Blogs
This is where you will find short blogs on my favourite themes, or even some random thoughts that pop into my head. Might get political here too!
Designed to complement my Next Stage Instagram account
A trilogy of music films
To complement my live concert adventures, I have just completed a trilogy of music related films in February!
“Maria”, with Angelina Jolie was as sad and tragic as one might expect. Not only that but I was the only one in the local cinema who turned up, which made it even more poignant! If you remember, O mio babbino caro was my first Desert Island disc and podcast from 2012. Angelina Jolie did a great job portraying Maria Callas in her last years in Paris, a broken woman by that time with an addiction to anti-depressant drugs. As I was on my own in there, it somehow added to the theme of loneliness - no one could see me cry 😭
Next up was “A Complete Unknown”, the film about Bob Dylan’s early years, from arriving in New York in 1961, to going electric and causing uproar at the Newport Folk festival in 1965. Also brilliantly portrayed by Timothée Chalamet. He did well to convey the mystery of the man and how Dylan wasn’t about folk or protest but about songwriting. I thought Edward Norton also did a great job of playing Pete Seeger and it was nice to see other musical characters of the era in the film such as Woody Guthrie and Joan Baez of course but also Johnny Cash, Mike Bloomfield and Al Cooper. A must see for Dylan fans
Two days later, I took the train into Paris to one of the giant Pathé IMAX cinemas to see “Becoming Led Zeppelin”. I thought it deserved the trek and would give me another chance to get the Tandoori Bagel at le Pick Clops bar, that I had missed the previous week after the Thee Sacred Souls gig!
The IMAX screen was massive, the seats super comfortable and the sound just amazing and very loud – fitting for a Led Zeppelin performance. The documentary format covered their early years and formation up until Led Zeppelin II. They were very young when fame came to them. Most of the video footage I had seen but there were some good insights in the interviews with the band members and even the voice of John Bonham. Interestingly, the interviews were all recorded separately rather than together and we all know Robert Plant is dead against reforming the band. For him it is just too far away in the past, when they were just 20yr old kids and he has moved on. He looks back at the experience fondly but not to be relived.
I saw Led Zeppelin only once, at Knebworth in 1979. John Bonham died on the following European tour in 1980 and that was it, so I count myself lucky to have seen them at all.
BTW: the Tandoori Bagel was good 😊
Life in retirement - fast and furious!
A full year of retirement has passed and at a furious pace!
Maybe, because I retired early on 31 August 2023, I subconsciously wanted to make sure I took advantage of my extra year of freedom in 2024. Or, maybe it was because I am becoming more and more aware of the finite time I have left in this world to do all the things I want to do!
Either way, it was a supercharged year. Fresh back from the Africa trip of Autumn 2023, it wasn’t long before I embarked on lot more travelling and many other activities.
2024 travel destinations
Washington DC twice in spring and summer to see friends and music (Young Fathers and the Rolling Stones)
Dunkeld and Kilconquhar in Scotland to stay at our Scottish timeshares for 2 weeks in the March. Such beautiful settings and also time to catch up with my former OECD colleague Maureen and my two brothers on my birthday
Atlanta, Philadelphia and Cleveland in the US, as part of the Rolling Stones “Hackney Diamonds” tour in June!
Dinard, Edinburgh and London more than once. In fact, Dinard several times and where I wrote this end-of-year blog. It’s becoming my go-to place whenever I need a break, or when the sea calls me, which is quite often :)
Antibes in the South of France for a week with my wife Pamela in June. Another seaside location with a romantic old town
Berlin, Warsaw, Budapest, Vienna and Prague on a Eurail train pass with Pam visiting a few European capitals in the Autumn
Tuscany in Italy for a fun birthday weekend with old friends…we go back nearly 40 years now!
A solo trip to Dieppe in northern France for a fabulous day trip on the beach. Was easy to reach by train and it was stunning.
To complete the year, we will be going to Cumbria in the north of England for an extended family Christmas. Staying in an amazing castle and then to cap it all off, a traditional New Year in Edinburgh!
A lot of music
Young Fathers (unique "progressive hip-hop” band from Edinburgh, although I went to Washington DC to see them!)
Rolling Stones (still touring and still doing great shows). Since Knebworth 1976, I have only missed the 1981/82 tour!
