cafe by Simon Aulman

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minimal techno - it's not really designed to be heard, certainly not downloaded - but to lose yourself in the making of this stuff - that's what it's all for. It is quite good though. But it will always be here, so what's the point ?
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Day before yesterday we had lunch at the Grand Cafe - "famously" the hotel where many of the rich spent their final night on land before embarking on the Titanic. We were the only ones there. That's not the only time we've dined there in solitary splendour. That's sad - the staff are lovely, they do the best and the biggest Sunday roast in town - it would be very sad if this place ever has to close down. But it is heartening that it seems to have survived lockdowns/pandemic okay.

For me, one of the things that has choked me up the most during the last 18 months is how people have survived thru this time - I won't go into details but people have amazed me at how much they are "survivors". The pandemic has been easy for me - I'm a lazy slobby loser who is very happy just lying on his sofa reading books for days and days forever.

But I know of friends and ex-girlfriends and others who have had a really tough time and have come through brilliantly, putting me to shame as I found lockdowns fairly okay - they weren't a big change from my normal life. My "politics" over the last year+ have changed all over the place - Labour no longer speak for me, I will always loathe the Tories, I hate the Liberals (or whatever they call themselves this week) almost as much - there is no one.

A while ago I was down Portswood Road and looked over and saw a bloke crawling along the pavement on his hands and knees. No one did anything to help him. Including me. How did we come to this ? - I remember how as a child I used to read about how people in New York would be begging on the street and we in the UK were shocked at it - and it has now become part of everyday life in the UK - if I stopped and tried to help every beggar on my walk between here and e.g. the Grand Cafe it would take me days to get anywhere.

So, like everyone I keep myself to myself. I've almost given up voting. However I did vote Labour in the recent-ish local election. It didn't work. The new Tory Council here in town is going to open up Bedford Place to traffic again - the recent pedestrianisation was so great. But no more. From today or tomorrow or somewhen the road will be open again and the 20mph speed limit will be laughingly ignored by the usual 50mph boy-racers. As Johnny Rotten said, anger is an energy, and it's time some of it was on our side.
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(recorded today, photo Southampton last Sunday)
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