4B. The Muse

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No overall story (2024)

There is no overall story

Some of these words are about me

All of them come from within me

None of them will be explained.

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Some chambers are locked

And the keys are lost.

A few of those I regret

Most I do not.

(Relationship Archivist, 2023)

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"When you press your lips against mine

You breathe life into me"

Cinnamon Girl, 2023.

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Yesterday is done.

Today I will start anew

Towards tomorrow.

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Is there anybody out there?

There are signs of life within

Stirring (coffee spoons)

never go back, can't go forwards. 

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Why archivists are scrambling to back up the internet

Even though social media and other web content are so easily accessible, the internet is actually very fragile. To ensure we have a full record of 21st-century life, archivists are developing ways to

The internet is fragile...what can be done to preserve it (and what is worth preserving?)

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A nugget in the dirt

When did I last post on Tumblr? By a simple process of deduction, it’s been 14 months since I was last here. Unsurprisingly, I had to reset my password. Much has happened in the past 14 months, in the world, if not in my life. However plenty of more eloquent witty people have written about that, so I wont bore you. So why I am back? The truth is I was never away, I was just waiting, quietly, for some inspiration to visit me, This week she did….and from an unlikely source. 

If you have kids you’ll probably have had to endure them enthusiastically sharing with you music, films, TV programmes as well as bafflingly popular internet sensations, whose only ability is being able to make money out of their limited capabilities. My own daughter has attempted, in recent weeks, to engage me with amongst other things Biffy Clyro’s latest album (passed me by, nothing much happened), Stranger Things “’its like the X files dad” - no it isn’t not remotely like it, and “The Get Down” which appears to feature random singing and dancing, my worst entertainment nightmare. At least all the clips I have been shown contain singing and dancing, so I’ve extrapolated that they have nothing to do with the plot. 

She has also been mentioning a woman called Kate Tempest for weeks, and this week tried the approach of saying “Dad, she is a cross between Kraftwerk , I mean the beats and The Streets”. This sparked my interest, so I downloaded her ‘Let Them Eat Chaos’ album and prepared to be underwhelmed. Nothing could be further from the truth, I was blown away. She is a young woman talking and singing songs (poems) about modern mostly disaffected people living along in London. Can I relate to the subject matter? Not at all, Is it gripping? Yes it is. The spareness of the accompanying sounds, her somewhat world weary delivery, the detailed observations of the minutiae of life - it all works so very well. I am now a fan. 

I know this isn’t cool for Kate Tempest and it doesn’t make me cool (nothing ever will) but I’m not ashamed of who I like and listen too - you should never be either.  My daughter was impressed I liked it so much, but rolled her eyes when I said I’d have to buy it - I’m old school and like to be able to hold my music.

So if you despair of the drivel that your kids force you to endure, keep the faith. Amongst all the dirt and rubbish, there are nuggets to be found. 

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One man’s tribute to his old, lost friend

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There is something horrific going on in the kitchen cupboard. Four jars of marmite? Where the hell did four jars of that godforsaken stuff come from? Please can those family members who like the revolting spread please get on and eat it so this blight can be removed.

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Some ancient history that is still relevant today, as much ancient history is. Posted for a friend who will never see this.

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Warning, may require conversion from cups into measurements that you can understand, depending where you are from

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What do archivists do all day?

You may have seen archivists on television helping people to discover their roots in old records or talking to historians (or detectives!). But you might be wondering what archivists do the rest of...

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Hario betrayal

Having come away on holiday, I am currently drinking a coffee made in a cafetiere. Yes, I've left my Hario coffee dripper at home. I am a bit concerned that I may have broken an unwritten rule°° that once you have a Hario dripper, it must accompany you everywhere. Why didn't I bring it? - space? The car was pretty full but I could have squeezed it in; - fear of breaking it? It seems pretty robust, it's survived being in the kitchen a few weeks, and many pieces of crockery don't; - wanting to travel back in time? I've already doing that, being in mid-Wales (that is not a bad thing, it is one of the reasons to come here, along with the wonderful countryside, the locals and Bara Brith). The coffee I'm drinking, whilst tasty, does not have the dripper smoothness I've grown to love. No I can't rationalise this decision, but am gripped with uncertainly that I may be stripped of my ability to buy new filters in the future by this naive oversight. I won't know until next time I try.....fingers crossed that this confession will put me back in the black with the coffee gods. °°of course, I'm hoping there isn't a written rule about this, or I'm really toast.

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If you can pronounce the second one, you are cleverer than me….