Hamer & Isaacs played a really energetic set at the Millbrook Inn earlier on Sunday afternoon. They play gypsy jazz with a sound reminiscent of Django Reinhardt and Hot Club of France and were kind enough to let me stand in as guest flautist on one or two tunes! When I wasn’t playing I found the time to take a few photos and videos. Here’s how they turned out:
The gig was brilliant!
Everyone had a lot of fun and there was smiling…
Singing…
Laughter…
And even some dancing (I’m attempting to upload the video now, but Devonian internet is a little bit temperamental).
The whole afternoon was a lot of fun and the atmosphere was really relaxed and welcoming. I thoroughly enjoyed playing and listening to the music and hope I have plenty of chances to see the band again!
Yesterday I rediscovered this (it’s a very silly poem that I’m currently calling “The Boyfriend Song” although that might change at a later date). There are a lot of ideas floating around in my head to do with the tune and how any artwork should look so now it’s just a process of elimination to get to something I’m happy with and run with it.
As yesterday was also Wednesday, it was Ben Carr’s blues night at the Royal Oak again and I remembered the camera this time! I only got a few photos, because I was playing flute some of the time too, but was quite pleased with this one:
One of Ben Carr's Blues Nights at the Royal Oak
I mentioned it at the top of the page, but for those of you who, like me, have a horrible internet connection and don’t want to open a new tab because it will take about 40 years to load… here’s “The Boyfriend Song”.
———————————————————————-
The Boyfriend Song
Do you mind conversations about zombie ninja pirates?
How about debates about the newest things in science?
Do you like Monty Python? Are you musical at all?
Can you manage to be lewd without losing your class at all?
Because…
I’d like a boyfriend please!
I’d like a boyfriend please!
It’s mostly for great company and not those birds and bees,
So I’d like a boyfriend please!
(Y’know, if it’s not too much trouble)
Are you fussy about food?
Are you considerate or rude?
Do you like cats (no, not for dinner)?
Are you taller? Fatter? Thinner?
(Could you possibly put up with my ridiculous ideas?)
Do you think this drawing’s great?
What kinds of people do you hate?
Are you kind and are you stable?
Are your hands above the table?
Because…
I’d like a boyfriend please!
I’d like a boyfriend please!
I’m obviously too fussy, but I’d like one that’s a tease.
Yep, I’d like a boyfriend please!
(Or maybe I’m closing my mind too much)
I shouldn’t be so picky about gender.
But instincts have a stranglehold on me.
It shouldn’t be my fate, to pro-cre-ate;
There are already too many fish in the sea.
Anyway…
If we’re going to be so ridiculously politically correct about it…
Might as well include everybody…
I’d like a girlfriend please!
I’d like a girlfriend please!
And if you’re unsure, it doesn’t matter anymore.
Leave judgements and criticisms at the door.
You could be hetero- or homo-
It’s no problem; I’m no phobe- Oh.
I just have one more thing to say:
Though, theoretically, I’ve no preference,
Logic didn’t get the reference.
So… I’d still probably like a boyfriend please.
(Apply now with your CVs.)
———————————————————
I feel I should point out that I have a lovely boyfriend (and a ridiculous sense of humour), so please don’t take this seriously – it’s just a bit of fun! It’s something I’d forgotten about and unearthed as I was trying to clear up the mess of files on my computer with names like “idea”, “another thing” and “messing about”.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this post anyway! Let me know what you think in the comments!
There’s nothing much better than an evening walk with good company and a perfect sunset – except maybe an amazing pudding – but, as you cannot eat pudding on this website, here are three of my favourite attempts at sunset photography:
Clouds reaching for the sun… Hope at Sunset The sky is on fire.
As always, I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures and would love to hear your comments!
This is the best week I’ve had in such a long time! Mainly because lots of interesting things are happening:
Monday – Lovely walk around Mount Edgcumbe and Kingsand with great company (the image above was taken from the Amphitheatre woods at Mount Edgcumbe).
Tuesday – Meeting people, helping out and my first experience of attempting to play harmonium.
Wednesday (today) – Caught up with Laura and Charlotte from the The Carrivick Sisters (a brilliant folk/bluegrass duo), great flute lesson this afternoon (I have an exam next week!) and this evening I’ll be going to Ben Carr’s Blues Night at The Royal Oak in Malborough (I’ll be bringing my flute, but have no idea who I’ll be playing music with – it’s great fun)!
Thursday – Going to see Enter Shikari in Plymouth (and might see some other nice people along the way)!
Friday – Work and hopefully catching up with a wonderful friend!
Basically, it’s an amazing week (I’ll try to get some decent photos of all of these things)! If you’re free to come to the Royal Oak this evening, or The Hermitage on Saturday (or both), it’ll be great to see you there!
