hejira: a celebration of joni mitchell at st george’s…

One of my regrets in life is never to have seen Joni Mitchell perform ‘live’ and, clearly, it’s now very unlikely that this will change (after her brain aneurysm rupture in 2015, she no longer tours – just the occasional public performances). So, I content myself with playing and enjoying her music at home on a very frequent basis. As you might imagine, it reminds me of my early college days when I first ‘discovered’ her music… she’s been my musical idol ever since.
So, last night I went along to St George’s for a concert entitled ‘Hejira: A Celebration of Joni Mitchell’. Actually, some 18 months ago, I was at a similar concert at St George’s (‘The Songs of Joni Mitchell’) and, for that, I was joined by our Bristol-based daughters, Ru+Hannah, plus Moira (they’re lovely like that! xx). Last night was purely a personal, self-indulgent time to myself.
My favourite ‘Joni songs’ tend to be late 1960s/early 70s (Song to a Seagull, Clouds, Ladies of the Canyon, Blue etc); last night’s concert focussed mostly on songs from the late 70s - which was fine by me (although they did finish with an encore of ‘Both Sides Now’).
As I expected, it proved to be a really enjoyable evening, featuring: Hattie Whitehead (vocals+guitar); Ollie Weston (tenor+soprano saxophones); Chris Eldred (keyboards); Pete Oxley (guitar); Dave Jones (bass); Rick Finlay (drums); and Marc Cecil (percussion).
As usual, I sat upstairs in my favoured Gallery position – close to the stage. In some ways, this is a bit of a mixed blessing – a perfect view of the musicians/performers but, from a sound perspective, some of the quality clearly suffers. I thought that was the particularly the case last night. Vocalist Hattie Whitehead has a wonderful voice but, from my position, she was often somewhat drowned out, to some extent, by what seemed to be an over-enthusiastic drummer(!) – particularly in some of the songs before the interval. In some ways, I think the same comment could be applied to the other musicians. Don’t get me wrong, all of the musicians were clearly incredibly gifted artists in their own right, but I just had the feeling that, at times, some of them were trying too hard to impress! It’s probably all down to my seating location, but I just wanted to ‘turn down’ the drums, bass and guitar and to ‘turn up’ the singer!
Nevertheless, an evening of stunning music and wonderful memories.
Photo: From last night’s concert.
PS: Just in case you didn’t know, ‘Hejira’ is the name of Mitchell’s studio album, released in 1976 (fifty years ago!).
PPS: I also thought some of Pete Oxley’s ‘between-the-songs-chat’ went on far too long!

cricket in the april sunshine(!)…

I’ve vowed to watch more cricket this season… and so ended up at my second County Championship game of the season today in Bristol (Day 3: Gloucestershire v Lancashire). In part, I was keen to have an opportunity of watching James Anderson bowling for perhaps for the last time - well, for me at least (at the age of 43, how many more seasons does he have left in him?).
Gloucestershire have (again) had a struggling start to the season – they had lost their first two games by an innings. In this match, once again, their performance for the first two days had been depressingly poor: Glos 136 all out in the first innings (Lancs scored 240 in reply) and then finished the day 58-3 in their second innings (still 46 runs behind). Ridiculously, 17 wickets fell on the second day!
So the scene was set for the third day’s play (my brother reckoned I might be back home by 2pm!).
It all turned out very different… Glos’s overnight batsmen survived until just after lunch (Bracey ended on 114 and Hammond 82) and the home side were eventually bowled out for 305 – leaving Lancashire needing 202 runs to win. Lancashire ended the day 75-3 – still needing 127 runs to win.
Tomorrow promises to be a very close finish!
Photo: Anderson’s first ball of the day.
PS: Anyway, the sun DID shine and I thoroughly enjoyed my day.
PPS: James Anderson (sorry, Sir James Anderson!), at the age of 43, was the player I had really wanted to see in action. The last time I’d done so was in the Aussies Test at Edgbaston in 2019 – but, sadly, he only lasted 4 overs before going off with an injured calf. At Bristol, he looked to be head and shoulders above the other players (he ended up taking 3 wickets in Glos’s first innings and 4 in their second; almost got a hat-trick; and took a remarkable catch!).  

