Elvis Costello was being interviewed by Mary Louise Parker, star of Weeds, The West Wing and rock chick extraordinaire, and he said something like "I am followed around the world by a stack of books so huge that I simply gave up, anyway I have so much music to listen to" and I realised, at last, someone had articulated my "wish list against available time" issue. You simply have to abandon what you know you can't possible achieve.

Easier said than done. I make lists, constantly, and like the squirrel that I am I even keep the bloody lists, with double ticks marking the successes and the blank, empty, unmarked areas which show a barren space that says it all - NOT DONE. Top of my lists, for 2014, was "Write blog". I haven't written anything on this page since July 2013, and I have noticed the steep decline in my fortunes as a Google Search. YES, my brother in name, Marcus Shelton the Washington based opera singer, and man of as many hair follicles as me, has risen as my web site and name has fallen down the ranks of "Marcus Sheltons" out there.

I'm guessing, quite rightly, that people are more interested in a man with great vocal prowess whose career is moving. Someone who is active; making music work for him; making music his work. Indeed by all rights my namesake is a working musician, whereas I am the backstage office worker, producing music concepts for clients, who only dabbles in putting my own name out there as a singer/songwriter.

Well I have not been idle, even though my web site would suggest this. The last personal product I have to show for myself was the Noble Grape album which was a lot of fun and contained some of the best songs I have written - until now. As I write this down, there are two projects not just on the horizon, but ready to roll, and more details of those will follow. What I want to express on this page is how life gets in the way of getting to his point.

I can best illustrate this by turning to my said "lists" and the list of 2014, made on or about the 1st January this year, which I am finally starting to eat into. Here are my "to dos", some complicated, some simple, and my status with these items:

WRITE BLOG
Clearly this particular item has taken 3 months to happen, although I have started several, the first was listed in my Word documents as 6th January, which was definitely the best effort of the year, spanning several pages. Here is a snapshot of January's attempt:

"The positive life affirming day to day is not something I fail to appreciate – many find tedium and frustration in doing the same things over and over again, but I find a sense of order, stability, calm, and delight in knowing the wife and kids are looked after, safe in work and school respectively, and as relationships and children grow there are always new things to harvest.

I am a very lucky boy in that respect and long may it continue – the ordinary, the normal, the routine is always longed for when you can’t have it anymore. So the logical conclusion is to cherish it while it is here, and not to see it as a burden, or hindrance, or anything less than precious.

So why do I have a blog – it isn’t really to roll off countless personal psychological glories. It was originally intended as a diary of sorts as to my musical progression and I have plenty to tell, thank goodness, about music to come very shortly and musical plans for the future. So let the start of 2014 be a “statement of intent” by me, at what the world will have to suffer in the coming months and possibly years"

AND on I go, to no real ends, and clearly I felt that this wasn't what I wanted to say anyway - cue the three months hiatus.

HOMELAND SERIES 3
My wife and I enjoyed the first two series in a spasm of TV watching during the middle part of 2013 - unable to find the time to watch the programmes when they were shown on TV, we bought the DVDs, found the series to our taste, and I was careful enough to tape series 3 when it was shown on Channel 4 (UK) at the end of last year. We love watching TV together, but are very discerning about joint tastes, and in effect, have to want to watch the same programme to justify the time spent watching TV. This series was a winner, only slightly marred by having series 1 and 2 box sets and knowing therefore that (spoiler alert) a major character survived into the second series, which was the climax of the first.

To date we are 6 programmes from the finish of series 3, having begun to watch it in January, and me having wrote it down as "to do" point Number 2. There have been 86 days to date in this year, and we have managed half a dozen hour long episodes. Bring on the violins.

PHOTOBOX
I am determined to get some books of photographs of the family as to date since 2008, I have taken thousands of pictures on a digital camera, stored the pictures in the computer and never looked at them. I sought out the best online way of putting some pictures into printed books and Photobox was the answer, although I was recently advised that iPhoto is better. So I may be taking a selection of pictures to my office Mac in London and doing it all from there. Current status, haven't started compiling pictures yet.

WATCH "THE CONVERSATION"
Done it. BUT, only on Monday night, when I was banned from the marital bedroom, having contracted a nasty cold or "man flu" as it has been described by "she who must be obeyed". So it took me three months to watch a film that was made in 1974, and that I have owned on DVD for several years. It was indeed an excellent film.

ADDRESS BOOK
Now this is one of the successes of the year to date. I keep a long list of addresses on computer, but I am a purist and someone that figures that the day this planet runs out of electricity, everyone's information disappears with it. Therefore I like hard copy - it was also nice to put names of sons and daughters next to addresses as I like to be able to refer to people's families by name and not "and family" on Christmas Cards. Well done, Marcus.

BUY JEANS, 2 PAIRS
I simply want a couple of good pairs of jeans, but they haven't been a priority for me to date, so not done yet.

LISTEN TO THE FOLLOWING ALBUMS FROM START TO FINISH IN ONE SITTING
AM - Arctic Monkeys - DONE
The Next Day - David Bowie - NO
Apple Venus - XTC - NO
Everybody Loves A Happy Ending - Tears For Fears - NO
Grand Passion - Doll By Doll - NO
A Terrible Beauty - The Uncle Devil Show - NO

UPDATE WEB SITE
Watch this space!!!!!

So there you go, at least I can double tick the "Write blog" part of my list. Feel the relief.......

MAS 2014