LATE NIGHT FINAL

Hi
Coming down with the lurgy, sore throat and it's getting late. The second half of the second leg of Barcelona v Real Madrid has just kicked off. I can't believe the gulf in class between both these teams and the best we have in England. Even Chelsea and Man City with their bottomless pockets can't even get near. Beautiful fast passing, brilliant 1st touches and a real desire to win........and it's not pissing down with rain. Barca are the best team i have ever seen other than the Brazil international team way back when (further than i care to mention).

It's been a strange week or so since the embarrassing riots and i can't believe that because of a few quiet nights on the streets the memory is fading already for the naive happy clappers who are already complaining about harsh sentences. Try moving next door to the poor 'disaffected' thick nutters for a few weeks and try to reason with them. Maybe Prince Charles who was putting his expert opinion on the situation forward today on TV should invite some of them to stay with him and Camilla for a couple of weeks. Yes, give that hoody a good old royal hugging and then take them to meet your Mum. Jeez i better shut up. I sound like a right grumpy twat. (....well let's face it....)
Started shooting a promo video on Thursday to represent the sort of live performance i do with just me and Lewis. Although i've not seen  any footage yet i think it went pretty well except for getting rained off at the end (Well it is August!) We shot it at Andy Cain's lovely place and he, Penny and his family were so hospitable.

Saturday was THE BAKEWELL ACOUSTIC FESTIVAL. .........ER why did it have a dance floor? A crash barrier and the audience a million miles away?

Not much of a blog hey but at least i checked in. Oh and by the way
I've booked Sheffield City Hall for 15th December. I'll be doing songs from Zebulon and Tea Cozy Hat with a full band plus all your favourite Boy on a Dolphin songs with the Dolphin lads. Julian Jones will be guesting with his band for 3 songs and Cary Baylis and Lindsay Draycass are the support.
I'm knackered. Going to read chapter of The Moon's a balloon, David Niven's autobiography. Such a beautiful glimpse into a time when stars had class and wit! Oh yes er Barcelona won 3-2. Stunning football.
Bless you. Goodnight.

THIS GREEN AND PLEASANT LAND

I can't sleep. Angry for many reasons. Visions of burning buildings on my TV screen. Peoples homes and livelihoods being destroyed openly and brazenly under the gaze of an embarrassingly impotent Police Force. Annoying, so called, community leaders bleating on the screen about disaffected youth and having the gall to quote
'A hungry man is an angry man'
I haven't seen anyone breaking into a bakery to get food. Just a sickening frenzy to loot for TV's, Jewellery and clothes and the gut wrenching site of peoples homes being burned to the ground.

Where else in the world would you see such a passive response. This is not about the right to voice an opinion or to demonstrate. It is in fact terrorism. They are inflicting terror upon our people and our cities in the HD view of the rest of the world.
So who do we look to for leadership in this hour of need. Theresa May! What a joke. She looked like a rabbit in the headlights on TV this morning with her talk of robust policing, whatever that means, and the naive plea for anyone who knows of anyone who was taking part to report them to the police who will follow it up. As if. Picture the scene. Knock Knock. 'Who's there?' 'It's the police, we have been told that you were involved with the disturbances last night!' 'No i wasn't, i was at home watching the telly wasn't i Mum' 'Yes he was, and stop harassing us! 'Er ok...'
You can almost hear Camerons earnest speech as he arrives from his curtailed Italian break. All hot air, littered with the words, 'Not acceptable" "The full weight of the law" "our way of life" "a small minority" "rest assured"
Rest assured that the Police force that he is cutting back drastically so that they are under trained and under powered will receive serious casualties. As far as i am concerned, if you are going to risk burning down peoples houses and businesses and openly stealing and attacking innocent people then you should also take the risk of having the crap beaten out of you or worse!
Just in case there is any chance of misreading my comments. let me tell you i'm all for taking to the streets to fight oppression, cruelty and tyranny but get real!!!! This is England, where no one needs to go hungry, where everyone is entitled to health care. We may be in a fucking mess but it's still England. What's left of it anyway. Abused and bruised as it is.

And where did the England i know go? The one one that still lives in my mind, now clouded and distant but very much alive in this poem that i remember from childhood.

Adlestrop

Yes, I remember Adlesrop –

The name, because one afternoon

Of heat the express train drew up there

Unwontedly. It was late June

The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat

No one left and no one came

On the bare platform. What I saw

Was Adlestrop – only the name

And willows, willow herb, and grass

And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry

No whit less still and lonely fair

Than the high cloudlets in the sky

And for a minute a blackbird sang

Close by, and round him, mistier,

Farther and farther, all the birds

Of Oxfordshire and Gloucester.

Edward Thomas

See you soon and as my lovely cousin Gillian would say, Peace, love and light to you all.

