End of the Road Festival, 2021

 2021 was our second time at the rather wonderful, End of the Road festival, held each year in the Larmer Tree Gardens, in deepest Wiltshire. If you're looking for a small to medium size, family friendly festival, with good music, along other forms of entertainment including literature and comedy, with a superb beer and cider tent, then this is your festival. We were also blessed with better than expected weather.

The Woods Stage, End of the Road Festival, 2021

The only downside for me personally was that I did not study the line-up and schedule properly. Had I realised that the mighty Stereolab were playing on the Thursday night then we would have arrived in time for that, rather than leaving it until the Friday morning.

There was however plenty of other music to choose from, both artists who I'd heard before, along with many who were new to me. It's hard to choose a favourite from the weekend, but I guess if I had to then it would be Arab Strap who played on the Garden Stage on the Saturday.

Did I mention the beer tent? Ah yes, I did. Anyway, definitely worth another mention as there was a great selection of real ale and cider on sale, and if you picked the right bar at the right time, then the queues were not too bad at all.

Real ale and cider tent, End of the Road Festival, 2021

Despite being pretty warm during the days, t-shirt and shorts weather, us oldies did get cold in the evening so had to nip back to the tent to change. Fortunately we were able to do this between bands, the distance back to the tent being relatively short compared to other, bigger festivals.

As the evening draws in, End of the Road Festival, 2021

Another highlight for me, although not strictly festival related, was my recent purchase of a solar powered phone charger. With my current phone struggling to hold battery for a whole day any longer, this charger was very welcome and meant that I could recharge via the sun any time I needed to, allowing me to take photos and videos all weekend without having to worry about running out of battery. And being 'oldies', we also borrowed a really good festival trolley from some friends, meaning we could just do the one trip from the car.

Will we be going again next year? Definitely, as we have already bought our tickets.

A couple of brief Urban Wanders in and around Kensington, London

Well, another few weeks of radio silence. No one specific reason, just lots going on. Rather than this blog post being on a specific topic, it’s going to ramble around a bit.

First up are a couple of pictures I took a few weeks back of one of the disused platforms at Kensington Olympia station. I have blogged about Kensington Olympia station before, and whilst it’s still quite busy for both passengers and freight, the motorail is long gone and the station would seem to be a shadow of its former self. However, this post paints a slightly different, more colourful picture. The southbound platform has now been relocated slightly to the west, over one of the former lines, but the old platform has been left standing and is now home to the Kensington Olympia Community Kitchen Garden.

Kensington Olympia Community Kitchen Garden, London

Kensington Olympia Community Kitchen Garden, London

These next two pictures were taken at varying stages of an evening out. The first is the bar of the Bombay Brasserie in Gloucester Road, where I caught up with a former colleague and had an excellent curry.

The bar at the Bombay Brasserie, Gloucester Road, London

The second is of a classic car in a streetlamp lit mews I spotted whilst wandering back.

Unidentified mews, somewhere in Kensington, London

And finally, for some reason this week I found myself wandering through Paddington station around 11am, and saw on the overhead announcement boards, a train going to West Ruislip, a destination which is more usually associated with the line out from Marylebone. I vaguely remembered reading something about this a while back, so a few minutes of internet research later proved that firstly my memory was not playing tricks on me, and this is in fact what’s known as a Parliamentary train, or ghost train. I did not have time to take any pictures but there's plenty of information here. Not quite a bucket list activity but I am curious to travel along the line between Old Oak Common and where it joins the main line from Marylebone.

Oh yes, and my mid-life crisis (aka obsession with finding all the vinyl I used to have as a teenager) is still in full swing. Recent (re)purchases include Coming Up For Air, by Penetration, Starry Eyes by The Records, and Ghetto, by The Wall, to name but a few.

I do need to find time to get back into some serious Psychogeography but that will need to wait for a while as next week is already beginning to look a bit manic.

;    

If This is Not an Exercise, Could it be a Drill ... an evening with Wire

Today's post is a bit of a departure from my usual psychogeography inspired, urban wanderings, but I had to share my experience from last night. More years ago than I care to remember, a good friend of mine brought in a copy of his brother's Pink Flag album by Wire. To say I was blown away would be a massive understatement. So, it was with huge excitement and anticipation that I made my way across London to the Lexington venue in Islington, to see the legends play live.

