That’s the lazy solution, wait for the leaves to cover up your Christmas decorations. This is possibly the last remaining trace of Christmas 2013/2014 that I’ll see until the 2014/2015 season kicks in next month.

I seemed to have packed quite a bit into this morning considering it is Sunday. After getting up at half past ten and having a quick wander to the local shop for cigarettes, the podcast went live. The Sunday Alternative seems to be working in this format as it doesn’t go on for very long (roughly forty minutes this time around) and can be downloaded for listening to at the listener’s leisure. Of course it isn’t as thrilling or interactive as live radio, but with a focus on new (and more importantly, good) music it is a lot closer to my original vision of how the show should sound. Within half an hour there had been fifty hits which is an excellent start, especially as the figures climb during the week. It would be nice if more listeners made use of their mouse-clicking finger while at their computers, but I don’t object to people listening for free. However, if everyone who listened gave one pound it would really help the fund. Going on last week’s listening figures, if everyone gave fifty pence it would be a help. You aren’t paying for me to live on caviar, fine wines and Cuban cigars; you’re helping to finance a ‘television’ version of The Sunday Alternative for a start. In return for your generosity you’ll get a huge array of free to watch/listen online goodness. The money you generate by downloading an audio book from my Bandcamp page also goes in the same pot, as does the money made from subscribing to this blog on the Kindle. You pay a television licence for very little return once you’ve taken out repeats, cooking, baking, houses, shit comedy and Nick Grimshaw’s wages, so think of it as a better payment than the TV Licence has.

Sunday is the day we shower Jack, although now the weather is getting warmer we may need to do it more often. The problem is that although he hates it, he doesn’t fight or make a fuss, but he does look very sad. As soon as I take his collar off he knows what is coming next and refuses to follow me upstairs, (he usually follows me everywhere), even for a biscuit. I had the idea to shower him before we went to my dad’s for lunch so that he could dry off in the sun. It turned out to be a good idea as we didn’t have to worry about him sitting on the sofa and getting it wet.

After spending the afternoon at my dad’s (roast lamb for lunch) we watched The Glenn Miller Story (we were ‘In The Mood’ to watch it – I am hilarious aren’t I? Aren’t I? Hello? Is this thing on?) starring James Stewart. There were bits of the film I recognised although I have no recollection of ever sitting down to watch it. The sequence with the band carrying on with an open air performance during a bombing raid on London was simply beautiful, especially as they had quietend down only to kick back in with the defiant “pah paaaaah” of ‘In The Mood’ to a round of applause. As with all biopics you have to question whether every bit that happened was true to actual events, but things like that make for a good scene. The film portrayed Miller’s frustration at not being able to find his sound and having his arrangements turned down by dance hall managers who just wanted it keeping simple. I’m glad he stuck to his guns as his music is still loved to this day.

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