first game of the cricket season at bristol…

I turned up at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium yesterday for Gloucestershire’s first home game of the cricket season. After Gloucestershire’s ‘very disappointing’ innings defeat by Middlesex earlier in the week, the signs weren’t good!
Anyway, a fresh start (I thought!). A chance to make amends(!?).
It didn’t start well.
Glos won the toss and put Durham in to bat (really?!).
The Durham openers made a nonsense of that decision by batting away untroubled in beautiful sunshine… and, at lunch, were 143-0 in 30 overs (at just a little under 5 runs/over!). By 2pm (170-0), Durham’s 21-year-old opener, McKinney, had scored his century. Just after 3pm (257-0), Durham’s other opener Lees had also become a centurion. Lees was eventually the first wicket to fall (305-1 in the 59^th over) – just after the floodlights had been switched on at 3.30pm!
It didn’t end well either (for Glos)!
The weather deteriorated somewhat (cold, blustery winds) and rain stopped play for a brief time. Play later resumed, but the day ended early when the players departed due to bad light – by which time, Durham’s score had advanced to 456-2 (with McKinney on 214 not out).
A really poor day for Gloucestershire (but a not altogether surprising one?)… and another defeat already beckons. I’m afraid they look like a very ‘ordinary’ team. The captain used eight (EIGHT!) bowlers yesterday and, frankly, none of them looked at all impressive or threatening. Last season, their batting was unreliable (to put it mildly) and I suspect it’ll be the same old story this season… and so the team will probably languish in the bottom half (or worse!) of the County Championship’s Division 2.
Frankly, I only go along to watch Gloucestershire because they’re my ‘local’ team and because I love watching ‘old fashioned’ cricket. Watching Somerset at Taunton (in Division one) would be a much better prospect – but involves a 30 minute+ train journey. Instead, I jump on no.75/76 bus and can be in the ground within 20 minutes.
So, I’ll no doubt continue to ‘enjoy’ watching my cricket in Bristol… sitting among tiny ‘crowds’ of under 100 people (and all of us old codgers)… and everyone talking about the ‘good old days’ and mis-remembering the cricketing days of their youth!!
Photo: This is McKinney hitting his second ‘six’ of the day – and the game is still only 55 minutes old!
Note: Sadly, yesterday, even though it’s the school holidays, I counted only half a dozen children in attendance.

o’hooley+tidow at st george’s…

After 15 years of performing together, eight studio albums, four BBC Folk Award nominations and hundreds of venues and festivals across the UK and Europe, O’Hooley+Tidow have “decided to say farewell for now in order to explore other adventures that are beckoning” (among these: Heidi returning to university).
I went along to St George’s last night to see/hear Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow perform their eclectic mix of thought-provoking songs and intricate harmonies (I think it was the fifth time I’d seen them perform over the past twelve years or so). Once again, I came away feeling very impressed… but, given that this was effectively their ‘Farewell Tour’, also sad that they won’t be returning - at least for the time being.
They’ve established themselves as gifted singer-songwriters and they frequently write about difficult, painful subjects such as racism, animal cruelty, poverty, vulnerability and child abuse with remarkable, understated clarity. They both sing beautifully (gifted pianist Belinda clearly always enjoys returning to St George’s Steinway piano!) and come across as rather lovely people - compassionate, sincere and down-to-earth (and very funny!).
Another really lovely evening… in one of my favourite concert venues.
Photo from my seat at last night’s concert.

and so another cricket season is about to end…

I went along to watch Gloucestershire play Northants today… I made it despite disruptions due to a bus strike (hey ho!).
Day 2 of 4 – although no play at all yesterday, due to rain and high winds(!) – and, sadly, from the weather forecasts I’ve seen, it looks as though there’ll be very little cricket played on Days 3+4.
Today’s weather was absolutely fine though and a pretty good day’s play too (although they had to stop play early due to bad light). Gloucester bowled out Northants for 206, but rather struggled to 65-3 at the close.
I know I say the same thing every year, but I do hate the fact that the County Championship (ok, Glos are in the second division!) comes to a climax at the very end of September – when the days are somewhat shorter and the weather is deteriorating.
I suspect that the entire competition will have folded within the next ten years – in favour of 100% bish-bash, limited over stuff (which obviously attracts the crowds and makes money). For many oldies like me, it’ll be the end of a golden era…
Who will last longest? County Championship cricket or me?
But, hey, today I just enjoyed watching the cricket and listening to the old codgers sitting near me recall their past sporting achievements… “Did I ever tell the time I scored my maiden century at the Oval?” (they talked such things non-stop for the entire day); fast bowlers bowling with three slips and a gully; batters (as they’re now referred to, not ‘batsmen’!) playing elegant shots through the covers; leisurely run-rates of some 3-4 runs per over (not 10-16!!); not to mention (but, of course, I will) the fact that matches can be played over 4-5 days and STILL end in a draw!
Cricket, lovely cricket.  
Photo: I thought this photograph (taken at today’s game) rather ‘said it all’: lots of empty seats (today’s attendance was in the order of perhaps just 120-150 in total!)… and, although, you might not see it clearly if you’re looking at the photograph on your phone, there are cobwebs between each pair of seats!

