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.

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.

Van Morrison: These Dreams Of You, Bath Forum 28/4/2026

 Van & his band were on great form in Bath last night. I'll write a full report tomorrow after night 2.

 

Remembering Sandy Denny.

Britain's greatest folk-rock singer Sandy Denny died on this day April 21st in 1978 aged only 31. Her daughter Georgia Rose Lucas has just made this wonderful film of Sandy's haunting and ethereal  song about Mary Queen of Scots called  Fotheringay. It originally appeared on Fairport Convention's 1968 album What We Did On Our Holidays.

In The Garden, Part 3.

Potentilla

I have been busy in the garden every fine day since I wrote In The Garden Part 2. The major project undertaken in the last few days is that I demolished my little shed. It was beginning to fall apart anyway, and quite frankly I was ashamed of it. The floor had rotted away years ago and I didn’t really need it for the few tools I possess. It never was much of a shed, not much bigger than a sentry box.  I used to call it ‘The world’s smallest shed’. When I started taking it apart, I discovered it had become a home for all manner of small creatures especially spiders, snails, and daddy long legs. “Right lads”, I thought to myself, “It’s about time you found yourselves some new digs!”. To dispose of all the wood, I have been breaking it up into small pieces and taking it round to a nearby mate to burn in his wood burning stove. My little yard looks a bit bigger now. 

Geum

Once I have given the yard walls a fresh coat of masonry paint and stained the fence I’ll show you a photo. It looks a bit like a builder’s yard out there at the moment, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. I still need a couple of new fence panels, but I think I’ll save that project for another time. I’ll just give the old panels a coat of preservative to make them look a bit more presentable. On the growing front, the seeds I have been propagating on my windowsills are coming along nicely. The sunflowers are especially shooting skywards. Outside Lidl they were selling trays of verbena, petunia, and calibrachoa, so I bought some and made up four hanging baskets which I’ll add to when my own plants are bigger. It’s still a bit early for hanging baskets, but I’m impatient, so I hope we don’t get anymore frost. My yard is quite sheltered, so hopefully I’ll be ok. 

Ladybird.

Finally, me and a friend went for lunch at the café in the garden centre in Trowbridge on Tuesday and I bought myself a Potentilla which should grow into a nice three-foot-high shrub with red flowers. I must say I have enjoyed being outside, keeping busy, and getting some much-needed exercise. One last thought, I think this year we might see a lot of ladybirds. I don’t think I saw any last year but have already spotted quite a few recently. I’ll write another garden update before too long. Cheers.

Moya & Van.

Only four weeks after hearing the sad news of the passing of Dolores Keane I was very sorry yesterday to hear that another great Irish singer has gone. It is Moya Brennan who was the sister of Enya and a founder member, singer, and harpist with the great Irish folk rock group Clannad which she founded with other family members in 1970. Before Moya pursued a solo career Clannad had a huge international hit with the Theme From Harry's Game. The song I want to share with you today though is a Van Morrison song The Beauty Of The Days Gone By which Moya recorded to celebrate Van's 75th birthday. This is what Moya said about Van in Hot Press magazine at the time, 

'In 1967, tuning into an old transistor radio in Donegal to hear the latest pop/rock songs, I couldn’t believe my ears when the DJ introduced a new singer/songwriter from Belfast with an amazing song called ‘Brown Eyed Girl’. We were both from Ulster and I felt that connection, I was hooked. What was and is brilliant about Van is all the influences he used. It made a huge impact on me when he blended jazz and folk, Celtic rock and rhythm and blues and many more genres of music together. Van is special because of his poetry in music and his Celtic soul. Very few artists have recorded over 40 albums from 1967 to the present and still come out with gems of songs. He can still bring me on a spiritual journey. I’ve always felt a connection with Van – we’ve met lots of times and we’ve both wanted to do something together. I had the opportunity last August in The Met in Belfast, when poet Paul Muldoon was putting on one of his summer picnic shows. Van came along and sang two songs with myself, Cormac de Barra and Paul’s band. The two songs he chose were ‘Steal My Heart Away’ and ‘The Beauty Of The Days Gone By’ from Down The Road. Loved singing with him, loved the songs. So I thought it would be nice to do one of them on this special tribute'.

Brimful Of Asha.

I was listening to the Cerys Matthews show on BBC 6 Music yesterday and it was mentioned that Ashalata Bhosale had passed away at the age of 92. I was sorry to hear that news. I'm not Indian so I wasn’t at all familiar with her work, but I knew her name because she was the inspiration for one of my favourite pop songs of the 1990’s which was Brimful Of Asha by Cornershop. It became a huge international hit when remixed by Fatboy Slim. 

