Fire Flies

Fire Flies

Turquois seas and ripening vines
Olive groves and porcupines
Evening walks beneath summer skies
Truest love and fire flies

Battening Down The Hatches

I don't get to write my book on a tropical beach this winter. I'm at home for the duration. When the sun shines I'm out walking. Lakes and woods, and country lanes. Retirement could be OK.

I had a surge of reorganising my house, moving rooms around like a giant puzzle, to end up with the right space to work in. I would also be slacking if I didn't do some good old fashioned decorating, so the hall stairs and landing get a make over.

I got the first page of my first short story down on paper last week. I made a start. Ten or fifteen of them is what is in my mind, literally. Do they fit together? Maybe!

I am also planning next summer already, thanks to friends I met this year across Scandinavia. The thing is I just cannot settle. Life is a little grey after Nordkapp. I have itchy feet for sure, and it is only November. More later. I have a cunning plan!

Goa

I lost Goa.

I needed to raise cash for everything I want to do over the next year. I applied for various Christmas jobs, but got nothing. I did my sums again. Not good at all. Since I could not go out to my friends apartment, I needed to talk to them. Her sister had wanted to use the apartment it turns out. They had offered it to me and where honouring that. I let it go. Without work I have enough for my summer plans, but no more. I have to concentrate my resources on that. I have my own personal recession and austerity cuts going on. Fun later!! It could be a long winter ! Time to get organised.

Maxstoke

I've been quiet for a while so I thought I'd record some of what I have been doing. It has been a busy Autumn. I intended this new blog to be a pot puree. It will be for sure. I haven't a clue how things will go over the next few months. More of that later.

I still do a lot at Maxstoke Village Hall. It's a small, traditional village hall that used to be an RAF anti aircraft crews accommodation duirng World War Two. We used to think you couldn't do a beer festival from a village hall. The bar is ad hoc. It's in the middle of nowhere, although the Warwickshire countryside is very nice indeed. Who would come? We sold tickets because we needed to be able to gauge how much beer to buy, and to manage parking. 170 came. We sold out. The bands, Rocket 88 and Apex were brilliant. Apex wrote a song about my adventures in the Arctic. You could have knocked me over with a feather. Thanks guys.

If It looks quiet. That is because I don't have pictures of the gig in full swing. The punters pretty much all arrived together, and from then on our feet didn't touch the ground. I wish I had more of the Maxstoke gang to show you.

FREE BEER TOMORROW. In Maxstoke it's not a joke. Our lincence is for one day only, so If you are around on the Sunday, any left over gets thrown !!!

Plans for the 2011 Beer Festival are already underway. Bigger, better, and slicker, is the intention.

That was September, and October the community sat down to a three course traditional roast dinner. It's a farming community, and the occasion always has plenty of atmosphere. It is also one of the few occasions these days when I get to put on my chef whites, and do what I love to do (other than riding my motorbike).

Fall Out

£1034 to replace the clutch on the bike, returning from Nordkapp. Oooch! That is as far as I got in my last blog.

£1034 has consequences. I intend to over winter in Goa. I also wanted to go on a motorcycle tour from Goa to Madras. £1034 in repairs is enough to put the bike ride in jeopardy. The way it looks just now is that I need to content myself with a gentle, contemplative, relaxing few weeks, enjoying lots of time on a tropical beach. Maybe it's time to practice being quiet (for more than the time it takes to draw breath!!!). Vegetarian food and Ayurvedic massage should do the trick.

Actually it is worse than I thought now that I have done the maths. I am likely to be starting my winter break later than I intended. I cannot see me affording to get away until the end of January. I should be philosophical. Six weeks in Goa is less than I intended, but still very special.

The truth is I'm still grinding my teeth about the motorcycle repair bill. You couldn't sell me another BMW just now.