Monday 28 May 2012

Gamelan, Friday Picnic, workshop, Dancing on Ice, Allerton Grange Showcase, Anti-Acadamies Steering Committee Meeting

Oh my goodness, back to work and it's one thing after another! On Thursday Diane organised some gamelan training with Kate. Loved it. Converted. My new best instrument. Watch this space.

Friday, and Culture Vulture, Emma has these Friday picnics - this one's at the Corn Exchange. They give me a table; I take some songbooks and some pictures for display; I also have Maya. I re-meet Lizzie the Photographer, plant-sellers from Oakwood Farmers Market and Jane from Loving Leeds.

Monday: I'm in Skipton at Brooklands Special School with a pan workshop. Obviously no pic, but it was ace. Thank you, Rachel for finding me.

Wednesday: it's me and Gig in Sheffield for Dancing on Ice. I don't easily make heroes of living people. but I make an exception for Torvill and Dean. Also Nelson Mandela, but he's not on ice at Sheffield this week. Here's the audience at the Sheffield Arena to the right and below are the extraordinary Chris and Jane:

On Thursday it's the Allerton Grange showcase. Well, my pan-players are shaping up nicely, but nothing prepared me for Glassbody, their Yr11 rockband. I'm thinking, if I collected autographs I'd be collecting theirs now. Actually I do have autographs, two, in fact - Peter Perritt from the Only Ones in early eighties, and also same vintage, Feargal Sharkey from Bradfrd St George's, when he was an Undertone.

On Friday Diane and I unexpectedly find ourselves at York University for the gathering of the gamelans. And the debate is opening up between the culture, the perceived culture and those who would do what they want with it.

And Saturday it's the Anti-Academies-Alliance Steering Committee meeting in London. That story for the other blog. I also meet Grafton at the Crooked Billet in Clapton, and we discuss pentatonic steel pans, which he agrees to make for us at YAMSEN: SpeciallyMusic in Leeds. 

Sunday 13 May 2012

One night in Kirkby Stephen


Well Debs, second half of the Easter Hols, and I'm having that -it's-the-holiday-and-what-have-you-done-to-show-for-it  feeling. I helped Walt celebrate getting older down at the Brudenell; I got a new mobile from Sarah. It's a touch-screen one, which, at a touch, can take what you have just typed and re-arrange the letters to form meaningless and sometimes foreign words with strange Scandinavian accents. Well, Debs, it's me or the phone!

I decide to find something within my budget on the Settle to Carlisle railway and end up passing a refreshing two days in Kirky Stephen, investigating viaducts and wild flowers. And inadvertently going on massive walks. These pictures might bring back some Dales memories for you.

No gigs or rehearsals for a week, so here's picture of Foxwood and co at Leeds Carnival in times past. Charlotte's dancing, so it's probably Swan Lake!