“ I’ve nothing much to offer,
Ther’s nothing much to take,
I’m an absolute beginner,
But I’m absolutely sane,
As long as we’re together,
The rest can go to hell,
I absolutely love you,
But we’re absolute beginners,
With eyes completely open,
But nervous all the same”
David Bowie
Quite possibly the shortest and quickest blog I’ve ever written.
I am sitting in a camper van in Electric Picnic with our Robyn and Elliott, having spent the day painting bits and bobs, including the signage lettering for a Turf Reactor , in Brutopolis, one of our friend Benny’s areas here. We’ve had a delicious camper cooked tea of Cheesy Rice Cakes , fried eggs and a delicious salad including watermelon ,couscous, flowers…YES ! actual flowers..beetroot…and yes, I do hate beetroot… green noodles, and other lovely indeterminate things .
It has been a great day.
It’s been a great week.
One thing at a time.
Last Sunday my friend Ray and I , along with 500 or so other people took part in the annual Monaghan 10 Miler Race. This is a wonderful race each year , but the thing I always marvel at are the amount of volunteers that make it possible. They both make it possible for the event to physically function, but , for me, they make it possible for me to get to the next bit, the next junction where they are stopping traffic to let you pass, or the next water station, but always with a smile and words of heartfelt and genuine encouragement. Last Sunday was a beautifully warm day, and I struggled with the heat…and complete lack of preparation. But I was waved at, smiled at, cheered, hugged on more than one occasion and that got me through. That and Ray waiting for me all the time and saying that although it had been a stupid idea of mine to do the 10 mile instead of the 5, we were nearly there.
That’s what it’s all about.
I came across an old interview with David Bowie and I thought of our kids as he was talking, especially Jake, as it was his 25th birthday on Wednesday. I make cards for people on their birthdays, so for Jake I drew an outline of David Bowie’s ‘Aladdin Sane’ cover, and threw in the face stripes in case there was any doubt about who it was supposed to be, and wrote a transcription of what Bowie had said on the inside.
“I’d loved to have been like Sting and been a teacher. I really would have loved that. What really gets me off is to be able to introduce people to new things. I love the feeling of introducing a new subject or something, especially to younger people, that maybe excites them or gets them going, or influences them to do something, opening up to some other world.
You know the saner, rational branch of life is to survive steadfastly and create a protective home and create a warm loving environment for ones family and get food for them…that’s about it. That’s about it. Anything else is extra. All culture is extra. Culture is, you know…I guess it’s a freebie. We don’t need a particular colour of plate , or a particular height of chairs or anything, I mean anything will do, but we insist on making 1,000 different kinds of chairs and 15 different kinds of plates. It’s unnecessary and it’s a sign of the irrational part of us.
I think it’s almost about pulling yourself together and saying ‘Hey, I’ve got maybe this finite length of time left. I really would like to enjoy it. So, you know, stop self-pitying, stop all those kinds of things, pull yourself together and make some decisions about what you really want out of life. ‘
And I think the first thing I wanted was for each day to be really good. So I had to go about changing everything in my life.
Now certainly I’m a fulfilled man, fulfilled romantically, musically, artistically. I love my family, we’re so close now. So it’s something I just want to keep on the front burner every day, just like that until death strikes, you know ? And that would be cool.”
I gave the card to my Soulmate to write a note to Jake as well and she said that until I’d written ‘David Bowie’ at the end, she’d thought that I’d written it. That made me happy.. and cry a little.
I also shared the video of the interview with my favourite ‘ologist, Ann, and she thought it was cool. Being a professional, she’d asked what I thought of it first. I said that I could have written it myself.
I went for a run. I had a thought and then I immediately thought of Georgie Crawford, so I sent her this WhatsApp :
Hi Georgie,
Had a thought, and then thought of you.
For a few years I dedicated my runs to an ill child who I was matched with via an FB page called I Run 4. The idea was that through the FB page, tagging the kids parents, whenever you ran somewhere, anywhere, training, or a race, you posted a photo of where you’d been and a short description. It seemed to mean a lot. I sent my medals to them as well.
It was an American thing, so I ran for two different kids there over the yearsand still get messages from them every so often even though they grew up and I’d stopped running for them a while back.
I just thought today that an Irish version, maybe as simple as pairing a kid going through cancer with someone who’s been through it, might make it a wee bit special, in that not only would they know that someone is out running for them, but that person has also been through what they are going through and that might also give them an extra wee boost ?
Is it mad ?
What do you think ?
Paul.”
I got this message back.
“Oh my God , I love this ! We need to do this.”
I got a phone call this morning from Joe Finnegan. I ignored it. Obvoiusly I didn’t know it was THE Joe ‘There’s no show without a Joe show’ Finnegan from the actual Shannonside /Northern Sound. I then got a phone call from David Maxwell , local councillor, and all round good egg, telling me to stop ignoring calls from Joe. Rossmore Park has been the most visited Park in Ireland for the second year in a row and Joe wanted a fan’s opinion. I spoke to Joe, a gentleman, about why Rossmore is so popular. I gave lots of reasons, all true, including good coffee, Giants, local council and Coillte support. But it could be summed up in the basic tenet that the community love it, the community appreciate it , and the community simply will it into being a beautiful place to be.
It’s nothing to do with me really.
I’m just louder than others.
I bounce ideas off great people and they help me get to the next junction, the next water station.
Nothing happens on it’s own.
Don’t be afraid to suggest something, anything. Someone will listen. Everyone has a Benny, Glenn , Hannon,Trevor, Ray, Soulmate, or Georgie , that’ll say “Oh my God , I love this ! We need to do this.”
You never know unless you say something.
Magic happens.
‘And that would be cool.’
Toodles,
Paul
P.S. Happy Birthday Jake ! This is David Bowie singing ‘Life on Mars’, ‘Wake Up’ , and ‘5 Years’ with Arcade Fire.
