We aren't Jewish. 13 is a big deal. Oliver is now not much shorter than Shaun Pollock. He moved schools at the end of this year. It was a perfect match for him. He's so happy there, so is his little brother
October 29, 2020
Not
that we are Jewish. But 13 is a significant milestone in anybody's
life. You move away from unique names for your age to the teens – it's
all thirteen, fourteen and the twenty etc. It's hard to look at this
young man and think of him as this little baby. He is no longer a baby.
He's a strapping young lad.
This is a different year, Oliver has been in the grip of the Corona virus for about 230 days – that's almost two thirds of his 12th year (I will write the same thing about his brother in a month). It's also a significant year because the academic results he produces at the end of the year will determine whether a high school will accept him and, most importantly, whether he will be invited to write the scholarship exam. In spite of this, his academic performance has been good. A lot of it was done virtually. When we spoke to his teachers they seemed happy with his performance. He's now back at school five days a week and playing a lot of extra-mural cricket.
What happened this year? We started out normally. Oliver was put in the academic A set. He barely had enough time to prove himself on the sports' field. He did however make the second 11, opening the batting for the few games they played. Then it all came crashing down. The lockdown was hard for everyone. We are lucky enough to live in a house, a house with a garden and a few other entertainment objects. I think living on a property with a large number of people must have been hard – I found it hard. He had to learn to navigate the online school system that his school had hurriedly put together. Because he has a younger brother he was largely left to his own devices, which might have yielded a benefit for him – not so much us. He handled the lockdown as well as he could, although he was not keen on the chores – things like PE and gardening hour. He's a law-abiding young man who would not go out onto the street to talk to the neighbours like all of us did. As the lockdown dragged on, so did our resolve to adhere to the strict prescripts that the utterly despised Nkosazana unreasonably foisted on us. He was of the opinion that this was the law and we should stick to it. Some laws are just so unreasonable, we explained, they just need to be ignored.
He was lucky because some of his coaches managed to make a plan when it came to extra sport lessons (vagueness here to protect the innocent). He was taking lessons at private houses because the schools were closed. It now seems like a long time ago – he's playing a lot more cricket now and his passion has returned. I see him hitting a ball in the garden more.
One other feature of the lockdown was gaming. Oh he got stuck in, making friends with other kids at his school and people all over the world. He even subscribed to a content site until they cleaned his bank account out. A lesson learned I think. One of his Fortnite mates is Polish and he's picked up a bit of the language, specifically the cuss words. He's drawn to Polish because his surname is Polish, that's about as Polish as we are, this is not a deterrent to Oliver.
We've come to the end of his 12th year. I have my doubts that he will ever forget it. It's that last exam slog until the end of the term. He has already identified the school he wants to go to. They had an event over a recent weekend where a number of kids (only three from his school) spent a night at the school, getting a feel for the atmosphere and facilities. He was so impressed and absorbed by the school. Couldn't stop talking about it. It's a boarding school and in his interview with the head, he was specifically asked about boarding. He's up for it. I think this move may result in our own move to another part of the country in a year.
Well done on this last year Oliver. It's been hard on everyone and you made it. It'll take a while for all of us to find our feet again. Hopefully we don't sucked into this rubbish hype next year and he can finish his final year at primary school and prepare for his highschool career. You are the finest oldest son a father could wish for and I am ridiculously proud of you. We both know that you are changing and that your musical taste just plain sucks. But you are fine kid and a great ambassador for your school. You are learning different life lessons all the time – some you'll take to heart and others you will conveniently ignore. If it takes as long as me to learn anything then you have a challenging forty years ahead. I love you and remain your passionate and proud father.
Now onto music. I mean bad rap – why would anyone want to listen to that? How about Public Enemy or NWA. Nope – Oliver now has his music and it's not mine. But did I try.
Peter Green
As many who read this blog already know Peter Green died in July this year, he would have been 74 today. There were features on him in good publications all over the world, he had made that much of an impact. Sad that they suddenly wake up when he is gone – but I carried the flag. This year's track is taken from Then Play On, Green's last album with Fleetwood Mac. The album is in my top five – I love it. As I've got to know the album I have found myself drawn to the Madge jams more and more. In fact I listened to a large number of bootlegs for three solid weeks after his death and realised that I was right – Green had that thing. He was never boring, nothing was rote. It was always different. He was unique. I don't when we are going to see someone like that again. The track is called Underway, and it's taken from a BBC concert on the 9th of April 1970 (two days before Oliver's aunt was born and a few weeks before he left Fleetwood Mac). It's a vamp on an A6 chord – in the live bootlegs it tended to find its way after the long Rattlesnake Shake jam. You have Danny Kirwan holding down this chord and Green heading out somewhere – riveting.
Ollie Halsall
This is the thing about YouTube, stuff that no one knew existed suddenly appears. The video is typical of its time – at least you get to see Ollie playing the vibes. The Man is off their first album – Mike Patto's vocal performance is up there with McCartney's best Little Richard impersonations.
Denny Laine
It's Denny's birthday too, 76 years old. Still a huge influence on me. There is an album called Japanese Tears that is often repackaged with McCartney's visage on it. Some of the tracks have McCartney on them, but it's a Laine album. It's an OK album, one that I listened to a lot as a guitarist in training. I learned a few songs of the album – this is the other one, three simple chords. It's a lot harder to play than I thought it was.
13 - Denny Laine - Weep For Love
Happy birthday Oliver – you share a birthday with some great people, it's a precedent you know. And when you read this in the future – remember your hiking trip in July this year.
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