Concert Season

I have learned today that Christmas jumpers, especially of the cheap and cheerful* variety are rather too warm to wear in a heated office. How on earth have we got to December 12^th already? I only have three more days of work before Christmas, and rather more than three days’ work to do. (This blog is my lunch hour – I am typing whilst eating an (apparently) seasonal Brie and Grape sandwich.)

Concert season starts tomorrow, with Voxcetera’s Christmas concert in Tufnell Park – details here if you are a) interested and b) reading this within about 24 hours of publication. And my parents are coming down for the weekend. Largely to see me and the kids, but they have timed it to see Vox for the first time. I am sure they won’t be disappointed.

And then starting Monday evening I am into the Albert Hall run of Monday, Thursday, Saturday (twice) and Tuesday (23^rd) with a diversion via Birmingham Symphony Hall on Monday 22^nd. A very different animal from Voxcetera, but if you are going to see any of Jonathan Cohen’s 'Christmas Singalong's, do wave. I won’t have a hope in hell of seeing you, but it’s the thought that counts (in joke - see last blog).

In other news, I did wonder whether I should bother with a Christmas tree this year. But how can you not? There was a period in my life from about say 16 – 25 when I got very turned off by Christmas – the childhood magic had gone and it just seemed like commercialism etc. Having kids of my own rekindled it definitely – there are few better things than watching a three-year-old unwrap Christmas presents. Now they are all past the ‘magic’ stage – my youngest is 14, and although I've never had the difficult dad-son conversation with any of my three (the one about Father Christmas I mean) I don’t *think* he believes any more (and he’s lost all his milk teeth so the Tooth Fairy has passed into history too).

But I still feel that Christmas is something special. Yes, it is too commercial. No, I'm not religious so the Baby Jesus thing isn't a thing for me. But it is still a time when the country pauses and allows the work-life pendulum to swing decidedly too far in the ‘life’ direction for a week. I think that singing in front of 30,000-odd people (some very odd) who are out to enjoy themselves does engender the Christmas spirit. As do the parties and gatherings that happen at this time of the year.

For me it will be a nice mix – plenty of group stuff in the run up, and then some quiet time to recharge over the actual holiday (though I am being catered for on Christmas day). Might do a spot of busking as well I think… And then once the holiday is over I can get to thinking about what next year holds – am I going to carry on with blogging, is there another musical challenge ahead of me, should I write a book (or take to the stage)? [bonus point if you get that reference].

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves. For now, Let’s enjoy the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

* i.e. £12 from Primark

The Ghost of Christmas Presents.

Apologies to any Dickens fans for that title...

Well, it's been a while. But, like the best of friendships I'm hoping we can be straight back to being comfortable with each other right away, as if the gap had never happened. Right?

Its a little over four weeks since I wrote and it's just been so busy that I haven't had the time. Am typing this on train to work, but imagine I will not finish it until lunchtime, but I've been busy enough that any time I've had with a clear diary I've either needed to do the shopping/washing etc, or I have needed to sleep.

So, what have I been doing you ask? Plenty of rehearsals - for gigs with Voxcetera - gig Saturday 13th - come along, Albert Hall gigs, and Ukulele gigs too (less rehearsing for these to be fair). Plus socialising, trying to make the most of the nice weather - which seems to be back today - by getting out and about and thinking about / planning Christmas things.

As ever, the thought of buying Christmas presents fills me with dread and panic. 'Oh, it's the thought that counts' is a phrase I have always viewed with as much suspicion as 'size isn't important', 'it's what's on the inside that counts' etc.

At least with kids you get a list - and adding a surprise or two to that isn't difficult. This year, not only have I got a list from one, he has helpfully (no irony intended - I mean this) linked it to the relevant Amazon entries. If only he could have done it as a wish list, he could have saved me six clicks, but pretty good. And the others just want money, which is a pretty dull present but I was the same as a teenager.

Parents (who have everything they need and dislike clutter etc, so don't want to have things they don't need) are a difficult one though. But easy compared to friends - I'm not going to get disinherited for a 4/10 Xmas gift...

Mind you, I can't be an easy person to buy for. A book or music you think? Yes, but a good chance I've got or borrowed it already. Unless it involves Russell Brand. But if you know me well enough to buy a present you would know not to buy that.

If somebody asks me what I would like, I honestly have no idea at all. It's not particularly that I want to be surprised, it's just that my mind is a blank in that area. And that is an area very adjacent to the 'good ideas for presents for others' and indeed seems to share the same tumbleweeds.

Given I'm not going down the route of The Voucher (other than perhaps for those who are geographically remote) my strategy is to walk up and down the aisles of shops until I receive some sort of divine inspiration. Which just, short term, exchanges the uncertainty over what to buy with one for whether I bought the right thing. Which will by 25/12 be itself replaced with the knowledge that I didn't, or an uncertainty as to whether it was really appreciated or they were just saying that.

Be honest - am I over-analysing here? I am, aren't I?

Right - first 20 minutes of lunchtime used up in posting this - off to wander the Whitgift centre now in search of ideas. Wish me luck.

From gigs to pigs

Last Thursday saw my first ever ukulele gig, and what a blast it was. Performing in a benefit at Streatham's famous Hideaway club with some members of Balham Ukulele Society, we did a range of songs from Jonny Cash through to Keston Cobblers Club, stopping off at the Everly Brothers, the Jungle Book and many others on the way.

It felt a good tight performance (OK - I have no direct experience to compare it with) and it seemed to go down really well with the audience. We then got back on stage at the end with closing act MyFlat, to do a couple of numbers, which also felt great.

On Saturday I was back in audience mode when a couple of mates were singing at an open mic in Streatham - and very good they were too, and then a further uke practice on Sunday.

In the meantime, I took the boys to Bodeans in Balham. If you don't know the place - well, where to start? Brash, very 'American style' - lots of noise and sport, and above all lots of animal produce. Looked like a huge selection of interesting beers too, though none of us went near them.

Really not the sort of place to go as a delicate vegetarian or indeed an eater of small portions. I watched them as they polished off probably about an entire animal between the three of them, and then followed it with waffles and chocolate ice-cream. They loved it, and for that sort of family or quite-blokeish do, it was perfect. I suspect that if you wanted a quiet or romantic dinner for two, you would be better pretty much anywhere, including Nandos or the local chippy.

Rehearsals continue apace for Christmas gigs (with uke ones now figuring in the list as well as two different lots of choir stuff of course), and to close the musical journey, I'm off to see Difford and Tilbrook (as in Squeeze)at the Union Chapel on Saturday - should be fun.

All this doesn't leave a lot of time for sitting around and having a restful evening, so I am pleased that I am managing to keep reading. I must admit though that looking through the year, quality has not held up as well as quantity. Heavy tomes do not work well when I am tired, so it's been pretty fiction-based. 

I've just finished the three volumes of S M Stirling's Draka series - which is an alternate reality, dystopian nightmare - a bit like Croydon in that way I suppose. Bought in part because I like alt-history stuff, but largely because it was incredibly cheap on Amazon. It was OK. I think my slight disquiet is that it is written about some pretty nasty people (minor spoiler but necessary - the Draka is a civilisation based on slavery - the competing Alliance is based on tech) and because it is written in a point of view style (Game of Thrones-like) you start feeling sympathy with people for whom you should clearly have none. 

This sort of thing shouldn't matter - either the book entertains (and to be fair, it did - in a geeky way) or it does not, but there was an unease. There is no doubt Stirling does not advocate slavery, torture etc, but they weren't really eyes I wanted to look through.

Now looking for the next thing to read. As my search is based on 'Science Fiction under a quid' the same experience is entirely likely to occur.

What ever happened to plate-spinning acts?

It's been a fairly quiet weekend, for which I am quite grateful. Not sure if 'burning the candle at both ends' is the appropriate phrase, but I've had quite a few late nights in the last couple of weeks - a mixture of rehearsals, evenings in the pub that have gone on just a bit longer than they should have etc. So I took the opportunity Saturday and Sunday to recharge and do nothing more than have a wander around and a trip to the gym etc, and make use of my extra hour to sleep in a bit.

From here on in, weekends are starting to hot up with more rehearsals - this year I am doing a good number of gigs at the Albert Hall with London Concert Chorus, plus Voxcetera's Christmas concert on 13th (only one gig but lots of music to learn, plus at least one Xmas gig with Balham Ukulele Society - which will be songs I know, but do not know on the Uke. So there is a lot of practising to do as well. This may come across as a moan - it really isn't - I love doing this sort of stuff (otherwise why would I...) but put it on top of the usual social whirl and it all gets quite busy.