JR

THE SCREAM

The feeling of empathy or sorrow for people in danger or facing tragedy and loss is one of the things that still give us me faith in humanity. The ripple effect in the aftermath of the brutal killing in Norway will spread far and wide. Young people with the energy, optimism and idealism of youth have had their futures stolen from them. We live in a society of cynicism and apathy and i love to see young people being passionate and articulate and wanting to make a difference instead of sitting around moping, moaning and sponging. I feel a sickness in the pit of my stomach at the thought of people being hunted down by this heartless madman and it brings to mind the picture above. It is THE SCREAM by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch showing an agonised figure against a blood red sky. The view in the background is Oslo. I feel it must sum up the feelings of helplessness and despair being felt by Mothers, Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, family and friends. A web of sorrow spreading wider and wider across borders, seas, cultures and beliefs. It is a reminder and wake up call to THE FACT that within our own circles there are people with so much hate and fear in their hearts that they have the potential to unleash varying degrees of hate and poison into our world. I hear it all the time, even in my local pub. That's why i'm all for allowing people a platform to vent there beliefs. Let people show their true colours. Let them join the debate because almost always in these situations they proudly display their ignorance in full view of the public. Take away the mystery and underground appeal of a secret society and you take away a huge part of it's attraction.
This weeks tragedy of lives being stolen, contrasts starkly with the wasted life and talent of Amy Winehouse. I have experienced the desperation of trying everything possible to bring someone back from the road of self destruction. The frustration and futility of watching a friend slip away until you almost expect the inevitability of that phone call, and when it happens you still ask 'what more could i have done?'

When i think of the friend i lost, my mind always conjures up images of the good times and the laughs we had and i try not to think of the damage he was doing to himself. When i think of Amy, i can't help wondering who was there for her, particularly backstage in Belgrade a few weeks ago. How was she allowed to take to that stage? Being seen in that state is a tragedy in itself as it was for Elvis and the contrast from that to the incredibly talented young singer songwriter we can see and hear on cd and dvd.
As a musician and lover of music i can't help selfishly thinking of the unwritten future songs from Amy, John, Buddy etc. Songs that we will never hear and i'm sure that the families of the young Norwegians will be painfully mourning the loss of so many bright futures and the positive energy that could have been added to our world . Sometimes when we close our eyes, we can hear that SCREAM.
Right now though we should strive to picture a better world.

THIEVES, WIZZARDS & MAVERICKS

Good Evening, how are you?
Just got home, poured myself a drink and parked myself at this here laptop to say hello to you. Went to Steve Beighton's house today to work on the artwork for the insert that will go in the promo album sleeves which we are expecting on Saturday. John Jnr took a few pics of me in my Doghouse (Den) last night so used one of them and added the contact info.

Was so pissed off yesterday cos some tosser stole my favourite hat in the bookies on London Road. I was having some Dim Sum with Lewis for lunch and reading the paper and suggested to Lewis that we have a little flutter just for a laugh so i crossed the road went into Paddy Power, put down my hat (my fave camouflaged peaked one) and put a bet on. Lewis came into the shop, we watched the race and of course we lost, as always. After that i went to retrieve the paper and the hat and they were gone!!!! The fellas behind the counter didn't seem to bothered and usually i wouldn't be but i piggin' well loved that hat. In fact here is a pic of me wearing it last Sunday at a gig in Cornwall.....Rather fetching don't you think.

Anyway, as the day wore on i got madder and madder thinking about how many unreported crimes there must be because people think they are too trivial and the fact that the staff would not look at CCTV to see who nicked it made me think sod it i'm reporting it to the police. I now have an official crime number, K69190/2011. I'm going to hunt you down you thieving pig dog wherever you are! I sent a text to my friend who is very high up in the Police force. It said:
"Justice shall prevail! I have faith in your super sleuths. Dredge the River Don! My hat must be found and the perpetrator must face the full weight of the law. Leave no stone unturned in the quest for my precious cranial covering! and remember.........be careful out there."
Let's face it people...i'm never going to see it again am i. It's not the £45, it's just that i liked it.

It seems so long ago now that i was laying on a beach, can't even remember where now, reading the very first Harry Potter book. I absolutely loved it. It transported me to a place i had not been for such a long time and made me feel the thrill of adventure, imagination and wonder that i took for granted as a child. Over the next 10 years or so i read every book and watched every movie.

Wow. Look how young they are. It's been a thrill watching them grow up and as i watched the very last episode, The Deathly Hallows 2 tonight at the cinema, i felt really sad to be saying goodbye to them all. No doubt i'll revisit the whole series when the inevitable box set hits the shelves in december! Anyway, good luck and thank you to all the wonderful actors for bringing me so much pleasure....Now get your fu**ing wands out and magic back my precious hat!

This Sunday i am playing at one of my favourite venues, Sheffield City Hall, opening up for Grammy Award winning Raul Malo, lead singer with The Mavericks. As far as i know it's sold out but if not then why not come down and give me a wave!

That's the dude, above. I absolutely love his voice and i'm looking forward to meeting him on Sunday.

