The highlight of these holidays has been getting out with the dogs in the dark of the night with the wind howling and the rain pouring.

Here’s the gear:

• Keela Munro jacket (best jacket EVER)
• Sprayway waterproof trousers
• Brasher 3-season socks
• Merrell waterproof walking shoes
• Flat cap
• JBL Beats with active sound isolation

I get my hood up, zip right up, and off we go!

Two nights ago I listened to Paul Heaton Presents… The 8th and it was fucking tremendous. The production is incredible and the content is as entertaining as a good movie. It’s huge!

These are the times when I get to think about life in a way that I can’t really do with audiobooks and podcasts. It’s a rare moment of joy that I feel through the day, when life is the hardest it has ever been and I’m so full of doubt about the decisions I’ve made. So I put on the music and wrap up, and I’m transported back to the centre again, whence all gets put into perspective and I can feel the love the family, the joy of playing music with friends, and I want to create, to write, to talk, to sing, to laugh. Then I see other people approaching and I do all I can to avoid them, so I guess it doesn’t change me that much. Ha ha.

Last night I couldn’t get the music right though. After enjoying The 8th so much, I thought I’d stick with the concept album and put on Tommy. It bored me, so I switched to The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, but that bored me too. ‘I know’, I thought. ‘Merlin likes Godspeed You! Black Emperor, so I’ll give that a spin.’ So I gave it a spin and didn’t enjoy it at all. By then, the rain was too heavy for me to get the iPhone out to change it. It reminded me a bit of Ride in the 90s, and I probably would have enjoyed it had I been in my 20s. Who knows. It was too much tension and not enough resolution for me, but I was stuck with it, so I persevered.

I won’t manage out tonight because I’m playing a gig again. 🙁