Other than that, work continues on apace. We've had a number of people out over the last month - a mixture of conferences and holidays and the colds and 'flu that are always around at this time of year. I'm hoping that now everyone is back I will be able to move things forward rather than just feel like one of those circus plate-spinning acts. (What happened to them - as a kid you couldn't go a fortnight without seeing one on TV - presumably they are all working in call centres or stacking shelves?)

And it's my birthday next week - which really isn't a big deal - I've reached the age where even the ones ending in a '5' aren't a big deal (this one doesn't) - it's pretty much only the decades you want to commemorate. But it's an excuse for a bit of a celebration if I want one, and to buy a nice book or similar (I need *no* excuse for the latter of course).

Anyway, that's a quick 'no news' that his filed my lunch break. Will write a little more later in the week.

Five Years

When I was 24 a friend of mine was killed in the street.

I can never know exactly what happened, but my friend was (in my considerable past experience) entirely non-violent and someone hit him outside a fast-food restaurant one night. His head hit the ground and basically that was that. 

With really only evidence from the puncher, who portrayed the incident as a ‘fight’, there was never going to be a murder charge here, and the judge eventually handed down a five-year sentence for manslaughter. Of course, it is only post-conviction that you find out that the guy has only come out of prison two weeks before and has ‘previous’ as long as your arm.

I felt five years was light, and looked into it a little – and actually it was at least consistent with sentences given out in similar cases at that time. Meaning that if it was too short, all such sentences were too short. But still, five years (and out in half that) seemed a small price for a life.

You know where I am going here don’t you?

One punch. A fall. Five years.

A gun. Several shots through a locked door (you do wonder why she felt the need to lock it don’t you?). Five years.

OK – different legal systems and twenty years apart (so not a like-for-like) and it does seem South Africa has a more-relaxed attitude to death than we do here. But it seems a very small price to pay for ending someone’s life in the way Oscar Pistorius did.

Don’t know about you, but I feel no sense of justice today.

I have two other thoughts here.

Firstly – guns never help. Without a gun there can be a lot of shouting, but a gun and an angry man escalates things rapidly.

Secondly – televising trials turns them into a circus, and that is no way to do justice.

A reminder

Nothing posted here for a little while but I have been busy elsewhere - remember my music reviews page which is here and which has got reviews of the James Taylor gig from a couple of weeks ago, and a couple of more recent things too.

Sweet baby James

Having separated off my music blogs I am going to cross-post for a while to help those who want to find it.

So here is my review of last weeks James Taylor gig at the Royal Albert Hall.

http://rossonmusic.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/sweet-baby-james.html

Enjoy.

And then there were three

Greetings. Following some feedback from my loyal reader I've decided to split the blog in three. I will leave the previous posts here, but will copy key ones across at some point, so everything historical will still be here.

Why, you ask? Nothing sinister. I just find that I have a desire to write on three very different fronts. Some of you will want to read on each of these, but some won’t, and it might be easier if I compartmentalise them a little bit.

One is to carry on with what has been going on in my life. That will be here – though I will link to the others from here too.

I have also tended to do a bit of writing around gigs and other outings which I have tended to review. The first of those will be up shortly, particularly as I went to three gigs last week and owe you a report on each.

The third and most separate is the more political musings that I feel compelled to write. In the aftermath of Clacton, and with only seven months to the general election this is an area where I suspect more involvement coming up. Watch this space for those.

In terms of the general stuff, life is pretty good – just very busy. That explains the week’s delay since the last blog post. When I went through the ‘big changes’ in my life earlier this year I deliberately took on lots of stuff – mainly musical – to make sure I did not have too many lonely and empty evenings. It’s now got to the point where I have plenty to do, and am comfortable enough that the odd quiet evening is either fully occupied with domestic chores, or is a welcome chance to read a book or have a long and relaxing bath.

This is great news – not that I was worried about being on my own, but it is nice to know that I am coping with it just fine.

So – anyway. My music-only blog is here and the new posts will be up soon. Enjoy

...when you're the driver of a train

I'm not really sure where the last week has gone. I was convinced it was only a few days since my last blog post, and it was all the way back on Wednesday.

What makes this even more difficult to fathom is that I've not been out every minute since then. Yes, a gig and a party pretty much booked up Saturday. Nice to catch up with a very good friend who is off to work in New York for a year, and I think I managed to conceal my huge levels of jealousy quite well.

But Sunday wasn't too full – I easily had time to write something. In part I think I am clearly getting more used to living on my own – the early need to fill every minute and keep really busy has gone. Don’t get me wrong, I still like to be busy and have never coped well with sitting indoors and vegetating, but four months ago a free night would have had me in a panic – now it’s a welcome chance for a rest and a long bath with a good book.

That’s another issue – I bought lots of books for the summer on the grounds I was bound to have time to read them, and I'm pretty much through them all. Most had the unifying feature that they were under a quid on Kindle, but actually there were only a couple that I discarded as not worth reading on the way. And I have consciously tried to stop hoarding books – I used to own hundreds which I never re-read, but couldn't bring myself to get rid of. They have pretty much all gone now and someone else can get some pleasure from them. So I need to replenish stocks in the coming days. Recommendations welcome.

I've a few days to make my mind up as my Kindle has also decided to pack up this week. It works, but only on Wireless rather than 3G, and has the battery life of an IPhone 3. Amazon are being very good and sending a new one – but it makes me realise how much I use the thing – “don’t know what you've got till it’s gone” etc.

Anyway, feel better for putting something up here – even if it is just a quick update written while eating my sandwich. I will write in more detail later in the week with a review of James Taylor at the Albert Hall.

The heat is on

The signs went up in my building yesterday to say that the communal heating system would be switched on at 8pm today, it being October 1^st. I don’t think this involves any kind of ceremony, by which perhaps resident Arthur Smith cuts a ribbon or pushes a big fake button. But it's an indication that winter is coming*.

Although it hasn't felt like that over the last couple of days. Coming back from a rehearsal late last night across London it was still warm as it approached midnight.

Coming up for me on Saturday is Voxcetera's autumn concert – please drop in if you happen to be in Muswell Hill at lunchtime – it’s a free one and has a wide variety of music so there is as they say something for everyone. And then next week I am going to see the legendary James Taylor at the Albert Hall. I have never seen him live, but am expecting the smooth rich voice and a tour through his high-quality back catalogue. If it turns out he is debuting his new thrash jazz album (a la Spinal Tap’s change of direction) I will be most disappointed!

And to complete the musical tour, I have my first rehearsal for Christmas things the week after. On the 12^th of October. I know this feels really early, but at least we have the excuse that we do need to rehearse stuff. It’s not like the shops merrily stacking up the baubles and Christmas chocolate for the next three months. Rest assured, I won’t be loading up my IPod Christmas playlists for a good couple of months.

I need to start thinking about Christmas I guess. It’s a time of the year that I love – concerts, presents, a decent rest and general peace and goodwill etc. Going to be a little different though this year given my change in domestic circumstances, and so I need to figure out what’s the best way of doing things. The kids are now firmly latched into the teen/young adult Christmas concept of excess and materialism, so magical present unwrapping hasn't been a thing for a while, but it’s these set piece things that are bound to feel a little odd.

And that’s pretty much the diary for the next week or so. I was planning to write something about the UK political party conferences, but even the headlines have been such a turn-off that I have completely failed to engage with them this year. And that goes for all of them. Nobody is really saying anything different. Rises in the minimum wage so that within five years people will be a little less close to starving, changes to complex pension regimes that I have no desire of trying to understand, and whatever it was the Lib Dems offered (was it to do with poodles or did I dream that?). It’s not exciting stuff is it? 

I love the fact that the Scots seem to have got real political excitement and engagement out of their referendum – but wonder that it will take for us to feel the same. 

*yes, this is a sneaky meta-data reference to try and get Game of Thrones traffic to my blog – sorry. 

A laugh a minute read

A couple of times this week I have been asked the equivalent of “will you put this in your blog?” so before I begin, I thought I would just recap on the Rules for you.

1. Everything in the blog is true – for a given value of true. So incidents may be slightly embellished for artistic or narrative reasons, or perhaps things will be tied together because the story is better that way.
2. But the fact that everything in the blog happens doesn't mean that everything that happens gets in the blog. I don’t give you the boring stuff (I hope) and I don’t give you stuff that I choose not to share. My blog, my rules.
3. I don’t share things that allow others to be identified without their express prior consent. That’s called manners. (I wouldn’t tag you on Facebook without asking for the same reason.)
4. I try to keep posts manageable in length. So I often omit back story. If something absolutely needs 2,000 words of explanation, it probably doesn’t get in the blog

On with the show.

