Therapy For Me

W/C 28th April 2025

Between 13:00 and 13:40 today I witnessed a wonder of the modern world.

In the Long Bar, which is situated in the East Stand at Headingley, an undisclosed but statistically significant number of cricket followers were fed a lunch of fish, chips and mushy peas, with bread and butter on the side.

This was the scene that greeted me in the Members lounge, as this unnamed collective moved between the food queue, the condiments table and the bar. The average age well north of 70.

There was little in the way of fanfare, and nothing like the amount of ambient noise I would have expected. Just a focussed sense of purpose, that comes from the understanding that the time in hand was short. You see there was not only food to be eaten, there was drink to be drunk, and a comfort break to be factored in before the first ball of the afternoon.

You can moan about the boomers, and I often do, but when they get their sh*t together it is a thing of really beauty.

Stay safe.

Give A Little Bit - Supertramp

Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the hope that by saying stuff out loud it would act as a little bit of self-help. It's remains loose in style, fluid in terms of content and raw - it's a one take, press record and see what happens, affair.

If you want to keep in touch with TFM and the other stuff I do then please follow me on Facebook, Insta, Twitter or Patreon. Thanks for getting this far.

W/C 21st April 2025

As you are about to hear there isn't a real reason why I have picked this particular track to share with you as the episode title. There could have been, but as it turned out I ditched that idea because it was a bit too complicated.

But I have stuck with it because I can't get past one aspect of the lyric, and as it happens it does resonate with (admittedly in a slightly laboured way) the football part of this week's TFM. Let me explain.

As a song it contains an absolutely killer lyric, and it is preceded by a really nice build up in the verse;

Jimmy Shoes, he busted both his legs

Trying to learn to fly

From a second storey window

He just jumped and closed his eyes

His momma said he was crazy

He said, Momma, I've got to try

Nothing wrong with that, it's a great foundation that is building a narrative and preparing you for something special. Kind of like the first forty games that Sheffield United have played this year. Then you get this killer line....

Don't you know that all my heroes died?

Boom. Absolutely stunning line, really stops you in your tracks. A bit like beating Coventry 3-1 at home and putting promotion squarely in your own hands. But then Jon follows it up with this lifeless, disappointing, throw-away cliche

And I guess I'd rather die than fade away

What a let down, hopes smashed. Like losing to Oxford, Millwall and Plymouth and handing promotion to your season-long rivals.

Stay safe.

These Days - Bon Jovi

Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the hope that by saying stuff out loud it would act as a little bit of self-help. It's remains loose in style, fluid in terms of content and raw - it's a one take, press record and see what happens, affair.

If you want to keep in touch with TFM and the other stuff I do then please follow me on Facebook, Insta, Twitter or Patreon. Thanks for getting this far.

W/C 14th April 2025

I am quietly chuckling to myself, because I never thought I would be able to feed a song title like this one into an episode of TFM. But in the context of the content for this week, and if you flip it around a bit, and imagine it from a certain perspective then it does make a lot of sense.

Anyway it's a bit of a funny one this week, with the early week being the closing stages of our holiday to Gran Canaria, before setting back off to what was a slightly unusual end to the working week.

I hope you find something in there of interest, and that you have a rewarding easter weekend.

Stay safe.

Video Killed The Radio Star - Buggles

The Residence - Netflix

Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the hope that by saying stuff out loud it would act as a little bit of self-help. It's remains loose in style, fluid in terms of content and raw - it's a one take, press record and see what happens, affair.

If you want to keep in touch with TFM and the other stuff I do then please follow me on Facebook, Insta, Twitter or Patreon. Thanks for getting this far.

W/C 7th April 2025

As it turns out a Saltwater swimming pool does (in point of fact) still contain Chlorine.

Not an opening sentence I thought I would ever use for a slice of TFM, but the experiences of the week have brought me here, and after all that is what this is all about.

I have been informed by Goggle AI that 'a saltwater swimming pool utilises a salt chlorine generator to produce chlorine from salt, offering a less harsh alternative to traditional chlorine pools. While it doesn't eliminate chlorine entirely, the generator creates a smaller amount, making the water feel softer and potentially gentler on skin and eyes.' 

None of which I knew.

The thing that it doesn't explain is the sensation of increased buoyancy that you feel when just floating on your back. None of the 'advantages of' lists I have read has it down as a feature or a benefit, which leads me to the conclusion that I have probably just imagined it.

The power of the mind, eh.

Stay safe.

Saltwater - Chicane (ft. Moya Brennan)

W/C 31st March 2025

26 minutes to go until this weeks TFM is due to be published and I have no idea what to do about the notes.

Michael Sembello is pulsating out of the speakers on my desk, and if I flip tabs I can see the very MTV era video playing away in its non-widescreen format. We are due to be leaving the house for a family shopping trip to Meadowhall at quarter to, which is only adding to the pressing nature of my task.

Normally I would have a little nugget leftover from the episode, something anecdotal perhaps or maybe a bit of interesting aside that would round out one of the segments. But for now I have nothing.

22 minutes now, 7 until we are due to set-off. Quick mental recap of the week, but still nothing. I might just have to go with an empty page...

Stay safe.

