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song of the week 08: if you could read my mind

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“If You Could Read My Mind” by Johnny Cash

American V was recorded by Cash shortly before his death in 2003 and posthumously released in 2006. Similar to the four other albums in the series, it features many cover versions of old songs. American V was the first Cash album to reach No1 in 37 years.

American V features the very last song written by Johnny Cash (“Like the 309“) but it is this song that is the stand out track on the album for me. Cash’s voice is raw and full of age, you can hear and feel his many years and his impending death. It is simultaneously heart-breaking and uplifting.

“If You Could Read My Mind” was first recorded by Gordon Lightfoot and had its first release in 1970.

Lyrics

If you could read my mind love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old time movie
‘Bout a ghost from a wishing well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains around my feet
You know that ghost is me
And I will never be set free
As long as I’m a ghost that you can’t see

If I could read your mind love
What a tale your thoughts could tell
Just like a paperback novel
The kind the drugstore sells
When you reach the part
Where the heartaches come
The hero would be me
Heroes often fail
And you won’t read that book again
Because the ending’s just too hard to take

I walk away like a movie star
Who gets burned in a three way script
Enter number two
A movie queen to play the scene
Of bringing all the good things out in me
But for now love, let’s be real

I never thought I could act this way
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it
I don’t know where we went wrong
But the feeling’s gone and I just can’t get it back

If you could read my mind, love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old-time movie
‘Bout a ghost from a wishing well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
The stories always end
And if you read between the lines
You’ll know that I’m just trying to understand
The feeling that you left

I never thought I could feel this way
And I’ve got to say that I just don’t get it
I don’t know where we went wrong
But the feeling’s gone
And I just can’t get it back

Header image from 8Tracks.com

big walk day

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For some reason I’ve recently had a real hunger for hiking and walking rather than cycling. I’ve signed up for a fundraising 310,000 Steps in March Challenge (more info below) to give me something to work towards and to keep my motivated through the month. My hope is that consistent walking will build strength in my legs that will give me a head start when I rediscover the urge to get back on the bike.

After a terrible couple of weeks of storms and heavy rain we have had a wonderful week of calm, bright weather. Watching the forecast all week it was clear that today was to be one of the best.

Through the week my half marathon walk from last year had been tickling away at the back of my mind and I had a plan for an early start and a long walk which somehow became known in the house as “the big walk” – I may have been talking about it a bit too much!

I woke shortly after 5am and had an unsettled couple of hours which delayed my early start until 10am. Probably a good thing as we had a hard frost overnight but the sun was well up by 10. Throughout the day it was chilly but beautifully sunny and calm. Out of the sun though it was cold with ice still in the puddles at 3pm in the shaded spots that hadn’t seen sun all day.

My previous big walk was slightly over 21km but I had an urge to top that. At the 19km mark I veered off my previous route into the forest, overlapping my route from last Sunday. Close to home I realised that I was going to finish at about 24.5km so I overlapped part of my earlier route from the morning before doing a U-Turn and heading home. I finished with 25.15km, tired and sore legs but feeling great. My longest walk ever was 30.5km and I hope to be able to beat that by the end of March 💪

310,000 Steps in March

This is a fundraising challenge for Irish Community Air Ambulance. The challenge is to walk an average of 10,000 steps per day for a total of 310,000 for the month while raising money.

No pressure but if you want to support this fantastic charity please follow the link below. Big thanks to those that read this blog and have already donated, it really is very much appreciated.

facebook fundraiser link

Header image by Pixabay from Pexels

song of the week 07: somewhere over the rainbow

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“Somewhere Over The Rainbow” by
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole

  • Genre: Hawaii/Reggae/World
  • Single Release Date: January 2004
  • Album: “Facing Future”

This is a cover version of the original song that was written in 1939 for The Wizard of Oz and performed by Judy Garland. Mixed with the reggae rhythm of the ukulele and the amazing voice of Israel that contrasts with his size I find this version completely captivating.

It was initially recorded on the album in 1989 and featured on a number of soundtracks before being released as a single long after Israel’s premature death in 1997 aged 38.

Lyrics

Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby, oh

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dream of
Dreams really do come true-ooh-ooh
Someday I’ll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops that’s where
You’ll find me, oh

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dream that you dare to
Oh why, oh why can’t I? I

Someday I’ll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top that’s where you’ll find me
Oh, somewhere over the rainbow way up high
And the dream that you dare to
Why, oh why can’t I? I

Ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ah-ah-eh-ah
Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

Header image from 8Tracks.com

we really know nothing…

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There is a curse.
They say:
May you live in interesting times.

Terry Pratchett, Interesting Times

It’s hard not to feel that history is repeating itself and that it’s decided that the worst of the 20th Century is what is worth repeating. Up first we had a global pandemic that was eerily similar to The Spanish Flu of 1918 and now we have a military invasion of an Eastern European country by a neighbouring dictator that sounds horribly similar to the start of WW2.

