August 31st
When we went to Warkworth last night to sing at the Beer Festival, there was a cricket match going on between Warkworth and Amble. The cricket ground is in front of the castle, and there are cows. Gwyn was imitating the cows as they cheered for someone they mistook for Joe Root, Jamie has a cold, Jobber’s got changed and there are four overs to go.

August 30th
Today’s adventure has involved walking along unknown paths and steps to the Tyne Bridge, to the Baltic Art Gallery in Gateshead (which we learned in St. Mary’s Heritage Centre was referred to by Bede as Goat’s Head, so that may be its original name), through various exhibitions which you can see a bit of and hear bits of now, to the Discovery Museum for apple & cinnamon ice cream, and a look at the brilliant photos of Jon Bradley in the Passion exhibition, a brief rest at home for sausages, beans, and athletics from China, then off to Warkworth for Lionheart Harmony cheery warbling.

August 29th
I conducted my old friends at Bailiffgate Singers​ in the wedding of one of their daughters today. It was very lovely indeed to be back with them, I must say.

August 28th
New song. New song. New song. New Song. Alleluia! Into The Light. New song. The coal miner’s having a rest with his bait on Christmas Eve. New song. 1st verse. I shut my eyes to this glare of darkness. Turn deaf ears to this hush of wooden creaks, rapping stones, clattering chains. And dream instead of winking fairy lights…. New song. Old picture. 28th August 2014. Edlingham Castle. New song. Composer.

August 27th
Today I’ve been composing my new coal-mining carol “Alleluia! Into The Light”, and have also kept my eyes and ears on the World Athletics Championships from China. This evening was an exceedingly jolly Lionheart Harmony rehearsal – we’re singing at the Warkworth Beer Festival on Sunday. 18.50 if you want to hear us.

August 26th
Head aching. Too-early rising. Athletics watching. What-I-call-Opal-Fruits munching. Head not-aching. Song finishing. Beefburger concocting. Train catching. New Zealanders-on-holiday chatting. Darlington snacking. Station Clock admiring. John-and-Helen-Rimmer reminiscing. Composer talking. Well-travelled-loud-woman-on-train-whose-favourite-place-in-the-world-is-Equador-and-who-has-endless-stories-to-tell-and-advice-to-give listening. Wedding practising. Bailiffgate Singers mostly-cheery-conducting. Old friends chatting. New choir planning. Bright moon driving. Long, happy sleeping.

August 25th
Here’s the ending of The Swing as performed by Saints Alive from St Cuthbert’s College, Auckland in The Big Sing in Wellington the other day. They too are brilliant, just like their conductor Megan Flint.

August 24th
Here’s Craighead Chorale from Timaru singing part of my song “Ooh Ladyfinger” in The Big Sing finale in Wellington a week or so ago. They are brilliant as is their director Vicki.

August 23rd
Sunday. River Coquet. Felton. River Tyne. Corbridge. River Derwent. Mini. River Wear. Frosterley. River Wear. River Wear. River Wear. I love the River Wear. It is such an inspiring waterway. This is it in Frosterley, with froth, song, dancing and plant tannins from the flooding upstream, says my botanist.

August 22nd
I apologize for several things in this one, but I love this song, so here it gets a third go in a week – this time, the ending with wor dodgy accent. Jamie’s been making jam today with our garden produce: blackcurrant and raspberry. There have been beans and courgettes for lunch as well. We’re living through some yummy summer gluts.

August 21st
Winter Wear: The Ballad Of Pollard’s Brawn. Verse 6.

August 20th
Winter Wear Project 3. Haswick’s Bridge. We made a short play about this flooding predicament. Here’s the beginning of it with another verse of Four Pence A Day. The photo is of this morning’s sunrise at Warkworth Beach.

August 19th
Today I’ve had a meeting-with-cake about the new Felton choir which will be starting for real in the week beginning September 14th, either Monday or Tuesday – if you fancy it, let me know your preferred day as the organiser is collating preferences as we speak. Elsewhere, I’ve been composing my “Marching Away From The Wall” song from the Winter Wear collection. But in the meantime, here is the next in the sequence from yesterday’s fade-in, still up at the source of the river at Killhope Lead Mine. It’s “Four Pence A Day”, the opening “hush”.

