Somewhere in Eff Elle A...

Playlist

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Souvenir XVIII : Splinterheart Live Set

David Sylvian - Sleepwalkers

The Bad Plus - Never Stop

Craig Armstrong/AGF - Orlando (Live Performance)

Various Composers - Barqoue MP3 CD

Another eventful month gone...

Fine weather on the last day of September, 2010...

This wee spider's web caught on camera on the walk to the bus...

The moon was in many of my shots today - for example, this, of one of my favourite towers in Edinburgh...

A trip to Dunfermline was required this morning - misty as I made my way over but bright and sunny on the way back...

In the evening, out with Annie, firstly, to La Piazza, opposite the tower above, where we enjoyed a very tasty pre-theatre dinner - bruschetta and penne carbonara for Anne, soup and sea bass fillet for your correspondent...

Mmm, mmm...

Then to the Traverse theatre...

...for a sold out "Orlando", with music by Craig Armstrong and AGF, the latter in attendance, onstage, taking part in the performance - a very entertaining 80 minute adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel...

An extrodinary performance from Madeleine Worrall in the title role - a virtual monologue, with electronic soundscapes and state of the art visual effects...

Impressive...

Back home in time for a lacklustre "Mock the Week", "Question Time" (no idea why "actor" Brian Cox should have been invited on - doesn't live in Britain, has no idea about politics, professional left wing lovey)...

Followed by an entertaining "This Week", which was fallen asleep to...

Highlight of the Day : Orlando...

The sheltering sky...

Playlist

The Bad Plus – The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus – These Are the Vistas
The Bad Plus - Give
The Bad Plus – Blunt Object : Live in Tokyo
The Bad Plus – Suspicious Activity
The Bad Plus - Prog
The Bad Plus – For All I Care
The Bad Plus – Never Stop

Cloudland Blue Quartet – Souvenir XVIII : Splinterheart Live Set

Up early with the idea of creating a 4CD Bad Plus Box Set – yes this is what runs through my head at five in the morning...

Accordingly, I made the first steps by separating the tracks from the eight CDs I have (only the out of print “Authorised Bootleg” evades me) into folders containing tracks written by each of Reid Anderson, Dave King and Ethan Iverson, another folder containing the various cover versions they’ve recorded and, finally, a folder of alternate versions...

I will return to this but, meanwhile, their music entertained me throughout the day...

At lunchtime, visited a bookshop whose window display of art books caught my eye whilst out with Dr Prog on Monday...

No purchases...

Bus home...

Lovely skies over Crispycat Towers this evening...

With my knees (and other parts of my legs) still too painful to venture back from the gym, I was in the mood to add the proposed acoustic guitar to the proposed Souvenir CD, giving it the full proposed sound I propose to make in November...

A rather poignant “Grand Designs”, wherein one of the participants succumbed to cancer just a few weeks into the project, was enjoyed – and followed by this week’s rather sad “Law & Order : Criminal Intent”...

Lights out with a lump in the throat...

Highlight of the Day : Finishing another CBQ CD, no doubt to no avail....

Rocky mountain way...

Playlist

David Sylvian - Sleepwalkers

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Souvenir XVIII : Splinterheart Live Set

The Bad Plus - Never Stop

The Bad Plus - Discography

Post the Book Festival, Charlotte Square Gardens are being repaired...

Back home, having been soundtracked today by me, David Sylvian and The Bad Plus, I toyed with the idea of recording an additional acoustic guitar onto the proposed Souvenir CD for the upcoming gig - but couldn't be bothered really...

Instead, inspired by Impossible Songs' current Canadian Honeymoon Trip, I played through all our photos from our own 25th Anniversary Rocky Mountain Adventure of 2008, whilst I listened to more of the excellent Bad Plus...

The day was completed by the first in the new series of "Harry & Paul", followed by last night's quite superb "Spooks", Tivo'd in my absence by the Exec Producer...

To bed with more of The Bad Plus...

Highlight of the Day : Spooks (again) and memories of Canada...

