Optimism and Later Jools Holland.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Yesterday in late evening when Richie took me to the bathroom to change my clothes for pyjamas, he had a look at my pressure wound.

He happily reported to me that the area around the wound was still nicely dry which was good hopefully it will mean that the wound will heal soon.

We are both happy about this and optimistic that when Milou returns on the 12^th of December there will be progress which is noticeable to her.

Right now Richie has taken the dogs to the Rembrandt Park so that they can run and play before returning home contented.

Before he left Richie prepared our evening meal, on his return all you have to do is some finishing touches and then we can eat, I can't wait as it smells delicious.

Later on tonight there will be the last edition of Later with Jools Holland on BBC2 which both Richie and I are looking forward to immensely.

Sadly that will be the last programme until the on Hogmanay show on 31 December, which we and many others will be waiting for with eager anticipation.

Amazing difference in a day.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Hopefully this time I will be able to dictate without any problems with the Dragon voice recognition software now that I've done a restart of my laptop.

It is Thursday today, when I was still working it was my favourite day because it was followed by Friday which meant glorious weekend free from work.

even though I am not working Thursday is still a favourite day of mine, and I still like the prospect of the weekend approaching, anticipation of a pleasant event is good fun.

Yesterday when I was put back into bed, Richie placed one of the torso supports on my leg just under the knee to lift the area of the pressure sore off of the mattress.

That evening when I was in the bathroom, sitting in the shower chair Richie had a look under the dressing to check whether anything had changed.

He was very pleased and reported that the area was much drier than it had been previously; amazingly the new procedure was having an effect already.

When I went back to bed Richie placed the support back under my knee where it stayed for the rest of the evening and during the night.

When Richie took me to the bathroom to put me under the shower, he removed the dressing and noticed that it was much drier.

How amazing that taking the pressure off the area has made such a difference in such a short time, it makes me feel optimistic.

Creative thinking for a solution.

 
Roberto Matta.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta

Last night I had a very unsettled night and kept waking up many times during the night worrying about the appointment with Milou, the wound nurse today.

Milou was here precisely at 1200 just as we had arranged, she said that the wound looked good but that the surrounding area was damp.

We have no idea what the cause is, Milou could only tell us that she could see that it started to happen mid-September, without the reason being apparent.

Richie has come up with a variety of ideas which he is going to try out and see if any of them provide a solution to the problem of the dampness around the wound.

One of the ideas is to use the extra supports that we have for my torso and place one during the day below my right knee in order to lift my right buttock from the bed.

The idea is to do this during the night so as to alleviate the pressure on the area where the pressure wound is located.

Richie is hoping to be able to come up with a resolution to this problem without having to turn me on to my side during the night, which causes painful shoulders and arms which trigger off spasms.

We are hoping that by trying different ideas we will be able to come up with a solution to the problem of the dampness around the wound.

Once the solution has been found hopefully the wound will be able finally to heal up so that once again I might be able to sit in my wheelchair.

More to look forward to.

 

Roberto Matta.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta

We had an early start today due to the fact that a supplier, Beenhakker was going to deliver the new cushion for the shower chair.

At 09.30 the doorbell rang and it was the engineer from Beenhakker with the new cushion, which he expertly attached to the back of the shower chair.

By the sound of his voice he sounded very friendly; Richie and he were very animatedly talking about the dogs that were playing around them.

Not too long after he left the phone rang and it was our friend John from Glasgow, telling me that he would be here on the 8th of December for a week.

He told me that if was anything we would like Scotland then I should send him an e-mail and he would see if they can get things we ask for.

We are both looking forward tremendously to seeing John in December, it will be special to see him again; we are both excited about the prospect.

Tonight Richie is going to start preparing the fruit for our Christmas cake as well as Christmas pudding, so more exciting things to look forward to.

I know I will have to wait a bit longer yet, but I do like the whole Christmas season my favourite days are 19, 20, and 21 of December.

Tonight I have another edition of Later with Jools Holland on BBC2 to look forward to, it is being quite day to day and it's not over yet.

A Wonderful Surprise.

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Amazingly after the gloomy wet and windy weekend the weather today looks quite pleasant when viewed from my warm bedroom.

Especially after a delightful brunch of kipper and scrambled egg accompanied by two delicious oatcakes, it was a wonderful meal.

