31st August 2017: Erotic Dream / Understanding / Apology & Thanks & Action

I am thankful for entering the day, waking from a peaceful and gentle erotic dream.

I am thankful for a friend's understanding as I had to decline an invitation.

I am grateful for the day that I realised apologising and thanking involved action beyond the words and feeling.

30th August 2017: Uni-Ball Eye Pen / Sertraline / Sparrowhawk attack

Today, I am thankful for the design of the Uni-Ball Eye (Fine) UB-157 - Black pen. It is my favourite pen. It is so enjoyable to hold and write with. The feeling of the ink joining the page from the soft smooth point is a pleasure.

I am thankful for Sertraline and the way it helps people like me with mental health.

A sparrowhawk dive-bombed a pigeon in my garden this aft + ripped them to bits. I am grateful to be reminded that death can come at any moment and to live as fully as possible.

29th August 2017: Andy & Charlotte / Uta Frith / Conditions / Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies

Today, I am grateful for the happiness of two good friends embracing further commitment.

I am thankful for Uta Frith's programme on psychopathy, more so for the conversation it provoked with my Mum. I particularly enjoyed her programme on Autism.

I feel lucky to recognise my conditions becoming more acute this evening, and with that perception finding the ability to calm them with more control than in previous years. I am thankful for my experiences that have aided me to help myself in this area.

I am grateful to the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, along with other individuals, helping the victims of flooding in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/08/floods-kill-1200-india-nepal-bangladesh-170826230610924.html

28th August 2017: Twin Peaks / Emily Carr / GIMP Software

Today, I am so thankful for the world of Twin Peaks, then and now. Lynch/Frost/Badalamenti. This third season is a wonderful extension.

Whilst we're in North America, I recall the wonderful paintings of Emily Carr, and I give thanks for her and her work that I was lucky to stumble upon in Vancouver. 

I am thankful to all of those who were involved in making the photo/picture editing software, GIMP, and for having the vision and generosity to make it freely available to the public.

27th August 2017: Hurrican Harvey / Notting Hill Carnival / Arrythmia EP / Paper Waterlily

Today, I am thankful for the brave people helping one another to find safety, rescuing one another from danger inflicted by the hurricane.

 I am thankful for the Nottinghill Carnival and the celebration of Afro-Carribean culture, which has influenced some of the music I love the most.

I am thankful to @wecallprogress for making their Arrhythmia EP. It's so crisp and clean. Part Of Me Does is a highlight with embellishments flying all over the space.

 I am grateful for the quiet beauty that was my friend making a paper waterlily from a bar napkin.

26th August 2017: Adventures / Fish & Chips / Dad's Birthday

Tonight, I am thankful for all the adventures many friends have been having this summer.

I am grateful for the combination of Fish & Chips, particularly the combo's served in Aldebrough - and also from Harry's (c.2005), Wakefield

It's my Dad's birthday. I am thankful he's had a fairly good year and will have a fun time out in Crete shortly.

25th August 2017: Pigs / Penny-Farthing / Happy Warrior

25th Aug, I am thankful to share time with big pigs in a field.

I am thankful for seeing a lady casually riding a penny-farthing and for the thoughts it provoked about class.

Shame muted my ability to express my love. It still tries, but I am thankful, for these days I am growing more and more so.

Also, considering various injustices against those not myself, I have found it hard not to embody the frustration, the vitriol but I have been less outwardly effective for those people that way. I am thankful for the image of the Happy Warrior. My happiness does not steal another's. May my actions help as best they can, and may I be encouraged more and more.

24th August 2017: KLF Burning £1m / Flowing Ideas / Sarah & Aldebrough Beach House.

Today, I am thankful for all of the questions that the KLF / K Foundation burning £1m in '94 raises. It feels like answers from them might help. Maybe the questions are helping? Now I'm thinking of Ziggy burning that note in a bar.

I am grateful for a productive and enjoyable day. I feel fortunate for how the ideas flowed.

I am grateful to Sarah for her generosity in lending Mum, Dad and I the use of her beach house in Aldebrough.

23rd August 2017: Validity / TQ Zine / John Higg's Watling Street

This day, I am thankful for the idea of validity, and how it can help within the context of emotional care.

