Flood Gates

Da da da da da da!

That incoherent seletion of letters' if repeated with my intended phrasing and timing is intended to represent a fanfare as I have reached my 365th blog.

The purists amongst you will of course say "so what" and because 2012 is a leap year I can understand the argument. That does not mean that I have to accept it though.

I stick by the 365 almost consecutive days of blogging as a notable acheivement given that I did not until 366 days ago know what keeping a blog entailed or even how to register myself in the bloggersphere. The strange thing is that I started on the 20th August last year so I must have written a few blogs in my sleep or even more than one produced in any one day.

My first effort was a bit of an old man rant against some anonymous call centre operative who dared to ring me during an episode of The Simpsons one week day tea time. Ironically this short and rather weak and pretentious blog has been a consistent performer and remains firmly in the top ten of pageviews. Perhaps this in retrospect was an indication that I should have remained angry and indignant at lifes injustices and cruelties.

Oh no, I had to start getting all creative and nostalgic or attempting to arouse emotions amongst my family from recollections of people, events and objects from days gone by. The contents of the majority of blogs have been, to me, the much cheaper and less intimidating equivalent of the psychiatrists couch. I have certainly raked over some muddy moments, upset a few of my siblings and laid claim to acheivements for which I have no certificates or citations. Nostalgia has in fact been what it always has been. I paraphrase and bastardise the saying of Indiana Jones to Short Round in Temple of Doom , "Comfort and Joy, Comfort and Joy".

I have also found considerable pleasure in discovering new things about my home town and its illustrious history. People have also provided me with many great stories and I am happy to have put these in some form of archive and record. For those intent on hacking in or planting a virus in my well worn laptop be aware that I do keep paper copies and they will remain safe, secure and secreted away in a shoe box under the lower left hand side of my bed.

Edith, my recent, brief centurian acquaintance has found many fans after I recounted an equally brief snapshot of her life story. Dennis the house builder got to see what I had written about his life story only just yesterday but of some concern to me is that he has not been in contact yet, directly or through his lawyer.

I have picked up the loose strands of a story or a matter of interest from the news, mainly late night and obscure daytime radio, and with a bit of wider reading and verification of Wilkipedia facts these have found their way into what some have found as an interesting subject.

There has been no hidden agenda of targeting individuals who have upset me in my lifetime to date nor have I had aspirations to kindle a revolution in society or in lifestyles. Blogs have been a spark to uprisings and civil unrest for the good of the masses but if I can get a giggle or a chortle out of those stumbling across my incoherent ravings I am more than happy.

In true awards ceremony style I have many people to thank. Significantly, my darling wife and children for their initial encouragement and more recently their quiet and passive acceptance that it blogging is something I do, even supplanting cycling in my rest and recreation times. I  have a loyal core of 10 followers although if I do not double count family then I have 2 and my thanks go out to you even if you have long since given up reading.

Whatever constitutes a pageview statistic, be it a drunken lurch at the keyboard, accidentally coming across my blog whilst looking for porn or religious salvation or in the subsequent disappointment at not being able to get a late night fast food delivery after pressing all the keys, nevertheless I have had my ego very well massaged and oiled.

I do however have concerns that over 8000 persons so far worldwide have been duped. The name of my blog was taken from an album track by Black Country Communion and a very, very high proportion of the hits will have been from the fan base seeking wisdom from Bonamassa, Hughes, Bonham and that keyboard guy, Shrivelling or something like that (respect).

I would however dedicate the last 365 days to my Mother. A main motivation has been, through my own words, to record and save for posterity her nurturing and enabling spirit and attempt to convey at least a fraction of the creativity and humanity that she has engendered in me and indeed in everyone who knows and loves her.