On Having a Heart Attack

It’s something I’ve dreaded all my life, my own father died from one when I was five, he probably would have lived had he access to the super technology that exists in the 21st century, but that was in 1957 and he didn’t stand much of a chance back then. More recently I found papers from the RAF where he had been discharged with a health condition that involved his heart so maybe it was a congenital disease. He was 33 years old and I doubted in my youth that I would live much past that age but I am now about 7 weeks away from my 60th birthday and the inevitable has finally happened - and I was surprised to discover that the whole affair wasn’t as bad as I had imagined or feared. (What do they say – ‘the fearful die a thousand deaths’) Looking back there were several signs, but I put them down to other ailments like my slightly stiff and swollen ankles I thought may be a part of the sciatica I had been suffering for the past few months. The occasion single stabbing punch I felt in my sternum from time to time was followed by a bout of burping and distended stomach that lead me to think it was some indigestion issue. And not feeling as fit as I used to this past few months that I thought could have been related to having left my job in Holland as a ‘Postboder’, (or postal worker) 18 months ago, as I was no longer walking and cycling 3 or four hours a day several times a week. It started with a few bouts of heartburn that had grown serious enough to buy some antacids on the Wednesday. On Thursday I decided a long overdue bike ride through nearby Sherwood Forest was in order, but almost immediately I experienced severe heartburn and I was cursing myself for not bring my antacids along. I abandoned my ride as I developed a puncture anyway and I was quite exhausted when I made it back. Once I’d chilled out I was able to pack ready for an early start to fly over to Frankfurt for a couple of gigs over the weekend. The heartburn continued throughout Friday and the various antacids I had resorted to didn’t seem have any effect. I had lost my appetite and my stomach continued to bloat and I only ate a little food and drink just to keep my energy levels up so I could set up, do the sound check, and get through the performance. As a regular drinker of alcohol I managed to force some whiskey down me after the gig just to get some of my daily dose and so I could sleep well which I did. It was uncomfortable to swallow but didn’t seem to make matters much worse, in fact I felt a bit better in myself overall! Saturday I awoke with the same relentless heartburn but I was learning that if I used my years of meditation practice I could put myself in a trance state that lessened the symptoms somewhat. However on the ride over to the next gig I started having a severe attack and so bad that I didn’t know where to put myself and eventually I felt so nauseous that I stopped the bus and tried to wretch several times but nothing would come up. On reaching the venue I sat for half an hour or so in trance and I was able to manage with some discomfort to do the gig that night where we actually got a standing ovation... What a trooper I am, even though I say so myself. The show must go on and all that! But the truth is I could have croaked at any time... At the end of that evening I decided that I needed to stop drinking and adopt a diet that was going to help control the heartburn maybe it would take a little time but I was sure I could get sort it out in the end. Sunday I was feeling much the same and as we flew back to England I wasn’t feeling very good at all - cold sweats, intense pain in both the chest and back etc. And after a long car, bus, and taxi drive back home I was relieved to be in my own bed but the relief didn’t last long and I awoke several times in the night and had a particularly bad attack including severe and continuous backache and more cold sweats in the early hours of Monday morning. When I got up I drank some chamomile tea and ate a little cooked rice hoping this would help the heartburn but it didn’t. I decided now that I had internet access again I would do some research. I was also still getting cold sweats and I had another unproductive vomiting session. Maybe my oesophagus had been damaged or I was suffering from some stomach infection and then at the bottom of a Heartburn webpage I saw a line ‘Heartburn can also be a symptom of a heart attack’! Following the link I was surprised to find I was rapidly ticking off all the boxes on the heart attack page and so I thought I ought to phone 999 just in case. The paramedic arrived very quickly with all his machines, and gave me aspirins and an under the tongue spray before doing an ECG. He confirmed that I had had some form of heart attack and called for an ambulance to take me to a specialist unit in Nottingham. In the ambulance I was given Morphine that made me wretch again for the third time and I was surprised when they whisked me immediately into a theatre where dyes were injected and the presence of a blocked right heart artery and a narrowed left heart artery were found and both starving the heart of blood. I was given a local anaesthetic and a tube was inserted up an artery in my right arm my and into the narrowed left artery where after some difficulty a ‘stent’ was fitted to open it out. This is a tube made of a special metal that eventually grows into the artery and keeps it open. Once completed the ‘heartburn’ I had been experiencing over the past 5 days subsided and I was instantly feeling better. Dr Nadra, (who was feckin genius by the way), showed me X ray pictures and explained what had been happening. Sometime in the past the right artery supplying the heart had become badly blocked and I had, unbeknown to me, suffered a heart attack, maybe in my sleep sometime in the distant past who knows? The left artery however was able to take over supplying blood to the blocked area of the heart and all was fine until the left artery started to narrow and that’s where the trouble gradually began. It is still to be decided if I’m going to need another op on to unblock the right artery but it’s early days yet. I had heard of the following phenomenon but never thought that the heart itself could be so cunning. Having no pain receptors of its own, the heart uses nearby pain receptors to communicate its distress, even to the point that it could even fake severe heartburn! No wonder the antacids didn’t work, there was no acid reflux there at all, just a fake sensation generated by the heart muscle. Another experience of this phenomenon came when they injected some nitrous fluid into my heart, what I felt instead was cool clear fluid slipping down both sides of my throat! Talking to a nurse later he said that each individual’s heart muscles have their own characteristic preferences for registering sensations. It can be a feeling of pressure in the chest, heartburn, stomach ache, chest pains, back ache, pain in the shoulders and down the arms, and pain in the throat and jaw. The warning signs are that this pain is consistent and cannot be relieved by pain palliative medication or by shifting position etc and you usually feel ill, suffer cold sweats, and sometimes feel dizzy, or collapse. Altogether they kept me in for 4 nights as I was suffering from heart arrhythmias and needed to remain under observation but I’m now back home and feeling much better. The arrhythmias are almost gone now and I’m feeling relieved to be back home where I can heal myself with my own magic arts as well as eat the foods and do the things I know will help to heal me. Captain Squeak, our dominant male cat came straight up to me this morning as I sat down in my chair and he placed his two front paws on my heart and proceeded to give me some serious ‘purr full’ love for quite some time.. I sobbed uncontrollably... the healing has begun! ’ By the way, I haven’t had a drink for 6 nights now and I’ve no intention of ever starting again. Finally found a good reason to stop after 25 years of drinking every night. Miracle of miracles is that both my Liver and Kidneys are in good order, though whether they still will be after all the pills I’ve got to take now is another matter! Got to take it easy now for a few weeks and gradually build up my strength...My heart muscle has been badly damaged and like any muscle it needs time and exercise to stand a chance of building up again. On the bus the other day I saw a sign saying ‘Phoenix Rise’...advertising a new housing development somewhere no doubt... All I can say is ‘Stand back friends and just watch me’!