I am grateful to Andy for kindly posting me a copy of the second issue of TQ. So far, it seems to offer a heartfelt illumination on more peculiar art activity in the North-East - a personal companion to a fascinating world. 

I am thrilled by John Higg's Watling Street podcast. I am thankful to Jack for the recommendation, and I am excited for the next episodes.

22nd August 2017: Old Friends, New Ideas / Wooden Cabins / Walks In The Rain

Yesterday (22nd August 2017), I was thankful to share time in an old space, with some old friends, but new ideas.

I am thankful for the possibility of garden sheds, and the adventure of wooden cabins. From all the paintings that have emerged from my Dad's studio, to others providing room for guitar lessons, Yoga classes and counselling for example.

I am grateful for walking back home in the late night, in the drizzly rain, and the light reflections in car windows and puddles.

21st August 2017: The Sun & Moon (Eclipse) / Chris & Shatner / Customer Service

This day, I give my deepest thanks to The Sun and The Moon, and their celebration of difference!

I am grateful to my friend Chris for reminding me of this glorious scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7_5b1nqg_o

I am thankful to the wonderful people at the supermarket who helped me regarding a pepper pot exchange. They were very helpful and made me feel very looked after.

20th August 2017: Cared-For Type-Writers / Show Me A Hero / Twiglet Shapes

Today, I am thankful for cared-for type-writers, with well-lubricated mechanisms. It amplifies the voices in a space to have these positioned in various locations, ready to record any contributions. I missed my chance this time, but others did not.

I am grateful for David Simon’s focus on documenting issues surrounding societal progress in his writing. Show Me A Hero is another excellent and different series communicating interesting ideas around social housing.

The debates with are vitally relevant and widely applicable. I am grateful for the amusement the contents of a packet of twiglets gave me. This particular packet had many that had compounded into interesting shapes - one looking like a lion carrying a cub.

19th August 2017: Sam & Lucy Turton / O / Possibilities From Different Relationships

Today, I was so happy to celebrate Sam & Lucy's love today at Copdock Hall. I'm very grateful to be invited+share the day #lucyandsamturton

I was thankful to be asked to consider the implications of the circle once more oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I'm grateful for the dynamic of spending time with close friends, old friends, reacquainting with people that I used to know, people I am meeting for the first time. Talented, beautiful, interesting, kind and generous people.

18th August 2017: Falling In Love Again / Kamasi Washington / Mum & Dove

I am thankful for finding new appeal and attraction in music that I loved a long while ago but, over time, became disconnected to.

Not in a nostalgic way, but in the way that emotional distance has allowed the person I am now to hear it freshly all over again.

I am thankful for the wonder of Kamasi Washington. The Epic is filled with vision. I cannot wait to hear Harmony of Difference.

I am thankful for the pleasure of watching my Mum feed a Flocked (Snock?) Dove in the back garden by hand. Its trust was extremely endearing.

17th August 2017: Music Memory / Bretton Hall / Answered The Call

From a combination of some counselling this morning, and buzzes about A levels in the twitter place, my mind has been travelling a lot of different memories from my life today. This then prompted me to play certain music, which then prompted further memories which then prompted further memories which then prompted more music, on ever on. I am so thankful for this powerful connection between music and memory - this see-saw mechanism, providing infinite maps.

For part of this, I got lost thinking of the wonderful experience I had living

in the beautiful grounds surrounding Bretton Hall. Though I knew I was lucky to be somewhere so special at the time, the more I go on, the greater appreciation I have for that special place. Barcelona is an utterly distinct and incredible city. 

I am thankful to all those who helped the injured and affected people in Barcelona, the people in the shops that drew their blinds, and protected those fleeing.

16th August 2017: Autumn Hymn / PDSA / Brother & Malmö

Today, I am thankful to receive an invitation from a dear friend to record some parts for one of his songs that holds strong positive memories for me (along with being an excellent song). 

A bowl slipped from my fingers the other day and smashed beyond repair. I am thankful that the PDSA had a suitable replacement in their shop today. 

It had been a long while since I had talked with my brother, and it was good to share a conversation with him today, and to hear him expose his love for the city of Malmö.