Happily I still have one packet of kippers waiting for me in the deep freeze, so whenever I fancy eating the last packet I will have another delicious meal.

The tasty kippers were brought here in September when Richie's sister Aud visited us for a wonderful visit, which went by much too quickly.

That is always the way when things are enjoyable, I'm sure that we will have the pleasure of her company again next year.

Something that can’t come soon enough as far as I'm concerned as it is lovely having Aud staying here with us, it is a shame we can't see more of each other.

Over the weekend a good friend of Richie’s, who also became a friend of mine, telephoned to say that he would be coming to visit us two weeks time.

So roundabout the 10^th of December John will be visiting us from Glasgow, Scotland for a whole week, which will be wonderful I am sure.

We have not seen each other for 12 years so it will be quite reunion especially between Richie and John, how wonderfully typical of John to surprise us like this.

I was practically speechless on the phone on Saturday when he rang, now we have to wait to hear exactly when he will be here, how very exciting.

No recognition.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Today I've been having a dreadful time trying to get my Dragon voice recognition to start responding to my dictation.

It is now 20.06 and the English version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking finally is hearing my voice, it's a relief that I am finally able to write my blog post.

So frustrating because I've been trying to dictate a piece since not long after 1809 tonight, blimey that two hours lost trying to get the voice recognition to recognise my voice.

Ah well I guess once again all is well that ends well, I've nothing could moan about now that it's working again and I can dictate as much as I like.

Of course what has happened is that what I meant to write about is not going to happen tonight, not now because the recent events came in between.

I'm sure I will be able to remember tomorrow when I will endeavour to write about what was on my mind before Dragon voice recognition let me down so badly.

Richie has taken the dogs to the Rembrandt Park, they should be back any time now, in fact they are here now, they look ecstatic as well as very wet.

I'm going to stop writing now and look for another wonderful piece of artwork by Roberto Matta, as soon as I post this I'm going to relax and enjoy the evening with Richie.

Very Enjoyable Watching Later with Jools Holland

Roberto Matta.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta

Watching Later with Jools Holland last night on BBC2 was great fun; I really enjoyed myself tremendously listening to the wonderful music.

The performers were Sinead O'Connor, Courtney Pine, Biffy Clyro, Tame Impala, Lau, and Mud Morganfield.

I enjoyed every single performance, it was lovely to see Sinead O'Connor again she is a delightful performer and her band was good too.

Although I don't like jazz much I really enjoyed Courtney Pine and his excellent band, I could have listened to Courtney Pine for much longer.

Tame Impala from Perth Australia were magnificent; the riff they were playing was very reminiscent of Canned Heat, my favourite American band from the 70's.

Lau, a wonderful Scottish folk music trio who were playing accordion, guitar and fiddle who I enjoy listening to, good to hear more folk music again these days.

Jools Holland had a wonderful surprise for everybody by announcing the son of Muddy Waters, Mud Morganfield who was enjoyable to listen to.

My big favourites were Biffy Clyro, a band I've seen before on an earlier series of later with Jools Holland.

It was brilliant seeing last night edition of later with Jools Holland, I am looking forward to seeing the next edition on Tuesday next week which will I fear will be the last in this series.

The next time Jools Holland will be back is will be for his Hogmanay show on 31 December.

If Only Dreams Came True.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Today I've been quite introspective which is not surprisingly given my situation of having multiple sclerosis and curvature of the spine.

Right now I don't want to be involved solely with my thoughts, that is why writing my blog has been and still is a very important part of my daily life.

Writing my blog has been crucial for me, I think it has helped to strengthen my resolve to enjoy everything that I can while I can.

It has put me in touch with lovely people from all over the world and that has been wonderful, it is so good to be able to get to know other bloggers.

The support I've received has been quite phenomenal and I appreciate all of it very much, I also enjoy being able to support other bloggers too.

I think that being able to support each other is absolutely essential for us as human beings; we need a society where mutual aid is central.

That would be much better than the society we have right now where everyone is competing against each other.

We all do so much better when we cooperate with each other for our mutual benefit, if only this were possible what a beautiful world it would be for us all.

Right now this is my dream hopefully it is one that is shared by others and it will be reality someday soon, for now I'm going to keep the dream alive.

Seizing The Moment.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

The day has positively flown by today before I noticed this was happening, right now looking outside I feel like it's the middle of the night.