Sammy hard at work!

Been working very hard since my last rant. Went out to Munich for a couple of gigs with the Cajun Roosters and played the Tollwood winter festival there which is an awesome event. It's really like a giant sized winter market with beer, food, music and entertainment lasting a whole month. Watch out for a video of us playing there that will hopefully be out on youtube before too long. As you can see below I've been reworking the intro to my book and thanks to all the people who recently gave me constructive feedback after reading it. I've now reposted a reworked first six chapters of the book back up on my website as well as a couple of new tracks from the new Cajun Roosters & Friends album all of which you can download for free. (There's a button on this blog that should take you directly to my website).
Seems like I've also got me a new band, Gypsy Ska Punk band 'The 10 O'Clock Horses', I've been wanting to play with some non-Cajun local musicians since I've been back in the UK mainly to establish some kind of social life and also to stretch my drumming parameters (they certainly did that!). I played my first 2 gigs this weekend, one in Birmingham, and one at the Sumac Centre in Nottingham. The Birmingham gig was great, but as it was my first gig with them with only one rehearsal there were several cock ups but nothing too severe. Saturday at the Sumac was much better and from the dancing, applause, and feedback we got it would seem a good time was had by all, what a great place and awesome people. Both gigs were hunt sab benefits and a great excuse to paaarty! Great to be playing with some wicked folks from where I grew up in Sutton Junction and Kirkby-in Ashfield.
Also the action on our campaign to 'Save the Shrubbery' is hotting up. We have been out leafleting again and we are busy looking for people who have been walking the non registered footpaths for at least 20 years so that we can get then officially recognised. The planning meeting is on the 19th december and they've now changed the time of the meeting from 5 to 2pm. This means that we will have to go round informing of the new time and it will also mean working people will find it more difficult to attend. Clever corporate developers, 'how did they manage to swing that' my suspicious mind reacts! I will be speaking at the meeting which is a little daunting but I feel strongly enough about this to not care about nerves.
Wanted to get in the garden today but once I'd finished writing the rain was siling it down, maybe tomorrow will be better. Also tomorrow I'm going to be making my first batch of beer, wish me luck!