Rock in the Barn two day festival (our local independent rock festival). It’ always a blast and a great way to discover new music
Deadletter (the Yorkshire band I did in fact discover at Rock in the Barn this year!) Live video
Ezra Collective (stars of the hot London jazz scene): Live video
Bob Dylan (the legend that he is, was on form)
Honeyglaze (a discovery from the By:larm festival in Olso Norway, where I had gone to see my son Nexcyia perform): I Feel It All (live)
Some big events in 2024
The birth of our first grandchild, Clémence (congrats Arielle and Nick)
Our son Adam moved to Berlin - following the likes of Bowie & Iggy :)
The UK (yeah) and US elections (boo)
We attended both the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris during the summer and what a great time we had. So well organised and such a good vibe. Maybe LA 2028!
I got my running shoes back on in the autumn and did the 5k Forth Road Bridge run in Edinburgh with my brother Edwin. Tempted for next year as its an easy fun run!
Back home we completed major Bathroom and shower room renovations. It went on forever but we are happy with the results. Huge transformations
I am mentioning Rock in the Barn again because I attended many of the forerunners of this festival, when it was hosted in a field by the Seine. Its gone off on a few tangents since then but now established in Vernon itself, just a 10in walk from home. Meaning I will be there every year until old age stops me!
The Dinard Film festival Another regular independent festival, this time showcasing independent British and Irish films rather than live music. Its the one time you find me going to see 10 films in a few days!
Have to mention Blencowe. Our home for a week over Christmas. A fabulous family event comprising 17 family members including new baby Clemence - oh and two dogs - Roxy and Luna. It will be madness of the best kind.
And while in Blencowe Pam and I will be celebrating our Pearl wedding anniversary - yes 30 years 🥰
The admin overload is still ever present. Property Management work, Taxes, Inheritance, LibDems in France. Just keeping the social media platforms @Jumpy Legs , @chezvous-cheznous , @nextstageblog and my websites chezvous-cheznous and NextStage.life active is a full time job!
There are some downsides
My ambitions for a healthier life have taken a slide
I am having problems sleeping at night -2am and 4am arousing’s being quite regular
It’s been very expensive !
So for 2025, my “real year” of retirement, I plan to calm it down a bit!
More time in the garden and making the house even more beautiful
More reading, watching films and going to the theatre
More prudent discretionary spending!
But the travel and music bug is hard to kick.
The Stones will tour Europe in 2025, maybe for the last time!
As mentioned above, our local music festival “Rock in the Barn” in Vernon and the Dinard film festival are annual events and both are must-see!
I already have tickets for 3 gigs in 2025 booked - Thee Three Souls (Paris), Dennis Bovell (London) and the 1 day Psych Festival (Edinburgh). Nexcyia in Berlin is also on my list, if I get an invite :)
Anyway, that’s my 2024 briefing. Will be seeing some of you in 2025!!
Dinard British & Irish Film Festival 2024
We have been going to the film festival in Dinard for nearly 10 years and this was another fantastic edition, with some thought provoking and brilliant films. Also the first time it became the “British & Irish” film festival, although we have seen many great Irish films here in the past, like Calvary, one of our favourites, and a must see!
Below are the films we went to see (8 shorts and 7 full features)
Shé (Snake) by Renee Zhan
Synopsis: Eight shorts that offer a space for new talent and voices to share stories and push narratives that challenge and entertain. They give a snapshot of the future of filmmaking through powerful drama, hybrid documentary and ground-breaking animation.
My Thoughts: “Shortcuts” is a regular feature at the festival that I like to start, or end, the festival with. 8 films that will grab your attention and spark your interest. Usually quirky, edgy and sometimes disturbing! They are put to the public vote and this year I voted for Shé (Snake), a kind of horror drama with a message about the inner demons that challenge your creative self. It’s also about being true to your native culture. You can watch it in full on BBC iPlayer here.
Unicorns by Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd
Synopsis: When Luke stumbles across an underground nightclub he meets Aysha, a beautiful, seductive woman. Their first kiss yields fireworks — which are immediately followed by Luke’s sobering realisation that Aysha is not the woman he thought her to be, but a remarkably femme drag queen. Spending more time together and navigating the challenges of their respective domestic lives, they face the question of whether or not there is a love that can exist beyond traditional labels.