It’s being a tiring week. And I've felt that today, so have tried to take it quite easy. Still managed a decent walk and the gym, but apart from that it has been a day to lounge around, and I am sure tomorrow will be the same. I was so tired I even had an afternoon nap today, which was lovely but very unlike me.

So, given desired laziness, it is good that the second volume of Danny Baker’s autobiography came on my Kindle this week. I know that some people loathe Baker – usually because they think he is some sort of gobby know-it-all. I disagree. Well, no, I don’t, because he is. But he is someone I have a lot of time for – for some reason I am drawn to gobby know-it-alls.

‘Going Off Alarming’ is hysterically funny. Those of you who know my rare but impressive ability of getting into a giggling fit which is uncontrollable will be delighted to know that his exploits in ‘painting’ a ceiling treated my fellow passengers to an example of this between Balham and Colliers Wood today. This was I think the fifth chapter of the book, and it is all just as funny. His stories of his father in particular carry a warmth that is touching but are gut-wrenchingly funny too. And his meetings with celebs (for example Kenneth Williams and Frankie Howerd) bring through so much about all concerned.

I suspect that the third thing I share with Baker (this isn't an editing error, read the post again if you think ‘what’s he on about, third?’ is that some incidents are embellished for the purpose of the narrative. So what? This is reading for pleasure, not learning about World War II.

In the past I've played that game ‘pick x number of people alive or dead that you would invite to dinner’. 95% of me would have Baker on that list, and near the top. The other 5% just wonders whether it would be a waste, because none of the others would get a word in edge-ways.  I’d be happy just to listen.

And on the subject of list memes, I had a lot of fun this week doing the ‘Twenty albums that changed your life’ thing on Facebook. That was difficult, but gave me a great excuse to soar widely through my music collection to make choices. I doubt Joe Jackson reads this, but if you do Joe, you were so close – on another day maybe you would have got in, but maybe next time.

That’s enough – more Danny Baker awaits.

Musings on angels

Whilst I certainly have a dream or two, I differ from ABBA in that I do not believe in angels.

Some of you will know that I have been in a pretty dark place over the last week. No details here, but a very unpleasant work situation which has caused a lot of people a lot of pain. I am very pleased that this is now very much in the past, and it seems that life will be going on pretty much as before. Albeit it with a few more grey hairs.

The cliché is that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. The reason clichés are clichés is because they are broadly true, and I think I emerge from this wiser if nothing else.

So this is a very brief blog post to say thank you to some people. I don’t think anyone at work reads my blog (god - I hope they don't), but they have all been so supportive of me at this time – it makes me realise what a great team of people they are.

More specifically to the friends who have either reached out in response to some cryptic but bleak Fb or Twitter messages to check I was OK. And the ones who have contacted me to offer help and a (in some cases literal) shoulder to cry on. I am privileged to have you as friends, and you know I would be there for you in the same way.

The point of the first line of this blog? Well, it’s the ‘no atheists in fox-holes’ argument I guess. If every I either a) needed or b) felt that there was a guardian angel looking out for me, now would be that time. I didn't look for that angel, and nor do I think he* was guiding me. But in the same way as atheists believe that they live on not through an eternal afterlife, but through the memories they leave behind, this has shown me that it is friends and colleagues who give you the guidance space and support that helps you through these things.

To all of you – a very heartfelt and tearful ‘thank you’.

* Are angels ‘he’? Seem to remember that they are.

Standing at a crossroads

I think it took until Thursday night for me to come down from my post-Kate Bush blissed-out state, but that was only because I was having a fairly major work nightmare – and not of the sleeping kind. Not going to go into detail but it brought me crashing back to earth. Shame, because I was having a lovely night, too.

I tried with some success to rekindle the feeling this morning. In my review I suggested KB’s voice was as good as it had been when she first recorded Hounds of Love. I’ve changed my mind on re-listening – it’s better. It had a depth and control on Wednesday beyond that on the recording.

But that’s enough KB – except to say I feel so privileged to have seen her.

Today, as well as my usual walk and gym trips I went to see a free concert in my local (100 yds away) church – St Mary’s. This was the Metier Ensemble – a young trio (piano cello and flute) who were excellent. It’s a bit of a shame only 50 people were there – the concert deserved better than that.

And then tonight I've been timekeeping at a swimming gala, at the new Streatham Pool. A facility where it seems they have tried to save money by making the swimming pool double as a sauna. Too darn hot I’m afraid.

I’ve been watching the post-referendum fall-out with a horrible sense of predictability. Very pleased (see past blogs) about the result, but who’d have thought that exactly what Devo Max means or necessitates would give rise to a row?

I think it was always going to mean trouble for the three main party leaders to announce, presidentially, a major change to the powers of parliament without consulting parliament. And the lines of debate are very predictable, and actually quite understandable.

Unless the Civil Service has been working on this for the last two years, doing everything from scratch by May seems reckless – it simply needs more thought (so a point to Labour there). But to give power to Scotland without a guarantee of changes in Westminster is also unacceptable (a point to the Tories). Mr Clegg – you don’t get any points, because you’ve not said what you think.

And thanks to parliamentary sovereignty, this parliament can’t bind the next. So Cameron sees the danger that an incoming Labour-led government will simply fail to implement the one logical solution which is (f**k, I hate to agree with Fat Dave) English Votes on English issues. Or at least no Scottish votes on them.

So where does this leave us? Cameron can’t guarantee being in power in June, so will want to get the Westlothian question sorted by then. Can he force it through? Will the SNP etc support if the option is delaying for a longer period? Will he avoid it being a total dog’s breakfast due to failing to prepare properly?

You may recall pre-referendum I called for devolution to a lower level than just England, and it is pleasing that many politicians obviously read my blog and have joined that cause at my calling(!) But I hope this doesn’t end up with us going back to regional assemblies and elected police commissioner-type things, with all the consequent cost. Let’s use the institutions we have and let them do more.

If there are lessons to learn from #indyref the top two are:

1. If people feel politics matters, they can get energised about it – so we need to get people to feel parliament matters, or that they can make a difference
2. (A prospective lesson) – don’t promise what you can’t deliver unless you want to unleash a whirlwind – either of open Scottish rebellion or it seems open English rebellion.

This country is like the hooker who used to* work Tooting Common – it spends most of its time standing at a crossroads. But this is a real inflexion point. We could build on the Scottish enthusiasm and create a newly engaged political system to last the rest of my lifetime. Or we could give people another reason (which they don’t really need to be honest) to be cynical about failed promises etc. And that is extremely dangerous.

People of my generation – maybe even of my parents – are now so distanced from real political instability that we think it’s not going to happen. This is complacent, and I believe it is wrong. This country runs a real risk of proper civil strife – not a week of riots around London. My children’s generation faces a crap job market, rising debt, unaffordable housing, and a diminishing benefits system. There’s not a lot to be hopeful about for a twenty-something with a student loan and a call-centre McJob.

These are the conditions in which revolutions happen. They happen for many reasons, but a key one is because the people do not believe there is any prospect of the system as it is delivering change. So that one the character emerges to lead the people they will rise behind him/her.

You may think I’m being a fantasist here – and maybe I am. But what we cannot do is take for granted that ‘the people’ will continue to take the same old sh*t indefinitely. And, even if I am wrong and they in fact will, WHY THE HELL SHOULD THEY??

So come on Fat Dave, Useless Ed and Slimy Nick. Between you, sort it out. You may be relieved that you’ve not gone down as the leaders who destroyed the union (because Labour must take a lot of the blame for not carrying the Union vote, especially in Glasgow), but you are by no means out of the woods yet!

  

*She may still – that is something I know very little about!

Little Light, Shining.

I've sort of kept it quiet, but I was lucky enough to go and see Kate Bush at the Hammersmith Apollo last night.

This is not a full blow-by-blow review. If you want one of those, perhaps have a look at Tracey Thorn’s for the New Statesman – she says it better than I ever could.

Row J it said on the ticket – ten rows back – that had to be good. But the stage was built out a little, so Row J was the fifth, with an amazing view so long as everyone in front of me wasn't standing to applaud. Which they were. Frequently. Not a problem; one of the benefits of being tall I guess.

The Band consisted of seven – with a drummer and separate full percussion set (needed if you think about the Hounds of Love album in particular). Plus five backing singers. And the first half dozen songs were a pretty standard rock gig – standing there delivering songs and doing little else.

This let us see what Kate Bush has become in her non-touring years. The voice. My god the voice. I dare say the songs have been re-pitched a little (maybe down a third for Hounds of Love – ish). But the power, and the ability to go from little-girl-lost vulnerable to rock diva. Opening with Lily (The Red Shoes) and running quite a lot from that mid-period around Hounds of Love to Aerial this really showed that she hasn't lost the knack. 

