"But then she wakes, and sees the pink and orange dawn against the clouds, or hears the lament of a lone fiddle, the music and the melody, and remembers there is such beauty in the world."
I think I feel the same, but I’m not so old and tired yet.
Heat Hangs Like A Low Roof Over Paris
"Heat hangs like a low roof over Paris."
I just liked this as an opening paragraph to one of the chapters.
March Is Such A Fickle Month
"March is such a fickle month. It is the seam between winter and spring - though seam suggests an even hem, and March is more like a rough line of stitches sewn by an unsteady hand, swinging wildly between January gusts and June greens."
I loved this book. I didn’t actually realise it counts as Young Adult which probably explains the short chapters and easy to read prose, but none of that detracts from an absolutely cracking storyline.
Note: It's 2025 and people still just say Hi in Slack.
Note: Meant to say yesterday, but finally got to Kilau Coffee in Aberdeen after about 18 years of living here and wanting to.
Accidentally did it on pace. Could have probably done with the butteries and Irn Bru before hand. Have to take advantage of extra running time though, however and whenever it comes about.
Note: Firefox finally has tab groups again. That's taken over ten years to add back. Can stop using containers as a substitute now.
LINK: Team Våga
I recently spent a stupid amount of money on a new running cap. Given the demise of my banana hat and that it’s spring and no longer “woolly” hat season (my winter running hat isn’t actually woolly) I did actually need one. I wanted something running specific rather than just a cap JUST BECAUSE WHY NOT? I did look on Vinted, but second hand prices weren’t much cheaper and Våga seem like a good brand and worth supporting directly, plus it meant I could buy from my local running shop, which also seemed like a nice thing to be able to do; Although sadly I don’t think my £30 in almost three years is going to be a big help to them; When we moved to town from the city I did envisage being able to join a running club and being able to buy shoes at a shop, but life hasn’t really worked out that way.
Anyway, it’s done now. It is nice. I think I just finally cracked from trying to be so financially restrained all the time. I will regret it next month when it’s my third year anniversary of trying to save £75 up for a laptop.
I got a pink hat to go with my other pink running stuff and because I thought A would love it whereas she has always hated my banana hat - she said this one was even worse :-(. Can’t win.
Did this route again. It’d be cool if I could at least do this once a month, but I doubt I could do it fast over winter so I wouldn’t be able to do it as my fast running, it’d have to be in addition to it. Let’s just see how spring/summer/autumn goes.
Glad that some of my best times still involve hills. I do prefer hilly runs, but it stands to reason that a flat 10k or 15k in town was always going to eclipse my countryside runs (where there was no flat option).
Doing this the day after a lower body workout meant I really felt it.
If Brains Are Houses With Many Rooms
"If brains are houses with many rooms then I live in the basement."
Last one from this book. Have started the next one already.
If There Could Be Only One Of Us It Would Be You
"If there could be only one of us it would be you."
Both haunting and loving.
She Has Always Known That Houses Are Bodies
"She has always known that houses are bodies and that her body is a house in more ways than most."
This was incredible. It has quite poetic prose. Definitely one of those books that stays with you.
March Music
Well, the first quarter of the year anyway. Sooooo much music, my music picks of 2025 playlist is already over two hours long.
January seemed to be country and girly pop inspired, interestingly.
Notable mentions (there is actually more than this!), mostly albums:
- Lambrini Girls: Who Let the Dogs Out. Always going to love some angry shouty girls (it’s why I love A). Five tracks from this make my picks of 2025 so by volume this should be my album of the year.
- Moonchild Sanelly: Full Moon. Big Booty is my favourite.
- Ethel Cain: Perverts. It’s a bit like listening to an art installation, not that that in itself is a bad thing, but Vacillator is the closest to an actual song.
- Rose Gray: Louder Please. Cross between Dua Lipa and Charli XCX? Which is a pretty good thing. Free, Party People and Switch are really, really good.
- Geowulf: The Child. I only really like Stay Baby.
- Willow Avalon: Raising Hell. It’s country music so not my thing, but for some reason I love Something We Regret.
- Alessi Rose: for your validation. An EP. Start All Over is great. Pop, but great. Ikyk is great too.
- Jasmine.4.t: You are the Morning. Yay for Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation having a surprise Phoebe Bridgers appearance (and having a great song name).
- Déyyess: Claire. Another EP. More pop perfection. If I Was Ur Boy is just utterly superb.
- FKA Twigs: Eusexua. Perfect Stranger and Striptease are the obvious standouts for me. And Childlike Things, well, much like Jessica Winter’s L.O.V.E. I can’t actually decide if it is really really good or really really bad.
- Heartworms: Glutton for Punishment. Probably going to be my album of the year emotionally, it’s just superb. I only actually have Just Ask To Dance and Mad Catch in my playlist so far, but I do actually love the whole thing.
- John Glacier: Like a Ribbon. I didn’t know what it was going to be like, but not like this? A female CASISDEAD? Maybe? Emotions and Ocean Steppin’ are the ones I like best. This deserves more listens.
- The Wombats: Oh! the Ocean. I like Blood On The Hospital Floor and I Love America And She Hates Me the most. It ‘s not bad (at all) it’s just not A Guide to Love, Loss and Desperation.
- Mallrat: light hit my face like a straight right. Via little M. Pavement and Hideaway are the best. For some reason I feel a bit too old to be listening to this.
- Saya Gray: Saya. H.B.W is good, but Lie Down is the stand out to me and how I discovered the album - which makes you wait until the end.
- Marie Davidson: City of Clowns. Sexy Clown and YAMM (both versions) are my favourites although Fun Times is fun times too.
- The Architects: The Sky, The Earth And All Between. This is pretty great. I loved Whiplash and Curse from last year and they probably remain my favourites.
- Antony Szmierek: Service Station At The End Of The Universe. I like it, but not as much as Circle of Light and Working Classic which aren’t on this. Rafters is maybe the nearest? Crashing up is good too.
- Divorce: Drive to Goldenhammer. All My freaks, which I knew about before hand, is heads and shoulders above everything. It is such an amazing track that it makes all the other good stuff on the album seem a bit bland in comparison.
- Housewife: Girl of the Hour. A lot of this I heard last year. I like everything on here. Maybe I like I Lied and Divorce most of all.
- Fust: Big Ugly. More country, but Spangled is a tune.
- HotWax: Hot Shock. Hard Goodbye has just such a great opening sound.
- Freak Slug: I blow out big candles (but with a cherry on top). Spells is superb.
- Chloe Qisha: 21st Century Cool Girl and Sex, Drugs And Existential Dread. Both are singles. Both utter pop perfection.
- Sacred Paws: Jump into Life. For me, not hitting the heights of Almost It from Run Around The Sun.
- Snapped Ankles: Hard Times Furious Dancing. Probably Raoul is best, but despite the great album name there’s nothing that furious. Where’s the Caganar is pretty good too. All in all probably not really my thing.
- Sleeper’s Bell: Clover. Really pretty beautiful, but Room is the standout for me.
And then there is stuff I’ve not got to around yet and will have to roll over into April:
- Japanese Breakfast: For Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women). I’ve given it one quick listen, but not properly.
- Greentea Peng: Tell Dem it’s Sunny. Same.
- Perfume Genius: Glory.
- Panda Bear: Sinister Grift.
Probably said superb too much. Oh well.
These are the ten most recent posts (not counting any note drivel), for older posts see the Archive.