Gather round, come all ye, help yourself to a refreshment from the tables by the firepit, have a snack – meat ones on the table with the red table cloths, vegetarian ones with the orange table cloth, vegan and gluten free on the table with the green table cloth – and please tell us all what you have been reading, watching, listening and generally getting up to in the last month
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I haven’t chipped in to these threads for the last few months so this is a summary of more than just July…
Audiobook wise, I’m currently almost done with David McWilliams’ Money in every sense. I’m not enjoying it and like many an audiobook it suffers from the author reading it.
Beatlebone by Kevin Barry was a fictional account of John Lennon’s visit to the island he bought off the Mayo coast. It had its moments particularly the dialogue but ultimately I found it overwritten and unsatisfying. A particular annoyance was Lennon’s use of the term photoshoot in 1978 – a quick Google confirmed it was first used after Lennon was dead.
Undaunted I went to see Kevin Barry’s 3- hander play The Cave at the Abbey Theatre. I came away with the impression that it was like an episode of Bottom written by Patrick “Butcher Boy”, McCabe. It was well acted but inconsequential.
Back to the audiobooks, Old Gods’ Time by Sebastian Barry. As seems to be compulsory, it of course included clerical sexual abuse. It was poor and predictable and I can’t help wondering why nobody pulled the author up for repeated use of “dumb show” in his descriptive passages. He was like a kid who has just learnt a new word. (Genetically I am programmed to notice such things – there is a script editor in the family and my kids 6, 8 and 10 delight in finding errors in the Beano).
On a similar note Heart of Darkness was ruined by a reference to “alligators” on the river banks (in Africa!) Given the story was delivered as a sailor’s recollections to other naval types, I can’t believe one of them didn’t call bullshit. It was an okay story and the ending made it clear that it was aiming to convey that the genteel people back home could only tolerate colonialism as long as they knew nothing of the barbaric “horror”.
Music wise Gang of Four live in Dublin were fantastic. I expected a let down in the absence of the late Andy Gill but they had the sound absolutely spot on and delivered nearly two hours with real gusto.
I haven’t watched much TV but I’m currently rewatching Series 5 of Samurai Jack. I remember extolling its virtues as a highpoint of modern animation in here and receiving zero response. I still find it absolutely marvellous and I’m rationing it to one episode a day on my recently (and cheaply) set up home cinema system. An added bonus has been watching some of the less bleak episodes with my kids.
I recently started rereading a compilation of the first three parts of Clive James biographies some 40 years since I first read them. Obviously I hear his voice as I read. I’m finding it an enjoyable read.
I’m sure there was more…
Good God, shhpooky – I’ve just finished ‘Always Unreliable’, the Clive James 3-parter, for the umpteenth time.
I do wonder who those student pals of his he gave pseudonyms too actually were/are? Romaine Rand is Germaine Greer. Dave Dalziel is Bruce Beresford. Who is Delmer Dynamo though? And Constanza Schlepkiss?
That made me wonder to so I asked Copilot, which confidently informed me that ‘Dave Dalziel’ was Germaine Greer.
Barry Humphries and Robert Hughes were apparent in the first and second volumes too.
I forgot to include my major non-cultural news which was finally concluding the sale of my bachelor pad to a housing charity after over two years of getting nowhere with it. A month later the local authority who funded it suspended the buying programme because they ran out of funds. Pure relief! This changed our lives overnight after 7 years of barely getting by. We were able to clear all of our debts including the mortgage on our home and it left us with a sum upwards of €50,000 in the bank.
By coincidence, that same week my nephew sold his company making him the first multi- millionaire in the family. In the “how was 2024”, thread at the end of last year I mentioned that he had rung me from Canada to say that he intended giving me enough money to retire at 60 so I could spend those extra years with my kids who are still young 6, 8 and 10. I haven’t had that conversation with him yet but on the evening of our first holiday abroad in two years, he sent €5000 to my account and wished us a good holiday…which was nice!
Final financial news was that I’ve paid his Majesty’s Revenue £3500 or so to buy 19 years of pension contributions on top of the 12 years I paid while I lived there. This will give me an additional £120 a week when I turn 67 which is something to look forward to.
All major news in our household. I turn 60 this month.
The best of luck in the new phase, Bambmeister!
That’s excellent news Bamber. I had this a couple of years ago seeing a flat my brother and I bought to house our mother – once it was, ahem, no longer required it took 18 months to sell during which the council happily charged full council tax on an empty property using no services. We’d have been better off dumping her on the state to look after but of course didn’t.
There should have been a discounted rate if it was unoccupied and unfurnished, and from memory it’s 100% for the first 6 months.
Can’t agree about Old God’s Time – I thought it was superb as indeed are most of Barry’s novels – I think he’s right up there amongst English language novelists writing now. But to be honest the occasional anachronism or bit of clunky language doesn’t worry me if the overall impact is strong enough.Conrad is a good example of a writer whose language and dialogue can feel awkward, but at his best he creates a really powerful atmosphere. I thought Heart of Darkness was brilliant when I first read it; when I reread it a couple of years ago it felt like a product of its time. I think he wrote better – Nostromo, or The Secret Agent for example.