I wonder how you train for that? A three hour set where you are singing for most of it would tax most singers. Not, it seemed, our Kate. Plenty of water being drunk between songs, but pretty much spot on. As a song, "Running Up that Hill" is the stand-out, but as a performance, it had to be “King of the Mountain” from Aerial. Kate does Elvis very well indeed.

And then, nicely warmed up, we moved into what I still think of as the second “side” of Hounds of Love – the Ninth Wave concept piece. Heavy use of video, SFX, dance and actors to build the narrative which runs from the glorious “And Dream of Sheep” right through to “Hello Earth”. And before we knew it, it was the interval – an hour and forty minutes gone in a heartbeat.

Twenty minutes on and back in, and soon into the second concept / song-cycle. The “Sky of Honey” from Aerial. Without the Rolf Harris bit, although with her son playing the role of the painter. And he was good. His solo song, when KB went off for a breather, was well received, but was a bit like the drummer’s solo at a prog rock gig. If I had a watch on, that would have been the only time in the show I would have been tempted to glance at it.

Lots of use of bird imagery – drawing on the singing/come birdsong that litters the studio album, with puppetry and digital effects also. I felt it was a much heavier sound than in the studio. (And having listened again this morning to the CD, I was right about this). In particular, "Sunset", which is a pretty and gentle song started off as what I would call “dirty funk” before morphing into full-on flamenco. God, it was good.

The band gave its bows, and then Kate retunred to the theme of cherubim to deliver "Among Angels" from “50 Words for Snow”. Solo at the piano, as fragile as tissue paper. And then closing with Cloudbusting. “What made it special made it dangerous” indeed.

KB seemed genuinely overcome by the audience reception. I can’t believe that our night gave her more than every other one, but for a woman who clearly was least at her ease when talking and not lost in the song, it seems that the validation from her fans still takes her breath away.

I was I think eleven last time KB toured. At 35 year intervals, I doubt I’ll make the next one. Part of me thinks it will be lovely if this is a complete one-off – and I was one of the 70,000-ish people to see it. I’d maybe feel a little cheated if next year she does 60 dates at a theatre near you for £50 a head. But most of me thinks this is something that should be shared widely, and that I’d be there sitting alongside you if that happens.

To close, I’d make two points. Famously “the KB Foundation” had requested that no-one filmed or took photos – and as far as I could see, no-one did – such is the respect that fans have for the lady.

Secondly, everyone seemed to leave the gig smiling, and perhaps shaking their head a little in wonderment. And, you know what? I'm still smiling now.

A Man's a Man for a' that

As I said yesterday, I think Scottish independence is a terrible idea for Scotland.

By inclination I am not a nationalist. I look at the world and I see people. And people need to band together to do things that an individual cannot do. Once that would be catching prey. Later it became building a temple big enough to please the gods who were going to guarantee the rains or the sun. And, normally, the bigger the challenge, the more people need to get together to solve it. Small groupings can make for small thinking. Parochial thinking. Selfish thinking.

And we have come to accept that. It took two brothers to build the first aeroplane. It took the American government 65 years later to put a man on the moon.

And, by the way, this doesn't make me some sort of state-ist either. Just because we all need to act together for somethings doesn't mean the government needs to do everything. That way lies Albania in the 1980s, and you don't want to go there. John Major, bless his grey nylon Y-fronts talked about 'Subsidiarity'. A horrid word, but the idea was that the best level at which to take decisions is the lowest one at which the decision can appropriately be taken.

As I write today, September 15th 2014, this country has got some big issues. And so has Europe, and so has the world. The UK can't solve its problems on its own. Why not? Because they are global problems. Caused by the interconnectedness of banks, economies etc (This isn't an anti-globalisation rant at all. That isn't what I am trying to do.) The UK can't put up trade barriers to the outside world. Legally - it can't. But even if it did, we'd end up with much more expensive imports. And we import a lot of what we all rely upon. So it would be a stupid thing to do. Europe can't solve its economic crisis if policies elsewhere undermine its strategy.

So, how can it be right, with problems of population aging, deficits, big infrastructure weaknesses, big unemployment issues, climate change etc etc etc, to go back to your village, build a stockade and forget about the rest of the world? The mammoths aren't there anymore.

And that is what Scotland is in danger of doing. If Independent Scotland tries to tax itself out of its problems it will see capital flying South like crazy. It can't borrow if it doesn't have currency as security so it's hard to see how it can inflate out of where it is (though I'd have my doubts about that anyway - look how well Quantitative Easing has worked). So what - cut services?

Yes there are things that could be decided at a Scottish level. But if they can be devolved there, why not further? Do the crofters of the Western Isles share much interest with the city dwellers of Edinburgh? This applies everywhere. Put power down to the local levels where you can. Restore the power of counties (or regions in Scotland). Bring back incentives to put real jobs into the areas that need them. Not government jobs - jobs that make things and add wealth. But to run a proper railway, that joins up in terms of track and pricing, you need to do it centrally for a network - so in practice that means Great Britain. As for Defence, and for Health and so on.

So the Yes campaign is economically wrong. Wrong for Scotland. This is not an English "please stay" message. Yes would be wrong for the Scottish people. And sadly, so is what the UK main parties are now proposing in the event of a 'No'. The Devo-max proposals will guarantee Scotland's dependence on the UK for money, and from the look of them gives them little else. A few sparkly beads in return for a Trident base. But at least in that, and perhaps however they vote they will just be like the rest of the UK - poorly served by a government that fewer and fewer bother each time to elect.

So that's the economics. The head. But isn't it all about the heart? Isn't nationality a blood thing?

I spent much of last night reading Robert Burns. I was looking for my inner Scot. Looking for something that allowed me to embrace 'Yes' despite my massive economic misgivings. Some sense that there could be pride in a modern social democratic nation forging its identity afresh and grasping the challenges of the 21st century.

I found this - if you are interested it's the last verse of the poem usually known as "A Man's a Man for a' that"

Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

Brothers - the world over. Sorry Mr Salmond - that'll be a No.

I want to break free

It will be apparent that I survived the flight back from Guernsey, about which I was worrying like an old woman. And I've survived the busy week since. Work dinner Wednesday. Work drinks do Thursday (hosting the great and the good of London litigators who were doing their best to drink the bar dry. Friday and Saturday saw rehearsals and performance of the Verdi Requiem with Crouch End Festival Chorus. It seemed to go pretty well and I am very pleased I did it - for North Londoners they are quite a decent bunch really.

Today was a lazier morning and then a potter round Greenwich and lunch, before getting back into the gym tonight to deal with the consequences of all the above. So I'm not exactly resting, but I feel happy, busy and invigorated as another week starts.

The week of the independence referendum.

So if you were wondering "how is Ross of Balham" doing*? then now is the time to switch off and do something else - we are going into political territory here.

I don't usually think about the first fourteen months of my life. Not a lot happened. Well, man landed on the moon (or did he**) and such, but for me, whilst I may have learned my first few words, it passed in a bit of a blur to be honest.

But it did pass in Edinburgh. So I am Scot-ish, if not truly hand on heart Scottish, and so I watch the unfolding drama up there with keen interest.

Living in London, which is the centre of news, culture and pretty much everything in the UK it is hard to empathise with Scotland. For years they have been neglected by the UK government, or worse - experimented on (they got the Poll Tax before we did). And this isn't just a Tory thing. Here is a list of all the good things Tony Blair did for Scotland:

1. left after he finished school. 

So given the chance to make your own destiny, after years locked in your rich cousin's attic and rolled out every so often to be belittled, wouldn't you jump at it?

The sentiment is right. But the idea is surely barking mad. Isn't it? Scotland is a small nation, with an ageing population, no significant industrial base, and no stable economic base. Ah, but there is oil, isn't there? Billions of pounds worth of revenue over the next 30 - 50 years.

Every argument I have yet heard for independence consists of one of two points. Oil and 'fuck the English'. And I'm sorry, I don't think that is quite enough to build a nation on. This model shouldn't have had a chance of working. A resounding 'No' was obvious. But as we approach Thursday, I have this horrible feeling that that it is going to be a 'Yes'.

In the next couple of days I'll write again and say what I think Scotland should be doing and how it can set itself up for the best possible future. But it's not a future of the Toad-like Salmond holding crown and sceptre and wrapped in the Saltire.