Wire, Lexington, Thursday 16th April 2005

On entering the venue I was slightly confused as it just appeared to be a crowded pub, and it wasn't until I had bought my pint and turned around that I spotted the stairs leading up to the actual venue. I had arrived in plenty of time so was in no rush to head upstairs, and spent some time people watching whilst supping my pint of Pale Ale. Downstairs the crowd were quite mixed and it wasn't immediately obvious to guess which ones would later head upstairs to see Wire. Would it be the earnest looking, bearded chap reading a book? Would it be the leather jacketed chap with the one inch punk badges on his lapel? Would it be the guy in what I'm sure was a 154 sweatshirt? Would it be any of the 50 something, folically challenged crowd like myself?

As people started to move upstairs, I joined the small queue, traded in my bar-coded ticket for a rubber stamp on the hand (it's been years since I had one of those) and ascended to the performance area. I ended up standing within spitting distance of the stage, but of course I did not spit. This was a very civilized affair, with people who bumped into me turning to apologise, rather than elbowing me out of the way to get to the front. Nor was I actually that near the front as the venue is pretty small, so I guess I was just over half way in, with probably 4 or 5 rows between me and the stage.

As I watched the support act, various members of Wire brushed past me as they made their way backstage. After the support act had finished, they came to the stage and proceeded to pretty much set up their own equipment, with only a little reaction from the audience. This was a far cry from one of my recent gigs where Captain Sensible was greeted with his usual "Sensible's a w***er" chant. After a short time setting up, they came on stage and acknowledged this was Lexington number 3. Any fears that Wire would not live up to how I imagined them to be were immediately dismissed as they burst into their opening number, 23 Years Too Late from Read and Burn 03. The remainder of the first part of the set focused on their newer material, with some tracks from their new album, Wire, but dipping occasionally into the past to churn out staples like Drill. whilst at the same time avoiding the classics like Outdoor Miner, Dot Dash, etc.

Wire, Lexington, Thursday 16th April 2005

After a short break they returned and I think they may have played some of their more caustic, earlier tracks but I have to admit I found it hard to name them - shame on me. No doubt someone better informed will correct me.

    

I notice they are also playing slightly nearer to me, in Southampton on Monday - very, very tempted.

I Think I've Hit My Mid-life Crisis - a Vinyl Obsession

So, as I alluded to in my previous blog post, I seem to have hit my mid-life crisis. Whilst I haven't ruled out getting a ridiculously fast car, or running off with someone half my age, my crisis seems to have centred itself around an obsession for vinyl. Having bought a replacement turntable a few months ago, I am now searching out punk, post-punk and new wave records from the late 70's and early 80's in London's second hand record shops, as I used to do as a spotty teenager. Some are records I never had at the time, whereas others are ones that I foolishly sold for next to nothing and am desperate to get hold of again.

One of the most exciting finds was Where's Captain Kirk by Spizzenergi, which was a party favourite back in the day, but that I seem to have either lost or sold over the years.

Spizzenergi - Where's Captain Kirk?

Other finds include a couple of early Human League singles, from 1979, way before they asked us Don't you Want Me Baby. I had downloaded a version of Empire State Human a while back, but had completely forgotten about Being Boiled, so was very pleased to come across this one too.


The Human League - Being Boiled

I don't know why I had never heard much of Eddie and the Hot Rods apart from Do Anything You Wanna Do. I certainly never had any of their records when I was growing up, so was delighted to find a couple of their early singles, Media Messiahs and Quit This Town during my searches.


Eddie and the Hot Rods - Quit This Town

It's hard to pick which of my recent finds gave me the most pleasure as they are all special in their own way, but if I had to choose one from my recent haul then it would have to be Gates of the West by The Clash. The version I came across was actually a two track Canadian demo copy of the Cost of Living EP, so just in a plain sleeve as opposed to the magnificently colouful sleeve below, and only two of the four tracks.


The Clash - The Cost of Living EP

So, in between my Urban Wanders, or indeed as part of my urban wanders, I shall be spending time searching through racks of vinyl over the coming weeks and months until my thirst is quenched and my crisis is a more manageable state. Stay tuned folks.

    

Urban Wandering: Rossmore Road, London NW1

Having walked many times in most of the different directions from my London office, I was looking over a map of the surrounding area, trying to find somewhere new that was do-able in an hour. Almost immediately Rossmore Road leapt out of the page at me. I have absolutely no idea how I remember this, as I only ever recall hearing the song a few times on the radio back in 1980, probably courtesy of John Peel, but the one time member of XTC and Shriekback, Barry Andrews' song, Rossmore Road, was firmly back in my mind, and I could even remember the tune (in parts). So this was an urban wander with a purpose as opposed to the usual drift.

