Music, travel, the novel, and learning things badly at sixty-nine.
The rest of a life. And to be honest, a life that was subsumed under work for decades.
Live music, which I’ll travel a long way for. Places, and the people you talk to in them. Books, food, conversation, the occasional strong opinion.
It’s also where I write about the novel I’m working on — learning the craft, the crushing self-doubt, and what it’s like to be a beginner again at this age. Nothing about the plot.
And about the other stuff I’m trying. Playing the bass guitar I play so-so, the chess I’m slowly improving in, the Italian I keep meaning to learn, and the swimming I’ve finally started.
Being bad at new things is underrated. This is where I do it in public.
A Years Long Pull Towards New Orleans For years, I dreamed of going to the New Orleans Jazz Fest—but somehow, it never happened. The eclectic sounds of New Orleans. Jazz, blues, Cajun, Zydeco, and the musical mishmash of the Deep South have been a fixture …
The Best Laid Plans ‘Stick or quit’ is not my usual conversation with myself. It’s on my mind now, and I’m not sure if it’s my psyche playing with me, introducing the ‘quit’ word to get me going again. Or is it that time? It’s …
What Do You Do? Transitions from full-time work. I finished my last full-time work role a year ago. It was time. I have worked since I was 16 years old, and my last day at work was fifty years and one month after my first …
Is This As Good As It Gets? That’s the question I asked myself this afternoon. I’m laying low to promote healing following my recent heavy crash. A beautiful, sunny spring afternoon, but a sense of emptiness hanging over me too, a feeling of loss. I …
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes* The next chapter arrived for me last month when I parted ways with my company after 12 years. It wasn’t long after I wrote my last blog post, “Going Through Changes“. I don’t believe in coincidences. I heard someone say that once and adopted …
I’m Going Through Changes. Take the time to listen to Charles Bradley sing this great version, while I write about change. Does anyone care to guess who wrote this song? Answer at the end. Change is a given in our lives. The more changes I …
I’m A Pensioner Life comes at you fast. Yes, sir, it does. My invitation to get my State Pension arrived today. Life comes at you quickly. I remember my first day at primary school with clarity. Oddly I remember that day better than when I …
Still Rocking For Three Hours My companion Bruce Springsteen came to town last week. I was fortunate to see Bruce him play a typically high-energy three-hour set at Hyde Park on Saturday. He promptly walked on at 7 pm and left at exactly 10 pm. …
The Older I Get, The Clearer The Path Finding my way back to myself. It sounds odd, but it isn’t really. I’m assuming that I was myself at the start of my life. Before coming into contact with my family, other people, and the environment …
The next chapter of my life has been on my mind for months. I haven’t blogged since March. Every time I sat down to type, something made me stop tapping the keyboard. The constant nervousness that my openness about my mental health will somehow hurt …