Rain & Fire.

It has rained here the last two days. The fifth heatwave of the summer appears to be over. Wessex Water which is our local water company brought in a hosepipe ban a few days ago, so I will be using my watering can for the foreseeable future for the evening ritual of watering the garden. The sparrows seem to have settled in nicely in the tree at the end of the garden. I put some bird food out for them every day and then sit in my kitchen watching them descending and ascending. The big event last week was the partial eclipse of the sun. On the news they were telling everyone not to look at the sun directly. We were advised to get special glasses. I must have watched hundreds of glorious evening sunsets over the years without the need for glasses, so I still can’t fully understand why you can’t watch an eclipse in the evening. 

Anyway, I wasn’t going to risk it, but you couldn’t buy the glasses around here in any shop. I had to settle for fetching an aluminium colander from the kitchen and holding it up to the sun and watch the reflection on my white garden wall. I saw 61 mini partial eclipses which was a bit underwhelming. It did go quite dark, the temperature dropped slightly and a breeze began. Birds flew by as if it was time to roost, but it didn’t seem like a major memorable experience. The following evening something happened which had a much bigger impact locally. We had a big fire on the hillside near the White Horse. It took several teams of firefighters quite a few hours to get it under control. Luckily it didn’t reach the White Horse itself, although it was heading in that direction.  In the light of day you could see the whole hillside is blackened. It is mainly grassland up there so it should grow back quite quickly with some rain. 

Compared to what people in Spain, France, Greece and other countries have suffered this summer it is nothing. Even elsewhere in Britain people have had worse fires with houses burnt to the ground. Climate change is the cause of it and is the major problem facing the world today. It can only be solved globally by all the countries working together. Some of the leaders of major countries are so stupid they deny it is happening and would rather start wars they don’t know how to finish. It is very frustrating, so before I start a political rant I’m going back to watching my sparrows. I didn’t think the photo of my Mirabilis Jalapa in my last gardening post was very good so I have taken another one. Cheers.

In The Garden, Part 7.

I wasn’t going to write another gardening blog this year because I thought the garden had already peaked and was past it’s best. However, it seems to have revived itself recently. I think one reason is that I removed a lot of dead stuff which has given other plants more room to grow. This seems to be especially true in my hanging baskets where the verbena hybreda and petunias seem to be thriving now. Some other plants have also begun to bloom, such as Mirabilis Jalapa also known as Marvel Of Peru. (See top pic) This perennial was apparently cultivated by the Aztecs and have red or yellow flowers which are closed in the morning and open in the late afternoon. The only problem for me is they are quite bushy and grow about 3 feet tall which is a bit big for my tiny garden. 

Cosmos

Another tall plant is a dahlia called Apricot Star which has very attractive flowers and should be in bloom until the first frosts. It is hard to imagine frost at the moment as we enter the fifth heatwave this summer. I will only be outside in the morning and evening for the next few days. I won’t be using my hosepipe for watering either as we are officially in a drought situation now. I will use my watering can though. My Cosmos or Mexican Aster should be good until the end of September. They are thriving and looking better every day especially when we have a bit of a breeze and they dance in the air. A couple of blue perennials have been in bloom and spreading outwards since the early spring. One is Campanula or Dalmatian Bellflower and the other is Geranium Roxanne which should be good until October. Since I removed some dead nasturtiums and evening primrose the Oxalis Tetraphylla or Lucky Clover has also thrived.

Blueberry Plant.

Yesterday outside Lidl they were selling Blueberry plants and as I have blueberries with my porridge every morning I bought one so I can grow my own blueberries. I looked up on the internet how to grow them successfully and it said they like lots of sun and acidic soil and to use ericaceous compost. I went round to Davies, bought a bag of that compo and in the cool of the evening planted it in a biggish pot in my yard where it will catch lots of sun. I'll take another pic in the Spring and let you know how it is getting on. I went for lunch with a friend to the café at the garden centre in Trowbridge today and bought an allium which is soaking in a bowl of water at the moment. I’ll plant it this evening. It better grow because it cost £12. I bought 3 dianthuses as well. 

Elephant Hawk Moth

Yesterday evening I was pottering about out in the garden and I came across the biggest caterpillar I have ever seen in my life. I took its photo and google images told me it was an Elephant Hawk Moth. They live on such plants as honeysuckle and fuchsias. That is one of the good things about the internet, you can educate yourself about plants and nature. Also, talking about nature, a new gang of sparrows seem to have moved into the ‘hood. I hope they stay because I like looking at the birdlife when I’m sitting in the yard. That’s enough garden talk for one day. Don't forget there is a partial solar eclipse tomorrow evening. I think here in the west of England is a great place to view it, so that's what I'll be watching tomorrow.

