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  1. After trailing the news last month, today is the first day of my retirement.

    I had a lovely night out with colleagues, received several lovely presents, had a curry in Dakhin and then drank a range of drams in the Press Bar until closing time.

    I have started retirement with a listen to Pharaoh Sanders / Floating Points / The London Symphony Orchestra – Promises, and a coffee from the lovely Bialetti stove-top coffee maker that was a retirement present.

    I have been spending time soaking in some lovely LPs that bear repeated listening – three standouts are Alice Coltrane’s Ptah The El Daoud, John Coltrane’s Africa Brass, and Dennis Coffey – Hot Coffee In The D.

    Senora Malo and I had a few days in London, and thoroughly enjoyed the M C Escher exhibition and Tracey Emin at the Tate. Her paintings in the final room were especially strong.

    I have been reading about the con that is AI – Cory Doctorow’s The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI is especially good, as is Adam Becker’s More Everything Forever. Both shine a light on the hype that the Tech Bros are allowed to spout, and the announcements they make to shift the news story which are then forgotten. Investment-wise, it is a classic bubble, filled with hype and unachievable promises.

    There was a gathering in The Laurieston, arranged by Douglas of this parish, to raise a glass to our favourite curmudgeon James Blast! It was good to catch up and share fond memories, including his outrage when I said I had enjoyed an Opeth album – “You’re not ALLOWED to like Opeth!!”

  2. New music out last month from Laura Veirs, Son Volt and Hiss Golden Messenger, all of which got some heavy rotation on the silver disc spinner. Also, Thea Gilmore has a new live album out, Can You Hear the Ghosts Sing Vol 2. It was only available as a limited 1000 pressing CD direct from her website, and has already sold out. I’m on Thea’s mailing list and it surprised me to learn that she spends hours sticking each CD in an envelope and printing all the mailing labels herself. Hard times indeed for many artists. It’s a live album culled from arguably her most fruitful period covering material from the likes of Harpo’s Ghost, Regardless and Liejacker amongst others. Jolly good it is too. Appearing on a streaming platform near you shortly, no doubt.

    I read Philip Norman’s new biography of Brian Epstein last month. I’ve read all of his previous Fabs related biographies, so there was inevitably much well-trodden ground in this one, although to his credit Norman stays largely on-subject without getting sidetracked into too many Beatles anecdotes. It’s an okay read. I wasn’t sure I was much wiser by the end of it, and the ‘bombshell’ conclusion that Epstein may have been murdered is either old news or preposterous depending on your point of view.

    Prompted by Fabs nostalgia I also re-read Hunter Davies’ Beatles biography. It’s a strange beast, locked in time as a snapshot of 1968 without any benefit of knowing what happened next, even though Davies fills in the gaps in a lengthy introduction to the latest edition. I was mildly shocked by some of Davies’ seemingly dismissive descriptions of characters in the Beatles’ entourage. He also seems obsessed with what things cost – people’s houses, their personal possessions, the salaries they received, and has a tendency to describe their physical attributes in a way that would be unacceptable today. Davies has a new Beatles book out soon in which he revisits his old notes from hundreds of hours of interviews to chart their early lives.

  3. Well, some of us are still years from retirement (financial related not age! But twins both finish their Masters this summer so who knows? We may eventually keep our heads above water)
    So, the usual stuff grabbed between doing stuff. It does feel “back on heads” now its September.

    So, Really enjoyed Spiderman: Brand New Day. Even the Punisher was tolerable in it. Noted that Peter Parker is taller than MJ, though as we know Zendaya is taller than Tom Holland.
    Enjoying Ludwig. Yes it is preposterous, but Anna Maxwell Martin is wonderful in everything. Also enjoyed Ann Droid, which is a fairly standard BBC sitcom that includes robots and makes good points about old age loneliness.
    Reading Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky which bleakly and funnily shows us where our automated response agents are going to lead us. And China by Michael Woods which is extensive in both scope and length. Loved the 2 out of 4 of Becky Chambers Wayfarer series (starting with the Long way to a Small Angry planet). Space opera with a miniumum of battles.
    Enjoyed the new Charlie XCX and Phoebe Bridgers. Big surprise was the excellent Jungle album Sunshine. Otherwise for reasons being listening to a lot of China Crisis, ZZTop and Karine Polwart.
    See ya in October folks! (yes looking forward to Coyote vs Acme)

    • I remember reading ‘The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet’ the first in Becky Chambers Wyfarer series and I was very impressed, as you say Space Opera with a minimum of battles. I think I have book two somewhere and will have to find it because earlier today I ordered the other 2 books in the series.