My Thoughts: Not just a unlikely love story between a drag queen and a mechanic but an insight into the somewhat hidden “gay-asian” world in the UK. Very well acted by the principle characters, I happened to bump into Jason Patel (the drag queen character Aysha) on a seafront walk in Dinard! We had a good chat and I wished him luck in winning something at the festival. Low and behold the film won both the public vote and the special “Barriere prize” from the Jury
The Convert by Shane Danielsen, Lee Tamahori
Synopsis: 1830’s New Zealand, a Māori world, dominated by tribal wars. Seeking redemption from a dark past, lay preacher Thomas Munro boards a trading vessel heading to the newly established British settlement in that far corner of the world. He soon finds himself caught up in a battle between Māori tribes and to experience the white townsfolk’s entrenched racism and paranoia towards the Māori. He is increasingly ostracised within the community he is meant to serve and realises he has been brought to this isolated British outpost merely to add the veneer of civilisation.
My Thoughts: A good period drama set in New Zealand at the time of early colonization and inevitable confrontation between British settlers and the native Māori people. Bloody, violent and troubling. Pity the hero is a white man: ex soldier, turned minister, who converts to the Māori cause and becomes their lead spokesperson/negotiator with the British. Having said that Guy Pearce does an excellent job in the role.
Kneecap by Rich Peppiatt
Synopsis: This is the
extraordinary story of how an anarchic Belfast trio became the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save their mother tongue. Creating mayhem along the way. There are 80,000 native Irish speakers in Ireland. 6,000 live in the North of Ireland. Three of them became a rap group called Kneecap. The rest is rapidly becoming history...
My Thoughts: A riotous romp of a movie, reminiscent of Trainspotting. Sex, drugs (lots of them) and rock and roll. A “Mostly True” story of how the band started out in Northern Ireland rapping in Irish/Gaelic tongue and offending everyone on both sides of the community. Also a big injection of republican history and the troubles. Might need to check out the band one day! They did play Glastonbury earlier this year
Baltimore by Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor
Synopsis: Based on actual events that took place on the 26 April 1974 when Oxford educated Rose Dugdale, debutante and English heiress and three comrades carried out an armed raid on Russborough House, Wicklow, in which 19 masterpieces were stolen in an effort to support the IRA’s armed struggle. The film plays out over the course of the days following the raid, when Rose is in hiding in a remote cottage in Baltimore, county Cork.
My Thoughts: Another film with an Irish republican theme. And another “mostly true” story. This time of how a woman, Rose Dugdale, from a well-to-do family from Devon becomes radicalized at Oxford University and joins the IRA armed struggle. I found it a bit hard to understand how an individual can transition to commit and justify such extreme violence, however worthwhile the cause. Pistol whipping old people (difficult to watch), bombing and kidnapping etc. She remained a committed Marxist and was unrepentant to the end (died March this year in Ireland). You have to have an inner anger and hatred in you to go that far, especially when you have not personally suffered the injustices that the Irish and other oppressed people have endured (the Palestinians come to mind).
Bird by Andrea Arnold
Synopsis: At the age of 12, Bailey lives with her brother Hunter and her father Bug, who is raising them alone in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn't have much time for them and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, is looking for attention and adventure elsewhere.
My Thoughts: On watching this “coming of age” film, set in northern Kent (Gravesend area), I was reminded and struck by the pockets of poverty and deprivation we still have in this country. It’s really shocking to see it depicted on film. I remember another film at the Dinard film festival some years back, set somewhere in a remote part of East Anglia, that was equally horrific. The living conditions, drug use, violence in these isolated communities is terrifying.
But you have to love the fantastical character Bird, who saves the day, even if that is “mostly not true” !
Poison by Désirée Nosbusch
Synopsis: Poison is a love story about a couple reunited years after tragedy drove them apart. Their brief but intense meeting will bring simmering pain and resentments to the surface but will be a reminder too of cherished intimacies and the love they once shared.
My Thoughts: The most “serious” film we watched. The script, dialogue and acting by Tim Roth and Trine Dyrhol was amazing. Life is a series of losses they say but the loss of a child is hopefully a loss that none of us will ever have to experience. One could feel the pain, bitterness and destruction this brought upon their relationship. It was raw man, very raw.
