To Hull and back
I like this time of year. Still at work but anticipating getting together with family and friends. The weather here is relentlessly grey but even that doesn't matter - I always feel we need the bleak days to give Spring a good start.
Last week I was away for a few days in Hull, at a conference. The conference itself was connected with the dayjob, but once I was back in my hotel room I got the laptop out and worked on the new Spingere album. In two nights (and mornings) I finished the editing jobs, remixed three tunes and sorted out the sequencing. On the train journey home I listened to it all from first note to last and was fairly pleased. I had forgotten to repair the one dodgy bass line but then I was travelling light and hadn't taken an instrument with me. So, while I'm looking forward to family, friends, eating, drinking and festive telly I'm also keen to get this project finished.
At the risk of this post sounding like a round-robin letter I should add that Freya, my daughter and person in her own right, has just turned 18 months old. She is becoming a handful. Tiring, loud, difficult and bad tempered would all be adjectives I'd associate with her. But then, she's only a year and a half old and her lust for exploring and ebulient confidence (that's the nice version) are only part of her personality. She's also capable of asking for and giving cuddles, exclaiming wonder ("LOOK! LOOK!" she shouts as we drive past houses strung with Christmas lights) and being very sweet indeed. Surely the best thing about having a child is that they can surprise you. Although, on reflection, one doesn't always want to be surprised by the site of your small child standing on a windowsill, seconds away from turning the handle and falling into the front garden. I love her a lot.
One last thing today. At a time when we need to build a sense of tolerance and understanding between people, and at a time when we need to take the future of out planet's environment seriously, isn't it sad to see a man who dresses in funny clothes and lives in a marble palace telling people that environmental problems are as serious as the issue of who we might chose to have a loving relationship with. Peace, love, understanding and reason will save us, not this narrow minded hatefulness.
Happy holidays!
Last week I was away for a few days in Hull, at a conference. The conference itself was connected with the dayjob, but once I was back in my hotel room I got the laptop out and worked on the new Spingere album. In two nights (and mornings) I finished the editing jobs, remixed three tunes and sorted out the sequencing. On the train journey home I listened to it all from first note to last and was fairly pleased. I had forgotten to repair the one dodgy bass line but then I was travelling light and hadn't taken an instrument with me. So, while I'm looking forward to family, friends, eating, drinking and festive telly I'm also keen to get this project finished.
At the risk of this post sounding like a round-robin letter I should add that Freya, my daughter and person in her own right, has just turned 18 months old. She is becoming a handful. Tiring, loud, difficult and bad tempered would all be adjectives I'd associate with her. But then, she's only a year and a half old and her lust for exploring and ebulient confidence (that's the nice version) are only part of her personality. She's also capable of asking for and giving cuddles, exclaiming wonder ("LOOK! LOOK!" she shouts as we drive past houses strung with Christmas lights) and being very sweet indeed. Surely the best thing about having a child is that they can surprise you. Although, on reflection, one doesn't always want to be surprised by the site of your small child standing on a windowsill, seconds away from turning the handle and falling into the front garden. I love her a lot.
One last thing today. At a time when we need to build a sense of tolerance and understanding between people, and at a time when we need to take the future of out planet's environment seriously, isn't it sad to see a man who dresses in funny clothes and lives in a marble palace telling people that environmental problems are as serious as the issue of who we might chose to have a loving relationship with. Peace, love, understanding and reason will save us, not this narrow minded hatefulness.
Happy holidays!
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