The Father You Travel...

Much of today was spent preparing my dad's house for him to be sent home from hospital, for the sending-home-from-hospital to never come.

In a way, we were pleased, as we were worried he wasn't fit enough to come back yet, following the state he was in on Thursday when he was taken in, not to mention the fact he hadn't had the scan on his leg his doctor insisted should happen when he was admitted. As it stands, he has a blood infection that's been treated by antibiotics, plus his leg's still slightly swollen. The initial story we were told when we phoned the ward to double-check when he was being discharged today was that he wouldn't be able to go home until Monday at the earliest so they can keep an eye on the infection or any reactions as a result of it, which led Mum and me to let out a sigh of relief; we'd rather know he was being looked after - and fed and watered properly - than risk him being at home alone until the care we've arranged is in place.

One thing's for certain: my dad's friends (who came over to help us move furniture today) are fantastic and really care about how he's doing; he's very lucky to have them and it's reassuring they've been giving him a lot of positive reinforcement of the things he sometimes refuses to do. They also obviously have a laugh with him, which is as invaluable as coaxing him out of bed. I want him to have as much normality as possible as I think that's important; just because he's having a hospital bed delivered on Monday so he doesn't have to go upstairs too much, doesn't mean he should stop everything and never get out of it.

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...

'...I'm Gonna Look at You 'til My Eyes Go Blind."

Over the past week or two, I’ve been on a bit of a Sheryl Crow kick, largely thanks to rediscovering her cover of one of my most-liked Bob Dylan songs. She has one of my favourite female voices, yet despite this, I only own one CD and that’s just a single (her '97 release ‘Hard to Make a Stand’); on that basis, you can only imagine how much of her back catalogue I’d own if I hated her (it would fall into minus-figures). Dylan, conversely, takes up more of my collection than anyone else, save The Beatles and Paul McCartney’s solo work. He’s one of those artists who, when you get him, you really get him - and once I’d tuned into his style as a student, I'd time and again be blown away by his lyrics; he’ll have more jaw-dropping imagery in one track than other people fit in a whole career. These days, I mostly listen to music in the morning when getting ready, and more often than not, this will consist of a suggested YouTube playlist when I’m in the bath, r...

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...

mostly david ephgrave

Search This Blog