November 30th
Before this month of remembering comes to a close, I thought I’d share a picture I took earlier in the year from Westminster Abbey of a rather beautifully unfussy war memorial in the cloisters near the stunning Chapter House. The music is part of my brass quintet from 1982. Thinking that I was recovered from my malady, I went off to Newcastle today to deliver a lecture to some 3rd year Music Enterprise students at Newcastle University for Jane​. It was about my career as a composer and set me-a-reminiscing, you see, and this was my first piece of “proper” music. I had previously written some clarinet and flute duets and a piece for String Orchestra called “Buns” (!) – this is apparently what got me into the Royal Northern College Of Music according to my lecturer there, Tony Gilbert! Anyway, back to today and after a lively hour with these splendid students and then this evening a rehearsal of considerable energy-sapping mirth and musical treats with the inspiring The Bridge Singers​, I am now on the blink again and thankfully tomorrow brings with it nothing I have to do, so a proper rest until Wednesday is on the cards.

November 29th
A bit of a depressing day today as my voice did not come back to enable me to sing in the Rock Festival Choir​ concert this afternoon. However, I found this snippet of chat and music on a Radio New Zealand programme from last week, which cheered me up somewhat!

November 28th
The end of Aves Beati Cuthberti performed by Rock Festival Choir​ in November 2006, Jamie Day​ on solo tenor. Hear them again tomorrow, 3pm, St. Paul’s, Alnwick. This photo from February 2014 at Lindisfarne, a St. Cuthbert place if ever there was one.

November 27th
A list of 26 tasks to complete before Monday has appeared in my notebook. It doesn’t even include singing in a concert and entertaining three of my wonderful family on Sunday, but does include the composing of three songs, working up two proposals and a spot of embroidery. However, still no voice and now snottiness, so all may yet change. I had some amazingly positive feedback today from Monday’s Huddersfield workshop, and also views on my seapieparcel Youtube channel skipped merrily past 15,000 – most viewed today was “Peering Through the Rood Screen”, thanks to some kindly sharing and reminiscing by Tracey!

November 26th
Today I’ve driven round Morpeth for 20 minutes looking for a space in long-stay car park so I could catch the train to Sunderland, given up, driven to Kingston Park which always has spaces, caught the Metro to Sunderland, arrived early so got off at St. Peter’s and took photos of the Wearmouth Bridge in the sunlight, remembered how much I love the River Wear and all its history and general loveliness, encouraged some wonderful Year 6 students to compose their first ever music which they did with great thought and enthusiasm, dealt with a class of over-excited Year 2s who recapped their woodland idyll music in a somewhat argumentative way, and made up a story which involved strawberry-flavoured stars and cheese socks, came home via bus (grumpy bus driver tutting at me because I didn’t know the fare from the Grangetown shops to Park Lane Interchange), Metro and car, losing my voice on the way, (so haven’t gone to barbershop). This is what I sound like when I do have a voice, singing a song of mine that mentions Sunderland’s bridges, (January 1841).

November 25th
Today I have a been shown around the remarkable Tyne Theatre in Newcastle and had chats about possible composing projects there. Mind’s a-fizzing with the ideas. More importantly, it’s my Dad’s birthday and there was much phone jollity at the beginning of the day. Here he is performing verses 2 and 4 of my “I Wanna Car” from the Something Special project in Lupset, which I talked about at great length when I was at the theatre today. The picture is of Dad and one of his sisters, Hilda back in the day when he had a monster shock of ginger hair and a serious expression.

November 24th
It’s been a quieter day today with just a choir meeting with Tim (with cake!), and some thoughts about Thursday’s visit to Sunderland. Here’s a bit more of the workshop from yesterday in Huddersfield with our warm-up song “I Like To Say Hello!” and the finale of our graphic score composition with applause. I went out earlier to post a parcel and this was what my camera decided to snap upstream from the bridge. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as this in real life, but my camera’s eyesight is starting to fail and it sees things more purple-y than the rest of us some days. Quite a pleasing result nonetheless, and the truth of the matter is that sunlight was indeed making the river gleam rather goldly as it disappeared in the west and the river flowed east.