High & Low - John Galliano by Kevin Macdonald
Synopsis: From the mid 1980’s until 2011 John Galliano, the flamboyant, iconoclastic head designer at Dior, was considered one of the most important fashion designers in history. But in February 2011 a video emerged of Galliano spewing anti-Semitic slurs in a Parisian bar. He was fired by Dior, berated by the Jewish community and ostracised from the fashion world. He lost everything. And then he tried to make amends.
My Thoughts: The last film we saw was a biography of the hedonistic and creative genius that John Galliano was. Focusing on his spectacular rise and fall (and recent recovery) it was entertaining, provocative and political. The Scottish Director Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland) originally set out to do a sort of “cancel culture” movie but left it more open. The question remains, was John Galliano a very bad drunk with a foul mouth and a propensity to say hateful things? or justifiably prosecuted for antisemitic and racist remarks when pissed? I think the public jury is still out on that, judging by the Q&A session with Kevin Macdonald after the screening.
Berlin
So the last city of our European Capitals tour was a return to Berlin, where we had started it 2 weeks ago. This was the one city where we didn’t do any sightseeing because we used the time to help our son Adam with a few things in his apartment.
He recently moved to Berlin, has a new job in a prestigious gallery and a fantastic apartment to go with it. It is a new life for him and he is very happy. So of course we are happy for him too and fixed up a few things in his new home.
BTW: He is still Nexcyia and I am looking forward to some Berlin gigs 🎹
https://www.nexcyia.com/
What we did get was a very picturesque train ride to Berlin from Prague, largely tracking the Elbe river all the way to Dresden. A city, like Warsaw, that suffered terribly in WW2 but has built back strongly, both physically and culturally. We will need another trip to do this one!
But back to Berlin. Adam’s apartment is in Schoenberg, the area David Bowie and Iggy Pop used to live. Passed by the house they lived in a couple of times on this trip. Like many Berlin neighbourhoods (another one Adam took us to for the nightlife was Neukölln), every building seems to have graffiti on it. You get very used to it and it gives the city that edgy artistic feel.
Another cultural curiosity is hanging out at night with friends, outside corner shops with your own drinks until the wee hours. The shops and police tolerate this behavior, even though it’s on the street and not in bars. In fact, I think the corner shops provide the tables and chairs as they get the custom.
Contrast that with some places (I am thinking the USA in particular) where you can be arrested for carrying or drinking from an open bottle on the street! I did quite like these civilized neighborhood gatherings, not that I participated in any!
Anyway, Berlin and Nexcyia we will see you again very soon.
Prague
Another trouble free train ride with some nice pine forests and other pleasant countryside to look at between Vienna and Prague.
Arriving at lunchtime we went for a coffee in an old cafe recommended by our hotel called the Café Louvre!
Then a quick walk to the Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge (both breathtakingly beautiful), followed by an early dinner at one of Prague’s classic beer halls the U Medvidku - Budvar Goulash was ordered, washed down with Budvar 🍺
As is my custom, I popped out to a local bar in the evening (the Czechs still have a massive bar and beer culture) and I noted that the barman looked like a young Václav Havel whose picture was on the wall beside him!
Already starting to fall in love with Prague again, 35 years since I last visited, our neighbourhood helped in the process by being a quiet and very cool area with small cafes and bistros, vintage shops and vinyl record stores and lots of students and young folk hanging out on the streets with beers!
Day 2 we did a 3hr walking tour of the old city, mostly in the rain ☔️, although the distance covered was fairly limited. One bit of excitement - the tram in front of us, as we were making our way up to the castle, collided with a car and stopped traffic for a while until the mess was cleared up.
After some veggie borscht lunch Pam retreated to our hotel for the afternoon and I set off to pay homage to the “velvet revolution” and Wenceslas Square. A reminder that I was here with my brother in November 1989 standing with the students ✊
We flew out the day the communist regime fell and Václav Havel appeared on the TV screens at the airport to announce their freedom.
As a side note, the Rolling Stones played Prague in 1990 at the invitation of the new government:
“Tanks are rolling out, the Stones rolling in” was the marketing slogan at the time 🎸
We cancelled a roof top restaurant planned for our last night in favour of going out locally in our now favourite neighbourhood. Salted pig ears as the starter!
In summary, we fell in love with Prague, despite it being a much changed, more commercial and touristy city (crazy amount of cannabis shops) than it was in 1989.
