The School holidays seem to go on forever, yet when i was at school they seemed to fly by, why is that? August was a good month where Louise and i managed to find some days together without the sprats, we eat and walked we slept and went to the shops some more. It was good for us both, no holidays this year for us, a stay at home while we nest. Its not been easy getting use to the isolation of barn living, we are in the middle of the downs, The National Park, no electricity, we are on a generator, no shops no wonder it feels strange. What did we expect! It looks wonderful and the views are amazing. So no need to worry, the Jack Dawes wake us up at 6 each morning as they flock like terrorists onto the roof, we have to go out and clap to chase them away. Broken sleep, broken sleep. I went over to Cavan to hang out with the band and hear about things from the inside, lots going on, words flying in all directions, the songs keep coming and Josh pulls some stunners out of the bag from a session in our Rocket London office. Squeeze have a festival in Glasgow, the long train journey wipes me out but i enjoyed the show, i was not on stage in my mind but my heart was all there. The wheels on the bus go round and round. As circles go and gather, i went for a lunch with old friend Matt Irvin who has been very ill, he looked better than the last time i saw him, we talked about time and where it stood in our minds, and we talked about health. I had a good meeting with Boo about some songs we have written, Chris Difford The Musical, i love what im hearing and i hope this year we can complete more of the songs, now only in demo form. Our songs are knitted together with colourful twine, humorist and melodic. Happy days, its been brewing now for four years. On a day off i went to see my brother Lew in Overton. He walked me up to Three Corner Field where he has planted hundreds of trees, many of them still saplings. He proudly introduced me to each and every one of them as we walked around in the summer heat. Some are marked out in the letter L in memory of my brother Les who passed away. Lew has had a new hip but i couldn’t tell as he bounded, albeit a little one sided, around the field. What with my back and his hip we made a rare pair of leaning Difford’s. Overton is where i first wrote a poem sitting by the River Test one summers day in the early 70’s. It is a beautiful memory sealed in years of life, pressed like a flower between its pages. It was lovely see Lew, and im hounered to see his field of trees. My tour dates with Glenn have told me i need a smaller neck on my guitar as my broken bone is feeling the pain some days, so the hunt goes on for a guitar with a small neck. Jim Olson to the rescue? And then i meet up with Dale Newton who once worked at A&M records, he wants me to help him with his Prostate Cancer Charity writers week, and i will, its good to see him again. And then there is Barny, another old mate, the one who got me sober who broke the bone in my playing hand in a playful tumble many Moons ago, i love him and im pleased to see him in my life once again. Marco turns up on tele in the Addicts Orchestra, i was so moved to see it and cried as all these lovely people played on stage through their fears and through their nerves. Marco who once ran a treatment centre and has a past thicker than mine. Circles. The Strypes were back in America, and looking good for it, its home for them, just like it was for Squeeze. Im busy waiting for more songs, and pushing the record company for them, its tough this album, it will be hard work and emotional hard work too. August is not as handsome as i thought it might be the weather has been vacant at times, the crops have come in and the fields have turned a deep yellow. The light is fading, its now dark at 8.20pm, last month it was more like 10pm, the summer is over for now even though i don’t want to let go of the Fred Perry time, it will soon be back to the white shirt wardrobe. My uniform is complete, im simple in many ways but none more so than by dress. I like to know my socks inside out and the cut of my jeans, im boring but thats the way it is for at least. If i was not so stocky perhaps i would swank around in more effeminate attire. Who knows. The last show of the month is with Squeeze at the very cute Weyfest in Surrey. We played well and Glenn celebrated his birthday with us all on stage. It was casual show. It was a busy weekend to see the month out, the night before i was in Leeds watching The Strypes playing to a somewhat younger crowd, no mosh pit for Squeeze. Hours in the car again. Home on wheels. Out in the fields by the barn the farmer is spreading muck on the land, the smell is sweet and heavy in the air, i must say i like it. Breakfast in the morning with Louise is bliss, with the window and doors open the smell really challenges the nostrils. Bliss prevails. It has to be done. I feel this entry is all over the place, just like me. How did we get here?