The Fifth of June Two Thousand and Eleven. Sunday.
Hmm. Bit of a google shows a couple of other blogs have used that title. Figures.
Blimey, have you read yesterday's blog? No, of course you haven't. That was actually written while I was asleep. Interesting. But let's never try that again, eh?
Joan Plowright, what were you doing in 101 Dalmatians?
Anyway to business! ('To Business!' I read Russell T Davies' new(ish) foreword to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy the other day. That's overdue a re-read. And I never re-read books, what with my busy lifestyle. Hell, I never read books.) I did some rowing today. Oh yes. The Rotarians (do you remember all those references to the Rotarians on Steve Wright in the Afternoon when he was on Radio 1? I do.
(and Laura's Second Love ('The story of a woman's ful-filment' was good too. Oh Steve. Where did it all go wrong?) had organised a charity dragon boat race in which good people from Scarborough and Malton stations formed one of 20 crews taking part.
Yeah, something like that.
It went all right, but it reminded me of an incident many years ago when I received a knock on my door one Sunday morning from my friend Kevin Fox. The Langworthy rugby league team were a man down and would I make up the numbers. At school I'd done all right on the rugby team, mainly on account of my size (high point: scoring a try at the Willows, Salford's ground). I was a bit older by now and couldn't rely on my size so much but I gave it a go anyway. I can't remember the result but I gave a good account of myself and came out of it feeling pretty good and pretty healthy. I even enjoyed the pie and peas at the club afterward. And I began to think 'maybe this is it - a sport I'm pretty good at as a means to stay fit'. I thought about playing again.
The next morning I ached from head to toe and vowed I would never pick up a rugby ball again.
I don't know how I'm managing to type this as frankly my arms feel like they're about to drop off. My biceps are literally throbbing with pain. Add to that the itchy skin that is plaguing me - there wasn't much sun but apparently being in a boat opens you to much exposure - and any worth I felt from my exertions earlier has long since evaporated.
To conclude: sport and any sort of physical activity is a bad idea from the start. Thanks ancient and decrepit body for reminding me. I think we would all be better off if we were just brains in jars.
With wi-fi or something.
More soonliest.
Sir, and I do wish to be polite, but is this blog of yours attracting a 'viable' readership? 'Viable' being a relative thing of course, as something done for self fulfilment may not require any readership at all. Just that I haven't seen many comments, that's all.
ReplyDeleteJust curious, I have for years considered one of my own, but it would be too political for my own good, and too bitter if I related my experiences as a consumer (namely of tech gadgets, many of which are just plain unreliable).
Ha, school, you said you were prominent because of your size, I was prominent too, for a very different reason, and one that involved many a beating, which resulted in my body being in a state close to what you describe, with the difference being that age had nothing to do with it.
Quality will always out say I, and the simple fact that this meisterwerk has attracted a man of your taste and discretion is proof enough of its viability.
ReplyDeletePutting my ill-fitting serious hat on for a second, thank you for being the first to comment. What little writing I have done in the past has always been painfully aware of any potential readership and it's always been a struggle to put down 'what I really want to say', even when that's intended to be light-hearted and inconsequential. If anything, this blog is an exercise in not worrying so much about who - if anyone! - is reading and seeing what sort of style or tone develops from actually writing something rather than my more usual mode of just thinking about writing.
It's nonsense, but I hope it's honest nonsense. If people do start to comment I'd hope I'd be able to give genuine responses if pressed on anything.
And that's all I'd say about doing your own blog. If you feel you've something you want to say as long as you're willing to stand by it then say it. We all want to be heard. I appreciate that 'political' and 'bitter' have a tendency to attract more overt opinions (more so than the 'silly' I'm going for) and it certainly seems like you've had more than enough idiots to deal with already. But if it's done with wit and intelligence I'd read it.
Quality will always out :-)