Lockdown - week 5: 21st - 27th April

Part of me can't quite believe this lockdown has been going on for five weeks. The time seems to have passed in a daze. I've said it before but the day of the week, and the date of the month are losing meaning; the only real marker being the succession of flowers in the garden. The continuing warm weather still makes me feel that this is a holiday of sorts, which contributes to the aimless drifting of days.

With this in mind, I decided that I'd try to make something a little different for one dinner of the week. This week I tried making my own tapas - tortilla, patatas bravas, pan con tomate, chorizo in red wine and honey, and a cheese and meat board (or plate). It wasn't a total success as the tortilla got a little over-cooked, but as a whole it worked, and it's something that I'd eat out but not normally attempt at home. I even made gin tonico with my birthday Skye gin and  elderflower spritzer, garnished with lemon balm and thyme. I'm now wondering what to attempt for future weeks - possibly something that might pass as pub-grub with an 'all you can eat' salad bar, or 'extras' such as pickles and naan bread with curry.






I'm going to need to plan ahead for this when shopping but I'm now finding that although it may still be tricky to get a supermarket delivery (slots are sensibly being saved for the most vulnerable) it's comparatively easy to click and collect. This feels a safer, less exposed option than actual in-store shopping so Friday saw us heading off to top up supplies. Unfortunately the treats - chocolates and crisps - went a little rapidly, and we were soon down to 'proper' food.

I have a tendency to binge-eat like this at the best of times and lockdown has made that worse. At the end of Week 4, I looked at the scales and realised how easily and quickly I'm putting weight on, and decided I should do something to change my habits. I can't quite say I've been dieting, but I have started to watch how much I'm eating, and at least this week I haven't put more weight on (which counts as a result)

I've discovered online jigsaws - and yes, without a bit of caution, I could become hooked. As the pieces lock together they make an extremely satisfying 'click', so there's no change of putting a wrong piece in, and the monotonous sections such as sky are completed much easier than with a physical jigsaw.

I've finished a hat to go with my new rainbow scarf, finished a couple of weeks ago. Actually it's the second hat I've made, as the first was strange. I tried to use the scarf pattern but it looked like something a flower fairy might wear, so I unraveled the yarn, and knitted it up as a plain hat.



It's been another busy 'out and about' week, with livestreamed gigs and theatre.
Thursday - gig round at Frank Turner's, raising money for independent music venues, followed by Bruce Springsteen's segment from the Jersey4Jersey benefit.
Friday - Twelfth Night from National Theatre Live - brilliant and funny interpretation, and Tamsin Greig's Malvolia was wonderful. I followed it with Friday Night Dinner just to see her in something totally different.
Saturday - Bustival livestream festival, organised by Vans for Bands who are raising funds to supply their tour buses as rest and accommodation facilities for doctors and nurses. You can find more details on their FB page and a link to the crowdfunder here. I didn't attempt to catch all of the acts, just Mark Evans (with a Young Rebel set), Frank Turner (again), Will Varley, and Skinny Lister (with month old baby)
Monday - Sean McGowan livestream gig, followed by a trip to the theatre, this time for a RSC production of Macbeth starring Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack




It's not been all fun though as recent news has reported that 'disruptive social distancing' is likely to the end of the year, and anyone over 60 ought to be considered high risk. For now things are manageable but I'm beginning to wonder what my situation might be in a few months, and whether I'll be able to see my daughters, especially if they're no longer working from home but mixing with other people in an office. Worrying, of course, won't make any difference so I'm trying to still take
each day/week one at a time; potter in the garden, sit in the sun, and try to enjoy this weird time.

2019 - but only the good bits

There was far too much heartbreak and loss in my life last year, and a lot of months passed in a haze of grief, but there were good times too, so for the purpose of this blog post I'm just going to ignore the bad bits.



The highlight of my year has to be our short break in Argyll. we were only there for a couple of days but went walking through forests and along Crinan Canal, and, best bit of the whole year, my daughter persuaded me to go swimming one evening in Loch Fyne.

Wells Next The Sea

Whitesands Bay, St Davids

We cautiously started taking holidays again, with short breaks to Norfolk, Manchester, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Edinburgh and St Davids, and most of the time had beautiful weather.

