What he said...

I can't really believe it, but it was two years ago today that I finished my radiotherapy treatment. It was a very short, but very intense period in my life  -  four weeks of intensive, high-dosage treatment to ( hopefully ) destroy a rare kind of blood cancer called plasmacytoma. This all left me feeling far weaker than I'd expected and suffering from some nasty side effects but with time and support from my wonderful family and friends I got through it. The quote and photo above from Ang Lee's fantastic Life Of Pi really resonated with me at the time  -  above all, don't lose hope...
Peace.

Winter Walks

Even though the weather's been pretty dismal lately here in the Shire, whenever the sun's ( briefly ) come out Sarah and I have tried to get out in the countryside for some fresh air. Here are a few recent photos, firstly from a beautiful sunny day up at Cranham on the edge of the Cotswolds...

I really like this shot: the shapes of the trees and their undulating shadows on the hillside. We were walking along, kicking at the fallen leaves, and disturbed a deer who was grazing nearby. On hearing us blundering about he ( or she ) ran across the path and disappeared into the trees.

Are those my feet...?

These next few photos were taken at Saul where the River Frome runs into the Severn but had burst its banks in places and flooded the fields. So, I had to go wading, didn't I?

Here are Sarah and my Auntie Carol ( and her dogs, Max and Pippin ) on the banks of the Gloucester / Sharpness canal.

And this is the usually-placid Frome rushing down to the Severn...

...and flooding more fields on the way.

Songs Of 2013

As the year known as 2013 is already a distant memory ( hey, it's nearly Summer now, isn't it? ) I thought I'd do the usual ridiculously late look back at the songs that rocked my world over the last 12 months. Of course, the universe of popular music in 2013 was ( unbelievably, improbably ) owned by a man in his sixties. More of him later. First of all... here come the girls...

Maybe not such a great year for female singers in my opinion ( for what it's worth ) compared to previous years ( even the usually-reliant Rihanna didn't seem to put out much material worth listening to ) but 2013 did see some great pop singles from the following:
 Burn by Ellie Goulding
I Love It by Icona Pop
Roar by Katy Perry
Somewhere Only We Know by Lily Allen
Royals by Lorde
No Strings by Chloe Howl ( one of the best live artists of the year )

And as well as making fantastic, upbeat, sparky pop music Chloe knows a cool T-shirt when she sees one :-)

On a global scale one of the best things to happen to music last year was the meteoric rise of Haim, three sisters from LA channelling the ghosts of '70s / '80s FM rock... but in a good way. Their combination of Fleetwood Mac-style tuneage, Michael Jackson-style grooves and Haim-style attitude was a winning combo on songs like
The Wire / Don't Save Me / Forever
They even turned up at Glastonbury, performing their own material and also doing backing vocals with Primal Scream. I think they're going to be massive...

I didn't really listen to a huge amount of dance or Rap in 2013 ( no real reason ) but some of the good stuff did come my way:
Look Right Through by Storm Queen ( albino panther pic from cool video above )
Animals by Martin Garrix
Thrift Shop / Can't Hold Us by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Latch / White Noise by Disclosure
Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke ( feat. Pharrell ) ( controversy ahoy! )

After bemoaning the lack of good new indie / Rock / whatever bands for the last couple of years, 2013 seemed to be bursting with them. As well as the usual old fogeys, I managed to see a few great young bands live last year and, luckily, they lived up to their promise on record too. Some of the best songs were:
Follow Baby / Lovesick / Float Forever by Peace
Cough Cough / Duet / Don't Try by Everything Everything
Superfood by Superfood
Peace by Kids In Glass Houses

Not quite so young, but equally awesome were the following:
Reflektor / Joan Of Arc by Arcade Fire
2013 / It's Alright, It's OK by Primal Scream
Stoned & Starving / Master Of My Craft / Careers In Combat by Parquet Courts
Xanman / Giant Tortoise by Pond ( the Australian Psychedelia renaissance continues )
And then, of course, there was Mr. David Jones...