Newsfeeds and news channels are full of blame and the rhetoric of politicians far removed from the terror and death that’s facing the people of Ukraine. World leaders doing what they want and playing power games while ordinary people suffer and die.

Facebook is full of profile photos displaying Ukrainian flags, sunflowers and #istandwithukraine. I get it, people are concerned and want to show their displeasure and support but what good does it really do? It doesn’t really help anyone in Ukraine and it only makes us feel a little better.

This time 100 years ago Irish men and women were fighting and dying in an attempt to have freedom and independence from an unwanted occupier and today that’s happening in Ukraine. From our modern, comfortable lives what can we know of anything that these people are going through?

© bbc

Today turned out to be yet another stormy and overcast day in February. I had a notion to go into the hills but couldn’t face the thought of being blown off a summit so instead I went for a long walk on local roads and trails and had lunch in the forest. It was the perfect antidote for all the potential stress of the rest of life.

the humble ham sandwich and cup of tea

the sun made a short appearance while sitting enjoying the peace of the forest

my constant companion

moody skies

man down!

Header image by Pixabay from Pexels

song of the week 06: paradise city

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“Paradise City” by Guns ‘n’ Roses

It’s almost impossible for me to write about “Welcome to the Jungle” and not think about this track. It’s the 3rd single for Guns ‘n’ Roses and came hot on the heels of “Sweet Child o’ Mine“. I absolutely love the guitar and drum solos, especially the section between the first and second verses. The sheer power and energy as the track switches into the second verse is vividly seen in the live section of the video below.

Without a doubt this is one of my favourite songs of all time. Whenever I hear it after a long break it’s great to turn it up to full volume and blast it out. I was lucky to be among the 80,000 to watch Guns ‘n’ Roses live in Slane 1992 and this track was the encore. That followed by Queen’s “The Show Must Go On” as we walked up the hill away from the river and stage is one of my favourite memories…

Lyrics

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home (oh, won’t you please take me home)
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home (oh, won’t you please take me home)

Just a urchin livin’ under the street
I’m a hard case that’s tough to beat
I’m your charity case so buy me something to eat
I’ll pay you at another time
Take it to the end of the line

Rags to riches or so they say
Ya gotta keep pushin’ for the fortune and fame
You know it’s all a gamble when it’s just a game
Ya treat it like a capital crime
Everybody’s doin’ the time

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won’t you please take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home

Strapped in the chair of the city’s gas chamber
Why I’m here I can’t quite remember
The surgeon general says it’s hazardous to breathe
I’d have another cigarette but I can’t see
Tell me who you’re gonna believe

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won’t you please take me home, yeah yeah

So far away
So far away
So far away
So far away

Captain America’s been torn apart
Now he’s a court jester with a broken heart
He said “turn me around and take me back to the start”
I must be losing my mind “are you blind?”
I’ve seen it all a million times

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won’t you please take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won’t you please take me home

I wanna go, I wanna go
Oh, won’t you please take me home
I wanna see how good it can be
Oh, won’t you please take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won’t you please take me home
Take me down, lead me ’round
Oh, won’t you please take me home

I wanna see, what a woman can be
I want to take you home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won’t you please take me home
I wanna go, I wanna know
Oh, won’t you please take me home, yeah baby

Header image from 8Tracks.com

section hiking

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I’ve read and listened to a lot of stories about long distance hikes over the last year or so. From Bill Bryson’s adventure on the Appalachian Trail (AT) to Cheryl Strayed on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and recently Reg Spittle’s second book about trekking in the UK and Europe. I’ve just started yet another PCT themed audiobook, by Barney Scout Mann, entitled Journeys North.

In the opening chapters Mann mentions how some hikers walk long distance trails in sections rather than thru-hiking the entire trail in one go. This has been mentioned in every story so far but yesterday it seemed to have found more fertile soil in my brain and I started considering my own options for section hiking.

© toughsoles.ie

Close to home I have a number of waymarked walks. Of Ireland’s 42 National Waymarked Trails there are 5 in Donegal. Of these the only one I’ve walked is The Bluestack Way. I walked the Glenties – Lough Eske section of this almost 10 years ago as a charity walk for the Bluestack Foundation, approx 30km in 9 hours was, and still is, my longest day’s walking.

Three long distance walks also pass near my home. The Irish leg of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) approx 450km from the Slieve League cliffs in Donegal to Larne in Co. Antrim, The Ulster Way, a looped trail just over 1,000km that circles Northern Ireland and The Ireland Way that is also 1,000km from Castletownbere in West Cork to The Giant’s Causeway in Co. Antrim.

the international appalachian trail – ireland

the ulster way

the ireland way

All three routes meet and overlap at the border between Donegal and Tyrone and follow the same route until The Giant’s Causeway where The Ireland Way stops. The IAT carries on with the Ulster Way until Larne where it stops before skipping across The Irish Sea to Scotland.