Main event in July was Warwick Folk Festival. I went straight from there to Sidmouth, where I now reside. Not inclined to type much with a finger on a phone in the back of a Landrover. See you next month after three further festivals.
A quiet July followed a quiet June. I have a slightly more eventful August ahead and for me a momentous September looming up. In the meantime though.
Seen.
I finished watching Poker Face which was harmless entertaing nonsense. I completed the first series of My Brilliant Friend and I’ve embarked on series two. I’m taking these slowly, watching an episode every few days, they are too good to rush. This is a rarity for me. I usually blitz my way through tv just to get through the backlog of television I have on various watchlists. I took in Your Friends and Neighbours on Apple and it’s ok. Another example of the spoilt monied Americans behaving stupidly sub-genre that seems to be en vogue.
I thoroughly enjoyed The First Night of the Proms. The highlight being Lisa Batiashvili playing the Sibelius violin concerto with the BBC Symphony. Tremendous performance. It’s on iPlayer if anyone wants to indulge. Monday evenings are of course back to how Monday evenings should be with the return Mastermind, Only Connect and University Challenge.
Heard.
Still listening to plenty of Mahler from Bernstein and Boulez to which I’ve added Kubelik along with a few of the single disc recordings mostly of the first symphony from the likes of Muti and Giulini. It’s fascinating comparing and contrasting each conductors approach to the same music. Speaking of which I decided to do the same thing with the various complete cycles of Beethoven’s symphonies I have to hand. I’m not including the myriad of offerings available to me via Qobuz as that would be overload. So just the five then. I started with Paavo Järvi / The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. This is the most recently recorded of the five and also the only one recorded with a chamber orchestra. Moving on from Järvi I then played my way through Herbie the Kampervan with the Berliner Philharmoniker, back onto more familiar territory with this cycle. Next up was George Szell conducting The Cleveland Orchestra which is of course outstanding with possibly the reference recording of the 3rd symphony “Eroica”. I’m onto Daniel Barenboim / Staatskapelle Berlin now with the 6th symphony “Pastoral” next up. After the Barenboim I’ll bring this little bit of self-indulgence to a fitting close with Günter Wand / NDR Sinfonieorchester. I’m not bothering with any of the many single symphony recordings I have as frankly after all of these I’ll be all Beethovened out.
Lots of other stuff getting played as well of course, Shostakovich, Sibelius in the mix.
Read
The obligatory Maigret was read at the month’s beginning. The Good Father by Liam Macilvenny is an entertaing psychological thriller that whiled away a few hours as did David McCloskey’s American spy thriller Damascus Station. July was one of those months that for no apparent reason wasn’t replete with anything that stood out particularly bookwise. Hopefully August will find me selecting more toothsome reads from the ridiculous amount of as yet unread titles I have in house.
A.O.B.
I finally have a date for the op to replace my right hip. September 25th. I’m to present myself at Abergele Hospital at 7:30 am. My only concern now is that this doesn’t clash with getting the cataract in my left eye sorted out. I have an appointment for the preliminary tests for that on August 20th. If they could get the cataract op sorted out before September 25th that would be very helpful but it’s in the lap of the gods and what will be will be.
Good news to have date for yer hip, at long last!
It’s a relief to know I’m on the road now. I have an appointment at Wrexham Maelor on Tuesday for something they call “Joint Club”. Sadly I don’t think Rizlas will be involved. Then a pre-op assessment once again in Wrexham on September 11th.
More travelling than I’ve done in years!
Should have seen R Thompson at the beginning of the month but a ‘fall’ put paid to that. Instead I went to see Bryony Griffiths and Alice Jones at Halifax Minster. Always a pleasure.
The next night John Cooper Clarke at Bradford Literature Festival alas I forgot my hearing aids and the PA sounded as if it wouldn’t fill a front room so I missed bits. The next night I saw the Whirling Dervishes at the same venue with a much more beefed up PA.
Weekend in Northumberland for a morris reunion of Sandgate Morris (my wife’s old side) and as Home Service were playing at Alnwick Playhouse we saw them again.
Read Dave Davies’ autobiography and a book about Trojan records which at the end (about half the book) was lists, so I abandoned it.
Watched Ghosts US and of course the quizzes are back on BBC 2 so Monday’s are happy once again.
Listened to lots of French chanson and German updated 20s music based around Babylon Berlin.
AOB thought we were moving last month, may not even be this month so its limbo time and we have just heard that the vendor has wanted the house we were buying relisted. Bloody useless solicitor on our buyer’s side. So haven’t a clue what’s happening.
I’d a funeral to go to someone I’d known from my early folk days in 72. After moving to Whitby she played melodeon for Goathland Plough Stots who did a guard of honour which being inside the Crematorium we all missed.
Lots of folk songs performed and a recording of her late husband who died 45 years ago singing Fine Old Yorkshire Gentleman.
In the grounds afterwards I’d to stop Martin Carthy from accidentally pouring water into his hat.
