Sabine in Gozo

Kate’s Cats

Through our local SPCA‘s newsletter I learnt that someone was in need of photographs of her cats, which  I took for a sign to do something about regaining my mobility. So I offered my services for free, in exchange for having my name as the photographer publicised. Here’s a handful of the results of our one-hour photo session:

I’m half-way through my third week of sick leave, and nothing much has changed. Which hits me even harder as last week I had a couple of days when I actually believed the worst was over and done with – and then suddenly found myself back at square one. I’ve never cared for roller-coasters, but this kind is the worst!

Optimism

Stock-take after one week’s sick leave: my legs appear to be practically trouble-free, as do my arms. Now if the back could decide to stop aching, and my voice came back to normal, I’d be a happy camper! Unbelievably, a nasty little cold has added itself to my trials; I hope it’ll be over soon, especially as every sneeze sends shock-waves through every muscle in my back. But on the whole? I think I am getting better!

Since my first brave walk last Friday I went twice more, and I can clearly say it does feel a little better each time, though anything ever so slightly uphill is a killer. Also, at the peril that people will hate me for this: walking through Gharb is rather uninspiring.  Sure, there are still a few enchanting corners, where the view on the surrounding country-side hasn’t been shut off with walls yet. But all in all the village isn’t as pretty as one might expect.

Yesterday I took my nifty 50mm out with me, seeing that dusk was near, but there were very few inspiring views… or maybe I just wasn’t in the mood to see them?

Arid land & San Dimitri Chapel

Shut

Nobody home?

Architecture in Gharb

Religious devotion

Shaded alley in Gharb

At the end... light!

“Optimism. The doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful,
including what is ugly.”
Ambrose Bierce

Supertramp versus Roger Hodgson

A very sad and disturbing (and possibly even the last) chapter in the history of a great group called Supertramp, is currently stirring up lots of emotions among fans. Many would love to see Supertramp come together one more time in their original line-up, because they experienced the great chemistry that existed between Rick’s and Roger’s respective music. But Rick Davies seems adamant to disappoint the fans: Although Roger Hodgson‘s own world tour was already planned out when Supertramp announced their 2010 tour, he offered to join the group at least for some of the concerts. Rick’s management bluntly refused.

Practically on the height of the group’s fame, co-founder Roger Hodgson had left Supertramp in 1983, leaving Rick to carry on with the successful name and taking nothing but his own songs with him – which Rick promised never to perform without Roger. He broke that promise on a few occasions, when it became clear that it was Roger’s songs which the fans wanted to hear. But  this year Rick is taking his breach of the agreement to new heights: Supertramp is doing a “greatest hits” tour (titled “70-10″) on the occasion of their 40th anniversary, without including Roger in the line-up but not shying away from openly using Roger’s pictures and songs to advertise their gigs – and performing them, too. Well, let’s face it, if Supertramp were to ignore those songs there wouldn’t be that many “greatest hits” left, as the set list of their Freiburg gig illustrates poignantly (Roger’s songs marked by me):

To me it (and not only to me!) it seems very much like Rick feels the need to cash in on Roger’s fabulous world-wide success in recent years. Taking a cue from a review of Supertramp’s Freiburg concert, he’s not exactly succeeding though…

Partial translation of “Supertramp in Freiburg gar nicht super in Form”, Suedkurier 08 Sep 2010:

Supertramp in Freiburg not at all in super form

…A band such as Supertramp in the “Brauereihof” augured for an entertaining evening with rock classics and factory charm. However, the performance of Supertramp turned out rather unspectacular, cold, and only reached the attribute “high-end” with the finale with the top hits “School”, “Dreamer” and of course “Crime Of The Century”. Before that, the rather unexcitingly staged hitparade only occasionally managed to spark enthusiasm with the greying fans.

…

Among the mature fans, who were only fed occasional bits of earworms, impatience grew as they had hoped for a hit-fireworks, but were mainly provided with B-side music. A really good atmosphere never materialised, and that can’t be due to excellently mixed sound at the Brauereihof, but rather due to the lack of soul of the old band’s performance at the end of a long tour.

…

The band of nine “Supertramp” came to the Brauereihof of Freiburg at the end of its “70 – 10″ tour and inquired first, whether the beer was tasty. But mainly Supertramp wanted to show in Freiburg, that there really was a reason for the band to celebrate its 40-year anniversary. Of course that was a bit of a cheat, as those adept in the scene say, after all the actual great years of the band only spanned the years 1974 till 1983. After that there were mainly many breaks, split-ups and a lot of civil disputes. Band founder Rick Davies, saxophonist John Helliwell and drummer Bob Siegenberg were the only original members of the successful band of the seventies that performed in Freiburg, a fact that was unmistakable. The band is especially lacking singer and guitarist Roger Hodgson, whose treble voice characterizes the breezy hits of the band such as “Give A Little Bit” or “It´s Raining Again”.

In Freiburg, Supertramp presented itself over long periods as a cumbersome rock-dinosaur that had little modern or new material to offer. There were only very small doses of muscial creativity and joy of playing. Strictly speaking, with ticket prices of up to 90 Euro, one would have been served cheaper, and maybe also better, with a “Best Of” record or a DVD from the old days of the band.?

Roger expressed his views on Rick’s actions in an interview with David Wild:

“The irony is these songs of mine that Rick is now playing and using to advertise this tour are the same ones that Rick didn’t even want on Supertramp albums all those years ago. Suddenly when it’s time to sell tickets for his shows, Rick seems very fond of my songs.”

But he also said,

“Finally, I want to say that I really don’t like coming forward like this, but I feel people have a right to know the truth. And the reality is that Rick Davies can own a trademark, but he cannot own the truth.”

