Month: November 2010

I seem to be just a little bit paranoid right now. I should really try and be a bit more trusting but at the moment its hard work . Today has been one of those days when I really could have done with sinking into the wall or at least hiding behind the sofa.  Sometimes my confidence vanishes completely and its a fragile beast at the best of times which has required a lot of  nurturing to keep it out of the dark places that where it usually reposes.

I had a really good night out listening to Albert Lee & Hogans Heroes at the Castle in NW11. It was a mind bending gig. I have of course seen Albert Lee on TV and youtube, so I knew it was going to be good and it was.  It takes a lot to get me going but this gig was really great. Fantastic guitar playing, and a few surprises in the set list too, like ‘The world is waiting for the sunrise’, it couldn’t have been more varied and entertaining. Also the live sound is one of the best I have heard in any venue.

I was privileged to play there a week or so back with Elephant Shelf to a small but perfectly formed audience and prior to that I saw Georgie Fame, which was also a great gig. So thats the good stuff and it doesn’t get any better than that. Unfortunately the venue like many others is under pressure and is struggling to continue which is a great shame as its one of the really great places to listen to or play live music.  If you do see a gig advertised there its well worth the trip. They also offered me a job behind the bar 🙂 LOL. I don’t think I would be terribly good at it to be honest, (though there are a few people I know who’s personal fantasy is exactly that, bet lynch eat your heart out) and I might be tempted to drink the profits. They do Real Ales and good food to so that would have been OK.

Today has been mostly involved in working on some web stuff (which I find incredibly tedious these days to be honest) and  running through some stuff on the piano and violin and a bit of tidying up. I am also getting used to using a video camera after a gap of a few years as I intend to start including video as part of this blog too. The camera is a bit flaky at the moment but its starting to behave  so I might be able to start using it properly in a week or too with luck.

The Moon Rises in Battersea. I am hoping to start video blogging occasionally from now just to give it   more variety.
Theres a brilliant full moon tonight. I shot it from my lounge….

and there’s more…

Elephant Shelf manifesting in London Colney.
Picture by Ralph Stephenson.
Check him out on flikr

I have been involved with a lot of non-musical stuff this week, various website projects and fixing stuff. Getting  a new PSU and and installing  it in my old computer, coaxing my video camera back in to life after its been mothballed for a couple of years, and one or two other things. The last few gigs with the Shelf and the Deltas have been quite eventful too. I have got the taste for a bit of make do and mend now as its quite satisfying to get stuff going often very cheaply too. In between the practical stuff I have been chilling out a bit as well and I am going to try and do a video blog, though it is likely to heavily feature my cuddly toys collection. I am also spending  a little time looking at other possible income options to augment what I am getting.  I also had not realised how stressed I had got with my personal finances or rather the lack of them and it seems quite bizarre to be receiving a pension as part of my regular income, but it gives me just enough to keep going if I am very careful which is of course I will be and have been for the last couple of years having left the tried and trusted working as an office drone.

The other thing that has greatly affected me is the realisation of the frailty of some much of what I and most people take for granted in life and the fact that the clock is ticking so the message is do it now. Actually having time and choices is quite empowering for a change, but I was never that good at making decisions for my self though I was great at doing it for other people.

I think I must have been very tired when this was taken.
Picture by Ralph Stephenson.

The Salisbury used to be a regular haunt of ours.

Any Les Dawson fans out there? Well there’s a lot going on right now, and most of it is fairly positive for a change.

On  a personal  level things are a little bit more stable now, though there is still a lot to be done. I am amazed at the number of people that actually visit this blog and I wish I had some stunning insights that I could share with you all but unfortunately I don’t. It’s been fairly hectic on the gigs front with the Elephants Shelf  & the Delta Ladies mostly out London which is good but I am suffering from a little bit of motorway fatigue as I have seen quite a bit of the M4 and the M25 in the last couple of months (mostly at about 03:00 in the morning).
It’s refreshing to find so many really good venues providing live music with really enthusiastic audiences, and we seem to have found quite a few lately.