In Appleby I saw red squirrels racing along branches, seals at Abereiddi, dolphins playing out at sea off New Quay, deer up close at Dunham Massey, a nuthatch (first time I've definitely seen one) and a watchful owl at Acorn Bank, and red kites flying above Bwlch Nant yr Arian.












Nearer to home, in addition to my normal rounds of visiting Chatsworth and local National Trust properties, I eventually went to places I've been intending to go for years - Wirksworth Hidden Gardens, Hopton Hall rose garden, and Melbourne Art Festival.















Throughout the year I went out to local gigs - less than normal, but I'm getting back into the habit -  seeing Sean McGowan twice, Skinny Lister, From The Jam, Skerryvore, Deaf Havana, and other smaller bands.








And, not least (in fact a close contender for top spot), enjoyed a wonderful, relaxing, inspiring weekend at Timber Festival courtesy of organisers Wild Rumpus.

Cheering myself up with some Skinny Lister!

This had been going to be one of my normal 'went to a gig and took bad photos' sort of posts, but since I saw shanty-punks Skinny Lister a week or so ago in Nottingham I've been chatting here and there on social media about things which always raise my spirits, help me relax, and generally make me feel good.

 And I realised that in every conversation sooner or later I ended up mentioning Skinny Lister. 

So, there's a slightly different twist to this gig post.

  We'd bought these tickets ages ago, back in November or some such distant time, as I didn't want to miss out. The last couple of months, though, have been emotionally rough, and I wasn't really feeling in the mood for going out.













The day before I'd even been talking about not going; trying instead to sell my ticket. If others hadn't been going with me, I'd have stayed at home. I'm glad I didn't follow through with that plan, as a night out, singing loudly (not necessarily tunefully), jigging about, and clapping, was just the thing to help me forget my troubles.







I started the night off a little down-hearted. Normally I'd be cheering the minute the band came on stage - this time I wasn't. I'd sing along from the first song - this time I barely clapped. A Skinny Lister crowd, though, is noisy, energetic, and enthusiastic, roaring out the words and almost drowning the band. Gradually something loosened inside me.

Since I discovered Skinny Lister a few years ago, I've always found their gigs to be something special. You don't sit quietly and listen to them perform; you need to forget your inhibitions and join in. Singing along is part of the whole thing, as it was with the original sea shanties (be prepared though, Skinny Lister versions are a lot more 'rock' than the originals). Sure, it needs the band to be there leading, but the atmosphere is more like a (large) gang of friends getting together, and having a sing-song. At Rescue Rooms there's a big enough crowd that you don't feel everyone's listening to your singing, but it's small enough to keep the party atmosphere.You'll find their music on Spotify and all the usual places but a live show is amazing. I've tried my best to capture that feeling in my photos but it hasn't really worked; it is, though, why there are as many pics of the crowd as of the band (plus I didn't have a brilliant view of the stage)




I've heard often enough that music and singing are incredible mood-enhancers, but never quite believed it - I suspect because the folk claiming it didn't like the same kind of music that I do. I'm now convinced of it. I've read recently that clapping is also an incredible mood-enhancer - and again there's a lot of clapping along to the beat of a Skinny Lister gig.To be honest, none of these seem like the right things to do when you're feeling sad, but they most definitely worked for me. Not only did my mood change for that night, it's still more positive a week later.

Skinny Lister again

Skinny Lister were back at Nottingham's Rescue Rooms last week, so of course I was along, singing, clapping, dancing (well, bouncing) and more singing.

This is the fourth time I've seen them, and to me they're a bit special. I'm late coming to live music so Skinny Lister were at my first festival, then my first 'real' gig, and the first time I went to Rescue Rooms - and I've loved every time.

How to describe a Skinny Lister gig to someone who's never seen them? 

Well, "shanty punk" is how they themselves describe their music - so imagine sea shanties with a 'rockier' beat mixed with some quieter 'folkier' tunes. 

What I love though is the atmosphere. You don't stand quietly and listen to the band, just applauding at the end of a song. Instead, you stomp your feet, clap your hands, and sing along. The band's enthusiasm and energy is just infectious! For that hour or whatever, the audience are all mates having a bit of a sing-song, led by the guys on stage. There's even a flagon of whisky passed down from the stage and around the audience!