Glen Hansard (21 April 1970 – 29 July 2026)

I feel today that I should say a few words about Glen Hansard. I can’t claim to have been one of Glen’s greatest fans, but I liked him as a musician and as a person. I was quite shocked when I saw on the BBC website on Wednesday morning that he had died in a motorcycle accident in Dublin. I think it was tragic and shocking because the news was so unexpected. He was only 56 years old and had a three year old son. I suppose my first introduction to Glen was in the brilliant and humorous 1990s film The Commitments when he played the part of Outspan Foster. The nickname Outspan would have come from his hair colour because in Britain and Ireland Outspan is a major importer of oranges. Glen got lucky because the films director Alan Parker was looking for someone with red hair who could play the guitar. However, I think it was through the Van Morrison connection that I really got to know Glen’s name because he would often introduce a Van song into his performances. I think Van was a hero to Glen. I came across several videos on youtube of Glen singing Van songs such as Into The Mystic, Astral Weeks or The Healing Has Begun. Even when he was on stage with Bruce Springsteen in 2013 he couldn’t resist slipping in a little snippet of Here Comes The Night. Lots of Glen’s videos are of him busking on the streets of Dublin which is where he began. He often went busking with an equally talented close friend of his called Mic Christopher. Mic also died tragically young in 2001 aged only 32.

 I think most people will have got to know Glen through the 2007 film Once in which he takes the lead role opposite Markéta Irglová. If you haven’t seen this film I urge you to do so. It is funny and sad in equal measure. You can find it on youtube. Glen and Marketa wrote the songs for the film and Falling Slowly against all odds for such a low-budget film won the Oscar for best song (Please watch video below). I watched the film again on Wednesday night and found the scenes where they go for a motorbike ride especially poignant. I did get to see Glen play live a couple of times at Glastonbury Acoustic Stage. The first occasion was in 2003 when Glen’s band The Frames performed. I can’t remember a lot about that performance because I wasn’t familiar with The Frames music at the time. Much more memorable for me was his appearance in 2023. I mentioned it in my review for that year. This is what I said at the time.

 ‘In the evening I saw Glen Hansard. I have seen him previously on the Acoustic Stage, many years ago when he was in a band called The Frames. I’m not an expert on his music by any means, but an American Facebook friend is a huge fan, so I was determined to see him, hopefully take some photos, and write down the set list. The photos are a bit blurry, and I hope this setlist is correct. When Your Mind's Made Up, Down On Our Knees, St John, Bearing Witness, Bird of Sorrow, No Mountain, Winning Streak, High Hope, Her Mercy & Revelate. There might have been more. Glen paid a moving tribute to his late friend Christy Dignam from the band Aslan during the show. 

He said that one of his songs was inspired by Leonard Cohen. I also noticed that he occasionally improvised little Van Morrison ‘isms into the lyrics, such as ’turn on your electric light’. I hoped he would sing a Van song as he often does, but he didn’t. It was an excellent performance which deserved a much bigger audience’. I took a couple of photos that night which I have included here although they don’t really do him justice. You can find some videos of his Glastonbury performances on youtube if you want. I can’t think of anything else to say about Glen Hansard now, except my sympathy goes out to his family who must be devastated by their loss.

 

Up Mayo.

 

On Sunday I had quite an exciting day for a change. As you may know my family came from County Mayo in the west of Ireland. This year Mayo had reached the final of the All-Ireland Gaelic Football championship, so I watched the game on BBC Iplayer. Most pundits regarded Mayo as the underdogs because they were playing the defending champions Kerry who have won the Sam Maguire trophy 39 times in the past. Mayo hadn’t won the title since 1951 although they had reached the final eleven times since then but had always been defeated. There is a myth that had grown around that story. In 1951 the Mayo team went on a victory tour of all the towns in the county. In the town of Foxford they passed a funeral which was taking place. The story goes that the team didn’t show the funeral due respect. This angered the local priest who put a curse on the team that Mayo would never again win the Sam Maguire while the members of that team were still alive. The story is a lot of nonsense of course, but as the years went by and Mayo reached the final time after time only to be defeated, some people began to think there might be some truth in ‘the curse’. 

The last members of the 1951 team were Paddy Prendergast who passed away in 2021 and Mick Loftus who died in 2023, so could Mayo now win the title?  For the first twenty minutes of the game on Sunday I feared the worst. Kerry were all over them and I thought Mayo were heading for another disastrous defeat. Gradually however Mayo began to play their way into the game and by half-time they were only a point behind Kerry. In the second half Mayo started brightly, took the lead, and got several points in front. Kerry rallied and the lead narrowed. I thought Mayo were going to blow it again when several shots on goal were missed. They reasserted their dominance in the last few minutes and I think even the Kerry fans would agree that Mayo were deserved winners. My late brother Paul would have been over the moon because he was a huge follower of Mayo.

