All sorts of folk…

Hosted by Mark Radcliffe and Julie Fowlis the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards were an entertaining event with the presentations being made by a variety of people including Michael Morpurgo, Stephen Mangan, Martin Freeman, Matt Berry, Richard Hawley, Sandy Shaw and more, and musical interludes by artists such as Joan Armatrading, Mark Knopfler, Rufus Wainwright (doing a tribute to Sandy Denny), the Unthanks, Norma Waterson and the Gift Band (including husband Martin Carthy and daughter Eliza), John McCusker and band (including Andy Cutting), Katheryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman, Sam Lee and an amazing choir, the Young’uns and breakthrough band Lynched.

The winners were:

Folk singer of the year: Rhiannon Giddens.

Best group: the Young’uns.

Best album: Mount the Air by the Unthanks.

Musician of the year: Andy Cutting.

Best duo: Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman.

Horizon award: Sam Kelly.

Young folk award: Brighde Chaimbeul.

Best original song: Mackerel by the Rheingans Sisters.

Best traditional track: Lovely Molly by Sam Lee.

Lifetime achievement awards: Joan Armatrading and Norma Waterson.

Good Tradition award: John McCusker.

Hall of fame inductee: Sandy Denny.

We watched the event from one of the boxes in the attractive Royal Albert Hall and thoroughly enjoyed the event. The lengthy travel into and out of London by public transport (tackling strikes and closures for repair works) we didn’t enjoy so much – one of the disadvantages of living out in the countryside. 

Games, games and more games…

Our semiregular games day was at James’s with Martin and we played several good games – Sons of Anarchy (very exciting game that ended in a mass brawl), King of Thieves, Formula D (that Martin romped away with), Cadaver, Pandemic (where we so very nearly beat the game) and Machi Koro (where James bought nearly all of the 7’s and rolled amazingly to thrash us). 

Springtime in the countryside…

We went for a stroll one midweek evening to see the fabulous display of blue bells at Old Simms Copse which is near us at White Downs. As a treat we then went to the Abinger Hatch and had a lovely dinner. Life is good.

Flash the cash…

Or unnecessary displays of excessive capitalistic consumption.

We went to John Lewis initially to look for some curtains and to spend a voucher Sue was given as a gift, but we did end up with a few other items we had not planned on buying. My uncle Terry and Gill had given us money for a new dinner service and so we found one we liked (Sue was so excited about the mustard spoons we had this condiment with several meals afterwards). While we were there we looked around unsuccessfully for a new food processer (our one was given to us as a wedding present over twenty years ago, and although it works fine is bulky and unattractive), and we ended up with a Nespresso coffee machine. Also we found a new sound system to replace our existing one that had become faulty. Quite an expensive visit in the end, and as it turned out the curtains had to be returned as they were too short. 

Good enough to eat off…

We had the oven cleaned recently too, so along with the faulty boiler replacement it meant a bit of disruption to our regular domestic life. We did decide to eat out one night as we didn’t want to get the shiny appliance dirty again. 

In hot water…

A new boiler has been installed after our previous one was condemned. We had a recurring fault and a service contract so we have had several engineers out over the years to try and fix it. The last managed to stop the problem occurring but identified that the insulation needed replacing. The unit was working but after they started to pull it apart they realised they would need to remove the heat exchanger to replace the rear insulation panel, doing this could be an issue as often the heat exchanger’s fragile fins are damaged and so it is usual to replace them rather than reuse the old one. After consultation with the insurance company they decided it was uneconomical to fix but they could not replace the old panels as they we now broken after being removed, so the whole unit was disabled. The insurance company offered us a payoff and we had to use this against a replacement boiler. It took us a while to get the quotes in and decide on a company in which time we used washing facilities and Sue’s work, the neighbours and had several washes with water boiled in the kettle (felt like historical re-enactment). We hadn’t realised how much we took instant hot water for granted. Luckily we had a gas fire in the lounge and the weather was not too cold. Do not fear we are all up and running again and are clean and fragrant. 

Birthday cakes and balloons…

Chris’s 50^th birthday with family and friends at their house. Also celebrated Lucy’s birthday at the same time. The large inflatable balloons in the shape of a giant 69 were a bit confusing until it was explained that that is the combined age of Chris and Lucy. We had got Chris a bottle of whiskey and a couple of glasses when we had seen him previously. 

