recently on the turntable

bob dylan
1966 - live

neil young
on the beach

I think Matthew must be teething. He's been crying for the last 50 mins, big shuddering sobs and wails. I've had him in my arms for the last half hour, trying to calm him. Standing still didn't help, he seemed to need movement, so I've been pacing around in the dark in his room. Walking circles, rocking him back and forth. He was so tired, yawning, fighting sleep. Finally he stopped crying, and was calm, and I've just put him down in his cot. Just heard one last sleepy sigh over the baby monitor. Blissful silence now.

At home, on holiday, you lose your sense of rhythm. You do things in a different order. I go days without shaving. I wear beat-up old clothes and lie on the bed in the sun. We eat salads for dinner and watch cricket on tv. I drink more alcohol than normal and doze in the afternoons. I walk barefoot around the house and Debbie wears my shorts.

Another week off. It's a somnambulant time, this period between Christmas and New Year. A time of winding down, of unwinding. I always feel it's a time of sloth for me. Eating whatever I like, not exercising, actively not exercising, and just enjoying doing not very much.

I never make New Year's resolutions, but I always go into the New Year with a renewed sense of vigour, with a new sense of confidence and drive. It lasts about three days, but it's a good three days.

Not thinking much about 1999 right now. Just ........... unwinding. I like that word. Letting go of some stress. Not thinking about things.