October 31st
We’ve finished the month with a jolly outing to Lindisfarne Castle where we heard the kitchen clock, a man texting, a gramophone playing Elgar and creaking floorboards, and we also climbed to the top of the lookout station where Jamie and Michael struck a handsome pose as they gazed across at Ross Sands. There’s also been a Rock Festival Choir rehearsal, with this same Elgar coincidentally, but in choral form, and a rugby world cup final after which one of us was less happy than another, but we never fall out over sport, so all’s well.

October 30th
Michael’s here! Wheeeeh! I met him at the Metro Centre – nightmare at Friday lunchtime in half term with rain outside and all the rest of the north-east there simultaneously. I intercepted him in the car park and we escaped to Gibside where we strolled and stomped chattily about in the autumn colours, post-cake. A word on the cake situation. In the café they have an assortment of cake – self-service cake. The utensils provided are not always the most useful. There was a luscious-looking beer and chocolate cake, no slices taken and some barbeque tongs – an impossible combination. We plumped for simpler options and delicious they were. At the end of our 2-hour stomp we looked in at the café again – still no slices gone. Our theory is that it was a ruse to stop people buying any of that cake so they could all share it later. As we strolled we happened upon a man in a top hat telling scary stories to families for Halloween. He was a bit un-theatrical we opined, too much of telling children where not to stand and not enough adopting of a mysterious persona.

October 29th
Shopping, cleaning, chopping, composing, emailing, researching, Lionheart Harmony-ing, laughing, vacuuming, broiling. This picture from last October – migrating birds at Football Hole. This music from today’s practice with Michael, Andrew, Gary, Jamie, Simon, Gwyn, Sid and last word goes to Mick.

October 28th
When you go out into this scene, along the main dog-walking thoroughfare in the village twixt houses and river, to wash the car and the front downstairs windows in the autumn, you are invariably subjected to much in the way of chortling and jovial banter at your expense from passers-by. It is a vexatious condition of living in this prominent spot which must be grinned at and born with self-deprecating laughter and merriment. However, if you go out to do this task in the pouring rain, there are no dog-walkers, and there are the bonus advantages of the rain having already loosened the grime and then obligingly washing away the sudment from the car. You get wet, of course, but you do not get laughed at – at least not to your face. As an aside, I might add that a man once told me that I was applying too much water to the windows of the house, and that the water running down would seep into the pointing. He then proceeded to allow his hound to urinate against said wall. Oh, such gritting of teeth masked by neighbourly bonhomie.

October 27th
Today I have been in the splendid Morpeth library reading poetry, and local history books. Also there were half price avocadoes and a few late tomatoes in the greenhouse. The lyrics for this song were written as a facebook exchange of wordplay between Sarah Gray and myself, and then off I went on another of my rounds. The lyrics are:
Salsa, salsa! Guacamole, Guacamole!
Salsa salsa! Guacamole, Guacamole!
Tango! Appletiser! Appletiser tomorrow, but Tango today!
With a snack and a jiggle and a derry down down!
And a bucket of cider and a hey nonny no!
Salsa, salsa! Guacamole, guacamole!

October 26th
“The Bridge Singers” rehearsal evening. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Here we are getting to grips with one of our summery songs. A stonking line-up of tenors (6) and basses (4) tonight made for a warm tone and even-more-than-usual jovial atmosphere. Such colossal and encouraging progress was made with the beautiful feet, several bananas, the peanut ending, the nutty middle verse of the child, a spot of Latin, and mince pie promises. So now all notes have been at least glanced at. Our inaugural concert is on December 7th in Felton Village Hall at 7.30-ish (pre-music mince pies & mulled wine, you see, hence the vague start time), so now a whole month to hone the balance and channel the enthusiasm stretches enticingly before us. The moon, then – it was big and shiny and nestling amongst the autumn trees as we strode up the hill for our songs.

