No Mean City?

Hey you

I’ve been struggling for inspiration, but I started writing another chapter to my story on the train into work today.

I reckon that I want to add in some more sex and getting to know each
other between

Part 11 – Beneath Your Beautiful

Where they make love at the front door and he appreciates her for who she is.

and

Part 12 – Nightswimming

Which starts off where months have passed and it’s about their dilemmas.

I was thinking about it and I reckon the diary entry about my 3 concert weekend , ( Van Morrison, Bowie Tribute and Marc Almond ) will give
me enough inspiration to fill a chapter or two.

But I was also thinking about speaking a little more about the changes
affecting Glasgow in our lifetime and how is changed from No Mean City
to the City of Architecture, music and culture it is today.

But has it really changed?

Have a read below and feel free to suggest .. I’ll keep you posted as it grows

x

——————————————

Title – No Mean City?

What a weekend that was!!

I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun.

A weekend “away” but spent in my hometown with 3 very different concerts in 3 very different nights but which one was the most fun?

I love Glasgow. It’s my city of birth and the place I love best.

You have to hand it to the city fathers making so many improvements to the city in my lifetime. From its notorious reputation famously portrayed in the book No Mean City. A place of slums, gangs and violence to its modern façade of designer shops, culture, architecture and the arts.

Of course the keyword there is facade. For all the differences that they’ve made to the city. The improvements in social housing and educational and recreational facilities. The people are still largely the same.

The violence is still just a thin layer below the gloss if you go looking for it in the housing schemes or the pretentious bars in the West End or The Merchant City where the former NED’s ( Non Educated Delinquents) now wear suits or designer clothing but they remain NED’s none-the-less. Their behaviour remains the same.

These chameleons have adopted the same facade as the city.

Having been a child if the 60s and growing up in the 70s and 80s. That deprivation was all around me but I didn’t appreciate that then. How can you when it’s the only thing you know?

Mum, dad and 5 boys in a one bedroom flat with an outside toilet shared between us and two other families on the communal landing. Its amazing what you can assume is normal when you don’t know any different.

On the occasional bus ride from home in Govan to the city centre the only housing we would see was the soot-blackened walls of the tenements looming over us. Mum pointing out the Angel at Paisley Road Toll and telling us stories of her growing up, pushing prams full of clothing to the local washhouse, colloquially known as “The Steamie”

I love that play, It has such memories for me, watching it on tv with mum. It captured the humanity all around us kids back then. Mrs Gilfether failing to understand why her husband loved the mince when she bought the tatties from Galbraiths .. “its no the mince it’s the
tatties!”

Peter Mullen you are a genius in my eyes.

What I do appreciate now, is that back then movies, music and alcohol were forms of escapism that my parents and their friends used to take them from their worlds of greys and blacks to the glamorous places that Hollywood portrayed were dad and his friends would swing like Sinatra swing or croon like Crosby.

Not to be outdone, mum and my aunts would be dressed in long gowns of
60s chic, multi-coloured long dresses which are now fashionably retro. Their
hair up or feathered. Aunt Rose having hers in a Cilla Black bob and singing Ella Fitzgerald’s Someone To Watch Over Me.

All that for a Saturday night out at the Rolls Royce, Fairfield or Ashfield clubs depending on who had the biggest act on that weekend.

With hindsight, music and fashion meant so much to them then and I
only appreciate how much now.

But I wonder – Are we the same?

Pretty much?

If so, then what is it that we are escaping?

Fuck, that’s far too heavy a thought for a Wednesday morning sitting writing this on the train into work!

As I said, our weekend was fantastic.

More to follow.

Friday – The Box!

Hello!!

that was a week that was!!

Don’t ask!!

No really don’t!!

Anyways .. news .. I’ve put in 2 entries to Lorraine Kelly’s search for a new author .. not that I’m expecting anything but some positive feedback would be good.

Racy Reads!

The 2 entries are a modified version of my introduction and Chapter 1 and secondly a short story based on Chapter 18 now called The Box.

Last weekend .. I had a fab time .. played piano in Champagne Central for an hour .. pissed but totally enjoyed the experience.

Last night .. a curry in Shawlands with my mate ,, a bit hungover today.

Tonight,  taking Claire through to a family Burns night,  my kilt is all packed and ready .. I really love getting the kilt on .. expect a pic sometime soon!

Tomorrow,  going to see my team play Saint Mirren in the cup .. c’mon the hoops!!

Whatever you are doing .. have fun!

x

Is It This Dancing Juice?

Hey you!!

What a weekend that was ..

Now is it the look in your eyes .. or is it this dancing juice?