 Previously it's been just me and my daughter along, but hubby decided he was missing out (we could have told him that before!) and came along too. He's claims to have enjoyed it but for a man who usually loves to sing embarrassing 'dad songs' out loud, he kept surprisingly quiet.  Even if he didn't know the words the choruses are easily picked up - and if in doubt singing 'too-rye-ay' fits in most places, as you'd expect with sea shanties.

I went home a bit deafened and a bit hoarse, got woken in the night by cramp in muscles I didn't know I had, could barely get downstairs next morning for stiff aching legs, but I had a brilliant night and refuse to believe I'm too old for this!

Skinny Lister - Rescue Rooms

I've already mentioned in passing my night out at Skinny Lister's Nottingham gig, but it was such amazing fun that I thought it was worth a bigger write up - and more pics.

I may be getting grown-up at last but I'm refusing to go gently into old age, and in eighteen  months I've gone from NEVER going to any kind of music event, to taking every opportunity I can, so when my youngest offered tickets for this gig as a birthday present I jumped at the offer. 

I've been listening to Skinny Lister's unique brand of shanty/rock for a year or so now, and, almost unbelievably, this is the third time I've seen them live (first at Curious Arts Festival, then at Nottingham's Bodega) and each time the crowd is bigger and more enthusiastic. 

What I love about their shows is that they feel like a big party. Everyone, from the teens bouncing about down at the front to the older folk clapping along more sedately, is caught up in the music, singing along, and having a fantastic time.

Lorna crowd-surfing

I was trying the other day to describe Skinny Lister's sound to someone who feels all modern music is either 'boy band' or 'dance anthems'. 

Tricky. 

It's not 'rock' or 'pop'. To call it toe-tapping, foot stomping music makes it sound like country barn dance music, which it's definitely not. Yes, you can still spot the folk music roots to their songs - whether loud, boisterous sea-shanty style songs or quieter ballads - but it's high energy, punk rock folk.

Whatever, I love it. 

So, I sang and stomped and bounced my way through their 90 minute set - and then comes the sad bit when I have to admit my age. Cramp waking me overnight. Aching legs the next day. 

But I'm not giving up ... I'm going to get fitter, and next time they're back in town, I'll be there to join in.

Busy, busy week

Ok, busy, busy week might be over-exaggerating just a little but two nights out together is quite excitement enough for me!
First on Tuesday I headed off to the Nottingham Waterstones store to see fantasy author Robin Hobb at a packed event to publicise the launch of the latest, and last, book in her long-running Fitz and the Fool series - for something that started as a scribbled note while she was in the middle of writing another book, it's come a long way.

Ayres at The Hop Merchant

Then on Wednesday there was even more excitement...
Not long after I saw Skinny Lister last autumn, my teen bought me an early birthday present of a ticket to their next gig back in Nottingham  - well, actually two tickets and she was going too.  As the date grew closer my excitement was mounting. Then last week she realised she'd booked herself a (much smaller) gig at the Hop Merchant pub in Nottingham for the same night. Fortunately, the times didn't clash. She'd have to dash straight off after her set, and we'd miss the supporting act at Rescue Rooms, neither of which are best etiquette, but it was do-able.
So, an early, hurried dinner, a traffic-problem free trip to Nottingham, and on to my teen's half-hour slot.



Then a quick dash across town for her to take her guitar back to the car, while I strolled the short distance to the Rescue Rooms - and on to the main act of the evening, Skinny Lister and their hand-clapping, toe-tapping sea-shanty style rock.








Unbelievably, it's the third time I've seen Skinny Lister play in ten months. Six months ago I hadn't been to a gig larger than anything held in the back or upper room of a pub - and I can't quite believe how my 'habits' have changed.

A hectic evening, but a great one, and this is definitely now the 'new me'. Overnight my legs cramped up from so much jigging about, the next day I had aches everywhere, but I'm already looking for the next date Skinny Lister will be back in town!

Highlights of 2016 - What a Weird and Wonderful Year!

Any year has its ups and downs, and this year certainly hasn't been without the 'downs', but for me it's also been a year filled with new, exciting things. 

One of my resolutions last January, among all the mundane stuff, was to 'get a life' - interests, movies and music of my own, not just 'borrowed' from my children - and it's taken me to some strange places. 

I've been to more pubs this last twelve months than in the previous twelve years.

 I went camping, and it was much more fun than I expected.

 I watched my Breaking Bad box set on my own, because the rest of the family weren't interested, and I loved it.

