We've had a whole series of things go 'not according to our favour' in the last 12 months. It's part of the rich tapestry of 'aww ****' that seems to be going around at the moment.

Q1 we got Juggernaut out, Q2 I tried some marketing and hooo boy is it weird out there. I've done some deep think and it feels like one of those grindy wheel things you see on youtube. Keep your fingers inside the vehicle at all times.

Q3 we had multiple 'ploofs', the noise you make when your souffle souffloppes. But to borrow from JJ Cale, 'well you gave me de bidness, but i dint mind, cos i got a lotta patience, and i gotta lotta time'. Rather than shaking a fist at the sky in my best Cleeseian homage, I am looking at things variously spin out of control or go amusingly wrong. As fren of the band Dion W. says 'when taking a pie to the face, go 'mmm, lemon'.

Our plans are at best, guidelines and hopes. We get done what we can. Also, I am cool with not pushing it. Organic practises.

Thus with the last sigh i make over my sunken pudding, my exploded rocket and my imploded sub, I blank the page with a handrub of chalk dust and draw a new thing.

Having a very good moment in set-refreshing, the logjam finally broke and more of the recent album stuff is coming into the set, a blessed relief. I felt a change in the weather recently and I expect to see more work out before the end of the year. No pressure other than what naturally arises. I seem remarkably calm in a strange time, maybe that's the most helpful thing we can do.