How fab is this video .. made me smile .. completely loved it!

Of course the gal was going to say Yes ..

What a weekend that was .. dancing .. prancing .. playing piano at 2am in some bar in town with an audience .. loved it again!!

I’ve played in the pub once or twice before, but only when it was quiet and never for so long and even half-scooped it was great fun!

Of course, I played that Bruno MArs song and had just learned Labrinth – Beneath You’re Beautiful which actually had a few people singing and got a bit of applause.

Whoo-hoo!!

Saturday was football with my son, 4 brothers and cousins .. the hoops won 4-1 and a curry and a few beers with the boys later.

Yesterday recovering, a long lie, drinking tea, playing piano, seeing my dad

Then back to reality .. food shopping for the week and collecting the wee one from her mums.

Life is good!

x

Friday – Story Telling And Surviving!

Hey,

friday again..

Guess what I’ve been doing ..

I’ve been putting my story together from blog form into book form. I’ve rewritten a few parts, checked all the spelling and grammar mistakes .. well most of them.

Then .. for fun, I’ve had a look over the context of each story and added in a few lines of lyrics from a relevant song at the start of each chapter.

Joy Divison – Love Will Tear Us Apart
Patti Smith – Because The Night
David Bowie – Heroes

You know the kind of thing!

I’ve also added in an foreword, an introduction and an epilogue.

Did you know the difference between a preface, foreword and an introduction? Neither did I.

In short the preface is written by the author about the story … the foreword is generally by someone else and the introduction is writtien by the guy in the story about the story.

As that guy is more or less me .. how much of a mind feck is that?

You have to be able to separate reality from the imagined reality of the story… Some of the readers do too apparently!! 🙂

So the story is more or less finished .. although there is room for a few parts to be inserted at various points .. maybe a bit more sex .. just for fun.

And theres also lots of scope for a sequel .. But what next?

Next .. I’ve been looking at self publishing .. there is a goal here .. a learning experience.

There are variouus places where if you pay anything between 2k and 20k they will re-master your script for you, publish it for you.

But bugger that!

I’ll just follow the guidelines set down by Apple and Amazon about getting it published in the iBooks and the Kindle online book stores.

I might also consider using a service such as Smashwords as they have distribution links on both Apple and Amazon.

Wish me luck!

Right back to the fun …

Last weekend … I went into this club, it was full of these ugly, fat horrible 50 year old women dancing to 70s disco music ….

At first I was afraid, I was petrified ….!!! 🙂

Love it!

This weekend .. taking the wee one over to her mums.

Tonight .. hopefully going dancing in Glasgow .. getting my glad-rags on going for a few drinks .. no curries tonight.

Tomorrow .. busy day .. Going to see my fitba team with my son and my 4 brothers .. then drinking with them and my dad and uncles in my dads club.

Sunday .. I want to see Django and Les Mis .. which one to see first … I’m in the mood for action rather than a weepy.

Sunday night – gett my munchkin back .. and retreat back into dad mode.

In other news .. I did a job interview last week.

Being self employed you have to keep up with current trends and I’d spent a lot of time over the holiday period learning this new system design tool.

So I studied hard for this technincal test and nailed it. They went from speaking in terms of “If” to “When” .. always a good sign.

But still not heard a word!

At least its not been a “No” .. that’s an easy decision to make. No news is good news .. I attempt to convince myself.

Whatever you are doing .. Have fun!!!

Mx

At First I Was Afraid I Was Petrified!

Dilemma – Trust Is Like A Butterfly?

Right ..

So …

Last night a really good friend of mine comes on the phone, he’s upset, very upset.

He’s breaking his heart upset and also pretty angry. He’s been up all night the night before and his mind is in turmoil.

I’d only spoke to him the day before and he was all loved up and looking to the their holiday and future together and talking about getting married again.

So whats changed?

I was happy to let him speak and not jump in and offer an opinion without getting the facts.

Well he’s been seeing this girl .. for over a year now .. they’ve had their moments but its all being going well recently and he’s a happy boy.

But the other night she was at his and she had to look on to her email on his laptop to get the booking references for the holiday they have coming up next week.

She went to sleep early and he was still kicking around and laptop was still on ..

So he did something wrong .. but lets be honest what a lot of people would do .. he read her email.

All fine .. he’s never had any doubts about her and he’s been happy.

But the he wonderd what she’d been buying .. and he searched for the word receipt in her email.

So there was all the usual stuff, shopping, ebay, paypal receipts but something stood out “Phone Detective”

Hhhhmmmm he thought .. whats that all about?

