September 13th -Macon

Slept well last night. Drove down to Macon, home of the Allman Brothers and Otis Redding. Headed south down I-75, but then an alternative route was suggested by the satnav due to a serious crash further on. So I left at junction 212 and stopped for petrol at Locust Grove. On the way out from paying I attempted to unlock the wrong car ! Well it was black just like mine - fortunately I realised before anyone thought I was a potential car thief. There was a long traffic jam through Jackson, but it was fascinating to see something of small-town Georgia. I continued south down Highway 23, a long, straight road which the Romans could have built. I eventually rejoined the I-75 just outside Macon and arrived in the area I was seeking just before 13:00.

First priority was lunch (chicken caesar), and then I went in search of the Allman Brothers museum. I had trouble finding it as there was no sign outside, but I parked in a side street and found it eventually. The museum is in the house where the group lived, and it was very sad to see the two bedrooms of the members who died in the early seventies (Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley). The style of the living quarters upstairs was very hippy-ish, with elaborately-patterned bed covers, bongoes, and tapestries. It was very tidy and I suspect was designed and maintained by the group's wives and girlfriends. The music room had a huge turntable, speakers, and bongoes in it. A lot of amazing music was conceived here - songs like "Midnight Rider", "Blue Sky", and "Elizabeth Reed".

I bought a couple of CDs and a T-shirt, then left for Atlanta. I didn't have a chance to look round Macon, since I'd arrived late and wanted to get back before the height of the rush-hour traffic. As it happens the drive back was easy and maybe I could have stayed longer, but had I stayed an extra half-hour I might have been caught in a snarl-up. The heat in Macon was hyper-intense; there's a bit of  breeze back here in Atlanta which makes it bearable.

As for music, I played the first two Allmans albums on the way, and enjoyed the bluesy tone, jazzy rhythms, and astonishingly fluid guitar playing. Then I heard two Lynyrd Skynyrd albums and admired Ronnie Van Zant's gritty vocals and tough workingman's lyrics. Another tragic southern band, of course, with most of the members killed in a plane crash in 1977. On the way back I heard the Allmans' classic "Live at the Fillmore East" album, which is a dream for anyone who loves great guitar-playing and skilled musicianship. They really don't make albums like this now - far too musical for the attention-deficit generation.

Tomorrow I leave Atlanta to fly to Minneapolis. I've loved being in Georgia - the countryside is varied, Atlanta itself is thrilling, the people very friendly (when they can understand me !), and the women are gorgeous. I am looking forward, though, to getting out of the humidity. Minnesota is Dylan country, so loads to explore there ! 

                  

September 12th - Athens

Slept well last night, although I woke up at 3:30 and had some difficulty getting back to sleep after that. While I was awake I heard some familiar "coupling" sounds from next door - at 3:30 AM ! This happens to me quite a lot on the road and arouses in me some complex emotions. I will spare the reader the full details of my various freudian traumas - I will only note that it rubs in my single status. It's often great being alone, but not always easy.

When I got up I had a nice conversation with a lady called Belmira. She tried to place my accent and thought I was Australian. Later on, when I was asking someone for directions on the outskirts of Athens,  he couldn't understand me at all ! People in Georgia are really thrown by my accent, which I haven't encountered elsewhere in the US. The ones who can understand it really love it, though.

I drove to Athens south  along I85 and then east on highway 316. After parking I walked round for a bit and had lunch in a nice old-style pub called The Globe. Then I went into a record shop, which had loads of vinyl but not many CDs. They were playing a track by Galaxie 500 which had an over-familiar two-note post-U2 bassline but an interesting guitar solo. I might buy something by them, although I find that that sort of music doesn't last well due to the limited song structures and minimalist rhythm sections. I always like to try out new things, though, so we'll see. I also walked through the University of Georgia, which had some good architecture. Athens is an arty, bohemian town which is quite attractive  - very studenty.

Drove back through a bit of rain and then some heavy traffic in Atlanta. Investing in a Satnav was a good move. Took me an hour to get from the outskirts of the city to the  hotel. This, though, gave me an opportunity to see more of the city without going out in the stifling heat. The weather has been really oppressive here and I was very dehydrated after my day out in the heat yesterday. My plan for tomorrow is to drive to Macon, where the Allman Brothers came from.

