A time for a playlist.

Life is a funny old business. One day we can feel upbeat and positive, the next lethargic and dejected. And if you're anything like me, you can find yourself changing throughout the day!

People of a certain age will remember putting together 'mix tapes'. This was a thoroughly enjoyable activity, choosing just the right songs to hit the right notes in our lives. Of course nowadays we have playlists. Brilliant. Gone are the days of trying to fit the maximum number of carefully chosen tracks to perfectly fit onto a C-90. And let's face it, there's so much music around – music to suit whatever mood you might be in.

I believe Music to be a wonderful thing. It can instantly capture our mood, it can even change or enhance our mood. Sometimes when a song perfectly captures our situation there's nothing quite like sticking it on the stereo and singing your heart out. A book of the Bible, Ecclesiastes says this:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

And for every one of those 'times' it would probably be possible to make an accompanying playlist. I'm not sure why I have written this blog entry. If I had a point, it's gone. I'm tired and feel a bit dejected. But as for tomorrow... who knows! Life is a funny old business – but it's great.

And now, it is a time to sleep. Good night and God bless :)

Private dancer

So I was at a party the other night and happened to be standing next to a couple of friends. Obviously being a party there was dancing involved – something that seems to take the average male (myself included) most of the evening to attempt. Anyway, there we were, watching our partners enjoying a jig when for some reason I thought it would be the perfect moment to confess that when home alone, I often pop on a few tracks and have a bit of a groove. My point was, that when amongst friends at a party, we should really just dance like we do when no-one's watching.
"It's briiiilllllliant," I enthused, "you know, you can dance while unloading the dishwasher, dance whilst shaving or to quote Lady Gaga – just dance! I mean you do that, don't you? When no-one is in and your favourite track comes on... and... er?"
This was followed by a rather awkward pause before they rather hesitantly uttered in perfect unison, "Er, no."
"Oh... ohhhh... um?" Persevering through my shock, which was sprinkled with embarrassment, I continued, "Well it's great. I can't believe you two have never done it before!"
"No, not really something I've ever done before."
"Nor me."
"Oh ... well you should try it sometime. It's great fun."

They viewed me with those, 'I'm-not-entirely-comfortable-with-what-your-suggesting' eyes. My case was lost.

So here and now now, let me promote the benefits of dancing solo: it's fun; it's good exercise; it can energise you; put you in a good mood; and best of all, it's free!

On the downside, I'm sure my neighbours must have seen me having a bit of a boogie. And admittedly when someone walks past the house and casually glances in through the window whilst one is in mid-move it can rather ruin one's rhythm. And if your stereo is of the puny variety then you're not going to feel the vibe. But why not give it a go? Line up some of those tracks that get your feet tapping, crank up the volume, and dance like no-one's watching – because they aren't. Most of the time.

Legoland...

Throughout our lives there are some really sad days. But there are some really good days too! Here was one of the good ones, when my sister and her boyfriend and my family visited lego land. Sometimes pictures speak louder than words...

Just a handy hint if you are planning to go: don't wait until closing time to visit the shop. That's what everyone else does – and then you'll get stuck in the car park queue – which had an even longer queue than the rides!