SURMISING IN MY COVID CAVE - DAY 7

SO… I ventured outside. Captive under Ballycastle blue skies is hard in itself. Anyway I took a sit in the garden. Nice to get fresh air. And even nicer to be sent some lemon drizzle cake over the fence.

It seems that the last diary entry for Day 5 should have read Day 4. The first day that you test positive is counted as zero. So today I am on Day 7 and have surrendered to the notion, of a not so glorious kind, that I am in here until Sunday. 

I am learning about the statistical side of Coronavirus! They say after 10 days whether you are testing positive or not you are no longer infectious and can return to the real world. Janice left on Monday so I am looking in the fridge! 

Covid-19 is that virus that goes on… and on. A good old fashioned head cold has similar qualities BUT not the quantity of snot or time as this bad boy. Apologies about too much information but I am sure most of you have had it by now anyway.

It is wearying too. Two weeks ago I was talking about how living through the Coronavirus Years (I used to call them Days but…) is tiring in a similar way that grief is tiring. After my father’s passing at the end of April I was weary. I guess we came up here to Ballycastle to rest over the Jubilee and suddenly another tired filled bomb hits in the actual virus itself.

Weariness, boredom and seeing Ballycastle blue skies and not able to enjoy them. Covid itself still saps energy. My sinuses are jam packed. A moment of breathing arrives and you think the end might be arriving and a few minutes later we are blocked ups again.

So what have I been doing as well as trying to work out how to squeeze what I cannot do this week into the next two!

Well, as my reviews have shown I watched The Beatles’ documentary Get Back and have been listening to Mary Gauthier’s Dark Enough To See The Stars, R S Rowen’s Battery And Electrical and Mavis Staples and Levon Helm’s Carry Me Home. 

Elsewhere the Playlist has included:

 

The Head and The Heart - Every Shade Of Blue

These guys have become big favourites of mine and here the songs Virginia (Wind In the Night) and Hurts But It Goes Away are as catchy as anything of Lets Me Still and the eponymous debut. 

 

Chagall Guevara - Halcyon Days

Not released yet but out to the kick starter fan base I got a chance to listen to this the follow up to the legendary Chagall Guevara’s 1991. It is not let down. It rocks with typical Steve Taylor drama, poetry and spiritual depth charges.

 

Memorial - Memorial

My daughter Jasmine discovered these guys when they supported Amber Run in London recently. Oh my I love it. Like quiet lo-fi Wilco and at times Simon Garfunkel, this is a late night album to surmise the early hours.

 

The Head and The Heart - Every Shade Of Blue

These guys have become big favourites of mine and here the songs Virginia (Wind In the Night) and Hurts But It Goes Away are as catchy as anything on Let’s Be Still and the eponymous debut. 

 

Graham Nash - Live: Songs For Beginners/Wild Tales

Nash, the N in CSN and CSNY, had all these songs that didn’t make those super group records and made these albums. Last year he took them out and gigged them. Here are live versions. They have a new warm energy and sadly are still relevant, the likes of Military Madness. 

 

NEEDTOBREATHE - Live From Bridgestone Arena

Another band that Jasmine got me into. I love the spiritual joie de vivre of these guys. It’s always celebratory and faith burns bright even in the darker corners. I love Washed By The Water/Lay Em Down, Jon Foreman’s guesting on Carry Me and the heavy workout collaboration with all of Switchfoot and The New Respects on Led Zeppelin’s When The Levee Breaks.  

 

Dawes - Live Time On The Rooftop (Los Angeles, CA 28.8.20)

Discovered this recent live recording and it saves me doing a playlist of the best songs. They are here and they have so many - Things Happen, Crack The Case and All Your Favourite Bands. 

Comments

[AndyB]

I read Chagall Guevara and wondered whether Rick and the boys had got back together after 25 years...