As the British prime minister resigns after just six weeks there was only one headline that stood out for me “Iceberg lettuce in blond wig outlasts Liz Truss”. The absurdity of it all.

I stayed in today to work on some budgets and not aggravate my hand by going to the gym. The water, the swim, seems to be ok, pushing heavy machines around might not be a good idea. I have an acupuncture appointment on November 3rd which we are hoping will deal with that nerve in my arm that seems to link to my hand. This is in essence where we all are, or most of us, concerned with our own issues whilst hoping the disastrous events that are going on in the world will go away. All I can do is try to not contribute to the madness with loose talk, unsubstantiated isn’t just a song. I’m not a diplomat, a politician or a doctor, neither am I George Martin or Jeff Beck, John Lennon or Bob Dylan, but shouldn’t we always expect the equivalent of Dylan, Lennon, Beck and Martin, experts in their allotted area for the good?

On another serious note, Olivia picked up her dream shoe rack today for ten euros, all we need is the mansion to go with it. I live in a world of music, helping people with their music, writing, thinking about the archive and how to turn this vast collection into a cultural event, I suppose a mansion would help but without the mansion or the funds to buy one, I’m awaiting a reply from the Porto mayor’s office to see if we can generate interest in the project. It wouldn’t just be a load of records in shelves, it would be a place of learning, music, events, small gigs (depending on the size of the mansion), a cafe and a place to hang art, posters, and photography. I can’t imagine that I won’t have enough ideas for all the rooms, film, and lectures, it’s a cultural university growing out of a record collection, how cool is that?

We’re still in the process of figuring out the fate of Ariel. Our mechanic here is trying to find a way to bring her back to Portugal on a stretcher for examination. There’s the transport cost, customs issues, the pure distance. Here it seems she could be covered by the garage guarantee as she was recently serviced but we have to get her here. It is probably cheaper to tow her here and have her fixed here than have her fixed there and then have to pay the costs of driving her back anyway. We can’t drive here until she’s fixed and that’s the problem.

A sesh today with NJ Brian, and I still look down at where my pedal board should be, knowing that it is hidden away in my friend Arno’s music space. I’m not sure exactly when I’ll be getting the board, my bag of leads, tuners, tambourine and my Fender Strat back here. Maybe Arno and his family will visit but at this stage, Ariel cannot help.

Music today has been some excellent Czukay madness with his 1987 album Rome Remains Rome. I can’t imagine how it would sound if you didn’t know the trajectory from CAN through previous solo records and collaborations to here, consequently, there might be twenty albums before this one that you need to hear first, better start listening.

Music Of The Daze