Another song from the Boss for today’s title. I wanted a song that had something about dreams having just watched my football team fail to win a must win game so the dream sadly is beginning to fade.

Long bike ride over the hills today with a few decent climbs.

Had a meeting with Jane Fryer  who illustrated my book “Don’t Look at me Like That” about doing my new story. Hopefully we may see it published in the Autumn. Still playing with ideas for a title-it is funny because some of my stories the title comes to me easily.

Book Club tomorrow night -another Zoom – I look forward to the time we can meet in the flesh.

Johnny Cash gives me today’s title and of course it refers to my feelings yesterday. Sorry it is football! I thought my team were going in the right direction and then yesterday when they forget to turn up (at least the defence did). It was painful watching. The only thing that troubled Reading was them tripping over the ribbons on all their presents!

I did a recording today for Gloucestershire Libraries for their Summer Reading Challenge. Struggling a bit on the editing (the bit when I turn the recording on and off). I am hoping to transfer it to them later (fingers crossed).

A different sort of Blog today. A poem I wrote at the height of lockdown.

Lost Words
(Based on the ideas from Robert Macfarlane’s and Jackie Morris’ Book-without the marvellous pictures or even the magical words! One new word as well!)

                  THE PUB
       Pontificating, prattling, platitudes over a pint
       Unbalanced, uncompromising, utterances
       But brilliant beer boosts Brains!!!
                Oh how I miss the Shoes!!!!

HUG
Hankering for that missing, generous touch                                                                       Uneasy absence of that warm human clutch                                                          Gripping on to one another is craved oh so much!

                                                                   SPORT
                                                        Spinning out hours after hours
                                                        Playing and watching
                                                        Over and over again
                                                        Reminiscing those great moments
                                                       Tedious for many but precious to us.

                          SCHOOL
                 Social gathering mixing with many peers
                 Crucial for future direction
                 Hubs for varied learning 
                 Objective thinking honed
                 Opportunities to light a hundred sparks
                 Looking for ways for subversion (uniform and petty rules)

                                                                                            ZOOM
                                                                Zoom tonight! So rearrange those bookshelves
                                                               Observe our many varied intellectual tomes
                                                               Optical illusion hiding the pyjama trousers
                                                              Melancholic feelings pervade for what is missed.

Bill Church April 2020

Appropriate title for today from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers-don’t think I have had a Tom Petty song before. The reason for the title our back door has been in the wars and we needed a lock smith today. Now we have a fully functioning back door that closes properly!

We are now serenaded every day by our local “Train” of Jackdaws another name is a “Clattering” of Jackdaws which with the sound might be more appropriate. I counted 70+ the other day. I have a secret admiration for these intelligent  birds who I think are quite handsome but oh my goodness they are a pain and that  incessant noise! You never know I might work a story around a Jackdaw! There is a picture of one below!

Finally I have to mention the wonderful performance by my football team last night earning a hard fought point at Leeds. It is the hope that gets you!!!!COYH!!!!!!

I chose the Spingsteen title for today because the chorus is Rise Up. As I finally completed climbing 7,500 metres on my bike in June today. Just a silly target for an immature man to aim for! The only other times I have achieved this in a month is my special cycling adventures. My foray into the Alps, the Pyrenees and last year’s cycle ride down through Wales.

Dan the other half of Two Severn Bores tells me the pod cast on the River Severn  has been tidied up and hopefully will soon be available in the near future. We were discussing initial ideas for a future project -we may develop one of them in the second part of the year and maybe next year we will be able to perform again-if not may be the pod cast route!

Why didn’t I think about this song title by The Police before? Seems appropriate for the world we now live in! It does feel like we have now reached crossing our fingers time till we see how things work out.

Good news I think I may of sorted my technological issues about transferring my story without any help! Feel quite pleased with myself! So will attempt to record my library story properly tomorrow!

Jefferson Starship provide the title for today’s blog title because I have been playing on and off all afternoon with recording me! I was recording me telling one of my Cedric the Dragon stories that I am hoping to do for the Library service. I managed to record it with only a couple of hiccups. A good learning exercise on being able to get the lighting, sound and the positioning right. Also it has been a good opportunity to practice relearning an old story. I will re-record it tomorrow!

Had to be the song that our most famous fan of the past sang with Little Ern today! Sorry for those of you non footballing readers but my team reignited the dream today with an excellent away win at Swansea. They certainly played well and thoroughly deserved it. Originally I had 7 tickets for this game that should of been played in March. As I have mentioned before it is surreal watching games devoid of fans.

Seth Lakeman’s song is today’s title although I really wanted a song about a Flowering Cherry tree but Seth will do! Our beautiful Flowering Cherry that I have mentioned recently had to finally come down today, it was sadly beginning to rot and we have had two new misses this year with things falling off. Steve who comes and does those sort of jobs for us came with his chain saw and I was shredder and tidy up man! It was sweltering in the sun so I have drunk plenty of iced water!  The pictures in the blog are of better days when in full blossom. Now we are left with an empty space and lots of logs and bags of shreddings!

Yesterday was our monthly bird survey out by the river -it was delayed a week because last week the rain was torrential! We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary but last month’s was exceptional. A Spotted Crake has been near where we survey (only 28 males in the UK) but no sight or sound of it!

Still have some work to do on me developing my technology skills before I record stories for Gloucestershire libraries!

I am in contact with Jane Fryer the illustrator about doing pictures for my new story-watch this space!

Yes I am but as I said yesterday it won’t necessarily be every day! Wow what a scorcher today! I went out early for a long bike ride before it got unbearable! The field of poppies in the picture below I saw near Tetbury!

Still struggling with technology may need the help of a young person!

Anyway yesterday’s answers

a) Parkin is a type of gingerbread cake traditionally with oatmeal and treacle  b) Armagnac is Brandy  c) NO HANDY CAR is Chardonnay d) Singapore Sling has gin in it e) Apricot Jam is in Battenberg Cake