The spectre of June’s shudder lingers long chez Retro, so normal service is only slowly returning. We didn’t get to Spain after all, chasing the insurance to allow a regrouping later in the year. The “upside” was I got to a few shows I would otherwise have not been able to, namely Steve Knightley, here in Lichfield, Blue Rose Code at the Kitchen Garden Cafe, Brum, and Folk By The Oak. I wrote about the latter here, as 4 of you saw. Knightley was great and so too was BRC, each reliable performers who can guarantee a good solo show. An unusual occurrence for BRC, aka Ross Wilson, who is more often a duo, trio, a quintet or his great big 9 piece Caley Band (his spelling). This had been supposed to be a duo show, but his guitarist had broken his wrist, days before. But there was no need, as he is a capable and competent guitarist, and the lack of additional gave a different slant to many his songs.
Other culture prove less forthcoming, as Ozzy Osbourne died. His funeral cortege gridlocked the city on the day we were booked for an afternoon of (watching) contemporary dance at B’ham’s Rep. Boo. Another has been booked.
Still haven’t read much for weeks and getting sick of telly. Mrs P has no tolerance for anything less than 100% and so we have seen no end of part episodes or part series, later discarded. Hoping the rest of you can show up some pointers.
Recorded music has ben quite busy, mind, with some good releases. I can recommend a lovely bit of Glaswegiana jangle, from a regrouped 90’s band, The Morning Early. I may have mentioned Dub, Vol 1, the latest from Jah Wobble, which gets stronger and sounder at each listen. Those who like Lankum and the school of Dublin dronecore will take to Poor Creature, including one of the said band, and their All Smiles Tonight. Finally, the pairing of Bonnie Dobson, 80 year old Canadian writer of Morning Dew, and Hanging Stars, London’s premier purveyors of cosmic country, which is a remarkable alchemical concoction. It sounds like any of the part forgotten San Fran bands of the late 60’s, like Quicksilver Messenger Service or It’s a Beautiful Day. Lovely stuff.
Missed this last month being on holiday, and not being able to regale tales of my culturally void month of June.
Now July … slightly less of a void
Heard:
New: Paul Weller – Find El Dorado. I’m liking it, not a stellar listen but some interesting choices.
Old: They Might Be Giants – Flood. 35 years old this year, and still a marvellous thing from soup to nuts
James Taverner – The Whale (see below)
And obviously the end of the month was marked with much playing of Black Sabbath and Ozzy
Read:
Adrian Edmondson – Beserker. Interesting tale from (his words) and accidental comedian.
(if nowt else, has got me investigating the philosophy of stoicism)
Those Were The days – The Beatles And Apple. The story of the Apple “experiment” that tried it’s best, but got caught up in The Beatles falling apart. Badfinger may well be the biggest band to have been on the label, but there was many more worthy of investigation (see James Taverner above)
Seen:
The Veil – not a bad spy drama, with many twists and turns in the story (so many in fact, I can’t remember the conclusion!). It seems every Spy Agency is working for and against each other, whilst trying to take control of a French Woman who may or may not be an ISIS commander.
My review does not do the show justice, and it is worth a watch.
The Assassin – Amazon Prime shows just don’t seem to have the same production values as Netflix, but The Assassin comes close.
A retired hit woman gets called on for one last job, doesn’t go through with it, and then gets caught up in the cross-fire of a bigger job. More twisting and turning in the plot, with moments of dark humour (why not just remove access controls on a phone rather than cut off someones finger and carry it around with you?)
Seen
Only a few local shows but none the less enjoyable for that. We’re fortunate to have a great pub at the end of our road which often has Sunday afternoon music sessions, and in July those included Alex Robert’s bringing his outstanding guitar skills to a great bunch of covers and originals, and the Ska Town Syndicate getting a packed beer garden on their feet.
Read
The most interesting book I read all month was Ghostland by Edward Parnell, and examination of the strain of British literature in which the landscape is an old and haunted character, mythological and psychogeographical. Parnell’s journey around Britain is both an evocation of the landscape and the literature which it inspired an a moving account of his parents’ and brother’s ordeals with cancer.
Heard
Put down another mark for Bonnie Dobson and the Hanging Stars, and I have nothing to add to Retro’s words except to endorse them. I’m going to a local free music festival tomorrow, mainly because the Light wants to see the Ska Town Syndicate again, but my biggest discovery when investigating the rest of bill is Hollie Rogers, a superb bluesy singer-songwriter. If you want to investigate I suggest the Live at the Temperance as a starting point.
AOB
If you have been indulgent enough to follow the saga of my property woes you will breathe almost as deep a sigh of relief as I did to learn that I finally sold my flat! For months I never thought it would happen. Long story short, after the first sale fell through the next one got to within spitting distance of exchange before everyone realised that the freeholder had gone AWOL, and for all anyone knows may have been dead for a year or more.
Luckily my buyer was determined enough to persevere and find a lender who would allow an indemnity clause in case the landlord comes back to life, but the 14 months it has taken have been among the hardest of my adult life. We’re not quite in as fortunate a position as Bamber (and doesn’t it speak well of his family that they look after each other like that?), but we could pay off the loan we had to take out to buy our house, give some money to The Light’s daughter and make some plans for the future now we know we have the cash. And I can sleep at night for the first time in ages.
Congrats @Gatz It’s a particular form of relief and release to get that particular monkey off your back. The uncertainty of it all was grinding us down as much as the ongoing financial hardship. In addition, we had a tenant facing homelessness if the sale didn’t go through. It’s nearly impossible to find rental accommodation in Ireland at the moment unless you have a lot of money or connections. We’re really happy for her too.
