It was good to get out and about and see a bit of the country, and since Coventry’s only about 20 minutes away by train, we thought we’d go and have a proper look around.
The day itself was fairly uneventful: a picnic lunch, a train ride, a wander around, a good look at the cathedral, a spot of shopping and then back again.
I did get to see the least shy (and fattest) squirrel I’ve encountered yet. I’m still fascinated by these creatures that everyone else seems to regard as pests. A bit like pigeons in many respects, only cute and fluffy.
Also, it turns out I may have set a poor example for my son.
Jake’s discovered the joys of providing your own soundtrack to the world around you (and gaining a spot of privacy in the process) with the aid of a walkman and some in-ear headphones.
I had to have every line of every conversation with him twice today: the first time, I’d forget he had the headphones in. The second time, he’d listen, reply, and re-insert the headphones. Rinse and repeat.
Besides the fact that I’ve had to relinquish a bit of control over the family technology, I’m also slowly having to come to terms with the idea that I’m becoming the parent of a teenager.
It does mean that we’re going to have to get a second portable CD player (or digital music equivalent) – and a second CD collection. I thought I covered most bases with my eclectic music collection, but of course, Jake’s managed to find music that I’m not a fan of to get excited about.
It’s part of his job to do that, after all.
First, he stopped at the faux-Peruvian busker playing pan pipes over a backing tape of smooth, light world-esque music (yick…) and said a breathless ‘oh, cool…’. And second, he’s developed a liking to some death metal that our next door neighbour kindly loaned him.
Fortunately, it seems to be the comedy value of it that he appreciates – and at least Napalm Death have the good sense to team up with Jello Biafra. The genre’s not an entire musical vacuum (unlike the panpipes…).
While it’s a certainty that he’ll rebel – possibly to become an accountant or a paid-up member of Citizens and Ratepayers, the music thing will be the area to watch.
There is hope, of course. He wavers between Shihad (still the greatest live rock band on the planet), Pluto, Concord Dawn, Radiohead and Prodigy as his favourite band. He’s 12 – so we can be grateful it’s not all about the Bedingfields.
But he surprised us this afternoon. Noticing this new tendency, we let him loose at the Virgin Mega Store post-Christmas sale with a five pound note and carte blanche to emerge with whatever he fancied within about a fifteen minute timeframe (we did try to persuade in certain directions, but we refrained from direct intervention).
He returned with the John Williams’ Star Wars theme music.
The train trip through Marston Green must have taken on a very dramatic feel.
At any rate, the upshot is I haven’t had much headphone time today. One album in its entirety and a couple of songs here and there. The having of an iPod has taken on an extra urgency.
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Here’s what I managed to listen to:
44. David Bowie – Aladdin Sane EMI 1973