*Everyone is calling me that now. Its only a Twitter user name which is 100% descriptive and 0% imaginative but when someone you know in real life's parents meet you and that is how your are introduced, AND THEY KNOW WHO YOU ARE you start to realise that Social Media pervades everything now.
** yes, he did. End of. It's not that sort of blog

At first I was afraid...

But I survived at least the outward leg of my trip to Guernsey on the aeroplane with propellers.

Just about to go and do a couple of meetings and have checked into my very pleasant hotel room with a view over the marina and the cruise ships moored outside. Guernsey is experiencing an Indian Summer even if London is not, so I spent a couple of hours wandering around. It's an odd mix - lots of people wandering around picking up their lunch from Boots and M&S, and tourists clutching large cameras sharing the streets.

Generally stuff here looks fairly expensive - guessing that's a combination of 'tourist tax' and the need to import everything except (it seems) milk products and tomatoes. And offshore financiers obviously. And the shops aren't too different to home. A lot of jewellers, but not all high end stuff (tax free?) but St Peter Port is a working town for the locals and it shows it. But every time I've been here before it has rained nonstop, so at least this time I could see some of it. And I've managed so far to avoid hanging onto any funny money - the sort of stuff that makes Scottish currency look substantial.

As mentioned above, a nice hotel - La Fregate - at least bits of which are very old, and which hangs onto the side of a hill, in a way that gives everyone a sea view. I'm not paying for this one, but you know it isn't going to be cheap though.

So, meetings now before drinks and canapes at 6:30. Then I've got the big presentation to the Board first thing. Feeling it will go well, but up to a point these things are always a bit of a job re-interview.  If I foul it up massively, it is likely to be 'career-limiting'. But, for now anyway, the prospect of that is considerably better than that tiny plane waiting for me afterwards. Ah well...

And Gravity wants to bring me down...

This may be my last blog.

No, it's OK. I'm not planning to quit writing just yet. But tomorrow morning I have to get on a perilously small aeroplane and fly to Guernsey, and then Wednesday I have to fly back. We're talking about the sort of tiny little aircraft - with all the substance of a 70's Datsun that looks like it will be torn apart by the lightest gust of wind.

Mr Boeing reputedly said when asked why he chose to fly in a four-engined plane "because there are no eight engined planes." and this pretty much summarises my view on flying - the bigger the better. Little planes where they have to balance the passenger load by weight are unnecessary.

But my options for dealing with this are limited. Someone kindly suggested that in the spirit of this classic, I could chug a couple of whiskies before I got on the plane - but that's not really me. And I don't have any tranquillisers, so it will be eyes closed and take a firm hold of the arm rests.

Of course, as was also pointed out to me, it could get foggy and I could get stuck in Guernsey - which feels like a different sort of terror - you worry about them starting to sing "Summer is icumen in" and burn things.

In other news, I've hit my target weight! I hit it last Wednesday and have been at it since. These means several things:

1. that I have lost over 15 kg since Easter
2. that I feel really good about myself as a result
3. that (my app tells me) I can now happily eat an extra 500 calories a day over what I have been living on. And this is odd, because I don't know quite what to have. A Starbucks muffin every morning probably isn't ideal, but I can't eat another 5 bananas either.

I've still got some toning up to do - not major but a bit, and I really miss it when I don't go to the gym so that will all continue. And the longer term challenge is to get this stabilised and permanent. So I shall be watching my weight like a hawk - and if you think I am slipping, please intervene.

So with that hopefully done, I'll need to find something else to talk to you about. Suspect it is not going to be the royal baby - I feel so sorry for that poor woman and the scrutiny she is permanently under so I shall say no more unless they wish to name it after me.

And I've been threatened with death if I just keep going on about Kate Bush for the next 9 days and 3 hours. And I think they meant it.

So, instead I'm going to write a couple of blogs about Scottish independence. I am Scottish you see - lived the first fourteen months of my life in Edinburgh, so I will be "considered a citizen" by a future independent Scotland. And could sponsor my kids to be one too. Sounds like something worth exploring, at least in blog form. And it may presage a turn back to the longer-term political agenda of some blogs previously, you never know.

Kicking Our Way Through a Golden Gown

As I start to write this it is 6:30 am. I looking out on a morning that certainly looks very autumnal, and conducting an experiment into how much coffee it is going to take to wake me up. The "one-cup hypothesis" has failed but I have high hopes on the two.

This has been the first normal - five day working week for a while with a couple of late work ones thrown in. Plus a couple of late non-work ones. OK, it would be easier to say I haven't got to bed at a sensible hour since Sunday.

I've changed my morning routine a little. As anyone who goes anywhere in the morning will be aware, kids are back to school. And most of them seem to be getting my train. I've tended to get the same train for about the last 3 and a half years. At the beginning there were maybe four or five kids getting the train to the private schools out South of Croydon. Now it is maybe 30 from Balham, with another 30 or so already on the train from the stops before.

This shows something about the area - it's one that is impossible for normal people to buy a house in (if you can afford £18k per year out of taxed income for each of your kids to go to school - which is a salary cost of nearly £70k just on education if you are going to send both Oliver and Sophia, then you are not "normal people"). But this isn't (today) a moan about the increased bankerisation of Balham. It's simply a comment that I've changed to a slower train where I have my choice of seats, and a pleasant-enough ten minute to the office at the end of it.

And it looks like another busy week ahead. I'm doing the Verdi Requiem with Crouch End Festival Chorus and the gig is Saturday 13th. So a rehearsal for that first thing tomorrow. Ukulele to restore the balance Sunday, and then I am off to Guernsey (working) for a couple of days next week, back to host a work drinks party - deep joy - Thursday and then two days of Verdi before the gig. So I think tonight and Monday is it in terms of free time for a while. And obviously I need to go to the gym on those to counter the excesses of all the other things. It's good to be busy but right now (at 6:47am) with coffee number 2 failing to make much of an inroad yet) I'm thinking maybe not this busy.

It has all felt rather easy in the nice summer weather. Easy to get out and about, just looking out the window makes you smile. I normally really like autumn, but I do wonder how that is going to be, when it gets cold and dark by the time I am home from work. Maybe I'm a little anxious about that right now.
_____

Right - two hours on, in the office and just posting this I saw the following story.

And in sad closing news, the BBC reported that the space sex geckos have died. I'm sure all our hearts go out to the plucky little fellows. I hope that, following their inevitable dissection and prodding about, that they will be given the send-off so deserved by such pioneers.

Like a Motorway

I've been back at work for four days, and it’s been OK. Not going to bitch about it here anyway!

But this felt like the first “normal” week for literally months. So much has been going on (see blogs passim ad nauseam) and then when you have holiday coming up that tends to effect what you do. At present I have no more hols booked, so in theory have got the best part of four months until Christmas. Hard to put stuff off until then.

Amusing (and expensive, but also very pleasing) news this week. On Thursday I had the first sort of important meeting I've had in ages – for about six weeks. So, went to put a suit on. Not a tie – I mean, nobody died, but a suit. And none of them fit. And none of my belts fit either. I went and got measured on Friday. My 44L jacket size now needs to be a 40L. Trousers down from 36 to 32, and shirts from 16.5 to 15.5. The last time I wore a 15.5 collar shirt was when I first went to college in 1987. It was tight then...

I will admit (but don’t tell the others, they will tease me) that when the lady in M&S did these measurements, it made me feel really good. But then, when she said “and given your shape you should go for the slim fit shirts rather than the regular” she did actually bring me to tears.

So I have bought a suit, and a few other things, and will need to build up a new wardrobe as and when money permits. If anyone wants clothes in the sizes above – let me know!

Work has got in the way of me exercising this week, and I've really missed it. At least Thursday and Friday I could go to the gym after work, but I was out the other nights. At this rate I’m going to have to go first thing in the morning. There are worse things to be addicted to. Like any good addict, I managed two hits today - a decnet walk and a trip to the gym.

(Whilst typing this I am listening to Saint Etienne, and the majestic ‘Hobart Paving’ has just come on. If you don’t know it, YouTube it – a brilliant song, even if Sarah C is sometimes on the flat side.)

I went to see Avenue Q on Tuesday at Wimbledon. I’d seen it before, in the West End, but this production is just as strong. The woman playing Kate and Lucy is super-talented – actually, all of them are, but I thought her vocals were excellent. And any musical with a song called ‘Schadenfreude’ is worth checking out.

Dinner with some good friends on Wednesday and Friday made for a good week all in all. I do feel so balanced right now (I’m not sure that’s the right word – I am looking for something that says I feel on a really even keel and completely able to deal with anything the world throws at me, whether it be work crap or anything else). Doing lots, enjoying things, and feel that my confidence is higher than it has been for a while. In part this is weight/appearance-related but it’s also deeper than that. Maybe not – I might be a gibbering wreck by next weekend.

