The Streets of Derry - Cara Dillon with Paul Brady

I play music in the shop all day long ( yes, I do hold a music licence), and Irish folk singer Cara Dillon is an artist that I frequently play. This song is so beautifully sung I just had to share it with you. Paul Brady duets, and Cara's husband Sam Lakeman plays piano, Enjoy.........

Autumn Delights

We have been blessed with some truly glorious late September weather; still, sunny and warm, with just a hint of chill in the soft breeze and that wonderful damp Autumn smell in the air..........

One of my favourite walks is to a tiny hamlet nestled on the edge of a tidal inlet, only five minutes drive out of Truro city centre and yet a world away from bustling modern life........

Across a couple of fields, through a gate and then another field and a stile, takes you down to this pathway bordered on both sides by apple orchards and wild plum trees... in fact a variety of plum that is unique to this one tiny creek. My grandmother used to come here to pick the 'Kea' plums to make jam and jelly, and the locals still do, you can buy it from little stalls at the side of the footpaths.

There are some wonderful sheds nestled amongst the apple trees

At the bottom of the path you pass tightly betwixt two cottages, and then suddenly the estuary opens out before you in all its muddy glory

(I'll have to take some more pictures when the tide is in so that you can see how beautiful it looks then). On either side of the creek the footpath is lined with overhanging oaks and more wild plums, the sunlight filtering through and the leaves underfoot beginning to crunch.

I love picking blackberries, and this is one of the hedges where I harvest them. As well as being low enough that you can reach all the brambles, it also has the advantage of having the most wonderful view! A grove of hawthorn trees grows just below the hedge, branches positively bristling with lichen.........

The combination of red berries and lichen always gets me thinking forward to Christmas.....

Fancy a peep in at the window?

Gertie and I will be heading off to Devon on Friday ready for the first 'Nostalgic Mix Fair' in Totnes on Saturday 9th October, hope to see some of you there!

Desert island discs!

I got rid of my television five years ago and I have not missed it one bit. I have always been more of a radio person anyway, switching between Radio 2 and Radio 4 as the fancy takes me. My favourite time to listen is Sunday morning on Radio 4, which includes Desert Island Discs. Each week a person in the public eye gets to choose his or her top 8 records, pieces of music that they could not live without were they to be marooned on a desert island.

Listening to the programme I have often pondered what my choice of eight records would be.....

so as a bit of fun I am going to share with you my favourite pieces of music.

Believe me, if you have ever tried doing this yourself, you'll know just how difficult it can be to narrow the choice down to just eight........

Of course, my list may change over time......

but this is how it stands at the moment.........just click on the following youtube clips to listen to my choices

Muse - Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 __ fanvideo

'Muse' is a band that I have really got into lately, I love the way they infuse their work with classical musical influences. This piece makes my hair stand on end. Listen to it very loud and with your eyes closed!

Night Minds by Missy Higgins **with lyrics on screen!**

Missy Higgins is huge in her native Australia, but she hasn't really broken onto the British music scene, which is very much our loss. This song 'Nightminds' comes from her album 'The Sound of White', and to be honest with you I could have chosen any number of tracks to be in my top 8. The whole album is a masterpiece. She is a brilliant songwriter; her lyrics show an incredible insight and understanding of the complexities of life, love and relationships. She also plays piano/guitar on all the tracks. Go check her out!

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (Original Studio Version)

For me, this version of Leonard Cohen's song 'Hallelujah' sung by Jeff Buckley is unrivalled. God what a gift that guy had, his voice is truly stunning.

Kate Bush This Woman's Work

The purity of Kate's voice on this track is something to behold. I love the way this builds and builds to a climax and completely envelops you in a wall of sound. The lyrics are so poignant, and her delivery just so sincere; it gives me goose pimples.

Arvo Pärt - Spiegel im Spiegel

I find 'Spiegel im Spiegel' by the Estonian composer Arvo Part a hauntingly beautiful piece of music........its melodic repetition numbs you into a profound stillness of being. To appreciate it fully, listen whilst lying in a darkened room with your eyes closed.......

The River - Bruce Springsteen

I am a big fan of Bruce Springsteen. He tells a story in his songs, of small town America , of the underdog and the underclass. 'The River' remains for me his all time masterpiece, though there are a few others I could easily have put into this top 8.........

Where Corals Lie Dame Janet Baker

'Where Corals lie' is a poem by Richard Garnett set to music by Edward Elgar as part of his 'Sea Pictures', and the interpretation I most admire is that sung here by Dame Janet Baker. It was another of those pieces that I loved first as a child and it sends shivers down my neck every time I listen to it. When you have grown up by the sea you understand perfectly the longing for it that this song embodies with such a passion.

♫ Erik Satie - Gymnopédie No.1 ♫

As a child I used to love looking through my parents' record collection, and Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No 1 was one of those first pieces of music that stuck in my mind as being particularly special. I would listen to it over and over again. The particular version on my parents' record was an orchestrated one, but here is the piece as it was originally written for solo piano. It remains to this day probably my most favourite piece of music of all time; deceptively simple and hauntingly beautiful.