Music : I started this morning with "The Dirty South" by Drive-by-Truckers. This is an intensely political album about unemployment and family breakdown, together with other southern topics such as Sam Phillips and Richard Manuel. Then I played a bit of Canned Heat, including the Woodstock classic "Going Up The Country" as I approached Athens. On the way back it was Tom Petty all the way - another Southerner of course. His songs feature sharply-observed lyrics set to attractive pop-rock music with lots of guitar. Great stuff. Then I entertained myself with The Beatles through the Atlanta traffic. I particularly enjoyed "We Can Work It Out",  a very adult lyric with subtle time-changes in the music and great collaboration between John and Paul.

Off for a beer and some supper. It is indescribably exciting to be in this wonderful country.      

       

          

September 10th and 11th

September 10th

Got up at 4:40 - I'd slept reasonably well. Taxi arrived at 5:30 and I reached Heathrow by 6:30. Taxi-driver was very talkative but strictly a one-way conversationalist ! Had breakfast, bought stuff for the flight, and got on the New York plane for a 9:30 take-off. Struggled on the flight as sometimes I get attacks of claustrophia on long flights and cannot relax my bladder muscle. I was really uncomfortable towards the end of the flight and spoke to a stewardess. She kindly moved me up to the front of the plane so that I was the first off !
Thank you Virgin.

One thing made me sad on the flight. On the row adjacent to me there was a middle-aged couple and the woman was a bit of a cracker ! They were holding hands and looked so happy together. It reminded me of the future I thought I had until that fateful night of February 12th 2011, when my world broke into little pieces. This trip is all about re-integration and re-orientation.  


After that little panic I was ok and caught the connecting flight to Atlanta ok. Spent most of the waiting period at JFK outside. On the connecting flight I got chatting to the woman next to me, who was a native of Atlanta. She gave me useful tips about driving and the traffic. I picked up my car and was wise enough to fork out an extra 30 quid for a satnav. This made my journey to the hotel very easy. I was in my room by 8 o'clock Atlanta time. Went out for some food and beer, and then (after a little struggle - in vain - to try and get the fridge working) I went to bed. Saw that England got a 0-0 with Ukraine, which is good enough.

September 11th

Slept well from 10:30 to 3:30, and then off and on until 6:30. Then had a bath and was down to breakfast c. 8:15. Breakfast is the cheapo continental type you get in the less-salubrious US hotels, but it did a job. Back up to my room and then out on foot to Atlanta.

It took me about 45 mins to get to the State Capitol, and after that I walked through the university area and then downtown. The weather was very hot and oppressive, and I sat down for a hour in Woodruff Park in the middle of the downtown area. I sat by a fountain and pool reading "Red Storm Warning', which Chris Mulli (my boss at work) had recommended to me. Its World War Three scenario is very appropriate given all the talk about Syria which is currently going on. That was a relaxing break, and then I went to lunch in a Diner. I wasn't all that hungry but went inside because I needed a slash.

After lunch I walked to the Midtown area and saw the Fox Theatre, where Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded "One More From The Road". I then walked on to Margaret Mitchell's house. She wrote "Gone With The Wind", and this was always my parents' favourite film, so I was thinking about them (they're both long dead) a lot. I was given a solo tour of her house and it was fascinating. She wrote the book because she had a foot injury and couldn't work, having formerly been a journalist. She was never intending to have it published, but a friend of a friend knew someone at MacMillans and tipped them off. It is now the largest-selling book in America after The Bible. It was interesting to see all the period furniture from the late 1920s, and the heavy old typewriter which she wrote on.

After that I got the MARTA train back, and then got lost on the final walk to the hotel. As I write this I'm pretty shattered, so I'm hoping for a sound night of sleep tonight. The plan tomorrow is to drive to Athens, which is about 100 miles. That's the home of REM, the B52s, and Pylon.         

September 9th - Evening Before US Trip

All the preparations are complete now. It's just a matter of having supper, watching a bit of TV, and then going to bed early to get whatever sleep I can before getting up at 4:30 AM tomorrow. It's been dismal over the last couple of days - summer has disappeared in a rush and, apart from my son, I haven't had any company. So it will be amazing to hit Heathrow at 6:30 tomorrow and start what will probably be my final American jaunt.