Turns out its an internet detective agency which can provide details such as reverse phone numbers, personal histories etc.

So with that in mind he took a note of the details and searched her email again this time for “Detective”

There were some emails in from Phone Detective. Which he also read.

So to cut a long story short .. It would appear that the week after they met, She had went to Krakow with her friends and met some guy.

He has no idea of what occurred, but she had a phone number and whatever happened she felt enough to go online and check it out.

As it turns out, it was a hookey number .. probably a married guy on a boys weekend looking for a bit of fun.

There were no emails to her pal discussing this person .. he then presumed that its her and she not searching on behalf of the pal unlikely as that would be.

So he closed the laptop but couldn’t sleep.

At the pomt over a year ago when this had occurred, they had only met 2 weeks beforehand, had only one drink and one dinner date and not crossed any lines.

She’d went on holiday with her friend Diane, presumably met someone, he has no idea what went on but its driving him mad.

The reason why he is so upset is because she has always told him that she is the first guy she has been with since her and her husband broke up.

But now he’s no longer sure .. his mind is playing tricks and he’s fearing the worst .. that she’s some kind of tart.

Her friend Diane already has that reputation and is pretty open about it and he is judging her by association.

He never slept all night. She gets up in the morning and is all sweetness and light, but he gives her the silent treatment and she’s upset because shes wondering whats going on.

So now he’s on the phone to me and is very upset but doesn’t know how to resolve the situation.

Should he …

A- Confornt her about it .. All guns blazing .. but that will kill them.

B – Speak to her about .. but that opens the door .. of how did you know about Krakow and his big nose.

C – Shut up about it .. its in the past .. it was a year ago and what difference does it make .. but trust will be gone.

D – Stay the hell out of her emaiil in future and mind his own business

My advice, a bit of a combination was for him to shut-up about it and think himself lucky that she’s done nothing since.

But if its eating him up that much then speak to her about it but that might open doors that he doesn’t want to open.

Trust is a very delicate thing .. delicate like a butterfly .. if you don’t treat it gently it will break.

He’s still upset but he’s having a think about it and we will have to wait to see how things will develop.

If it was your friend .. What would your advise be?

Michael – Dancing With Angels!

Hey,

hows it going??

If you saw my last couple of posts then you’ll know I was at Dirty Dancing with my daughters on Frday and had a great time.

Dance is such a powerful medium to express yourself .. I’m not claiming to be any great shakes .. but I do know how to enjoy myself and I love to lose myself in the music.

When I dance I can be on the floor for hours except for a quck drink now and then.

Theres nothing quite like the fun of interaction with a partner who is enjoying themselves as much as you.

Well there is but keep it clean!

My personal beliefs .. are that if you can’t dance .. if you don’t want to dance .. then you are losing out on so much of life.

Dancing is an echo of our former animalistic selfs, it’s a mating ritual and at its most basic level .. If you can’t dance .. you can’t express yourself in all other physical areas .. particularly where delicateness, subtlety, rhythm, timing and power are required.

You know what I mean!

Thats just my personal opinion of course .. you might know differently.

Would you believe .. and I kid you not .. that I also have a Guiness World Record medal for Salsa dancing back in 2002!

Check the link below .. I did that!!

Glasgow Salsa Guinness World Record

12 Lessons at Scotstoun Sports Centre with the most gorgeous Cuban female instructoir .. Boy did that gal know how to shake it?

Apparently she’s still out there doing her thing .. I only did the 12 lessons and left at that for various reasons.

Anyhoo .. the day of the GWR was fun, I wasn’t meant to be dancing as the girl I did the lessons with was on holiday that week.

But I took the kids along on the Saturday afternoon for fun.

Fortunately for me .. we bumped into 7 ladies from the class ..as you’ll notice 2 into 7 don’t go and someone needed a partner.

So after a bit of encouragement from them and some feigned reticence from me .. I accepted the offer and was up there front and centre for the record attempt.

A 30 minute lesson and a 10 minute dance .. where my kids pointed and laughed the full time .. and we had the world record.

What a great day and I still have the medal tucked away safely!!

Anyhoo, my dad wasn’t well this weekend, so I spent Saturday night at his.

We were watching movies on tv and came across one of my favourites from the 90s. Michael featuring John Travolta.

He’s a fallen angel, on his last visit to earth where he has a mission to match up the cynical William Hurt and the lost Andie MacDowell.

I love this following scene .. it makes me smile and makes me want to dance more.

So my new New Years resolution is to get off my ass and join a dance class.

Chain Chain Chain …

Mx

Michael – John Travolta

Dirty Dancing With Beautiful Girls!