It has more atmosphere & ambiance than most of the cities we visited on this tour of European capitals and it is less formal and more artistic in a “chill/cool” sort of way.
A living city, not a monument to classical beauty like Vienna is.
This is a city we are likely to return to 😍
Vienna
The most beautiful city of the tour to date, architecturally at least. Also hassle free getting here on Austrian trains from Budapest with a great breakfast to boot.
Having done 2 longish walking tours at our last 2 cities in Warsaw and Budapest, we decided to spend the afternoon on a Hop on Hop off tour bus but didn’t hop off at all and just enjoyed the ride :)
In the evening we went to the Vienna State Opera House to see Salome, the opera by Richard Strauss based on the play by Oscar Wilde. Bought the tickets last minute over dinner in Budapest, we were very happy with our seats and the performance. A modern interpretation of a disturbing story involving incest and decapitation!
For our second day and our first rainy day of the trip (been glorious sun all the way so far) we settled on culture. Visited the “Sisi museum” (life story of the princess and Empress Elizabeth), as well as the imperial apartments she and Franz Joseph lived in within the Royal palace as Austro-Hungarian monarchs. A teaser for history buffs. She was assassinated by the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni in 1898.
After a short chocolate and apple strudel break in the oldest cafe in Vienna, the Café Frauenhube (1824), we set off for the Museum of Applied Arts.
An amazing space with some fabulous art deco pieces. Was particularly thrilled to see that Margaret Macdonald Macintosh , spouse of Charles Rennie Macintosh, had a magnificent piece displayed next to one by Klimt
Exhausted by now, we retreated to our accommodations, surfacing in the evening to eat at a rather nice rooftop restaurant and the largest Wiener Schnitzel I have ever seen or eaten!
A fitting way to end our trip to Vienna. Early train to Prague in the morning.
Budapest
It was a battle to get to Budapest from Warsaw. Our sleeper train only went as far as the Polish border due to the weather conditions (flooding). We had to backtrack to Warsaw overnight and then fly to Budapest the next morning instead. We were exhausted on arrival.
But it was worth the hassle.
Another great walking tour revealed how the Hungarians originally came from Siberia via several waves of migrations over 400 years and that their language has Asian roots! As the tour guide said “no one understands us and we don’t understand shit either”
Of course you tend to think of thermal baths, spas and goulash when thinking of Budapest. And stag parties!!
We did experience and/or see most of these things while there and overall came away with the impression that this is a fun party town with a lot of fine architecture.
Unfortunately, due to the high water levels, we couldn’t take the classic boat trip down the Danube but we did take to the baths, walk the Széchenyi Chain Bridge and marvel at the interiors of the art nouveau Four Seasons hotel, which has a fabulous lobby and bar, second to none I have experienced !
The chandelier alone was worth the tortuous traveling experience from Warsaw. The locals like to point out that the building was used as shabby apartments in the communist era and are proud of its restoration.
We didn’t get into the politics as much here but I am well aware that many British communists left or withdrew support for the party (including the Scottish miners) after the Hungarian uprising was brutally suppressed by Russia in 1956.
Next stop, the short ride to Vienna :)
Warsaw
I am a bit behind on the Blog posting as so much has been happening on the travel front.
Although we arrived late into Warsaw from Berlin due to some train disruptions, we settled into great accommodations, walked around Stalin’s “gift” to Poland, the “Palace of Culture” and found a wine bar to get some pre bedtime ablutions on our first night :)
Next day we had a very informative 3hr walking tour and had a traditional lunch (pork, cabbage, potatoes) and copious wine. We had started a fantastic 2.5 day first visit to the Polish capital Warsaw.
The striking thing about Poland is that the more you learn and understand about their recent history the more you:
a) appreciate the suffering they have experienced and
b) the resilience and extraordinary rebuilding of the nation and capital Warsaw.
Hitler raised the Warsaw Ghetto after the Jewish uprising and those few Jews that did not perish left for Israel and other countries. There is no significant Jewish population here anymore. Then after the Polish resistance uprising, all of Warsaw was flattened in 1944 as an act of reprisal. Only 1000 people of a pre-war population of 1.3 million remained. No other city in WW2 suffered this level of destruction.
But it wasn’t over. While the red army had watched this all going on, without offering any help, they subsequently occupied its land when it was over and killed many of their heroic resistance fighters. Both the Hitler and the Stalin tried to destroy Polish culture and replace it with their own. To literally wipe it off the map.