November 23rd.
Today I started the day in Darlington, caught the early train to Huddersfield with my massive NZ “let’s go on a five day tramp” Macpac full of music instruments. Then there was the workshop for little people (11 “units” of 1 adult plus at least one preschool child ranging from 6 months to 3 years) You’re hearing part of our final performance. You’re seeing a picture of some of our graphic scores – things had progressed a bit by the time we recorded it, with insertion of the jingly bells and then further stuff at the end and singing and stamping at the beginning. I do look a bit serious, and indeed this was a serious business with the ping pong balls and sandpaper badminton racquets, but music laughter and smiling took place too. Then there were two spare hours in Huddersfield with the monster bag on my backbefore my allotted train. Then home for The Bridge Singers in Felton Village Hall, with special guest Tom on piano, and some truly glorious sounds, energy and musicality getting ready for our recital in a fortnight. I’m properly exhausted, actually, but an incredible day of music-making, and who knew? – I can do babies making music as well.

November 22nd
Today we’re off to Darlington to sing with St. Cuthbert’s choir and our own Rock Festival Choir in their evensong, then we have a concert at 7pm, then I’m staying in Darlington. Then I’ll catch the 6.30 train to Huddersfield in the morning so that I can deliver my graphic scores music workshop for little people at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival at 10am. Then I’m back home on further trains for our first rehearsal in the concert venue for The Bridge Singers. Elsewhere, Little Bo-Peep: She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye, then over the hill and dale, oh! She tried what she could, as a shepherdess should, to tack to each sheep its tail, oh! Gruesome, when you really think about it. This picture is from the Landreth farm in Otago, New Zealand, which inspired this song way back in 1994-ish.

November 21st
Then up she took her little crook, determined for to find them; She found them indeed, it made her heart bleed, for they’d left their tails behind them. It happened one day as Bo-Peep did stray over a meadow hard by, that there she espied their tails side by side, all hung on a tree to dry. And it’s a picture of the post-sunset glow through the car window as we headed home from our 2 1/2 hour Rock Festival Choir rehearsal in Alnwick. Recital day tomorrow in Darlington, 7pm in St. Cuthbert’s, if you want to come along. We’re singing my Hodie among others!

November 20th
Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep and can’t tell where to find them. Leave them alone and they’ll come home wagging their tails behind them. Little Bo-Peep fell fast asleep and dreamt she heard them bleating, but when she awoke, she found it was a joke for still they were a-fleeting. The up she took her little crook……

November 19th
Off in the mini, the Tyne and Wear Metro (Brockley Whins is such a good name for a station, I feel) and on foot to Grangetown Primary School in Sunderland for a day of musical fun and hugs a-plenty from old friends. A splendid day of composing and singing with Years 1,2,4 and 6. I’m embarking on longer projects with Years 2 and 6, but it was one-offs for the others linking in with their class themes. Year 1 have been having a celebration this term so here’s their party music with clapping, wheeeh-ing, a cloud of laughs, swooping, dancing drums, balloon music and a bit of foot-stomping, and just in case you weren’t sure, one fellow, eager for lunch, shouts “Done!” at the end. Back home and off to Lionheart Harmony for the usual Thursday merriment. Achy legs after all the walking to and fro, and leaping about in class.

November 18th
I’ve spent most of the day planning lessons today as tomorrow I’m actually doing a day of musical teaching, back at my old lovely place of work, Grangetown Primary School in Sunderland. This is the song I wrote for them when I first worked there and they moved into their new building. We compared the new school to lots of famous buildings around the world in a massive opening ceremony extravaganza – doesn’t sound like me at all, eh!? Also, there are buttony gloves lying all around the spare sofa waiting for Monday.

November 17th
It’s been a day of laminating pouches and more buttony gloves – I think I’ve got enough now. Here’s a picture from the Treasurer’s House in York and a snippet of my Junction 40 which has been listened to by people in the UK, Australia and Canada this week. We went through this junction on Sunday to get from Wakefield to York. I’m sure the Pennine breeze was blowing in our hair too.

