Decisions, decisions ... What shall I choose for my Track of the Week? Well, there are several good candidates on my Release Radar today. How about Dança dos Miseráveis from the Marinheiro de Terra Firme album by Puppi, an Italian cellist based in Brazil? (The track starts at 22:54 in this YouTube video and you can ignore…Read more Off the Radar
Auntie Aviator
"Zoom, zoom, zoom, zoom", said Auntie, whisking the model aircraft high above her niece's head, adding "we’ll never touch the ground". "And if we don't want to", replied her niece with a grin, "we won't come down". They were both remembering last week's flight when Auntie took the controls of her light aircraft and took the…Read more Auntie Aviator
Highwayman
The old walled city of York is famous for several things. It was a Roman fort and a Viking settlement, it has an impressive Gothic Minster and it was the birthplace of the actress Judi Dench. But the character most closely associated with York is Dick Turpin, butcher by trade, burglar and highwayman by profession,…Read more Highwayman
River Man
I don't have much to say about this Track of the Week. So, instead, here's a silly little ditty about the Chinese fisherman's friend, the cormorant. The common cormorant, or shag, Lays eggs inside a paper bag. The reason you will see, no doubt, Is to keep the lightning out. But what these unobservant birds…Read more River Man
Radical Action …
The Buddha described the way our thoughts constantly nudge and jostle us as like a troop of drunken monkeys swinging from branch to branch. As each chattering simian swoops by its toothy grin mocks us for our failings. Behind us, it says, lie broken dreams, ahead of us endless trials and tribulations. And, as one…Read more Radical Action …
The Weaver’s Answer
Last week we had an Audience with a House on the Hill. They told us a story that asked where in life's rich tapestry we belong. So, this week, it seems entirely appropriate that we look for some answers. And where better to find them than in the studio of those master weavers of sonic…Read more The Weaver’s Answer
The House on the Hill
The English master was about to hand back our homework. "Before I return your books", he said, "I'd like to read you one of the essays". We sat there nervously for a moment, not knowing what to expect. Was he about to praise the text he held in his hands or lambast it mercilessly? And…Read more The House on the Hill
Là-Haut
When Crotchety Man was a student studying biochemistry in the early seventies the class turned up for a series of laboratory practicals to be told that we were getting a new supervisor. For the next few weeks, instead of the fully qualified doctor of philosophy we had expected, they had appointed a 'demonstrator' who was…Read more Là-Haut
Burning Shed Free EP
Back in March 2017, in my Album of the Month post on Moroccan Roll by Brand X, I opined that the latest incarnation of the band had fully rekindled the energy and enthusiasm of their early albums. As evidence I cited a live version of Malaga Virgen recorded on their reunion tour just a few…Read more Burning Shed Free EP
Message In A Bottle
Or, Tales of the River Bank¹. One morning in the summer of 1979 Crotchety Young Man was on his way to work. At that time he was based in the Berkshire town of Reading and his route took him over the river Thames at Caversham Bridge. There were rather more people than usual in the…Read more Message In A Bottle
Crotchety Man 