Yesterday a friend caught up with me online and let me know that she is expecting her first baby. Leigh always reminded me of another friend of mine Claudine....I once even introduced Leigh to friends as Claudine!....sorry Leigh lol.
Chatting to Leigh naturally brought Claudine to mind, so I did what any office worker would do and Googled Claudine to find contact details or some information that would enable me to get in touch with her again.
We had not spoken in perhaps eight years and I was sure that by now she would have kids and be the amazing mom that I always imagined she would be.
The first item in Google's search results was Claudine's death notice.
I could not believe it.
Tracking down another former colleague I learned that Claudine had been fighting cancer for a number of years and finally lost her fight last January.
She had indeed had a little girl with her husband David, and had been courageous and graceful throughout her battle.
I will always remember Claudine as, above all, a real lady. She was beautiful, to look at and to know.
I have a photograph of Claudine holding my son when my friends came to the hospital when he was born. It always seemed to me a real life image of the Madonna and Child.
Although we did keep in touch for some time after, when I left the job where we worked I sent messages for my closest friends there. I don't remember what I said to anyone. But I will always remember what I told Claudine:
"I will miss you most".
It will be true forever.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
A Philosophy for Life
It's important to have a philosophy in life.
My ideology is decidedly Marxist-Lennonist.....
....that's Groucho Marx and John Lennon.
"I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it"
Groucho Marx
"All you need is love"
John Lennon
My ideology is decidedly Marxist-Lennonist.....
....that's Groucho Marx and John Lennon.
"I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it"
Groucho Marx
"All you need is love"
John Lennon
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Should you keep at least one of your life's dreams untarnished?
Friday, December 01, 2006
I've been fascinated with DRUMS since I was a small boy. Although no one else in my family is musical, my Dad was always a listening fan. When we had record player in the early seventies, he would listen to Kris Kristofferson, Neil Diamond, The Johnsons, Dr Hook, Janis Joplin, John Mayall, JJ Cale, The Beatles, Woody Guthrie, Elvis.....
So from my early childhood I was soaking up some pretty good music, and some pretty good musicians. My own first LP I think was either Status Quo Whatever You Want , or was it something by 10cc. Memory fails me.
In listening to the music, it was always the DRUMMING that caught my ear. I found it mesmerising. I never got a chance to do any until I went away to Secondary (High) School where I "commandeered" a set from a friend who had drums and began playing with guys who were learning guitar. The thing was I never had any lessons, but understand time and co-ordination and fills and patterns instinctively. I would not say a natural talent so much as I had programmed myself over the years of listening - and done a fair amount of air drumming.
But that was it. A couple of years playing in school. A couple of gigs - in school. Then I got into something else altogether. My Dad had been a keen cyclist before he settled down to family life. Being a bit sporty myself, this was always going to get some of my attention, and so I had a long and decent Amateur career as a racing cyclist, competing at International level representing my country. Drums were left as a dream unfulfilled.
I missed the buzz I had felt playing in school but had left it behind me for a different high. School, or more specifically Martin Crotty, had at least introduced me to my biggest influence in music, drumming and (as fans know) Philosophy and Life, in the form of Rush and Neil Peart.
Now at 40 I have decided to treat myself to a mid-life crisis and get a drum kit.
My dilemma is this.
Is it better to let it lie and not to frustrate or disappoint myself by trying to create something when it's too late and that ship has sailed? Will trying to attain a playing level that may take years frustrate me at this point in my life? Will I be left with regrets that my life didn't take a different course?
Should you always keep just one dream untarnished ?
I've been fascinated with DRUMS since I was a small boy. Although no one else in my family is musical, my Dad was always a listening fan. When we had record player in the early seventies, he would listen to Kris Kristofferson, Neil Diamond, The Johnsons, Dr Hook, Janis Joplin, John Mayall, JJ Cale, The Beatles, Woody Guthrie, Elvis.....
So from my early childhood I was soaking up some pretty good music, and some pretty good musicians. My own first LP I think was either Status Quo Whatever You Want , or was it something by 10cc. Memory fails me.
In listening to the music, it was always the DRUMMING that caught my ear. I found it mesmerising. I never got a chance to do any until I went away to Secondary (High) School where I "commandeered" a set from a friend who had drums and began playing with guys who were learning guitar. The thing was I never had any lessons, but understand time and co-ordination and fills and patterns instinctively. I would not say a natural talent so much as I had programmed myself over the years of listening - and done a fair amount of air drumming.
But that was it. A couple of years playing in school. A couple of gigs - in school. Then I got into something else altogether. My Dad had been a keen cyclist before he settled down to family life. Being a bit sporty myself, this was always going to get some of my attention, and so I had a long and decent Amateur career as a racing cyclist, competing at International level representing my country. Drums were left as a dream unfulfilled.
