Dear all,
Well a jolly fine weekend was had close to home. The Stafford Music Festival gig was really lovely, a great crowd and always a pleasure to play in the hometown. Then came a trip to Kingswinford for the Woodman Folk Club which was also wonderful and a good time appeared to be had by all. Saturday brought Rock’n’Bowl festival and outrageously good weather (which was not to last) so that was marvellous too. Best of all my beloved was up for the weekend so we had a lovely time.
Tonight there’s a one-off reunion of Walsh and Pound, at least for ten minutes or so as we play at Kings Place in London as part of Live Music Now’s 35th anniversary celebrations. That brings me neatly onto the subject of this morning’s gig (and you thought I just rambled on about whatever came into my head with no structure at all didn’t you…you have a point). LMN bring music to those who can’t get it and it is some fabulous work which I now do mostly with mandolin maestro Nic Zuppardi. This morning we visited a respite unit for children and adults with profound and multiple learning difficulties. We played to three kids and two staff and it was just amazing. These kids have no speech and it appeared when we arrived that it might be tricky to engage them…not a bit of it! Their faces lit up as they got into the music and they played percussion, clapped, danced around and more. It was one of the most heart warming things I’ve ever experienced and sums up all that is good about LMN.
Now I write to you from the Wetherspoons at Elephant and Castle. Like a burke, I managed to leave my phone at home this morning so when I arrived early at Elephant and Castle for the gig this morning I popped into the Wetherspoons to use the wifi. Wetherspoons at Elephant and Castle at 9 in the morning is quite an experience I can tell you. People in for a pint, a rant, a fight…imagine the reaction when in troops a man with long hair, a non-regional accent with two instruments and a case who goes up to the bar, orders an orange juice then sits down with his laptop. I am fairly used to feeling the odd one out…but this was quite an example.