  4. Happy retirement, @el-hombre-malo !!
    It’s been August, yes? My final festival this year was another new one to me: Folk East, near Beccles, which as all know, is bloody miles away. The upside was popping in to see @nigelthebald , as he lives relatively near. We had a delightful 3 hours, sitting by the Deben and catching up.
    The festival itself was worth the inconvenience of getting there, and, like Gate to Southwell, punches above its weight. Highlights for me were several, as a lazy failure to reword here proves:
    https://atthebarrier.com/2026/08/28/folk-east-2026-sotterley-estate-near-beccles-festival-review/amp/
    No other gigs and with most new music waiting until this month to appear, I hoovered up some old and overlooked. These included the rather delightful Haf, by Carwyn Ellis’ Rio 18, missed in February, largely gentle Latino rhythms and rhumbas, and retrospectives from China Crisis and Big Country. Also Vashti Bunyan’s erring on twee debut. I’m also on a bit of an ethno-beats binge, sourcing all manner of fusions. This has included the largely excellent Egypt series, by Hossam Ramsey & Phill Thornton, some Juno Reactor, Dengue Fever, NeckarGanga and the re-released Charanjit Singh’s 10 Ragas to a Disco Beat. An odd selection but more pearls than grit.
    Of the new, a dble tribute to the songs of Rev Hammer has been a good old listen, The Old Crow Folk Club, including a scattering of Lakemans and Levellers to sing his songs. A new name is Christie Reeves, whose full length debut, The Sun and Shadows, came out. A local to Lichfield singer, she has a strong pure folk voice and ought to follow the trajectory of similar talents, such as Katherine Priddy and Ellie Gowers. Recommended if you like a spot of acoustic sparkle.
    I’m sure we watched loads of telly but very little sticks. Reading sees me slowly persevering through Condereracy of Dunces, but I have upped my reading time, as I want to read The Body Keeps the Score, a learned treatise on the psychology of PTSD; Mrs Path is currently awaiting EMDR, eye movement therapy, for this, the experts seeing her ongoing issues as evidence thereof. I want and need to understand more.
    Oh, and I got hearing aids yesterday, after dodging the ongoing insistences I get my hearing checked. At the time of writing, so far so good and apparently barely visible. With an orthopaedic appt to discuss a new knee upcoming next month and awaiting a further stretch of my gullet, my three score and ten seem bloody close.

  5. Having beaten Hombre to retirement by a few months, I’ve been making much less productive use of my time.

    I did see the new Spiderman film – Sharon was away hiking at Mt Rainier, so $6 ticket Wednesday was all mine. Thoroughly enjoyed it, and a reminder about why Marvel seem to do their universe so much better than DC.

    Apart from that, significant news from Texas includes the fact that we bought a home. It’s about 10 mins from where we’re currently leasing, and is likely to be the last home in which I’ll live.

    And I got signed up to do a rugby role I thought I’d left behind me 6 years ago. Should have thought twice, should have said “no” but didn’t. So a 2 year stint as Discipline Chair started three weeks ago.

  6. Congrats on your retirement. I am still working, but have started drawing one of my pensions, the smallest one from a company I worked for 30 years ago. It’s only 200 quid a month, but came with a reasonable tax free advance which is useful.

    One gig, Peter Hook and the Light, mentioned elsewhere, really enjoyed it, never thought I would hear decent live versions of Joy Division material, and not just the obvious tracks were played. Decision to fly to Toronto from Ottawa using Air Canada points backfired when the return flight was cancelled, I had to change airports and a 5 hour delay. No compensation from AC, bastards 🙁 At least I avoided the monumental storm in Toronto this week which actually partially destroyed one large outdoor venue, AC/DC are supposed to be playing there in a couple of weeks (Rogers Stadium). It was a storm that comes “once every hundred years” which now translates as “once every 2 or 3 months”.

