Gud Samhain!

Gud Samhain!

Samhain (31 Oct) -- Irish Gaelic for "summer's end." The standard Irish pronunciation is "sow-in" with the "ow" like in "cow." Other pronunciations that follow with the many Gaelic dialects include "sow-een" "shahvin" "sowin" (with "ow" like in "glow"). The Scots Gaelic spelling is "Samhuin" or "Samhuinn."

Hello folks!

Super effects from the Sahara sand storms in the skies over the Island mid-month...

Sahara sand blown skies... 

I went straight down to the beach...

And look what I found!

So, I had a good break in France. It was a quick dash to prepare the house for the coming cooler seasons and cut the grass and weed the terraces. All very invigorating and exhausting. Our trip was hot on the tails of a dash to Little Venice, London to sing two duets (L'addio - Donizetti and An Eriskay love lilt) at a memorial concert for our dear friend and singing teacher Sylvia Rhys-Thomas. It was a cold, blustery day, so wearing kilts was out of the question...

'In memory of Sylvia' - Little Venice Festival. London

We then dashed back home to pack and load up the car and head off to Shirley Hall, Canterbury to see Mary Black in concert! It was unfortunate that Mary's concert clashed directly with Tim Edey's concert at the Gulbenkian. I will get to see him one day!

A quick pint - waiting for Mary Black

Mary Black and her band was, as expected excellent. Then off we set through the night, fighting sleep to cross the Channel and head down to our house in France.

One of the other reasons for the trip was because we have a brilliant barn that we have been renovating - with a little help from a friend we re-roofed recently - it was a mammoth job, but needed doing!

Before Renovation.

During Renovation...

Almost there...

We still have to renovate the interior and hope to set it up as a venue for small 'ClassiFolk' soirees in the future. But as it is there is something wonderful in the decayed elegance of this inspiring space. So we dressed it up and staged a set for an Islander/ClassiFolk photo shoot - Here is a sneaky peak...

Remnants of the past...

Original lime rendered walls over local stone. Most of this stuff was lying in the dust - not the guitar though!

Looking very 'Heathcliff'

It was the most gloriously, sunny day and the beams of sunlight streamed through the open doors and windows Illuminating the fire smoke and years of dust... Not great for singers - but a beautiful effect.

Decadence

The fire in this fire place hasn't been lit for probably 70 years and although we had refurbished the chimney when we re-roofed - It seemed to resent the smoke (or was it because of the complete lack of even a breeze to create a draw?)

Islander

We got such good footage with the light and the space working together, we messed about for hours.

Islander and James - 'ClassiFolk'

I even got to play and sing - the acoustics are great - So a gig in there is definitely on the cards.

Table for one...

Smoke gets in your eyes?

So, until sometime very soon we locked up and headed back home.  I had then to dash up to Leicester to sing with Wigston male voice choir at the Little Theatre.  What a great event!  I was singing a mixture of Opera duets with Soprano Michelle Carlin from La Traviata and La Boheme and a couple of solos by Tosti and Handel.  Fortunately, I had my guitar and for the first time ever - I accompanied myself to a full house.  With slightly shaking hands I performed 'Lady Franklin's lament'.  I survived!

No time for new artwork pieces but here is a small collection from recent sessions and the archives:

'Spring wild flowers'
Media: Pastel on card

'Moosey'
Media: Poster paint on Plasterboard

'Summer Chorus'
Media: Acrylic on Canvas

'Amalfi'
Media: Acrylic on card

In celebration of 'All Hallows' here are a couple of pieces in honour of the 'shadows'...

'Dark Isle'
Media: Poster paint on Canvas

'Einsam'
Media: Carved wood, paper and Ink

 I've had a cold over the last week and a cough (which I think I picked up from London - Cheers! for that...). But hopefully I will be in fine fettle to return to Ten21 recording studios this week to put down some more tracks for my folk ballads album.  A visit to my local folk club mid-week too, perhaps I'll give them a tune...

More news again soon, meantime I hope you are adjusting to the changes in the season.  I will be down at the beach to see what the tide has to offer, playing by candle-light, making 'Jack O' Lanterns' and pumpkin & apple soup and Devils cauldron cake.  The veil between worlds is thin at this time, so look into the shadows and listen to the silence, there's where inspiration speaks...

'The tea-garden'

Candle-lit folk...

That's all for now Folks!!!

Turning the tide

Early morning beach-combing...

Hello Folks!
Most of my ideas and inspirations (the good ones and the not so good ones), happen when I am not working and when I least expect it.  Usually on early morning walks like these...

Golden sunrise

I've been known to be sprawled out on a far distant beach on "holiday" and spend the whole time planning the launch of new companies, programming concerts, selling homes and buying and remodelling rustic, rural farm cottages, even cottages by the sea.

Faerie treasure..

But I don't think I am alone in this, as when we relax and slow down the mind chatter - that's when the magic happens...

Fire-side Folk with "Songbird"

I guess that is what happened here.  I was on a birthday break with my partner in Dingle, Ireland - one of my favourite places on the planet.  The peninsula is stunning and wild, just as I like it.  The music scene sparkling with huge talent.  The company entertaining and needless to say the beer ...

Recording at Ten21, Kent with my new "Seagull" guitar.

It has taken a little while to organise and prepare, but over the last two weeks I have started recording my own Folk Ballads Album "Simple Folk".  And with the help of Sean Kelly at Ten21 we are over halfway through laying down basic guitar and vocal tracks for the fourteen track album.

Lost in translation...

All I can say is that the tracks so far sound terrific and I am really excited to get going with the rest.  Over the next few weeks I will be adding keyboard, oboe, accordion, percussion and backing vocals to some of the tracks, so although it is a folk ballads album, it should be varied and dynamic.

Sean Kelly at the helm in Ten21 studios...

It has been quite a few years since I was last in a recording studio (a number of incarnations ago), but after a few practice runs we settled down to making music - I haven't felt the true pleasure of that in a long time.

Stranded on the M25 with a flat tyre - what does one do?

As I am still a gigging/touring singer of opera and classical music, I am constantly on the road.  It doesn't always go to plan, so one has to make the most of the opportunities as with this impromptu roadside moment.  But over the years I have had great fun trawling the world to perform in all types of venue; stages, barns, theatres, stadiums, cruise ships, front rooms (I'm not joking), castles, stately homes, parks, and African savannas - marquees are the worst!

Weddings...

Opera...

Musical Theatre...

Concert...

A truly wondering minstrel...

Even Panto...

And so, in the tradition of moving onward and keeping afloat in a constantly changing seascape,  keep a look out for new updates, previews and news of what comes next as I await the turn of the tide and look forward to some plain sailing.

Sahara sunset

On the art front, I'm still creating and with my head full of new ideas will be heading off to my rustic french retreat to try and let it all out.

Cherry blossom

Hunting

And so as I head off to France for a "break" watch out for more photos, artwork and possible sound/video clips. 

Thanks for listening.