November 16th
Today it was choir night and boy we’re sounding good and ready for our first rehearsal in the concert venue next week. We had a go at some potential crowd-carols in a variety of languages, as well as giving the Hallelujahs and a couple of others a thorough preening. I only remembered to record something once, and then within a minute I’d forgotten again, so engrossed were we in our perfecting of the tone and notes, so instead I give you Jamie and Cheryl times two on the last verse of Felton Lonnen, which may be the straw that broke the camel’s back, or may be the poignant finale to our concert. Felton is one of the two villages (along with Thirston and all its compass directions) The Bridge Singers is proudly representing, and a lonnen is a road up here. This picture is of the actual Felton Lonnen last December.

November 15th
Today we did a reconnoitre trip to Wakefield to look at the brilliant new exhibitions at the Hepworth, so that I can better prepare my next workshops. On the way back we stopped in at York for a looksee at the Treasurer’s House, York Minster and a fish and chip shop. This is 3 o’clock at York Minster where two figures chime the quarters. In reality there is about a two minute gap between the two set of quarter chimes. It was happening as we arrived at 2.30, we then had 15 minutes to find what was making the sound, observed what happened in great detail at 2.45, then returned just before 3 to get the full chiming. In the interim, the organist came out to play too, and we had time to gaze adoringly at the Chapter House ceiling. Jamie took this photo – he’s much better than me at the symmetrical.

November 14th
Awoken in the middle of the night, and then unable to sleep due to the news from Paris, I got up and did some stuff to try and think a bit more positively. So I’ve been catching up on the Portfolio section of my website. One item of composery endeavour that was on a very happy day in June 2014 was when Jamie, his cousin and family came to the Hepworth to participate in one of my Musical Sculptures workshops. It was music inspired by diCorcia’s photograph of the New Yorker walking in the rain. The song is “Keeping His Newspapers Dry”:
This man is tip-tip-tapping with his shiny shoes, on the splish-splashy mirror of a side-walk.
He’s got his sharp suit on, his wife’s on the phone but he won’t be out for long.
He’s got his umbrella up because his quiet concern is he’s keeping his newspapers dry.

November 13th
More buttons to be sewn on today, a new project coming my way from some old friends in Sunderland, thoughts about my singing workshop at The Hepworth Wakefield in December, sorting out music for The Bridge Singers, practising for tonight’s Rock Festival Choir rehearsal. This little moment drives me mad. What you’re hearing is 6 full minutes of me practising it squashed into one.

November 12th
Today’s tasks: resource lists for Huddersfield, buttony gloves, sandpaper umbrellas, updating the portfolio section of my website, remembering the crocodiles from last October, Lionheart Harmony rehearsal. Searching for an image on my computer to go with this snippet of music that was originally sung by the Year 4 classes at St. Michael’s Academy in Flanshaw, up popped these crocodiles from Jamie’s trip to Ghana several years ago, or was it Colorado? I know not, but I do know that I wasn’t there. Interestingly, another crocodile image emerged too – from my Grandad’s 1930s subcontinent album which featured earlier in the week.

November 11th
11 o’clock, Preston Pele Tower, Northumberland.

November 10th
Today there has been a meeting with Tom the pianist, procrastinating, making new lyrics for an old song, thinking of my two Grandads:
This is my man, wherever he is,
My heart is there, always there.
There in the sand, I‘ll think of him,
Remember him, wherever he is.

We will remember won’t we?
We will remember.
I know he’s not coming back.
They’re not coming back.
Poppies! Poppies!
So many, I can’t bear it.
The last thing he said to me: “Will you remember?”

These are my mates, wherever they are
My heart’s with them, always there.
I left them behind, in the sand
And in the mud, but I’ll always remember.

November 9th
On a Monday, I find my entire being is taken up with excited thoughts of the upcoming rehearsal for The Bridge Singers​. I’ve done fragments of other stuff – composing, printing, arranging, the making of lamb curry, and cleaning windows (only so The Bridge Singers’ recital poster can be more advantageously displayed, mind you!). It pays off though, this thought, because tonight we have given several pieces quite a shake up, and they’ve settled very happily back into more refined entities. Here’s a bit of Dowland whose rhythmic subtleties are now taking on a thrilling life of their own. We had a new bass tonight too to add to our fine array thereof, and there was continued mirth throughout.

