On the road again…
So half term has arrived and although not teaching, holidays are still determined by our children and responsibilities and so it has been this week that the whole family have decamped to a gorgeous house deep in the woods on the Welsh/English border. The weather is full of autumn melancholy and the colours of the turning leaves make the heart sing and the pallid sunshine splashing through the foliage is a gorgeous reminder of the power of such simple beauty. If this is where musicians come to get their heads together in the country then the album is going to be wonderful! There is a stream running across the front of the property and lying awake listening to the babbling is to be transported back in time to camping on riverbanks as a kid.
The flip side to this rural idyll is six grandchildren and their parents. It is carnage. Each child, who is between 12 and 3, has its own agenda and so do the parents and often never the twain shall meet. Eventually I retreated with wine and my portable speaker for two hours a day to retain my sanity. Otherwise it was a complete blast as we all enjoyed the sense of communion and togetherness. These events happen all too rarely and the anarchy is part of the joy. The rapid-fire conversations with wide-eyed children are diamonds in the mud of the modern world’s vapid media-driven mediocrity. Their honesty is crushing and their joy infectious. I’d sign up again tomorrow. As long as I can have a long rest beforehand.
This week the new Isreal Nash has been getting some spins and I’ve also been looking back at some classic Evie Sands following watching the film Reptile (v good). The radio show this week features Margot Price, The Staves, Laura Marling, The Kings of Leon, Jason Isbell, Lou Reed and the usual many more. As ever take what you want or need.