Busy Easter bunnies…

We travelled up and visited Terry and Gill and had a delicious dinner with them and Rod and Jenny. 

The next day we visited Sue’s mum and had lunch with her and some of the extended the family at the Sun in Carshalton, a nice venue with tasty food. Strolling back from the Sun we stopped in at the Hope – a beer drinker’s heaven for a swift pint.

That evening we went to the Hideawayvenue in Streatham with Deb and Linda and saw Jazz-Funk combo Shakatak where we met up with Suniva and Tony. It was a fun place and and enjoyable evening.

Back at home we worked in the garden the following day, cleaning and getting ready for the warmer weather to come (ever hopeful). In the evening Howard came over for dinner.

The weather had been quite windy and so we helped our neighbour clear up after her fence blew over in the high winds that also did for our dilapidated gate.

We also went over to visit the godsons and their family where they were quite excited by the chocolate ‘scotch’ eggs Sue had made. 

More of wot I have heard…

Courting the Squall by Guy Garvey. Some very accomplished song writing with moving lyrics and memorable melodies.

Singles by Future Islands. Somewhat unusual and stimulating performance from this slightly offbeat band. 

More of wot I have read…

20,000 Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne

Another one of those classics you think you know but have never actually read. I must admit I did not connect with it at all and I am not quite sure why it was seen as such an iconic book. It might have been quite revolutionary at the time it was published and the mainstream audience might have been different from today, but I found it a lumbering and rather aimless story.

‘Professor Aronnax embarks on an expedition to hunt down and destroy a menacing sea monster. However, he discovers that the beast is metal – it is a giant submarine called the Nautilus built be the renegade scientist Captain Nemo. So begins an underwater adventure that takes them from the South Pole to the lost city of Atlantis.’

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and although the subject is about a version of time travel the science played second fiddle to the personal struggle of the main character and his ever powerful nemesis.

‘Harry August is on his deathbed. Again.

No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes.

Until now.

As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. ‘I nearly missed you, Doctor August,’ she says. ‘I need to send a message.’

This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.’

London Town…

Went up into town on a Friday after week staying at the Grange City Hotel near the Tower of London (picked as one of the surprise hotels from Lastminute.com). It was a nice venue and had a section of the old city walls on the property. We went out and had a drink at the Bavarian Beerhouse across the road before having something to eat at Brasserie Blanc (a Raymond Blanc chain). We viewed the Tower and bridge at night before turning in for the night.

In the morning we had a wander around, across Tower Bridge and had breakfast at Browns in Butlers Wharf. We then walked up to London Bridge and took the tube to Green Park where we walked over to Jermyn Street to look for clothes (I was looking for something with a Steampunk vibe to it). We ended up in a shoe shop (Loake shoemakers) in Princes Arcade and bought a pair boots and a pair of shoes. We then walked over to Carnaby Street where we met Deb and Tom for a drink in the Shakespeare’s Head.

When they went we headed over to the O2 to see what music was playing as part of the C2C festival. We saw the actor Charles Estan who plays Deacon on Nashville give an award to the duo Striking Matches (who contributed several songs to the show). We then listened to a band called Dexter before moving to The Saloon (at Club WM) and listening to Alan West & Steve Black (from Dorset), Rackhouse Pilfer (a lively band from the west of Ireland – we sat next to their manger and one of the group), and then Cooper & Davies. We ate at Zizzi before catching the train home.

The next day after doing our shopping and picking the car up from where we had left it on Friday night, we went over to Paul and Lorraine’s for a muddy walk in the countryside and a roast dinner. 

Tom’s 13th Birthday…

Our eldest Godson is now a teenager and we gathered with his family at his home to celebrate with a fine meal and much entertaining conversation. 

Game Day II…

The return of Game Day, back at Derek’s this time with James in attendance, but still with fine food provided by Donna and Sue. The games we played included these fine examples:

• Imperial Assault
• Sheriff of Nottingham
• Abluxxen (Linko)
• Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards:Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre
• Forbidden Island
• Exploding Kittens
• Martian Dice

Bits and Pieces…

We visited Sue’s mum where nephew Nick was visiting with his girlfriend Siobhan. We had lunch with them and Deb and Dave.

Prompted by a special offer in our local supermarket Sue cooked Lobster Thermador for the first time. Splitting the lobster in half was a strange experience but it was a tasty treat.

