BLOGGED: Town Deal Concern as Cabinet Discuss Levelling Up Plans
“There are difficulties with land deals for some of these projects to move forwards. There is a worry that we are giving these projects to a separate body”
A bit more BLOGGED: “Branding Exercise” as Benefits of City Status Questioned
“What are the benefits for the community? All we’ve heard is Town Deal and levelling up – everything we were going to do before city status came along”
I noticed a new icon on my iPhone during a morning scroll. wtf is that?
Ah, Spotify Podcasts, something that I wasn’t aware I installed.
I didn’t; it turns out that the old Anchor platform was taken over by Spotify.
It’s been ages since I’ve recorded any audio using Anchor for work. The ease of press and shoot for iPhone video makes it my default method of working now in schools.
But I kinda miss the raw thrill (steady) of capturing audio. No one ever listened to it, mind.
I cycled off for a morning swim at Brixton Rec. Yeah, yeah – you said that you wouldn’t grace that place with your presence ever again.
Money is tight. £5.43 for a Vauxhall heated floor swimming experience is a luxury I have had to put on hold for now. I’m saving myself a couple of quid each time with a Brixton Rec swim.
Before I arrived at the Rec I had to deal with a suspicious puddle outside the flat. Funny – there was no rain overnight. The patch was there in isolation.
I wonder if the Pissing Dwarf of SW8 has returned overnight? The DIRTY dog.
I put on the marigolds and threw a steaming hot bowl of water with some bleach over the patch. Some people.
Puddle of Piss Pt II continued at the Rec. There’s still an unusual level of water scattered around the floor of the changing rooms. This can’t be pool water left from previous swimmers.
I took no chances and waded around in my flip flops. These are being stored outside the flat from now on.
The swim was actually ACE. The wide open lanes of the Rec are perfect for fitness. Unlike Vauxhall, there’s space for overtaking. Which is just as well, seeing as though a Butterfly Boy joined me mid-swim.
The Growler was also back in the medium lane. He’s a Brixton Rec legend, depending on how you want to define such status.
He’s been at the Rec as long as I can remember dating back to ’95. His growling technique involves emptying the contents of his nose around the poolside each time he touches down. I think I might need to start wearing swimming gloves and booties at the Rec.
The incentive for me to GTFO led to my fastest time for 1km of freestyle. I ducked under 19 minutes with eight seconds to spare.
Some Garibaldi Red podcast catching up took place mid-morning. There’s some serious revisionism and after-timer taking place here. Various guests were confident that Forest would stay up only last month.
It’s a mug’s game playing these predictions, much in that it’s a mug’s game following Forest. But still that bond is hard to lose. I actually dropped a note in my Google Cal last May, stating ‘Forest: 15th’ as prediction for 12 months time.
This still might happen, but it’s difficult to see how.
The penny pinching continued with Lidl Oh So Easy Oats (clever) as the breakfast compromise. They tasted like shit.
Album of the Day: The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers
ACE riffs right from the start. There’s some great sax on Brown Sugar that is hidden way down in the mix. I didn’t know that Billy Preston appeared on this album. Wild Horses is both morose and uplifting. It has that rare quality of recognising that life can be shitty, but gives you a helping hand to rise above it. I think?
The rest of the album rambles a little with Can’t You Hear Me Knocking. It’s best not to analyse and navel gaze – just enjoy Sticky Fingers. It’s only rock ‘n’ roll, YEAH?
⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I finally finished the Active Lambeth piece for Buzz. I’ve been working on this for the best part of a week, checking and trying to get all the facts in place.
tl;dr IT’s A FUCK UP.
I did have the day booked off work with plans to head over to The Oval. But then some extra work was offered up that I can’t turn down right now.
I really enjoyed the extra work. I contributed well and learnt a few news skills and shortcuts along the way.
I listened to Tears for Fears’ Seeds of Love album over lunch. The Coffee Ponce of SW8 has been banging on about it a fair bit of late.
I confess that my TFF journey (everything is a silly journey these days) ended with The Big Chair. I think the first two albums are both outstanding.
I was familiar with the singles off Seeds of Love; the title track in particular is a masterpiece in out-Beatling The Beatles. The rest of the album was a little bland to my ears.
To The Oval!
I was free just ahead of the tea break to catch the final session of Day 1 between Surrey and Hampshire.
The wicket was positioned over towards the gasometer side of the old ground. I decided to sit with the Peter May Boys for shit ‘n’ giggles.
It was busy for day one of the new domestic season. It’s like the first day of a new term, catching up with some familiar faces and seeing how we have all aged over the past six months.
There’s always a number of old faces who you don’t see at the start of the new season, or ever again. Blimey. That’s a bit bleak.
It was windy conditions, for batting, bowling and spectating. There was a strong S Ldn sun radiating down on the Peter May sun trap. It always amazes me how some old fellas still choose to sit alone in the shade on cold cricketing days when the sun is out.
I switched to the BBC ball-by-ball commentary. It was good to hear Mark Church once again. The modern interweb streaming meant that he was a ball behind play with the output in my AirPods.
Surrey struggled to see off the Hampshire tail end. When the collapse did come, it came quickly. A light rain shower was conveniently timed to fit in with the tea break.
The final session of the day was bloody freezing. I thought I would last until 5pm. The pace of the game picked up, and the sun was still raising the temperature ever so slightly in the Peter May. I managed to stick with it until 6pm.
I watched the West Ham and Man Utd games back at base. I also pondered a little too long than is probably healthy about the future for Forest as a club.
Oh dear.
Thursday 13th April, 2023
Remembering Beryl Burton, Britain’s greatest rider | Cyclist
