Blowing My Own Trumpet

Posted on by

I wouldn’t normally post something which seems boastful – at least, I hope I wouldn’t! – but on Friday my blog passed a milestone:

I haven’t reached that number quickly: I have been doing this, off and on, for around eight and a half years, so if you do the maths you’ll see that this works out at just under a thousand views per month on average. That is hardly setting the blog world alight, is it! I’ve never thought of myself as a particularly serious blogger, the sort that spends all day working on posts and may very well be making their living from it. For me, this began out of the therapy sessions I was undergoing after my return to work from a long spell away with depression, and became a hobby which I have continued since I retired. You’ll still see mental health posts on here – I’ll never lose sight of that – but over the past year or two the focus has been much more on sharing the music I like. Readership, followers, likes and comments are what I’d describe as ‘steady, but gradually increasing,’ which is fine by me. I enjoy writing the posts, researching the backgrounds to the music I share, and then the interaction with you all once the posts have gone live.

There have been other posts too: I’ve recently started an occasional series of National Days, I still sometimes post under the older Dates To Note banner, and there are the random posts like this one which get lumped under my default ‘Thoughts’ category – it’s easier than thinking too hard about a new heading! But they all share one thing in common: they reflect me, my thoughts and hopes, and the things which make me happy. Hopefully that comes across to you: for me, the first rule of blogging is to be honest with yourself and your readers, and don’t try to be something or someone you’re not.

I’ve nothing more to add, really, but I just wanted to mark the milestone with a profound THANK YOU! to each and every one who has contributed to those page views. You may be one of those who I view as regulars, who have become ‘friends’ through the medium of blogging, even though we haven’t met or spoken in any other way. Or you may be someone who drops in now and then, or perhaps this is your first time here. Whichever it may be, I am grateful to you all for spending some of your time with me.

And now, by way of celebration, it wouldn’t be me without a couple of songs, would it? Taking my theme of trumpet blowing, I thought I’d mark the milestone with a couple of tunes that feature trumpets. Firstly, my favourite song of all time. Ever. Bar none. I quite like this one:

And for my second tune, this is another favourite, from a band who do a good cover version of the previous song. This is one of their own, though. The trumpets aren’t as pronounced, but the overall feel wouldn’t be the same without them:

And to save you asking, no, she isn’t a regular member of the band. Her name is Marianne Dissard, she is French, and the song and video wouldn’t be the same without her, either! She is an interesting character, and a multi-talented person – you can read more about her here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Dissard

Thank you again for helping me pass a significant milestone, and enjoy the rest of your weekend – unless you’re in the Antipodes, in which case I bid you goodnight and sweet dreams.

64 thoughts on “Blowing My Own Trumpet”

  3. Pingback: May It Was | Take It Easy

  4. Pingback: Monday InLinkz Join us at 165 Senior Salon

  5. Happy world of blogging – we should always enjoy it. I imagine blogging to earn money must be totally different and stressful if you are depending on it. But just being in touch with people on different continents and of course our fellow countrymen and receiving engaged comments. What more do we need?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Congrats on the milestone Clive

    I liked your share about blogging approach
    And what I like about you as a blogger – or what I sense from you
    Is that you are not caught up in the numbers game
    There is such a chill and laid back vibe and maybe that is because you really do just “take it easy”

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Many thanks, Yvette. That’s kind of you to say. I do keep an eye on the numbers – likes and comments give me an idea of whether people like what I’m doing – but I try not to become obsessive about them. I’m enjoying myself, and if others like it that’s great. With my history, I promised myself to avoid stress as much as possible when I retired, and changed the blog name to reflect that.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. Congratulations on this significant milestone. I look at blogging as a simple way people can exchange thoughts and ideas from around the world. It is a microcosm of how different people should respect and learn from one another. When I awake in the morning, one of the first things I do is see what notifications have come in. Because so many of my blogging friends are from across the pond, it’s a nice way to wake each morning. I have no idea if I’ll last eight years, but I’m enjoying the ride so far.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Certainly a good reason to blow your trumpet! I had never heard either of the songs before. At first glance, I thought the first one was going to be “Alone Again, Naturally” by Gilbert O’Sullivan … one of my favourites! I liked the first one a lot, and the second might grow on me with time. 😉 Congrats again, my friend! 🥂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Jill. It was certainly a good excuse to play two of my favourite songs, and I’m glad you liked at least one of them! As you can probably guess, Gilbert O’Sullivan doesn’t feature anywhere near my list of favourites 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Heh heh … REALLY??? Gosh, I would have expected you to love him! 🤣 Joking aside, no, I’m not at all surprised and in truth, that one, “Alone Again, Naturally”, is the only one of his I can remember, but I do like it.

