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.

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.