another cricket friday…

I went along to the Suite Unique Stadium in Bristol again today to watch the first day’s play of Gloucestershire v Kent… and the sun was shining (again!).
An interesting day! Glos won the toss and put Kent into bat. The decision seemed totally justified by lunchtime – Kent had struggled to 85-5. But Gloucestershire then really struggled for the remainder of the day; they took just ONE more wicket while Kent added a further 301 RUNS by the close!! Glos also managed to drop three catches in the process… (Kent ended the day on 386-6, with Grant Stewart 173 not out and Chris Benjamin 82no).
But, hey, it was a very enjoyable day nevertheless... even if you supported Gloucestershire.
Note: Much amusing banter from the not-so-old codgers (in their 60s?) standing nearby… well, at least it STARTED as amusing banter but, as the day wore on… and as more beer was consumed, the subject-matter degenerated from cricket memories of their youth to politics (and, in particular, immigration)… and, of course, as the hours passed, the volume increased! I ended up moving away.

first cricket of the season…

I went along to the Seat Unique Stadium yesterday to watch Gloucestershire (currently next to bottom of the league) play Leicestershire (league leaders).
It proved to be an ‘interesting’ day’s play – with 14 wickets falling during the course the day. Glos were 87-6 at lunch, but recovered to 252 all out; Leics finished at 91-4 at the close.
As ever, I was intrigued (and entertained) by the conversations going on around me by ‘typical cricket-loving old codgers’ like me!
These were just THREE extracts from two Leicestershire supporters sitting on the next table:
“Did I ever tell you about the time I played with Courtney Walsh when I was in the West Indies?
“Zak Crawley once asked for my advice…”
“I played against Gary Lineker at Stamford Bridge… I’ve got the programme to prove it!”
I enjoyed my day, my beer, my roast pork roll AND my cricket!
A very good day.
Photo: A few random images.

USK Bristol: 10th anniversary!

Bristol Urban Sketchers are celebrating their 10^th Anniversary today on board MV Balmoral… (I’ve been a member for the past 7 years). It’s a brilliant, free, worldwide ‘organisation’ that encourages people to sketch en plein air (ie. outdoors). We meet at least once a month throughout the year – along with our sister group in Bath (which effectively means that many of us are meeting up twice a month).
It’s open to artists of all abilities (and age!) and, for me, it’s become one of the real highlights of my retired life! I’ve got to know some REALLY lovely people and made some brilliant friends along the way. It’s a wonderful, welcoming and encouraging community. Here in Bristol, we frequently have 30-40 people turning up at each session to sketch for up to two hours. Obviously, beer+wine are also involved(!) - once our sketches are completed, we meet up to share what we’ve done (and being nosey about the pens and paper we’ve each used)!
We even continued to meet during Covid lockdown – via Google StreetView and Zoom (I know!) and ended up ‘travelling’ to more than 20 locations around the world in the process.
After my family, it’s definitely one of the highlights of my life (huge thanks to Ian Adams for highlighting ‘Urban Sketching’ all those years ago). Who knew?!
Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/906335416054980
Photo: One of our 10^th anniversary exhibition boards (we always try to get a ‘team photograph’ at the end of all our sketching sessions). 