October 25th
Impromptu No.2 for Buttony Gloves by Cheryl Camm.

October 24th
Today we decided to substitute the intended Paris with Newcastle-sur-Tyne and sampled some art, a soupcon of shopping and looked at a monument or two. We purchased delicious food from Morrisons de Morpeth then went back to our room to watch le rugby, and an old Wycliffe on the ITVPlayer. The art in question was at the Laing Gallery – such a brilliant place. This time it was a stunning Arts and Crafts temporary exhibition and a bit of installation about an American convict and a woman who fell in love with him, but most excitingly we went into the watercolours room and found an exhibition about John Dobson, the 19th century architect, responsible for a lot of the loveliness of Newcastle, and I particularly became over-excited about the images of Newcastle Central Station, which as you can see is such a remarkable construction. So completely inspired, off we trotted to take in that place’s splendour yet again with our new insights, camera in one hand and recording machine in the other. The train in the corner which leaves as you listen, is the 13.35 to Guildford, and the announcement is about a train heading to the distant south-west. Vive La Toon!

October 23rd
Today has been another buttony day, and there has also been planning and ideas. However, here is an old song: Train Song. I composed it in 1993 for Queens High School in Dunedin – this is them performing it in Sydney. The words are by Lauris Edmond, the NZ poet. I have a handwritten letter from her giving me permission to set it to music. I met her in the interval of a poetry reading in Dunedin a couple of years later and gave her a copy of the song – she read the poem out in the 2nd half because of that. Such a lovely lady. She has died now, so I’m not sure any more about the status of my permission letter, but still, here’s the end of the song. The pic is from a couple of weeks ago when I was walking beside the East Coast Main Line, 250 miles from Edinburgh!

October 22nd
Today I have been sewing buttons on my collection of gloves, while listening to cricket from Dubai. Button castanets for little people in Huddersfield. This is Jamie singing the middle verse of Maggie’s Rant. It came back to my mind this week with the closure of all the steel works. Similar scenario, depressingly. Jamie went to London to a conference today. I should have gone to London too because tomorrow we should be going to Paris for a long weekend, but because Jamie’s passport is currently at the Home Office, we have for the 2nd time postponed our jaunt 🙁

October 21st
A quiet day in the office and at the beach and in the supermarket, where everything on my list was either reduced for quick sale or on a weekly special, and there were no queues.

October 20th
As you can see, the cars obeyed the signs and did not park on the road which now has a beautiful ribbon of asphalt along it. We’re now wondering if they’ll be back to do the bridge and our side of the road, which is indeed full of potholes, but while we wait for news on that front we can at least admire their work from afar. What you’re hearing are learning tracks for Alle Psalite cum Luya, or as we like to say whee-bloomin’-heeh. That’s what I’ve been up to today as well as entering the garden for the first time in weeks and surveying the big work ahead, also fielding multiple choir emails and selling music to musicians overseas.

October 19th
Today, outside our house, there have been workmen resurfacing the road on the other side of the bridge. As you can see there were two stop/go men, which is thrilling enough in itself, but the fact that those cars had not been parked elsewhere meant that they had to surface around them – at least this first process. Tomorrow the top layer is to be administered, and I shall await with anxious excitement whether the owners of these cars have heeded the posted-through-the-letterbox and written-in-big-white-letters-in-the-road warnings that parking is not allowed for the duration of the procedure. These stop/go men were very energetic in both their turning of the signs (pirouettes were observed), and in their organising of the traffic (much reverse-management, jovial driver banter, and trotting up and down of inclines also observed). Here’s an Australian lullaby from tonight’s joyous and action-packed rehearsal of The Bridge Singers. Because most residents had keenly observed the workmen’s notices, our choristers had no problems parking on the side of the road tonight.

October 18th
My most listened to song of the weekend and some eager fish in Durham Botanic Gardens on Saturday.

