September 30th
Roskilde which contains a most excellent cathedral with lots of red bricks and a mechanical clock up high on one wall (the horse whinneys, the lady tings, the gentleman dongs at 11), and a Viking museum with lots of rope and knots. I am home now after our teensy trip away to Denmark, ready for October which I feel will be gardeny, fabricky as well as composery.

September 29th
The little chocolatey puddings are burst open to reveal very rich and delicious chocolatey gloop and what you can’t see is some luscious syrupy stuff all underneath that ice-creamy, puddingy, strawberry-y toothsomeness. You’ll notice that Jamie and his mother are about to share one, but not me. Who is this person interrupting me with spoon in hand, eh? Well it was Will the owner of The Olive Kitchen in Copenhagen and what a very excellent restaurant he’s running with such brilliance in the food and service departments. Although this dessert looks and indeed was of the highest delectability, my favourite thing of the evening was my rustic mash which accompanied the duck. Rustic mash was a very scrumptious and part of an exceedingly convivial end to the day in which we also heard the 4 o’clock chimes at The Church of Our Saviour, and no, the bus was not beeping at me.

September 28th
Early buses. Opera House tour. Backstage tubas. Apple juice. City walking. Wind, showers, sun. Palm House (crickets, watery reflections, temperature-preserving thuddy doors). Banana plants, totara, red squirrels. Chicken toastie. Spire searching. Traffic. Bicycles. Bicycles. Bicycles. Coloured houses. Canals. Fancy church clocks. Sausage. Cheese. Early night.

September 27th
A gentle day of meeting about the upcoming Lambton Worm project with the University of Newcastle, Tyne Theatre, Jane and Sandra, more sycamores documentary, learning tracks for choir, Newcastle Airport, plane to foreign climes, late night meeting up with Gaynor and Colin. Here’s The Bridge Singers having a jolly good go at The Lambton Worm and me gazing at bananas in a palm house.

September 26th
Talking about choir, arranging and composing music for choir, photocopying music for choir, stapling music for choir, fielding phone calls from choir members, listening to old recordings about choir, making my documentary about choir, fretting about choir, going for a pre-choir stroll up to the choir sycamores, chinwagging with choir members en route, going to choir, conducting choir, laughing with choir, singing with choir, loving choir, making progress with old and new songs in choir, chatting with choir members, drinking with choir members, choir members being talented and friendly and funny and caring, dreaming about choir. Monday night is choir night. More about the choir sycamores and a picture from February in which you see what I’m talking about.

September 25th
My freelance ways are having an impact on my sleeping routines and as a result, sleeping occurs when I’m tired and not necessarily at night and when I’m awake in the night I get up and freelance. So between 1am and 4am today I prepared for Monday’s choir practice and also made a video of their recording of Anerio’s Michaelmas anthem “Factum Est Silencium” which you can hear here. Then I went back to sleep. At about 11, I started up again, making the beginnings of my documentary about The Felton Sycamores. This is the beginning of it using a photo and prattling from my sunrise and sycamores walk last Friday, and also extracts from the world premiere performance of it by The Bridge Singers in May.

September 24th
The Bridge Singers’ Singing Day in Alnmouth. In which we relaxed and breathed and sang and bell-rang and note-bashed and performed and cheered. In which we laughed and chatted and befriended and fretted and consumed strong coffee and Claire’s cakes and picnicked and realised that autumn temperatures are upon us. In which Shirley took more of her brilliant candid photos, Alison revealed her K6-telephone-box-inspired masterpiece, Jamie and Peter duetted sublimely, Phyllis wandered up and down with increasing confidence, we sang the word “Christmas” for the first time in 2016, The Lamb made it to the finish line, Sarah inspired with calmness, fun, practical tips and strategies. After which at least two of us went home to rum and coke, an evening of telly, Indian snacks with mango chutney and yoghurt, and no more effort put into anything.

September 23rd
Today there was more printing, stapling and planning for tomorrow’s Singing Fun Day with The Bridge Singers, but also this evening a delightful concert with Rock Festival Choir including No-Umbrella Blues. As if that weren’t all composer enough, I got royalties from performances in New Zealand, and went for a splendid sunrise walk up at the sycamores where I spoke into my recording machine about these trees and their song, and now this daily event is getting so late, I meet people I know and have chats with them too…not just the machines.

September 22nd
Cheese straws and Nellie and printing and stapling.

September 21st
Rock Festival Choir have got a concert on Friday night (7.30pm at ST. James’ Church, Pottergate, Alnwick, in aid of Abbeyfield, £5 entry – a bargain I should say), and having missed the one and only rehearsal at the weekend while I was in Wakefield, I decided to do some practising. We’re singing this, by me, so I decided to combine my practice with a spot of recording. To accompany it, I searched for a picture of me in Dunedin (because that’s where the song is set) and here I am in the Botanic Gardens being not very successful with the self-timer on the camera in 2013. I had to run around this pool you see to get to where it was pointing and I had intended being seated on that bench, but didn’t quite make it in time. Also, it’s not raining, but still…it’s a photo of me in Dunedin.