This is what I read about Asha on Wikipedia. Ashalata Ganpat Bhosale 8 September 1933 – 12 April 2026) was an Indian singer, actress, and television personality who predominantly worked in Indian cinema. Known for her versatility, she was described in the media as one of the greatest and most influential singers in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over eight decades, she recorded songs for films and albums in various Indian languages and won several accolades including two National Film Awards, four BFJA Awards, eighteen Maharashtra State Film Awards, nine Filmfare Awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award and a record seven Filmfare Awards for Best Female Singer, in addition to two Grammy nominations. In 2000, she was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in the field of cinema. In 2008, she was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honour of the country. The Guinness Book of World Records acknowledged her in 2011 as the most recorded artist in music history. I have shared Brimful Of Asha below if you would like to hear it.

R.I.P Country Joe McDonald (January 1, 1942 – March 7, 2026)

Very sorry to hear that Country Joe McDonald passed away recently at the age of 84. I had several albums by Country Joe & The Fish back in the 1970's. I think this anti-war song is still relevant today. 

 

Happy Birthday Richard Thompson.

In The Garden. (Part 2)

My New Fence.

I have been quite busy the last few days. On Saturday at mid-day B & Q delivered two more fence panels. If you have never heard of B & Q, they are Britain’s largest retailer of house and garden improvement supplies. The name comes from Block & Quayle who were the two partners who opened their first hardware store in Southampton in 1969. From those humble beginnings they now have stores all over Britain and even as far away as China. I have found their service excellent. Anyway, I set to work straight away. Sadly, I had to cut back the clematis right back to the base. It seemed a shame because it was still in flower, but it had to be done, and hopefully it will soon grow back again before too long. I fixed the panels to the posts with metal strips that had screw holes in them. 

I had bought a new power drill in Davies’s a couple of weeks ago, so the job went reasonably smoothly. I must admit I was exhausted by 5 o’clock, so retired to the pub for two pints of cider to revive myself. I think it looks a lot better now, but a bit bare until I get some more plants growing in front of it. I also have a mountain of debris from the old fence to depose of gradually in the wheelie bin. That is enough fence repairs for me for the time being. I am planning to get rid of my little shed at some point because it is becoming a bit of an eye-sore, but I might leave that until the autumn. Yesterday, I busied myself in potting out a few more seeds. I haven’t got a greenhouse, so my windowsills in the kitchen and bathroom now have pots and trays of sunflowers, black eyed Susie, Livingstone daisy, petunia, sweet peas, cosmos, ladybird poppies, and hollyhocks, so I’m looking forward to watching them bursting upwards over the next few weeks. 

I’ll buy a few more plants in the garden centre when I get the chance. It is a bit overcast and colder here today, but I might go out there and do a bit of tidying up. There is always something to do, even in a little garden, but it is very enjoyable just pottering around. Much better for your mental health than watching the news, that’s for sure. I’ll write another garden update before too long. Cheers. 

Now I wait.

Remembering Dolores Keane

Today I thought I’d say a few words as a little tribute to Dolores Keane who sadly passed away the day before St Patrick’s Day. Dolores was a wonderful person with a lovable personality, as well as being one of the greatest singers Ireland ever produced. Nanci Griffith described her as the ‘voice of Ireland’. I hadn’t thought about Dolores for a long while until I heard that she had passed away. That is often the case, we sometimes don’t miss people until they are gone. I first became aware of Dolores and her band from Galway De Dannan in 1981 when I heard them on a compilation album called All The Folk That Fits. That was also the record that introduced me to Christy Moore, Planxty, and The Bothy Band. Dolores was brought up by her aunts Rita & Sarah whose home was an open house to any musicians who arrived. Music sessions would often go on for days. This is how Dolores without even trying, soaked up the traditional music and songs of Ireland. I well remember the Mike Harding Show on Radio 2 dedicating a whole show to the Keane household, and as well as the great music, some of the stories they related were hilarious.  Dolores was well known for her sense of fun and good humour.

I regret that I never saw Dolores perform on stage. That is annoying because she played with De Dannan and Mary Black just down the road from here in 1985 at the Village Pump Folk Festival. (See photo below) Also, sadly I only have one album by her called Solid Ground from 1993. I hadn’t played it for years until I heard of her passing. Listening to it again the last few days reminded me of what a wonderful singer she was. There are also some excellent musicians accompanying Dolores including her good friend Emmylou Harris.  One of my favourite tracks is called Emigrant Eyes which is the story of one among millions of Irish people who were forced by hardship to emigrate to America, but they always thought of Ireland as home. Another favourite track is called Never Be The Sun which Dolores dedicated to her son Joseph who was born with a rare condition called Bardet–Biedl syndrome. 