The journey tomorrow will be arduous - I fly to JFK, and then wait there three hours before flying on to Atlanta, which is another 2.5 hrs. There I pick up my car and negotiate the short drive to my hotel. I've read that the traffic in Atlanta is terrible, so even this could take a while. Hopefully I'll be in my room by about 8 US time, so can have a quick meal before bed. The plan then is to walk round the city on the first day so I can freshen up a bit before I go driving on days two and three.

While in the US I will be blogging using the Tablet I've bought. The keyboard is a bit soft, and it takes a bit longer to type than on my Desktop PC. So there will probably be more "typos" than usual, which I will edit when I come back. It will be handy to be able to blog in my room or airport lounges rather than have to hunt round for Internet cafes or PCs in hotel lobbies.

As I say this will probably be my last trip. Now that the Decree Absolute has come through I need to look at my resources when I get back and take some financial advice. I would like to get out of this studio flat - it would be good to at least have a bedroom and I also miss having a garden. But the biggest problem is that, outside work, I do not have a life. Friends who were there for me a lot at the start of the divorce have mostly drifted away. I see my children a lot but just as visitors - and I'll see less of them as they get on with their adult lives. Outside my family, most of the people I knew were professional colleagues and inevitably they've moved on. So I need to find some sort of social life at the weekends, otherwise my life will be nothing but work.

I've loaded my two MP3 players with music which is appropriate for where I'm visiting. What usually happens is that the items I've carefully chosen I don't play, but instead pick up on something I've just chucked on at the last minute. I've got mainly US stuff but a few British artists as well, such as Roy Harper whose albums snuck on there yesterday. He's got a new CD out the day I come back and I've pre-ordered it, so it should be there to collect upon my return. I'm hoping to discover some great new music out there in the US.

Hope I can get some reasonable sleep - like many people I don't settle well when I've got an early start. So here we go again !    

New Tablet August 24th 2013

I'm writing this post on my new Samsung Tablet, using the keyboard case. I am intending to use it for my forthcoming US trip, since hotels in the US don't have many PCs available. The typing is a bit slow due to the soft keys, but I hope that I'll become more proficient before I leave.  

This trip will be my last US trip for a while and marks the point where I truly put my divorce behind me and move on with the next stage of my life. The last two years have been truly dreadful apart from my USA trips, and I'm far from happy about the financial settlement and  some of the dishonesty from "the other side". The financial security I worked and planned so hard for has been denied me, and I will need to work full-time for as long as possible. But it's finally over, so following the trip I will be knuckling down and facing the  future.

One real shaft of light is that I have a lovely new female companion named Jenny. She's 58, very capable and intelligent, a great conversationalist, and utterly gorgeous ! We talk so easily, have a lot of common interests, and enjoy meals, walks, and cultural activities. Early days but she has already been such a boon !

Life still has its problems. I'm working much harder and travelling far more than I'd like, especially if Jenny and I continue to become closer. IT as a career doesn't really do it for me as it's largely outsourced the creative bits. And I am alone an awful lot of the time. I have had some great supportive friends over the last couple of years but this year we're not in touch as much. But the nightmare is over and I can pick up the pieces now.

Musically 2013 hasn't been a patch on 2012, but there's still been some great stuff around. The new Bevis Frond album is incredible and Robyn Hitchock's "Love From London" grows on you. I have had a huge Bob Dylan phase and am now listening to a lot of Spirit's later work. I especially relish "Blues From The Soul", a double CD compilation of acoustic and electric blues. I also enjoyed Randy Newman's "Sail Away" when in London the other day. A very profound American album. I'm looking forward to some new sounds when I get to the States.

When I get back it will be the English winter and I'll have Xmas on my own to look forward to. I shall be ok but it's a very hard time for us disenfranchised types. But things are looking up and who knows 2014 could be very different !    

Fed Up....

A very wise man once opened an article with "I'm depressed".

That was it, the opening paragraph. Just those words.