What else to say? Voxcetera start rehearsals again on Tuesday – with only a month before our concert on 4^th October. It’s a free one in North London at noon on a Saturday. Find us on the web or Facebook and come along if you like. There will be Gershwin, but no Kate Bush.

Guess Who's Back?

... back again.

You’ll have noted the three week gap, which has pretty much coincided with me being on holiday. I took the decision that, given my working life involves a lot of time looking at a computer screen, my holiday shouldn't. So I haven’t. Just checked the email each day, largely to control the inflow of stuff.

So, what to tell you?

I've had a wonderful break. I’ve caught up with a few friends, and also visited my parents. I've caught up with the kids – always it seems in ones and twos, but they are so busy doing their own stuff. And in my brief offspring-related detour, I was delighted by middle son’s frankly stellar GCSE results – he has learned a great lesson that hard work brings results. I learned that lesson at age 40.

Health? Well. I set myself what with my work head on I would call a stretch goal – if everything went well then one day I might get there. And I am now only 2.5Kg* off it. That means I have since Easter now lost 30 pounds^. Over the holiday, with the exception of two days at my parents, I have walked at least four miles every day (except today because of the rain) and gone to the gym every day except one. And I have eaten healthily. I am absolutely ecstatic with my achievement – my stretch goal looks possible for September.

Which meant I had to buy some new clothes. Not my favourite experience, but feels good to have reduced the size that much. Of course (up pops the negative part of Brain) it’s the keeping it off that is difficult. To which I say frankly “bollocks”, let’s see in six months’ time.

Music? I am loving my Ukulele playing with Balham Ukulele Society. It’s fun, and low pressure, but still something to work at. More seriously, I sang at the Proms on Monday 18^th – the Rachmaninov Choral Symphony – “The Bells”. Wow. What a choir, what an orchestra, what a conductor, what a reception. It was on Radio 3 and is still on IPlayer. The music may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was such an experience. Hard work. Really hard work, but certainly worth it.

So, that’s the catch-up download. Not a mention of Kate Bush (23 days and counting and the tickets have arrived) or Peter Capaldi’s Doctor Who (though I want a coat like that). And no mention of the stuff I have read over the break – I’ll give you all that lot over the coming weeks.

It’s great to have been away, but it’s just as lovely to come back.

* I’ve decided to go metric

^ It didn’t last – I can only think in imperial measures

Don't do it

It’s been a slightly strange weekend. Gorgeous weather and a wedding on Friday meant a great start. And I think the choir did pretty well – one slightly hairy moment in ‘Oh Happy Day’, but the choral self-righting mechanism (known technically as ‘watching the conductor’ kicked in pretty quickly and all was well again. Lovely to be part of such a special occasion and I wish the happy couple well.

I did a lot of walking too. It’s ticked up to five or six miles a day in one go (that’s excluding the little trips to the shops which mount up too.) I've been finding in the last year or so that it is much harder to sleep in for the morning. I remember as I guess a teenager my parents always being up early and them saying that they just couldn't lie-in any more. And, unless I've been on a really late one the night before (which isn't then a lie-in, it’s just a time-shifted normal sleep) I tend to be awake by 7 even without an alarm. So on a non-work day I get up, have some breakfast and go out walking for an hour or so before it gets busy. There is definitely an endorphin release that comes from exercise, and this is magnified by being back home at maybe 9 / 9:30 and thinking I've done that already when a year ago I’d still be just getting up.

And I seem to have come off a plateau at the gym as well, in that I'm managing to use an exercise bike for longer and at more intensity than I had even a week ago. And I haven’t died of heart failure once. To illustrate what I mean, two weeks ago if I did 30 minutes on a bike which (according to the bike) burned about 330 calories, I was done in, and coasting for the last five minutes. I'm now doing 35 or 40 minute and pushing close to 500 calories, and maintaining the effort for the full time. And I had my first go on a cross trainer on Saturday. I don’t like it much because I have to think too much (bike just involves music on and subconscious brain takes over – not so the x-trainer (yet)).

I think this is quite easy to explain – since the end of May I've lost nearly twenty pounds in weight. I remember on various TV shows watching people who had lost weight being presented with the equivalent weight (usually in packets of lard or bags of sugar) and being told “this is what you were carrying around with you”. So that’s 9 bags of sugar or 36 packets of lard that I'm not dragging around on the bike.I may go and carry something like that around Sainsburys for ten minutes later, just to remind myself...

Other good stuff – I'm really starting to get into learning the Rachmaninov for the Prom two weeks today. It’s so fast that I still have some way to go, but I do now for the first time thing it is doable. And I'm also loving the ukulele – it got a thousand times easier when I figured I should cut my nails on my left hand. I can be really slow some times!

The weird (arguably not so good) bits? Well, this was the first weekend when I was largely left to my own devices since I moved house. And I still feel that I really need to be “doing something” all the time – that a moment spent doing nothing is a moment wasted (and I have wasted enough of my life I feel). With no planned events (rehearsals, dinners, catch-ups etc.) this got me a little edgy by Sunday night, because I’d done most of the things I needed to do, and still had some time left. This worries me because, as of Thursday I am on holiday, so if I am like that after two days, how will it be after two weeks? I hope (and suspect) this is just a short-term adjustment thing. I need to learn to relax, and to accept that an hour spent doing very little is by no means a bad thing.

I'm likely to be very busy the next three days* tying off loose ends at work, but after that I’d like to think I will be blogging quite a bit over the next fortnight – and perhaps on slightly more meaningful stuff – particularly if I don’t manage to figure out where my own personal off switch is!

* To prove that, whilst I wrote this at 7 o'clock this morning, this is the first time I've had the chance at work to take the fully 30 seconds required to upload it!

Virtual Friday

It’s the last day of July. The sun is shining and (even) Croydon looks relatively pretty today. Plus I am off work tomorrow in order to sing at a wedding, so I have a definite end of week feeling. Oh, and it seems we just won the Test match too!

The diet/exercise regime is obviously working because I have lost ten pounds in the month of July. And that’s dipped my weight down into a new number of stones which makes me happy.

Looking back at the month, what is odd is that there was a period of a week up until a week ago where I really lost very little, and I also really ate very little too. The obvious answer is that eating too little slowed my metabolism down and so I didn't lose the weight. Since then I have consciously upped the calories and the weight has started to shift again.

I think the exercise has a large part to play in this. In general I am at the gym four times a week or more, and there will be at least 30 minutes of fairly vigorous cardio involved in that. Plus I have also started to try and fit in a walk every day. It turns out it’s quite easy to fit in a walk of about 4km around Croydon over lunch, which certainly shifts some calories, and makes me feel better. And I haven’t been mugged once yet.

So, whilst I realise weight loss will slow as I move towards target, I am in sight of the goal now – the stones number is the right one. I may not make it during August, but a real prospect surely of hitting target by the end of September. And then comes the difficult part – maintaining it.

I can’t speak for women, but most men do like competition, and setting/beating targets. So I do walk more now I have a phone app that tells me how far I walked – “oh if just go that way that will get me up to…” and the little “yes” I express (perhaps out loud) when the weigh in is good. But maintaining will remove at least that second goal. “Yep – as is” is a lot less motivating. I’ll see how that goes when I get there.

In other news I've only three more days at work before I take some holiday. In part this gives rise to panic – as a just about manageable workflow looks anything but when I think I’ll have two and a bit weeks when I'm doing very little of it. But a larger part of me is looking forward to the break. I've started planning what I want to do – catch up with some family and friends, do some writing and quite a lot of music, and generally relax too. I suspect eating well will be harder – because it’s easier to be tempted by food when just at home rather than in the office. But then I have more time to spend burning calories too.

And I'm looking forward to tomorrow’s wedding – we are singing four pieces through-out the service, which will I'm sure be followed up by a catch-up in the pub. Happy days.

Depending on Your Appetite

One of the consequences of my recent move has been a need to sort out my music collection – with the aim of being able to move away from physical CDs and to an electronic solution. Not because it's better – it really isn't – but simply for convenience and to save space.

Having successfully sync’d everything I have bought from Amazon and iTunes I set myself the task of uploading 10 CDs a day until I had finished the balance, and at the weekend I completed it.

One of the joys of this of course is that you get reminded of CDs that you hadn't played for ages, which has led to me revisiting Prefab Sprout in a big way over the last week. A band I had a lot of time for in the 90’s – at least musically (I still think that the lyrics can fall just the wrong side of clever-clever). And it’s still good – they have now been uploaded to the MP3 player as well. What is interesting is that my ranking of the albums has certainly changed over the years – and that Steve McQueen is now unquestionably my favourite. Great songs but a simpler set of production values that Jordan or Langley Park – which I now see as a bit overblown. (Swoon, the first album is simpler still, but for me the songs just aren't as good.)