October 17th
Lots of thrills on today’s day off: train to Durham; biometric stuff for Jamie at the post office for his new visa (fingerprints etc); botanic gardens with woodpeckers, nuthatches, colourful foliage and hornbeams; buskers on every bridge over the Wear; train back including a half hour at Newcastle Station watching all the beautiful and hardy young things arriving in the party toon in their figure-hugging, sleeveless frocks, slugging their rosé from a bottle each before their night of fun (we were waiting for the 13.15 train to Morpeth in our scarves and coats, I should add, to give you the fuller picture); a steam engine in steam spotted on the sidings just out of Newcastle (I did literally squeal in delight); lunch out at Ephesus Turkish restaurant in Morpeth, (yes, that was lunch in a restaurant!); rugby matches with mixed results (I was rooting for Wales & NZ).

October 16th
Today, this song has been the focus of the day. It is Autumn Sea, and is the one that contains the sea pie parcel! It has been listened to many, many times and it’s going to be used on another business’s promotional video. Here’s an autumnal picture of Worksop from Wednesday. Also today we had a rehearsal for Rock Festival Choir – the first one in ages. So lovely to be back, And we’re learning my Hodie Christus Natus Est for the festive recitals. Another top day!

October 15th
Today I have driven home from Worksop through many a traffic snarl and a couple of weathery squalls, had a cakey meeting for The Bridge Singers, sung in a Lionheart Harmony gig, and dealt with more requests for music. I have not made a fade-in because the main composery news is that my seapieparcel Youtube channel has exceeded the 14,000 views mark today and therefore if you want to listen to something I’ve been up to, there are over 100 videos to choose from on there 🙂  Have a listen!
seapieparcel – Cheryl’s Youtube channel

October 14th
A day with Mum and Dad – a walk round a sunny-ish and bird-filled lake at Daneshill Quarry Pit Lakes, lunch at the King & Miller in Retford and now an afternoon of catching up on Mum’s recorded episodes of Pointless with much fast-forwarding through the in-between bits. This is the lake, and also the sound of birds-the main one of which we neither saw nor recognized. We did see lots of coots, swans and mallards, also lots of trains whizzing by on the nearby East Coast Main Line, and watched a couple of great crested grebes sporting merrily with each other.

October 13th
Today I have taken Mum to see some more Caro sculptures – this time at the Hepworth Wakefield. We had some fun “playing” the one sitting outside. Also sold some more scores to a conductor in New York State and another in New Zealand! Top day.

October 12th
Today there’s been The Bridge Singers. I love going to this choir so much – such laughter, enthusiasm and cheery music-making. Here we are on the first part of Come Again by Dowland, after much other Dowland, a spot of Handel, some lullaby in foreign with off-beat clapping (oh how we chortled!), and a bit of festive joviality and crooning. The choir is named after the bridge which joins our two villages together. In fact there are two bridges – old and new, the old is generally regarded as the more picturesque, although the new has its moments, as in this magical sunrise gilding the concrete uprights.

October 11th
I was so distracted by the window-ledge-banana yesterday that I forgot to tell you that we had quite a day what with the flying visit to Newcastle for new Doc Martens, a further flying visit to Gateshead via the previously untried Redheugh Bridge to Ikea for tealights, then on to Gibside for stomping in mud, banana and ginger ice cream, hello-ings with strangers also stomping in mud, glorious sunshine with coats and jumpers off, partaking of the vistas with delight, and general outdoors red-cheekedness due to the stomping and jollity. This is one of the vistas – it’s The Avenue – turkey oaks, you’ll be interested to hear with the Column of Liberty in the background – a mile away, according to one of the friendly strangers (not a stomper though – the mile was putting her off). We went up and beyond the column and back and therefore felt very virtuous! Today, I’m told that it’s Bassoon Day, so here’s a bit of bassooning from my opera, The Two Sisters.

October 10th
Someone left a banana on our window ledge.