    Watched the move “Grand Prix” for the first time in about 30 or 40 years. The racing sequences held up really well, the rest of it was dreadful.

    Still reading Nick Drake biography, really need to get into reading more.

    Apart from Masterchef, EastEnders and some sport, no other television. Am about to cancel (or suspend) most of my US streaming services, see other post about that.

    Regarding sport, can’t really get into the Premier League at the moment, we shall see if this is temporary or permanent. The SA v NZ rugby test I saw last weekend was very good, preceded by the most bonkers flyover in history.

    Oh and my daughter turned 20 last month, how did that happen?

  7. HEARD

    I’ve been listening to a couple of extraordinary albums by pianist Jon Batiste, Monk Movements and Monk Meditations. He takes Monk compositions and re-invents them in a refreshing and often extraordinary way. For example, “Brilliant Corners” is one of Monk’s most complex tunes – the recorded version is a compilation of several takes as the musicians couldn’t get it a complete take. Jon Batiste simply takes the first bar and turns it into a meditative, ambient adventure. It’s beautiful, and highly original. Proving you don’t need to always take the Jazz 101 approach – ie play the tune, improvise on the chord changes and play the tune again. Check this out…

  8. I haven’t posted for a while, being happy and busy in my retirement, now in its 10th year. I can’t imagine how I ever found time to work. Anyway, not sure if anyone has mentioned these 2 albums but my favourite listening for the last 2 months has been In the Hour of Chaos by Allison Russell, and Adjacent Possible by The Jellyman’s Daughter. I think Allison’s is a little more upbeat, in terms of outlook, than her previous 2 albums. I love her records and this one is right up there with her best. I crowdfunded the Jellyman’s Daughter album ages ago. It took a long time to develop and I’m not even sure that it’s been officially released yet. I got a Kickstarter update in early July saying “the tracks are finished and you can download them in WAV format”. I like it very much. There is a big Strings section on many of the tracks and they sound fabulous. There’s a short intro which leads into the opening track which sounds disarmingly like Champagne Supernova until the strings come in. Fairly early on in this section there is a jarring dischord that made me shudder. They do another but different one about 10 seconds later. It’s sounds OK now that I’m used to it but it has the same effect when I play it to people for the first time. The core of the album, as with their last one, is the songwriting and singing of Graham Coe (who also did the string arrangements) and his partner Emily Kelly. They sing like they’re joined at the hip, very reminiscent of Gillan Welch & David Rawlings.

    I also received and am enjoying “It’s getting late, you’d better go home” by Nishla Smith, a lovely singer and an intriguing songwriter. I think she’d probably be much better known and more successful if she followed a Pop path rather than hanging out with the talented young jazzers who accompany her on this album. I assume she prefers it this way, and so do I.

  9. August was my main vacation month, my birthday month, and the start of my home reno/decorating year – I’m just now finishing “Phase One”, which was started on my vacation, the final phase of the complete renovation will hopefully be finished before August next year, in time for my 60th birthday feast.

    August was also a very lovely, sunny and warm (but not too hot) month, so I’d work at home one day, take the next two days off to enjoy my rest, and then back to reno again for one or two days.
    Also a way to get things done without butchering my knee and my back and have to return to regular work in worse shape than when I left for my vacation…it didn’t work out perfectly, because I had to do some of the hardest physical work at home at the final weekend off…oh well!

    But all this to say that I haven’t had much time or energy to do a whole lot of reading – just two books in August: the latest novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist called Sommaren 1986. Lovisa och Melinda (“The Summer of 1986. Lovisa and Melinda”) which is a sequel to Sommaren 1985 (“The Summer of 1985”), which just two months ago was turned into a brilliant TV series called Svärtan (“The Blackness”) – as I told you about last month.
    Not quite as good as the first novel – and neither of them as good as the TV adaptation! – but a fun read…if “fun” is the right word for an angsty novel about dying mer-people in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster.

    Then I read a short novel by French author Lucie Rico called GPS, which was also angsty but enjoyable, if (again) not quite as good as her previous (debut) novel. Neither seems to be translated into English anyway.