The Lost & Crippled Calamity Tour – Monday - Halloween

Back from what has been a gruelling few weeks on the road in Holland and Germany giggling a lot as well as gigging a lot, such a fine line between pleasure and pain and sometimes they hit at about the same time.
Spent last night rooming with Chris Hall and laughing out loud at his amazing musical snorting and snoring and I just wished I had a video recorder with me, it would surely be a massive hit on youtube, and then there’s L’il Jim, who also giggles a lot who played with us on the last night of the tour so what can a po’ boy do but laugh at the absurdity that the construct throws at you sometimes?
Back now in Sherwood to winter out with only a handful of gigs till spring so time to heal my aches and pains,do some teaching, dig the garden, find some more gainful employment, generate some new sustainable and authentic creative ideas, and consult the oracles for the best way to conduct myself over the next few months.
So why the ‘Lost & Crippled Calamity Tour’? Well the cripple bit came from me as everyone seemed to be suffering from some physical ailment or other and was limping around including me. Then Classie Ballou - legendary Bass player with War, Archie Bell & the Drells, and on this tour with headlining act Jeffery ‘Mr Horny Devil’ Broussard - came up with the calamity part as one by one we all seemed to suffer from one calamity after another. For example I tripped up in the dark carrying wood for the fire at the place we were staying and grazed my chin and Classie collapsed one night and needed to go to hospital! The lost bit came from Hazel ‘losing’ her laptop (probably was stolen), Chris losing his wallet, and me leaving a research book on the plane coming home.
The shows however were excellent it’s just the bits that the audience don’t get to see that can be tough. Late nights, early mornings, often sleeping on floors, long hours in the back of a bus warp speed driving to the next venue, Loading gear in and out, in and out, setting up, sound checking, cheese, ham, bread, cheese, ham, bread, cheese, ham, bread, and the inevitable weak tea if you’re lucky. Also comfort eating, free beer, and sitting around all day means that I’ve put on about 4 Kilos that I now need to shed.
The Louisiana guys were awesome though and great fun too I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in my life! Jeffery, Mary, and Classie made a great team and with the addition of Andy and Fabio on Drums and guitar, they were a force to be reckoned with…A ‘Zydeco Force’ you might say!
Audiences were enthusiastic and the shows were almost all very well attended, what more can you ask for?
It’s now Friday and I’ve just got round to finishing this off. The Oracles have been consulted and it’s all looking favourable, everything is more or less packed away, and I’ve got a couple of good nights sleep in. My wounds and aches are slowly healing, and I’m off out this afternoon in the rain foraging, collecting Yarrow stalks, and other herbs and things and getting some fresh forest air in the process.
Oh and one more thing, in a previous blog I mentioned that I had been observing the spirals on the top of people’s heads and that they all seemed to spin ‘widdershins’ or anti clockwise. I saw one the other day that went clockwise but hadn’t the courage to ask him if he was from ‘down under’!

Brief Landings

Wow what a roller coaster ride i've been going through of late...where to begin.. Just been doing lot's of gigs in Germany and Holland with much more to come...it's not often I'm out on tour this much and it's been hard work but with some awesome times. It all comes to a close at the end of the month so maybe then I'll have chance to make sense of it all and write of my experiences.
On the subject of hair spirals, that is the spirals of hair that form on the crowns of human heads. I spotted my first one that goes sunwise or clock wise on the bus last week! The majority of hair spirals spin 'widdershins'or anti-clockwise so it was a great joy to find one that spun sunwise. Maybe the guy was from New Zealand or somewhere down south...evidently the bath water spins down the plughole the opposite way down under but I haven't fully researched my facts on this yet.
Anyroad I've only touched down briefly and I'm mainly regrouping and licking my wounds before embarking again..but just saying hello really to all my legions of fans (not)!
This weekend I play on a little island off the coast of Holland called Texel at a blues fest..2 nights...beautiful setting...maybe I'll see you there? Blessings.. Sammy x

Wow Berlin!

Just got back from a tour of Germany and currently listening to Ry Cooder on BBC 2 Mike Harding show before heading off tomorrow for another gig in Germany...busy busy but I'm happy to be earning and getting by. Wow old Ry is makin some statement and old Mike is right up there with him.. and I love where they're both coming from.
And wow Berlin what a city! Can't begin to describe what it is about this place but I'll try.. Reminds me of Belfast in the 1990's but about ten times the size and developing at ten times the pace. Most people on the street appear to be under 25 and it's how I imagine Paris was in the 1920's pulling in artists, musicians,poets, philosophers, and bohemians into an 'East meets West' fusion that transcends the boundaries of nations and unions, races and creeds. If I was to recommend a city to visit forget Amsterdam or Rome...get your ass over to Berlin, a unique metropolis.