Yet it is only early evening, Richie has gone off with the dogs to the Rembrandt Park so that they can let off steam by running around.

They will no doubt be back sooner than I think, elated and exuberant from their run in the park; they will also be excited about having their dinners.

.

I always have to make sure I turn off the Dragon voice recognition microphone otherwise all the excited  barking will be included in my text.

Then I will get rows of just two words are and the repeated over and over again, sometimes there are sentences which make no sense whatsoever.

We had a very pleasant evening yesterday with Lin when she came to eat with us, the three dogs were also very happy to see her when she arrived.

The fish and chips Richie made were delicious as were the salad as well as the plantain, onion rings and other tasty extras.

Lin is a very entertaining woman and as usual she had us laughing at her stories within minutes of arriving.

It was an enjoyable evening which we are going to repeat again soon, it really is nice to have friends around for dinner; it is well worth doing often.

Enjoying all the moments is really what life is all about, seizing the moment and making the best of it that you can, that's all that any of us can do.

Enjoying Life.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Watching Later with Jools Holland last night on BBC2 was good, I enjoyed all of the acts last night, two of them were known the other three were new to me.

On Friday will be the extended version of the show which I'm looking forward to as it will be good to hear each of the performers doing two or three numbers.

This evening our good friend Lin, who runs the British General Store will be joining us for dinner at 19.00.

I'm looking forward to seeing her later on and hearing all her news, I'm sure she will have many stories to tell us.

It is always good fun having Lin around, she is such a good friend to both of us and the dogs positively her as soon as she arrives they will show off like crazy.

Richie is making fish and chips, with onion rings in batter, fried slices of plantain, peas, coleslaw salad, gherkins and pickled onions.

The condiments will be Geeta's onion chutney, tartar sauce, horseradish sauce, tomato ketchup, HP sauce, and a choice of Matauk’s Trinidad hot pepper sauces.

I can't hardly wait for Lin to arrive and to enjoy eating the delicious food Richie has made, his batter is delightfully light it enhances the fish.

I'm sure that we are going to have a very pleasant evening which we will all enjoy, despite everything I'm still convinced that life is to be enjoyed to the full.

Reasons To Be Cheerful.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Surprisingly after the miserable cold wet day yesterday that to day was a pleasant looking day to day with blue skies as well as sunshine.

Not the day I'd expected it to be, I thought we would get more rain seems we've got lucky.

It was very noticeable how difficult life has become for me recently, despite this Richie and I still manage to have a laugh which is wonderful.

The curvature of my spine is making everything more complicated; now that I have again managed to cope with being showered and dressed I am sanguine about life.

At the moment Richie is in the kitchen making dinner, which will be a delicious cottage pie with shards of cheese on top of the mash potatoes.

I'm looking forward to eating dinner and then not too long afterwards being able to enjoy Tuesday edition of later with Jools Holland on BBC2.

They are reasons enough for me to be cheerful about life on this very dark Tuesday early November evening, plenty of reasons to be cheerful.

Being Philosophical.

 

]Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Roberto Matta.

It has been extremely frustrating to use Dragon voice recognition this afternoon as well as this evening, until now 19.35 I could not dictate my text.

What amazed me is the fact that I kept calm and cool however there was nothing I could do except wait for the Dragon voice recognition to work.

Which it has, finally it’s started to type in the words I am dictating, what relief as I was beginning to think that wouldn't be able to write anything today.

I was trying to be philosophical about it although that was incredibly difficult for me to do especially as I never like to miss writing my blog even for one day.

My other frustrations just now were with the fact that I could not pay for something using PayPal as they also seemed to have a problem.

I decided to stop trying to pay now and to return to it later on this evening and if that doesn't work then I will try to pay tomorrow.

The other thing that was not working for me was trying to ring a good friend, Gareth.

To let him know that we are thinking about him, his mother and his brother and sister now that his beloved father has died.

Over the weekend I had somehow added an extra digit to his telephone number which was the reason I could not get through on Saturday and Sunday.

Gareth has just phoned me, however I had to phone him back as he could not hear me, it was good to talk to him especially because of his dad.

Hopefully the last thing that was frustratingly will finally work with me in a minute and I can pay via PayPal for the item I have ordered.

