'brownings, thackereys and trollopes had all been guests, until her husband was bitten by a mad dog...'

last night zoom beers with howard. 

it wasn't quite zoom. if horsemouth remembers correctly 

it wasn't a smooth process. he couldn't get the zoom working on his end and so they did it with facebook messenger. initially horsemouth couldn't get his camera working either (so howard was talking to a black screen). 

'it's just like a phonecall' howard remarked, in a jumper, in a darkened room, only his leigh folk festival glass illuminated. 

even when horsemouth could get his camera working he had still fudged the lens producing strange pointillist images of himself. 

horsemouth offered up freya stark (from whence the title of this piece). howard had heard of the patti smith in new york film before. howard offered up a book on indian devotional art and a clip of bert jansch and john renbourn working on a tune together for bert and john.  it may be that this guitar duo strategy is a way forward for musicians of bremen.

horsemouth is currently one of those economically inactive over 50 retirees you have been warned  about. 

you know the ones, the ones who are wrecking the economy. the ones who need to be enticed back to work. on the upside this means he has more flexibility as to where he can be and when. but he has not been able to utilise it yet because of the pandemic and such like.  

so what does the world of work in 2023 have to offer?

'wages next year will fall back to 2006 levels, (there will be) a slide in house prices and an increase in divorces... the cost of living crisis combines with rising unemployment, an increase in bankruptcies and struggling public services...  the main measure of life satisfaction is expected to slump to its lowest level since records began in 2013.'

meanwhile horsemouth is just getting on with this blogging nonsense. there may even be some music to be done. 

'lonely and resistant re-arrangers of things, anxious malcontents, children afflicted... by some presentiment of loss.' -  joan didion,  (from on keeping a notebook). here rearranged in an allen ginsberg style.

today he will go for a wander (naturally). he will post a reminder to his housemates to take some meter readings (the better to keep on top of the gas and electricity bills). he has heard from richard wildhare. later (he supposes) present wrapping (and such like). 

it is the anniversary of one of horsemouth's golden glow mixes (he will be sharing this later).