After the Sam Maguire trophy was presented to Mayo’s captain Jack Coyne the Saw Doctors song The Green And Red Of Mayo resounded around the stadium. It is a great anthem but there is another song about Mayo that I like even more because it brings back great memories for me. It is called Up Mayo by John Hoban & The Bumblebees. When my late partner Kim and me were in Mayo in 1997 we were in Matt Molloy’s bar in Westport. As you probably know, Matt Molloy was the flute player in The Chieftains. They were selling this Cassette and CD to raise money for the hospital Cat Scan appeal. One of the tracks was actually recorded in the pub. We had a little chat with Matt and he signed the cassette for us. This morning I looked on youtube and was pleased to see that one of the Bumblebees Laoise Kelly has uploaded Up Mayo. (Make sure to listen to video below). I’m looking forward to next year already to see if Mayo can defend their title. I’ll have you all know, you’re going somewhere special, when you go, UP MAYO!

Me, Kim, Nellie, & Ian at Matt Molloy's

In The Garden, Part 6.

I think this will probably be my final gardening blog for this year. It hasn’t rained for at least a month and with the hot sun every day most of my plants have peaked earlier than usual compared to previous years. My sunflowers only bloomed in the middle of June and are already on the way out. The same applies to the nasturtiums and marigolds. I pulled out some nasturtiums because they were covered in blackfly. The hot sun has played havoc with the hanging baskets. On the other hand, I like the cosmos bipinnitus, a flower that keeps on giving pink, crimson, and white flowers. There are a few flowers still beginning to bloom such as summer phlox and there are some dahlias just about to flower. Also, a gladiolus called Mon Amour with pink and yellow blooms has just appeared by the fence. We haven’t got a hosepipe ban in this area yet so every evening I am out there dead-heading and watering. 

After that I sit on my bench, watch the sun go down and listen to music drifting through the ether from my kitchen. Yesterday evening it was Teaser & The Firecat by Cat Stevens. Just as it got dark I spotted a bat flitting about at high speed in the twilight. I had never seen one before from my garden. I must say that being outside on a summer evening observing the remains of the day is much more pleasant than being inside watching rubbish on the TV.

My World Cup 2026

Sorry I haven’t written anything for a while, but I have been distracted by watching the World Cup on the TV. I think I must have watched at least fifty of the games, sometimes two or three games in one day. There are some things I don’t like about FIFA and the organisation of the tournament, but I have loved every minute of watching the ‘beautiful game’ as Pele once described it. Things I didn’t like were the outrageous ticket prices and the commercialisation. FIFA must have made billions from it all. I’d love to know where the money goes. The profits should be used to help football at the grassroots level globally and give poorer countries and players a chance to compete. I don’t like the political interference either. Maybe Balogun of the USA didn’t deserve a red card and suspension, but Trump interfering, getting on the phone to Gianni Infantino to have the suspension changed was outrageous. I hope we never see any more incidents like this. Also, football should be free from politics, yet only today a White House spokesman supported the Argentine players waving a political banner around. Another thing I don’t agree with is the introduction of the hydration breaks. This is ridiculous. In some games it was pouring with rain. A lot of other stadiums were air conditioned. Some games were played in extremely hot conditions, but there is always ample opportunity during a game to take on more water during stoppages for injuries or VAR checks etc. The real reason for the hydration breaks was for advertising on American television. These breaks can change the whole momentum of games, so I hope they don’t become a regular thing.

I was impressed with the fabulous stadiums. They make some of our UK stadiums look like sheds. I also liked the friendly atmosphere most of the time with the fans all mingling together before and after games which is a far cry from the bad old days of football hooliganism and rioting. I thought Norway should get an award for having the best fans. Their rowing to a drumbeat was spectacular and fun. I liked the cultural diversity of players in the teams. This was especially noticeable in teams like France and England where most of the players appear to be from families of immigrants. That should keep the racist elements in society quiet for a few weeks. 

My favourite team apart from England was Cape Verde, a tiny country of 530,000 people. I wasn’t even sure exactly where Cape Verde was until the World Cup when I discovered it is a group of islands off the coast of West Africa. In their opening game they drew with eventual finalists Spain and were desperately unlucky losing 3-2 to the other finalist Argentina. The team certainly put Cape Verde on the map and justified the increase in countries competing from 32 to 48. Cape Verde did well without resorting to the dark arts of dirty play and fouling as practiced by the likes of Paraguay in their game against France. I felt sorry for Senegal who were leading Belgium 2-0 with minutes to go after outplaying them most of the game. Somehow Belgium managed to win the game. Then the Trump interference getting Balogun reinstated fired Belgium up to defeat USA and they were in the last eight. Another team deserving of sympathy were Egypt who were leading Argentina 2-0 and controversially had a perfectly good goal disallowed. They were robbed of victory. 