And so, it was with my quest for simplicity in mind that I went for the first time to Balham Ukulele Society’s fortnightly Jam session on Sunday*. I’d never played a uke before – well maybe I’d strummed one once or twice – so getting thrown straight in with no concessions to beginners was a steep learning curve. I think I did OK though – enough of the hand shapes are familiar from the guitar that I could have a decent go anyway. And thank you to Rachel who leant me a uke to practice on between now and the next time.

Of course, the different tuning makes for some oddities for anyone thinking in guitar language. Not least that the E chord seems to be incredibly difficult. But most uke songs seem to be in G, so that’s OK. Until you come to sing them. Still, it’s another thing to keep my diary ridiculously full.

Other news, my beloved 5 year old iPhone 3GS finally bit the dust. Well, got to the point that I could only get a signal standing next to a phone tower anyway, which kind of renders the phrase “mobile phone” questionable. I have a new one and am still at the stage that I am amazed that I don’t have to charge it for three days at a time.

It has a ‘walking’ app on it. I should backtrack a bit here. In order to try and lose some weight I started using a free website thing called ‘My Fitness Pal’. It’s a diary really. You plug in goals, and the exercise you do and the food you eat (it has a huge database of these which makes that quite easy). And this is quite motivational – even though no-one else can see it - the thought of typing in “three bags of crisps and 17 bourbon biscuits” in the “Dinner” field is a deterrent. And I can use it on phone and I-Pad as well as PC. Anyway – it links to all sorts of applications, so on both Saturday and Sunday I used the pedometer thing and was pleasantly surprised how easy it is to burn calories without it seeming like it, simply by walking around. So that’s added to the routine now too.

Generally my fitness regime is going pretty well. I started it, in theory, around the middle of May, though in practice didn't get going until June. But in the eight weeks since I've eaten well, and exercised at least four times a week. I've lost a bit of weight and feel a lot happier with that sort of thing as a result. Of course, the progress will slow down now – the first few pounds are the easiest. But a huge benefit of living alone is that I can avoid treats and snacks very easily – by not buying them. So I am optimistic that the five weeks from now till end August will bring further progress.

Well, that’s enough – the train is pulling in and I’ll post this later. Off to rehearse for a wedding this evening – where we are singing on Friday. I don’t think they need ukuleles but I will ask.

___

As I come to post this, I thought I would share this from John Oliver – the UK satirist/ comedian who seems to be taking America by storm. When there is so much crap going on in the world, this made me smile - #gogetthosegeckos.

* of course, this isn't the reason at all – someone invited me, but it’s a nice narrative link!

Hatfield Poly-instrumentalists

I would generally say that I am too old for music festivals. They combine crowds, camping and mud in a way that does not make them attractive to me. If they are your bag, then great, but not any more.

However, on Sunday I overcame my prejudices and went to Folk by the Oak, at Hatfield House, in Hertfordshire. I thought you might like to see my review.

I usually associate Hatfield with three things - the annoying boys-only pint-swilling college at Durham Uni,  the Poly, and ("and the North" - the band, not the road sign). I realise none of these things exist any more in that form, but I am a child of my time.

But Hatfield is also the location of the Tudor house where Elizabeth I grew up - which sits in rolling landscape about five minutes from the station. (The fact I could get back in an hour to Balham on public transport also gave this festival a big plus for me when I considered it!)

This is a 'one field' festival - very little traipsing required. A main stage and a small covered "Acorn" stage (see what they did there?), with beer, food etc all to hand. Very much a family feel - entirely safe etc.

I think they said over the PA that attendance was about 6,000, and it didn't feel overly packed out at that - plenty of room to sit watching the main stage and picnic, which is how we spend the afternoon session.

I'm not going to give you chapter and verse on all the acts, there is a list on their website above. I was going to focus on the stuff that had brought me to the venue. I would say thought that Kathryn Tickell and her new band (the Side) were excellent. Infectiously catchy and danceable as ever.

And I would also highlight from my visit to the Acorn stage (it was raining and there was cover there) that the Keston Cobblers Club is a fabulous act. Talented multi-instrumentalists, good songs, clear (well I though so) Mumfords and Bellowhead influences, and a tuba. You should see them if you can.

But the main reason for going was to see Richard Thompson performing a solo acoustic set. If you don't know Thompson's work, where have you been? Guitarist and writer in Fairport Convention, at the end of the 60's, and since then a successful act, firstly in a duo with his wife and latterly solo. He was voted one of the top 20 guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone, though he is as far away from the smooth "Clapton-style" of rock guitar as it is possible to be whilst still actually being a guitarist.

And? Just wow! A string of songs well known to the crowd (I jotted down a set list on the go and have stuck it at the bottom if you care - sorry for any inaccuracies). Mostly pretty faithful to his originals. Interspersed with a pretty deadpan, self-deprecating chat which shows the benefit of years of gigging.

It is hard when you listen to Thompson on disc to believe that there is only one guitarist there. You would swear there were three of them, given his ability to play a bass/rhythm line and lead at one time. Oh, and sing as well. This is a man who you just know could pat his head and rub his stomach at the same time with ease, and before breakfast at that. Stand-out track for me is (and will always be) 1952 Vincent Black Lightning. This song combines spellbinding guitar work with a tragic love story about a bad boy and his girl, and his motor bike. "And he gave her one last kiss and died. And he gave her his Vincent to ride". But the slower numbers like Beeswing (Beeswax, as someone next to us in the crowd called it) showed a subtle beauty to match it.

Thompson isn't doing many shows in the UK this year - but does have a new acoustic album out. If you can't see him, listen to him - he will brighten any day.

And the closing act of the festival was singer/songwriter/violinist Seth Lakeman. About half our group was very keen to be up at the front for this one - they find Seth's arms very attractively muscular. (That's what you get with all that fiddling I suppose.) I know Lakeman's work quite well - and have always thought it OK, but a bit samey - a fast song and a slow song and not much other variation. Catchy, but not really for me.

But live, he is a different proposition. This is a serious band of musicians. Pretty stripped back - just Seth plus four, but real talent from everyone. His female co-vocalist (Lisbee Stainton) added real musical colour, and blended beautifully with Lakeman's voice. And the energy in the performance was astonishing, throughout the band. I will need to listen again to the records, either I have taken them too lightly and dismissed him as talentless because of his folk 'poster-boy' status, or perhaps recordings just don't capture the performance well enough - they don't get the energy.

Oh, and for myself, I didn't see what the fuss is all about concerning his arms. I suspect that's a 'girl' thing.

So - Folk by the Oak - under £40, and a very worthwhile day. Come along next year.

___________
RT setlist (E&oE) with a link to Vincent Black Lightning if you are itnerested.

When the Spell is Broken, Walking on a Wire, Valerie, Saving the Good Stuff, Johnny’s Far Away, Pharaoh, Vincent Black Lightning, Who Knows Where The Time Goes?, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight, Between You and Me (a work in progress – letters during WWI), Good Things Happen to Bad People, Beeswing, Wall of Death, Down Where the Drunkards, One Door Opens, Tear-stained Letter.

You Put The Load Right On Me

Still catching up from the blogging desert of recent weeks, and as you will notice, am doing so thematically rather than in any sort of temporal way.

So today it's about all things health and wellbeing.

Earlier this year I was investigating the 5:2 diet. It seemed OK to start with but played merry hell with my energy levels. I simply couldn't exercise on 600 calories - in fact it made sleep difficult. Plus I more than compensated on the other days. Now, the diet does proclaim some benefits other than pure weight loss, in terms of levels of certain enzymes in the body etc. But as I didn't have the kit to check any of those, I can't comment. I just got to the point that it got in the way of life and made me unhappy. And so it was never going to work for me*.

But I then did find that towards Easter, my weight was creeping up again. In fact by Easter or a little after it had crept up by half a stone compared to where it had been at Christmas. This is a sort of elephant-y creep - not overly subtle. I was still going to the gym, and the cause was simple. Eating too much. Both at meals and as snacks. Mid-afternoon chocolate bars were creeping in, and late night biscuits and cheese.

In other words - all the stuff that we know is bad. I wasn't overly happy and I ate. Better than self-medicating with booze or worse, but not great.

Well, I'm pleased to say I have managed to get on top of that again. The extra weight has come off (with a bit more as well). I feel much better, and feel I have found a "diet" - way of eating is a better phrase - which works for me on an ongoing basis. Let me tell you what I've done.

