One minute he was awake...

I thought it'd gone very quiet back there. How great must it be to be able to fall asleep pretty much anywhere at a moment's notice.

Cafe Open

Two of my favourite words. Especially when they are outside some sort of building, in a park of some description, on a cold day. Am having a bit of trouble finding anything along those lines at the moment... then remembered there's a place up by the University that would suit my needs. What's more it's weekend so it's bound to be open. And joy, it was.

It's a prefab, which from the outside, has seen better days. In fact, it looks like it's about to fall down. There's a hard-standing in front (you'd be hard-pushed to call it a terrace) which in the summer is filled with tables and people. Dead giveaway. Not today though. The only giveaway of what lurks inside is the above the sign.

The bitter cold ensured everyone was snuggled inside... with their dogs. We were probably the only table out of 15 or so that didn't have a dog or four. Every shape and size was there, like a Noah's Ark for dog. For a cafe, it had an uncharacteristic aroma too.


Olivia was keen to inform us that a dog under a table next to us had done a poo and another dog was eating it. Might have been a dog chew. Still, I got my coffee in a park and a fantastic bacon roll - with three rashers, very generous.

Think me and Luke might give it another go during the week when there's less dogs.

Cloth Ears No.3

Swell 'Everything is Good' (Beggars Banquet, 1998)

Second up from the swimming tapes come Swell, lo-fi heroes (if you ask the right people) who rode briefly on Nirvana's coat-tails in the early Nineties. Difference is, I'm still listening to Swell.

Nirvana weren't all that, really. Don't get me started... oh, go on then. Their Unplugged album exposes the songs - they don't stand up stripped down. In my humble opinion, Grohl not only writes better songs, but does acoustic so much better. He learned well.

Anyway, Swell. In the olden days, I used to receive a lot of records in the hope I'd like a few of them and want to write about them. It kind of worked. On occasion, I'd get an album like 'For All The Beautiful People' which I'd snuffle into my bag, whisk home and play to death without breathing a word to another living soul... especially not the PR (sorry John).

There's a handful of records that just bring out the schoolboy in me - this is one. As far as I'm concerned it's mine, I don't want other people liking it, I don't want other people even knowing about it... hang on. Doh.

Let it snow...

We got a decent dusting just before school this morning which was well timed. Me and Lukey headed to the park to kick a ball around a bit. Actually, this particular park has a cafe which is what we were after - cold, sunny winter's day, hot cup of coffee and perhaps a sausage roll. Wasn't open was it.

We peered through the windows and it looks like it's closed down rather than just closed which is a shame because it's in a rather glorious Victorian pavilion (pictures taken in 1932, hasn't changed at all)... so our quest continues to find outdoor coffee and warm snacks.

Apparently, we're in for more snow overnight, lots more. We're hoping for at least enough for some sledge action.

Cloth Ears No.2

Vince Guaraldi Trio 'Linus & Lucy' (Fantasy Records, 1965)

If you think I'm slack with my posts, you should see how slack I am posting music - one every three months if you're lucky.

As you'll see below, Olivia goes swimming on Tuesdays and whoever takes her gets to watch from poolside. She's been going for a year or so now and it's only dawned on me today to take the headphones for the N91.

Her spashing and floating was soundtracked quite nicely - which I may share over the coming days - it included a 10 minute version of 'Halcyon', a corker from Space Raiders, a true forgotten classic from Swell and this rather fine piece of music. I'm a real sucker for old piano music - esp boogie woogie - which isn't something you should probably admit too readily. Don't know where my liking comes from, but there's something fantastically uplifting about it. But it's not just the music, it's the rich history of bar-room piano playing and the characters it attracted. But that's for another time because this is jazz and that's a whole different wotsit.

Anyway, Guaraldi was responsible for the musical accompaniment to the Charlie Brown cartoons scoring no less than 16 specials. To be honest, most of it is muzak dirge, but there are moments of blinding musical genius of which 'Linus & Lucy' is one.

As an aside, some bright spark at the label decided that the album on which it appeared, 1965's 'A Charlie Brown Christmas', needed touching up and so it was re-mastered and reissued last year. Were the fans happy? Erm, nope. The fuss got so bad the label issued a flipping statement.

Music eh? Mess with it at your peril.

There she blows!

See this ravishing beauty fresh from her 4pm swimming lesson today? Well, she did something amaaaaazing today. She covered the entire length of the pool under her own steam. From one side to the other on her back. There was a float involved (sinks like a brick without one, bless), but it's still a huge achievement. And to prove it was no mere fluke she did it on more than one occasion. Marvellous stuff.

Of course, cool as cucumber, she shrugged it all off as an everyday occurrence as I was frothing about how great she was after and how brilliant it was to see her swimming after weeks and weeks - actually, it's months and months - of sitting and watching her struggle. The one thing you can't say about out little girl is she that she lacks determination. Roll on next week's lesson...

Four posts

Four posts? All year. It's a sorry state of affairs. Admittedly they have been high quality posts, but only four. Things really are beginning to slack round here. I will attempt to get back on track and bring the post average down from one every four days. I know people read this blog regularly and I wouldn't want either of them clearing off because I'm too lazy.

Oh, and the request for photos of the wife haven't fallen on deaf ears. Bought a new digital camera today (long story, I will get to it though now I'm in 'post more' mode), so it won't be long.

Thanks for hanging in there. It'll get better... perhaps.

Soul food

Going to the beach, says the wife, is very good for the soul. She's absolutely right of course and it's something we don't do nearly enough considering we live 40 minutes drive from some very nice beaches and an hour from some truly spectacular ones.

She also points out that it appears to be a very English thing to head for a freezing cold beach in the middle of winter. It is absolutely one of my favourite things. Given the choice of winter or summer, a winter visit would win every single time.

Today it was Wells-Next-The-Sea - no 'To' because, well, it's in Norfolk and that's the way things are done round here. It's a glorious place with a line of beach huts as far as the eye can see (incidentally, none being used today - wonder if you can rent one for the winter months?) looking out over a huge expanse of sky and today numerous seal pups basking with their mums (squint at the middle picture above and imagine seal pups).

Top it all off with fish cake and chips and a flask of coffee in the car and, well, life makes an awful lot of sense after a visit to the beach in winter.

Happiness is...

After we dropped mummy off at college, we spent the entire morning in a garden centre looking repeatedly at fish in tanks and scaring the guinea pigs with our short haircuts.

A dotty biscuit (seems they cost £1.50 everywhere, not just in architecturally pleasing buildings), sausage roll (6/10, not a patch on Baker's Oven) and a pot of tea later and a snooze was in order before nursery in the afternoon.

Couldn't resist this snap. He is just the most wonderful person. Please don't tell his sister we said that.

How to deal with head lice

If you haven't got hair, you can't get nits. Poor boy, it'll grow back we keep telling oursleves.

He's behind you... oh no he isn't... oh yes he is... etc

Hello 2007. The first post of the new year. Really slacking, but still hanging in there if anyone's still reading. Seems we got back to almost normal today - Olive at school, Luke at nursery - but not before the last gasp of Xmas yesterday. Went to the panto followed by tea at Wagamama after. Both were ace, actually.

I've always thought I didn't like panto - traumatised as a kid most likely - and have managed to avoid it so far in fatherhood. What ever was I thinking? It was ace. You kind of think that after two shows a day since mid-December it's just the pay-packet that's keeping the cast going. The mucking around was spectacular with what appeared to be a very fine who can crack Adam Rickett up competition which Buttons won hands down. I laughed out loud on more than occasion let me tell you... and the kids seemed to like it which is always a bonus.