Excellent news on the flat Gatz. Property dealing is a bastard.
Thanks Twang. Almost as good news, I saw that I have been refunded the Stamp Duty I was due. Because my flat hadn’t sold the house where I now live was treated as a second home and I had to pay Stamp Duty on the full value, but so long as the other place sold within 3 years I could claim back the difference. That difference was north of £9k, so that’s some nice pocket money to go into the weekend* with.
* A weekend we are spending having the driveway cleared of weeds and sanded, the roof cleaned and repaired, and the soffits and guttering replaced, all of which will take up a chunk of it but at least we know we can afford it. We know how to enjoy ourselves.
Hurrah.
Read:
July was centered around two things.
It was very hot, and my dad’s funeral took place at the end of the month.
While I was waiting for that day to arrive, I didn’t feel much like reading anything heavy or anything that demanded me to keep track of complicated plots and lots of characters.
So to begin with I read seven books for children, or rather books for young girls – which is something I collect. I scoop them up in charity shops because I think it’s fascinating to see how the image of “an ideal girl” have shifted through the ages. In general I’d say there are two directions they take; either trying very hard to instill only the correct values in its young readers, or giving them permission to break some of the rules as long as they stick to the most important ones. Anyway; it’s light reading, and comforting in all of its “tropefulness”.
Once I felt stronger I started picking up proper books again, but still nothing truly challenging.
I started with The Green Road by Anne Enright, the story of an Irish family which was good in parts, but quite forgettable as a whole.
Then I read – or rather re-read, I realized half-way through – The Color of Water by James McBride. An autobiographical book about his Jewish mother and the twelve children she raised. An interesting story, tragic at times but laugh-out-loud funny as well – but clearly not that memorable, since I had no memory of reading it before until I had read several chapters of it this time (I found it in the charity shop and didn’t recognize it, but knew about the author’s novels).
Next up was the thriller The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, which was quite good for being a thriller (I’m not keen on that genre anymore), but as always you need to suspend your disbelief and just go along with it.
Finally, an autobiography by a Swedish actress, very lighthearted and chatty in style.
Looking forward to getting into some meatier reads in August.
Heard:
Haim – I Quit is a good pop album, nothing to obsess over, but a nice summer listen.
Lorde’s latest album, Virgin, is heavier fare, also good, but didn’t really suit my slightly sombre mood.
I bought a couple of 90s Taj Mahal albums that I didn’t own, and found them to be better than I expected, some great songs, but probably not the ideal production. Still, I’m not that fussy; 90s Taj Mahal is still better than a whole lot of other music!
Then I got involved in creating a Spotify playlist for dad’s memorial after the church funeral, so I listened to a lot of nostalgic music from my childhood; records that dad owned and played at home, as well as music that he played as a professional musician. Sad and joyful at the same time!
AOB:
So we had the funeral, and a memorial/send-off party for dad, both very successful and lovely.
The church was packed, lots of family and lots of friends. Plenty of music at the funeral – he played himself (via CD-recordings), his colleagues from the orchestra played, my brother played, and in between those lovely moments, a minister did a lot of waffling (some just incomprehensible, some slightly offensive), but in the end it was a moving affair.
It took place on one of the hottest days of the summer – proper “dad-weather” – and the old stone church was probably the only place where it was nice and cool.
The memorial took place in a house that was very hot, despite many electric fans and attempts to create a draught, but we had a wonderful gathering there; eating food that my dad would have loved, drinking wine, listening to speeches, people singing and the reading of a poem that I wrote for dad (but I let my sister-in-law read it out loud, because I didn’t trust myself to be able to do it without crying…)
All of dad’s six children was there, with partners and grandkids, cousins, friends of the family and messages from those who couldn’t be there.
We looked at photographs, told old anecdotes, laughed, cried a little, and stood gasping in front of the fans when we couldn’t stand the heat any longer. It was a good day, and we all felt very happy at the end of the evening when we parted and went home. He had a great life, almost 99 years of it, he had a near perfect death, and he got a great send-off. We should all be so lucky.
It’s probably not of much interest to anyone here, but I’m still going to add my poem to this post, as a tribute to dad. It was of course written in Swedish, and the translation is in parts probably clunkier than it should be, as some expressions are impossible to translate well, but despite this, and despite a few parts being cryptic unless you knew him; here it is:
Our dad had six children
and each of us have our own dad
who just left the room
filled with memories, and the echo of a light, husky voice
that even a newborn baby
remembers and misses when it’s gone
The dad who constantly practised
a musical piece that we hear playing in dreams
from a room that we never reach
The dad who stood in the middle of the sun, beaming
The centre of the orbit of planets
Whose thunderbolts suddenly opened the skies for tempests
but just as quickly parted the cloud cover
for a rainbow bridge
The dad we climbed like the bedrock
Who swung us around like a Chair-O-Plane
In his hand small birds landed
even though it didn’t offer seeds
The dad whose opinions were permanent like tattoos
and impossible to rub off
A critical eye to be seen by
But also the dad whose pride in you
made your self-esteem grow sky high
The dad who, with body language,
facial expressions and pleased noises
made everyone discover the joy and pleasure
of every part of a meal
The dad who was the instrument of Music
One who was fine-tuned by time and persistence
until he finally saw himself as a Stradivarius
when he was over ninety
and the contrabass worked against him daily
Dad, when you were over eighty years old
you still walked faster than a thought
As if you wanted to set the Olympic Record
for vitality in seniors
And on your deathbed
your hands were so soft and smooth
As if you had just kneaded a bread dough
Now I see you; The Last Musketeer
sitting at a laid table
Your appetite has returned
You’re enjoying your favourite dishes with all of your being
and you drink the last oil
from the empty salad bowl
The way life should be enjoyed to the very last drop
RIP, dad.