Here are collection of photos that I took on a visit to Dartmoor Zoological Park (the zoo that the story/film “We Bought a Zoo” is based on). If you’d like to see more or larger pictures, I’ve uploaded a whole album of zoo photos on RedBubble. Anyway, here are the pictures:
Peacock BlueMandarin DuckLynx have to be some of the most chilled out creatures I have ever seen. The tufty ears are great too.“What’s for dinner?”If you go down to the woods today…Capybara – The largest rodents on earth.
I would love to hear any comments you’ve got about the photos or this blog in general, so please feel free to comment and ask questions. I’ll try to answer as soon as I can!
I’ve been meaning to post something about this hypnotic folk-rock duo for ages. Powerful vocals are provided by Kate Young and hark back to a time of smugglers and highwaymen, while Mako weaves the pieces together with sensitive guitar harmonies. By chance, I met them at a blues night at the pub and they were kind enough to let me play flute on a few of the songs in their set (despite the fact that we’d only just met) and asked me if I’d like to play at their next gig too.
Here’s the video for their track “Sleeping Stones”:
If you like them and want to know more, the latest news will be up on their facebook page. Kate’s done some rather nice artwork featuring a raven called Edris and it sounds like there’s plenty more to come. I know a website is in the works and will let you know when it’s ready.
I’d jump at any chance to see or play with this duo again – the atmosphere they create is completely magical. I wish them all the best for the future and hope they go far!
If you look closely, there are lots of really pretty coloured shells and flecks in the sand.
A few days ago I went for a walk on North Sands beach in Salcombe. When I got there the tide was out, which meant I could get some really nice photos of the beach and the castle. Salcombe is a lovely in winter; out of season the the beaches are often quiet and empty and, although it’s cold, there’s still lots of fun to be had searching for (and photographing) all of the little interesting plants and animals hiding around the rockpools!
The really nice thing about this beach is that when the tide is this low, you can walk around to the left and find a nice old castle:
Salcombe Castle
I should warn you that there are “NO ENTRY” signs all around castle because it is a ruin and the walls aren’t guaranteed to be structurally stable or safe. Here’s a bit of background information quoted from wikipedia’s article on Salcombe Castle though:
“The castle is thought to have been constructed originally during the reign of Henry VIII, to defend the Kingsbridgeestuary against French andSpanishpirates. It was the last place to hold out in the Royal cause against the victorious Parliamentarian troops of Oliver Cromwell in theEnglish Civil War. Sir Edmund Fortescue was ordered to hold it in 1643, when nearby Plymouth rose against the king; he rebuilt the castle at a cost of £135 6s 11d, and gave it the name “Fort Charles”. The castle was besieged from 15 January to 7 May 1646, and surrendered then only because it became clear that all other royalist strongholds had been overrun; the garrison were allowed to withdraw with their colours flying. After the Civil War the castle was “slighted” (ruined) on the orders of Parliament as it was “too dangerous” to allow it to remain.”
Anyway, after that brief history lesson (and to finish) here’s a picture of a some inquisitive ducks. They seemed to be having a pretty good time down by the water’s edge.
Ducks on North Sands beach in Salcombe.
Hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures! Feel free to comment – I’m happy to answer any questions or just have a nice chat!
At the moment it’s just bare bones, but I’m really glad we’ve finally got something up! I’m hoping to get some good images from a photoshoot on Thursday, so it should be updated fairly soon.
I should probably mention that John (in the middle in the picture above) isn’t really that short, he’s just sat down at the piano. We really need some better pictures!
Anyway, here are a few of the tracks from the site:
Hope you like them and feel free to let us know what you think!
On Wednesday 25th Jan, there was a brilliant session at the Royal Oak.
About a week before, my dad (Joe) and I had been asked we’d like to come and join in with some blues with Ben Carr and a few guest musicians. Neither of us knew exactly how it would work and we’d had no idea what we were going to play – just that it started at 8pm and that it’d probably be a lot of fun.
Ben Carr played his blues set first, with brother Tom Carr on double bass. Ben is an excellent guitarist and manages to organise things like this so quickly – I’m not sure that anyone else would be able to do it!
Next, Tez Locke played a set of completely original works and Ben asked if Doug “Big Toe” Smith and I would join in . Tez was the only one who’d played the songs before, but I joined in with improvised flute fills and harmonies and generally had a good time. People seemed to think we’d been playing together for ages, so it must have sounded fairly good, and we all really enjoyed it.
The last set was made up of three the musicians from Hamer and Isaacs gypsy swing band (Howard, Julian and Rosie) and my dad (Joe) joined them on saxophone with fills, harmonies and improvisations. They were amazing – Rosie has a stunning voice which suited the blues/swing style perfectly and meshed really well with the guitar and bass.
The evening ended with everyone joining in for the last blues and lots of chatting! The atmosphere was just so relaxed and appreciative that I don’t think there’s anyone who wouldn’t want to play there again.
Hannah Sterry 