September 20th
I don’t usually do much on a Tuesday as it’s all about getting over the working weekend and Monday’s choir preparation and rehearsal. However, today I’ve been finishing this next sheepy arrangement for The Bridge Singers so we can learn it this weekend at our Singing Day in Alnmouth. Jamie had a meeting in Ashington at lunchtime, so off I went with him, was dropped off at Woodhorn, then walked to Newbiggin by the Sea, along this promenade and beach for an hour or so, then up to “The Corner Plaice” for fish and chips which we both ate heartily after meeting up again at these benches overlooking the bay. A grand detour from the usual. You see me here in silhouette with my Lucozade!

September 19th
A day of being sleepy after the weekend’s thrills, but as ever full of eager anticipation for The Bridge Singers tonight, which was exhilarating with a beautiful sound bursting forth, things remembered, new things tackled, laughter and singing in cheery combination, new members, post singing drinks and chat. Anyway, no recordings or photos achieved today so here’s a photo of me and Robert Burns from Glasgow the other Saturday and some music by me and Robert Burns from about 20 years ago.

September 18th
Well into the early hours I edited the sleepover singing and images of the paintings into a video, then off I went back to the gallery at 8am to show them what they’d achieved before they left for a hopefully relaxing Sunday. Then the gallery opened and I delivered four Musical Sculptures workshops. I have to admit to being a little sleepy, but I think I was as excitable and enthusiastic as ever during the workshops, but in-between was, shall we say, conserving energy. A boost from the arrival of cheery Halima and a slackening off of punter numbers meant an early pack-up and therefore I was home in Northumberland by 6.40pm. During my lunch break, I went up to the new exhibition in Gallery 3 to take photos so I can prepare for the next Workshops in October. You can see me here reflected in a red volcano by Anthea Hamilton, and you can hear the sleepover singers in a round.

September 17th
After a night in the garage the car got a clean from all the tree sap and resulting fungus growth that befalls it at our garage-less, tree-filled, too-far-from-the-nearest-hosepipe place, and then it took me to Wakefield. I checked into my hotel (!) and then deposited all my usual musical detritus at the gallery prior to our pre-sleepover briefing. Then, two evening/night-time workshops of brownies, rainbows and guides learning my new “Stanley Dreaming” song in gallery 10 surrounded by Stanley Spencer’s wonderful, wonderful Clyde shipyard paintings from WW2, upon which my song dwells. Then back to my room for editing. Twixt briefing and workshops I set up in Gallery 10 and sang my song to myself and Stanley. The reverb is monster – what a splendid thing to have that entire gallery to myself for a while.

September 16th
Thunderstorms in the night resulted in all the water from the village (proving too much and too fast for the drains) rushing past our front door to the river at 3.30am – that’s what you’re hearing. These storms also caused flooding on the roads and lightning-and land-slide-related problems on the railways, which in turn caused lots of traffic snarling, which again in turn resulted in me taking quite a considerable time extra to get to Worksop. However, upon arrival and after Friday fish and chips, a most remarkable thing was able to happen – a car – my car – was parked inside Mum and Dad’s now empty-of-stuff garage. It’s the first time a car’s found room in that garage for years, and also perhaps the last, as in two weeks’ time it should be transformed into laundry and bathroom.

September 15th
Drove through fog to Wooler for some community singing at which I brought out some of the repertoire from The Bridge Singers, then more work preparing for the Brownies’ sleepover on Saturday, then Jamie and I went for a walk in the evening fog along Warkworth Beach. There was a JCB parked up next to the golf course. I went to investigate: nothing to report.

September 14th
Early morning. Flawed bits of song. Thought. Piano. Laptop. Piano. Improving bits of song. Fried rice and salmon. Thought. Piano. Laptop. Piano. A round. Riveters. Riggers. Stanley Spencer. One of Us. Nutty problems with A flat chords. Better bits of song. Piano. Actually, it’s the E flat chord, not A flat. Thought. Laptop. Accompaniment patterns. A song of three-bar phrases. Bars all in 4/4. (!) Biscuits. Emails. Singalongacomputer. Fog. Stanley Dreaming for the Brownies’ sleepover.

September 13th
Composing day – much progress made, but nothing concrete to show for it at the end of the day, so an old photo (last week) and an old piece of music (1983) which is part of the “Tango” from my brass quintet.

September 12th
It’s the curse of the smiling alto/conductor who puts the recording machine on her stand and likes to sing along and thereby tarnishes all recordings. In the morning I sorted out my new song for the Hepworth brownie sleepover – well at least the words and structure and I think the tune – I’ll have to let it settle on the brain for a while and come back to it in the morning. Choir was really, really good tonight – lots of note learning, focus on these new pieces, and progress made. Also lots of chat and laughter as ever. This is the view from the blurry 1st tenor section. Too much of yesterday’s pie for lunch, by the way, but still very tasty.

