I thought after a horrible day at the dentist what could I do next, I know, go to the doctor for blood test results. So I did, we both did, and we made our way to the doctor’s surgery a few blocks away, not knowing if we were in trouble or had a clean bill of health. You can only go by how you feel, but then you hear about people who didn’t know anything was wrong and then a check reveals an impending medical disaster.

As it happened, everything seems to be OK except for sugar needs to decrease in the diet and losing some weight, not that easy at 65. But, at least as a swimmer, I have a chance. I hear stories of people dropping dead because they have a heart problem they didn’t know about, so I requested a heart examination just to check, so it will be August 8th, something else to worry about. Then there’s the physiotherapy for the thumbs and the knees, so I can continue to fall to the ground executing screaming guitar solos way into my nineties.

We went on to the music shop to buy some brackets to hang guitars on the wall and then on to the record store where all the new releases boxes sat unopened, come back Friday was the message. The city was packed as usual, tourists throngs in thongs, 29°C/84°F today, perfect showering weather, except today was the day of installing the penultimate piece of the shower, a large piece of glass next to the wall (shower curtain on the way). So silicone has to dry and that means wait until tomorrow.

Apparently, a study revealed that 50% of people that buy vinyl, don’t have a record player. They’re often gifts, wall decorations, or mega fans supporting their favourite artist by buying everything they can, then listening on the streaming sites, watching the videos, one foot in the digital world, one foot outside it because it really does mean something to not just listen to it but also to hold it. I get it, I’m a collector, if I had endless money I would buy two of everything in every format, thinking of both preservation and enjoyment.

The final panels were painted today, still, the trims to do, but we might be getting close to being able to set up everything that we have here, whilst preparing for Phase 3 and the mega-move. We hope to do it around October when it’s not as hot as it is now, giving the records a chance to survive.

Music today has been by one of Olivia’s favourite violinists, Jean-Luc Ponty, and the album Enigmatic Ocean (1977), the first of many fusiony records I collected by him.

Music Of The Daze