I'm owning this now, and liking what I hear.
It's not my usual taste (but then I'm not sure what is) - but this album has made me smile so thats a result.
Simple songs, quirky arrangements and just damn good fun.
Keeps on reminding me of Eno's "Before and After Science" (esp 'Bridges 5, 6 and 7')without some of the pretentions, and like some bits of early Bowie with the edges smoothed off.
Is this anything like the material Stephen Duffy has made?
I heard bits of Dylan in there too - its really quite clever in a deceptively simple way, so I must recommend it to anyone who can find a copy.
There's a song called "Satellite" which includes the line 'Deep Electric Blue' and a song called "Shady O'Grady" which I think is the one with birdsong on it and begins in a oblique Foxxlike way.

Good stuff.
We should all step outside the boxx now and then.

Trx has just said what a refreshing change the album is from the crap I normally listen too.
I have such an eclectic taste, its quite funny. Am I fickle?

One of the most annoying people we know is our ChurchWarden's wife. It doesn't how accommodating, forgiving and open-minded we try to be, she is never any less irritating. One of those people whose perception of how they are seen could not be further from the truth.
Sadly, it seems no-one has a kind word to say about her, and yet she appears for all intents and purposes to be very lovely. Indeed, she can be.
That's waht makes it annoying.
There is a veneer of cheerful hospitality that is too 'nice' to be true.
ALways find myself wishing she would relax and let her gaurd down so that we could actually get to know her a bit.
Deep insecurities within perhaps, which is a shame.
Perhaps the road to ordination will take her past a close encounter with herself and she can do a long overdue reality check.

One of the 'difficulties' this poses for us, as Christians in an otherwise 'faithless' playground is that she can irritate a lot of people with her relentless evangelism and we all tend to get tarred with the same brush by people who don't really know any better. All the God-this and God-that talk she comes out with is presented in exactly the wrong way at the wrong tim and it annoys a lot of people. Who then, knowing that Trx and I are Christians and members of the same church, must be equally irritating.
Trx has been round a new friends house this afternoon for the first time (Stan has been to play with her son and he's been here a couple of times) and they are getting on like a house on fire. L is genuinely lovely and easy to get on with and seems to have similar ideas to us about a lot of things.
She's desperate to get off the crappy estate she lives on - which is different from a couple of her friends we also know who are quite happy in that environment.
They actually find us 'weird' becasue we are not. It actually came as a shock to one of the girls when Trx explained that I had by own business and we owned our own house.
'You go to church too, dun ya?'
"Blimey, I never would of fort it tho. You ent like that really tho much ar ya'

What is 'like that' about "churchy" people.
Its like the woman I was talking about who bashes people over the head with her King James as soon as she opens her mouth.
It does grate that people talk about her and her son (one of Stans best mates!) behind her back and I shouldn't either.
But its the fact that they have to ands she chooses to completely ignore others discomfort that I find so fascinating.
Funny also that people look at the rota and the services where she is due to talk are among the worst attended...

SO it seems right that she should be up there top of this week's list of people we are praying for.

D is back in the office, having not managed to sort out anything with his girlfriend during their week in Ireland.
He's very irritating too - we had such a great time last week and got so much work done! So he's also on the list, and its working.

Perhaps its just my patience that's wearing thin this week.

I have a day off tomorrow (what - when there's all these deliveries to do? How come they didn't go out last week..') so hopefully I'll get to take the kids out somewhere nice.
If I could find a £10 somewhere that would be good.
Thanks.