For no reason other than nephew Terry had seen a picture of them in a paper, he asked Sue to make Chocolate ‘Scotch’ eggs. These are Cadbury crème eggs surrounded in a cake mixture, covered in chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candied eggs. Each of them a heart attack waiting to happen and instant diabetes for anyone who eats more than one.

Our semi-regular Furlong Road Curry Evening where with the lads from the street (and friends – Deb joined us this time) visit the local curry house now called Indigo Spice. Afterwards we ended up having some lethal looking martinis at Howard’s.

We managed to get out and start clearing up the garden for spring. Deb helped us out and we managed to finish the pruning of the apple tree, weeding and removing old plants, and burning waste wood, leaves (and an old broken bench) on a bonfire. We rewarded ourselves with homemade dim sum (dumplings, wontons, satay chicken and all manner of deliciousness). We also had our lunch out on the deck in the spring sunshine.

Mother’s day was spent helping out in Sue’s mum’s garden clearing the flower beds, pruning unruly bushes and taking the rubbish to the dump. Later we had a heart meal to celebrate. Sue received a lovely bunch of flowers and box of chocolates from Jamie (who also sent flowers to Mum). 

More of wot we have seen…

We have become members at our favourite local cinema – Everyman in Reigate, and we visited a couple of times to see two disparate films.

Dad’s Army – a sweet, gentle film that is very respectful of its heritage with lovely references for the fans of the TV series.

Hateful 8 – a typically Tarantino film with some fine dialog, interesting filmic references and outrageous gore. 

Continuing Birthday Treats…

Sue took me to Shere and to Kinghams restaurant for beautiful meal as a birthday treat.

Terry and Gill visited and brought a 1966 bottle of wine. Sue cooked a fabulous meal for us (individual scallops with black pudding and pea puree, fillet wellingtons, apple brandy pudding) and we had a convivial afternoon.

Deb, Dave, Tom and Ollie visited as did Chris, Carole and Lucy. Another lovely meal by Sue (bacon and egg pie, pumpkin fritters, Cullen skink, crumble and more apple brandy pudding). We played some games and had a drink or two

Return to the Granite City…

The week following Up Helly Aa I was back in Aberdeen, this time with work, staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Aberdeen City Centre. We did get out one evening and went for a meal at Rustico a pleasant Italian restaurant with friendly staff.

Up Helly Aa…

My big 50^th birthday excursion to the far northern reaches of the British Isles took place in late January.

To start with Sue and I travelled with Deb by plane from Gatwick to Glasgow, where we met Chris and Carole at our hotel, the Holiday Inn Theatreland conveniently located near the bus and train stations. We had a couple of drinks in the bar before venturing our heading towards the Merchant area of town (on the recommendation of the concierge) where we ate at The Corinthian, a rather ornate ballroom of a place.

On the advice of our friendly waiter we took cabs to The Howlin Wolf blues bar which was a crowded place, full of noise and fun. Here Bill and Linda met us after flying up separately. We enjoyed the music of an accomplished duo before turning in for the evening.

Next morning we started out early and went over to the House for an Art Lover in Bellahouston Park. It is a relatively new building built to an old design by the celebrated designer Rennie Mackintosh and it is a fabulous building set in nice grounds surrounded by sculptures.

After this we returned to the city centre and went to the Willow Tea Rooms (another Mackintosh building) for lunch where we meet Jodie and Andy. Our party was starting to swing now with the application of some alcohol and more company.

Some of us ventured of to the Hunterian Art Gallery at the Glasgow University for a spot more culture before meeting up together at Ashton Lane where we had a few more drinks in the Wee Pub at theUbiquitous Chip where Jamie met us.

We then went to eat at The Grosvenor Café next to cinema of the same name. A large exciting place with an interesting vaulted ceiling.

Back at the hotel we had some more drinks and Jamie and I did a Glenfiddich whisky tasting.

The following morning we made plans to move on to the next stage of our tour. Jamie and Deb went with Andy and Jodie in their car while Sue and I went to the Queen St Station to catch a train. Chris and Carole and Bill and Linda returned home.

Those of us that were continuing on met up again in Aberdeen at the Jurys Inn Bar where we also met Paul and Lorraine. Together we took the ferry to Lerwick. We played a few games including Cards Against Humanity for a few hours until we turned in to our boys and girls rooms. Sometime during the night Jodie ‘fell’ off the top bunk (or sleep walked) in the girls cabin and injured herself and Lorraine and Deb in the bunks below. After 14hrs we arrived in the morning at Lerwick.

