Why did you start your blog with that I hear you say?
Well the answer is I felt like it, but let me explain.
Yesterday morning was the Forget Me Not Cafe in Hethersett. I have mentioned this on a number of occasions. We hold it twice a month on the first and third Tuesdays. It's organised under the auspices of the Hethersett Dementia Support Group, although it's open to anyone and not just those living with dementia and their carers.
So yesterday we had the Mustang trio - a threesome who entertained with music. You notice I have used the generic term music as I hate pigeon holing. When people ask me what music I like, I might say I have an eclectic taste and then rush to the dictionary to see what the term means. If they push me I will say something inane like British Progressive Rock of the 1970s or American singer-songwriters, But even that's wrong. I don't like every prog rock band of the seventies or every American singer-songwriter.
So Mustang trio played a whole variety of music from covers of songs by the Eagles; Peter, Paul and Mary; John Denver and many more including Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. You might know his song "Early Morning Rain."
The trio played two or three Lightfoot songs but they missed out (quite understandably) his Canadian Railroad Trilogy - which, you won't be surprised to hear is actually three songs in one. Also not surprisingly, it's about the coming of the railroad to Canada. The problem with the song is it weighs in at well over six minutes.
When I got home from the cafe, I put the track on thanks to Alexa and listened closely to the lyrics and the line at the start of this blog just stood out for me. Can't say exactly why but that's what happens with me and lyrics.
I just love listening to artists who play music for the sheer love of it and Mike, Ray and David certainly did that. Mike's mum Ruby used to come to the cafe when she lived in Hethersett. She is now in a residential home in Drayton but Mike remembers how much she enjoyed the cafe and loves to come back with his guitar and entertain us and yesterday he brought his mates as well.
* * *
We have a Sam 2 in the village. A what I hear you ask?
It's one of those mobile speed displays which tell you how fast you are going and to slow down if it thinks you are going too fast. Incidentally I went through one the other day that told me to slow down despite the fact I was doing 35 in a 40 mph zone.
Anyway between 19th December last year and 31st January this year the stretch of a village road being monitored had 127,844 vehicles along it which seems an incredibly high number for a reasonably somnambulistic village. That stretch has a 20 mph advisory limit and 73,774 of those vehicles exceeded that. I'm sure many thought it was a 30 mph limit so I suppose there was some excuse as only 1082 exceeded the 30 mark.
This machine doesn't lead to fines or anything like that, but does provide data and show trends.
* * *
I was looking back on last year's diary a couple of days ago and surprised to find that almost exactly a year ago we had those terrible storms with massively high winds and driving rain. This year it was 15 degrees and sunshine. I remember those storms well. We came back from a week's holiday in Kent a day early to avoid the worst. We did visit Whitstable on the Friday just as the wind was picking up. Thankfully we got home ahead of the real storm on the Saturday and Sunday. Those were two of only six days when I didn't get out to do my charity walk.
This year I'm still looking to walk 1,000 miles but without the pressure of raising money. So far I'm just about on target.
Last year at this time I don't think we had touched the garden. But this year, thanks to the recent good weather, everything is looking tidy and well spruced up.
* * *
Have been getting really stuck into the next Hethersett Herald e-magazine. It's extra difficult to get a magazine out in February as there are only 28 days. It has meant that I have got rather behind with other writing projects. So once Herald is published I can spend some time on those. More about that later.
Speak to you all tomorrow.