    I did of course buy myself lots of wonderful books on my birthday, so once I’m done with my livingroom and can pause a bit before starting “Phase Two”, I have a lovely stack of books to read through.

    Seen:

    I did finally start my long planned film project for the year, but only because one of the few films involved that I don’t have on DVD was going to disappear from streaming the day after I found it, so I had to get it in right away. So my plan to watch them all in chronological order didn’t work out…but all the ones I own will be watched in the right order from here on.
    I should probably mention that my project is to watch/rewatch all of Hasse Ekman’s films in chronological order (Swedish film director/screenwriter/actor/producer and a favourite of mine). As one of the original nepo-babies, wildly productive and equally successful, and enjoying genre-hopping and a light comedic touch too much to ever be pretentious, he’s often been unjustly underrated.

    I also stumbled upon an old documentary about Afterword icon (and personal favourite) Gerry Rafferty on YouTube, among many other bits and bobs that I cannot remember…

    The only music I’ve heard are albums bought earlier this year, nothing new in August but lots of new incoming in September. With the prospect of having my stereo up and running again soon, I even bought a few new LPs of albums that I haven’t been able to get on CD.

    So, in conclusion; my flat is an absolute mess, I’m very jealous of everyone able to retire from work, and the aches and pains are loud complaints from an ageing body – but my plans for my home are working out really well so far, lots of good music, books and films ahead, and next year it will all hopefully culminate in a big party! And yes; I’m already planning the menu… 🙂

  10. I haven’t reported for duty on this monthly roundup for yonks but I am this time to wish el hombre many happy years of lollygagging and to say thanks for his splendid postcard. Diolch butty!
    I suppose I should mention the copious quantities of classical tunes I’ve lent both ears to but as only around four people give I toss I won’t go into detail. I read a few books during August but I read a few books every month, I enjoyed listening to Jon Ronson read his latest The Castle, some books just work better as an audiobook and Jon Ronson reading his own stuff is definitely amongst them. Tana French brings her Cal Hooper trilogy to a satisfying end in The Keeper and Country People by Daniel Mason is a hoot. I really enjoyed The Echoes from Evie Wyld an Australian author who is new to me so I guess I’ll be looking out her previous and looking forward to her next in the coming months. I know I watched some TV but apart from The Proms and Cape Fear on Apple very little of it made any lasting impression. I did get around to watching Train Dreams on Netflix months after everyone else and it’s a fine film so I thoroughly enjoyed that and can recommend it if like myself you haven’t gotten around to it before now.
    I get out and about far more now my hip is feeling so much better. I’ve nudged my sawbones into sorting me out for some hearing aids but this being Wales it’s going to take some time I imagine but when the time arrives it will involve a day out in that Wrexham which I am weirdly looking forward to as I haven’t spent very much time there since I stopped working for a Wrexham based company way back in 1990. It’s a city now of course so I’m expecting skyscrapers and corners brimming over with disaffected urban ruffians. I still draw and paint but I don’t show any of it to anyone as to put it simply nobody but myself could give a damn. The lack or response when I have tried to engage others with my work is so lacking it’s depressing so I took the decision to not bother. This way I don’t get discouraged. Other artists of my acquaintance have reached the same conclusion and done likewise. The fuckers can drown in AI slop and sod ’em is the general feeling.
    Happy September everyone.

    • You must, of course, do what you think is best, Mr P. However:

      Classical music – as one of the four people, I always look forward to you sharing what has caught your ear.

      Art – my understanding is that a number of us on here have admired your work in the past, some even making a purchase or two. Therefore I think most of us would be interested to see what you’re up in the post hip-op era!

      • My comments about my work were not aimed at this community but more generally. It’s partly due to my withdrawal over time from much of social media, so no places to post images to. The only place I bother with apart from here is Bluesky and only there in a very half-hearted manner. Others have tried for far longer and in a far more hands on way with da socials and have given up due to the aforementioned lack of engagement. I don’t work as assiduously as I once did, I get tired faster now so I work in fits and starts as and when I feel like it. These are tough times for mostly everyone. Artists of all stripes are not excempt. We are considered unnecessary people making non-required luxury goods.