I missed the buzz I had felt playing in school but had left it behind me for a different high. School, or more specifically Martin Crotty, had at least introduced me to my biggest influence in music, drumming and (as fans know) Philosophy and Life, in the form of Rush and Neil Peart.
Now at 40 I have decided to treat myself to a mid-life crisis and get a drum kit.
My dilemma is this.
Is it better to let it lie and not to frustrate or disappoint myself by trying to create something when it's too late and that ship has sailed? Will trying to attain a playing level that may take years frustrate me at this point in my life? Will I be left with regrets that my life didn't take a different course?
Should you always keep just one dream untarnished ?
STRANGER.......
Friday, June 01, 2007
'One Train Later'. Andy Summers is signing copies of his autobiography in Easons, Dublin. The title refers to a chance second meeting with Stewart Copeland which led to him becoming a member of the Police. It's early April. I'm early too, so I have a good spot in the queue – just on the steps of the store. By the time my book is signed the line goes out and around the block. Standing in line I wonder what should I get him to write. I don't want "to Paul – best wishes Andy". I really want something more personal, maybe more enigmatic. I've decided on this : "The World Goes Stranger". It's a reference to a solo album of his called 'World Gone Strange' which I've had for about twenty years. It also resonates with how thirty years later in his own career, he has resumed the role of Andy Summers, guitarist with The Police.
I hand him the book and a piece of paper with the inscription written on it. 'The World Goes Stranger'. He looks at it for a second, trying to make sense of it. He gives me a quizzical look. "Well….it does – doesn't it?", I ask. "Yes, I suppose it does….. What name will I put?" he asks. "No name". He seems puzzled at this. I guess he's used to "To [insert name], best wishes Andy Summers". So while he writes the inscription in excellent rock star handwriting, I ask my question, which I have inspirationally prepared, in order to be different and also glean some nugget of wisdom from this icon. Since the announcement of the 'reformation' I've been asking friends to guess how old Andy is. Amazingly, he's sixty four. Ten years older than his two colleagues yet despite a few tell-tale lines which betray the passage of time, to me he doesn't look more than a few years older than his image on Police album covers. Nearly a pensioner and still a teenager. "Andy, tell me this … where IS the fountain of youth?" He laughs, "Boots the chemist!".
I'm delighted with my book, pleased with my cryptic inscription and impressed with my charming wit. For Andy, it's just another slash of the pen, another forgotten face, another piece of banal banter. As a music fan and Police fan, the encounter is something to remember, perhaps recall to my grandchildren, certainly smile privately about in quiet moments. But it's over quickly and life goes on.
Almost a month later I find myself in Santa Monica. A weeks holiday in California, driving from San Diego to LA for a few days. I'm particularly interested in visiting Santa Monica because it is where my music idol lives. Neil Peart is the drummer with RUSH, a Canadian band who also have their roots in the Seventies. Just being in the town where The Professor now lives is enough to give me a buzz. I spend the two days scanning pigeon-like among the faces on streets and in cars for a glimpse but I know that he will be out of town for sure. RUSH released their latest album only yesterday and are most certainly in rehearsals in Toronto for their imminent World Tour.
Coincidentally, The Police have been rehearsing in Canada also - in Vancouver - and are just about to start their tour. However, as I walk aimlessly around a Santa Monica Mall I am stunned to see a familiar face walking towards me. I do a double take and sure enough there is the diminutive but unmistakable Californian-sun-bleached-and-tanned guitarist walking past pulling a suitcase. "Andy Summers!" I exclaim. He makes eye contact and nods but keeps walking and in a second is gone. Another insignificant meeting, another moment of uncomfortable fame, an unwelcome encounter that threatens to interrupt his schedule. I can't begrudge his reaction. He's obviously going to the airport to catch a plane to rehearsals or a gig, or has just gotten off a flight for a short break.
Did I think he'd recognise me? Certainly not. He's probably signed thousands of books for thousands of anonymous admirers in the last month. Did I want him to stop and say hello? Maybe a little. But the guy is going through the most demanding and nerve wrecking time he's probably had in the last thirty years. I'm sure he treasures those quiet moments when he can stroll through a mall anonymously. A slightly tubby, slightly balding, slightly? middle-aged stranger in sandals, shorts and an un-Californian grey t-shirt is not an attractive diversion from his rock'n'roll world.
