#1 - WHAT IS THE ONE ALBUM (OR EP OR SONG) THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE VERY NEXT MUSICAL THING THAT EVERYONE PRESSES PLAY ON THE NEXT TIME THEY FIND THEMSELVES THINKING “WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NOW”?

At the moment I’m loving the dapper suited gentleman who strolls around the neighbourhood busking with his melodica…

… but I’m not sure he has an album out, so I will recommend Blonde by Frank Ocean.

I know it’s a few years old but I keep coming back to it.

#2 - WHAT IS THE ONE MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE NEXT IN EVERYBODY’S NETFLIX QUEUE (OK, DOESN’T HAVE TO BE NETFLIX, WE’RE ALL INTERNET ADULTS HERE AND KNOW HOW TO FIND ANYTHING ONLINE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER)?

I only get to see films at the cinema and the summer outdoor cinemas are my favourite place to watch a movie. Ok, there’s no surround sound and the lady sometimes waters the garden at crucial points but you have a little table for your beer and wine and whatever and you’re under the stars. Last night I saw Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die which I enjoyed very much as I do all his movies.

Maybe my recommendation is not what you watch but how you watch it.

#3. I (AND BY “I” I MEAN “THE PERSON THAT IS READING THIS”) AM GOING TO THE BOOK STORE (OK, PROBABLY AMAZON) TO FIND THE VERY NEXT BOOK THAT I WILL BE PUTTING SOME EXTREMELY VALUABLE ‘ME-TIME' ASIDE FOR. WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU GET, IF YOU WERE ME (AND, I SUPPOSE, YOU HADN’T ALREADY READ WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO SUGGEST)?

I can suggest a book called Little Infamies by Panos Karnezis. It’s a collection of connected short stories set in an anonymous Greek village. It’s sometimes funny, sometimes sad but always gleaming with a magical realism.

#4 - WHAT IS THE ONE WEBSITE (OR JUST ANY OLD INTERNET THING: APP, GIF, SERVICE, WHATEVER) THAT YOU WOULD GET REALLY DOWN IN THE DUMPS ABOUT IF IT WERE TO SUDDENLY GO AWAY?

My choice is mundanely practical. If it all fell to pieces tomorrow I guess I’d miss google maps the most. I remember too well hauling round a dog eared copy of an A-Z or a UBD, standing on a street corner lost.

That said, I do like the directions the old folk give on the islands here. ‘Follow the path for 2 cigarettes then turn right’.

#5 - AND FINALLY… PLEASE GIVE ONE COMPLETELY UNAIDED RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD START DOING / USING / WATCHING / EATING / THINKING / QUITING / ETC-ING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE BETTER AND/OR BEARABLE.

Swimming. All year round. Summer in the sea or a lake. Winter is trickier if you’re holed up in a mountainous snow but for the most part there’s a heated community pool nearby. I recommend 3 mornings a week.

This will make amends for whatever else you do.

OK folks, there you have it. Things that Dean Manning thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go for 1 of your 3 swims for the week, make sure to follow Dean on the Facebook / Instagram and then also give ‘Messy Time’ a listen below…

…and if you like what you’re hearing, go do some further dean-manning-flavoured audio exploring over on the Youtube / Spotify.