staying in the tracks for now......

i did something new today, cross country skiing & it was certainly fun - hard work & given that i haven't worn a pair of skis in probably the best part of 8 years I think i did OK. we live a few minutes walk from the Nordic Centre in Canmore so this will become a regular thing i bet - it'll improve my fitness no end as it really is a good upper body & legs workout - also if we get more snow it'll avail opportunities to explore the area

after lunch we headed out along Highway 1A & stopped near Seebe to make the journey by foot to the base of Mount Yamnuska - it was a beautiful afternoon & there was hardly a soul to be seen in the surrounding wilderness - i love the fact that from Canmore you can be in the middle of nowhere surrounded by such natural beauty within a very short time

we did the same yesterday, took the road up to Spray Lakes & struck out into the snowy landscape, a vigorous Boxing Day & post Christmas Day hike for sure

i was feeling a bit tired after getting up at 5.30am on Boxing Day morning to watch Charlton unluckily lose to the referee in their game with Arsenal - oh well 7 losses in 8 games surely it can't get any worse????!!!!!

we watched a good film on Christmas Day night - The Assassination of Richard Nixon - despite it's similarity in parts to Taxi Driver it was a quietly understated & somewhat depressing film & i like Sean Penn's work (& ethics) more each time - definitely recommended if you come across it in your local Movie Rental store (the DVD not Sean's ethics)

so without further waffle we go to the Blue Canadian Rockies end of year countdown

at No.4 we have The Super Furry Animals who released an immensely enjoyable LP this year in Love Kraft .In addition Pete Fowler the man behind the Furry's artwork compiled & released a fantastic compilation of oddball psych antiquities in The Sound of Monsterism Island

to make my Super Furry year complete one of my last London gig's before heading out here was the boy's themselves at Brixton Academy in which they treated us to new songs from Love Kraft & the usual assortment of classics - to add to this they arrived & left the stage in spacesuits, driving a moon buggy - not normally my kind of rock theatrics but it works for them!

Ohio Heat has an insanely catchy riff running throughout it & soundtracked my last few weeks in the London metropolis - I love it.

No.4 Super Furry Animals - Ohio Heat