But Poland is back !!
They have already rebuilt the flattened old city brick by brick in replica and now the post war communist buildings are being replaced by shiny new glass ones.
Warsaw is being transformed into a modern and dynamic city with a young population. The population is now 1.8 million, finally recovered and indeed surpassed its pre-war levels
Respect to the Polish people 🫡 ✊
German efficiency fails us
So after hanging out with our son in Berlin for a few days, we set off early this morning for the journey to Warsaw.
Got to Ostbahnhof station at 9am only to find that our train to Frankfurt (Oder), where we were due to pick up the mainline to Warsaw, had been cancelled. Not only was the substitute suburban service slow but it stopped short of it’s destination at Erkner, where we were due to catch another train to Frankfurt (Oder).
So we were dumped on a platform in the middle of nowhere where a bus replacement service was eventually offered but it actually involved 2 buses and the scramble to get on the first one was chaotic.
Thinking quickly we booked an Uber to Erkner, instead of the buses, and offered a ride to a German army guy who had been helping us navigate all these changes.
It means that we have to get a later train to Warsaw and arrive 2hr later than planned :(
Well I suppose that is the adventure and romance of inter-rail!
European Capitals 2024 - It’s time to board!
C'est l'heure de partir :) The Next Stage is embarking an autumn tour of European capitals by train. We will be visiting Berlin, Warsaw, Budapest, Bratislava (if we have time), Vienna, Prague and then back to Paris via Berlin again!
Will be blogging from the train as we make our way around Europe.
Self sufficiency
You have all probably gotten used to my travel and music related posts and indeed I am right now in Atlanta, Georgia on a 10 day trip to see a few Stones shows!
But in between all those fun activities you will generally find me in the garden. Indeed, I have been working on the garden a lot in May.
Tending to the vegetable patch - mainly rhubarb and berries (red, black and blue) plus planting runner beans for the summer.
In the greenhouse it is getting wild with tomatoes, peppers and piment (chilli). This year we have, for the first time, managed to grow seedlings from tomato seeds we recuperated and dried from a particular species we ate and liked last year. It seems to be working well.
Elsewhere we have strawberries, grapes and figs, cherries and plums all starting to come to life. A retirement goal was to become more self sufficient and it certainly seems to be on track.
Another side project I have started is to make an inventory of all the trees and plants we have in the garden. I am using Google lens to identify them and it’s proving to be quite accurate. I am a man that likes a list, so that will be a future post!
That’s it for now. Will be back with more updates soon!
Family is everything
“Family is everything” they say. And I have to say it really is!
My wife and I both had strong family upbringing’s. Perhaps we did not realise it at the time but we have passed that family culture onto our own children without the “generation gap” issues we had to navigate with our own parents in the 60’s and 70’s. The closeness with have with our children and their friends is very special. We also see strong bonds between our children and “the cousins” across all the sibling families. It’s wonderful to witness.
That love was also very much on display when our eldest got married last year. Four family clans (American, French, English and Scottish) gathered in numbers and felt the blended family vibe :) That was a very cool day.
When my parents passed some years ago, I worried about how the surviving siblings would react and cope. You hear so many stories of families breaking up and fighting over material things, or long standing grievances coming to the surface when the parents are gone. We had some of those things to deal with for sure but got through it all out of a desire to not let those things get in the way of our love for each other. Now we are stronger than ever, regularly in contact and still meeting up for big multi-generational family gatherings.
Indeed a new generation is following in our footsteps. Our first grandchild recently arrived and our nieces and nephews are also bringing new ones into the world. The circle of life continues and we are all once again jumping in to provide family love and support. It’s such a joy to experience and participate in.
But “families” are not just about blood relations. They are also about the groups, networks and individual friendships you have strong bonds with. Indeed we are all the better for the love our families, in whatever form they come, bring to us.
Cherish them and stay close. You will live longer for it :)
Onward Travels
After an amazing 2 weeks in Scotland, followed by 2 nights in Paris due to issues with the trains back to Normandy, I am on the move again for a long weekend in Washington DC. Visiting best friends and catching some new music at the same time. I can do this in the Next Stage :) - listen to my next Podcast due out on the 7th April
Brothers
I am starting a unique week hanging out with my brothers in Kilconquhar, Fife. We are staying at one of our Scottish timeshares, this one being in the Kingdom of Fife where our Father came from. We don’t get many chances to do this sort of thing together and not sure when the next opportunity will be, so we plan on making the most of it!
