Good news, bad news, good news

There is a Soul Beaver gig coming up. We don't have a keyboard player just yet but I'm sure one will be found in time. The gig isn't until the end of July but I'm already making up lists of songs, with their keys, so I can practise. This time, as it's been so long, I might print up all the lyrics too. Or at least some prompt words for each song. Despite all the recent goings on we're going to have to be ready. Richard, my good friend and drummer is in Oslo with Marillion today, doing the work of four people.

The other big news, for me at least, is that my daughter, Freya, was born on Thursday. She has been quite grizzly and grumpy, not feeding properly and puking up whenever she does feed. Yesterday the doctors decided to move her to the special care baby unit as she was turning dusky and blue. They found she had an infection and asked J and I if they could perform a lumber puncture (needle through the back, into the spine to draw out spinal fluid) to see if she had meningitis. We were upset but told the doctors to get on with it. Sitting in a room with the sound of your crying daughter having a needle stuck in her spine is something I won't forget in a hurry; I could hear her crying through the wall.

The upside came a few hours later when we found that she didn't have meningitis. She did have a serious infection though and, as I write this, she is still under observation and probably won't leave hospital for another week. J is coming home tomorrow. We've had a tough week. The labour was very hard and we had very little time with Freya before she was taken away from us. By the end of next week she should be fit and healthy and back with us though. I can't wait to bring her home and start explaining why the bass guitar is the greatest instrument in the world.

So, the good news is that I'm home and can get some sleep. I did what I usually do when I get a few hours in the house on my own. I made a temporary recording studio, this time in the kitchen with some pedals, a Boss SE-70 the laptop and my T-Lev bass. I made a fifteen minute piece for a short DVD and I'm quite pleased with it.

One last thing - this picture is of Freya, age one day. I suspect they may be more to come.