Street sign for Rossmore Road, London NW1

Rossmore Road, London NW1

The opening line of the songs is "The 159 runs along it" ... as true today as it was back in 1980.

Bus stop on Rossmore Road, London NW1

"Next stop on the tube
Marylebone Road
And you can see
Balcombe Street from Rossmore Road"

Ok, a bit of poetic license here as this is Marylebone train station as opposed to the tube station, and the road is Boston Road (Balcombe Street is the next one along).

View of Marylebone Station from Rossmore Road, London NW1

If you've never heard this song before then I urge you to check it out, and if you've never listened to XTC or Shriekback either, well, what can I say ... start with Fossil Fuel and work outwards and onwards from there.

    

Paddington Railway Station ... and a bit of Brian Eno

My search for space this week has been somewhat thwarted by it being my first full week back at work, the weather, and also by feeling a bit under the weather. I had intended to go walkabout after work on the Friday but ended up leaving early not feeling too good. However, as a small pick-up, I managed to get a reasonable picture of the restored canopy at Paddington station just before my train took me home. There's something about station architecture that always impresses and inspires me, and Paddington station is no exception, especially after such a wonder restoration.

Restored canopy at Paddington railway station, London

Feeling a bit better today, I ventured out to continue my exploration of places near where I live that I've either not been to before, or haven't been to for a while, and today's choice was Wallingford, in Oxfordshire. The grey weather meant that I did not take any pictures, but had an enjoyable stroll around the town, and a good lookaround the antiques centre. I didn't buy anything as I'm still processing a lot of the vintage postcards I picked up before Christmas.

On checking the 6music schedule when I returned home, I was delighted to discover that there was a 2 hour Brian Eno special, hosted by Tom Robinson. I was initially disappointed when I realised that it was about his more recent career, but found myself captivated by the music played, the conversation and his outlook on life. Of his recent material, I think the latest I have is Small Craft on a Milk Sea and had not even realised that there were more recent releases, such as Lux.

    

I'm hoping next week will bring more better opportunities for exploration. I have a trip out to docklands during the week so hopefully will get a bit of an opportunity to see someof the areas I've not yet been to.

A New Year's Resolution ... of sorts

First of all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to the handful of readers who regularly look at this blog. As usual, this blog is for things that don't really fit on to my vintage postcards blog or my vintage magazines blog. You'll fund all sorts of things here, from my (slight) obsession with London mews, to mountain biking, books, music, the great outdoors, and all sorts of other things.

Apart from the dream of turning my vintage and music hobbies into multi-million pound businesses, I only made one New Year's resolution this year which was originally to try and do something new or different every day, but already I have downgraded that to weekly. Hopefully I'm not being too ambitious here as this covers everything from visiting new places, eating in different restaurants, trying a new beer, reading a new book, etc. Three days into the New Year and I have met my first week's target on New Year's Day when we took a walk with friends up on to the Wayfarer's Walk and did a 6 mile loop coming back across Coombe Gibbet. The pictures below are a few I took along the way, and whilst the sun was shining for the most part, the ground underfoot was incredibly soggy.

Musically I've been quite active over the Christmas and New Year period, mainly thanks to my Christmas present of a Sonos Bridge and Sonos Speaker. It was a genuine surprise for which I was very gtareful, and the sound quality is amazing. I've really had a hugely varied playlist but a few standout albums this week have been The Orb - The Dream, Small Faces - The Autumn Stone and Public Service Broadcasting - The War Room.

      

Unusually I did not get any books for Christmas this year, so will have to scout around some of my favourite secondhand bookshops in the next couple of weeks. I'm also planning to continue my visits to new places in London when I get the opportunity during lunch breaks and after work. Hopefully more posts to follow with more London mews, alleys and side streets.

The Hollington loop

One of our favourite walks we can do from home is something we call the Hollington loop which leaves Woolton Hill and takes us up through Highclere (now famous because of Downton Abbey), through some wonderful copses and on to Hollington Lane before heading back towards Woolton Hill. It takes about an hour and a quarter depending on how sticky the mud is underfoot. My favourite part of the walk is pictured below. This is an open area somewhere between Ireland's Copse and Long Copse. I've often seen deer in this area but I think today we were a bit too noisy, making the most of a child free atmosphere to catch up on various things.