Maniac - Michael Sembello

Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the hope that by saying stuff out loud it would act as a little bit of self-help. It's remains loose in style, fluid in terms of content and raw - it's a one take, press record and see what happens, affair.

If you want to keep in touch with TFM and the other stuff I do then please follow me on Facebook, Insta, Twitter or Patreon. Thanks for getting this far.

W/C 24th March 2025

One of the great things about recording TFM is that I get to rack my brains and come up with an episode title that is also a song. You know the rules, the song title (where possible) must be pertinent to some of the themes of the week's episode, and I try and make it a song I have some history with.

Clearly this week was going to be fairly easy, I mean how many song titles are there that contain the word 'Drive' (don't answer that, because it is quite a lot). But here's the thing, because this part of the TFM process is a bit of a gift that keeps on giving, the choice of REM has taken me back to Automatic For The People, and who doesn't need reminding of how good an album that is and how lucky we are to have it.

What that means is that I am going to be giving it a spin over the weekend, as I contemplate the state of the nation finances and the sheer absurdity of the Testi app.

Stay safe.

Drive - REM

Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the hope that by saying stuff out loud it would act as a little bit of self-help. It's remains loose in style, fluid in terms of content and raw - it's a one take, press record and see what happens, affair.

If you want to keep in touch with TFM and the other stuff I do then please follow me on Facebook, Insta, Twitter or Patreon. Thanks for getting this far.

W/C 17th March 2025

I have heard this story three times now, and it floors me every time.

This song was written as part of Radio 2's 21st century Folk project, where a group of songwriters were invited to write songs about other peoples lives. The song describes the day that Thea travelled to the North East to meet Delyth Raffell, and to hear about her daughter Ellen who passed away at the age of 16 from an allergic reaction.

I was drawn to the song on the first listen, long before I understood the context or the significance of it. With the backstory in place, it takes it to a whole different level.

She then performed the song for Delyth and her family at the Woodhorn Museum in Ashington. I have included the link to that performance as well album version of the song.

Stay safe.

She Speaks in Colours - Thea Gilmore

She Speaks in Colours performed for Delyth Raffell

Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the hope that by saying stuff out loud it would act as a little bit of self-help. It's remains loose in style, fluid in terms of content and raw - it's a one take, press record and see what happens, affair.

If you want to keep in touch with TFM and the other stuff I do then please follow me on Facebook, Insta, Twitter or Patreon. Thanks for getting this far.

Welcome to fellow Marillion folk and all newcomers to this podcast...

A few things to know, Therapy For Me has been running for just over five years and is a safe space for me to process what has been going on over the course of the last week.

It is unscripted, recorded (mostly) in one take and published fresh everything Saturday morning around 9am GMT

The episode titles are based around songs that tie-in to some aspect of the content of that week, and feature tracks that have floated in and out of my existence.

(this week it's a belter from a project called Sunhouse, the link is below)

And that should be enough to get you started. Feel free to subscribe if you like it, and if you want to join in with the chat you might want to listen via my patreon page

Stay safe.

Ant

P.S If you are curious about the swan then click here

Crazy on the Weekend - Sunhouse (song)

Crazy on the Weekend - Sunhouse (album)

Sunhouse

Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the hope that by saying stuff out loud it would act as a little bit of self-help. It's remains loose in style, fluid in terms of content and raw - it's a one take, press record and see what happens, affair.

If you want to keep in touch with TFM and the other stuff I do then please follow me on Facebook, Insta, Twitter or Patreon. Thanks for getting this far.

W/C 10th March 2025

I love this song, and I love this album.

Bearing in mind what I am talking about this week I wanted something sublime and beautiful, and this is surely it.

Should I be using something other than Marillion to describe a Marillion weekend? Absolutely I should, anything by the band themselves would be a little too 'on the nose'

Anyway I hope you are well and have had a good week, mine has been another one of those slightly surreal ones, for which I feel blessed.

Stay safe.

Crazy on the Weekend - Sunhouse (song)

Crazy on the Weekend - Sunhouse (album)

Sunhouse

W/C 3rd March 2025

Todays notes come courtesy of Wikipedia;

Coles Corner is the name given to the corner of Fargate and Church Street in Sheffield, in sight of the cathedral. It was the site of the old Cole Brothers department store until it moved to Barker's Pool in 1963.

The corner is famous in Sheffield as a place to meet for a first date. A plaque put up by the Rotary Club now marks the spot and ensures its local history is not forgotten.

I mention this of course because of the 20th anniversary of the album by Richard Hawley, and because as I am off to Sheffield today anyway (the Blades are taking on Preston at BDBL) I might try and go and seek out that plaque.

You can find some more information and pictures here

Stay safe.

Coles Corner - Richard Hawley

Craig Joiner

Sea of Souls

Therapy For Me (or TFM as I now refer to it) is a bit of an audio curiosity. It started out as a mechanism for me to clear my head, with the hope that by saying stuff out loud it would act as a little bit of self-help. It's remains loose in style, fluid in terms of content and raw - it's a one take, press record and see what happens, affair.

If you want to keep in touch with TFM and the other stuff I do then please follow me on Facebook, Insta, Twitter or Patreon. Thanks for getting this far.