• Regular readers will know I was getting uneasy about eating meat. And so I cut down. Then I stopped meat altogether, but kept in the odd bit of fish. In the last month I have been completely veggie. And I have felt much better. Less bloated, and more energy to exercise. Which has meant more exercise.
• I usually don't eat breakfast. When I do, I then start to feel really hungry again about 11am. If I don't I feel OK until about 12:30. So that is simple.
• I am eating a lot of fruit. And veg but more of that later. Certainly five a day of fruit alone. If I am hungry, I will have fruit.
• Lunch is tending to be salads or similar. If I want something else it will be a wrap, not a sandwich. In part this is because the choice of veggie sandwiches is, basically, cheese.
• Evenings. I am avoiding pre-cooked or convenience stuff. Cooking fresh (perhaps a big pot of something for three days or the freezer). Having had a house for some time with kids who disliked 'bits' in their food meant I got out of the habit of eating what are basically vegetable stews. Loads of veg, plus kidney beans, lentils etc. Or a stir fry.
• Frozen veg is cheap and convenient - you don't have to worry about stuff going off. So I will eat more of this, and less of the big carbs providers - less pasta and rice. (These were I think the things that always did for me - because I ate too much of them.)
• If hungry in the evening, toast with some nice jam, or cereal does fine.
• Oh, and no booze - not that I do anyway, but just remind you of that.

And as the weight has come off, I have both pushed up the gym exercise. More weights (I did very little before) and more cardio. To the point where I am sometimes genuinely exhausted after the gym, rather than just slightly sweaty. And as the weight comes off, the cardio gets easier. So three times a week I'm doing an hour on a bike or bike and run. Next will be some interval training I think.

In addition to this, I am trying to walk a bit more - especially in the nice weather. Just wandering around last Saturday, shopping and enjoying the sun and I walked about four miles. Pretty good, but had I not thought about it, I wouldn't have realised it. Plus walking keeps one a distance from the kitchen...

Which leads me to - measurement. It won't surprise you to know I've got a bit obsessive about this. I'm using MyFitnessPal on PC and IPad to track everything I eat, and all the exercise I do. This is really easy - pretty much everything you do it already has the values for. Plus I use my phone to record walking distances etc for input. Lets me see what has gone well, and badly. And gives me something to be vaguely proud of when I have had a good day.

The next goal is to try and embed all of this - so that it becomes a weigh (geddit?) of life and not just a novelty. If I can get to that point then I feel that I can keep doing this forever. Of course, come the winter weather it always gets harder - suspect soup will be an answer there - and my forthcoming ten days off may test me.

So, it's all good. Except for cigarettes, which I still crave. If I am around smokers, I have to really fight not to give in. The good news in this is that even if I do give in, I then have no desire to have one the next day. Whilst it would be much better to not smoke at all ever, one or two once a month probably won't kill me. Well, it might well, but you know what I mean!


* I know lots of people it has worked for - and am not criticising the diet - just saying that at that time and in that place it wasn't for me.

It's the magic number

During my blogging absence I managed to attend a range of concerts. Normally, I’d have mentioned them on the go, but here’s a catch up for you.

Barts Chamber Choir - Dixit Dominus (Handel) and the Vivaldi Gloria at St James Piccadilly

This is a fabulous venue with a great acoustic. The concert was on the night of the England Italy world cup match so with an English (nominally) first half and an Italian second half, there was something for the conductor to link in to. In art, as in real life, Italy won. I didn't know the Handel at all prior to the gig. It was a lot more intense than I associate with him generally – I know he does powerful stuff, but this had an urgency beyond what I had expected. 

On the other hand, I know the Vivaldi very well, and love it. Sitting in a beautiful church as the Cum Sancto Spirito fugues its way to the end was the highlight of the evening.

Barts Chamber Choir is probably about forty strong, and drawn from the wider Barts choir - clearly comprising some extremely talented singers. They got that balance/mix that smaller choirs can find (which is harder for the choral leviathans I guess). And one of the soloists - Grace Davidson I think, is just angelic. The most amazing voice, with seemingly no effort (or need to breathe). To balance the review, there was also some counter-tenor stuff in the Handel.

Crouch End Festival Chorus Tallis and Others at Southwark Cathedral

Bit of a last minute one for me this – having had a Voxcetera rehearsal cancelled at the last minute, I Facebooked something like “A free evening – what am I going to do?”, and this was suggested. The lead piece was Tallis’s Spem in Alium*.Which is in 40 parts – 8 five part choirs. 

Also performed, in an entirely unaccompanied programme was the Vaughan Williams G Minor mass, some Bruckner, a rendering of the Buddy Holly song “It doesn't matter anymore” by Orlando Gough and the premier of a “Salve Regina” by Hughes.

Crouch End is a very high quality choir, and I was impressed by what they did. I didn't quite 'get' the Buddy Holly thing, but liked the Salve. Vaughan –W is what it is. Which leaves the Tallis. I was near enough the front to have the choirs wrapped around me, so I got a placing effect in the music that you would miss from the back. And it was clever. But it left me feeling that it was done in 40 parts to impress, and that perhaps that got in the way of the music a little. Not my favourite.

Chas ‘n’ Dave – St George's Beckenham

Well – what is there to say? I don’t think CnD’s music particularly suits a traditional church setting – for me they will always be better hear in the low-ceilinged social club. Perhaps on a holiday camp in Camber Sands. And incongruous only begins to describe the dancing and drinking (strictly BYO – the communion wine was safely locked away).

If I was looking for words to describe Chas n Dave’s music, I would certainly go for ‘fun’ but also ‘efficiency’. You probably can’t be in the game and touring every five minutes for five decades without getting it down to a fine art. But they are a tight band, doing things well, but with real economy of effort – songs are incredibly well drilled, and I felt that if I had seen them any other night, the performance would have been the same. I don’t mean this as a criticism – but it’s as near to one end of the spontaneity continuum as it is possible to be without a backing track. (The other end – Dylan – about a mile further along than anyone else!).

My other key observation – Chas Hodges sits really high up to play the piano – if I invoke the spirit of Peter Hook here some of you will know what I mean. I don’t know why – but it interests me.

But it was tremendous fun anyway – how can you pass on Chas ’n’ Dave?

There’s a bit of a hole in my gig diary over the next month or two, so feel free to draw my attention to anything that is interesting.

*I know it’s silly, but Spem in Alium still sounds like a dish from a menu in a Monty Python sketch to me 

Here's a tune for Anthony

I'm back. And with an unusually cryptic title. Did you miss me? Be honest. Oh, well, never mind.

But the blogging hiatus is officially over. And there is so much I want to talk to you about. Since the last blog I've been to some great gigs, from Chas n Dave to the Crouch End Festival Chorus. Plus I saw Rob Newman (Newman & Baddiel) last weekend - wonderful gig.

I've sung at the Albert Hall. I'm preparing to sing in a Prom (not plugging tickets because it's sold out, but Radio 3 Monday 18th August if you are interested). Oh, and I did a karaoke last week.

The "not eating meat" thing is turning out to be quite easy, with the exception of lunches - dear God, I never want to see a cheese sandwich again. Other stuff can take longer, though actually just requires a bit more consideration in advance. I feel hugely better for it. And I am persevering with going to the gym. Probably as a result of those two things, I've lost a bit of weight, which makes me feel better, and makes the gym easier - so a virtuous cycle is ensuing.

And as I write this, Michael Gove is off to be chief whip, which makes me feel wonderful. And someone I used to sit next to in lectures at university has joined the government, which makes me feel old.

I may delve a bit more into any and all of those  in the coming weeks, because normal service will now be resumed.

But, all this is that nervous chatter you have at the start of an appraisal or something isn't it? I'm skirting round the substantive and letting you gorge yourselves on small talk. So?

So, I've had a bit of a change in my home circumstances, necessitating a change of address etc. Unlike famous people, I'm not going to write volumes about it, or invent new phrases to explain things. Because that's, frankly, wrong. My blog has stuff in it about me*, which no-one else can legitimately take offence at, and about public figures, who are fair targets for what they get. I don't talk about real people.

So, I am fine. I have had the support of, help from, some very good friends over the last six weeks, and am now readjusting to some different, and somewhat straitened circumstances. I am still very definitely in Balham. I don't think that there was every an alternative. In fact, I live here. And it is very nice.

That's it. No biggie. Nobody died. It's just that in all this, there wasn't time, Dear Reader, for you. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you...


* and the 'me' of my blog is, you realise, only a view of me. Everything you get is true, but you don't get everything.