Having lost both David Bowie and Pierre Boulez within the space of a few days, my musical galaxy seems much emptier without their abundant creativity dwelling therein.
As we slide through January, many things seem to be passing me by.
In the Senior Kitchen, I have essayed coq au vin (stop snickering Jenkins) with white wine rather than the traditional heavy burgundy. The first instruction was to joint and skin your chicken.
Well, I was happy to have a go but I have really no idea why Hannibal Lecter gets so excited by the whole palaver. Also, I need to know the French word for a knuckle because the dish I am cooking should properly be called sliced human knuckle and chicken in wine.
Having lost both David Bowie and Pierre Boulez within the space of a few days, my musical galaxy seems much emptier without their abundant creativity dwelling therein.
Ross has been attending the Recovery College - a worthy endeavour comprising freely available courses aimed at those who have been mentally unwell but are looking to integrate themselves back into society. His CPN, Graham, has been championing this. Ross is currently attending a multi-session course entitled Feeling better about yourself. We'll have to see how it goes.
He was also visited by Careline and, as a consequence, he now has an electronic pendant which he can wear so that, if he falls over and cannot get up, an automatic call will go out to support services who will make sure that he gets whatever help he needs.
We watched Slow West which is an excellent and exceedingly quirky film about the search for lost love against the odds and amidst a hail of flying bullets.
It doesn't end as you might expect but the narrative arc kept me engaged and interested for the 90 minutes or so.
Hurrah for top class German television programmes. I am completely enthralled by Deutschland 83.
Part thriller. Part historical drama. Part satire. Part espionage saga. Part coming of age narrative.
It's a very clever look at German history in the 1980s from the perspective of the Osties with their blend of naïve certainty that the Party is always right and will look after them and their rank duplicity used to gain prestige and special considerations when it comes to luxuries.
I'm hooked and, our hero, Jonas Nay gives a wonderful portrayal of someone whose idealism places him in an impossible situation in which his innocence is gradually stripped from him. Thankfully not only his innocence is stripped from him. Nice bum. Ha.
I've just been in Sainsbury's and I spotted a couple of Gressingham ducks in the reduced price cabinet going cheap. Which was remarkable really as, under most usual circumstances, ducks go ... Aaaaa ha ha ha ha
I have been upgrading Windows on my laptop and, in the time it has so far taken, I feel certain that several life-enhancing opportunities must have passed me by.