Home and Away

No not the popular soap opera from down under but just more obtuse rambling about my ramblings.. Just done a nice festival in the east of Holland very near to the border of Germany in a little town called Winterswijk. I have played here many times over the years in different bands but each time it has a different vibe. Although the audience numbers were down on previous years (due in the main I think to it being cancelled last year), there was no lack of enthusiasm from the audience. Due to carousing and the like with my mates Andy and Candice in Derby the night before and with a 4:30 start, I was a bit easyjet lagged and lacking in sleep to say the least and yet I ended up playing for over 4 hours without a break as one of the Dutch bands were without a drummer due to sickness. This is always interesting for me as there is usually this mixture of nervousness about how well I'm going to pull off the gig being so tired, juxtaposed with the knowledge that most of the time the lack of sleep means I tend to shut down most of my left brain controlling faculties and fall into a trance like state where the shamanic magic kicks in and the voodoo ceremony begins! This definitely happened in the last set with my band ZydeGoNutZ where we over ran our set by 45 minutes such was the dancing madness and mayhem, It definitely helped not having a break and doing a set with the Dutch band Fai-do-do in between my own sets where I could keep warm and energised.. and yet another notch on my bedpost of bands I have depped with!
It's not just about the music though when you come over to do these gigs. Just as important are the conversations and craic you have. Wandering minstrals such as I were often persecuted and suppressed, not only for their philandering ways but also for their tendency to share information, find out whats going on, and spread the real news. Plenty of that going on this weekend I'm happy to say. I guess minstrals back in the day were the equivalent to the interweb but there is still something special about face to face, heart to heart, real life communication that goes beyond Skype.
So now I am home re-packing and getting ready for a little tour of Germany with the Cajun Roosters one of my other 'core' bands that I go out with. This time I get to go to Berlin for the first time. I'll let you know how I get on when I get back in a weeks time.. Love y'all!

Widdershins Spirals and Elderberries

Just gearing up to what amounts to 3 weekends away in the Eurozone, the plan is to play some music, have a good time, and make some money, but the last of these three may be in some jeapody due to the baffling economic situation going on in the EU.
Meanwhile I sit on buses and look at the back of peoples heads, if their hair is short enough you can often see a spiral on the back of their heads. So far i've only observed them spiraling 'widdershins' that is spinning anti-clockwise. Interesting is that old Adolf on seeing a spiraling clockwise proto Swastica ordered it to be reversed 'widdershins' and many occultists during that day saw it as a very bad omen that the 3rd Reich would fail, (which according to some it was designed to from the start which is another story).
The swastica (derived from a sanskrit word) is an ancient symbol that is in fact a sun wheel and is found in Indian as well as Native American Indian cultures. It can be represented as clockwise, the way that the sun travels through the sky, or anti clockwise, which in the old lore represents a negative, destructive, energy. The fact that we have such a negative spiral upon our heads may be an accident or maybe we are designed this way by the Archons who manipulated our DNA way back in the day. We are certainly becoming more and more of a negative influence on our earth even though we say we try to love and care for her. I have a couple of questions:'Do you know of anyone who has a spiral on their head that turns clockwise?' and: ' Do people in the southern hemisphere naturally have hair that turns clockwise?'
Meanwhile I went out and collected about 3lb of elderberries today and dug up all the remaining potatoes from the garden. It's really satisfying harvesting and foraging during the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. Means we can have chips, Mash, and wine over the coming months at least.
For the last few weeks I've not had any gigs and only an hour or so teaching a week but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I've become a bit of an environmental activist trying to save the little wood down the road from being developed into a golf course and 60 bed hotel. The jury's still out but the whole experience has left me feeling very powerless regarding local corporations and politicians, 'spiritual wickedness in high places'as the good book states.
Also the 'Dub Shack' my 'music studio in a shed' has been undergoing some maintanance to prepare it for the winter months to come. Interesting that old Roald Dahl's shed is coming under such media attention, my Sis say's it's not as good as my own 'Man Cave'!
Thought of a bit of a business idea that resonates with my current state of mind, making voodoo shamanic products to sell on e bay and to local new age shops and maybe even have a stall of my own. Stuff I make from local wood, stone, feathers, etc. One example is the concept of the talking stick. This is a native american device that is used in discussions, debates, and disputes. Whoever has hold of the talking stick is allowed to talk for as long as they want without being interupted by anyone else in the group. It's amazing how this works as a negotiation tool, as a person with the power to talk rarely takes much time to say what they want to say when they are not being opposed or interupted. They should try it on Radio 4 and Newsnight sometimes, we might actually get beyond the 'smoke and mirrors' and get some idea about what's really going on.
So I'm not going to be around much online for the next three weekends which I quite like. Though I love the internet it's quite nice to get away from it for extended periods, I guess it's all about balance.
Blessings to you all. Sammy x