leaders of the free world/elbow

Elbow are a great British band with a huge lush sound that I love. The singer has a big warm strong voice. I heard "Leaders of the Free World" a couple of times on the radio and, without listening to the words, thought it was some kind of political statement (the chorus I heard well enough; "the leaders of the free world are just little boys throwing stones and it's easy to ignore until their knocking on the door of your homes" and then there is the line; "passing the gun from father to feckless son") but when I got the CD home I kept playing it over and over. Once I got myself comfortable with the lyrics unfolded in front of me I realised why I liked it so much. There is still a political nature to it, but the first few lines were exactly how I was feeling at the time.

A friend just told me a story about helping her Grandmother move into her parents house. Her Grandmother had been living independently for over 20 years but this year her health has deteriorated to the point where she can no longer live alone. When my friend and her husband arrived at her Grandmothers house to help pack and move they found her moving packed boxes into the hallway. She had already packed up her things. By herself. All but one thing which she gave to my friend. Here's what her Grandmother told her:

"The neighbours gave it to me. They are lovely people and I'm grateful, but really! What is a ninety-four year old woman going to do with a set of tea cups and saucers? I'd much prefer a Mars Bar."

Is it wrong that I feel that way and I'm only twenty-eight?

Last weekend while wandering West End in the dusky late afternoon I spotted someone playing an accordion in the local Laundromat. I really wanted to ask him if I could take his photograph but, being the complete coward I am, I just walked straight home. In the wee hours of the next morning I woke up to the softest most beautiful little accordion sounds drifting down my street. They were obviously playing as quietly as they could because of the time of day it was. I didn't even hop up to peer out of my window because I was in that sleepy inbetween dream and wake state of being and could barely believe what I was hearing. I wish I could have seen them walking down the street playing. I bet it was the same guy.

On Friday morning I found myself driving most of the way to work behind a big covered ute. In the back of the ute was a sandy coloured greyhound that kept wandering from side to side and sticking its head out of the windows. Then I noticed that every time he stuck his head out of a window he would lick his chops and giants globs of doggy drool would fly kamaze into my windshield. I could not stop laughing.

When I make a movie, that will definitely make up part of a driving scene.