          • Oh yes, I know Paulin – they’re a sister company of AnOrdain, aren’t they?
            I like the fact that they’re not afraid to go for bright, modern dial colours. A big horological thumbs-up for Glasgow’s burgeoning watch sector!

            • Yep they were aquirred by AnOrdain in 2023. They make great little watches. I bought a Modal D Quartz from them and it’s a great little watch. 35mm diameter with a display back showing off the Quartz movement which is a poke in the eye for the watch snobs. I showed it to the watch expert at an AD I frequent in that Chester and he bought one he was so taken with it. He knew about them of course but mine was the first one he’d seen in the flesh. He digs small watches although because of the tonneau case shape it wears much larger than one would think.

    • I thought Country People was a very fun read. The subject matter is exactly the sort of thing that could have been a 600 page Important American Novel, but Mason instead opts for charming and funny, without sacrificing the quality of his prose or observations. In its depiction of a big city outsider becoming integrated into a small community full of quirky and eccentric characters it reminded me of nothing so much as the old TV show Northern Exposure, only with more Tolstoy references. It’s rare that novels with genuine literary merit are also feelgood reads but that’s the case here. Might end up being one of my favourites of the year.

    • I spent my teens in Wrexham, from 1979 to 1985. I went back for a family funeral in 2022. The main difference I noticed is that it’s not nearly as violent as it used to be.

  11. Seen
    Spiderman – Brand New Day
    Post Endgame, the MCU has leaned heavily into grief, with our cast of super chums suffering from the loss of loved ones. Here we have a mournful, isolated and depressed Peter Parker – who in the last film saved his friends by erasing himself from their memories. But when he’s not moping about, Spidey is up to his usual hijinks, this time tracking down a mysterious hooded character who is able to transfer their conscience from one person to the next, causing mayhem as they do so.
    It’s not grade A stuff, (but then the MCU hasn’t been at that level for an awfully long time) but still fun and both Tom Holland and Zendaya are genuinely likeable and charismatic screen presences.

    Smile and Smile 2
    Properly scary horror flicks, filled with dread, effective jumps scares and eye watering moments of violence. Aside from the horror, both films can be read as analogies. Smile could be seen as the manifestation of guilt and trauma inflicted on a child by an abusive parent suffering from addiction. The second also deals with guilt and addiction, whilst also interrogating the pernicious effects of celebrity on an individual’s psyche. But of course, you can choose to ignore the sub text and revel in the grue and shocks. And on that basis both films are horribly effective – indeed during the second film one of the jump scares caused the hairs on my arms to stand.

    Ready or Not 2
    The first film mixed moments of splattery gore with fun characters and a daft set up. The second film isn’t as light on its feet, feeling quite ponderous at times. Plus, it includes some nastily gleeful violence against women.

    The Last House
    One day everyone finds themselves locked inside their homes. Wildlife flourishes outside, whilst the world’s population is housebound. I found this Covid allegory really tedious. The script is poor, effects substandard, the premise laughably poor – the big bad isn’t covid but some sort of supernatural squid monsters.

    Four Seasons
    Wealthy middle aged American’s holiday together every 3 months at charming/stunning/expensive locales. Could be insufferable, but I find it a hugely enjoyable and comforting watch.

    Creed, Creed II and Creed III
    Very late to the party with these films, which feels increasingly bizarre because they’re great. On reflection, I think I avoided them as I’m very fond of the Rocky movies and doubted whether the Creed flicks could hold a candle to them. Well, I am happy to report that I was wrong. Michael B Jordan is hugely impressive as Creed and he’s matched by Tessa Thompson as his partner / wife. But Stallone pretty much steals the show away from them with a lovely performance as the aging Rocky – a lonely man who has lost everyone he ever loved, who builds a touching father / son relationship with the young boxer. All 3 movies are tremendous, but the first, directed by Ryan Coogler, is probably my favourite. Filled with heart and grit and some bravura scenes like a one-shot boxing match than is both exciting and enervating.

    The End of Oak Street
    Utterly dopey flick that sees an American suburb transported millions of years into the past. Lots of dinosaur shenanigans ensue. It’s good fun in an obviously Spielberg sort of way (it’s set in the early 80s so riffs on ET and Poltergeist almost as much as it does on the Jurassic Park franchise). However, it has a cruel streak that means the film sometimes pushes up against its 12a certificate. And it features a slithering snake / worm creature that I found properly unnerving.