Until the semi-finals I thought that France looked unbeatable. The team seemed to be packed with star players like Mbappe, Dembele and Olise. When they faced Spain however they were outplayed. The stars just didn’t shine on the day. Spain took command of the game and didn’t let go. I thought England’s best performance was the game against Mexico in the iconic Azteca Stadium. England defended heroically despite having a player sent off and managed to win. They were lucky to win against Norway and reach the semi-final against Argentina. Despite not being the better team England managed to take the lead against Argentina. Then, instead of pressing home the advantage and trying to get a second goal they tried to tighten up the defence and hang on to the one goal lead. They got away with that against Mexico, but against a team with the greatest player of all time Lionel Messi this tactic was doomed to failure. 

This evening England play France in the bronze medal play-off. It’s a game where the result doesn’t really matter, but I hope the English coach rests a few players and gives some other squad members a chance to play, such as former Peterborough United striker Ivan Toney who has only played for about six minutes so far. Tomorrow is the final between Spain and Argentina. I hope it isn’t a cagey defensive affair where both teams are scared to lose. I want an open attacking game with lots of goals, and may the best team win!.

Postscript: A few hours later. The play-off game between England and France for 3rd place was a really entertaining exciting game which England won 6-4. If the final is half as good it will be memorable.

Postscript 2 on Monday: I think most people would agree that the final was a bit of a disappointment, and not the sort of game to attract new fans. I have never seen such a one-sided game not produce a goal after 90 minutes. Spain completely dominated the game. I don't think Argentina had a shot on target until it was too late. I'm glad Spain won because they were the best team in the tournament, and deserved champions. The behaviour of some Argentine players after the final whistle was disgraceful. I'm not very keen on the idea of extending half-time to 30 minutes and the entertainment. We don't need this creeping Americanisation of the game. My favourite photo of the tournament is of Yamal of Spain celebrating with his young brother.

Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones, Live At Celtic Connections.

It is always a good start to the day when some new music arrives in the post. Today it was a signed CD by Sam Carter called Sam Carter Sings Nic Jones, Live At Celtic Connections. I have to thank two Facebook friends for bringing Sam Carter to my attention. I think it was because they knew that I was a fan of Nic Jones and have often said that Penguin Eggs from 1980 by Nic is one of my favourite albums of all time. Sadly, only two years after Penguin Eggs was released Nic’s promising career was brought to a halt when driving home from a gig he fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a lorry leaving a brick yard near my hometown of Peterborough. He was hospitalised for a year. However, his music legacy continues to be celebrated. Sam Carter is bringing Nic’s music to new audiences with this live album recorded in January this year at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow to a very respectful audience. 

Nic Jones at Village Pump Fest 2013.

There are thirteen songs on this album and six songs from Penguin Eggs are included. They are Barrack Street which is the humorous tale of a sailor who gets robbed of everything including his clothes by a lady he meets in Barrack Street, Courting Is A Pleasure, Farewell To The Gold written by a Dutch born folk singer called Paul Metsers, The Humpback Whale & The Little Pot Stove which were both written by a Scottish seaman who emigrated to Australia called Harry Robertson. In the 1950s he worked on whaling ships and wrote these autobiographical songs. I suppose songs about harpooning whales are not very PC these days, but they tell wonderful descriptive stories of the conditions the ships crews had to endure. After two listens today I think Canadee-i-o is my favourite track. Sam is absolutely faithful to Nic’s fingerpicking staccato guitar style on this track and all the others. At times I would swear it was Nic who was playing. (See video below)

Apart from Penguin Eggs I only have one other album by Nic called Game Set Match which I bought at the Village Pump Folk Festival in 2013 when Nic made a brief return to the stage with his son Joe playing the guitar. We met Nic after his performance and he signed the CD for me (See pic). I must say it was a pleasure and a privilege to meet him. Sam has included four songs from that album here which are Master Kilby, Clyde Water which is a tragic tale of two cursed lovers Willie and Maggie who drown in the river Clyde, Seven Gypsies which tells the story of a noble woman who runs away with seven gypsies. I felt sorry for the gypsies because they got hanged for stealing her, but she went off with them willingly, Billy Don’t You Weep For Me which is another tragic tale of betrayal and drowning. Other songs that Sam has included that I wasn’t familiar with are Ten Thousand Miles, Annan Water and the only song actually written by Nic which is Ruins By The Shore, a beautiful lament for the fragility of humanity and civilisation. I have enjoyed listening to this wonderful music today. Congratulations to Sam Carter for this great tribute to the genius of Nic Jones. I imagine that Sam must have spent a lot of hours practicing these songs to get Nic’s unique fingerstyle guitar technique off to a tee. For this season only Sam is touring the country bringing Nic’s music to the people, so I urge you to go along. I am looking forward to seeing Sam perform at The Pound In Corsham on September 25^th. I’ll bring you a report on that concert in due course. Cheers.

