Locked down with my Ukulele 40

These are strange times and I’ve been thinking, there’s a 50/50 chance that this is a bad idea.

I had a boss that came from Norwich. Nothing wrong with that! He was a Canary supporter. That’s the dodgy bit. It was a nightmare having him on social media. I’d be waiting till match of the day to find the results and he’d declare the results early.

He was a bit of a one for the ladies. Annoyingly he did have a measure of success. Although most I spoke to acknowledged he was a dreadful flirt. All this done he was a surprisingly likeable personality. He was quite sharp and was pretty good at standing his ground with intelligent argument when he had too. He’d defend his staff to the last. I think in the end we could call each other friends.

He got me drinking dark mild ale. We had a few Friday “end of the week” management meetings in a local alehouse. We laughed a lot together. There were always a few little happenings that quite often I’d have to smooth out or get something done.

One of these times we drove to a school in Belgium. We were unsure of the way and instead of slowing down he sped up to a slip road junction. He had miscalculated the rake on the bend. The lads were asleep in the back of the bus with a majority resting their heads on the window. I will never forget the sound of students heads clattering down the bus windows, one after another, as we hurtled round the bend. Followed by a groan from each in turn and a round of expletives. Then followed a profoundly sincere expletive from the driver.

This was his approach to everything. Head down and plough forward regardless. He cycled and had a few accidents using that approach. I remember patching him up a couple of times.

He said two things that I’ve carried with me over the last few years. He did actually say many things but these two stuck.

I’d had a word with a couple of members of staff about spreading rumours about him. He said “You know, you’re a funny old boy, but your hearts in the right place.”

Imagine that said with a soft Norfolk accent.

When I left the same place of employment he said “Thank you, for being you.”

He was pretty honest in what he said usually. These two evaluations of my character really touched me on both occasions.

Headlong (Queen)

And you're rushing headlong You've got a new goal And you're rushing headlong Out of control And you think you're so strong But there ain't no stopping, no, there's nothing you can do about it

It’s about time I got a Queen track in here.

This one suits.

Originally written by Brian May for a solo album but when he heard Freddie sing it he gave it up to Queen. It was released in 1991 on the Innuendo album. SO it’s credited to the whole band.

Stay safe