Obviously I couldn’t know your dad, Locust – but anyone reading your poem will get a sense of him. My eyes were filling up by the end of it. Beautiful.
My, but that is both thoughtful and thought-invoking, the love searing through.
Lovely Locust and love the quote above.
I’ve just edithed my post as I’d written “live the quote above”, but looking at it both seem to work.
That’s a fine tribute Locust. Well done!
Every condolence, Locust. The poem is beautiful
That’s a beautiful tribute Locust and it sounds like you all did your Dad proud with his funeral. Sounds too like he had a great life and left the world he touched a better place – which is what we all hope to be able to do.
Beautiful @Locust. I remember my dad at 82 being the fastest Walker amongst us.
It appeared effortless but I am sure it wasn’t but it was his way of maintaining Alpha male status
What a lovely poem. I think I get a sense of the man. And perhaps of the daughter too.
Lovely, sorry for your loss
That’s lovely Locust. Who knew I have a dusty garden.
A beautiful tribute to your Dad Locust
Lovely Lo.
Thank you, everyone.
SAW
July came and went in a flash. I only saw 2 gigs: Ranagri at The Atkinson Studio in Southport were excellent, especially considering they had a stand-in percussionist. My local folk club hosted The Hunch who attracted 101 ticket-buying punters. Our average house since Covid is 58 so we were very pleased with that. To be fair, on a Folk scale of 1-10 they are about 2 but they are very good at what they do, and great enterainment which explains the increase in ticket sales.
HEARD
Just the one. I bought Ranagri’s Tradition II and am very impressed with it.
TV
Mrs B and I watched a few series. We enjoyed Ballard on Amazon Prime and I hope it gets recommissioned. We liked Karen Pirie Series 2. She is a likeable character. We watched a few epidodes of Whitstable Pearl S3 which is on U and noticed that it was also hosting the revived Bergerac. I enjoyed it but some of the plot was seriously preposterous. Wiki tells me U is owned by BBC Studios. It has very little advertising and I’m left wondering how it is financed. In other news I found out a few days that the 2025/06 season of University Challenge started a few weeks ago. Hurrah!
I have the most tenuous of links with Ranagri, well Donal Rogers anyway. I remain pals with the drummer of his previous band, Jobe. Very much a rock outfit who pushed very hard to make it during the late 90’s. Saw them loads of times in the cool Camden rock pubs – The Falcon, The Monarch, etc.
Four of us including Donal shared a large hotel room for about 3 nights at the wedding of a mutual friend in France about 25 years ago. It was quite the few days. A lot of wine. A lot.
Saw him again for the first time after that at a Ranagri gig (with drummer) in south London about 5 years ago. He had the good grace to remember the wedding! A nice man.
On my birthday we went to see Fiddler on the Roof. It was 93f in London. The tube was ‘interesting’, qnd I was grateful we were at the air conditioned Barbican and not one of the more historic theatres. Anyway, I wanted to see this show since i used to listen to the original cast album on the radiogram in my Nan’s prefab in the early 70s. We bought the record from the local sub-post office on the edge of the estate. In those days there was still a factory hooter summoning people to work. Perhaps still common then in the north, less so on the edge of the Cotswolds. It all seems as along again the past as the Ukrainian village in Fiddler.
Moving on, I found five concerts to go to in what is often a quiet period in Cambridge. Trinity College Choir gave a free show in the chapel ahead of their summer tour. Kicked off with a spectacular Hildegard of Bingen nunber and thereafter was mash-up of Orlando Gibbons and pieces so new that the young composers were in the audience. Trinity and other mixed voice college choirs like Clare, Selwyn , Girton, Pembroke and Jesus really are a delight. Personally, I prefer the sound of the young women to the boy sopranos in the likes of St John’s college choir. The overall impression is one of greater verve, energy and fearlessness.
Also in the audience at another show was Rodney Newton, who some may recognise as a celebrated modern brass band composer. The CSD ( now Cambridge and Surrounding Districts, but originally the Cambridge Soft Drinks works band) Brass band played a concert of his music and arrangements, finishing with a riotous selection from 1997s Acid Brass, which was brass arrangements of Acid House and Detroit Techno favourites. I suspect that more than one of you has now made a bolt for the door, but trust me, the final run through KLFs What Time is Love was marvellous. I believe Bill Drummond was similarly impressed, back in the day.