So, this was a great start to the day. Unfortunately things went a bit downhill after that with my son's football team being totally out played this afternoon, but hopefully a learning experience. Back home now though and looking forward to a nice hot bath followed by beef casserole, and maybe a glass or two of red.

Only 15 working days left until the Christmas break for me, and to be honest it can't come soon enough. Not because I particularly look forward to Christmas as such, but more because I need a decent break from work which has been manic, often pointlessly so, over the past few months. My vintage postcard advent calendar is up again this year - take a look and see what's behind each window throughout December.

Thanks to BBC radio 6, 6music, I have "discovered" a band called Public Service Broadcasting and have just downloaded as many of their tracks as I could find. Basically they take 1940's/1950's audio recordings and set them to a soundtrack ... can't recommend them enough !!

    

California Dreamin'

Having spent the past 3 weeks in California, I must admit to being slightly shell-shocked on my return to the UK. My body clock is all over the place which, combined with the mini-heatwave we appear to be having, is causing me no end of sleeping problems. It's about 6:45 am here on Sunday morning, a time which I never knew existed, and I must have been awake since 4 am. I'm also trying to adjust my body's expectation with regards to being fed ... no more huge american breakfasts for a while, but somehow a bowl of Cornflakes is not the same.

I do love visiting the US, and San Francisco in particular which, along with Boston, are the only 2 places I have ever visited outside the UK where I could seriously consider moving to. For our first week we hired a mountain cottage in a place called Midpines near Mariposa. Temperatures reached 100 degrees most days, which meant that we had to get up early to do any form of serious walking in the Yosemite Valley. Our second week took us to a house about 10 miles from Santa Cruz, in a place called Aptos. The weather here was considerably cooler, with refreshing sea mists most mornings. Our final week was spent in San Francisco where we had an appartment in the Castro district. Needless to say I have 100's of photographs which I could share, 10's of descriptions of fantastic day trips, restaurants, etc., but for now I'll stick to the briefest of summaries and 3 of my favourite pictures, 1 from each of the 3 weeks.

 Half Dome, Yosemite, California

Santa Cruz beach

 Golden Gate Bridge, looking back across to San Francisco

I now have to face up to the reality that I return to work tomorrow. Although many of my team and colleagues have also been on leave, I am sure my email count will be in the hundreds. I also need to do some exercise and the Californian cuisine has taken its toll on my waistline.

Having said I won't go into any more detail about my trip, I will however relate the visit I paid to what I consider to be the world's best record shop Amoeba on the Haight in San Francisco. I visited it on a business trip several years ago and was a bit concerned that it may no longer be there, or may be a scaled down version, but I was not disappointed and it was still there in all its glory. I didn't have a great deal of time to browse but was very leased to pick up a copy of Dr Strangely Strange - Kips of the Serene which I'd been looking for for a while, plus a few CDs by the Charalambides.

    

More holiday tales, and various other musings in my Search for Space will follow.

More tales from the saddle, plus some more London mews

Wow! This year is racing by. I can't quite believe that we're almost at the end of April already. As expected, but not as hoped, my postings in this blog are not quite as regular as I'd have liked. Nevertheless I have some musings to share from events over the past few weeks.

The weather has been all over the place in recent weeks. Following the fantastic hot spell we had in March, we have definitely returned to having all seasons in the same day, with snow, hail, rain and sunshine. This has to some extent prevented my continued exploration of London mews, although I was fortunate enough to capture this one in the sun on my walk into the office. Just to the left of the covered entrance to the mews is a two storey building with the remains of a painted sign on the wall. If you look closely you can just make out the words coal, coke and wood, so I'm guessing this was some sort of coal merchant.

Chilworth Mews, London W2

Chilworth Mews, London W2

In other news, I've been able to get out and about on the mountain bike, in between hail storms. The picture below was taken yesterday morning on a bridleway between Boxford and Donnington, just outside Newbury, Berkshire.

Brideleway between Boxford and Donnington, near Newbury

On the music front, I went to see Wilko Johnson a couple of weeks back and it was great to see the local venue completely packed. The music was pretty good but I have to say the interaction with the crowd was pretty non-existent. In comparison to The Pretty Things who I saw at the same venue a couple of weeks earlier, Wilko was definitely a runner up.

