29 May 2023 (Monday) - Family after the Night Shift

With the car's music thingy now reading USB sticks I listened to "The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte" (the latest album from Sparks) as I drove to work last night. I listened to it on the way home this morning as well. Bearing in mind I consider myself to be a life-long fan of Sparks I feel I should say something good about the album. So...
It is probably their best album in twenty-five years (since "Plagiarism" in 1997). Sadly that's not saying very much. There's one track I really like, two or three half-way decent tracks, half a dozen "meh" ones, and three or four stinkers.
Having listened to it in its entirety twice I'm rather disappointed that I'm in no rush to do so again. In all honesty I had to force myself not to keep pressing the “skip” button as I drove home this morning. Other bands and musicians I like (Queen, ELO, Hazel O'Connor, Kate Bush...) make albums that you want to listen to the whole way through. For me, Sparks haven't done that since they released "Angst in my Pants" in 1982. I wondered if perhaps I've gone off the band since their halcyon days of the mid-to-late seventies, but I don't think that's the case. For me, the other bands and musicians I like (Queen, ELO, Hazel O'Connor, Kate Bush...) have output which all of a muchness; all very good. But more and more nowadays Sparks come up with songs which are either absolutely totally marvelous or just a bit "meh".
Such a shame.
 
I got home, had a shower and shave and went to bed. I’d told “er indoors TM that if she went out she was to close the dogs in the bedroom with me so that it they started fits of barking I was on hand to shut them up,
It worked.
I was woken once by Treacle who immediately shut up when told. If she’s downstairs she feels brave enough to ignore my shouts until I get up to her.
 
After a couple of hours asleep I got up, made toast, and once my lap-top had finally updated itself I had a look at the Internet. It was much the same as it had been when I’d last looked at it a few short hours previously.
 
I got dressed, and prepared for the afternoon.  It didn’t take long to get garden stuff laid out, and before long we were all organized for the afternoon.
The family gathered.  Too much beer, a rather good bit of dinner…. It was a shame it was so windy this afternoon, but we had a rather good time. Really should get together more often.
As always I took one or two photos.
 
And having had a rather good day I find myself wondering if my watch is poggered – it tells me I walked twelve thousand steps today… Seriously? Eight hours at work and then pootling round the garden drinking beer?
Compare this with twenty thousand on Saturday on quite a major hike round the woods…

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