Hi there,

Dirty Dancing was fantastic. Those dancers are all so talented.

I loved the show my girls did too.

Aren’t they beautiful?

Sitting near the front in the gap to the left of stage and Johnny walks right past us before jumping up on the stage and doing the baby in the corner line.

Magic!!

My girls and I were up on our feet but they warned me not too take pics of them.

But I’m a proud dad so of course I did!!

I hope you’re having a great weekend.

Mx

Friday – Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner!

Hello ….

well its friday again .. and don’t you just LOVE it!!

Tonight .. at long last .. Its time for Dirty Dancing!!!

I’m taking my daughters Laura and Claire to see the 7:30 Edinburgh show.

Outf of here at 4 .. Meeting the girls in town, train out east .. dinner booked at Near the theatre for 5:30 ….

Then across to the Playhouse, down to the bar .. order a drink for now and one for the break .. perfect!

This is the third time we will have saw the live show, London, Glasgow and now Edinburgh.

At the London Show at The Aldwych Theatre, it has a very similar layout to the final scene in the film. A central corridor up from the stage where they do the final lift.

We were sitting directly at the end of that gap, 30 rows back, where the corridor splits left and right to the central exit doors.

As the cast are getting ready for the final song, there were footsteps in the background coming over the speakers .. then Johnny came through the door, walked past us, down the the corridor to the stage,

Cue the pregnant pause .. Nobody puts Baby In A Corner .. the place went mental.

Tonight .. We have great aisle seats. near the front of the stage .. but not too close .. row 10 .. I can’t wait!!

Excited … you betcha!!

I’m a dancing bhoy remember?? Ever wondered why?

If you get the chance .. just go!

In fact .. make the time, find the time, grab a friend and book the seats.

Having “The Time Of Your Life” is guaranteed!

Tomorrow .. no plans .. go and see my dad .. he’s not been too well.

Sunday .. it would be great to go a walk up Conic Hill or somewhere to blow the cobwebs out and stretch the legs.

Whatever you are doing .. have fun .. but I’ld bet that you won’t be having as much fiun as me!!

Mx

Dirty Dancing on tour.

Part 24 – Everything’s Going To Be Alright!

That tear in her eye, it just melts me.

What kind of soul would I have if it didn’t move me and make me want to protect her?

Listening to her tell me about Bill and her worries about the funeral, takes me back to those early dates, the first time we went for a meal together, tapas and prosecco in Cafe Andaluz.

It was when she first told me about her husbands death and I wanted to protect her then, just I like I want to protect her now and make all her sadness go away.

Like then, I can see she’s fighting it inside, trying to choke it back, but her eyes are glazing over and I can hear her voice change and I know that she’s struggling.

I took her hand and she pauses waiting for me to respond, I hold her gaze for a moment to let her regain some composure.

I want her to hear this and that I’m completely sincere.

“Don’t worry baby, I’ll be there with you, I’ll be there if you need me, I’ll hold your hand and wipe your tears away”

She smiles, a funny smile, smiling through the sadness, she takes a deep breathe and sniiffs back a tear

“Thanks honey, I don’t want to pressurise you, I know it won’t be easy to come along and meet everyone particularly under the circumstances but I’d really appreciate that”

I smile and squeeze her hand. I want to reassure her, let her have one less thing to worry about.

“Its not a problem, honestly, I’m not worried about meeting everyone, I’m a big boy and sometimes you just have to take the rough with the smooth, its all part of the deal”

So much for my attempts at being reassuring, she’s now smiling and crying, the tears are running down her face.  She leans forward .. puts her arms around my neck, kisses me on the cheek and whispered “I love you so much”

Fuck, that did it, I feel myself start to well up, a combination of pride and somethig deeper, I don’t have the words to describe, its like I had been waiting for this moment,  but scared off it and have been putting it off.

That feeling was relief, relief that I could open up and tell her too ..

“I love you too honey, I’ve loved you for such a long time and have been so scared to tell you”.

I pull her towards me, put my arms aroud her and kiss her full on the mouth, she kisses me back and we’re locked there for a few seconds.

I can tell she’s crying, I can feel her chest rise and fall in small spasms, so I pull away to let her settle and catch her breath.

We’re looking at each other, her blues eyes full of tears and we smile. Dopey smiles, stupid dopey smiles, eyes full of tears, but we’re happy.

In my peripheral vision, I can feel the stares from staff and other diners, looking over at this strange coouple, one minute they’re chatting quietly and the next they’re crying.

Do I care? Not a jot.

I just smile back at them and they look away but I can tell that we’re now trending as the hot local topic of conversation.