As I have alluded to in previous blog posts, I am the world's most easily distracted reader. I have however now finished 11 Minutes Late and am now just starting to read On the Slow Train Again. Both these books are fantastic reads about the nostalgic days of Britain's golden railway age, its demise through neglect and the Beeching cuts, and a celebration of what's left and what has been preserved.

    

Early morning London views

I seem to have caught some sort of bug and have not been 100% this week. I did think my sore throat had been caused by traffic fumes in Mumbai, or perhaps from being in air-conditioned locations pretty much 24x7 for a whole week, but whatever I have caught has now moved down on to my chest and I am feeling very sorry for myself. I managed to work from home a couple of days this week to avoid spreading my germs but did have to go into the office on Thursday/Friday. I stayed over so didn't have to suffer the train journey too many times, and just as well as work is crazy at the moment as we near the end of the financial year.

Hazy dawn view from my Kensington hotel window, looking South towards the Albert Hall

Morning walk through Hyde Park to the office

I also managed to find a few minutes to stop off at Notting Hill Gate to visit the records shops there. I didn't find anything massively inspiring but was pleased to pick up a copy of Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children. This is on the periphery of my top-10 albums but I sold my original copy a while back so was glad to have been able to replace it.

The weather this weekend looks fantastic. Not sure I'm up to doing a bike ride though as I still feel a bit weak, so perhaps just some gentle digging over of the vegetable patch, a trip to Marlborough in the afternoon, and a barbecue later.

    

Bike rides and bubble baths

I'm almost coming to the end of the half-term break that I decided to take off. We've been to Shaftesbury for the day, visited granny, been up to the Picasso and Migrations exhibitions in the Tate Britain, and otherwise just generally chilled and relaxed. I did managed to get out on the mountain bike a couple of times, and have just returned from a pleasant 15 miler today. It was quite grey and overcast, and the 2 pictures below don't really do justice to the scenery ... even the snowdrops on the right-hand side of the path in the first one look a bit muted.

A bridleway near Great Gasson Copse, Hampshire

A bridleway near Great Gasson Copse, Hampshire

Musically this week has been a bit quiet. I have listened to the odd radio 6 broadcast, and whilst not doing that I listened to Peter Hammill - And Close As This, and by complete contrast Coil - And The Ambulance Died in His Arms.

I finally finished reading On the Slow Train and have now just started reading Eleven Minutes Late: A Train Journey to the Soul of Britain. In fact, I'm now beginning to feel a bit cold after having arrived home all hot and sweaty from my bike ride, so it's time to indulge in a bubble bath and read another chapter.

    

Bicycles, books and music

My Christmas man-flu is unbelievably still lingering but at least it's nowhere near as bad as it was. Going back to work on Tuesday was a huge shock to the system, but fortunately I worked the first 2 days from home, before working in London for 2 days at the end of the week. Whilst in London I had intended to go CD shopping one evening after work but alas I ended up working late and by the time I got back to my hotel I needed food, and after that I had more work to do. However, I'm up in London again next week so hopefully will have another opportunity. I've also got a list of other places to visit this year but need to wait until the evenings are lighter for most of them.

I managed another modest 12 mile bike ride today, but this time on my own. I followed pretty much the same route as the one I did last week with my daughter, but added on a small loop around Highclere Church before heading home.

Decision point

I wasn't in the mood for the uphill trek to Ashmansworth so opted for the route to East End instead, where I was rewarded with my first sighting of a fox this year. Interesting over the last year I think I have seen more foxes in London that I have out in the country where I live. I guess the dustbins of the rich and famous are the star attraction.

Last night we watched the Inspector Morse prequel, Endeavour, which I though was well written and superbly acted. I'm hoping there will be a series based on the success of this. I also caught an hour or so of the Old Grey Whistle Test last night, featuring some brilliant 70's music from the quirkiness of Captain Beefheart to the pre-punk sounds of Patti Smith playing a track from here 1975 debut album Horses, and Dr Feelgood, and through to the post-punk/new wave era with The Talking Heads performing their seminal Psycho Killer, The Jam, Blondie and The Specials.

My reading is, as always, very slow and I'm still working my way through David Byrne's excellent Bicycle Diaries. In the book, he's now in San Francisco which, fingers-crossed, will be this year's summer holiday destination.