    Speak no Evil
    A couple fail to flee from the danger that their instincts are warning them about. The film doesn’t have the nerve to go full Haneke / Wolf Creek but it’s still bracingly nasty and features James McEvoy who is by turns charming and roaringly dangerous.

    Before Sunrise / Before Sunset
    Double billed these on a flight – and it was a joy to get reacquainted with Jesse and Celine. I still wish they’d exchanged details at the station in Vienna…

    Midsummer Night’s Dream
    A lovely version at the Globe with lots of audience participation – but not in a cringe way – it was far more of a sweet natured collaborative experience. A smashing way to spend a late summer afternoon.

    Read
    We like it darker by Stephen King
    This collection of short stories and novellas includes a sequel to Cujo.

    Heard
    Harry Nilsson
    During the performance of Midsummer Night’s Dream, the cast launched into a version of One. I knew I knew it – but heard out of context I couldn’t pin down where, how or how. So, I’ve been listening to Nilsson for the first time in a long time. He was one of the artists that I first heard as a kid when my dad was bringing in a new record every week.

    It was Graceland’s 40th anniversary so I gave that spin. And then listened to some mbaqanga that inspired it.

    Podcasts – Book club. 2 posh people talk enthusiastically about books.

  12. The big event this month was I actually went on holiday; the first in three years! North Sicily was lovely. Inter alia We had a day lolling around in the bay Charli XCX got married and also spent a morning on the island, Favignana, that passed for Ithaca in The Odyssey but even the youngsters with us decided It was too hot to scramble up to the actual castle.

    Being on holidays, I got through quite bit of reading. One of Them: An Eton College Memoir by Musa Okwonga is a measured, anecdotal account of being a Ugandan outsider trying to fit into an alien world, sympathetic to lots of the staff but ultimately damning of the institution. Boris Johnson makes a tangential appearance in Okwonga’s book as he does is in Bournville by Jonathon Coe, which is the best I’ve read by him for a long time; up there with The Rotters Club and What a Carve Up. The best book I read on holiday was the shortest. I picked up A Month in the Country by J L Carr for £1.99 – what a bargain. I read on a 3 hour boat trip which fitted the quiet elegic mood somehow. “We can ask and ask but we can’t have again what once seemed ours for ever”. 🙁

    I also read Piers Paul Read’s The Templers. Obviously I knew about their role in The Crusades, but as I’d avoided stuff like The Da Vinci Code, I didn’t realize how much they got involved in banking etc. Good holiday read.

    Just before going on holiday I saw The Odyssey in full IMAX. Good film, I think it is Nolan’s best, but crikey it is loud. Also saw the latest Spiderman, which is the best MCU film in a while, although it did feel like it was a bit of set up for what come next. When I got back to Blightly Mr BJB and I tore through Furious, a psychological serial killer drama with not very sly echoes of Epstein. Lola Petticrew is turning into one of my favourite actors. Haven’t seen her be anything but brilliant.

    As to music, the only new thing I listened to was Phoebe Bridgers’s album. I spent about a week trying to think what The Outside reminded me of and then at 3.00AM on a sleepless night, Vervaceous by James sprang to mind. Actually, apart from the vocoder, they are not that similar, but I felt better for scratching the itch.

  13. I slept in my bed at home just 7 nights of August; my arm is festooned with an ever-increasing collection of festival wristbands. I greeted the month in Sidmouth and let it pass at Shrewsbury, wending by way of Dartmoor and Cropredy. Too much to itemise, but Sidmouth gave me a double dose of both Blowzabella and of Kathryn Tickell and so deserves praise; Kathryn gave us the full on folk rock version up in the dance marquee, but also gave us the sweeter, more intimate airs in a hotel in town, with just long time collaborator, Amy Thatcher for company. Back in the Bulverton dance marquee, Simon Care’s All Stars met the Trade Descriptions Act and made for hedonistic partying. Mention must also be made of the thoroughly entertaining Mild and Bitter, a Cheshire/Lancashire collaboration between Tom Kitching and Jennifer Reid, celebrating the place of beer in popular song. Elsewhere, tucked away in the Cellar Bar, I caught a performance from Sam Grassie, whose new CD is currently accompanying me. That he is a Scottish fingerstyle guitarist should pique the interest of a few on here.
    It would be perverse if I didn’t mention that this was the first year where my name appeared in the programme, which I still shake my head at in disbelief. The session that I host, which I really do believe is legendary, went wonderfully, and was attended by great singers, as ever. I shall be more relaxed next year!