October 9th
Today I made some more (better) blue macaroons. This is the best one. I’ve continued my efforts with the haberdashery and also been learning about the new exhibitions upcoming at the Hepworth gallery, which are to inspire my next Musical Sculptures workshops and also the adult singing workshop in December. Meanwhile, the giants….conclude!

October 8th
Today I am creating havoc in the living room with fabric and buttons and umbrellas and sandpaper and zips and Velcro. It’s fun, and is work-related too. Indeed all my work-related endeavours contain vast elements of fun. I heard lovely Ian McMillan on Radio 3 this morning talking about National Poetry day which is today, so here’s a proper poem, set to music for today’s fade-in.

October 7th
Today I have written a blog, made a reconnaissance mission to the venue for our choir’s concert in the village, purchased kumara, completed most items on my to do list and made a plan for an upcoming workshop. Here’s the next instalment of “The Giant’s Ring” and a jocular picture from that time (10th March 2002 to be precise) of us in our flat in Indooroopilly with our Mexican sofa-bed in the background.

October 6th
Today I have concerned myself totally with The Bridge Singers – the new choir in Felton & West Thirston. I have prepared oodles of learning tracks (you’re hearing the tenor then bass tracks for John Foster’s “While Shepherds Watched”) and have been stomping about in the river bed taking pictures of the bridge in question.

October 5th
Today I have a had a productive time arranging music for our choir, The Bridge Singers, and then going to the rehearsal and spending a wonderful couple of hours with this splendid group of singers and comedians and laughers. What a time we have, and now we have a date for our inaugural concert: December 7th; so excitement is mounting. Although I spent the whole day creating music, I forgot to record anything, so here’s the next instalment of The Giant’s Ring with a picture of The Palm House at Kew Gardens. Jamie was in London yesterday so this choice is not completely random.

October 4th
Today I have made blue macaroons. They taste nice enough but look naff. I have also had a meeting about the new choir and been searching the internet for the John Foster version of “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night”. Trouble was, I didn’t know until quite well into my search that that was who the tune was by, and it turns out that there are very, very many tunes to that particular carol, most of which crop up in the searching before the one you want. This made the finding of it all the more thrilling of course. This is a bit of a sculpture by Anthony Caro and part 2 of The Giant’s Ring. (Part 1 was Oct 2nd!)

October 3rd
Today we have been a-walking at Goswick Sands, named after geese. Here are geese grazing as the tide heads way off into the distance. What you’re hearing are some estuary birds a-squawking, but also a male swan chasing three female swans at great pace on the water, then they have enough of that and take off in dramatic fashion. Impossible to record this excitement while protecting the microphones from the wind and also take a picture of actual swans…so geese. Elsewhere, people on twitter have been very kind about my music, want to buy and sing it, and have listened to lots of it. Follow me, if you’d like. It’s @seapieparcel !

October 2nd
Today I have been doing lots of planning and marketing and organising. When I lived in Brisbane, I worked on a music/drama/dance project with some Year 2 classes about circles – I was the “teacher of the arts” and everything was integrated with their class teachers – such a joyful part of my career. Class 2H was given the task of making up a story with music and dance about a mysterious giant ring that was found in the middle of nowhere. This is the beginning of their story with some brass quintet in the background and a picture of an octopus’ eye at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park on Wednesday.

October 1st
Today there has been jovial Camm breakfast with croissants, Mum, Dad, Frances and laughter, driving home for 6 1/2 hours with stop-offs for meetings about singing workshops in Wakefield and choir accompaniments in Morpeth, pie-eating and cake-making with Jamie, and then jauntiness with five other singers and a cracking crowd in Alnmouth. What you’re seeing is “Jumper” by Des Hughes at the Hepworth Wakefield which has inspired a song thought for my Christmas singing workshop, and what you’re hearing is the beginning of the evening concert with Lionheart Harmony – tonight that was me, Andrew, Jamie, Simon, Sid, and Gary S (also on the intro).