    

Stop Making Sense

As the Talking Heads soundtrack plays in my head as I read my way through David Byrne's excellent Bicycle Diaries, I am inspired to listen to some of his solo material that I've probably not played for several years. The first challenge was that much of it is on vinyl, and some has unfortunately been lost, so I've embarked on a rediscovery fest and downloaded a much extended version of the first solo album I heard, Knee Plays. I remember exactly where I was when I first heard this - in a second hand record shop in the market in Swansea. I don't remember the name of the shop and I have no idea if the shop is still there (I hope so) but as a student it provided me with some great music that the normal chain stores of the day simply didn't stock.

I also seem to have some holes in my David Byrne back catalogue where releases came out which completely passed me by. Having been a massive fan of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, I was aware of his recent collaboration with Brian Eno but was somewhat nervous in that I didn't believe it could ever better their first one. I finally took the plunge yesterday and downloaded Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. Very pleased to say that my fears were not realised, and although it's nothing at all like Bush of Ghosts, it is still nevertheless a fantastic album ... and it also made me realise that I had in fact already heard some of these tracks when I saw him play live in Oxford a few years ago ... think I'll have to put that one down to old age.

So what next? Probably time to reacquaint myself with Songs From the Catherine Wheel.

    

Ooh, look what Santa brought me

Well, I'm going to give this particular blog one more chance and see if I can keep the postings a bit more frequent that every 6 months. I have loads of things I'd like to share here, but work and my other blogs seem to take up most of my time. So, I'll start my pre-New Year's resolution with a short post about one of my Christmas Presents, Bicycle Dairies by David Byrne. Being a cyclist and a huge Talking Heads fan, my wife quite rightly felt she'd scored two points in one go here. I've only read the America chapter so far, where we are entertained with short diary entries of bike rides through lesser known parts of well known US cities. The images of their abandonment, dereliction and rebirth come flooding in to my mind as I read each new entry. Also, in my mind I have subconsciously mixed a Talking Heads soundtrack to accompany my reading. Every time the book says "river", "highway", or "restaurants and bars" I find myself reading the words as they are sung in one of the songs.

The descriptions in the book also bring back some childhood memories of growing up on the very outskirts of London and are inspiring me to pay another return visit to some of these places to see what has become of them. Watch this space for a blog post on that subject in (hopefully) the not too distant future.

    

An evening in Greenwich

Well, once again it's been a while since I've written anything in this blog. Work has been busy, and I've been out and about quite a bit, so unfortunately this one has fallen a bit by the wayside. Fortunately though I have had the opportunity to find some 'space'. I've managed a couple of really great bike rides recently, bought some great new CDs, and been on a couple more London walkabouts.

Firstly then, I'll talk about my recent excursion to Greenwich. I was dithering about whether to go after work as the day was particularly hot and sticky, and some of the tubes weren't running, but I persevered nevertheless and am very glad I did. It's been a while since I went there so, once I'd left the Underground and joined the Docklands Light Railway, the journey was pleasurable. On arriving at Greenwich I went immediately to Music and Video Exchange where I picked up a handful of great CDs. I had hoped that it would have cooled down a bit after this, but as I walked up the hill towards the Observatory this proved not to be the case. Still, the views were worth it.

View over Docklands from Greenwich Observatory

View over Docklands from Greenwich Observatory

Book-wise, I've not really been reading very much apart from dipping in and out of Hippie by Barry Miles, and continuing to work my way through Seasons They Change whenever I can find the time and energy.

On the music front I've been listening to a lot of acid folk, inspired by the books mentioned above. My current favourite of that particular genre is Heron - Upon Reflection.

A great day for gardening

Once again I find that I have neglected this particular blog for way too long, so I hope to make up for it today with a few shots from the garden. I'd like to say it was because I have actually been gardening but alas I've been suffering a bit with a bad back, so much so that today I went to a Chiropractor for the first time ever. Bizarrely I feel taller after just one session and the root cause of my lower back pain seems to start much higher up in my neck where I am very tight. After some light prodding, cracking and massage I do feel better. I may even try and get the grow bags planted this weekend as the tomatoes and courgettes are beginning to get a bit leggy.

Poppies and Geraniums

Potatoes continue to do well

Broad Beans in full swing

Artichokes getting squeezed out and deprived of light

Apart from enjoying the garden, my musical tastes have once again been inspired by a book. This time it's Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid and Psychedelic Folk, where I have been introduced to bands and artists such as The Holy Modal Rounders, Bonnie Dobson and Pat Kilroy, to name but a few.

  

Literary entertainment this week has been provided by Crash by J.G.Ballard