Dear all,
Well I write to you from a disappointingly sodden Truro in Cornwall. Absolutely persisiting it down as it has been all ruddy day! How on earth did I manage to get 2 sunny weeks in Scotland in February yet heavy rain in Cornwall in March?! Anyway the day began a mite stressfully with a fairly awful journey from Exeter which meant I arrived for my live session on BBC Radio Cornwall a little closer to the due time than planned but I made it and enjoyed my chat and play with Pam, the presenter. I assume it’ll be online soon enough so will let you all know when it is. It was all in aid of publicising tonight’s gig at the Eden Project Cafe in St Austell so looking forward to that.
So what’s been happening then? Well Nic and I continued our work with live music now performing in a homeless shelter in London. We enjoyed it very much again and it really is fabulous work we’re doing. I then had a busy Paddy’s weekend starting last Friday with a gig at the Boot and Slipper in Wettenhall, Cheshire which was rather good once the organiser remembered it was on…don’t ask…but lots of people were there to see me so that was nice and it did go ahead as planned! Then came a Saturday set before the Monster Ceilidh Band at the National Brewery Centre in Burton upon Trent. It was a little tortuous playing at a brewery centre unable to drink courtesy of driving but not to worry! Then came a manic Paddy’s day flitting around O’Neill’s pubs in Northampton and Oxford before finishing off with a cracking gig at my beloved Joxers in Stafford. The first two gigs were with cracking fiddler Jamie Parkes and the gigs were a good laugh and great fun while my Joxers gig was as wonderful as ever.
Then the busy times continued with one day off before Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in London doing live music now, first in the shelter again with Nic and then yesterday playing on my own at people’s bedsides in hospital which was really lovely with some great responses and nice conversations and it flew by, always a good sign. And to today where my southwest stint begins with Falmouth tomorrow, Montacute near Yevoil on Saturday and then Bath on Sunday lunchtime.
So anything to rant about this week? Of course. Firstly, can I express my disgust at some of the things I’ve read about the funeral of great train robber Bruce Reynolds. Some of it seems to paint him as some sort of legendary figure. The man took part in a robbery of millions of pounds and involved violence perpertrated against a train driver who never worked again and died shortly after. That is not my definition of any kind of positive figure at all and the same goes for Biggs who is allegedly at death’s door yet capable of attending the funeral apparently…
On a lighter note, a little travel rant for you. I swear seriously that I must have done something wrong in another life to warrant my travel situations. I honestly don’t mind travelling, I enjoy train travel and I do enjoy the odd long drive while singing loudly along to my stereo or listening to news but seriously how do these things happen to me. In the last two weeks, I have been affected by road closures six times. Six in two weeks?! That cannot be normal can it? Any mode of travel anyone can recommend that won’t involve me having an absolute nightmare?