There are plenty of activities already planned; coastal walks, chain walks, maybe a run or two, and food & drink of course. Then to cap it all off, we will celebrate my birthday on the last night of the trip at the renowned Peat Inn, the best spot in the area by some margin. Just hope we wake up in time to check-out and get to the airport!
Scotland here we come
So the travel season begins with a week in each of our Scottish timeshares. Dunkeld in Perthshire and Kilconquhar in Fife. See Chezvous-Cheznous for more details and pictures. They have a special meaning for us, as they were bought by our parents (our Mother was from Perthshire and our Father from Fife) and are now enjoyed by us siblings. They will normally pass to the next generations in perpetuity! With fabulous surroundings, fantastic walks and great food, they are a truly great way to keep in touch with our family heritage and Scottish roots!
I chose a music “Selection of the week” to go with this visit too: Highlands by Bob Dylan
Composting
Home made composting is rewarding!
At last Spring is approaching! Instead of looking out at the garden from the inside of the house during the long winter months, we can now finally get out there and get going!
First job, to spread our homemade food waste compost on the vegetable patch, which is mainly rhubarb (that comes back better every year) and berries (red, black and blue currants). It’s taken a while to perfect the art of collecting all our food scraps and turning it into compost. However, with a bit of help by adding leaves and grass cuttings, we have finally got a decent amount to spread this year.
“Where's there's muck there's brass”. Well, we wont be making any money out of this mucky effort but hopefully the vegetables will appreciate our endeavors and respond in kind!
One tip: no citrus fruits, meat, poultry or fish in the compost, which you should be eating and not throwing away anyway! Also watch out for plants that are toxic to other plants, like rhubarb leaves, which is somewhat ironic in our case, as we have loads of those!
What’s your HBA1C %
Type 2 diabetes is reveresible
For those who struggle with type 2 diabetes, your HBA1C % is a key indicator of how well you are doing re your blood sugar levels. It’s a figure that represents an average level over the previous 2-3 months, so something our doctors (and ourselves) watch carefully as a better trend indicator, as opposed to the spot checked Glycemie level, taken at a specific moment in time.
Why am I blogging about this. Because I have received my HBA1C results today and I am trending down significantly :) It demonstrates that type 2 diabetes is reversible with major lifestyle changes.
Keep at it fellow type 2ers
Gig Planning
Getting out there to hear new (and some old) live music :)
So with time on my hands in The Next Stage and a desire to keep moving, I have started to fill up my gig calendar!
Young Fathers in Washington DC in April
Shabaka Hutchings in Paris in May
The Rolling Stones in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Cleveland in June
…more will be added !
Check out my Bandsintown page here for tours by these artists
Some Adjustments
Since returning from Africa, there has been a period of adjustment post retirement. I settled into a pile of admin (carte de residence, taxes, inheritance) and other financial matters.
But true to form, I started travelling pretty quickly. First to Braga, Portgual for an electronic music and digital arts festival that my son “Nexcyia” was performing at :)
Then a series of short trips to London, Edinburgh and Dinard to visit family but also take care of Chezvous-Cheznous business. There is always something to be done!
Our faithful and much loved Polish sheepdog Fenix passed not long before Christmas and Luna, a cocker/bichon frisé mix puppy arrived. A very different animal, not least because it’s a girl not a guy!
Christmas came and went fairly quietly for us and I fought off the January blues by starting to work on this website amongst other things. One of those other things was to embark on “Dry January” and radically change my eating habits and exercise regime. I have stuck with the lifestyle changes into February, lost a bunch of weight and started training for a 5k+ run.
Hey retirement and 2024 are suddenly looking quite good! Hope my Doctor thinks the same :)
Vic Falls - The End
And so we came to the end of our long trip through Southern Africa, in spectacular style at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. We crossed the Zambezi on the catwalk under the bridge, chained to a safety bar, perched ourselves on the edges of the gorge to feel the spray , took a thrilling helicopter ride to marvel at the scale of this 7th wonder of the natural world and finally dined in the ridiculously colonial Victoria Falls hotel.
Goodbye Africa, we will be back.