I'm so glad that I have not let these annoying and frustrating things get to me much better to remain calm and wait for everything to improve.

Which it did do, then I received the phone call from Gareth, it was good to talk to him and let him know that Richie and I are thinking about them.

Tomorrow Is Another Day.

 

 Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

The weekend is flying by as it always does; it is nearly 20.00 on Sunday already which given that time is flying by feels like it is going at double speed this time.

Last night we were up late to watch Match of the Day on BBC with all the football games from the Premier league.

Following that was the Football League Show which shows all the football games from the Championship as well as League One games.

Afterwards we got talking and totally forgot track of the time so we stayed up much longer than we would ever have intended to do so.

Consequently we slept until quite late today as we were both very tired, it was a shame as both of us had planned things we wanted to do today.

Never mind tomorrow is another day so I'm not going to reproach myself about today, what would the point be in that.

would be no point and the only thing it would achieve would be to make me feel miserable and Richie too.

Instead of wasting my time beating myself up I'm going to look for some artwork after which I will publish this on my blog.

Then I'm going to relax and enjoy the evening, tomorrow I will get on and do the things I'd planned to do today, right now I'm enjoying the evening.

Enjoyable Friday Show.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Late last night we watched our favourite music show, the extended version of Later with Jools Holland on BBC2.

The performers were the following: Foals, Ellie Goulding, Band of Horses, Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, Luisa Sobral, Rodriguez.

Ellie Goulding was the first act, while I'm sure that she has many fans it just was not my thing, it was a performance which would be popular at festivals.

Singers like Ellie, who all the way through their performance look up at the ceiling instead of engaging with their audience are really not my favourite; I don't like a semi-detached performance.

Foals were another act that did not hit the mark where I was concerned, they were a band who seemed to play well but lacked real talent, they were playing rock 'n' roll by numbers.

One other performer was not the sort of act that I like, Luisa Sobral, I am sure she just like the other performers that I wasn't keen on will be liked by others.

There were three performances I really did like, they were Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, Larry Graham is a wonderful performer.

He was a major part of that well-known band called Sly and the Family Stone; they had a huge hit with Dance to the Music which I have danced to many times with great pleasure.

It was really wonderful to see and hear a star like Larry Graham and his truly wonderful band Graham Central Station they were a tremendous act which we enjoyed as did the entire studio audience.

The other two acts that I thought were very good were band of horses who were an excellent rock 'n' roll band who I would love to listen to for much longer.

The other act that I enjoyed very much was Rodriguez who was an outstanding guitarist, singer and songwriter who was enjoyable to listen to.

Larry Graham and Graham Central Station closed the show with a wonderful rendition of dance to the music which got the whole audience up on their feet and dancing.

A really brilliant performance and a good way to end this weeks Later Jools Holland, I am already looking forward to the new show next week Tuesday, first I will enjoy the weekend.

A Pleasant Friday.

 

Roberto Matta. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta

It's been a very pleasant day to day which was made even nicer because my best friend Anja came to visit this afternoon.

She recently visited her daughter who is living and working in Barcelona for a three-day visit which she enjoyed enormously.

Nice to hear her account of her trip, it gave me a snapshot of what it was like to visit such a vibrant city as Barcelona is.

I had the pleasure of being there for a weekend in 1967, my parents and I were staying in Calafel on the Costa Dorada, where we met a nice Spanish family.

Who invited me to accompany them and their teenage kids for a quick visit to their house in Barcelona, it was an unforgettable experience for me at age 17.

All too quickly it was 1700 and my lovely friend Anja had to leave, she is going to see well-known Dutch people try their hand at conducting an orchestra.

Anja brought us a couple of vacuum packed Spanish cheeses as well as a spicy, garlicky chorizo which I've already tried and it's delicious.

Richie is planning on making jacket potatoes and stew tonight, in my portion he is going to put some diced chorizo which I am sure will taste good.

My intention is to relax and enjoy the evening with Richie; I'm looking forward to what sounds like a delicious dinner.

At midnight there is the extended version of Later with Jools Holland on BBC2 to make the day even better, lovely to have such a nice perspective.

First I shall find another great piece of art by Roberto Matta after which I am going to publish it on my blog and spend the evening relaxing.

A Huge Contrast To Yesterday.

 

Roberto Matta

.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta

Last night after I did my exercises on the Motomed Richie returned me back to bed, where I expected to be able to sit well.