Sadly for the fans, with the rift between Rick and Roger having become deeper than before, a true Supertramp reunion is now probably further away from reality than ever. In the meantime, Roger continues to delight his (as well as Supertramp’s) fans around the world. If for you those songs that I marked on the set list above, are Supertramp’s greatest hits, then chances are that you can enjoy them live somewhere on the globe in the near future – and they’ll sound just as they’re supposed to! Check out the Tour page on Roger Hodgson’s website, or add his official Facebook page to your favourites, to make sure you’ll be one of the first to know when he’s performing in your neighbourhood!

Oh, and I almost forgot: Roger’s new album “Classics Live” is going to be released soon. It is a spectacular collection of his live performances from solo, band and orchestra shows around the world recorded during his 2010 tour. And: Roger is giving away the download of an awesome live version of Dreamer on his website!

A walk at sunset

True to my word, off I went for a walk yesterday afternoon. As it was a pretty warm day I waited until 6 pm – and then nearly changed my mind again because it was already so late LOL! But in the end I did make a whole round from Gharb to Ta’ Pinu and back again from the other side. It took me about one hour, and half-way through I was awfully tempted to phone hubby to scrape me off the tarmac of the “new” Ta’ Pinu road (by the time they officially open it, it’s gonna be an old road!!). But on I plodded, nearly breaking out in tears of joy when I finally put the key into my front door again.

Of course I took my camera with me…

At night every muscle in my back kept screaming at me – perhaps I overdid it after so many months of quasi immobility. But I will do it again this afternoon, that’s a promise!

Signs of autumn

Temperatures around 28-29°C are forecast for the next 5 days, but all in all cooler weather has made it to Malta, even some rain. It’s so enjoyable to be outside without breaking out in sweats by simply being there! Mornings and evenings I walk around in the garden; I’m probably fooling myself if I think that counts as putting my muscles to work, but it’s a start, no? I’m beginning to feel like a hermit, hardly seeing the world any more. I’ve resolved that this afternoon I’ll start a routine of properly walking outside the confines of our property, probably to Ta’ Pinu and back. Let’s see how that goes!

Took these pictures this week… it really is time I went out for something else to shoot, isn’t it?

Scorched earth

Took these photos last Friday morning on my way to work. The first rainfalls were of course not enough to paint Gozo’s sun-scorched earth green again. But at least the sky has changed somewhat in appearance… I really can’t wait to see other colours than brown and yellow!!

Scorched countryside around Ta' Pinu

Scorched earth & prickly pears

Wonder what’s next…

Sitting in the garden, enjoying a relatively cool and quiet Sunday morning. Relatively cool meaning absence of stifling heat, while relatively quiet refers to the missing chainsaw and similar mechanical noises – I’m trying to ignore the usual Sunday morning traffic  on the main road…

My long-awaited appointment with the rheumatologist has come and gone – and I’m not much wiser. Apparently I’m not suffering from fibromyalgia; I was sent home with the suspected diagnose of inflammatory polyarthritis, with new medication (Arcoxia 90mg) and the recommendation to have an isotope bone scan. I’m going to be informed on Monday how much that’ll cost to do privately as the waiting list at Mater Dei Hospital apparently is 4 to 5 months. In any case, it’s not possible to have it done here in Gozo. Meanwhile, pain is still rampant…

As you’d expect, I read up on all the “new” terms I faced yesterday. Polyarthritis is defined by the fact that more than four joints are affected. While I wasn’t very comfortable with the thought of having FM, I can’t say I’m thrilled with the idea of having arthritis! I’m not very convinced of that diagnose though; the pain doesn’t seem to affect joints but rather muscles. But I guess that’s where that bone scan comes in…

So in a nutshell, the waiting game is far from over. I’m so ready for some ground-breaking change letting me get on with my life!

September morning

Sleep… what an elusive commodity these days! Having kept a diary over the past three weeks where I record pain levels, what meds I take and at what time, I found that I function best by taking two panadols at 2 am (pain always wakes me up at that time) and another two at 2 pm. I’m still on Nortrilen but it doesn’t seem to make a difference whether I take them or not. I’ve resolved to be an obedient patient, at least until I see the rheumatologist on Saturday. Not too much longer now… Isn’t it disconcerting how you potter through a week’s worth of hours without even realising it?

Woken up at 6.45 by my alarm clock that I forgot to turn off for today’s public holiday, I thought it was healthier to take my coffee out in the quiet garden than staying in bed grumbling about lost sleep. I’m glad I did, too, because otherwise I would have missed this wonderful cloud display!

I’m so longing to go out for a proper photo-shoot again… *huge sigh* I’ve finally become a member of the Malta Institute of Professional Photography (MIPP) and have every intention to make more out of this hobby. Maybe one fine day…

Better days will come! Better days will come! Repeat until true…

Fireworks factory blew up in Gharb

Mushroom cloud over Gharb

About an hour ago, 3 massive explosions shook our house… the picture above shows what we saw from the first floor roof. Yet another fireworks factory has blown up – won’t they ever learn?

.

Update 8th September 2010…

The final result of this sad event: This morning the Times reported that the 6th victim has died from his injuries. One whole family practically wiped out. May they rest in peace – and may the government finally wake up and do something about the way this dangerous craft is being carried out – before people die who don’t have anything to do with it…

Munich in Summer

Well, better late than never! I just realised that my Munich photos are still missing from my blog. You might have seen them already on Facebook, but here you’ll find larger, better quality versions.

If you are currently suffering rain, rain, rain in Munich, you might find consolation in these pics… I wonder if Munich has ever seen a hotter summer than when I was there last July!!

I wish we had this kind of fountain in Gozo…

And finally, remember: even if it’s raining – the sun is still somewhere up there!