SJ Watson and Renee Knight at Curious Arts

Billy Bragg at Curious Arts

I went to my first festival, Curious Arts at Pylewell Park, where over two days I caught half a dozen full author events and dropped in for a few minutes on more, then listened to great music at night.

Skinny Lister soundcheck at Curious Arts

Before this year I hardly seen any live music. This year I've seen over thirty musicians  at various venues, starting with Thom Worth and Tim OT in a Beeston pub in February and ending with Dave Giles in Burton just before Christmas. In between I've seen Lancaster singer/songwriter Joe McCorriston FIVE times (because he's always on tour), Elly Rose, Skinny Lister and Billy Bragg at Curious Arts, Skinny Lister again at Nottingham's Bodega and (sorry everyone else, but this has to be the highlight) Frank Turner's sold out show at Nottingham's Rock City. This time last year, I could barely imagine doing any of this and certainly believed I was too old, but it's been amazing.

Frank Turner at Rock City

I went to the Lara Croft 20th Birthday exhibition at Derby Quad, played with ancient and state of the art games, and discussed gaming techniques and Lara Croft's evolution with an actual professional gamer (!) 

I learned how to drive again - I hadn't actually forgotten but I haven't driven for years and had got out of the habit. Now I'm back to a certain level of confidence on the road, and can happily fetch the teen from the train station or where-ever.

I've met lots of new people through offering a bed/floor to touring musicians. Throughout last year, starting with the people I'd met through my teen's promotions, and expanding through friends of friends, I had folk dropping by to spend the night on a dodgy inflatable bed or a pile of sofa cushions; some visit once, some have become like extended family, and particularly notable was the night a band was let down by their promoter and, being desperate for somewhere (anywhere) to stay, drove up from Southampton and turned up at 4am!

In between all this I went to bookish events - author talks, the launch for Alison Moore's Death and the Seaside, a forum on the future of independent publishing - gardens, theatres, Sotheby's annual sculpture exhibition at Chatsworth ...  

and followed my teen's adventures - heard her on the radio, seen her on TV, watched her play in pubs and clubs, and, possibly the weirdest half hour of the year, saw her sharing a political platform with Jeremy Corbyn.

Looking back, it seems to have been an extraordinary year. I'm not sure how 2017 can improve on it but I'm hoping it will.

A 'proper' gig - Skinny Lister at Bodega, Nottingham

I saw Skinny Lister for the first time at Curious Arts Festival this summer, and absolutely loved them and their strange mix of rock and sea shanties that had everyone there toe-tapping and jigging along. Ever since then I've wanted to catch them again - in fact almost straight away I checked to see where and when they might be on tour, and, yes! they were coming to Bodega in Nottingham, promoting their new album The Devil, the Heart & the Fight but, oh so sadly, tickets were already sold out. Fortunately, in these days of social media, that's not the end of the world, and at the last minute I (or at least my teen acting for me) struck lucky as someone had two spare tickets.

With apologies to the other guys I've seen performing here and there, this was really my first 'proper' gig, and I was getting mixed feelings of being excited but nervy. This, of course, is the point at which I begin to wonder how stupid this whole idea is - aren't I really too old for this sort of thing? I've whittled about this before, pulled out of plans at the last minute and I'd made up my mind that in future I wouldn't use my age as an excuse, but bite the bullet and GO! 

My teen seemed less worried by my age, and more that I would talk to strangers; probably about knitting or something. Perhaps with that thought in mind, she abandoned me as soon as we entered the venue - she tried to get down near the front, while I went up to a slightly raised area from where I think I got a better view of the band, but possibly at the expense of feeling a little out of the thick of things. Even so, I stamped and clapped my way through the evening, and I couldn't have helped support a guy crowd-surfing with a double bass anyway! 

going for a ride with the bass

It was such a wonderful evening! 

Skinny Lister were as great as I'd remembered, full of enthusiasm and energy, though on this smaller stage there was less space for dancing, and a risk that one of them might get punched by the accordion or a flying elbow. I love that their music is almost impossible to sit still to, and leaves me with a huge grin on my face.

And I certainly wasn't the oldest there!

Something I haven't got round to yet though is buying one of their cds. 

At Curious Arts, I'd left my money in the tent; last week I took my money along but was put off by the crowds flocking round the merch table after the gig. 

