Just Humans Being...

Yesterday we spent another long day cleaning other peoples' homes... We didn't get in until after 7pm! With all the hassle this (or was it last?) week, I'm really wishing for an easier life. What would be really nice right now is a few days off to potter around the house, read one of the ever growing pile of books, do things in the garden, get on top of our business accounts, cook, sit & chat...  Though I should be careful, as the last time I complained about wanting to spend more time at home - I fell & sprained my ankle! So I'll just be content that we have money coming in, we have good health & we are happy! This Saturday, The Dolphins Fly are performing at The Eden Cafe - which led to the band being invited to an interview on  BBC Radio Cornwall .  Unfortunately, Sime & Bill couldn't make it, so Dave & Mart did a couple of acoustic tracks. We've just got a few days left to try & get as many folks as possible to come along on the nig...

 We've had a week of hassle, cock-ups & frustrating times with our work... Folks wanting to turn up early at holiday lets (in one case - a day early), owners wanting to re-arrange plans at the last minute, guests getting lost en route to their holiday properties, a one-off job that got cancelled due to the keyholder forgetting to give us the key & yesterday we discovered a family were waiting at a house we hadn't even prepared!  After a full day's work, when we felt we could do no more - we were thrown into disarray & had to greet the poor family who had travelled over 300 miles, arriving in Cornwall to house that wasn't ready - Whoops! This is the first time we've ever let anyone down & were convinced that it was the agency who had neglected to tell us, but on return home - we found an email sent several weeks ago... We take care of 2 properties with that agency & they sent the info on one mail, we only saw the bookings for the first house ...

This is a compilation of some recent gigs with  The Dolphins Fly ... Hope you enjoy watching as much as we love playing them! I'm really loving "We Lost" & "She Runs" at the moment. Would love to know what everyone else thinks... Some more videos to bore you with soon! Simon x

We can't believe how busy we are at the moment. And not just with work... The Dolphins Fly  have lots of gigs... Then there's all the admin work to do around the band. And with some big shows coming up - means lots of media interest! So they had a photo shoot last week too... We've had lots of cleaning work, although today... Got cancelled, so we had a bite to eat out... Sime has become a bit too obsessed with photo shoot posing... And is very excited about a guitar he's piecing together. So has had the back plate engraved with his band nickname & a bass clef! (He is a bit odd at times...) Exhaustion has crept up with us yet again! And of course we just get silly... I know - we are sad!  And there's probably over 20 of these... But we'll spare you for now... And get off to bed! Night, night. Kay & Sime xx

We had a really good time last night.  Not only because we saw the ukulele orchestra... But we also got to spend time with lovely friends too... Margaret, looking radiant & Patrick - who's equally radiant! This one was supposed to be of Sheila... Instead it's my lap!  Sime's having a few teething problems with the new camera - he can't get used to not using a viewfinder! The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain... They were brilliant & very funny too! The highlight of the evening for Sime was on arrival we walked past Dave Gilmore from Pink Floyd. He is on holiday & has attended the festival a few times - apparently...  Sime was like an excited little boy jumping up & down as Dave walked past us, Sheila & I didn't have a clue who he was & neither were we that impressed once he explained.  We also saw Ralph McTell, who's famous for the song "Streets Of London", but who cares?  They're just people like the rest of us! We w...

We 're excited about our night out to the  Daphne Du Maurier Festival ... On our way any minute now to see  The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain . See you later! Kay & Sime xx

We live in a small hamlet of 14 households - all on one lane, but spread out & mainly detached, apart from the 3 barn conversions across from us. There have been a number of changes in the six years we have lived here, people moving in & out, houses renovated & extended, but for us - the worst thing is that the last few newcomers are city people. They have all spent thousands of pounds modernising their homes & turning them into fortresses. Fences & gates have been erected, security lights & alarms fitted... I suppose most folks will think that they are being sensible, but it's changing the way our little place looks & feels & to me it seems that these modern extras will invite unwanted attention - it suggests there's something worth taking.What was once a simple, quaint little hamlet is fast becoming yet another exclusive part of rural Cornwall.  Only 3 of the 14 households are Cornish & they are all related, the rest (apart from us) are we...

