Desire is a tiger ... Rachel Sermanni is a Scottish folk singer-songwriter. There's an originality in her compositions that reminds me of Laura Marling and fully justifies the 'indie' rider in many articles about her style. Tiger, from her 2019 album, So It Turns, is a particularly fine example of both her lyrical and instrumental…Read more Tiger
2010s
Burnt Belief
The witch will burn for her beliefs People believe all sorts of strange things. Everyone used to believe in witches - some still do. Unfounded rumours have always spread like wildfire. And, of course, fire was often the preferred way to rid the world of that evil wizardry. But fire never seems to expunge belief.…Read more Burnt Belief
Potter’s Daughter
There's something mesmerising about a potter's wheel. In the 1950s, the BBC used a short film of a potter as an interlude (reputedly during breakdowns and when moving cameras from one studio to another). He didn't seem to be making anything in particular. His blob of clay rose from the turnable to become a tall…Read more Potter’s Daughter
Ebi Soda
Ebi Soda is a curious name. It sounds like a soft drink or a foreigner's pronunciation of 'episode'. But, in fact, it is neither of those things. It is a 5-piece contemporary jazz band based in the seaside resort of Brighton on the south coast of England. The Crotchety Library contains almost no other information…Read more Ebi Soda
Distractions
I have been rather distracted over the last couple of days. When the schedule called for blogging I was reading about quantum theory or wrestling with crosswords. But today I'm determined to be productive. Of course, I'm short of time now, so what better way to salve the conscience than to offer two of the…Read more Distractions
Half a World Away
The picture here looks like a scene from a fantasy world but, in fact, it's a photograph taken one misty morning in the New Forest in the south of England. It's a far cry from the concrete jungles of our inner cities but it's really only half a world away. And, like the white horse…Read more Half a World Away
A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof
The second item in Burning Shed's newsletter this week announced a remastering of one of Djam Karet's albums. That name rang a bell somewhere deep in the bowels of Crotchety Man's memory but the sound had no shape or substance. There was no clue to the band's origin, personnel or style. Obviously, there was a…Read more A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof
The Old Man and the Table Saw
Have you any idea how difficult it is to find a good picture of an old man and a table saw? This is a little smaller than I'd like but it's the best I could find on the whole of the Internet. I suppose there aren't that many master craftsmen around these days. Carpentry has…Read more The Old Man and the Table Saw
Yesterday
Two years ago a film by Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis was released in UK cinemas. It was shown for the first time on British TV last night and the Crotchety Couple watched it from the comfort of their sofa. The film is called Yesterday and it tells the story of a bit-part singer/songwriter who…Read more Yesterday
Gnossienne No. 1
gnossiennen. a moment of awareness that someone you’ve known for years still has a private and mysterious inner life, and somewhere in the hallways of their personality is a door locked from the inside, a stairway leading to a wing of the house that you’ve never fully explored—an unfinished attic that will remain maddeningly unknowable to you, because ultimately…Read more Gnossienne No. 1