But our second meeting strikes me immediately as something mystical .... an impossible recrossing of two life-paths otherwise poles apart. On the other side of the world, in the land of stars, the only famous person I've seen is a guy I've spoken to less than four weeks previously. I wish I hadn't frozen in that second and had been able to say …. "See, Andy, I told you so." Maybe he might have taken a second to discuss how one flight earlier or later and we would not have met again. The irony might have provided an amusing anecdote in a later history of the Police. And I could have reminded him of my cryptic message and my question on his Dorian Gray youthfulness.
The grey t-shirt I'm wearing has these lines printed on the front:
"I'm not old. I'm a kid with wrinkles"
Don’t waste time dreaming - just do it!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
So .... it’s been a while since I put pen to paper (shouldn’t that be fingertips to plastic?), and it’s time to update on my original blog .... about leaving at least one of your life-long dreams untarnished, always pure, perfect and complete.
Well guess what ..... I’ve come to a conclusion (refer to title).
I went and bought a drum kit - answered a "drummer wanted" ad on the net, made some new friends, and started to do what I’d wanted to do for most of my life: sit on a stool and bash things to music.
It’s been a fantastic year (life does begin at forty ... maybe forty one). After about eight months, despite really sporadic practice and rehearsal, some personnel changes, finally finding a bassplayer with ’chops’, I’m now in a band that I’m sinfully proud of and not only that - I’m officially a recorded musician.
Our foursome of classic blues and rock freaks have evolved into a Rolling Stones cover band - though I’m sure the repertoire is going explode in the coming months into various other influences and styles. The drums have been recorded for a demo which should start to see us get some gigs and start playing in front of real live people!
The point though is that unless you take a chance and roll the dice, you’ll never know whether the dream is perfect as it is, or if reality can be EVEN BETTER than the dream! Making that leap is its own high, but landing on your feet and not on your ass just makes the high very very special.
Don’t waste time once you’ve had the dream - wake up, get up and roll the bones.
"All of us get lost in the darknessDreamers learn to steer by the starsAll of us do time in the gutterDreamers turn to look at the cars" from The Pass
Thanks, Professor!
So .... it’s been a while since I put pen to paper (shouldn’t that be fingertips to plastic?), and it’s time to update on my original blog .... about leaving at least one of your life-long dreams untarnished, always pure, perfect and complete.
Well guess what ..... I’ve come to a conclusion (refer to title).
I went and bought a drum kit - answered a "drummer wanted" ad on the net, made some new friends, and started to do what I’d wanted to do for most of my life: sit on a stool and bash things to music.
It’s been a fantastic year (life does begin at forty ... maybe forty one). After about eight months, despite really sporadic practice and rehearsal, some personnel changes, finally finding a bassplayer with ’chops’, I’m now in a band that I’m sinfully proud of and not only that - I’m officially a recorded musician.
Our foursome of classic blues and rock freaks have evolved into a Rolling Stones cover band - though I’m sure the repertoire is going explode in the coming months into various other influences and styles. The drums have been recorded for a demo which should start to see us get some gigs and start playing in front of real live people!
The point though is that unless you take a chance and roll the dice, you’ll never know whether the dream is perfect as it is, or if reality can be EVEN BETTER than the dream! Making that leap is its own high, but landing on your feet and not on your ass just makes the high very very special.
Don’t waste time once you’ve had the dream - wake up, get up and roll the bones.
"All of us get lost in the darknessDreamers learn to steer by the starsAll of us do time in the gutterDreamers turn to look at the cars" from The Pass
Thanks, Professor!
ROLLIN AND TUMBLIN THEIR WAY TO THE TOP
PRESS RELEASE - April 25 2008 - Dublin - update
Out of the shadows, once in a while, a band comes along to shatter the world of popular music, shaking the very foundations of the industry. All conventions are blown apart. All boundaries are destroyed. All that was once known and accepted gets turned on its arse.
In 2008, Rollin'and Tumblin' will rewrite the music history books with their totally original and never-before-conceived style of what used to be called Rock Music. Rock and Roll is dead. Long live Rock and Roll and Tumble.
Any similarity to other artists or material is purely coincidental and will be rigorously disputed in a court of law. (Alternatively you can be 'claimed in the handball alley after school')
Band Members
Mikel Santiago – Spain – Founder – Rhythm Guitar & Vocal
A native Basque, Santiago is believed to be controlling the operations of the Basque separatist group Ate-A-Banana from his base in Morning Star Avenue in Dublin's north inner city – a location chosen specifically for its name. 'Morning Star' was the password used by Ate-A in the 80's and 90's to communicate with similar organisations such as the FCA and the sinister ICA.
Exceptionally talented, Mikel began to learn guitar at an early age and by the time his mother gave birth he could play "Smoke on the Water" and "Old Shep".
