finally, I am aware that this challenge is probably a bit of a midlife crisis. When I analyse my reasons for wanting to do it, I simply want to add a few more strings to my bow. Regular readers will know that I really want to do something other than my chosen career and by trying a few other things I get a sense of relief and a little bit of hope that something will appeal to me so much that I take a chance and go for it.
Anyway, enough of that crap; it’s early days yet.
My current 30 day challenge is to learn basic Italian in time for our trip to Bologna. And I am thoroughly enjoying it. One of the things I’ve always regretted is my limited knowledge of languages and the struggle I have when immersed in a culture that speaks little or no English, and I can’t even begin to make myself understood.
I’m really lucky that I speak English, American, Canadian and Australian fluently. My French is good enough to make myself understood, my Spanish is improving rapidly and my German needs some work.
Before April 1st this year, my Italian was limited to molto bene, scusi and ciao
But now I can say a lot more and I understand the basics. And all this from between 20 minutes and an hour a day learning from the internet using two tools that are absolutely free to use.
The first is Duolingo that offers lessons in the form of challenges, a bit like a game. Gradually you learn phrases, sentence structure and vocabulary, writing out translations in English and Italian and also practicing listening and speaking.
The second is Memrise that helps improve vocabulary with flashcards and repetitive tests with picture and prompts to help to jog your memory if you forget.
I have been using these tools to great effect to strengthen my Spanish skills and I am now able to have a very good level of understanding of online Spanish magazines as a result. I’m not fluent by any stretch of the imagination but I can get the gist of what I am reading.
I have 12 more days of Italian and then a real test when I actually go there and try to speak with the locals. Wish me luck; I think I’ll need it.
I have so far completed five of these 30 day challenges.
(1)Walk at least two miles every day – This was easy, In January I made a real effort to force myself outside every single day no matter how cold and miserable it was. As a result, I achieved a little more fitness than I would normally have done and since then I have continued to walk on average two miles a day on most days since then.
(2)Improve Spanish – I concentrated on my Spanish using Duolingo and Memrise for the whole of January as well as attempting to read Spanish web sites and watch Spanish videos. This was tough and still is but I have improved my vocabulary and reading skills.
(3)Photography – I spent February trying to improve my photography skills, reading books and trying to get to grips with Mrs PM’s digital SLR. I had an ally with this because Mrs PM is a great photographer and explained a lot of techniques she had learned on a course she attended a few years ago. I am attempting another photography challenge in May because of holidays. This time the emphasis will be to actually take Mrs PM’s camera and try to take as many cool shots as possible.
(4)Creative Writing – A few years ago, I bought two creative writing books and I have never read them. They have simply gathered dust on my bookshelf. In March I decided to blow off the dust and read them from cover to cover. Also, in March I write down lots of notes for writing ideas including a novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge and it has sown the seed of a massive challenge later this year.
(5)Life Coach – When I found the creative writing book, I also spotted a book about being your own life coach. Both Mrs PM and I have no idea where it came from (she thinks I bought it and I think she bought it – perhaps it’s a survivor of my time with my ex-wife – I can’t remember). Anyway, I decided to read this too because, the author claimed, the book can change your life and make you grab your desires by the scruff of the neck and totally change its direction for the better. The truth is, that while I found it vaguely interesting, the book was full of Mr Motivator ideas like “JUST DO IT!!!” and while I could relate to some elements of it, most of it was aimed towards those of us who can burst into a room and announce “I’M HERE!!” with no fear of the consequences. All of the stories of success were a bit too contrived for me. It was good to read though – not something I would normally even consider picking up.
What’s next?
Our big holiday this year is Brazil in October so, depending on how successful I am with Italian, I am planning to spend 30 days learning Portugese.
One challenge I have been dying to try, but lacked courage and belief in my own ability to do so, is to write a novel in November (National Novel Writing Month – or Nanowrimo). This is a 30 day challenge just waiting to happen – so I am going for it.
Mrs PM can play a piano so she has been talking about buying a digital piano for a couple of years now. We’ve chatted about this and I said that if we buy one, then I will spend 30 days trying to teach myself how to play it. I can read music (well I used to be able to) so how hard can it be? Don’t answer that – I know it’s hard.
Anyway, enough of this nonsense for now.
Wish me luck with my Italian and I will let you know whether I made a complete arse of myself in Bologna or not in due course.
In my wrap up post for last year, I suggested that I might try a couple of 30 day challenges, in order to have a little fun, learn something new or just make a couple of tiny improvements.
I have just completed two in a month.
I thought I would start with easy challenges, just to ease me into the concept and acclimatise me to the discipline required.
The first challenge was to walk at least two miles a day for 30 days. I usually go for a lunchtime walk at work just to get me away from my desk but I don’t usually force myself to walk as far as two miles, usually a little under. Also, I don’t walk every day at weekends.
This proved to be easier than I thought. Armed with an application on my phone and a pedometer to measure distance etc., I marched around the streets with my trusty iPod as a guide, pumping out decent well timed music.
When the snow came, last week, it was a little tougher but I completed the challenge with a 2.3 mile walk around Didsbury.
The pedometer proved to be extremely useful because it measured how far I walked during the rest of the day, rather than just on a two mile walk around the block – I was surprised to be honest that I actually walked probably twice that distance just ambling around the office, running up the stairs etc.
My second challenge was to dedicate an hour a day to learning Spanish. Again, this seemed relatively easy because I have been learning on and off for the best part of two years now, but this was tougher than I thought. Again, my smartphone came in very useful, allowing me to learn new vocabulary with a suitable application, and to read a Spanish web site whilst on a bus, at home on the settee or even on the throne.
Now that I am used to it, I will try to read a little Spanish and learn some grammar and vocabulary on a more regular basis.
So now to the next challenge: I am going to start improving my photography. I have an assistant for this one because Mrs PM is a keen and able photographer, so I will spend the next 30 days either taking photos or reading some of her books on how to improve my techniques.
“What has all this malarkey got to do with the blog post title?” I hear you ask.
Allow me to elaborate. I’ve taken a few photos from around my house this weekend and I thought I would share them. They’re nothing special but I hope that may change with a little practice and insight from Mrs PM and her books over the coming month.
Here they are with suitable captions.
There's a meerkat in our mug cupboard
I don't even drink spirits!!!
An English Rose
The Warrior who guards the gasfire
Flower and lamp
A chequered bathroom
A glimpse of my CD collection and, yes, it is in alphabetical order!
Cheshire Cat seems happy.
Mantlepiece
Some books - they are not all mine!
A boring cloudy day through a pretty window
Straight from the 1970's to our bedroom
And, of course, I can't take photos of our house without my three bosses.
Jasper has had such a busy day - he's exhausted!
Poppy is terrified - what on earth is the oaf pointing at me now?
Liquorice plotting her next attack from the comfort of her furry tube.
If you fancy letting me know what you think, please feel free.