Her face is red and her eyes puffy, “I bet I look so attractive right now” she says.

“You look great honey, you always look great to me”.

I know its corny but its completely heartfelt and if you think about it clichés are only cliches because they often fit best.

She’s busy in her hand-bag, pulling out a set of hankies, offering me one, but I’m okay and just sit smiling my dopey smile.

Then the kids are back, looking at us, wondering what has happened. Claire sits beside me and asks me if I’m okay, I smile and tell ther that I’m fine but my eyes are elsewhere.

The boys are round her mum, asking if she’s alright, David and Max are cuddling her and looking at her wondering whats going on.

Jamie is giving me the evil eye.  I think if he was bigger he’d like to punch me.

For all he’s a brat, he’s very protective of his mother, I have to give him credit for that.

She puts her arm round him and sits him down and tells him ..

“Everything’s going to be alright”

 

Part 23 – The Rough And The Smooth!

Its been a tough week. Not just work and my current project going live or Jamie being sent home from school again. Again. Thats the third time this year and I’ve to arrange a meeting with the head teacher.

But my favourite uncle Bill died on Monday. He was my only uncle but he was a big kind man and he would have been my favourite regardless.

He was a good age 77 and It was a long illness, so hardly unexpected.

He wasn’t really my uncle, not by blood, but he’d been with my aunt Helen since I was a kid and he was part of the family. A kind generous man and a good dad to Helen’s kids Jill and Lucie.

It’s completely different things to be a dad and a father. Ideally they are the same person but any idiot with a hard on can be a father, it takes a lot of time and some extremely hard work to be a real dad. Particularly if you’re not the father.

Like most families back then in the late 60 and early 70s. We lived close to each, we more or less lived in each others houses and us kids grew up together, played together and started dating together.

Of course back then it wasn’t called dating it was “going out” “seeing someone” or worse, that cringe inducing phrase that mum always used ‘winching’!!

5 good Highers and 4 years at Glasgow university, a first class honours and she’s still asks if I am winching!

When her pals ask about me even now. “Aye she’s been winching somebody fur a while noo, he’s met the boys and everything.”

Aren’t mums totally embarrassing?

Even now she has a habit of being too personal. You know those cutting comments about where you’ve been. How that dress is too short or showing too much cleavage.

She also thinks she’s helping with the occasional tidying up. But I know it’s just her nose bothering her and she likes to look in my drawers every now and then. Have a wee rummage at my paperwork, read cards and payslips or look in my underwear drawer.

It serves her right when she opened the bottom drawer in my beside cabinet. She nearly spat out her teeth then asking me “Why I needed a vibrator?”

“For gods sake mum if you must know its because I miss having sex!”

Cue her face scarlet and her blushes and fluster made all the nagging about her occasionally doing my laundry completely worthwhile.

That’s mums for you.

She also forgets that she saw a few guys after dad died. Not right away of course and I can only ever remember there being 2 other men in her life.

But what I do remember very clearly are the days when i would come back from school and the chest of drawers would be mysteriously behind the bedroom door and there was a lot of scuffling and low whispers going on inside.

Or those nights when my sister and I would l be packed off to auntie Helen’s with my cousins Jill and Lucie

Thinking about it, that’s when Helen met Bill, obviously those tricky sisters were covering each others backs at the time.

It’s funny what you see as a kid but don’t understand then it all falls into place years later. .

Poor Bill was a rock for Helen. Always there for her and faded away in the end. She and the girls will miss him so much.

My problem is that the funeral and the cremation are the same ones that I used for my husband Andy two years ago and I’m not sure if I can go back there.

I really need to go for Bill and the family but I know that I’ll not just be upset for Bill.

Funerals always do that to me. They bring out strange emotions and you remember your own loved ones and you shed a tear even if you’re not that close to the deceased.

At least I won’t be going on my own.

We were out for dinner last night, my boys and his daughter. Nothing fancy just the local Chinese buffet.

He’d known that Bill had been ill for the past year and that the end was imminent. I’d told him on the phone earlier this week that Bill had passed away and I’d explained about the service being in the same place.

He went quiet for a moment and told me that he was sorry to hear about Bill and that he’d be there if I wanted him too.

Last night while the kids were up filling up with desserts. He took my hand and told me that he’d definitely be there. I could have cried with relief as I know it will affect me and bring back memories I’ve tried to subdue.

I told him that it can’t be that easy for him.

He said that he’d be there to hold my hand and that he’s happy to take the rough with the smooth.

It’s all part if the deal. He said.

With a tear in my eye, I leaned towards him and whispered that I loved him so much.