Moving on, we saw two one hour concerts on Friday lunchtimes as part of rhe Cambridge Summer Music Festival. The Fuzuki Trio played Beethoven Piano Trio in B flat major Op. 97 “Archduke” and Rachmaninov Trio Elegiaque No. 1 in G min. The Gorbanoff Quartet played Brahms Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor Op. 25 and Robert Schumann’s Piano Quartet in E flat major Op. 47. I do like these short shows.
Patrick Hemmerle and Melanie Clapies played Schumann Violin Sonata 1,Fauré Violin Sonata 1 and Enescu’s Impressions d’Enfance. The last was completely new to me. I hadn’t heard of either the composer or piece. It was first performed in Rumania in 1942. Well worth hearing if you can.
Two other things to say about these five shows. Firstly, they were all pretty much sold out ( audiences of between 150 and 250). Secondly, the tickets for the five shows cost a combined total of £90 for two people,. A lot of money for some folk. but very good value. I think students could have sen the lot for £20 each.
At the cinema we saw two three hour films in one week. I can usually suggest at least 30 minutes pf cuts to any film, but neither of these outstayed their welcome. Barry Lyndon lived up to one reviewers description of it being like a series of Hogarth pictures. It really is beautiful to look at. The other epic was the German film Dying. Full of challenging and difficult subject matter, ( ageing, infirmity.depression and so on) but paradoxically ultimately life affirming and very thought provoking. Worth seeing. The third film was one my very favourites. The 2020 version of Emma directed by Autumn De Wilde, part of the Decembersits circle. It’s witty, absolutely ravishing to look at, and has a marvellous soundtrack one or two choice classical pieces, the Watersons, Silly Sisters and the Carnival Band, a quite lovely Johnny Flynn song and a brilliant original score by Isobel Waller-Bridge. It’s my favourite soundtrack album of the 21 century.
One final highlight. We went to an evening of music hall at, well, Wilton’s Music Hall just off Cable Street . It was all splendid, but the highlight was the awesome Basil Brush. It was a solo show, so to speak, i.e. without a straight man. I kid you not, Basil brought the house down. A standing ovation for a puppet ought to be surreal, but wasn’t.
I try to drop a track from Acid Brass into each of my (decreasingly frequent) DJ sets.
Well I have to say that the Acid Brass excerpts were certainly a hit with the teens sat in front of us,
Not for the first time, I find myself envious of your access to live chamber music concerts.
It really is a privilege, and at this time probably my favourite current musical experience.I can’t help thinking that chamber music is something that would have a much wider appeal if people got to witness it first hand. It’s also relatively cheap to stage. We used to see a reasonable amount of shows in Dorset from young performers who used to get a cheap day return from London and play a show on a Sunday afternoon.
Music
I stumbled upon a site with a ridiculous amount of albums. Just the compilations alone were astounding:
The Blue Note Years
Girls in The Garage, A Collection of Girl Garage and Girl Groups From The 60s!
Vaults of KSAN 1966-1968
Pop a la Francaise
The Sound of the Suburbs 1977-1980
Moving Away From The Pulsebeat, Post-Punk Britain 1977-1981
On-U Pay It All Back
Space Daze, The History & Mystery Of Electronic Ambient Space
There’s No Stopping Us Now: The Female Mods’ Forgotten Story
The 150 Greatest Acid House and Baggy Anthems of the Madchester Scene
800 Dub reggae tracks
Right at the end of the month, (OK, the beginning of August) was the beginning of 4 weeks of free open air concerts at a lovely riverside park in Bonn, The first night was Brazilian jazz, which I didn’t fancy, but the second evening was more eclectic – a US country singer, supported by a folk prog trio and first up, an indie band from Hessen. Blumenstrauss are ‘inclusive’, involving people of all abilities, but what made them great was the noise they make. Only three of the five could make it to Bonn, missing the keyboard player and guitarist, but the sound the drummer, percussionist and bass player made on their own was a sheer joy. You get a sense of the band from the clip below. Of course I bought their CD and a band T-shirt.
Reading
Following the Breathe book I read last month, I continued the health kick with that perennial of the airport bestsellers – Ultra Processed People – only £5 and a reasonably easy read. The author did tend to repeat his fairly straightforward message – that a lot of what we eat isn’t food, and that’s what makes people ill. However it is a message not well-loved by the food industry, so it is going to be hard to make things change (if not impossible).
Other things
The second half of the month was spent in the UK, part in Wells, part in Witham. I wrote about the Wells part elsewhere. While in Witham, we went to Mersea Island (a dormitory for Colchester, with some nice cafes) and Maldon (a change from Colchester or Chelmsford as our escape from the desert that is my Mum’s home town).
Maldon Books (and the record shop accessible through it) is a mighty miracle – independent shops that have a range and depth from the owners’ selection that belie the small shelf space available – and so beautifully decorated (including comfy couches in the window alcoves, complete with chess set). Of course I spent money there – a 2005 Quantic compilation (one-offs and B-sides) for £4, and a David Graeber collaboration (The Dawn of Everything) – there was so much more that appealed. Also, from one of the many charity shops there, Simon Jenkins’ one volume short history of England is an enjoyable and light reminder of who all those Henry’s, Edwards and Richards were (oh, those were the gay ones).
Also in Maldon, the Gnome Cafe is a delightful place to sit and read the books bought elsewhere, or browse their own library – the Simon Armitage collection is full of pithy poetry.