August 18th
Winter Wear 1. Dancing Stream. I’ve been composing a new song today for my Winter Wear collection of songs about the River Wear in NE England. This is the 2nd verse of the first song in the collection (if taken in river order) about the source of the river in the Northern Pennines. It is performed by Rock Festival Choir and the picture is from the Monkey’s Eye collection.

August 17th
Day off, so old picture and old music.
End of “Three Billy Goats Gruff Is A Noisy Story.”
Snip snap snip goes the big fight on the bridge.
Munch munch munch munch go the Gruffs.
Cheryl with her little brother in their ties.

August 16th
Today I was at The Hepworth Wakefield creating Musical Sculptures. It was a quiet day in terms of visitors, but this family were game enough to tackle the singing option. A crowd of about 20 people gathered while we sang this song, and applauded wildly at the end. I’ve left that off the fade-in for once though! It may well be the last ever performance of “Anthony On The Edge”, as I’m not due back there now until after Anthony has left the building.

August 15th
Today I have driven to Worksop through some horrendous holiday traffic, scooped up Great Auntie Vera and her friend Hannah and taken them to the St. Mary’s Flower Festival. Here’s the beautiful church with its window and some of the flowers, with a song whose lyrics were composed by a nun who was inspired by this church. Sorry – it’s a Christmas song, but people are buying them – had an order while I was traffic jammed for one of my festive numbers from someone in Peru.

August 14th
This morning I wrote two limericks inspired by my friend Helen Beech​, whose house in Puhoi, north of Auckland in NZ, is being auctioned on Saturday. Here they are in musical form using my generic limerick-setting, mixed meter melody, which I used to use when I was encouraging youngsters to write their own limericks. This is her house – so cool. There’s an art shed, glass house and pizza oven in the garden, which she made herself.
Nancy Smancy
If only my first name were Nancy,
I’d rhyme with the made-up word smancy.
It’s chicken and chips
For tea, (Lick those lips!)
Accompanied by salad that’s fancy.

I’m Helen! I welcome you humbly
To my home which is tidy, not jumbly.
I’d ask you to stay
For tea, but I may
Warn you: my croutons are crumbly.

August 13th
Today three of my pieces were performed by three different choirs as part of The Big Sing finale in Wellington. Thanks to their live stream of proceedings I was able to listen in from the middle of the night onwards. What you’re hearing is a potted resume of the three (the internet broke into a thousand pieces during the intro to my Hodie, but re-formed again for the music itself). What you’re seeing is a screenshot of the venue, (The Michael Fowler Centre) in between choirs. Heartfelt thanks to Megan, Nicholas and Vicki for giving my music a go and also to their choirs for stonking performances. This may well be one of the best Cheryl’s music days of 2015.

August 12th
This is a bloody cranesbill, and I read on an information board that it is the official flower of Northumberland. They’re all over the dunes at the moment. This is a song I was commissioned to write for some schools in Northumberland. This was the chorus and then each school had their own verse about their bit of the county. It’s in 7, you know – no problem for the children, of course.
The lyrics of the chorus are:
Stop! Touch the history on the breeze,
See the sturdy castles.
Listen to the tales this sandstone can tell.
Cool, burling streams, bubbling up through the hills,
Meander through the dales towards the sea.
Trundling waves brush the golden sand dunes.
Stop! stay a-while in our home Northumberland.

August 11th
Crackingly orange sunrise this morning at Warkworth Beach. Meanwhile, people I don’t know are reading and listening to my fade-ins and sending me cheering comments about them. “Fabulous!”  “Loving your summer Saturday word stream & your mouthwatering market sound bite!”(Wakefield Arts Hub) “…. a soundhound.” (State 8 Promotions) “Beautiful ‘wordage.'” (@sdaheritage) “Ahh I love it.” (@AmbleByTheSea)

August 10th
Today there has been much use of the A3 printer, two different paper cutters and much messaging about The Big Sing Finale 2015 in Wellington which starts on Thursday. As part of this correspondence, I discovered this lurking in the Radio New Zealand podcasts from last year’s highlights package. I like how the presenter puts my name into a NZ accent – such happy memories. The choir here singing Motu Puketutu is Femme from Southland Girls’ High School and this picture is at Warkworth golf club/dunes/Coquet estuary.