It was shocking to discover that not only was I not sitting well but I was also feeling really dreadful.

I felt at my most handicapped and disabled than I've ever felt before, it was shocking to have this experience yesterday evening.

I had not expected this to happen as I had been to the toilet before I did my arm and leg exercises and had a huge bowel movement.

Sitting better was what I expected would happen as a consequence of going very successfully to the toilet.

Over the last few years we are both noticed that there's a huge correlation between needing to have a bowel movement and sitting badly.

Any time that I am consistently flopping all over the bed Richie knows now that it is time to get me to the bathroom which usually solves the problem.

I have not had any such problems today which is really lovely, it has meant that that for the first time in a couple of months I've been able to answer outstanding e-mails.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to start responding as I always have done to comments left on my blog which I always like to do as its nice to be in conversation with my blog friends.

Then I quickly edited the Dutch translation of my blog, it went very well and I was able to translate the title as well as labels.

As a consequence of all this I now feel very efficient, this is making me very happy as I love to be on top of things.

I'm enjoying feeling so much better than I did yesterday; in fact the contrast with yesterday is quite noticeable, tomorrow maybe different again.

Whatever happens I am enjoying today, that is really all that matters to me is enjoying what I have right here and now.

Time Flies By.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

This morning's  it was quite overcast, with an occasional glimpse of pale blue sky in between the clouds.

That was at 10.00 this morning, at 1100 I was being showered by Richie, the plan was to be ready for 1200 when Milou, the wound nurse would be here.

At 1200 I had been showered and was half dressed, just my top half, so that all the nurse and to do was check how the wound was progressing on my bottom.

Milou said that she was pleased to see that it was much smaller than it was previously, this is good news indeed, if only the last 2 mm would heal quickly.

We have a new appointment for the 28^th of November; it would be absolutely brilliant if more progress has been made by then, my fingers are crossed.

What a lovely surprise when I was brought back into the bedroom by Richie, to see that the clouds had gone and were replaced by blue sky and sunshine.

Before Richie put me back into bed, I was sprayed with Yves St Laurent perfume which is a lovely light fragrance, just the thing for a sunny day like today.

Now that it's 1700 the blue sky is slowly fading away as dusk draws in, the time is flying by as usual and it soon will be Christmas once again.

Right now I'm going to concentrate on today and enjoy every moment of it together with Richie and our three happy Jack Russell terriers.

A Different Complexion

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

It's only 18.15 right now, yet it feels like it was already 02.15 and before Richie closed the curtains it looked like it too.

This afternoon at 14.15 I had an appointment with Peter, the engineer from the rehabilitation clinic, to try the new wrist supports with a hook on each which he made for me.

This allows me to keep using the arm exerciser on the Motomed, which is very good as it stretches my arm muscles, which is essential for my well-being.

Peter is a very good engineer, so I am looking forward to trying out the new wrist supports in a while when I do my exercises when Richie gets me out of bed.

Right now Richie is about to take the dogs for a run around the Rembrandt Park where I'm sure they will have fun chasing rabbits back to their burrows.

Just now I realised that as its Tuesday there will be another edition of Later with Jools Holland on BBC2 at 2300 tonight.

That is very exciting and it has put a totally different complexion on the day knowing that I will be listening to some good news before too long.

Only three hours to wait, that is not long but to me being very impatient it seems like forever.

My father used to tell me a little rhyme which went something like this, patience is a virtue, virtue is a grace and Grace is a little girl who did not wash her face.

In Germany they have a saying which goes something like this, patience is a virtue and that is a nice virtue but that we are better off without it.

I like both of these sayings although the one my dad told me used to worry me slightly as a little kid until I understood then it made me laugh a lot.

It still makes me laugh a lot after all these years as do many other colourful stories that my father told me, he was a great storyteller who I miss hearing his stories.

A Sunny Monday Morning.

 Roberto Matta.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta

This morning when we woke up and Richie opened the curtains we saw blue sky, beautiful sunshine which was a lovely way to start the new week.

Sadly by the time it was 1400 and Matilda, my physiotherapist arrived are appointment the sunshine, blue sky was gone replaced by a thick cloud cover.

Before the appointment was finished, our friend Anne had arrived to visit me; she very kindly had obtained information about holidays for the handicapped.