Still, it just means I'll have to see them again ...

My First Festival

Nearly a week has gone by but I'm still buzzing from my first trip to a weekend-long, stay-onsite-in-a-tent festival - not, to be honest, a wade-through-mud, have your tent knocked over by a drunk, can-you-spot-someone-NOT-on-drugs style music festival but one with, thankfully, a bit more sense of style and taste.



Through OurBookReviews, I was invited down to Hampshire for A Curious Arts Festival, held in the grounds of Pylewell Park - a mix of literary, music, and comedy festivals, with a multitude of other things going on as well, and I had a wonderful, absolutely jam-packed couple of days, starting early with seagulls waking us about 6:30 and not finishing till I drifted off to sleep to the sound of ongoing music sometime in the early hours.

Lucy Rose

We set off in what we thought was plenty of time on Friday morning ... but google maps had been just a little (or a lot) over-optimistic, and a journey that should have taken about three and a half hours took over five!  Sadly this meant I missed the first event I'd wanted to catch  - author Deborah Moggach - but as the sun set there was time to grab a fancy cider and head along to the largest tent for the evening's musical entertainment head-lined by Lucy Rose. I didn't stay up till the end as music carried on after midnight and I was ready for some sleep!

Tea Sympathy

 Saturday morning we rose early, grabbed breakfast from the fantastically decorated Tea Sympathy tent, had a wander round the site and by lunchtime I'd seen three author events (Meg Rosoff, Andrea Wulf,and Renee Knight), followed by two more in the afternoon (Joanna Cannon and Harry Parker). I then had a bit of a break, before heading to the music events of the evening - Matt Maltese, Skinny Lister and Billy Bragg.

Although it would have been possible to stay another night, we'd decided that we'd head home on Sunday - but not before catching another couple of author events, including literary prize-winner Andrew Miller. 

Renee Knight being interviewed by SJ Watson

I definitely feel I pulled in more than two days worth of experiences, and, of course, most of this time my husband and teenager were off doing different things - a panel-style discussion of the morning papers, learning how to be a lazy guru, watching the early evening comedy acts.

Billy Bragg

Everything joined together to make a very special weekend, but for me the highlight was definitely Saturday evening. Billy Bragg was without doubt good, mixing political commentary and jokes in between his songs, but Skinny Lister set the night alight with their sea-shanty, folk-punk sound and infectious exuberance which had everyone bouncing and clapping along.

Skinny Lister

I'd written about this before we went, so did it live up to expectations? Definitely!

a distant view of the Isle of Wight

As you might guess, I had a fantastic time. As an introduction to music festivals I think it was rather on the tame side - but at my age I prefer that to something rowdier. 

I've been to book festivals before but even those held on a single site - such as Edinburgh and Hay - have people drifting in and out and don't have the same feel of everyone joining in an event together; it wasn't quite a community but after a while faces began to feel familiar. And, an important thing for me, Dylan the dog was welcome everywhere - he went into book events, hung out at the back of the marquee for music on Friday night, sat with us out of the sun in the tea tent and was fussed over by so many people!






The whole festival was quirky and quaint; a mix of garden party, literary salon and gig venue, with a definite family feel to it. I loved the way I could see a couple of author events before lunch, a couple more afterwards, have some down time with the dog and a walk to the sea, but then in the evening head off to the music marquee. And the food was great - everything from fish and chips to sushi and halloumi fries, via Higgidy pies and lamb tagine in a burger style cob, cake from the tea tent, and a choice of four bars, including the Nyetimber bus serving English sparkling wine. Isn't it SO cute? Sadly I didn't think Dylan would like the steps.

sneaking in to Skinny Lister's sound check

There were still things that I wished I'd seen - I only briefly caught snatches of the Sonnetathon, didn't get to try the Fever Tree cocktails or the sushi tapas selection, have a good browse round the Waterstones tent, or join the talk about the gardens, but I did get to sneak into the Skinny Lister sound check and chat to vocalist Lorna after the show, meet friends I only know through social media, stroll down to the sea twice and even find a small patch of sand to walk on. If I'd put together my own private festival it could hardly have been better! The only thing I would change another time is to add in a few days in the New Forest itself either before or after.



If you go over to OurBookReviews you'll find more in-depth accounts of the author events, and I'll be blogging here soon about how my first camping trip went.