David Bowie somehow surprised this spoiler-ridden, internet-addicted world by appearing from nowhere after a ten-year absence and rumours of illness and retirement with a new single and, soon after, one of the best albums of his career. Only Bowie could have pulled off such a trick, like some Victorian magician wowing the crowds with his legerdemain. And on his 66th birthday, too.
The Next Day sees a return to a more traditional Rock sound for Bowie after his turn-of-the-century forays into Drum 'n' Bass. But that doesn't mean it's old-fashioned: ace producer Tony Visconti updates the sounds of "Heroes" and Scary Monsters for the modern age and Bowie is on top form, his voice betraying no signs of age and his song-writing skills as keen as ever on wonderful songs like
The Next Day / Where Are We Now / The Stars ( Are Out Tonight )

 But, after all that, my Song Of The Year doesn't come from the Thin White Duke but from a couple of French robots. Yep, the ubiquitous Get Lucky by Daft Punk ( with the help of Pharrell Williams and Chic legend Nile Rodgers ) was the earworm of 2013 and, even now, after listening to it approximately 10,000 times ( probably ), its all-conquering robo-funk groove still sounds as cool as on first hearing.

And this brave new world of 2014 is looking pretty good, too. Brand new music is expected this year from The Horrors, The Maccabees, Everything Everything, Peace, Kasabian and more. Onwards and upwards!

Oh, yeah... that was post number 750. Phew!

Happy Christmas!

Hope everyone out there in Blogland is having a great Christmas / Hanukkah / non-denominational holiday. Best Wishes from The Glass Walking-Stick...

Season's Greetings from the Christmas Walrus...

Season's Greetings from the Christmas Lobster...

Autumn

Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor

So, it's the day after The Day Of The Doctor, the 50th Anniversary Special of the world's longest-running TV science fiction show. The day after the world witnessed ( amongst other things ) the terrible events of the last day of the Time War, a coming together of different incarnations of the Doctor, Zygons running amok in Elizabethan England, discussions about Cup-A-Soup, and Billie Piper looking like she'd been dragged through a hedge backwards...

Please don't expect any reasoned, dispassionate critical appraisal of the episode here: I absolutely loved The Day Of The Doctor! Watching it, I felt as giddy and excited as I did when first watching The Three Doctors or The Five Doctors all those years ago. More than just a backwards-looking, nostalgic excuse for a televisual knees-up, this episode was bursting with ideas, Steven Moffatt's trademark twisty-turny plotting, some wonderful acting, beautiful special effects and a genuine sense that the show was moving forward as well as celebrating the past.

Bringing in the amazing John Hurt to portray the mysterious, forgotten War Doctor was a genius move  -  confronting at last the dread decision the Doctor made to end the Time War... and his suffering ever since. Matt Smith and David Tennant were a joy to see as the two modern Doctors  -  now enjoying each others' company, now competing, both flipping between excitement and melancholy in a heartbeat. There was also solid support in less flashy roles from Jemma Redgrave and Jenna Coleman, bringing a human perspective to this tale of gods and monsters.

And then there were the cameos and unexpected nods to the past: from the names on the sign outside Coal Hill School, to the photos on the walls in UNIT HQ, to the first glimpse of the 12th Doctor ( fierce! ), to the beautiful final shot of all the incarnations standing tall together, to the shiver-down-the-spine appearance of the mighty Tom Baker. As I said, I absolutely loved it  -  and so did the rest of the family, even Sophie who hasn't watched a Doctor Who episode in about 3 years. Welcome back...  :-)

Happy Birthday, Doctor! Here's to many, many more!

Soundtrack: All Is Dream by Mercury Rev

He's 50 today... but doesn't look a day over 31

Happy 50th Birthday to that immortal adventurer in Space and Time, the Doctor!

 

Splendid fellows... all of them!