I know what he means. Last Friday I was just about to leave the office for the weekend when the actuarial Pension-Splitting report turned up. This long-awaited document sets out how the lawyers and the pension companies are going to smash my company pensions into smithereens, and how much they're going to charge me for the privilege. Just to add spice to it, it's caveated out of existence.

Had a bit of a cold coming during the day. Over the weekend this escalated into a pretty severe virus. All I could do was hang around listlessly in the flat. I didn't want anyone over in case they caught it, so I haven't spoken to anyone in three days. I'm off work today which never usually happens.

Poor, poor, pitiful me, right ? Well, no actually....receiving that report right at the end of Friday would have ruined an ordinary weekend. But feeling so zonked has helped me ponder it more calmly. Also I've been able to relax a bit, just watching TV, fooling about on YouTube etc. I'm normally far too driven to do things like that, so it's been good to spend time on trivia.

Highlight no. 1 - watching that sprinkler unit drench those Liverpool fans at Anfield. I still find it hard to forgive them for how dull and negative they were when they dominated English football in the early eighties.
Highlight no. 2 - the surreal moment where the Arsenal player took Van Persie's shirt at half-time. Maybe he'd forgotten that he was playing for the other team (just like the defender in the 3rd minute).

Best of all - listening to the re-mastered version of "Sailor" by the Steve Miller Band. What a great, great, artist Steve is, and this record is brimming with sonic creativity, strong songs, and inventive playing. The atmospherics in "Song For Our Ancestors" and "Dear Mary" come off beautifully, and the section with the climbing guitars at the end of "My Friend" is a literally hair-raising piece of music.      

 

Paris Trip

Monday 3rd

Arrived at St Pancras just before midday. Very impressed with Eurostar facilities - quite a few shops, and a nice area to sit down outside. Weather very sunny - sat for nearly an hour reading an article about Dylan's "Desire" album in Mojo. Glad to see that this album is getting the acclaim it deserves; at the time it suffered from being the follow-up to "Blood On The Tracks" but now its originality is being recognised. Also read about Bill Fay, who sounds interesting (I went on to buy his new CD in Paris).

Caught the train and left at 14:00. Seat was ok, although the Frenchman next to me annoyed me by pulling the blind down without asking, meaning I couldn't look out of the window. (It's taking me ages to write this as the keyboard is different - in particular "q" is where "a" should be). Got to Paris at 17:30 - first priority was to buy some French fags, which are lovely. Then I walked to the hotel.

Had a hassle with the safe - thought I'd set the code ok but once I'd closed it I couldn't open it again. Had to wait for man to come back from dinner to fix it, which was annoying; however I had a delicious Steak'n'Chips at a cafe over the road. A French kid tried to cadge a cig off me - the Proprietor intervened as it's illegal to give cigs to a minor. Came back, had my safe fixed, although the man kept trying to leave before he had properly fixed it and was impatient when I insisted on him testing it properly. Then read H.P. Lovecraft and went to sleep.

Tuesday 4th

A blazing hot day. Walked to Rue De Les Pyramides to collect my Travel Pass from the Tourist Centre. Got lost for a while as the map I was using didn't reflect reality that well. Long queue when I arrived, but got the ticket and went down to the Seine and along to L'Isle De La Citee. Very interesting square here - then walked along to Notre Dame and went round the cathedral. Needed a slash and had to queue up to use the urinals, a hassle which only women usually have in England. Then went up to Les Halles, found an FNAC, and bought some CDs including the new one by the afore-mentioned Bill Fay. Also found the first Captain Sensible album, which has "Croydon" on it.

Had lunch back at Jardin Tuilleries (where a kid tried to con me into giving a donation to "orphaned children") and headed along towards the Arc. Found a Virgin Megastore and another FNAC on Champs Elysees and bought Steve Miller's "Wide River" at the latter. Then sat for a while and read, before getting the Metro back to Gare d l'est, which is near my hotel. More beer and steak, then back to my room for Tiger Woods on my PSP and H.P.Lovecraft. Was just going off to sleep when I was disturbed by some familiar rhythmic bed-squeaking from either next door or above. Pissed me off - I can have a good time on my own when not reminded of the world of coupledom now denied to me. It didn't last very long, so I wasn't very impressed.

