I  have been slightly more calm  at home for a few weeks now, and then the penny dropped! No-one in the area is having their loft converted, their roof done, an extension built on their house, their patio removed, constructing metal furniture with a circular saw (which often happens hourly all weekend). It is short of a miracle. Right at this moment, on this warm May morning, all I can feel is the very far rumble of the main road and all I can hear are distant aeroplanes, a  proper howling dog and  bird song. For about the last three years, a day has not gone by when I would open my windows to the sound of drilling, banging, bashing, friendly Polish and Armenian banter, as each neighbour  seemed to take turns having some major construction done to their house. There are a lot of neighbours as the square of victorian houses at the back consists of about 60, each of them 3 or  4 stories  high ( not many loft conversions left!). They form a square echo chamber, so if anyone is in their garden guffawing, hooting, banging and drilling, we all hear it!

I will enjoy it while it lasts……deep contented sigh.

SONG OF THE DAY

I have a secret love of this track…Maria Carey -We Belong Together -It is sometimes hard to hear the amazing voice over all the  apparent desire to be seen as some sort of sex kitten, but this is one of my secret tracks on my ipod that gets listened to a lot when no one is watching. Maria Carey has a really great ‘falsetto’, if you listen she moves from a twangy sound to a whispery tone in the same line, and has many incredibly dexterous qualities to her voice. She has a remarkable instrument, by which I mean her voice, not her boobs, which slightly over shadow her dulcet tones if you happen to watch the video. My advice would be to look away and concentrate on the voice.