        Liked by 1 person

      • I try to forget him, tbh! I described him earlier to another blog friend as ‘a wimp with a horrible, nasal whine’ for a voice. I’m a big fan of many singer-songwriters, but not him!

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Well done, Clive for reaching this milestone… I am happy to have found you as you have introduced me to many bands and singers which were new to me….and who doesn’t love music… everyone should have music in their lives it makes a dull day that little brighter…I couldn’t view the videos here but no worries it happens sometimes as we know …Congrats again x

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Well done Compadre, awesome figure. Your posts are always good and the mental health one have been helpful., I feel no shame in admitting a similar problem. I love the first track but I’m sorry the second one did nothing for me at all. Even in the humour stakes..
    Have a great week.
    Hugs

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, David, much appreciated. There is no shame in admitting that but, sadly, the stigma are still there. I guess one out of two isn’t bad with the tunes 😊

      You have a great week too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. My congratulations too Clive, added to the many others who also appreciate your posts. Tuesdays and Saturdays (with the occasional day in between) wouldn’t be the same. It’s something I look forward to just like I did with Sunday afternoon listening to the ‘Pick of the Pops’ (though my memory may be failing me here with the name!). ‘Till the next post … 🙏

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Clive, that’s very kind of you. Saturday is more of a moveable feast for me – I like to keep readers on their toes! You’re right on Pick of the Pops: I used to sit in front of the radio, ready to switch on the cassette recorder for the songs I liked (notes had been made on chart placings during Thursday’s Top of the Pops!) Alan Freeman was the only DJ who didn’t talk over the intros 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Yes and I liked him very much for it. As a teenager wherever we were, and it was usually at the sailing club with my parents, a whole gang of us would pile into my Dad’s old Vauxhall Victor hoping that we wouldn’t drain the battery by listening in. Great times 😊

        Liked by 1 person

  15. congratulations, Clive! That’s quite an accomplishment. I’m glad that I discovered your blog; it’s exposed me to so many great musical artists, and it’s created a virtual friendship with someone from across the pond!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. Congratulations on your milestone Clive. I think that’s a great achievement considering you are not a serial blogger but provide us with regular, thoughtful and entertaining posts … with some great tunes of course. I haven’t heard that one by Love for years, and I have never heard the other. Nice choices.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Many thanks, Paul. I felt it worth mentioning, and appreciate your kind comments. I’ve posted Alone Again Or before, but the Calexico one was its first time here. Both great songs 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  22. Congratulations, Clive. I’m not one for celebrating milestones. The only stats I look at regularly are the ones that tell me which of my posts get the most comments. I know then that I’m engaging with an audience who have read the post. However, the most important thing is that I continue to get a lot of enjoyment and fun out of blogging. No stress or made to feel guilty for not reading every post that the blogs I follow publish. There’s too much of that in the blog world.
    Wishing you many more happy years of blogging.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Hugh. I use the stats like you do, but only as a check – there’s no need to stress about my blog, but I just felt I couldn’t let the number go unnoticed! You’re right: we should enjoy it, or there’s no point in doing it. I hope you keep it going too 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Thank you, Lesley, that’s very kind of you. I’m pleased that you have followed my blog – I thought I’d returned the compliment but have just checked and found your site is marked as private. I hope I did follow!

      Like

      Reply

Please leave a reply, I'd like to know what you think