I've got an early and rare rehearsal with The Acoustic Angels tomorrow morning. I've got a couple of songs i should be learning right now but i'm talking to you instead.
I played Cornwall this weekend. God the weather was rough. Horizontal rain and the wind so strong that you got sandblasted walking across the beach to the venue. Me, Mick and Carole drank an embarrassing amount of whiskey over the 2 days but all that fresh air seems to counter act any adverse effects. (well immediate ones anyway) The day before, we attended my great friend Doctor Jenny Simpson's wedding to the wonderful Tim and it was a brilliant day. The weather was fantastic for the rather lavish outdoor ceremony and the guests, which included many of the great and the good from Westminster, were treated to some tasty Jazz on the lawns of The Botanical Gardens by the lovely Nicola Farnham. I'm so pleased for them both and they looked so happy!
Zebedee has just arrived and said it's time for bed....................................I wonder where my lovely hat is right now?

WHO'S HEAD AM I WEARING?

Surely i should have worked it out by now that tipping an inordinate amount of alcohol down my throat over a very long night (i'm talking 8pm - 4.30am) is guaranteed to lead to pain and misery. Now the alcohol i refer to was of very good quality and from the finest Spanish purveyors of posh plonk so i like to think that i am at least carrying an up market hangover but a hangover it is nonetheless.
It is now noon, so a huge chunk of Sunday has vanished into the ether for me and my 3 fellow zombies who are walking around the apartment with leadened feet, squinting into their orange juice or just uttering the immortal words 'Oh God", "Why?" and "Never again!"
My brain feels like a large jelly being carried on a small plate by a baby taking it's first steps. Huddled inside there is a vague memory of the thronging saturday night streets of Nerja, as yet unsullied by the chavtastic tattooed invaders from 20 miles down the coast. Some rather good Kia Royal was being quaffed, as was some rather fine brandy as i recall and i also remember some very impressive Spanish dancing along the way. On our return, we sat on the balcony drinking very large Jamie's putting the world to rights and probably annoying the neighbours.
Yesterday i started the John Peel biog and was surprised to find that he was from a very middle class background, attending a boarding school which sounded very like the Ripping Yarns episode 'Tompinksons Schooldays' but had a rather disturbing background of sexual abuse. I think i'll make an omelette now then find a spot under a shady tree to continue reading.
Also yesterday i was emailed the final master of Zebulon which i listened to on someone's headphones. I gave Lewis the go ahead to send it off to make the promo copies which will go to press etc. there is a 2 week turn around for them.

OK i'm off to crack some eggs......quietly!
Adios
Hasta Luego

Spooky Espana

Buenos Tardes Amigos
Here i am in Nerja, Spain. Now what is important here is that you know i have never been here before. The night before i arrived here i had an unbelievably vivid dream. I was with a friend, in this dream, it was a warm night and we saw a man who was leaning on some railings, he had a double breasted suit on and a bow tie. He was very dapper, aristocratic and had an impressive moustache. In the dream he spoke to us in Spanish but we could understand everything he said. He said that we were very welcome to his country and asked where we came from. Behind him the sea was silver, like mercury and the dream was, i can only describe it as, in HD.
I remembered the dream in amazing detail. Usually dreams are sort of hazy. The image of the man stayed with me all day today as i spent my time on the beach in 100 degrees!
Anyway, when we got back to where we are staying, i decided to go for a long walk. After an hour i found myself in Nerja old town high above the sea. The view was fantastic and i turned and got the shock of my life. It was unbelievable! I was standing looking at this!

I promise you that this statue is the exact man in my dream! I went as cold as ice and had to sit down.

I'M OOT OF HERE!

Well friends, i'm afraid i've got 'ants in me pants' so i'm getting out of town for a week.
As Cary is not available for tonights gig in Dronfield, i have asked Andy and Pete from Boy on a Dolphin to join us so it will make a nice change to play some Dolphin songs tonight. After that i'll be rushing home, hitting the sack for 3 hours then chucking some clothes in a bag and heading off to Spain with the greatest of despatch! I'll be taking a recording of some of the new ideas for new songs and hopefully me or Zebulon will be writing the lyrics under blue skies.
Another great British sporting let down of a weekend with 'the nearly man' Murray crashing out of Wimbledon and the annoyingly gobby David Haye failing miserably and then blaming a sore toe! Surely we must have a winner somewhere!?
Lewis has just boarded a train to 'that there London' to sit in on the final tweaking of the promo version of my album Zebulon which will be pressed up and given to the press agent, plugger etc for them to distribute to the press, radio and some European labels

Oh well i better get a move on as i've got tons to do and i just remembered that i left my car at the pub last night (sensibly) so i'm hoping our John will drop me off at the Bull on his way to take his girlfriend back to Manchester.
Adios then Amigos. If i find an internet cafe while i'm en Espana then i'll bloggato.
Happiness and Peace to you all!
Hasta Manana