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90 days ago
I know it’s not as cool these days to blog but I just fancy it today. The last two weeks I’ve been preoccupied with the weather - mostly because lurking on my to-do list for the last five years has been "paint the railings on the first floor seaside terrace" and the time has come to get rid of it. Too much weather of any kind makes painting anything at the front of the house pretty much impossible. OK, I can hear you thinking already “after all this time it sounds like Simon has lost the knack – he used to say things that were sometimes a little interesting and even funny but how can he turn this one around?” Well, stick with me her a few minutes because I'm about to give you my top 10 lessons for songwriters that I learned from painting the railings: Sometimes it’s worth trying to cover the territory and then going back to fill in the details later. No matter how hard you try to get it right the first time there will always be something you’ll have missed and ...
245 days ago
This comes from a Catholic elementary school test in which kids were asked questions about the Old and New Testaments. The following were statements about the Bible written by children, untouched or corrected with spelling as it was written down. Enjoy! S. 1. IN THE FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, GUINESSIS. GOD GOT TIRED OF CREATING THE WORLD SO HE TOOK THE SABBATH OFF. 2. ADAM AND EVE WERE CREATED FROM AN APPLE TREE. NOAH'S WIFE WAS JOAN OF ARK. NOAH BUILT AND ARK AND THE ANIMALS CAME ON IN PEARS. 3. LOTS WIFE WAS A PILLAR OF SALT DURING THE DAY, BUT A BALL OF FIRE DURING THE NIGHT. 4. THE JEWS WERE A PROUD PEOPLE AND THROUGHOUT HISTORY THEY HAD TROUBLE WITH UNSYMPATHETIC GENITALS. 5. SAMPSON WAS A STRONGMAN WHO LET HIMSELF BE LED ASTRAY BY A JEZEBEL LIKE DELILAH. 6. SAMSON SLAYED THE PHILISTINES WITH THE AXE OF THE APOSTLES. 7 MOSES LED THE JEWS TO THE RED SEA WHERE THEY MADE UNLEAVENED BREAD WHICH IS BREAD WITHOUT ANY INGREDIENTS. 8, THE EGYPTIANS WERE ALL DROWNED IN THE ...
324 days ago
Here's ten things I love about our little Barts in no particular order - The way he hugs me back, patting the side of my arm The ever increasing spherical zone he’s able to splat when armed with a pot of tomato spaghetti and a tea spoon His baby belly laugh The way he calls everything ‘Dada’. Even Mummy The intoxicating smell of his hair That he seems as consumed with music as I am That he’s nearly always happy. And when he isn’t there’s always a good reason His slightly chubby little hands that are always ready to slip into mine The way he can knock on my study door when I’m working in exactly the same way Sandra does That he can smile when he still has big tears in his eyes Seems like he’s been in my life for 20 years, let alone 20 months. S.
331 days ago
When I was a teenager... ... I bought my first 4-track recorder. It cost about $2,000 and involved a day out to take a train up to London to visit Soho Soundhouse, just off Soho Square. When I arrived at the shop it was locked but clearly very busy. I was only let in once I'd convinced a heavy piece of meat at the door that I was serious about making music, my music was cool and I was definitely not a crook. Once I’d chosen my recorder, a cheap mic and stand and a reverb unit I then had to carry several heavy, large boxes across London by taxi to get the train home. Although I arrived home 10 hours later exhausted, with arms scraping the ground like a monkey, I was still delighted that I’d reached step one in my recording career. Tonight... ... I sat at my desk and downloaded a 4-track recorder. It cost $9.99, runs on my iPhone. It arrived in less than 10 seconds (here's the link in the iTunes Apps Store) and uses the audio of my phone so there is nothing else I need to ...
334 days ago
Just got back from midnight mass at our local village church, where people have celebrated Christmas for nearly 1,000 years. Today’s midnight service was totally packed, which was a little surprising. Maybe it's the credit crunch?! There were the usual hymns and a wonderful choral piece after communion. I'm going to have to find out the name of the soloist. In the sermon our vicar read out part of my favourite Christmas poem. Here it is in full - Happy Christmas! S. Christmas by John Betjeman The bells of waiting Advent ring The Tortoise stove is lit again And lamp-oil light across the night Has caught the streaks of winter rain In many a stained-glass window sheen From Crimson Lake to Hookers Green The holly in the windy hedge And round the Manor House the yew Will soon be stripped to deck the ledge The altar, font and arch and pew So that the villagers can say 'The church looks nice' on Christmas Day Provincial Public Houses blaze Corporation tramcars clang On lighted ...