She had received a brochure from the Red Cross about holidays for the handicapped, in a choice of four hotels as well as a boat holiday.

It was very kind of Anne to look for this information however when she was describing the holidays on offer I realised that were not me.

I'm sure that for people who like organised holidays would probably enjoy what was on offer, but I know I would not enjoy one of these.

Never have I wanted to stay in a hotel for a holiday, for me it would not be a luxury to do so, quite the contrary I think.

The idea of a fully catered holiday does not fill me with joy; it makes me apprehensive as I'm sure I would not like the food that would be served.

sadly most times that I've eaten at restaurants here in Amsterdam have been pretty disappointing, over time I learned to take my pepper sauce with me.

So hearing about fully catered holidays in hotels organised by the Red Cross filled me with absolute dread.

The next time I see Anne I will thank her again and I will tell her that the Red Cross holidays are not for me.

On Thursday when Matilda is here for our physiotherapy appointment I will ask her if on the other people she visits might like the brochure.

Recycling is a good thing to do; now I'm going to look for a painting by Roberto Matta and post this, after which I'm going to enjoy the evening with Richie.

Sunday, 10th November, 2012 The Reality Of My Life.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

It is good to have many distractions as I do, however it does not mean that I have forgotten my severe handicap.

I just do not want to concentrate purely on writing about my multiple sclerosis and how it is progressing.

As I've always been somebody who is interested in the world around me my blog reflects this aspect of my personality.

Sometimes I wish that I could forget the fact that I've become severely disabled since my diagnosis of MS in 2006, if only I could forget.

I wish I could totally forget it but I can't because it's ever present and it is becoming more and more obvious that my spine is getting badly malformed.

Even if I could walk I would not be able to stand up straight, instead I would be very crooked and I wouldn't be able to make eye contact with other people.

The de formation of my spine is making me feel a lot of pain and discomfort; I was naive enough to think that I would not have to endure anything apart from the MS.

How wrong I was, my spine is making me bend to the left, when I am in bed I don't notice it but as soon as I'm either in the shower chair or wheelchair I notice it.

Last night it was making me quite miserable thinking about my deformed spine, I hate having not only to cope with this shitty multiple sclerosis but also with my spinal de formation.

There are moments like yesterday when it all become just too much for me, last night watching the football on Match of the Day on BBC one took my mind off my situation.

I am not going to simply let myself be distracted without remaining totally aware of my current situation, but I'm not going to let my handicap rule my life.

I am more than this nasty progressive disease and my deformed spine, I am a brave resolute woman who is determined to make the best of everything and enjoy the moments.

Pleasant Evening Plus Later With Jools Holland.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

The fish and chips Richie made yesterday along with a lovely salad was delicious, the fish was seasoned with Jamaican fish seasoning.

It is a wonderful spice mix which we received in a parcel on Tuesday from our very dear friend Nur, who I met in 2000 when I was working for an Internet provider.

We became good friends almost as soon as we had met each other; he is a wonderfully irrepressible man, whom it is always a pleasure to see.

The parcel also held a tin of Jamaican ackes, Jamaican jerk seasoning as well as a tin of pressed cod roe, excellent for making taramasalata one of my favourites.

The pleasant evening was made even better when it was time for the extended Later with Jools Holland on BBC2.

It was a good show, the line up of performers was the following for Lashes fronted by Natasha Khan, good singer but not the music that I like, too affected for me.

Bhi Bhiman is an excellent guitarist with a lovely voice and good lyrics he is somebody I could listen a lot to.

Then there were the Staves, three sisters who sing in such beautiful harmony it was a pure joy to see and hear them perform, I loved their performance.

Trey Songz was the next act, again this is not really my sort of music, this did not stop me from appreciating Treys good voice and performance.

Patricia Kaas a well-known French singer performed standing next to Jools Holland while he accompanied her on the piano.

Patricia was singing an Edith Piaf song which is a well-known one, she is a beautiful singer and performer who I enjoyed being on the show.

Two Doors Cinema Club, are a good band who I enjoyed seeing on Tuesday and again last night, they are a new up-and-coming young band.

The band that really made a big impression on me was Soundgarden, on Tuesday they had been a revelation.

As I had remembered them as not being as dynamic as they were this week, they were the band that really stood out for me, I intend to buy their new CD.