Wednesday 5th  

Took the Metro to near the Eiffel tower - needed to change twice, and it was extremely crowded. Walked through the Field Of Mars and went up to the first level of the tower. Amazing views looking North over the Seine, especially of all the formationed sprinklers. Then took the train to St Germain and walked down the main Boulevard before catching the train to Montmartre.

Once there I had another battle with the map before finding my way up loads of steps to the Sacre Coeur. It was a very steep climb, and after the Eiffel Tower and the long winding staircase out of the Metro I'd had enough by the time I reached the top. But the views were spectacular although the day was misty. Went into the cathedral after lunch, and it had a huge plate-glass of Jesus in the dome and a massive hammer-horror organ high above the entrance. I sat there quite a while and felt a sense of calm contemplation. It was a good preparation for the remarkable experience which happened next....

Walked back down to the metro and then took the journey to Pere Lachaisse, where lies the grave of Jim Morrison. After a little trouble I found the grave. It is quite small and unostentatious, and there is a wall by it with loads of graffiti on it. I feel that the setting is ideal for Jim, who had no taste for piety and material trappings. Unlike other sixties stars he didn't own a mansion or flash car; he genuinely lived the bohemian life, although sadly he was overtaken by alcoholism. He was a written poet as well as lyricist, and it was his amazing feel for words which first got me interested in literature at the age of 15. So he has had a major impact on my life, to the extent that I went on to write stuff myself. That was the great power of sixties rock - to bring aspects of "high" culture to working-class oiks like me.  

(Writer's note - the above was written in an Internet Cafe in Paris on September 5th, on the way back from visiting Jim Morrison's grave. It was written with difficulty due to the keyboard layout being different. I then did some further work in the hotel just before catching the Eurostar back, but the session timed me out without any warning, so I lost all my work. So the rest of this is being written back in England on Friday 7th).

I sat for a while and then walked back into the centre of Paris while listening to The Doors "Strange Days" on my MP3. It is my favourite Doors album; a set of short, controlled songs such as "Strange Days" and "People Are Strange" (a masterpiece - "women seem wicked when you're unwanted"), before the explosive release of the epic "When The Music's Over". One of the key events of my life was first hearing The Doors at the age of 15 - the magic of Morrison's words introduced me to the world of literature and so has made a substantial contribution to my life. The band are so controlled and distinctive, and never cut a duff track over seven albums. Their output is just-about perfect.

I stopped en route to write the stuff above, then went back to the hotel. On the way I crossed a river which ran from North to South and took some photos from the bridge.

Thursday 6th

After packing up and checking out I walked down to Les Halles and did some more shopping in FNAC. I then walked east to the Bastille, and really enjoyed seeing this part of the city. There was a very spectacular park and lots of distinctive architecture, with the grand and the funky side-by-side. Had a MacDonalds at Bastille (was finding the Frenach bread a bit heavy) and then walked up to Place De La Republique and then back to the hotel.  
       
The ride home was very pleasant - I was sitting with a Canadian couple who were touring Europe, and we discussed Canadian culture and music, plus compared notes on our US experiences. Then upon arrival I had to battle my way across the Underground to Victoria; I was struck by the contrast between the rude, stressed, and harrassed Londoners and the more relaxed and civilised environment in Paris. In Paris you don't feel like a pariah for smoking; there isn't that horrible obsession with "prolonging life at all costs" which has taken over in England.

Got back to the flat and a brief domestic hassle with the lock on my door ensued - a nice way to come back !

Summary

From my extensive travels in the USA and now my time in Paris I can see how much England has gone astray compared to other countries. People abroad are much more friendly and open. Parisians have a reputation for being rude, but I found that if you make an effort to speak French to them and apologise for having forgotten most of it then they're fine. I don't blame them for being annoyed that everyone from England expects them to speak English. I love the cultured and relaxed atmosphere in Paris and all the distinctive areas of the City. The Metro and RER were very easy to use (however it is vital to work out where you're going beforehand). I walked all over the place, and really relished my Litre glass of Amstel in the evening. The only drawback is that it is very expensive. Overall a fantastic time and it was great being able to fit in everything I wanted to see.