    Cropredy, having slipped a week this year, no longer clashed with Sidmouth, so I was able to go for the first time in four years. I now seem to find that my mates are on stage! This gives it extra joy. Thursday was excellent; Banter were smiling all over, loving being there; Turin Brakes, about whom I know nothing, have always turned out for the festival; and Le Vent du Nord remain the most fun you can have if not on a dancefloor. But after three weeks of folk music, what I really needed was some skronky rock music, and Soft Machine delivered that for me perfectly.
    I think the act of the weekend that caught most attention was the ethereal Marshall, Gilmour and Webb. Cropredy shut up and listened! Back on safe ground, for me at least, I wondered at the audacious programming of putting Will Pound & Jenn Butterworth on just before Fairport, but they certainly won over all my mates.
    Added bonus was catching up with @Hubert_Rawlinson of this parish.

    Shrewsbury – dance, dance, dance! Topette!!, Relentless (that Will Pound again), Hekety, and another double helping from Blowzabella, but this time with particular exhilaration. It’s the weekend and I’m dancing with loads of my mates. We all know what we’re doing and we are interacting like that proverbial well-oiled machine, and the band are just swinging. As my friend put it ‘Now I know what you looked like when you got your first train set for Christmas.’ No, it was way, way better than that.

    Somehow, in the middle of all those festivals, I managed to fit in my first Saddleworth Rush Cart. This is a key date in the folk calendar, up there with the Padstow Obby Oss and Up Helly-Aa. 27 morris sides pull the cart around this somewhat bumpy Pennine parish, with some poor sap atop the eponymous rushes, which rise tens of feet above the streets of Greenfield, Uppermill and Delph, and ne’er a Health and Safety Rep in site. I am not a morris dancer, but some of my good friends are, so I was in good company for the day. That this event exists gives me great pleasure. I do not feel like my culture is being threatened – just sayin’.

    • Here’s two months worth July and August.

      July saw Richard Thompson Thorner Village Hall small intimate venue and Thompson on form.
      Janice Burns & Jon Doran at Thirsk Rural Arts suggested by @retropath2 though I’d thought I’d go anyway very acoustic as no PA. A very enjoyable evening and at the end a discussion about Retro’s real name.
      The Sixteen at York Minster, I’d seen them by accident at the National Gallery on one of my stag dos and wanted to see them again. So pleased I saw them in the Minster glorious sound. Came out to see the Minster facade bathed in a pink glow from the late setting sun.

      Watched all the episodes of Schitts Creek from July into August (I’d been put off by the name) but enjoyed it all I’ll give it a year and watch it again.

      Had a short visit to stay with old friends in Dorset which was a place we’d never been to before. Great bird spotting etc

      August I spoke to Nick Hall from Plumhall early in June and he said how enjoyable the smaller festival was. I did an extra night (Wednesday) as an old friend who lives outside Banbury offered me a place to stay. Spent most of Wednesday night catching up on 46 years worth of memories and the time in between.

      Agree with our Cheshire friend @thecheshirecat that Marshall, Gilmour Webbs were wonderful starting off with the Roches Hammond Song very gutsy start. I hadn’t realised who they were and I’ve wanted to see the Webb Sisters ever since I saw them with Leonard Cohen. Another friend I’d travelled down with had said we had to see the Spooky Mens so my Banbury friend got back from seeing to her dog in time for them. After about three songs she turned to me and said she wasn’t enjoying them. I had to agree, we were probably in a minority but I couldn’t see why they were so popular.
      Oh and Fairport were excellent which was a pleasant surprise.

      The rest of the time was spent frittered my life away apart from a joint housewarming/anniversary party in August.

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