A guitar telephone tutorial with Johnny Marr!

The summers I remember most fondly were times of holidays, holy days and happy days. “We’re all going on our summer holidays” sang Cliff, “Eat, drink and enjoy the fruit of your work for these are gifts from God” said the Bible (Ecclesiastes 3;12).

Everyone should take a break even if it’s only for a day. That break becomes a line in the sand separating the past from the future.

This summer I’ve begun to realise what a fool I am. I get so involved trying to do good that I convince myself the world would grind to a halt if I stopped. That’s complete nonsense and it is arrogant too. The truth is that if I died today the world wouldn’t miss a beat.

 It’s not that I or you don’t matter; we do. It’s just that our jobs, our families, our friends need us when we are around but learn to thrive even more when we’re not.

I should be sensible enough to know I need a break, a time when I neither think of problems nor search for solutions.

On these summer days forget about buying things and instead buy experiences. You have enough new clothes already and you don’t really need a new telly. Far better to buy a ticket for a show or enjoy a good meal with your family instead. By all means do what you have to but then do what you like to do.

Spend more time in the company of people you like. Take a break from computers and phones. Help others. As most self-help programmes tell us: you have to give it away to keep it.

Summer is when you realise that friendships are precious. The friend who sits with us and doesn’t feel compelled to fix us, to cure us or even ask what’s wrong, is worth their weight in gold.

Holidays are when the time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time at all.