Mission Accomplished

I was quite tired yesterday after only getting about five hours sleep. While Gail and Lindsay both had long lies to sleep off the effects of Saturday night, I was back out my bed five hours later when my father in law showed up with hammers and whistles; just what I needed that early on a Sunday morning.

Unable to make the breakfast I had planned for everyone, I took Laura up town instead to meet my parents off the Glasgow bus. We had lunch in a Princes Street café, then had a browse through Waterstones for a while, before going back to the house for the afternoon. Gail made a lovely beef stew and mashed potato dinner, which went down an absolute treat.

After some coffee came the main event; Australian Pink Floyd at the Playhouse with my wife and father- my Christmas gift to him. Lindsay dropped us off on London Road and we walked around to the Theatre Bar for a few drinks. The evening sunshine was glorious, and it was far warmer than I had been led to believe so I regretted my decision to take my jacket.

We had a few beers and chatted for a while – the first time I’ve been able to do so with my Old Man in a long while – then we headed into the theatre, and the front row of the circle. The auditorium was heating up rapidly as the people filed in because of the warm weather outside, and with all the lights the band use during a show I knew it was only going to get warmer.

This is the fourth time I’ve seen Australian Pink Floyd, and they just get keep getting better. The set they played last night was the best I’ve heard them do; concentrating on The Wall album, but dipping into other tracks from Division Bell, Dark Side of the Moon, Echoes, and Wish You Were Here.

The lighting and sound quality was absolutely fantastic, and as they belted out each carefully worked number after another with a spectacular light and laser display, it was impossible not to get totally caught up in it all. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house when one of the backing singers belted out the most emotional rendition of Great Gig In The Sky I’ve heard, but for me the best moment was at the very start of the second half, when they began with two of my favourites; Shine On You Crazy Diamond Pt.1 followed by Time – simply awesome.

Pink Floyd songs played live by this band – who are more than a mere tribute band – is amazing stuff. If you go to see them you will be moved emotionally when you hear Great Gig In The Sky, your hair will stand on end when you first hear In The Flesh, and you will be totally captivated when hear the simplicity of the power behind Wish You Were Here. But most of all, you will get your money’s worth and go away absolutely thrilled with their two and a half hour show.

But of course, what made the night most memorable for me was finally getting to take my dad along to see this band play. I always knew he would love them if he saw and heard them – and he did. Mission accomplished!

My second day without pain killers went well. I was a bit tired from the weekend, but the leg exercises I’ve been doing and re-training of my posture seem as if they might be working. I’m already wondering if this Thursday will be my last visit to the osteopath. If not, I can’t see me needing any more than three weeks treatment at this rate.

I spent my evening in the garden with the rabbits, writing ideas and notes into my notepad. It was simply too hot to work in my office. The temperature of my tropical tank is alarmingly high, which I’ll have to keep an eye on. I really need a shade for my room to keep the sun out during the day.

I’ve been thinking a lot about life lately; who I am, my place in it, whether anything I do or write will make a difference to anyone but me. Tough questions come with hard answers that are sometimes unavoidable. I think I need a wee change because I’ve lost my impetus over the last couple of weeks. I need to make a few changes just for the sake of it – give things a shake – but on a more fundamental level, I started writing some self-analytical poetry this evening, in an effort to explore the questions I asked at the start of this paragraph.