barbara walker MBE RA at the arnolfini…

I went along to the Barbara Walker ‘Being Here’ exhibition at the Arnolfini today (I’d been meaning to go for some time!). She and I share the fact that we were both born in Birmingham and grew up in Handsworth (albeit she’s 15 years younger than me!).
The exhibition presents almost 60 extraordinary artworks, including rarely seen early paintings of Walker’s family, friends and community in her home city, along with her Turner Prize nominated monumental drawing series ‘Burden of Proof’, which illustrates the impact on the lives of those affected by the Windrush scandal.
Stunningly beautiful, powerful drawings and paintings.
The exhibition runs until 25 May. See it if you can. 

the winter’s tale at the tobacco factory…

Moira’s birthday celebrations included seeing Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” at the Tobacco Factory Theatre last night (Ru joined also us, which was lovely). The other bonus was that ‘our’ Felix was playing the leading role of King Leontes – how on earth are actors able to learn SO many lines?! – and he was superb.
We think we’d previously seen the play at the RSC in Stratford perhaps 30 years ago (long before I began blogging reviews!).
I knew the basic story… jealousy, redemption, the enduring power of love and the cyclical nature of life, as marked by the seasons. The programme notes summed things up perfectly: “Driven by unfounded jealousy, King Leontes accuses his wife Hermione of infidelity, triggering tragic consequences. Years later, through acts of forgiveness, reconciliation, and the miraculous power of time, a chance at renewal and hope emerges. This timeless tale moves seamlessly between tragedy and comedy, offering a rich exploration of human emotion and resilience”.
It's a hugely impressive production (directed by the Tobacco Factory Theatre’s Artistic Director, Heidi Vaughan) and the quality of the actors (every member of the company is based within a 25-mile radius of Bristol) is consistently high.
The Winter’s Tale reminds us that even the harshest winter can give way to the hope of spring, delight of Summer and the tender Autumn of our years (in these crazy Trump-dominated days, I just hope that holds true!).
We really enjoyed it and I would urge you to see it for yourself if you live in the Bristol area (it runs until 29 March).

the songs of joni michell at st george’s…

Joni Mitchell has been my musical idol for over 66 years.
I love her music with a passion and many of the songs take me back to my early college days… but, sadly, I’ve never seen her perform ‘live’ (one of my biggest regrets) – and, clearly, that’s not going to change.
Last November, she celebrated her 80^th birthday and there was a sell-out concert (curated by Lail Arad) given in her honour at London’s Roundhouse… and this led to demands for further shows/UK tour.
Last night’s concert at St George’s was one of the resulting gigs.
Ru first spotted the concert blurb a few months ago and so it was agreed that it would be lovely for our Bristol-based daughters, Ru+Hannah, plus Moira and me to get together for an evening’s musical celebration (they’re lovely like that! xx).

We didn’t know any of the female-dominated line-up (apparently all celebrated singer-songwriters in their own right - Jesca Hoop, Lail Arad, Olivia Chaney, Rachael Dadd and Julia Turner) and so it could have been a very disappointing evening… but, fortunately, it wasn’t. It’s obviously nowhere near the same as seeing Mitchell perform the songs herself, but the evening proved to be an excellent celebration of her iconic music (and St George’s was full).
Lots of musical memories were duly evoked and, fortunately from my perspective, most of my ‘absolute favourite songs’ were performed.
Soft man that I am, I was close to tears when they sang ‘Both Sides Now’ to conclude the show.
A lovely evening.
Photo: Final song performed by all the artists plus members of a local choir.

john martyn project…

I can’t quite believe that British singer-songwriter John Martyn died as long ago as 2009. I first came across him shortly after we came to Bristol in 2003 – thanks to the recommendation from my great mate Si Smith. I got to know his music pretty well - although, sadly, I never got to attend one of his concerts.
So, last night’s gig at St George’s felt both appropriate and important (for me) – even though it obviously couldn’t be a substitute for the man himself – and it was spectacularly good.
This special project was started in 2018 when six musicians (Blythe Pepino, Kit Hawes, Pete Josef, Sam Brookes, John Blakeley and Jon Short) came together to celebrate the music of John Martyn at the Camden Jazz Café. The sell-out show inspired the group to take the project on tour around the UK and mainland Europe… as well as bringing Martyn’s music back to the festival circuit.
Last night’s show was also a sell-out… and rightly so. Each of the band members were wonderful in their own right (and I loved that Blythe Pepino sang some songs from her armchair!). They performed altogether, but often just two or three would join up for particular songs (Martyn’s music ‘catalogue’ of 23/24 albums meant there was lots to choose from!).
Fittingly, for their encore, the six of them stood together at the front of the stage and sang the Martyn classic ‘Over The Hill’ – and the entire audience joined in (beautifully!). Quite a wonderful end to a brilliant evening.
Photos: Some quick photographs from the evening (apologies that I managed to decapitate a couple of band members!).