Santiago's political beliefs and musical talent combine to form the foundation of the band's musical style - Capito-Socialist-Blues.
Mikel Santiago became a household name in Angola in 2007 following a stellar performance at the National Barbeque Championships. He is now more famous in that country than Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix. Many Angolans still do not believe he is white.
Darren Flynn – Ireland – Bass Guitar & Sound Engineer
Currently enjoying extended parole, Darren Flynn, or Darren Flynn to his friends, has built a considerable reputation in the heady post-Keating music scene of Dublin city.
Widely acknowledged as a backstage giant of the Irish entertainment industry, his vast array of talents are in constant demand among many of Ireland's top showbiz acts. Keith Duffy referred to him as his right-hand man in the christmas issue of the RTE Guide: "Ah Yeah Jaysus, sure the goy's a legend. Since we first worked together in 2006 he's right there beside me everywhere I play – at home or on tour. Defo – best caddy I ever had".
Darren, or Darren to his really close friends, is also involved in a number of other music projects - notably an Irish reggae band developing its own style of REG-GAA. Another project is the Brazilian Urban Rock/Pop band ... BURP.
Completely self taught as a Sound Engineer, Flynn is most often found in the studio. Rock officianados agree that Flynn was the inspiration behind Gerry Rafferty's classic "Get It Right Next Time".
Giulio Cossettini – Italy – Lead Guitar & Diet Coke
When drawn on the matter, Giulio coyly denies that he is the lovechild of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and Italian screen actress Sophia Loren. However, in a front page article in Ireland's premier national broadsheet – De Paypr – his personal assistant revealed that he does in fact receive a large sum of money by cheque every month signed simply "R".
Giulio says that his greatest influence in music is Pavarotti. "I wanna be that big … but not THAT big!", he said in an interview with MTV.
Giulio's dream is to own a house.
This is also Giulio's mum's dream. "He's a good boy - but all that noise!!".
Giulio is thirty; likes long walks in the morning mist; fly fishing; clonakilty pudding and small children – "but I couldn't manage a whole one".
Paul Madden – unknown – He hits things...
Little is known about this mediocre drummer, although investigative journalist Donal Maguire is reported to have filmed a documentary which will reveal the chequered and sometimes sordid past of this man-enigma.
A panorama investigation, yet to be broadcast, alledges that this man is actually Pablo Modeno who is wanted by the FBI for links to the Medellin drug cartel in Colombia.
Modeno lived in LA in the 80's and was a founder and many say the biggest member of the legendary Dave Missick Band, whose album 'mAnagram' became a huge underground hit and collectors item when all 47 copies of the only production run went missing following the Great Cycle-Courier Stackup of West LA in '94.
Reports at the time stated that at approximately ten minutes after nine on the morning of April 22nd a small canine (urban myth says it was Paris Hilton's first pet) attempted to cross Santa Monica Boulevard with blatant disregard for the municipal traffic laws. The carnage that ensued resulted in two deaths, multiple injuries, gridlock for most of the months of April May and June, and the controlled slaughter of all domestic animals under four inches high. Historians regard this as the original 9:11 incident.
Modeno then moved to Ireland to work as a pornographer, but his plans to build a vast empire were thwarted by Foot and Mouth and also by a lesser publicised outbreak of mastitis. Many of Modeno's cast had to be slaughtered, while unsubstantiated rumours later suggested that some contracts were bought up by McDonalds. Leading lady Jenna Jameson returned to the US to finish High School and publish her autobiography, "Modeno and Me - The Untold Truth". She told Esquire magazine in 2002, "I love Pablo, but that project was the straw that broke this camel's back. Unfortunately mastitis is still a 'door-slammer' in this business".
Modeno subsequently changed his name and began a career in music, mainly inspired by his father : "he was pretty handy with a hammer".
End of Press Release
Rollin' and Tumblin' are currently appearing in a police line-up near you. The band is scheduled to perform in May in Dublin before joining Led Zeppelin on the long awaited 'Over The Hills' tour.
Disclaimer: No egos were hurt or injured in the production of this press release.
Out of the shadows, once in a while, a band comes along to shatter the world of popular music, shaking the very foundations of the industry. All conventions are blown apart. All boundaries are destroyed. All that was once known and accepted gets turned on its arse.
In 2008, Rollin'and Tumblin' will rewrite the music history books with their totally original and never-before-conceived style of what used to be called Rock Music. Rock and Roll is dead. Long live Rock and Roll and Tumble.