Sam Carter: Canadee-i-o, (Originally by Nic Jones)

 

In The Garden, Part 5.

                                                A few pics from my garden.

Buddha & Sunflower.

Painted Lady Butterfly on Scabious.

Evening Primrose.

Red Hot Poker.

Oriental Poppy ( Papaver Orientale). 

Alium Moly (Golden Garlic) 

More to follow hopefully.

At The Sign of The Angel.

A friend of mine kindly gave me a gift voucher for my last birthday, so yesterday I treated my niece Lee to lunch at The Sign Of The Angel in Lacock which is only a twenty-minute drive from here. We chose this week because we always have an annual meet-up to remember my brother Paul’s birthday who would have turned 70 tomorrow. Lacock is a wonderful unspoiled picturesque village to visit. It is often used as a location in film and television dramas such as Pride and Prejudice, Cranford, two Harry Potter films, Fantastic Beasts, Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, Beauty and the Beast, and many others. Queen Camilla has a house here. When she was divorced from Andrew Parker Bowles she bought Rey Mill House just outside Lacock. She retained the house after marrying King Charles and still frequently uses it as a retreat from London. I have read that Charles later bought the neighbouring property as well to ensure her privacy. 

Photo 1835

Lacock was also the home of Henry Fox Talbot who was the most famous British pioneer of photography in the Victorian era. He lived at Lacock Abbey. In 1835 Fox Talbot took a photograph of a window in the Abbey which is the oldest existing photograph taken with a camera (See picture). The Fox Talbots owned almost the entire village. In 1916 Henry Fox Talbot's son Charles bequeathed the Lacock estate to his niece Matilda. The estate comprising of 284 acres, the Abbey and the village – was given to the National Trust in 1944 by Matilda Talbot which is why it remains in such a remarkably preserved condition. Lacock has three public houses and a number of shops in its High Street including a grocery store, a bakery, gift shops and a National Trust shop. The Sign Of The Angel where me and Lee dined is a 15^th century listed building, very olde worlde, like stepping back in time to the Tudor period.

When we arrived, the temperature was already 30C and I was concerned that it would be too hot. However, it turned out to be very pleasant indeed because they have a very nice shady garden which leads down to a stream. Lee spotted a most amazing blue-winged dragonfly flitting about by the stream. The waitress who had a very pleasant manner seated us at a table for two in the shade of a tree. The food was delicious. I opted for the spring vegetable orzo pasta, and Lee went for the Wye Valley asparagus and old Winchester cheese tart.  I enjoyed a glass of very dry, delicate light white wine called Whitehall Bacchus which is produced right here in Lacock. Poor Lee had to settle for iced Spring water because she was driving. We passed quite an idyllic hour or so sitting out there and chatting and remembering Paul. We did intend to have a stroll around the village, but when we left the shade of the garden and felt the heat outside I couldn’t face walking about, so we decided to get in Lee’s air-conditioned car and head home. Thank you Lee for driving, and thanks again to my friend for making it all possible.

In The Garden: Part 4.

Phew, wot a scorcher! It has been unseasonably hot here for the past few days and today has been the hottest day of all. It is 30 degrees centigrade at the moment which is 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Celtic types like me don’t like it that hot. I have just come indoors to the cool of my living room. I have enjoyed sitting outside in the mornings, and especially in the cool of the evening. I love the ritual of watering the garden in the evenings, giving the plants a good soaking. Last night I was out there until it was nearly dark. It is very mindful looking upwards at the half-moon and the blue sky with just wisps of cloud and listening to a blackbird singing from the top of a neighbour’s tree. From about 9.00pm I was observing pairs of swifts darting about high up performing high speed aerial manoeuvres. For the last few weeks I have been following an ongoing dispute between a pair of blackbirds and a pair of wood pigeons who are nesting in the same tree. The blackbirds seem to be the aggressors. I think they see the wood pigeon’s large size and slow movements as a threat.