Dolores had a lot of sadness in her life and suffered with depression, alcoholism, and overcame cancer. This shows what a courageous person she was. I recently watched an interview she gave to Tommy Tiernan on Irish TV where her good nature and humour shone through despite all that she had to overcome in life. Her funeral in Galway was attended by the Irish President Catherine Connolly, and the previous President Michael D Higgins which shows the esteem in which she was held by the Irish nation. Although she is now gone Dolores has left a great legacy of timeless music and she will never be forgotten, especially in Ireland.

R.I.P Dolores Keane.

In The Garden (Part 1).

Erysium

Spring in the air, there's magic everywhere. Spring finally arrived here last Tuesday. The sun has been shining after weeks of rainy weather. Sitting in my tiny yard I observed a Red Admiral butterfly flitting about, a ladybird on the shed door, a blackbird hopping around the garden with a beakful of nesting material, and even a couple of bumble bees buzzing around. There are a few plants already in bloom such as a nice orange Erysium, Clematis, Bleeding Heart, and a few others that I can’t remember the names of now. The garden was looking quite dilapidated though and I decided that now was the time to tidy it up. They told me at the hospital to take it easy for a while because of fatigue following my treatment, but I feel less fatigued if I have a bit of exercise than if I sit around doing nothing. So, I got stuck into the job at hand. 

Clematis.

The unsightliest part of the garden is the fence which is falling apart, faded and jaded after years of rain and high winds. Several panels needed replacing. I was going to order three panels online from B & Q but in the end just ordered one. I thought I better see if I can install one successfully before I attempt any more. Before I could do that, I made the decision to get rid of the compost bin because a little garden like mine doesn’t really warrant a great big compost bin. I never liked it much, standing there in the corner looking like a great big plastic dalek. I offered it to my mate Curly who lives three doors away and has a much bigger garden than me. He was pleased to accept it. Then I had the problem of moving it because it weighed a ton, so I had to empty it. It was full of top-quality compo, but with lots of bits of twig in it. I sieved it all over my flower beds, and also filled up about thirty pots into which I’ll sow seeds later this week. 

The new panel was delivered on Saturday morning. I was relieved that after a bit of huffing and puffing I managed to install it without too much trouble. That corner of the garden looks a lot better now, so this week I’ll order another couple of panels and carry on working my way along the fence. I must say I enjoyed working out there, getting some fresh air, and being closer to nature. I found it very mindful. While I was out there working, I forgot all about the madness that is going on in the world. That is the way forward. If everyone just minded their own business and sorted out their own backyard the world would be a much happier place. I’ll let you know how I get on with the rest of my garden in due course. Cheers.

Long Live The NHS!

Dyson Centre.

Sorry for not writing much for the last month or so, but I have been quite busy and otherwise engaged. I don’t usually talk about my health on the internet as I consider that a private matter. Today however I thought that I should try and get back into things by expressing my gratitude for the medical treatment I received recently at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, and especially in the radiology department of the James Dyson Cancer Centre. I had a PSA blood test back in September and my GP referred me to the hospital. I had an MRI scan which showed that I needed a biopsy. In early October I was informed that I had prostate cancer. I feel quite lucky because it was detected early before it had spread outside the prostate. I had a course of hormone tablets and two hormone injections. Then starting in February I had to attend the radiology unit for four weeks, every day Monday to Friday for twenty sessions of radiotherapy. My last session was on March 11th. 

Linear Accelerator, 

The machine I was treated on is called a Linear Accelerator. These incredible machines cost millions of pounds each. The cost to me of my treatment? Nothing!. The people of this area are extremely fortunate to have such a state-of-the-art cancer centre right here in Bath. The facility was opened by Queen Camilla only two years ago. It was partly funded by the generosity of local inventor and entrepreneur James Dyson and dozens of other fundraisers. I met some wonderful people during the twenty days. The doctors and nurses are amazing, always greeting the patients with a smile even though they are rushed off their feet with the amount of people they have to treat every day. Also, because of seeing the same fellow patients every day I got to know some of them quite well. They all had interesting stories to tell. The whole experience has confirmed to me what a precious institution the NHS is. When the National Health Service was created in 1948 it was the envy of the world. Everyone in Britain was entitled to free health care regardless of their status. I believe that the vast majority of people in this country still support the NHS and want to see it continued and adequately funded. 

There are certain figures though in politics who would like to see it sold off and replaced with an American style insurance system. So, if you support the NHS, next time you go to vote, I hope you remember which government established the NHS and ask yourself which party is most likely to protect it for the future. The other point I want to make is that we don’t have a national screening programme yet for prostate cancer although it is the most common male cancer, so if you have any concerns ask at your local surgery for a PSA blood test. It might save you a lot of trouble further down the line. I have another blood test at the end of May and a final appointment in June when I’ll find out if my treatment is a success. I was told to take it easy for a while because of side-effects. However, the weather has been so good this week I have been doing some gardening. I’ll try and tell you about that later in the weekend.