15th August 2017: Community Wardrobe / Donating Clothes / 3 Years Free Of Alcohol (July)

Today, I am thankful to share watching a programme regarding various Utopian ideas with my Mum. The section regarding Twin Oaks showed a wonderful shared community wardrobe, and talked about the beneficial attitudes that came from utilising clothes free from the idea of ownership.

When I was child (through to pre-teen) I was lucky to receive many of my clothes from friends families who had outgrown them.

This prompts my thanks to friends of my parents, helping us out around the early 90’s when times were harder.

From this July, I am deeply thankful to have gone 3 years free from alcohol. Though I cannot undo the damage it caused, the freedom this commitment has given me has opened possibilities I did not imagine possible. Possibilities to give back.

14th August 2017: Smell Of Steel / Shit Hair / The Suicide Box

Today, I have been recording with an electric double-bass, and afterwards I was left with that lovely smell on my fingertips left over from the steel bass strings. I am grateful for this pleasurable side-effect of an already pleasurable act.

I am grateful for the perverse joy I am getting from my hair being comfortably in the horrible phase between not quite long enough for a pony-tail but long enough it curls up like a ducks backside. It’s perfectly shitty.

I am grateful that my good friend Chris Bean has released his album ‘The Suicide Box’ today. I know it’s been in his mind in various forms over the last few years, and it makes me so happy he’s pulled it all together, with the help of Joe Levi and Mark Fallavollita.

https://chrisbean.bandcamp.com/album/the-suicide-box

13th August 2017: Middleton / Good Friend / Emperor Dragonfly

Phoebus was glorious today! Its rich warmth had soaked into the soil by the afternoon. It was a pleasure to take a walk around Middleton, Sudbury then, and explore the fields (including passing this sign).

I am grateful to have shared a call with a good friend that I haven’t spoken to for a long while, and catch up with their world.

I am thankful to have seen a huge Emperor Dragonfly (Anax Imperator) up close. So intricate, robust and bright.

https://british-dragonflies.org.uk/species/emperor-dragonfly

12th August 2017: Opposition To Fascists / Reporting / Internet

Today, I am thankful to all the brave people opposing fascists in the streets of Charlottesville. You defend us all with this action in spite of putting yourself in danger. The loss of this young life is devastating. I feel so impotent. #Charlottesville

I am grateful for those brave people reporting and recording events, compiling evidence of this Nazi violence that will help aid justice for those afflicted. 

In general, I am grateful for the internet, and its ability to give a space for voices that might not otherwise be heard, that it can carry them across the globe quickly to those seeking to understand what is unknown to them.

11th August 2017: Invitation For Film Project / Moonlight / Lee Etherington

Today, I am touched and thankful that a friend expressed an interest to involve me creatively with a film project.

I am grateful to Jay-Z for his video Moonlight - for one thing, subverting a scene from Friends is a perfect succinct statement on white mediocrity suffocating space in a capitalist system. I distinctly remember the story of the actor’s making a million dollars an episode by a certain series as a kid and, even then, being utterly perplexed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCSh48OlvMo

Oh - whilst we're here - if anyone can tell me who the person is in the video below between 00:36 - 00:59, I'd be very grateful. I feel I know them...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSkA61esq_c

I am thankful to Lee at Tusk for many reasons, but today I’d like to focus my appreciation on the fact that he has always been committed to making the Tusk Festival as accessible as possible to all, in part, by keeping the ticket prices down. This allows folk from all different backgrounds to have access to interesting live music that is not normally available in Toon. It cannot be an easy balance, but his commitment to that value is inspirational.

10th August 2017: Village Store Cashier / Freak Love / Big Little Lies

Today, I am grateful for the compliment a village store cashier gave me this morning, a sweet kindness that elevated my mood considerably.

In a world where populisms are ever elevated, my love goes out to all of the freaks, weirdos, and anyone who feels that they straddle unseen intersections or experience, who feel that they don't fit in a gang. We're all complex, I admire your ability to recognise that in yourselves.

Finally, I am thankful to all involved in #BigLittleLies, particularly the main cast and scriptwriter. Really interesting story and such an intelligent way of unfolding the issues.