“A site”?
I don’t believe it’s not butter, boy, perhaps?
I too stumbled here recently…..
It’s extraordinary, isn’t it?
Purchased a fair few of those comps from the wallet emptying Cherry Red pages … and still they offer more chances to be poorer
Witham … I’ve heard of that … Witham … Witham … hang on a minute – isn’t that Priti Patel’s constituency?
Dame Priti Patel, if you please, yes.
Witham is Labour, but it’s surrounded by a doughnut of Conservative farmland and TOWIE MacMansions – gotta keep those townies in their place!
Listening
Bruce Springsteen’s Tracks II topped my listening list this month. All seven albums are pretty good, favourites being Inyo and Streets of Philadelphia Sessions. I haven’t invested in the CD boxset (too expensive), but have been streaming them on regular rotation. New albums from James McMurtry (The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy), Lord Huron (The Cosmic Selector Vol 1) and Suzie Ungerleider (Among the Evergreens) have also had regular spins. All very good.
Reading
As mentioned on the Maigret thread I’ve dived into the full set of 75 crime novels, which I’m planning to read in publication order. Made a start with Pietr the Latvian, The Late Monsieur Gallet and The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien. Undemanding, occasionally confusing, but very enjoyable. Also got hold of Blood Harmony, a new biography of the Everly Brothers by Barry Mazor which I’ve made a start on. So far so good.
Heard
The Pursuit of Pleasure – Songs Mostly In Waltz Time.
Americana band fronted by twin M-F vocals of Wit (ex of The B Of The Bang) and Khaleda. They played a blinder supporting The Dawn Chorus, and remind me of The Walkabouts. The lathe-cut vinyl is noisy, though.
Lyn Collins – Think (About It) & Check Me Out If You Don’t Know Me by Now.
Hearing the title track on the radio whilst driving, made me head back to these two 1972/1975 slices of sampleadelic pure funk perfection.
Seen.
Interest piqued by two excellent interviews with Mark Reeder on the AlbumToAlbum podcast, I watched B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989. As much as anything, a time capsule of life in Berlin before the wall came down.
In a break from the usual blue light drama Mrs F prefers, we’ve seen two Ozzie series: The Last Anniversary and Scrublands. And, rather more noir, The Black Forest Murders.
Gigs.
Two in a week: an occasional (once every year or two) set from The Paul Goodwin Band at the Blue Moon, Cambridge. He really should have been huge, but life took a different path. The best of the local muso scene queue up to play in his band.
The Dawn Chrous at the Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth. As reviewed on here. I’m still smiling.
Read.
Finished off Pies & Prejudice.
Consumed the latest Paperback Sleuth novel (Like a Bullet) in three days off work, much of it spent on the loo (see below).
AOB.
I had my fifth colonoscopy last week (the fourth was as recent as March 2024). I had to stop taking the chemo in early January because my liver had had enough of the toxicity. Nearly seven months off meds, my insides have got no worse – this is good news. Either the chemo is taking a long time to flush out of my system, or the Crohn’s disease is not raging back, or a bit of both. Back to see the consultant soon, to find out when I will start on the Humira.
But first, a trip to the Urologist next week, to start the process of expelling the kidney stones they discovered during a scan on my liver.
Sounds encouraging @fentonsteve – fingers crossed for you
Good luck. After a few months on Rinvoq (tablet taken orally) my inflammation levels are at the lowest they have been in many years
Good luck FS
Heard:
Tubby Hayes Quartet – The Complete Tubby’s Groove (1960)
Eric Dolphy – Last Date (1965)
Joe Pass – Virtuoso (1973)
The Jazz Couriers – The Jazz Couriers (1958)
Victor Feldman – Transatlantic Alliance (1958)
Houston Person – Goodness! (1969)
Johnny Coles – Little Johnny C (1963)
Gary Burton Quartet – Picture This (1982)
Arthur Blythe – Lenox Avenue Breakdown (1979)
Duke Ellington – Duke Ellington And His Orchestra Featuring Paul Gonsalves (1962)
Barney Wilen, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, Milt Jackson – Jazz Sur Seine (1958)
Wilton “Bogey” Gaynair – Blue Bogey (1959)
Kokoroko – Tuff Times Never Last (2025)
Edition Records – Definitive Edition Qobuz Playlist (2025)
Lalo Schifrin – My Life In Music (2012)
Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw – Jazz Patterns (1983)
Mark Lockheart – Smiling (2024)
Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, Ches Smith – John Zorn: Impromptus (2025)
Tom Lehrer – The Remains Of Tom Lehrer – Complete (2000)
George Russell – Music Inn ’60 (2007)
George Russell – Newport ’64 (2007)
George Russell – The Outer View (1965)
George Russell Septet – The Stratus Seekers (1962)
George Russell Sextet – At The Five Spot (1960)
George Russell Sextet – Ezz-Thetics (1961)
George Russell Sextet – In K.C. Original Swinging Instrumentals (1961)
George Russell Sextet – Stratusphunk (1961)
George Russell & His Orchestra – New York, N.Y. (1974)
As you can see, my jazz fixation continues.
