Sober October Diary: Beneath October Skies.

I could feel yesterday’s jabs in both of my arms when I woke up this morning, but I soon forgot about that. It was a beautiful sunny day again. I had intended going for a long walk, but it was an early kick-off for my team today at 12.30, so I just pottered around in my garden this morning. There are still plenty of flowers in bloom (See photo). Then I listened to Crystal Palace v Liverpool on Talksport which included updates on my team Peterborough United (The Posh) v local rivals Stevenage. Posh managed to win 2-1, Kwame Poku scoring the winner in the 4^th minute of injury time. They are struggling to find some form this season though because of selling their best players at the end of last season. 

This afternoon I went for a bit of a walk, looked in the charity shops, and went as far as Aldi although I wasn’t desperate for anything, just thought I should have a walk. Apart from a couple of phone calls I haven’t spoken to anyone since Wednesday. Next week I’ll be a bit busier. If it’s raining tomorrow as predicted, I’ll try and write a bit about the music I’ve been listening to. See you tomorrow.

 

Sober October Diary: Golden Autumn Day..

It was another very pleasant sunshiny day. I had to go for my covid booster and annual flu jab. I could have gone to a pharmacy in the nearby High Street, but I had opted to have my jabs at the Health Centre on the outskirts of town because the walk there and back is about three miles, and I thought the exercise would do me good. I enjoyed the walk and was struck by how nice the trees look at this time of the year. As I strolled through a small park on the way I took a photo of one tree I particularly liked. (See photo) When I arrived at the surgery I found there was a long queue of senior citizens also there to get jabbed. I don’t really like being in queues of pensioners because it reminds me that I am also old. I told myself that I should be grateful to have lived this long because lots of people don’t get that privilege. It took about half an hour before we shuffled through the door and were seen. I didn’t do a lot this afternoon except take another walk uptown to get some provisions. It was nice to get out while the weather is still good. The forecast says we have one more day of sun before the weather changes, so I’ll try and do something outdoors again tomorrow. Cheers.

Sober October Diary: In The Garden,

I have noticed that I get up earlier if I haven’t been in the pub the night before, so I was up and about at 8.00 this morning. It was a glorious sunny golden October day. I had intended going for a walk but decided that while the weather is nice I ought to try and finish the little project of clearing the overgrown corner at the end of my garden. Carpe Diem, that’s my motto! Firstly, though I did some washing and hung it out to dry in the yard. It was dry in about three hours because my little yard is like a suntrap. Walking down the garden I realised that not only are we now in the days of the leaves, we are also in the days of the spiders. I spotted at least three big spiders webs stretched across the garden shimmering with dew in the sunshine with a big fat spider sitting in the middle of every one. It reminded me of a poem by Robert Lowell called Mr Edwards & The Spider, ‘I saw the spiders marching through the air, swimming from bough to bough, that mildewed day’.

Anyway, I got to work with my secateurs on all the foliage overhanging my garden. It wasn’t just the branches of one tree, there was laurel, honeysuckle, brambles, ivy, and elderberries. I noticed around my pond, some of it was growing into the pond, putting down roots and drinking the water. The ivy was the worst, it was difficult to get off the wall on the left side. I had to prise it off the wall with a chisel. Eventually I decided I had removed enough. I have about eight sacks of garden waste to get rid of now. Then I gave the fence a good coat of cuprinol woodstain which should preserve it for another couple of years. I placed my yucca plant in the corner where it should be safe from the wind. It had blown over in a storm about a year ago and the stem had broken, but it stayed alive and kept growing. I stopped work at about 3.30 feeling quite pleased with myself for making the effort. I’ll definitely be going for a walk tomorrow. I was going to write a review of my new music this evening, but I'm too tired now. I'll wait until we get another rainy day.

Sober October Diary.

Raves From The Grave.

It is that time of the year again. No pubs for me for a month. I’m determined to try and achieve something every day and get some exercise at the same time. Yesterday afternoon I spent four busy hours in my little garden. I was cutting back a tree from my neighbours that was overhanging the end of the garden. I could hardly see the fence. I should have taken ‘before and after’ photos to show you, but I didn’t think of that. Rain stopped play in the end, but I was pleased with the progress I had made. My garden is about a yard longer now. When we get a few days of sunshine and the fence is nice and dry, I’ll give it a coat of stain to try and preserve it before it falls apart. The News on the BBC last night was pretty awful. It was too depressing to watch. I listened to Talksport on the radio instead because my team were playing last night, but sadly we lost 3-0, never mind.

Today, I went over with a friend to the nearby pretty little town of Frome. Amazingly in this day and age in a small town they still have an excellent record store called Raves From The Grave. I had a browse in there and bought new CDs by Van Morrison and Nick Lowe. Then we had a coffee in the café at The Cheese and Grain and had a pleasant walk along the river before returning home. I listened to the Van CD earlier, hmmn. I’ll tell you what I think of the new albums in due course when I’ve played them a few times. I’m not sure what I’ll do tomorrow. I might go for a walk if it's sunny. Cheers.

Happy Birthday Jimmy Carter. 100 Today.

R.I.P Kris Kristofferson.