Many years ago I read one of the few books on The Ulster Way by Alan Parker and first published in 1989. Alan was the first ever person to walk the entire Ulster Way in 1979. It’s a really interesting read for more than just the walk itself. Alan was a real old school hiker and used B&B accommodation all the way. It’s a fascinating glimpse of a different pace of life in Northern Ireland at the end of the 70s and surprisingly unaffected by The Troubles.

I was familiar with the Ulster Way having seen the signs on many occasions throughout Northern Ireland and reading this book gave me my first real desire to do a long distance walk. However, 30 days is difficult to fit into any life when work and family also need attention so unfortunately it never happened.

The idea though has never left me so it’s unsurprising that it was The Ulster Way that I turned to today to investigate the possibility of section hiking. WalkNI have a very detailed section on their website that details a variety of different 1, 2 & 3 day and 1 week suggestions and there are 2 that really appeal.

Belcoo – Belleek: a 47km section including the optional Lough Navar loop. This is an area I’m very familiar with and Lough Navar has an amazing viewpoint looking out over Lough Erne. Possible as a day hike but more enjoyable over 2 days.

Lough Bradan – Gortin: 60km and recommended as a 2 day walk. Being close to home this is a very familiar area and although I’ve walked or cycled some of it, most of the route would be new to me.

In the middle of a very wet, cold and stormy February it’s nice to look at these routes and dream of long days walking and camping in warm sunshine (ideally!).

the lincoln highway

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The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

From Goodreads:

In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the work farm where he has just served a year for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett’s intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother and head west where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden’s car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett’s future.

Spanning just ten days and told from multiple points of view, Towles’s third novel will satisfy fans of his multi-layered literary styling while providing them an array of new and richly imagined settings, characters, and themes.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this book! It’s completely different from anything I normally read and written in a very formal, old fashioned manner of speech. Once I got used to that (pretty quickly to be honest) it added to the read.

The four main boys plus Sally are brilliant characters, each one so different yet work so well together. The array of supporting characters are also well rounded and easy to keep in your head. I hate when too many characters lead to confusion but not in this case.

Great story, great characters, great book.

Shout out to Rootchopper for bringing it to my attention.

song of the week 05: welcome to the jungle

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“Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns ‘n’ Roses

This was the first song written by the band as a collective, their second released single and featured on their debut album. It was named the greatest hard rock song of all time in 2009 by VHI and has received many high accolades since its release. To me it is Guns ‘n’ Roses at their purest.

As a hard rock song of the 80s though it hasn’t aged well. The original album cover art featured a robot attempting to rape a woman and the lyrics are highly suggestive of the same.

The video contains footage of violent riots mixed in with a live performance of the song. Some of this footage is taken from riots and disturbances in Northern Ireland including some from Bloody Sunday in Derry, 1972.

Lyrics

Oh my god

Jump

Welcome to the jungle, we’ve got fun and games
We got everything you want honey, we know the names
We are the people that can find whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey, we got your disease

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your sha-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n knees, knees
Mwah, I, I wanna watch you bleed

Welcome to the jungle, we take it day by day
If you want it you’re gonna bleed but it’s the price to pay
And you’re a very sexy girl who’s very hard to please
You can taste the bright lights but you won’t get there for free
In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my, my serpentine
Ooh, ah, I want to hear you scream

Welcome to the jungle, it gets worse here every day
You learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play
If you got hunger for what you see you’ll take it eventually
You can have anything you want but you better not take it from me

In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your sha-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n knees, knees
Mwah, I’m gonna watch you bleed

And when you’re high, you never ever wanna come down
So down, so down, so down, yeah

You know where you are?
You’re in the jungle, baby, you’re gonna die
In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your sha-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-knees, knees
In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my my, serpentine
Jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your sha-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-knees, knees
Down In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to you
It’s gonna bring you down, huh

Header image from 8Tracks.com

in the bag

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I’ve had a small day bag for a good few years now that accompanies me on most hikes. I bought it in Lidl of all places for not much money. I usually only need a small amount of stuff and it’s comfortable, reasonably well spec’d and simply does the job. It’s pretty worn now though and for the last few months I’ve been trying to find a replacement.

So far I’ve ordered three different bags that I’ve returned for various reasons. Mostly the fit and/or quality wasn’t what I expected. Today though I think the search is finally over!

A fellow Irishman has a YouTube channel called “Rambling On”. The video below is his review of a Decathlon 40L bag that looks fantastic. However, I was looking for 20/25L max. In the last couple of weeks I spotted a 20L version on the Decathlon website, delivered today and it’s pretty much perfect 👌

Header image from Primal Survivor