Draw of the Cards - Kim Carnes

The 7 of Daffodils

Lyrics:- 'Sleight of hand, hands of fate, chance you take, life's a snake - Carnes

Song Choice:- Kim Carnes (now 71) was sadly just a two-hit wonder and was probably better known for her 'Bette Davies Eyes', but I prefer 'Draw of the Cards' off the same 'Mistaken Identity' album which sadly faired less well in the charts way back in '81.

It faired well with me anyway, and the video is well worth a look as it appears to have been made with outtakes from Bowie's 'Ashes to Ashes' and Adam Ant's 'Prince Charming' videos. Poor old Kim looked dated even then aged just 35 - which is a shame as it's a great track that's been sadly ruined by poor imagery and dressing her like Bonnie Tyler.

ANYWAY, after three days of wrist slashing bonkers blogs from yours truly, I thought I'd go through some lesser know songs of delight from '1981-2011' that can help illustrate my new daily upbeat mood.

And why not as it's my blog... and by chance I heard this on my car radio this morning which prompted me thinking about 'The Draw of my Cards' and the 'Draw of Other Folks'. 

You see it's difficult to work out sometimes what to change in the hand you've been dealt and even harder to guess what other cards everyone else are already holding in theirs ready to trump you, especially if they have one of those poker-faced personalities that's impossible to read. You know the sort - you might even live with someone that gives nothing away.

Being dealt the perfect hand, twisting the pack once too often and being part of some kind of deception will happen to us all at least once in the first case and far too many times in the last. Let's face it the deck we are playing with isn't loaded in our favour.

Or is it? As you are the dealer and you can mark your own cards...

They all have powers - Aces, Kings, Queens, suits and even in low denominations that have power in quantity. It's a lifelike reflection isn't it? We can't all be Lemmy's 'Ace of Spades' - (look where that got him) play perpetual 'Snap' hoping to find a match or play 'Fish' as that's just pure luck and I never win anything that as there's no skill. I prefer a bit of gamesmanship and you can even play on your own (oh er Missus) if you're not a team player.

My advice is to know the rules of the game you are playing, count the deck (like my old Granddad could) and go with your intuition as 9/10 you'll always be right first time and always wear your best suit with your heart of your sleeve.

It's a great trick! And one well worth playing.

Rory Coleman - 982 Marathons - 241 Ultras

13 Marathon des Sables - 9 Guinness World Records - 8,450 Days' Alcohol Free

& 1 Inspirational Running Memoir - Get your copy here.

Location:Cardiff, Wales