November 8th
Remembrance Sunday service at Felton War Memorial: hymn; reading of names and laying of wreaths with Northumbrian pipes; poem; last post on saxophone (very mournful) with umbrellas popping up and water dripping on the recording machine’s protective hymn sheet. Very moving and well-supported service followed and preceded by chat with lovely people from The Bridge Singers and others who seem to know all about me these days.

November 7th
Me – sprightly now at the end of the day, thanks. Laptop – struggling with being unexpectedly wrenched from its windows authentication by some supernatural force, as yet unresolved. However, it’s Saturday, so off we went in search of fun – Newcastle again for a movie (Suffragette – infuriating men and women throughout, but a story exceedingly well told and it does make you look at your mother and father and husband with renewed fondness and respect). We did a spot of work-related shopping, and also ventured forth into the supermarket on a wet Saturday afternoon when everyone else was there too. However, this trauma was negated by the finding of bargains, including this: When you’re feeling crook and are in need of a morsel of chocolate to cheer you, and after much mental arithmetic you find that the cheapest chocolate by far per 100g (that tastes good) is a Terry’s Chocolate Orange because they’re on special – this makes you happy. And then, as all the shops are in Christmas mode, there are a wider variety of chocolate oranges than usual, so you walk away with one full of exploding candy – then you are beyond happy. Arriving home we found fireworks happening in the street, so I recorded them to go with a bit of Handel’s appropriate music – can’t take good night pics though with my teensy camera, but yes – this is arty fireworks.

November 6th
Whatever the machines have got, I’ve now got, so a bit of a plop day really. However, I’ve finished off my graphic scores for Huddersfield, and read lots of poetry in an attempt to find some for a recital, and I watched a very enlightening documentary on the BBCiPlayer about Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, and I realise that I’ve never listened to it, although I do recognise a few bits of it. Because of all the ill health, I get to use a fade-in I made earlier anticipating that one day I or the machines may not be capable or available. So, it’s midday at Westminster in September, and slightly longer than usual because 12 o’clock takes longer than a minute there!

November 5th
The machines have been causing us a bit (a lot) of fret today, and so this fade-in is once again full of old stuff, as the means to make new stuff have been seriously curtailed. I have, however, made lots of potential (they can’t be declared actual until the machines start talking to each other and printing takes place) graphic scores for my upcoming workshop in Huddersfield, and this evening we had an enlivening Rock Festival Choir rehearsal which included my Hodie for our upcoming concerts in Alnwick and Darlington. Here we are in an earlier recital, and this picture is one of last year’s unused sunrises from Whitley Bay in November.

November 4th
Quite a bit achieved today, but nothing finished, so we’re reminiscing. This pic was in July 2013. I was twixt Vicki in Timaru listening to her wonderful choir sing my music, and lovely David and Lynne near Dunedin, but on the way stopped off at these Moeraki boulders. It was the most exhilarating time. The song is the 3rd verse of “Push The Boats Out” – my current favourite. Ooh wouldn’t it be nice to go to New Zealand for a bit of Moeraki Boulder and some all-black oystercatchers?!

November 3rd
One minute under the southernmost of the three arches of the bridge outside our house at sunset in the fog.

November 2nd
Correspondence, marketing, making graphic scores, reading poetry, printing choir scores, planning workshops, organising train tickets…and then The Bridge Singers. Joy of Joys! Tonight we started with a Mediaeval flavour as you can hear, then applied a bit of musical Brasso to our Dowland songs with sublime effect, and finished off with the ever so cheery peanuts. We also posed in our little gallery space for a casual photo. See what a chirpy lot we are!

November 1st
This morning we went to Tynemouth, fossicked in the market, strolled along the North Pier, ate fish and chips, coats off, so warm and so very, very blue. Michael’s gone to see Frances now after all our excursions, and what a treat he is to be sure. This is the blue verse of my Rainbow Song, composed in 2010 for a “Carnival of Colours”:
Water swirling, ocean surging, shower splashing.
Blue for drinking, blue for swimming.
Water swirling, ocean surging, shower splashing.
Without blue the world would be a duller, duller place:
No rain, no sky, no stream,
Blue is the best!