Despite the heat I have managed to get a few jobs done. I gave my pond it’s annual clean. That involved scooping out all the silt that accumulates at the bottom of the pond. I’m sure my two shubunkins appreciate their little pooliverse being a lot tidier. I think the bucketful of organic pond matter I gathered will make good fertiliser for my plants. Before the heat kicked in I also managed to paint the outside of my kitchen, and the tall wall with brilliant white masonry paint. That wall had very flaky paint ,and dirty with pollution. There is still a lot to do. I need to paint the window frames and my back door when it cools down a bit. My little garden is looking better by the day. The sunflowers are growing rapidly against the wall. They should look great when they flower. I’m pleased to see some marigolds from last year have returned and are in flower now. 

The clematis that I had to cut right back when I mended the fence is already shooting new stems skywards, so that is good. Down around the pond buttercups seem to have taken over. I used to dig out buttercups, but It’s a lot of hassle, so I think I’ll just leave them to get on with it. I’ll simply call the area down by the pond ‘The wild area’. My hanging baskets are starting to look good, but they won’t reach their best for a while yet. I know my little garden isn’t quite the Chelsea Flower Show, but I like pottering around in it. I’ll do another garden report before too long. Cheers.

An Evening With Emmylou Harris In Bristol.

It was in the mid 1970s that I first became aware of the music of Emmylou Harris. My friend Fred was a big fan of Gram Parsons which led me to hearing Emmylou on Gram’s Grievous Angel album. I was working at Hotpoint in Peterborough at the time. On payday after work I used to get off the bus at Bridge St and treat myself to an album in Andy’s Records. One fateful afternoon I purchased Pieces Of The Sky by Emmylou and have been a fan ever since. When I heard that Emmylou was playing in Bristol I knew I had to go, especially as it was promoted as part of her 'Farewell European Tour’. I had seen Emmylou previously at this venue in 2015 when she played with Rodney Crowell, but I had a feeling that tonight would be a lot better, especially as I was in Row C only a few feet from the stage. Also, the previous time I was at Bristol Beacon to see Cat Stevens last September I had to leave before the show ended to catch my train. I didn’t want that to happen again, so I reserved a room at the Clayton Hotel only 250 yards from The Beacon. After I checked in at 2.00pm my intention was to go for a walk around the harbour, but I started watching the horse racing on the TV in my room and fell asleep until 6.00. I had a bite to eat and a glass of wine in the hotel bar and then made my way to The Beacon.

Jim Lauderdale.

This is the third time I have been to The Beacon since its major renovation, and I must say the seats are very comfortable these days with lots of leg room. The opening act Jim Lauderdale came on stage promptly at 7.30. He looked very Country, dressed in a purple spangly suit, unaccompanied apart from his well-worn acoustic guitar. I must admit that I knew nothing about him previously although he has released 39 albums in his career and has written songs with the likes of Elvis Costello and Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead. I enjoyed his set of songs. He is quite a humorous character. One of his songs he informed us was the first country song about artificial intelligence. He also recently released an album called Country Super Hits Vol 2 although there aren’t actually any hits on it. I particularly liked I’ve Lost You written with Elvis Costello and Trash Can Tomcat & Patchwork River both co-written with Robert Hunter. He got the audience singing along with Heading For The Hills. The final song was great, called The King Of Broken Hearts inspired by George Jones.

There was a short interval during which I went outside to get some fresh air. Then it was time for Emmylou. She arrived on stage looking wonderful, dressed in dark clothes and sporting a pair of brilliant white sparkling cowgirl boots. Her five-piece band were excellent and some of them were multi-instrumentalists. They are Brian Owings on drums, Paul Madiera on keyboards, accordion and guitar, Chris Donohue on bass, Will Kimbrough on guitars, and Eamon McLoughlin on fiddle and mandolin. (I hope I spelled their names correctly). I hope I have got the names of the songs right as well which I think were as follows. 

Jim Lauderdale joined Emmylou for the opening song Love Hurts which is one of the earliest Emmylou cover songs I ever heard. (See video below) Here I Am was co-written with Julie Miller and included on the 2003 album Stumble Into Grace. Orphan Girl is a Gillian Welch composition. Paul Madiera was splendid on the accordion on this song. Love and Happiness was co-written with Mark Knopfler, and One of These Days is a George Jones cover song. Emmylou said that when she first saw Townes Van Zandt she thought he was channelling the ghost of Hank Williams. Pancho & Lefty is one of Townes greatest songs. 

Gram & Emmy.