half a mile from home…

In August 2021, Moira and I moved into an apartment in the very heart of Bristol city centre – our immediate neighbours are the Central Library and the Cathedral.
Although we already knew our neighbourhood pretty well (we’ve lived in Bristol since 2003), we’ve become increasingly conscious of just how fortunate we are to have SO many beautiful locations within easy walking distance of our new flat – LITERALLY ‘half a mile from home’.

Here are just a few – in no particular order (ALL within half a mile of our front door):

1. The Cathedral
2. College Green
3. Lord Mayor’s Chapel
4. Balloon Fiesta (the balloons often fly over us)
5. RWA (Royal West of England Academy)
6. Bristol Old Vic
7. Brandon Hill
8. Watershed
9. Berkeley Square
10. The Hippodrome
11. Saint Stephen’s Church (our church community)
12. Saint Nicholas Market
13. Nelson Street (Street Art)
14. Bristol Beacon (formerly Colston Hall)
15. SS Great Britain
16. Queen Square
17. Arnolfini
18. Central Library
19. Saint George’s
20. Harbourside
21. Christmas Steps
22. Bristol Museum+Art Gallery

Not to mention the pubs, bars, cafés, restaurants, hotels and small shops
(and I feel sure I’ve left stuff out!).
 
Since the first Covid lockdown (March 2020), I think Moira and I have gradually both become conscious that “we’ve aged”! We’ve certainly become far less adventurous when it comes to travel and holidays… neither of us currently has a passport and or continues to drive. We now rely on public transport to get from A to B. 
There’s a sense that our worlds have become smaller and, although that perhaps sounds rather negative, it’s also made us incredibly aware of just how fortunate we are to have so much on our doorstep.
Lucky, lucky us!
Photograph: Some images (photographs and sketches) of our neighbouring facilities and resources!

mahler: symphony no.1 at st george’s…

I went along to St George’s again last night to see/hear the Bristol Metropolitan Orchestra tackle Mahler’s Symphony no.1 (I love Mahler!). My great mate Ed was one of the seven(!?) horn players featured in this full orchestral rendition. 
There’s something very impressive about witnessing a large orchestra (70+ performers?) in full voice… and last night was a bit special.
The two other works performed last night were: Cécile Chaminade’s ‘Callirhoë Suite’ and the world première of ‘Selene's Awakening’ featuring Sophie Stockham on solo saxophone.
All in all, a really magical evening.
Photo: orchestra view from my seat (needless to say, I didn’t quite manage to fit everyone in!)…

cricket #2: another season comes to an end…

The fact that it’ll be October tomorrow just about sums up how the traditional 4-day county championship has essentially become shoe-horned into the very beginning and end of the cricket season (and to think that, back in 1929, Neville Cardus described cricket as “The Summer Game”!). I’m embarrassed to say that during the course of the season, I only attended TWO games (a day at each… my other attempt was completely rained off)(my ‘home’ side, Gloucestershire play just five county championship games in Bristol all season).
Gloucestershire had an awful season (understatement!). After being relegated from Division 1 last year, they came bottom of Division 2 (even Yorkshire – who had 50 points deducted following the recent racism inquiry – finished above them!).
Gloucestershire’s playing record for the season makes for dismal reading: Played 14, Won 0, Lost 6, Drawn 8.
I have to say, from my rather limited experience of watching Division Two cricket this season, the quality of the cricket has been pretty ‘ordinary’ to say the least. One significant difference that I’ve noticed is the far greater percentage of draws in Division 2 compared with Division 1:
DIVISION 1: 140 games, 48 draws; percentage of drawn games: 34.3%
DIVISION 2: 112 games, 68 draws; percentage of drawn games: 60.7%
In other words, Division 2 games are almost TWICE as likely to end in drawn games compared with Division1.
Why should that be?
Is it related to the lack of talent (mediocre batters and mediocre bowlers)?
Is it related to ‘better players’ not being attracted to join second division clubs?
Is it related to poor captaincy (being prepared to ‘play safe’)?
Is it related to poor coaching/inability to attract quality coaching staff?
Is it related to the lack of ambition/leadership (and/or finance) of the clubs?
Answers on a postcard, please…

