Day in the life of... (September 2020)

Finite

---- The stream 

that flows.

The light that glows.

---- The sea, the moon.

Even the Sun ----

Finite.

The end of Q

The sad news came through recently that Q magazine is finally giving up the battle against a diminishing circulation and the vast change in the musical landscape. I was fortunate enough to work for a good number of years for EMAP (the publisher's of Q) and much fun indeed was had at their sometimes infamous awards parties.

I could spill the beans about the time I ended up in the loos at the Dorchester (at least I think it was there, my mind was altered at the time) with Lemmy but to be honest you had to be there...

Anyway, thank you Q for your dogged determination and valiant service*. Fingers crossed that MOJO will not be going the same way, at least just yet!

*I'm just off to the newsagents to collect my final ever copy!

Depression

I think I've been here before but I'll go again anyway...

Sitting in a cafe (preferably The Spartan on Grove Road), hovering over an hour old cup of tea, with a Marlboro on the go. Fringe down, gazing at Kafka's words, ushering in a new darkness and whispering on the chill breeze that blew from the Town Hall to the Library. It's ok to feel this empty and this hollow because life will fill me up with joy and desire. It won't ever be like this again.

Or so I thought.

HNY from AF in HK

Happy New Year & best wishes for 2013.

Andy

2012 - That was the year that was...

Good

1. Chelsea winning the Champions League
2. England winning Test series in India
3. Bradley Wiggins winning TDF
4. The Olympic Games
5. Blur at Hyde Park
6. Skyfall
7. Ryder Cup
8. Rediscovering Absinthe
9. The sun setting over the Sussex downs
10. Having a significant birthday and loving it

Bad

1. The sacking of Roberto Di Matteo
2. The continued selfishness of the banking world
3. The death of Tony Greig, Fontella Bass, Adam Yauch & Dave Brubek
4. Losing to South Africa in home test series
5. The global obsession with reality TV
6. Queen's Diamond Jubilee nonsense
7. Mayan Doomsday Conspiracy
8. Poor availability of Marmite in Australia
9. Likewise a decent pair of shoes
10. The lack of follow up from the Occupy Movement

Walmington-On-Sea

It just so happens that I've spent the last month watching daily repeats of the exploits of Captain Mainwaring and the 1st Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard. From the bumptious Captain via the Laconic Sgt Wilson (who reminds me of my Grandfather), Walker (who didn't), Fraser, Jones & Pike through to the wonderful Mr Godfrey. 

Ironically, apart from thoroughly enjoying the actually rather good ensemble acting, I was thinking how good it was that Clive Dunn was still hanging on in there and then the news wires filled with news of his passing.  

Inevitable, I know. But sad all the same!

Things I miss fact: I went to the same school as Captain Mainwaring!

John Peel

(30 August 1939 - 25th October 2004)

Bert Jansch (1943-2011) RIP

It is with great sadness that I heard today of the passing of Bert Jansch, a leading figure in the British folk revival of the 60s and one of the most respected musicians of his generation, he died of cancer aged 67.

Bert was a founding member of Pentangle, he also renowned as a guitar virtuoso and was sometimes hailed as a British Bob Dylan.

Neil Young said: "With deep regret Pegi and I acknowledge the passing of Bert Jansch. Pegi and I were lucky to play with him on all of our shows for the last couple of years. He is a hero of mine, one of my greatest influences. Bert was one of the all-time great acoustic guitarists and singer songwriters. Our sincerest sympathies to his soul mate Loren. We love you Bert."

Born in Glasgow on 3 November 1943, Jansch released 23 solo albums, the last of which, The Black Swan (2006), featured collaborations with Beth Orton and Devendra Banhart.

He was the recipient of two lifetime achievement prizes at the BBC Folk awards – one for his solo achievements in 2001 and the other, in 2007, as a member of Pentangle. The band reformed in 2008.

In June 2009, he discovered he had a golf ball-size tumour on one of his lungs following what was at first a routine visit to the dentist. Following treatment, he went on to co-headline a US tour with Young. Jansch had recently been forced to cancel a live show in Edinburgh due to ill health and was living in a hospice in north London at the time of his death.

Those he influenced included Jimmy Page, Nick Drake, Graham Coxon, Donovan, Bernard Butler and Paul Simon. According to fellow guitarist Johnny Marr: "He completely reinvented guitar playing and set a standard that is still unequalled today … without Bert Jansch, rock music as it developed in the 60s and 70s would have been very different."