We're finding work so hard at the moment. The two cleans today have been spring cleans - step ladders, extending dusters, buckets of hot soapy water & exhausting elbow grease... The folks we've worked for are all lovely & very grateful for everything we do, but when they say things like: "If you have time, could you just do..." We feel obliged to do it all & it really is a challenge at times. Today was one of those days & now we've been home for several hours - we're beginning to ache, but at least we feel satisfied that we did it all. It was a very different story at the weekend, one of the holiday lets we clean is attached to the owner's house. The owner always comes in & drives us mad with silly requests to do unnecessary tasks, one such task is for me to go into the grounds & find several flowers to place into old bottles... I do this each week, but the other day - she saw my pathetic attempts & said that she will show me ...

The Dolphins Fly are going to be playing at The Eden Cafe  on June 4th. The Cafe is part of  The Eden Project  & opened in St Austell's town centre, earlier this year. It's going to be quite an event & Eden is keen to promote the evening, as it will be the launch of music sessions held there. Yesterday, the manager contacted us & requested all sorts from the band - posters, flyers, bio, photos, links to their websites & a quote of why they want to play there... So it's starting to feel exciting, this is the kind of venues they should be playing & I'm pretty sure that soon - it'll be even bigger places! We've become quite fond of the place...  They do free WI-FI, so we've spent several hours here during the last few weeks! Today, we visited just before closing time... So it was practically empty. It will be amazing if the place is full on the 4th! Now have to think of ways of persuading all their fans & potential fans to come alon...

Looks like we're not the only ones to lose a blog & several comments last night! Have tried to re-publish the comments, but no can do... Thank you for all your well wishes - Hugo & I are both loads better today. Though ended up having a day off yesterday...  Sime postponed our 2 cleans until Monday, so have felt nice & refreshed today! Sime's got 2 gigs this weekend - so busy, busy, busy yet again! Hope you all have a good weekend! Kay & Sime xx

It's not very often that we get colds, but about 3 weeks ago - Sime had one out of the blue & no-one else in the family got it...  As usual, he suffered terribly for a couple of days & made sure we all knew about it! He's such a big baby when he's ill & I do try to be sympathetic, but I did end up telling him to pull himself together! Anyway, I'm feeling rather guilty now, as Hugo started with it at the weekend & he never causes a fuss, but he really was ill for a couple of days & guess what... I started with it on Monday & have just had 2 lousy days of feeling crap! And you know what else? Sime has cared for us brilliantly (which he always does) & he never complains... He's done all the cooking for the last few days & really pampered us. So not only do I feel ill, but I feel such a horrible git too.  Next time Sime is ill, I promise to be more thoughtful & caring, I won't utter the words "typical man" or "man...

It's actually 40 years ago since Sime & I first met in Wales & spent a few hours playing together. We didn't see each other again for another 15 years... May 9th 1986. So yesterday was the 25th anniversary of us being together! We still don't feel old enough to have children, let alone be a year away from our Silver Wedding Anniversary! The night we met was a sort of get-together with both our families - Sime's parents were friends with my grandparents, so they had known each other a long time. We chatted politely & I have to say that I was very impressed with the fact that he was in a band & that they had just recorded their first single & some months later - Sime admitted to being impressed that I was dressed all in black (His favourite colour)! Those first few months we were together are still very vivid, not only because we were falling in love & it was all very exciting, but because Sime's Mum, Bebe - was not happy about our relationsh...

It's no surprise that Sime & I had to have a proper lie-in this morning... We've worked really hard over the last few days, especially yesterday - getting jobs done & houses ready for guests. To top it all - we were invited to an album launch by a local band last night, so we went along. The band, in my opinion were pretty awful... They were competent musicians, but had concentrated on spending money on equipment & image - instead of on their music. The Dolphins will be playing the same venue next month & I know that the night will have much more of a buzz about it, so really looking forward to it! Our eating habits have gone up the creek again this weekend - we were eating pasta at midnight last night, as we'd skipped a meal & were then hungry when we got home. Today, we ended up having breakfast at 2pm & nothing else until 10pm tonight! Tomorrow, we have a big clean to do, so no doubt - we'll go without breakfast, but have a good lunch ins...