cricket #1: membership fees…

Today is the last day of the English cricket season…
As I’m sure you will appreciate, if you’ve ever read any of my previous blogs on cricket(!), it seems that I remain one of the few cricket lovers who would still much prefer to watch a 4-day County Championship game in preference to all the Twenty20 Vitality Blast and One-Day Cup matches.
Although, for various reasons, I only attended two days of Gloucestershire five home games in Bristol this season, I continue to feel frustrated by the club’s stance when it comes to membership/season tickets (I assume it’s the same for most of the clubs).
Full Gloucestershire CC membership for this season was some £256 (which provided entry to all home County Championship, Vitality Blast matches, One-Day Cup matches and Cheltenham Cricket Festival games)… and there was a separate One-Day membership for £133 (Vitality Blast and One-Day Cup games).
I would be happy to sign up for membership if only they had a ‘County Championship only’ category (which on a basis of £256 minus £133 could be available for say £123)… BUT there isn’t one!
I’ve previously written to the Club committee, but they tell me they had previously considered the matter, but decided against it.
On the two occasions I attended this season in Bristol, the ticket price was £21. I would estimate the number of spectators at the two games I attended this season to be say 250 (ridiculous!). The vast majority of these will have been members. In the circumstances, it seems to me that the club should be doing EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to attract bigger crowds and allow people like me to attend regularly at a reasonable price.
In your dreams, Steve… in your dreams!
There are 7 four-day home County Championship games (5 in Bristol, 2 in Cheltenham). Let’s say that I would attend two days of each of the Bristol games (allowing for rain and my own incredibly hectic schedule!) - on the basis of a daily £21 ticket, that’s 5x2x£21 =£210. Sadly, I wouldn’t be prepared to pay such a sum… BUT allow me to purchase a ‘County Championship only’ membership for say £120, and I would happily do so (and the club would also benefit from the resulting increased beer+pasty sales!). The more spectators they can attract, the more beer and food revenue they will accrue… the better the atmosphere in the ground etc.
It’s seems an absolute no-brainer to me… but what do I know?
PS: Most cricket-lovers would agree that the County Championship provides an important basis for developing young talent for the England Test team. From a county’s perspective, however, it’s entirely understandable that the Vitality Blast and One-Day Cup matches are the ones that attract the crowds… and the revenue. As a result, the County Championship fixtures are largely relegated to the months of April, May and September. If that’s the case, to my mind, they should be doing everything possible (ie. financially) to attract spectators to this less desirable time of the year. 
I’m well aware that vast majority of these spectators will be old codgers like me… but don’t knock it! There’s something rather wonderfully therapeutic about us oldies gathering under our several layers of clothing, sipping our beers, watching the cricket and remembering the ‘olden’ days.
Are they afraid that membership income will be reduced due to Oldies like me opting for the ‘county championship games only’? 

karine polwart and kitty macfarlane at st george’s…

I went along to St George’s last night (along with good friend Maria) to see Karine Polwart and Kitty Macfarlane in concert. I first saw KP at Greenbelt in 2005 and I love her music and her insights, but had never previously come across KM (apart from knowing she’s from Somerset).
It proved to be an exceptional evening.
They shared the stage for the entire evening – joining in the harmonies and choruses of each other’s songs and shared stories. The St George’s blurb previewed the evening like this:
“Karine Polwart and Kitty Macfarlane write with an eco-eye, drawing from the same deep well of greater-than-human life as inspiration for many of their songs. Karine wonders if the annual migration of pink-footed geese from Iceland to her neighbouring peatbog in south-east Scotland can teach us humans about cooperation, whilst Kitty marvels at the epic oceanic journey of the eel. And where Kitty finds human connection in those gathered to witness a starling murmuration on the Somerset Levels, Karine explores the notion of resilience by celebrating the tiny, tenacious sea-pink”.
Their musical styles and voices are quite similar and the evening felt as if they had been working together for years – whereas the basis was actually a case of each of them loving and being familiar with each other’s music.
It was a full house at St George’s and the audience was also in very good voice – encouraged and led by KP… there was a lovely, positive atmosphere in the concert hall and, strangely perhaps, on the way home, I found myself thinking: “if only the world could be filled with people and beliefs like these, wouldn’t it be a wonderful place”!
Following the last Karine Polwart concert I attended a couple of years ago, I wrote this:
“Powerful, intelligent, thought-provoking, political, tender, poignant music at its very best. She’s an eloquent poet (and she’s frequently funny too). She’s a person who reminds you that small voices are important. She’s an inspiration.
At this time when so many of us are disenchanted by politics and what’s happening in the world, last night was a wonderful reminder that there ARE decent, inspiring people who demand to be heard. 
May it be so”.
My views haven’t changed.
Photo: from last night’s concert.
PS: As ever with concerts at St George’s, I always end up bumping into old friends from the past (and present). Last night was no exception: Sharon, Angela (and her daughter), Catherine, Big Jeff, Andy, Jonty (plus Maria)… 

