Plan for this week

I fully intend to follow this timetable this week:

However, I feel I may inadvertently have peaked too soon.

Yesterday evening, I washed my daughter’s long hair, just ahead of her bedtime. However, upon reaching for the hairdryer, I suddenly realised that it had taken my wife on a trip to Russia and was currently residing on a dressing table somewhere in the Belmond Grand Hotel Europe in Saint Petersburg, some 10,500km away.

Oops.

With the next door neighbour not answering their phone and the anguish at potentially having to sleep with wet locks growing, I had to improvise quickly, and that’s how we found ourselves sitting in my car in the garage, with the heaters on full blast and “hI” temperature.

Best dad ever.

Not quite as efficient as a genuine hairdryer, but every bit as effective, and with only mild carbon monoxide poisoning to boot. And anyway, my daughter looks cute with rosy cheeks.

Given that start to the week, I can’t even begin to imagine what Friday has in store for me.

Watch out, world!

Image: off the leash

Magnificent (she says)

Actually, Magnificent (I say). The first track from Elbow’s forthcoming new album has Guy Garvey’s soothing, uncomplicated voice running over a backdrop of dramatic strings and comes packaged with a suitably triumphant video:

It’s my new favourite tune, with thought provoking lyrics reminding us the powerful innocence and promise of childhood:

And there she stands
Throwing both her arms around the world
The world that doesn’t even know
How much it needs this little girl

It’s all gonna be magnificent, she says
It’s all gonna be magnificent…

and brings with it huge anticipation for the new album Little Frictions, due for release in early February.

Gorgeous.