Any similarity to other artists or material is purely coincidental and will be rigorously disputed in a court of law. (Alternatively you can be 'claimed in the handball alley after school')
Band Members
Mikel Santiago – Spain – Founder – Rhythm Guitar & Vocal
A native Basque, Santiago is believed to be controlling the operations of the Basque separatist group Ate-A-Banana from his base in Morning Star Avenue in Dublin's north inner city – a location chosen specifically for its name. 'Morning Star' was the password used by Ate-A in the 80's and 90's to communicate with similar organisations such as the FCA and the sinister ICA.
Exceptionally talented, Mikel began to learn guitar at an early age and by the time his mother gave birth he could play "Smoke on the Water" and "Old Shep".
Santiago's political beliefs and musical talent combine to form the foundation of the band's musical style - Capito-Socialist-Blues.
Mikel Santiago became a household name in Angola in 2007 following a stellar performance at the National Barbeque Championships. He is now more famous in that country than Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix. Many Angolans still do not believe he is white.
Darren Flynn – Ireland – Bass Guitar & Sound Engineer
Currently enjoying extended parole, Darren Flynn, or Darren Flynn to his friends, has built a considerable reputation in the heady post-Keating music scene of Dublin city.
Widely acknowledged as a backstage giant of the Irish entertainment industry, his vast array of talents are in constant demand among many of Ireland's top showbiz acts. Keith Duffy referred to him as his right-hand man in the christmas issue of the RTE Guide: "Ah Yeah Jaysus, sure the goy's a legend. Since we first worked together in 2006 he's right there beside me everywhere I play – at home or on tour. Defo – best caddy I ever had".
Darren, or Darren to his really close friends, is also involved in a number of other music projects - notably an Irish reggae band developing its own style of REG-GAA. Another project is the Brazilian Urban Rock/Pop band ... BURP.
Completely self taught as a Sound Engineer, Flynn is most often found in the studio. Rock officianados agree that Flynn was the inspiration behind Gerry Rafferty's classic "Get It Right Next Time".
Giulio Cossettini – Italy – Lead Guitar & Diet Coke
When drawn on the matter, Giulio coyly denies that he is the lovechild of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and Italian screen actress Sophia Loren. However, in a front page article in Ireland's premier national broadsheet – De Paypr – his personal assistant revealed that he does in fact receive a large sum of money by cheque every month signed simply "R".
Giulio says that his greatest influence in music is Pavarotti. "I wanna be that big … but not THAT big!", he said in an interview with MTV.
Giulio's dream is to own a house.
This is also Giulio's mum's dream. "He's a good boy - but all that noise!!".
Giulio is thirty; likes long walks in the morning mist; fly fishing; clonakilty pudding and small children – "but I couldn't manage a whole one".
Paul Madden – unknown – He hits things...
Little is known about this mediocre drummer, although investigative journalist Donal Maguire is reported to have filmed a documentary which will reveal the chequered and sometimes sordid past of this man-enigma.
A panorama investigation, yet to be broadcast, alledges that this man is actually Pablo Modeno who is wanted by the FBI for links to the Medellin drug cartel in Colombia.
Modeno lived in LA in the 80's and was a founder and many say the biggest member of the legendary Dave Missick Band, whose album 'mAnagram' became a huge underground hit and collectors item when all 47 copies of the only production run went missing following the Great Cycle-Courier Stackup of West LA in '94.
Reports at the time stated that at approximately ten minutes after nine on the morning of April 22nd a small canine (urban myth says it was Paris Hilton's first pet) attempted to cross Santa Monica Boulevard with blatant disregard for the municipal traffic laws. The carnage that ensued resulted in two deaths, multiple injuries, gridlock for most of the months of April May and June, and the controlled slaughter of all domestic animals under four inches high. Historians regard this as the original 9:11 incident.
Modeno then moved to Ireland to work as a pornographer, but his plans to build a vast empire were thwarted by Foot and Mouth and also by a lesser publicised outbreak of mastitis. Many of Modeno's cast had to be slaughtered, while unsubstantiated rumours later suggested that some contracts were bought up by McDonalds. Leading lady Jenna Jameson returned to the US to finish High School and publish her autobiography, "Modeno and Me - The Untold Truth". She told Esquire magazine in 2002, "I love Pablo, but that project was the straw that broke this camel's back. Unfortunately mastitis is still a 'door-slammer' in this business".
Modeno subsequently changed his name and began a career in music, mainly inspired by his father : "he was pretty handy with a hammer".
End of Press Release
Rollin' and Tumblin' are currently appearing in a police line-up near you. The band is scheduled to perform in May in Dublin before joining Led Zeppelin on the long awaited 'Over The Hills' tour.
Disclaimer: No egos were hurt or injured in the production of this press release.
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