August 9th
Sunrise walk along Warkworth Beach, 5.30am. Sun lurking behind clouds and this song in my head: Cantate Domino (middle section).

August 8th
Saturday. Lie-in. Sunshine. No coat or cardie. Car to Tynemouth. Walk along North Pier. Watch lobster potter retrieving and re-laying his line. Walk along Tyne to Old Low Light Museum and Gallery. Victor Noble Rainbird. Old maps. Ideas. Inspiration. Ice Cream. Climb to High Light. Walk to Tynemouth Market. Home-made sausages, assorted macaroons, and a grand mixture of a takeaway platter. Gratitude for takeaway chef. Car to Cramlington. Bargain cheese. Home. Catching up on cricket ….. quietly on account of the lovely Australian. 🙂

August 7th
Yesterday my friend Jacqui posted a photo of her carrots, and it reminded me of this song I composed a few years ago for my friends at Swansfield Park First School – Clare’s Year 2-3 class, I think it was. This picture is of my Dad with some very long carrots he grew one year and was very proud of! The lyrics here are below. There are also verses on a sunflower, an oak tree and a cactus.
I’m a carrot in my neat and tidy row.
My feathery leaves grow fast but the root is very slow.
When I’m ready, I’m very tasty
But be patient while I very slowly grow.
Chorus: I’m a plant, and I grow with my roots in the ground.
I’m a plant, in a garden, wood or pot I am found.
My shoots reach for the sky.
My flowers are pleasing to the eye.
I’m a plant, put me in a sunny spot.
I’m a plant, water me and I’ll grow a lot.
I’m a plant, (clap clap) I’m a plant, (clap clap)
I’m a plant!

August 6th
Hepworth’s Winged Figure takes off and floats above Gallery 5 during Musical Sculptures yesterday. This is the end of our 2 minute composition.

August 5th
Today I am up very early in order to head back to Wakefield for more Musical Sculptures as part of the National Play Day activities at The Hepworth Wakefield​. So, although there will be music later, there hasn’t been any yet, so here instead is the sound of the wind a-rattling the rigging at Amble Marina last evening. Behind me are flagpoles, which also join in the percussive ambience.

August 4th
Today I have made a little advert for my most popular song. Many of you will have sung it! I’m making a concerted bid to create a wider compass for it, so feel free to share with your choiry friends! The file’s too big to share in my usual way, so instead there’s a link to my seapieparcel Youtube channel. But it’s not longer than the usual fade-ins if you’re worrying!

August 3rd
A frustrating day of trying to do a musical task that involved several machines and several applications on my computer, and after much wrangling with the notes and their timings, I have given up. So, I’m consoling myself with a spot of Handel’s beautiful feet and these are the feet of Jamie standing on the floor of Manchester Cathedral last August with magically stunning stained glass and the sun behind him.

August 2nd
Today has seen the world premiere of my new song inspired by Anthony Caro’s Table Pieces, currently on display at The Hepworth Wakefield…also the 2nd performance thereof, another wildly dramatic Winged Figure and a mixed-meter Shadow Dance (both inspired by Barbara Hepworth’s works). This was all during an invigoratingly giddy day of Musical Sculptures. What you’re seeing is the world premiere of “Anthony On The Edge”. What you’re hearing is the 2nd performance of it and the very acclaiming last few minutes of my composery day! The lyrics you’re hearing, which have sort of vanished into the echo chamber of Gallery 7 are:
Would his shadows ripple?
He’s poised on the borderline,
He’s balanced on the brink of his shelf.
Oh, he’s living on the edge!

August 1st
Driving south today ready for Musical Sculptures tomorrow at The Hepworth Wakefield I finished my new song when I got up. A good start to the month. Happy August everyone!