Tag Archives: Leonard Cohen

A week to myself

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IMG_0107IMG_0082This week I’m away from Liverpool, at Laugharne in South Wales. A week on my own, away from my work and my laptop. To walk, read, maybe write and on the whole do not much of anything. A retreat. I’ve brought some music, some poetry, some t-shirts and not much else.

As the week goes by I’ll add some words and photos to this blog of my week.

Before I leave some time with my family at Africa Oyé in Sefton Park. Then I finish packing, and leave home early Monday morning.

My daughter Clare Melhuish with 2 of her children, Finn and Ellie.

 

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The rain and the sun come through

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Continuing with the second part of our holiday in the Ladybird Book of England.

In Herefordshire earlier this week it is still late wintertime as we set out walking on a mostly sunny day.Shobdon01We are staying near the village of Shobdon, halfway between Kington and Leominster, and set off on a circular walk Sarah has  downloaded from the local village shop.

The snowdrops which are finishing back home are still in full flower here.

The snowdrops which are finishing back home are still in full flower here.

The otherwise bare winter oak trees are heavy with parasite mistletoe.

The otherwise bare winter oak trees are heavy with parasite mistletoe.

We soon reach this splendid wall.

We soon reach this splendid wall.

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On humility, democracy and talking to each other

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During my walking around Liverpool as the year has turned I’ve been thinking a bit about what and how I write on here – and about the coming up  GeneralElection. Here are a few of my thoughts.

Looking down into a winter garden.

First, about shouting and being opinionated.

This instant publishing on social media can easily lead to positions of self professed importance for us bloggers and tweeters, it seems to me. Unedited by others and not necessarily taking much time to reflect on what we’re saying, we find anyway that the stronger the views we express the more reaction we provoke. So we can get into the habit of never expressing a view mildly and certainly never appearing to have any doubts. Because doubts don’t get ‘likes’ do they? And mild opinions don’t provoke comments. So being strongly opinionated and shouting louder and louder about our opinions is the nature of the game around here, isn’t it?

Well actually, as I get older and having been doing this writing in public for a good while now, I’m not sure. Continue reading →

And here I’ll stay

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My post the other day on ’10 things I’ve learned from ‘A year to live’ carried the unsurprising news, to anyone who knows me and/or reads this blog, that I’ll be living in Liverpool for the rest of my life.And here I'll stay01

“I am happy where I am. I know I will never go to Machu Picchu, or climb Kilimanjaro or go snorkelling (with dolphins or not) off the coast of the Great Barrier Reef. Because I’m happy where I am and I don’t want to miss a day of it. This has not been a travelling life. Earlier yearnings and travels have gradually centred me in the Northern and Western British Islands. And now the furthest from home I want to travel is still home really. To Anglesey or to Mull or across the water to Ireland maybe. But never too far from this Liverpool. Where my heart beats.

During this year a couple of possible travels have been considered and not so much rejected as evaporated, from my lack of energy and interest. Given a year to live I am enjoying my time exploring and photographing and treasuring the land on both sides of the river I was born by. It’s enough, and it’s here I’ll stay. The streets, the people, the public libraries, the parks, the cafés, the quiet corners, the marmalade sky sunsets, and Granby 4 Streets, and Homebaked in Anfield, and Eldon Grove and, oh well, all the precious things I go on about. This is my place. I am from and of Liverpool and am of an age and experience where I am happy to carry some measure of responsibility for it and regularly convey my thoughts and suggestions to those elected to carry actual responsibility.

Years ago I would say that if you cut me open it would say ‘Liverpool’ in my bones. Now there’s no need to cut me open, any reasonable geologist could identify me as Liverpool on sight.”

Elsewhere in the article I mentioned seizing moments and no sunshine being wasted. So this morning when a work meeting was unexpectedly called off I did what is now my habit and retaliated by taking the rest of the day off. As I write the sun is gently setting, but this has been a gloriously blue autumn day. A day when no camera should go unused. Continue reading →

Buying LPs again: Top Ten finds

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Buying LPs again01A year already since my return to the joy of flicking through racks of LPs in record shops and charity shops to find the gems. From a standing start of no LPs at all last August I’ve now progressed to something like 200 of them. LPs I wanted to get again by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and Kate Bush are arriving steadily. And a good number of brilliant new LPs – Bird, Ben Watt, The Pearlfishers and Elbow are here too.

But one of the great joys of this adventure has been the accidental finding of things I didn’t know I was looking for at all. Mostly in charity shops and many for very little money at all. Not all these charity shop finds work out and many are back where I found them within the week. But here I want to feature a ‘Top Ten’ of these fortuitous finds.

1. ‘Free’ by FreeBuying LPs again02This was their second LP, a classic pink-label Island album from 1969. After a slightly frantic start with their first ‘Tons of Sobs’ they hit their stride with this one by slowing things down. Continue reading →