sketching in the cathedral garden…

I’ve really been enjoying the summer weather of recent days/weeks and one of the activities I’ve particularly been appreciating is sketching in the wonderful Bristol Cathedral garden.
It’s located on the south side of the Chapter House and accessed through the cloisters. It’s not particularly big, but it’s the kind of space in which you can just hunker down on a comfortable bench (I haven’t counted them, but there must be perhaps two dozen?), amid the flowers, the shrubs and the greenery and enjoy the stillness and the beauty.
This magical space seems to be something of a secret garden – despite all the summer sunshine. With the cathedral café currently closed, people seem reluctant to venture through the cloisters (which suits me fine!).
I’ve sketched in the cathedral and garden several times over the years (I’ve probably got perhaps 30 drawings?) but, this year (and with us living less than 200m from the cathedral), I’ve been dropping into the garden on a regular basis. My scribbles aren’t particularly good or technically proficient - and, clearly, there are only a limited number of sketches you can do of the cathedral’s southern façade(!)… but the major benefit is simply being ‘in the garden’ and enjoying all that it offers.
The bonus, of course (and my brother will acknowledge this!), is that someone else manages the space and I simply turn up to enjoy it!
Image: a mishmash of my cathedral garden scribbles (all but one, done over the past 2 or 3 weeks).

o’hooley+tidow at st george’s…

Rosa and I went along to St George’s last night to see O’Hooley+Tidow (I think it was the third time I’d seen them). Sadly, Heidi Tidow was ill and was unable to take part and so Belinda O’Hooley performed alone… which was a great shame, because the combination of their voices and characters is crucial to who they are and what they can give to audiences.
But, hey, Belinda and St George’s beloved Steinway piano is a brilliant combination and she didn’t let the audience down!
She was absolutely excellent!
O’Hooley+Tidow were booked to perform at St George’s as part of this year’s Bristol Folk Festival and I suppose ‘folk’ music is the appropriate classification… and yet they’re much more than ‘folk singers/musicians’. Indeed, there were times last night that I felt that O’Hooley and her exquisite piano playing reminded me of a ‘female Rufus Wainwright’ in the breadth and depth of her songs.
Anyway, although we all missed Heidi Tidow’s presence, Belinda O’Hooley went down a storm last night… and the audience loved her (and Rosa was also duly impressed!).
Photo: From last night’s performance (including when she sang unaccompanied and ‘un-miked’… and the audience watched/listened ‘spellbound’… stunning!).

metropolitan orchestra at st george’s (again)…

My week of culture continued last night when I went along to St George’s, Bristol again – this time to see/hear Bristol’s impressive Metropolitan Orchestra. My great friend Ed plays the horn… he’s third from the left in the back-but-one row in the photograph (click on the image to enlarge).
Always lovely to hear a full orchestra in good ‘voice’… SO impressive.
Of course, with an orchestra of some 60 players, they can almost guarantee that each player will bring along a couple of guests… which, in turn, more or less ensures of full house (which it was).
Last night’s programme included: Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 (not my favourite Tchaikovsky symphony, but hey); Mozart’s Flute Concerto; Smetana’s Vltava (The Moldau);
and Dani Howard’s Argentum.
A really lovely evening.
Photo: the orchestra from my ‘usual’ seat in the gallery.