Jansch told The Guardian last year: "I'm not one for showing off. But I guess my guitar-playing sticks out."

He was a true virtuoso, a major influence on my more recent musical tastes and will be greatly missed.

St Valentine's Day

The intrigue, the mystery, the run across the road to buy the girl in the office some flowers, the poem, the imagined kiss, the memories of warm nights under Soho's glow and of course the silent trudge home across the sand at dusk...

My Mum

RIP Jill Franks
5th January 1934 - 5th January 2011

Sunday lunchtime in the pub with the papers

It was a BC thing (Before Children). I would wake up late, yet early enough to stock up on the papers. If Chelsea won I'd buy as many as possible (more of a rarity those days and indeed these too!). Normally it would be The Observer & The IoS as staples and then others depending on the news, the mood, the amount I'd had to drink the night before.

Once armed with Fleet Street's finest tittle tattle, it would be a brief stroll, a gentle push and then the pub would be ours. A leisurely couple of hours supping, muttering, thundering or saying nothing. All in all, still the second best way to spend a Sunday.

Coughing fits in the middle of the night

Go to sleep fine, dream dark dreams until... the breath catches and then the coughing, wretching begins. It usually only lasts for a month or so, at springtime. No such thing as uninterrupted sleep.

Yeah, I miss that. Like hell I do.

Friends

Having just departed the beloved isle of my birth again, I feel it is time to answer the most frequently asked question. What do I miss most about England?

The answer is simple. It is not; The sweet rolling beauty of the South Downs, nor is it the intoxicating roar of the Matthew Harding Stand, Stamford Bridge. Neither is it the hefty clump of leather on willow nor the grim tang of Soho. It isn't irony, sarcasm, wit or wisdom. Not black cabs, red buses or white cliffs.

It is the girl with a bob in the pub on the phone and is it the bloke in his flat with his girl and their cat.So, in case there is any doubt, I spell it out.

Q: What do I miss most about England?
A: My friends.

Office romances

In my first job in local government, barely a day would pass without some sort of outbreak of intrigue, argument, emotional bust up or general flirting. The office was the hotbed of frustrated love, volcanic lust, seething jealousy and unguarded emotion.

Nowadays it is just a hollow shell.

Self Deprecation

We English used to be so good at self deprecation. However, now I think the rest of the world are much better than us. Or is that just false modesty?

Bill Frindall - RIP

The Bearded Wonder struck down with legionnaires disease, what is the world coming to? He was the rock around which the mavericks in the box (Johnners and Blowers) could conjure up joyous descriptions of the number 11 bus heading off down the Harleyford Road . Bearders knew more about the history of the game than most probably any man alive. A man of the game, steeped in its traditions, nuances and foibles. He will be missed by the millions of TMS fans around the world.

John Martyn RIP

A brilliant guitarist, singer, songwriter and innovator. Anybody who wrote 'Solid Air' would be missed, anyone who also wrote 'May you never', 'Bless the weather' and 'One world' will be sorely missed.

Solid Air

You've been taking your time
And you've been living on solid air
You've been walking the line
And You've been living on solid air
Don't know what's going wrong inside
And I can tell you that it's hard to hide when you're living on
Solid air.

You've been painting it blue
And you've been looking through solid air
You've been seeing it through
And you've been looking through solid air
Don't know what's going wrong in your mind,
And I can tell you don't like what you find,
When you're moving through
Solid air.

I know you, I love you
And I could be your friend
I could follow you, anywhere
Even through solid air.

You've been stoning it cold
You've been living on solid air
You've been finding that gold
You've been living on solid air
I don't know what's going on inside
I can tell you that it's hard to hide
When you're living on
Solid air, solid air.

You've been getting too deep
You've been living on solid air
You've been missing your sleep
And you've been moving through solid air
I don't know what's going on in your mind
But I know you don't like what you find
When you're moving through
Solid air, solid air.

I know you, I love you
I'll be your friend
I could follow you, anywhere
Even through solid air.

You've been walking your line
You've been walking on solid air
You've been taking your time
But you've been walking on solid air
Don't know what's going wrong inside
But I can tell you that it's hard to hide
When you're living on
Solid air, solid air.

You've been painting it blue,
You've been living on solid air
You've been seeing it through
And you've been living on solid air
I don't know what's going on in your mind
But I can tell you don't like what you find
When your living on
Solid air, solid air.

I know you, I love you
And I'll be your friend
I could follow you, anywhere
Even through solid air.

Ice blue solid air
Nice blue solid air