September 11th
A sleepy day with much thought and not much to show for it, although I did make a very tasty steak and kidney pie, and a few ideas are a-bubbling up. This fade-in is more of yesterday’s fun. You hear a couple of staccato seagulls near the War Memorial in Tweedmouth where we stopped for cake, two cricket deliveries (one went for four, one was a play-and-a-miss – a close caught-behind chance), and a rally of tennis – men’s doubles. These last were near the pier where you see us in silly mood.

September 10th
Composer Looking out To Sea (after L.S.Lowry), at Spittal Promenade as we headed around the Lowry Trail in Berwick, Spittal and Tweedmouth. The sounds are those of estuary birds frolicking in the receding waters of the River Tweed. In other wildlife news, we spotted several playful seals and the hugest herd of swans I’ve ever seen in my life. In composer news, Jubilate Singers of Christchurch in New Zealand sang Motu Puketutu in a concert of NZ music while we were Lowry-trailing, and I wrote a report about our choiry doings in the village for its next edition of “The Bridge”.

September 9th
Poet/composer chatting with Tony and walking up to the shop to get a flake to sprinkle on the new courgette and lime cake. In between: Lamby learning tracks for choir, chats about other songs with charity fundraisers (I actually had a work phone call and got to sit at Jamie’s desk with my diary and the phone and make notes like a proper worker!), playing recorders with neighbours.

September 8th
Lots of delightful things today: walking in the rain, composing the beginnings of a new song, chatting and planning with Tim and other choiry friends, birthday duck for lunch (too much cake and cheese so far this week to have the “Jamie’s birthday” duck!), singing and laughing with a full complement of Lionheart Harmony in Alnmouth this evening (here we are warming up in the ballroom again and then posing in the bar/café performance area afterwards), a lengthy and restful sleep.

September 7th
Chance encounter up near the sycamores with a horse by the roadside, which pulled up weeds and munched them at close quarters. I communed and listened for a while in the hope of a whinny or one of those sniffly snorts, but I had to settle for munching. Also today, I’ve been researching Stanley Spencer for my upcoming workshops at the Hepworth, sorting out Little Bo-Peep for choir, and undertook two walks out in the open as intended – one first thing with the horse and one last thing with Jamie at the seaside.

September 6th
I have been enclosed in this little space for much of today beholding the lamb and considering the brownies’ sleepover which is coming up in just over a week. I did briefly break out into what could be described as almost Queensland-like heat and humidity to chat with Jenny about the upcoming singing day for The Bridge Singers, but still I feel that tomorrow I ought to venture forth and walk somewhere expansively for an hour or two.

September 5th
The Bridge Singers are back on and what a merry time we’ve had. Here’s a small selection of our new sheepy repertoire which I think is going to be completely brilliant, a picture of me in conducting/singing along action, and a tiny selection of the laughter that I recorded during just one 4-minute recording. Elsewhere, Miki helped me with my Japanese, it is Jamie’s birthday so there was much in the way of cake and family phone calls, and Golden Anniversary merrymaker Terry paid for our post-choir drinks because he’s a very lovely, generous fellow.

September 4th
Anna Pavlova and me by Sir John Lavery and Dr. Jamie day at Kelvin Grove Museum and Gallery, Glasgow yesterday. Also it’s the round from the Camm The Lamb as performed by Rock Festival Choir, but currently making its way through my A3 printer in readiness for The Bridge Singers’ sheepy Christmas concert and first rehearsal of the new year tomorrow.

September 3rd
A day of art, museums and wandering in Glasgow with Jamie: train from Alnmouth, The People’s Museum and Wintergarden, men in orange erecting their Tour of Britain cycling scaffolding, The Gallery of Modern Art – three notable things: some exquisite drawings of lamp-posts; a lofty oval atrium with decorative window and bannisters; magical glass in the stairwell (you see me through it), clock towers galore, art deco lunch, underground to Kelvin Grove, lots of amazing heads amongst other things (this museum and art gallery is one of the most imaginatively and cleverly curated places I have a ever been to, I might add, and such an amazing building, cheesecake in the city, 1st class trains back to Alnmouth, lots of thought and sleep.

September 2nd
Jamie went to London. I went to St. Michael’s to record Richard reading Sir Arthur Heselrigge’s letter about the Scottish prisoners in Durham after the Battle of Dunbar in 1650, then I went to Acklington with Tim and Jess to look at the size of the stage in the village hall, then in the evening I went to Terry and Gay’s 50th Wedding anniversary party and met some new friends. In between there was choir music and admin and ice cream at Morwick and pork pie and posing for photos in front of St. Michael’s war memorial window, and analysing the figures from my YouTube channel which has gone over 19,000 views, and then Jamie came home from London, and all was well.

September 1st
Five of Lionheart Harmony warming up for their evening performance at Nether Grange in Alnmouth. You hear Jamie, Mick, Sid, Gary, Cheryl on Billy Joel’s And So It Goes in the very warm acoustics of the multi-function room. What you see is almost the same, with added Nick (who was sorting his music while we warmed up) with Jamie on photography duties. In other news, Handel’s Behold The Lamb Of God is the next sheepy number to be added to the selection, and a productive committee meeting for The Bridge Singers was handled with jollity, chat and biscuits.