Cardiff Drunk went to rehab...

He said, yes! Yes! Yes!

This is my 16th day sober and my first out of hospial... News from the detox ward and beyond will soon follow.

You'se all me best mates you is...

CD.

On a typically tedious type-setting note - Drunk in Cardiff (the blog currently known as Sober in Cardiff) uses Trebuchet because I think it's a medieval siege weapon; why is a font named after a medieval siege weapon? Answers on a comment please. . .

The Daily Happy.

Today's Daily Happy takes us to Liverpool, home or several popular beat groups, including these silly old sausages, who for a long time seemed so predestined for third division status they were nicknamed the Doo Badleys...

Here though are the lovely Boo Radleys with Lazy Day...

The Daily Happy, is mellow today.

This one makes me really, really happy.

Four Tet, My Angel Rocks Back and Forth.

A much better day.

There that's better. Today was a lovely, sharp, fresh out of the box chalk to yesterday's hard, back of the sofa fluff-covered lump of cheddar.

And, it hasn't worn off yet. I still feel damn fine thank you very much, I might even call it an up.

Why's that then. Simple really. Better behaviour, more self regard. Wednesday was a mess. I was down because I feared my skin was running away from me - not literally you understand. Because I didn't eat properly, because I had a bath not a shower - bad for the skin that - and just let myself go a bit.

Today, I kept myself busy, and even stayed off the computer for a decent long time - oh, and despite this being one of the days my 'rules' allow me to drink on, I haven't touched a drop, although there's a bottle of sherry and some cans of Guinness loose aboot this hoose.

I started my volunteer work today as well, which is another little step back towards the life I once had before I ripped it up in a soggy mess of booze and misery.

I only stayed for two hours at Journeys (the depression charity, there's a link on the sidebar if you'd like to look at their work, which is really all about self-help, diet, exercise and the like), but it's great to feel useful.

I wrote some stuff for their newsletter - searching the internet for news about depression and chopping it up into bite-sized chunks. It's the sort of stuff I used to do like falling of a log (is that really that easy? To be perfectly honest I've never tried it) and I'm certainly not as proficient as I used to be, lacking the confidence of continued practice and knowing their house style.

I won't be able to go in next week, which is a shame, but for today that was very valuable for me - I hope it had some use for those on the receiving end.

I kept myself out of the slough of despond for the rest of the day with housework and food shopping and going to the library to make one of my regular donations to Cardiff City Council. Despite being a qualified librarian I am appalling at returning books on time - perhaps it's because of it, perhaps there's some terrible psychological scar.

I'm due at the doctor's tomorrow morning. I'm going to feel a bit foolish I think - the main reason for making the appointment was the skin problem, and, by stopping using Doublebase and going back to aqueous cream it seems to have sorted itself out. Still, I might, if I can pipe up the courage to break out of my 'yes doctor, no doctor, thank you doctor' persona, ask for a referral to a skin specialist as the Community Addictions Unit doctor suggested I should.

Well, it's a reason to get up anyway.

If you spent it, thank you for your time.

CD.

The Daily Happy.

I don't know why but almost everything I'm posting seems to be Scottish - and old. This is really old, ie from my childhood, when I loved it dearly and I love it now. I believe one of the KLF might have been the manager of Strawberry Switchblade - and no doubt if you're more inclined than me you can find out.

What I do know is one of the singers went on to a band called Death In June, who were fantastically gloomy.

Unlike this which is bittersweet, or sweetbitter, take yer pick.

And this is Since Yesterday by Strawberry Switchblade:

The Daily Happy.

Today's Daily Happy continues to show my age and the fact that I really don't try very hard to keep up with what's new, exiting and simply too magical in today's music.

Well, sod 'em, they're young they'll survive.

Despite being an extremely melancholy song this makes me happy in the shock of recognition way - the lyrics that is, I'm not a dark and interesting looking Scottish girl with good taste in lipstick; would that I were dear reader, would that I were.

"For the self-assured I have no cure, I only wish I was." Do google Pull The Wires from the Wall, you'll love them.

I hope you enjoy it.

The Daily Happy. . .

As I'm often as miserable as sin, I thought I'd start to stick up a daily video; yes indeedy, those two comments on J Mascis and co shellacking Just Like Heaven were grist to my groovy grinders...

I love music - indeed I write and record it occasionally - and it makes me happy; in fact I think my mental health would be enormously improved if I stopped listening to the bloody news all day (particularly evil Radio Five Live) and listened to more music.

Here then is track two of the Daily Happy collection...

It's by Looper (Belle and Sebastian fella) and it's called Up a Tree and is...