RIP Carol Clerk: I only knew of Carol via her 'The Saga of Hawkwind' book (recommended), so perhaps this will help magnify her life of rock writing: http://thequietus.com/articles/03885-legendary-rock-writer-carol-clerk-rip I can't tell you enough how good a read the Hawkwind book is, and with the multitude of comings-and-goings of personel with the band, how Carol managed to get and keep her head around everything quite amazed me. Carol's best epitaph will be her life in her own words in Neil Daniels' 'All Pens Blazing - a Heavy Metal Writers Handbook' which is available from Amazon. And pleased to see in the photo in the above link, Carol enjoyed her beer and fags. I still miss mine, but...

...the news strikes a chord in that we must be grateful for every day. On my annual hospital appointment yesterday, (following on from the 2006 heart valve replacement op), I was informed that had I not visited the doctor's when I did, and had the operation, I would have died by now. Yet at the time it appeared as if there was no urgency attached as far as the doctor's were concerned, and likewise it didn't seem life-threatening to me. But it was nice to know even though we're four years on, and despite the minor setbacks, when I wake up every morning from now on, the days will be far more valued than they were yesterday.