We were met by our hostess, Shelley, and were taken to our accommodation in West Baila Street. A nice large and well-appointed house up on the hill overlooking the town.

We picked up some supplies and explored the area in smaller groups. Jamie, Paul and I visited the fabulous ancient Clickimin Broch nearby, a mystical and baffling place.

Later on we all went into town and had a drink in the bar at The Lounge bar where we sampled a few of the many local brews.

On Burns Night we had with haggis (including a vegetarian alternative), tatties and neaps and attempted in an embarrassing way to address the haggis by reciting the largely unpronounceable poem.

Andy took Sue, Deb and I out on a field trip to visit Scalloway (castle) and then Meal and Bannamin beaches. On the way we saw some old bothies and plenty of dramatic scenery.

Much of our downtime was spent playing the various games I brought and drinking heartily.

On the morning of Up Helly Aa it was raining heavily and we were concerned about the conditions. But it cleared up as we made our way into town. There we saw the youth squads burning their galley and up on the hill we passed the main galley waiting with some of its entourage for the start of the parade.

In town we found a place for a quick drink before staking our place out along Hillhead where the squads had assembled (some 900 odd folk – some odder than others, dressed in all manner of fancy dress). The main squad matched up in their fabulous handmade armour waving torches to gather around the galley.

At the nominated time a signal flare was launched and the street lights dimmed as the squads lit their torches from burning flares and smoke and cheering filled the air. A brass band struck up and the galley and its attendant squad matched down, the head Geyser at the helm. The other squads fell in behind and they paraded along the streets towards the park. We moved on to try and secure a good vantage point overlooking the park in amongst the crowds of excited onlookers. From Saint Olaf Street we watched the boat as it was surrounded by the many torches as the climax was reached and the burning brands were hurled into the ship to set it alight. The sky had cleared and as the ship crumbled the fireworks started in a spectacular display. Afterwards we found Captain Flints in town and continued the party.

Jamie returned to Aberdeen on the ferry the next evening for his onward journey to London to meet up with friends where he was to be best man at a wedding.

On our last day we walked around Knab Point and saw a double rainbow but we were apprehensive as we had heard there was a storm (Gertrude) coming. At the ferry terminal the staff advised we might have bumpy crossing and they were not wrong, I retired early unwell as did Jodie and I arose early in the morning to find Sue and Debs asleep in the bar where they had been all night. The captain advised we would be late into the harbour due to the weather which did not go down well with Sue. Eventually though he saw and opportunity and docked after we disembarked we gathered our strength in a coffee shop before Jodie and Andy drove for home. We found out that our ship was the last out for a while and the storm did batter the Shetlands quite badly. It was fortunate we did not have the same experience on the way out or Sue would have insisted I buy us flights out.

In the Union Square shopping centre the rest of us went to the cinema to see The Revenant and afterwards we ate at Wagamamas. Had did have a walk about Aberdeen and visited the maritime museum &Provost House and saw a few old buildings.

In the end we took the train to the airport and flew home glad to finally return to the comfort of our own beds.

More of wot I have heard…

It has been a while since we had any new music and we have come into the possession of a few old and new items such as:

Jamie Lawson self-titled album. This has the haunting track called Wasn’t Expecting That, the lyrics of which bring a tear to my eye.

Come up Full by Meg Hutchinson. This was a gift from Sue’s cousin Matt, the artist who sings about her experiences as a person dealing with schizophrenia.

Another Country by Rod Stewart. One of Sue’s favourite artists and I must say his choice of songs on this album suits his voice very well.

Decade by Neil Young. Classic songs from a classic artist, another gift from Matt.

You’re the One That I Want by Lo-Fang. This is the single from the Chanel perfume TV ad and it is a very different and ethereal version that I like very much.

Games Day…

I had a fund day around at Derek’s with Martin and Kevin playing several board games both old and new. Among those we played were:

• Sherriff of Nottingham
• Celestia
• Thunderbirds
• Formula D
• Isle of Skye
• Zombicide: Black Plague
• Tsuro of the Seas
• Port Royal
• Karuba

We were also spoiled with some lovely food by Derek’s wife Donna and a cake made by Sue. All in all it was a great day