Music Monday: Home to Newcastle

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Y'all that know me know I'm a Newcastle United supporter by marriage, and at first I will admit that I didn't get what that meant. Even when I lived in the UK, I didn't completely understand. But I made a concious effort to understand the sport (football) and the team. I read about the history and the famous names...and then the height of my education came last November when we took a tour of St. James's Park, NUFC's home stadium.

But y'all, the city is pretty amazing as well. It has its issues like all cities of that size do, but the people there are so kind. I have officially added it to my list of "when we move, I'd like to live in" places in the UK. This song is an example of the love Geordies hold for their home, and I love that it has the lyrics on the screen to help you with that gorgeous accent.

Hinny Howay!

Music Monday: Song of a Local Hero

This won't mean much to some, but while we were abroad, we got to tour the Cathedral on the Hill, the home stadium for Newcastle United. There is a point when they come into the stadium where Mark Knopfler's (of Dire Straits fame) Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero plays. During the tour, the guide let us walk through that tunnel and played sounds of the crowd with that song in the background and I will admit to getting teary. So here's the full thing as we two not so local heroes spend today in a succession of planes, on our way home. Enjoy.

Music Monday: A Wink from my Dad

In case you were wondering, I've gone to Whamhalla. I lost on Saturday at the end of a Newcastle United game, when the person running the tannoy decided to play "Last Christmas" in the stadium and for once, Peacock didn't shut off access to the program early. Ah well, if I have to go out coasting on a 3-0 win for my Magpies, that's okay.

I thought about putting up Last Christmas as this week's Music Monday, but that would be Mary Jane levels of Petty and I'm just not there...yet. Instead, I want to share a story I shared on social media yesterday about what I've started calling "winks" from the universe. These have happened at important times during my chemo treatment, and I imagine that they will continue through the rest of this journey:

Got a wink from my Daddy when I sat down to rest and "She's Got a Way" by Billy Joel came on? ✅️He told me once that this song was on the radio in the car when he got pulled over for speeding on the way to the hospital because I was being born. Apparently they went early, Mom stayed and he went back to get things, and I guess was flying back to the hospital in his Corvair. So it was "my" song from then on.

I looked it up and while that song did indeed debut in November of 1971 like I did, I doubt he would have remembered what was on the radio that day. But he heard it a lot when I was new, and that might have made it my song too. My Daddy was magic like that.