It's always nice to get-together with all the kids...  It's also very rare! But last night we managed to all see the old man's band play... Which was a nice thing to do, though I have to admit - I really didn't like the pub! There were certainly a few characters around.  Being country bumpkins - a Friday night in a large town centre pub isn't really my idea of a good time & I just found myself feeling very uncomfortable in that environment, just so glad the kids were there too! There wasn't any trouble, but it felt like there could have been at any time! The band played well, but only the landlady of the pub seemed to really appreciate them. Such a shame for great musicians to play to a disinterested crowd, but that's the way it goes...  I suppose these experiences will only spur the guys on to get what they really want & take a step up to the next level - where they deserve to be!  Here's a video of them performing  California  from last ni...

So far this week - we have cleaned 8 properties... Each clean is thorough, more like a spring clean & our bodies are starting to fight back! We have both been suffering with all sorts of aches & pains, hobbling around, grunting, yawning & laughing hysterically - which is what happens when we're overtired! We did make a discovery last week - we've both lost weight...  We haven't been eating as well as usual, just because we've been working & by the time we've got home - we're too knackered to make anything substantial.  We seem to experience this every holiday season... Eventually our bodies get stronger & we suddenly realise that we have bags of energy & feel really well - can't wait! The only problem is that Sime being even more active than me with his bands (carrying heavy equipment & standing up performing after working all day), has now lost over a stone in weight within two weeks. He's naturally slim & loses weight...

We've had lots of messages from folks saying what nutters we are for driving through the waves the other day, though I don't know why I'm included - I didn't want to do it! Saying that - we are used to driving through it, though neither of us have ever seen the sea that high before!  Some years ago, we had a French student staying with us, Sime thought he would like to experience high tide down there, so he took him & Hugo . They decided to take a chance, got out of the car, went up to the water's edge & then realised that a massive wave was about to hit them, they ran & jumped behind the wall of the end house.  Needless to say - the wave shot over the wall & the three of them ended up drenched! We've also heard stories of cars being swept away in that very cove - which is why the bollards are there... Anyway, Sime wouldn't have taken a chance if he thought we were in danger...  We really have to get to bed now.  We have an early start tom...

I'm actually supposed to be sending out invoices right now, but as Sime's busy pottering about - I thought I could sneak in a quick blog... Working out invoices is just boring & means using my brain, so some light relief is needed! I said last night that we'd upload the film from yesterday & after a visit to the Eden Cafe - we've now got it on to Youtube. I didn't realise at the time of filming that our chattering would be picked up so clearly!!! And guess what was playing in the CD player at the time? Yes - yet another Dolphins song! A recording done in Mart's shed during a recent practice... It's proved to be a very good soundtrack! You may all think that we only listen to The Dolphins Fly, but today we dug out one of our Flight Of The Conchords CDs & have laughed so much again. Here is one of my favourite songs: Well it is Wednesday... Enjoy! Kay :)

It's going to be very exciting next week - when we switch over to our new ISP... Just hope all our signal problems will be resolved. At the moment, every day is different - some days we can get on to a few websites, other days it's just emails, so looking forward to having a little continuity back!  We've just decided that a trip to the local internet coffee shop may be needed tomorrow... As amongst other things, we have a son-out-law who needs to be wished happy birthday (Ryan, if you see this - sorry you know what we're like... Prezzie & card will be hand delivered on Friday :) Have a lovely day matey)!!! Anyway, Sime thinks folks will find this video funny... Us Being Us Anyone would think we've got nothing better to do! It gets worse.. Yes - I am married to an insane man! The other thing we have to do is upload a film we took today & frustratingly can't get it on...  The weather has changed drastically here & today it's been very windy...

We've had another busy weekend - So this is just a quickie... Just want to show off our new Sony compact camera - which I've used at Sime's gigs. Have put a few videos on Youtube, but this one has come out the best. Enjoy & night, night! Kay :)