Red Dirt Girl is one of the best of her own songs and won Emmylou a grammy in 2000. Kern River was written by Merle Haggard. Emmylou stopped during this song and said, “I’m sorry Merle, I forgot the words”. The audience started laughing and Emmylou said, “Give me a break, I am 79!”. Then she carried on perfectly. If I Needed You is another Townes song performed beautifully with excellent violin by Eamon.  I loved Goin' Back to Harlan because it is one of my favourite Kate & Anna McGarrigle songs. Get Up John and Green Pastures are songs by Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley that I’m not at all familiar with, but I must say the band rocked on the bluegrass numbers. Help Him Jesus was written by an English person Paul Kennedy and originally sung by Johnny Cash. Emmylou went to great lengths explaining how she came to record it. The band left the stage for the next song leaving just Emmylou and her guitar to perform The Road which was a highlight for me. A very sad song about her relationship with Gram Parsons. 

That led to one of Gram's greatest songs Hickory Wind which first appeared on The Byrds Sweetheart Of The Rodeo classic album. Tulsa Queen written with Rodney Crowell is from a 1976 album Luxury Liner, the title song also written by Gram who also wrote Wheels from her Elite Hotel album. Boulder to Birmingham is possibly my all-time favourite Emmylou song which took me right back to that album which made me a fan in the mid-70s. Long May You Run is a Neil Young song that I’ve always liked because it mentions the Beach Boys. The whole band took a bow and left the stage, but we knew they would be back. The final song was Together Again. As the audience dispersed Eamon came back on stage to collect his stuff. I asked him for a setlist so I could make sure I got the songs right, but he didn’t have a spare one. We exchanged a few words. He is actually from South London but told me that he lives in Nashville these days. Anyway, I made my way back to the hotel via stopping at The White Lion pub for a deserved pint of cider. I sat outside the pub, watched the world walk by and reflected that it had been a splendid evening. I was pleased that I had seen the undisputed Queen of Country Rock Emmylou Harris for one last time.

 

Emmylou Harris: Love Hurts. (With Jim Lauderdale)

 This is the opening song from Emmylou's Bristol concert. She is joined by Jim Lauderdale.

Emmylou Harris: Boulder To Birmingham. Bristol Beacon 15/5/2026

 I went to see Emmylou Harris at Bristol Beacon last night. I'll write a review later this weekend. In the meantime here is a song I filmed. It's one of my favourite Emmylou songs.

 

Two Nights At Bath Forum With Van Morrison.

It is now Thursday afternoon, and I’m Remembering Now the events of the past two nights in the beautiful city of Bath with Van Morrison, his band, and the street choir of Van fan friends from all over the world  that I encountered. This is what happened.  It was a sunny Springtime early evening when I got on the train for the short 20-minute journey to Bath. The green and lush countryside around Bath looks wonderful at this time of the year. I met my sister Margaret and we headed to The Cork pub on Westgate Street. There we found Theo & Dianeke, Lut, and Bart, all from Belgium. I hadn’t seen them all since Van played at Cyprus Avenue and Llangollen. It was also nice to meet Masa who had come all the way from Japan, also Mary from Devon. We sat around chatting and taking pics. Precious time was slipping away, so we all headed for The Forum. I bumped into some people I knew from Westbury and Warminster. It was also great to see John from Weston-Super-Mare who I am always seeing at local gigs. It was wonderful to meet Treve and his wife from Luton who I last saw at Westonbirt Arboretum in 2024. It was five minutes to showtime, so I told Margaret to take her seat while I nipped to the loo. While I was in there, I suddenly heard Van singing Into The Mystic. “Oh no, he has started early”, I thought to myself, and hurried to my seat in Row B.

Dianeke, Bart, Mary, Lut, Theo,Masa. 

Into The Mystic is one of the best songs ever written by anyone. What a great start to the show. The 8-piece band Van had assembled was packed with great musicians. David Hayes on bass has played with Van on and off for about 55 years. Another American Bobby Ruggerio had also returned on drums. Matt Holland on trumpet and saxophone maestro Leo Green were also making a welcome return. Regular band members Dave Keary on guitar, John McCullough on piano & keys, Sumudu Jayatilaka and Jolene O’Hara backing vocals made up this talented ensemble. Sumudu in particular impressed me tonight. She is emerging as one of Van’s best backing singers since the days of Katie Kissoon. I am not all that enamoured with the next three songs which are from Van’s recent blues album Somebody Tried To Sell Me A Bridge. They are Snatch It Back And Hold It, Play The Honky Tonks, and Madame Butterfly Blues a song which Van is keen to tell us was written by Dave Lewis from Belfast. Even if they aren’t my favourite songs, I can’t deny that they were expertly performed, Dave Keary was great as ever on guitar. Van at 80 not out still has a great voice, and he is in good humour these days, no hint of grumpiness at all, laughing and clowning with the band, and by his standards quite chatty with the audience. The next song I loved, and when the lyrics are written by WB Yeats you can’t go wrong. It is Crazy Jane On God. Van blew some mean harp on that one. 