Seen on screen/TV:
Private Eye Page 94 Podcasts plus a few of The Rest Is Entertainment on YouTube
Marion & Geoff on BBC iPlayer (not yet finished rewatching)
Shifty on BBC iPlayer (not yet finished)
Ragdoll, Scrublands & The Black Forest Murders on iPlayer
Movies:
None
Read:
Jo Nesbo – Cockroaches
Martin Cruz Smith – Independence Square (not yet finished and getting more and more sure I’ve already read it – no matter)
Out And About:
Henry Lowther’s Still Waters – Karamel in Wood Green, July 3rd.
Mark Lockheart – Jazz at the Elephant in North Finchley, July 20th.
Inner Space Plays The Music Of Sun Ra – The Vortex in Dalston, July 23rd.
TW+1 (Kyle Osborne Quartet + Donovan Haffner) – Foyles Bookshop Auditorium Charing X Rd. July 25th 7-8:15pm & Stanley Dee – Tropic in Ruislip, July 25th 9-11:30pm.
Stan Brunt Trio – Karamel in Wood Green, July 31st.
Not out and about as much as usual (4 gigs missed) due to poor finances. See A.O.B.
A.O.B.:
Road Tax on car renewed, 1st of the month for 6 months only, and car also at the mechanic’s for problem with engine oil circulation (oil pump strainer and impeller clogged – replaced and system flushed). These expenses after Replacement of burst radiator hose and M.O.T. test in June.
As follow-on from doctor appointment in June, blood test samples were taken at hospital on 15th. In and out of Blood Services dept. in just a few minutes. Results notified a few days later – cholesterol is higher – all else OK.
Appointment with surgery nurse practitioner on 24th over annoying 24/7 pain in left arm. Muscular, not joints. Advised to use analgesic gel when necessary. Booked for a further session with the practice physio on 31st. Pain had moved up into my shoulder by then with some stiffness. Given a set of exercises to do twice daily every other day and a further doctor appointment has been booked for August 18th.
Naturally, the arm and shoulder pain has disappeared completely now, despite having only done the exercises once (lazy bastard) and not needing to use the gel since using it twice the day it was recommended.
For neck & shoulder pain I can highly recommend leaning up against a wall with a tennis (or squash) ball in between you and the wall. Cheaper than being mangled by a physio and nearly as effective. I have to do it regularly, occupational hazard of being employed to sit on my arse all day.
I slightly hesitate to ask: but precisely where do you place the tennis ball?
@fitterstoke
Fents did mention his arse in his post, so I’m guessing…
I have used it for lower-back muscle pain, but not *that* far down my back.
That shoulder one looks good. My shoulders are agony in the morning. Something to do with the way I sleep I assume but why now I don’t know.
There’s also this one, which is a bit longer but gives a few more hints.
My physio gave me one ball a bit bigger than a tennis ball, one one a bit bigger than a squash/golf ball, and I use the smaller one much more.
How does George Russell find the time to record all those albums and drive a fast car around a circuit ?
Arf!
Just dropping in with a rather odd
AOB
On Bandcamp Friday, while I was perusing some artists I wished to support I noticed that, not only were there predictable “out of stock” labels on LPs, CDs and merch, but in some cases there were “sold out” signs on the digital download option. My question is how do downloads sell out – it’s not like you start with a shelf full of them which empties one at a time… or am I just thick?
A way for a digital download to be “sold out” on the site would be if the artist/owner of the rights has set a limit on the number of downloads that can be made of the item and having reached that number the item has been withdrawn from sale. The digital equivalent of a Limited Edition in the physical realm.
Or temporarily withdrawn for remixing/remastering.
Or that there is a dispute over ownership, in which case it should really be marked as “withdrawn from sale” or not shown at all.
Or that the artist/rights owner is no longer using Bandcamp for that item for some reason. In which case again, it really shouldn’t be shown on the site.
For physical product such as vinyl or CDs, Bandcamp serves as a shop window only and the artist/label/rights owner holds the stock and is responsible for order fulfilment and shipping. I’m not sure if Bandcamp themselves host digital downloads or if they sometimes link to servers of the label/artist/rights owner. Possibly larger providers of material could host their own downloads.
How do you access the Bandcamp UK site?
Whenever I try to access it I get taken to the US site
There are possible taxation/tarriff issues in buying from a sales site in a country other than your own. Some product is limited by the owners – their choice – to only being sold in a specific country.
Some sites therefore just prevent access to non-domestic versions of themselves, to avoid complication (to themselves).
Jazz In Britain, who have a sizeable Bandcamp presence for their many vintage and new British jazz albums, and with whom I have a subscription deal for downloads only, ship all physical product for non-UK customers from a warehouse in Poland. This avoids EU import charges, which would be payable by EU customers if they were to buy product shipped from the UK.
Hello Brexit! How ya doin’?
Yes Mike but how can I go direct to Bandcamp UK
There are quite a few artists/bands I’d like to buy physical media from but I keep being taken to Bandcamp US
Bandcamp is an American company. You can change your location in your profile by clicking on the currency at checkout. That will open up a list of countries to select your preferred location. Bandcamp will remember your location and the currency you wish to use for purchases from that point onward. There is no Bandcamp UK there is only Bandcamp.
Thanks @mike_h