It could be that the best part of last nights drive across Ireland was during the long drag before getting to Fermoy. The rest of the family were slumped asleep in the car and the road stretched out unyielding in front of me. There were broken clouds in the sky that obscured a half moon. It was the kind of driving that could give over to sleep. All I had was the music that chopped and changed through the shuffle on my iPhone. It went quiet for a while and then I heard the thrum of New York guitar and the snide whine of Lou Reed’s voice and so I found myself listening to the ebb and flow of a 35 minute version of Sister Ray. It kept me going through the dark.

The sun has been shining today but there are few mackerel to be had.