Precious Time was next up. Some people don’t like this song, but I do. It happily bops along as Van reminds us that we’re all going to die someday. Van has recently cheered the lyrics up a bit by changing them to ‘Precious Time is holding sway’. Dave switched to pedal steel guitar on this song. Back To Writing Love Songs, The Only Love I Need Is Yours, and Once In A Lifetime Feelings are all from Van’s Remembering Now album which I consider his best album this century. However, I don’t think these are among the best songs on the album, not by a country mile. The Only Love I need Is Yours with Dave on acoustic guitar is a nice love song and the best of the three. I find some of Don Black’s lyrics quite cringeworthy. You feel sorry for the backing singers having to repeat lyrics about ice cream stands. Spare me please. Van is fifty times better as a songwriter than Don Black could ever hope to be. An extended Ain’t Gonna Moan No More was excellent, Leo on sax nearly blowing the roof off the building. This was followed by a highlight for me, a tribute to Sam Cooke and Ray Charles which was Laughing & Clowning and The Nighttime Is The Right Time. 

Sumudu.

When Sumudu joined in duetting with Van she was astoundingly great. Her contribution brought huge spontaneous warm applause from the Bath audience. These Dreams Of You from the Moondance album was a welcome addition to the setlist which I furtively managed to film, successfully dodging the eagle-eyed security people. Down To Joy from the Belfast film was great as ever. Real Real Gone was another highlight which Van took to the bridge by segueing into You Send Me, and I am sure I heard a snippet of Wonderful World in there as well. Van then slung on his electric guitar for a modern Van classic which is Green Rocky Road from his Moving On Skiffle album. It was great with Van adding new words at the end with ‘Spinning & turning, living & learning’. The audience loved Moondance, but I’ve heard it too often. I knew the show was coming to an end when Van sang the predictable Help Me. The whole audience were on their feet for Gloria. Van left the stage to make a sharp exit from the building as the band played on. By the time they stopped playing I was already outside on the pavement. When all our friends emerged we agreed it had been a very enjoyable concert with Leo and Sumudu the best of the band. Me, Margaret, John, and Mary had a quick last drink in the Royal Hotel bar and then Margaret and me caught the 10.40 train home. What a great night it had been.

The next afternoon it was sunny, but very windy. I thought it was going to blow my hat off. I was tired as well and didn’t fancy the 20 minutes’ walk to the train station. Luckily a bus came along and I hopped on it. I was in Bath by 5.00 and met Fumiko in Café Nero, and then we walked to The Cork. Theo, Dianeke, and Lut were already there, and It was nice to see Peter and Kathryn and their family. Then Jane from Oxford strolled in. It’s always a pleasure to see Jane. Finally, Miquel from sunny Spain arrived with a friend of his. I think I hadn’t seen Miquel since Van played at the Eden Project quite a few years ago. Time hurried on and we made our way to The Forum. In the queue I met an American lady called Hadley who gave me a nice message from Stu & Michelle in San Diego. Jane took my picture by the Van poster in the window. I tried to take one of her, but it never came out, sorry Jane. Inside the Forum it was great to see Gaynor and her friend from Cardiff. I hadn’t seen them since I met them by chance in Cyprus Avenue 11 years ago. I made sure I was in my seat in Row A before 8.00 tonight. 

Dianeke, Lut, Jane.

I can’t be bothered to tell you all the songs from night 2, because it was pretty much the same songs as before, but in a different order.  I’ll just tell you about the three different songs in the setlist. The opening song was Dweller On The Threshold from 1982’s Beautiful Vision. Matt deserves a mention for his trumpet playing on this song. Little Village was a highlight of night 2. It’s a song that was underrated when first released, but in live performance is epic with Van adlibbing about coming from the island of saints, and the church of Saul. It was almost impossible to take photos or film on night 2. The security were telling lots of people to put their cameras away, so towards the end of the show I moved to the back of the hall to try and get some pics. I filmed about a minute of Into The Mystic, but it wasn’t very good. Early In The Morning was another change to the night before. It’s not a favourite song, but live it gives the band a chance to show their skills. After the show I think we all agreed that Van and the band performed brilliantly, but it didn’t quite reach the heights of night 1 because Sumudu didn’t get the chance to exercise her tonsils as much as the night before. Anyway, we all said goodbye and went our separate ways. I hope we meet up again before too long. After a well-deserved last pint of cider, I caught the 10.40 train and that was that. Thank you Van for two great nights in Bath, and don't leave it so long before returning!. 

THE END.

The Beautiful City Of Bath.