Magical music…

Folk at the Farm is the label for a series of ad hoc events put on at a farm in Surrey. Sometimes it can be music in the front room, sometimes a mini festival in a field. This was a couple of bands performing in a barn.

The first act was Laurie Gregory and her band, a strong, moving performance of C&W songs, all the more remarkable when I heard she had just recently returned to singing after losing her voice due to cancer.

But however impressive she was we were not prepared for the shear brilliant musicianship of the next band. Assembly Lane is a group of young men, many of who are studying music in Newcastle and they blew us away with their skill and professionalism and a fabulous set of tunes and songs. The two main singers have a very different sound and this brings an extra dimension to their music; one is American with a deep base accented voice; the other British with much higher pitch. This allowed them to get the best out of the American and British folk songs they each sang. 

Any excuse for a party…

we chose as an excuse to gather around at our place for a party. The weather was a bit miserable to start with but brightened up a bit during the afternoon as we enjoyed a meal prepared by Sue and I (mostly Sue of course) of mostly vegetarian dishes for Suniva using produce from our vegetable garden (I did a large chunk of beef on the BBQ to satisfy the committed carnivores amongst the group). The deck in the garden had a table and chairs for us laid out, a brolly alternatively for rain and sun protection, and in the centre of the table was a large ice bucket for the wine and beer that was replaced with a fire pit in the evening once it got a bit cooler. I think every enjoyed themselves and we now have to find a friendly neighbour to accommodate those bottles that couldn’t fit into our recycling bin. 

Island in the sun…

Our summer holiday this year was to join the Whittenburry’s for part of their stay at the Interlude Sunelia holiday camp on Ile de Re just off La Rochelle in France. The site was a relatively small arrangement of cabins and free camping with a couple of amenity blocks, and indoor and outdoor pool, bar, restaurant, café and shop and places for the kids to play, a performance stage, petanque (boules) pitches all backing onto the sand dunes the other side of a wonderful large sandy beach. We had a lovely little cabin within shouting distance of the family with a couple of bedrooms (so the boys could have sleep overs), a bathroom and separate toilet and a lounge/dinner that connected to the small but functional kitchen (that even included a half size dishwasher). Outside was a deck where we ate our breakfasts and evening meals.

During the day we explored the area, either staying within walking distance of the cabins at the pool, on the beach (swimming, flying Dave’s kite, rock pooling, and playing French cricket) or walking the sand dunes, or we went out further afield in the car to explore the villages nearby.

The larger of the villages is Sainte Martin de Re, the old town of which is built within the walls of a large star shaped fort and like most villages on the island has its own port. Here is where all the tourist activity is with shops and many different eating and drinking establishments. We came here a few times, to wander around, cycle through, and eat and to watch some music and to wonder at the donkeys dressed in pyjamas.

We also visited La Flotte, Arse en Re and Le Bois Plage en Re while we were there, wandering through the old streets, exploring the wonderful food and craft markets and generally have a good time. One of the highlight visits was to Phare des Beleines where the local Jazz at le Phare was being held in the shadow of the lighthouse.

We had family friendly fun at the markets (food and craft), getting bicycles and riding out to the oyster shack and to see the salt pans and playing on the beaches.

After the family left to drive home, Sue and I went across the bridge to La Rochelle where we had the day to explore the old town with its old port, towers, cathedral and many bars and restaurants.

We enjoyed the warm weather and when we did get a bit of rain we all joined in in a few card games together. All in all it was a very pleasant and enjoyable family holiday, the like of which sue and I rarely partake in these days.

Cows on Parade…

The 2016 Cow Parade was held in Surrey as part of the international charitable event that started in Switzerland and has spread to over 80 cities and towns worldwide. In the last few months there have been 64 cows dotted throughout Surrey in many different places, such as at Gatwick airport, vineyards, National Trust properties, or just by the side of the road in towns and villages nearby. As the craze for collecting Pokémon raged I found myself on a mission to collect pictures of cows and I managed quite a few, however I did not get to see them all as the herd was assembled at the Surrey Hills Food,Drink and Music Festival

On yer bike…

The Prudential Ride London cycle event has become a new tradition for us in Westcott and each year it gets better and better. Since the Olympics they have been making slight changes, to the route and to the facilities on the green. This year we were on part of the route that saw the professional riders loop through our village several times, and on the green was a large screen, impressive facilities for the riders to stop, rest, rehydrate, and fix their bikes with medical care on hand and the local physio also performing massages for those tense muscles. The spectators were also catered for with games to play and food to eat.

Some people don’t like the village being effectively closed for the day, but for us this one day of isolation was more than rewarded by the spectacle of the race. Especially when viewed from the local pub who put on music and food to accompany their beverages. Great fun, and long may it continue.

More of wot I have read…

The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett

I have been a fan of Terry Pratchett’s gentle subversive style of writing and it is sad that this will be the final Discworld Novel. I have grown up over the years exploring this world that is a distorted reflection on our own and its myths and customs and even though the young adult level of this book may not provide deep stimulus there are still some important themes explored. Some too that I must admit moved me, though that may be my age as I find myself tearing up more and more as I get older. A good read for the fans of this world and its people.

‘Deep in the Chalk, something is stirring. The owls and foxes can sense it, and Tiffany Aching feels it in her boots. An old enemy is gathering strength.

This is a time of endings and beginnings, old friends and new, a blurring of edges and a shifting of power. Now Tiffany stands between the light and dark, the good and the bad.

As the fairy horde prepares for invasion, Tiffany must summon all the witches to stand with her. To protect the land. Her land.

There will be a reckoning…’

The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder

I was attracted to this book by its title, its cover and the Steampunk styled alternative world that it is set in. I loved the way the author twisted the nature of the world and provided an impetus for the change within the narrative. The over the top exotic twists and playfully irreverent treatment of historical heroes was exciting to behold and I thoroughly enjoyed what is billed as the start of the Burton & Swinburne Adventures.

“It is 1861, and Albertian Britain is in the grip of conflicting forces.

Engineers transform the landscape with bigger, faster, noisier and dirtier technological wonders; Eugenicists develop specialist animals to provide unpaid labour; Libertines oppose restrictive and unjust laws and flood the country with propaganda demanding a society based on beauty and creativity; while The Rakes push the boundaries of human behaviour to the limits with magic, sexuality, drugs and anarchy.

Returning from his failed expedition to find the source of the Nile, explorer, linguist, scholar and swordsman Sir Richard Francis Burton finds himself sucked into the perilous depths of this moral and ethical vacuum when the Prime Minster, Lord Palmerston, employs him as “King’s Spy”. His first mission: to investigate the sexual assaults committed by a weird apparition known as Spring Heeled Jack; to find out why chimney sweeps are being kidnapped by half-man, half-dog creatures; and to discover the whereabouts of his badly injured former friend, John Hanning Speke.”