Life is begining to settle down after the “Great Move out so men in hard hats can demolish my garage and make me a new vast kitchen (with 2 new bedrooms and ensuite as a side effect)”. We took the wise move of getting the heck out of Castle Newport while this is going on. Dust, Damp, Noise and the shear heart break of seeing big rough men tear your hearth down does not sit well with this Newt. Oh no.  So here I sit down the hill from Castle Newport, in a lovely rented house that can only be described as part of Hobbiton crossed with Narnia. The proximity of countryside and verdant gardens and lots of trees make this place the enchanted suburb indeed.  On one hand its like living a parallel life, were we are comfortably suburban middle class living in a forest of Freeview Aerials, a short walk away from the bus stop to work. On the other hand I’m acutely aware , and miss the individuality and comfort of our own pad.  Its all very perfect, but blemishes spoil the experience and remind me this is only temporary and in a couple of months time it will be time to pack up and move in (hurrah!).

Mirrored from Newtworld.

Henry’s christening yesterday was probably the most intense day in intense days. Fun but hard work, since Henry was teething.

Still very much recovering, hence this is very much a ‘picture post’

The Newport clan: L-R  Me, Evie, Henry, Rachel.

Me and the kids playing in the garden.

Two cheeky Newtlets!

Mirrored from Newtworld.

In Short: For the Win!

Long review.  Its good to see the depth of storytelling and good standards of production that programmes like the Wire have pioneered have now being taken up for other series. On the surface this is just a 12 part gangster Epic detailing the fortunes of 1920s Atlanta gang boss Nucky Thompson (based on real life Enoch L. Johnson). While it has that its much more than that, the main protangoist having more depth and skeletons in his closet. There’s also a fully realised cast of supporting characters, Nucky’s Altana associates as well as gangsters of the day (such as a young Al Capone), who are never two dimensional.  Like the Wire its more of a 12 hour film in 12 parts, so you can’t jump in at any point, you have to put in the time investment to see the whole thing through. I must admit I nearly baled halfway through the Martin Scorcese directed first episode (he produces the whole series), but suddenly it gripped me and pulled me in. Its an amazing set up for the whole series, and many of the dilemas shown are only concluded in the masterful resolution in  episode 12.   Although Steve Buscemi , who plays Nucky, is a strong central actor and perfect for the part, there’s not a dud amoungst the ensemble of actors. Visually its a delight, lavish and atmospheric you feel that you are transported back to 1920s Atlanta, and the seaside Boardwalk of the title is iconic as any Manhattan skyline.

Oh and for all you Omar fans from the Wire, he’s back sort of, in the form of Chalky White a black bootlegger who allied to Nucky

Boing!

So April is here in full force and with soaring temperatures it feels like early spring has whizzed by. The physical aches and pains from my overweight, constantly full of cold, recovering from serious illness body are now subsiding and disappearing. My mood has considerably improved as a result

Gardening is in full flow here at Newt Towers, given a big boost by the rest of the family joining in. Rachel, who despite a phobia of insects which prevents her doing any weeding, is setting up lots of pots of herbs, flowers and vegetables which Evie helps with. Henry even got in on the act by helping me do some weeding this morning. I’m conducting my usual war against the weeds, but I’m greatly encouraged by the fact its not a solo activity anymore. We’ve had some fine weather over the last couple of weeks and I hope it continues. A bit bittersweet that this is the last year that we’ll enjoy the garden in its current incarnation, because…..

The architect got back with the plans for the house extension a couple of weeks ago which are now in for planing permission. This effectively means a doubling in size of the house and complete re: landscaping of the back and front gardens. While I won’t be sorry to see the block-paving at the front go, I’ll miss the jungle at the back. Its going to be a big leap forward for us. Operation ClearOut has already begun. All of Evie’s baby clothes and accessories (baths, bouncy chair etc) went to a couple the other day who are having a girl. To give you a sense of scale it filled the front of our garage to a depth of a metre! Next up is a clear out of my excess Roleplaying stuff, *gulp*!

Mirrored from Newtworld.

Sometimes life just forces you to stop and reassess.

So there I was charging through life, having revelation after revelation hit me when it all came to a stop.

Had a breif pause at the weekend when I got away from it all with some mates in a rented town house in Mattlock. Dubed D101 con we played lots of games, drunk alot of beer and generally had a blokes chill out weekend. It was grand, and on a personal level a much needed break from my beloved family.

Whisked back on Monday morning to find that in my absence the family had come down with the latest vomiting bug (eeww!). Both Rach and Henry had it over the weekend, and I dealt with the recovery of Rach who caught up on some much needed sleep.

But none of this put a cramp on my style, still I blitzed onwards and upwards.

Then on Wednesday (my non-workday) it hit me. Wave after wave of nausea, throughout the day. I was sensible and kept food intake down to a minimum and this seems to have paid off since there was none of the associated vomiting that Rach and Henry suffered. However by 8pm I was spent. I’ve never been so tired in all my life. So I checked into sofa land and watched the latest Boardwalk Empire and Treme (if you liked the Wire that was but a mere warm up for this televisual feast).

Today energy is nervously returning, but the sheer rock bottom – where I was drained on all levels – I have never experienced before.  So a quiet one today, and probably tomorrow where I’m going to do a bit of quiet introspection to see where I’m up to.

Mirrored from Newtworld.

Should be going to bed, but things going on inside my head prevent me from resting. Internal world shifting, things falling into place – after years of actively trying now just doing. Tonights bombshell was that I no longer worry about what people think about me, even my most malignant directed adversaries.

Mirrored from Newtworld.