9th August 2017: Illuminated Incorrect Assumptions / Donna Tartt's Voice / Punks

Today, I am thankful for a conversation which illuminated some incorrect assumptions I had made, and has given me the chance to correct my attitude.

I’m thankful for the shock and surprise of hearing Donna Tartt’s voice for the first time, after many years of imagining it. What a wonderful complex sound!

I’m trying to cling less to the work I make. I am thankful for the example of all of the punks who rip it up, and start again. You are the angels who lead me in the right direction.

8th August 2017: Meandering Phonecall / Robin Williams / Peace

Today, I am thankful for a lovely meandering phonecall with a close friend.

Also, to be reminded of the joy that Robin Williams gave. His ferocity to taste from every part of his experience and imagination never fails to lift me up.

I am indebted to those who showed me patience and calm, when I held so much anger inside. I have since learned why, and this knowledge, along with that support has helped me to learn to replace that conflict with peace.

Tonight, I am grateful to all those who seek to put peace into their own lives, their own behaviour, and to help others find peace in their lives too.

7th August 2017: MDMA / John Berger / Dad's Paintings

I am thankful for the positive discoveries that have been made surrounding the use of MDMA for treating PTSD.

In hindsight, though I have taken it for other reasons over the years, I believe it has played a part in my healing from trauma.

Though I knew John Berger's wonderful book, From A to X, I had let this documentary slip by. It is a delight! I am grateful for my friend introducing me to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk

I feel lucky that Dad has hung some new pictures in my room, including Mary In The Lybian Sea - a tribute to my Gran's love for swimming in the sea on the south side of Crete.

6th August 2017: Frantz Fanon / CrowVsCrow / Smoking Conversations

Today, I am thankful for the clarity of Frantz Fanon's assessments and writing.

I am grateful for this feeling of eager anticipation I have for diving into the recordings illuminated and assisted through @CrowVersusCrow

https://crowversuscrow.bandcamp.com/

I am thankful for the silly feeling I get generalising that there is a positive correlation between TV documentaries / interviews where the participants smoke during the filmed conversations, and the quality of that programme's content.

5th August 2017: Mantras / Mother / Friend & The Multiverse

Yesterday (5th August 2017) - I was thankful for further affirmation that the practice of repeated mantras opens up results beyond imagined expectations.

I felt grateful for my mother's generosity, and her empathy even when confronted with complicated emotional situations.

I was thankful to spend time with an old friend, share special moments from our lives, and contemplate the Multiverse, looking at the stars, warmed by fire.

4th August 2017: Rhinosaurus / Wor Stories / TransRightsAreHumanRights

Today, I am grateful for the luxury of watching a rhinosaurus running down a road in India from the safety of computer.

I hope everyone is safe. I was more thrilled by this scene than I would have expected to have been. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/40823810/rhino-chases-down-cars-on-assam-road-in-india

I am thankful for Simon Dowling’s (@WorStories) podcast series, as in the last few days I have been particularly missing Newcastle.

And particularly, I am grateful for @Bandcamp’s gesture of support today for @TransLawCenter, and all of the talented and kind people who have used their store today to add their share to the cause too. #TransRightsAreHumanRights

3rd August 2017: MTCIC / Mariam Rezaei / Rasham Charles

Today, I am grateful for the service of those at MTCIC,

also, the way the wonderful whipping effect of a piece of music called Bur by by Mariam R (@djetchasqratch) feels,

https://hauskonzert21.bandcamp.com/track/mariam-rezaei-bur

and the continued efforts made to amplify the truth surrounding Rasham Charles' death, and seek justice.

2nd August 2017: Growing Baby / Slow Rain / Shared Music

Today, I am thankful for the hope and joy I felt thinking of my friends' baby growing and learning new things.

I am grateful for a walk I took in slow rain, under gentle grey skies. The air cleared my mind.

I am honoured that my friends shared some new recorded music with me.

1st August 2017: Conversation / Jimmy MacGovern / Crucifix Earing

Today, I am grateful for a shared conversation, Jimmy MacGovern's commitment to amplifying voices with his writing, and the Crucifix earing.