Rowan on the Station

Same station, same low sun, same girl. 2002 and 2017

On The Moor

Hob Moor was looking lovely at Christmas

Edinburgh

Danielle had a meeting in Edinburgh, so Rowan and I accompanied her and had a walk around. This is looking up to the Castle from far below.

Best Sounds of 2017 Part2

Two more tunes.
1 Woman from Walthamstow who I saw perform at York this year.
2 Great obscure [to say the least] band who we saw in a church at Folk East

Best Sounds of 2017

So here are ten of the best sounds new to me this year. Two tomorrow that are only on Soundcloud [sign of the digital times]

1 Perfect pop
2 Never heard this before, love the guitar sounding as a train
3 Sleepdebt stayed in our AirB&B this year. Turns out he makes great music
4 Classical and vibrant
5 Fragile and brilliant
6 New to me and really emotive
7 Great groove
8 Dense
9 Always need a bit of country
10 Joyous

Boxing Day

I organised an informal boxing day walk [meet on the Millennium Bridge], and so 13 of us set off for a walk around the boggy strays and mires of York. A good chance for relaxed chat.
The photo is of Sarah and Felix in Nottingham.

Happy Christmas

I hope you have a good one.
This is us on the Moor after stage one of our dis-aggregated Christmas Dinner [smoked salmon and bucks fizz for breakfast]. That is why we all look a bit odd [except the dog].

Family Visit

Saturday we were in Nottingham for the now traditional visit to Sarah & Markus and family [up 1 to three kids now]. Great to see them and Ro & Pete. A really pleasant day.

Light Show

The flood lights from the sports ground behind us combine with the evening winter mist on the Moor to create a pretty eerie view of our house.

Two decade gap

For a couple of months I am in my 60s, while Edward my Badminton partner is in his 40s. I was determined to beat him during that window; today I did. I am very pleased [sad but true].

The photo is another one from the Elmet walk last week.

Elmet 3

That is an old slag heap in the distance, a marsh in the foreground. Not a scene that Constable would necessarily have painted but I love it.

Family Rituals At Christmas

Christmas Rituals for our family include:

Champagne and smoked salmon on Christmas morning.

Going to Quaker Christmas Eve candlelit meeting in the evening.

Reading the Night Before Christmas, putting a carrot and a sherry out for santa [Milo helps dispose of the carrot]

The cloth advent calendar that Mother bought for Rowan long ago.

The crib, that has to have Rheneas [a Rev Awdrey steam engine] in with the baby Jesus

A Boxing Day walk

Cheese footballs

Ginger Wine

Bendicks Bitter Mints

etc etc

And a jigsaw. This years is of a map of York. Daunting.

Happy Christmas

I thought this year I would send a Christmas Card image from high summer rather than the usual deep winter. There is plenty of cold around at the moment without replicating it, so enjoy this pastoral scene from Norfolk. It was taken from an old railway line that Danielle and I were cycling on as part of our summer cycle tour from York to Suffolk.

Rowan Returns

Rowan is back for Christmas, from a rowing camp on the Thames at Kingston; cold. Milo and I went to meet her off the train, here is the traditional selfie.

Elmet 2

The walk took me through a disused mine at Gasgoyne Wood, with the usual air of massive discarded infrastructure. I love it.

Elmet 1

Went a walk in the cold cold winter sun yesterday. South of York, deep in Elmet; strange, post-industrial and empty. This is a shot across to Bishops Wood with Drax power-station burning up the bio-mass in the distance.

York Station

York Station continues to be a place of wonder for me. The sunlight comes in from the south end of the station, lighting up the platforms.

Book Group

It was our annual book group party last night. Always good fun with shared food and champagne from John and Heather.

Another Track

I had the final presentation of the work in the North West on Tuesday. The four of us [me, Steve and a couple of Dans] met up at the hotel the evening before and ran through it all. It went well - really well. Made it back across the snow covered Peninnes where Steve [a Chelsea fan ...] was staying to see Huddersfield fall to an unlucky 3-1 defeat.

Meantime here is another track from the gig. Rough, ready [or not] definitely live.

Hull

We went to see Cattle & Cane at a house concert near York last week. Brilliant performance in cramped circumstances which meant it was a very stripped back performance.
The support act was Beth McCarthy who had been at school with Rowan and has since been on The Voice etc, good to catch up with her.

Hull Maritime Museum

The Whole Band

I thought that I'd posted this shot of the whole band in all their glory; apparently not so here it is.
I'm going to need a reading week to get through all the great books that people gave me - really touching to be given such personal choices.

Larkin about

Hull Paragon station, Larkin statue [a la Betjeman at St Pancras, 

passer by on piano, bloke oblivious to it all.

Whilst we were in Hull it was announced that the next city of culture will be Coventry [near where Rowan is at University in Warwick]. One of its claims to fame was that it was where Philip Larkin the poet was born. He moved to Hull, which had already claimed him as one of its own for their own bid. So Cov will have to focus on 2Tone I reckon; that is real culture though.

Today is the Day

60 today.
Cup of tea, walk the dog, bucks-fizz, train to Hull City of Culture. Great day seeing various art shows including the Turner prize candidates and winner, and a Turner exhibition, and some great Martin Parr photographs of people in  Hull. Nice lunch by the Marina, then back home for dinner at Skosh here in York. A lovely day all organised by Danielle.

First Song

This is a very rough and ready recording from the gig: vocals too high in the mix etc, but there you go.

Gig of the Year

Part of my 60th birthday celebrations [which began with the trip to Wuppertal and will include something in London early next year] was a party here in York for local friends. The band were playing our first gig there as well [insert own jokes about captive audience etc]. So to about 50 people we played two sets and it went really well. No photos of the whole band have emerged yet - but I hope they will. So here is Greg and I getting our harmonies spot on for Taking A Mop To The Sea.
All four of us enjoyed it a lot, and feedback was very good too [audience response not guitar screeching].
And the party was really nice, lots of very touching and fitting presents. An uplifting time. Hopefully some tracks and photos to follow.
As I type this I am listening [for the first time in my life] to Captain Beefheart on account of someone saying that my guitar playing sounded like the bloke in his band; not sure that is a compliment. But I'll take it.

Charity Awards

Danielle found this photo of us three at the Charity Awards in the summer, on the front page of their  website. Probably the first time that I have been the focus of a shot of me, Danielle and Rowan. Ever.

Friends Provident Foundation

Danielle's organisation held a big conference yesterday in London. Someone took this shot which was put on twitter. I think it catches all her qualities!