Difficult listening hour pt 46...

Playlist
Jutta Hipp - With Zoot Simms
Ornette Coleman - Live at the Golden Circle Vols 1 & 2
Art Blakey - The Freedom Rider
Cannonball Adderley - Mercy Mercy Mercy
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Souvenir XVIII : Spinterheart Live Set
The Bad Plus - Never Stop

Soundtracked today, in the main, by the jazz discs bought a week ago at FOPP - brilliant stuff - especially Coleman...

Along to FOPP at lunchtime with the idea of perhaps purchasing more £3 jazz CDs - instead I found the new album by The Bad Plus, "Never Stop" (hope they never do) for a very reasonable £10, along with David Sylvian's new collaborational compilation "Sleepwalkers" at the same price...

So I forked out a bit more than planned but got discs by two artists which fall into my category of "if I see a new LP I will buy it"...

No time to listen though, as I was meeting up with Dr Prog for tonight's inaugural concert of the 2010/2011 ECAT season, which featured, shall we say, "challenging" music from the likes of Xennakis, Rihm, Birtwhistle and Vivier along with three equally "non-melodic" pieces being given their world premieres...

Prior to the "gig", we partook of some spicy fayre at Kebab Mahal and a couple of drinks at the Queens Hall bar...

You absolutely have to be in the correct frame of mind to enjoy music like this - and there's nothing like a kebab and some cider to get you in the mood for some avant garde classical music played by a trio of piano, clarinet and cello - so, luckily, we were in the correct frame of mind...

...even though it could of course have quite easily been categorised as "tuneless shite"...

A bus home to the Exec Producer, who put her status in doubt by declaring the new Bad Plus CD as "rubbish"...

I had not previously noted her ears having been made of cloth...

Granted it was midnight and she was not in the best frame of mind to hear clattering drums and atonal piano...

Not to worry..

Lights out on a fine day...

Highlight of the Day : New Bad Plus / 2 hours of difficult listening with Dr Prog...

Grandiose instrumental overture...

 Playlist
Genesis - A Trick of the Tail
Rheostatics - Introducing Happiness
MGMT - Congratulations
The Roy Hargrove Quintet - Earfood
John Scofield - This Meets That

Up around 6:30 and comparing the synchronisation of the proposed live set to the visuals created yesterday...

I realised I had around two and a half minutes of time still available...

I had a brainwave - create an introductory piece...

If I do an acoustic set (it's not set in stone yet that I won't), I would enedeavour to include songs from the previous seven albums as well as "Splinterheart"...

So, I thought why not create a sound collage incorporating said older songs along with the four missing-on-account-of-being-too-left-field "Splinterheart" pieces...

And so I did - and, given that the first half of the first song in the set involves no singing, that too became part of the collage...

So the backing track was complete...

Then I sang through the set, recording it for the "Souvenir" CD for the night - should my plans remain unaltered...

Spring cleaning (even though it's Autumn) was also taking place in the house and I chipped in with some tidying and moving of furniture and consideration of future plans to rearrange matters...

Outside, it was a beautiful sunny day but, rather than go for a walk, we watched the film, "The Secret Garden"...

In the evening, nourishment came in the form of a tasty and much missed recently Red Thai Chicken Curry, while entertainment was supplied by "Inspector George Gently" and "Match of the Day 2"

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Creating and Anne's curry...

Lights, camera, action, kind of, not really...

Playlist
Maria Joao Pires - Le Voyage Magnifique
Glenn Gould - Bach Partitas
Weather Report - Forecast Tomorrow
Martha Argerich - Debut Recital
Buggles - Adventures in Modern Recording
Yes - Drama
Cheap Trick - The Very Best Of Cheap Trick
Sparks - When Do I Get to Sing "My Way"
David Bowie - Little Wonder
Genesis - A Trick of the Tail

Started the day at the computer creating a 30 minute film comprising over 180 stills, in a rostrum camera stylee...

This was followed by some tasty classical piano - Schubert's Impromptus from Pires and Bach's Partitas from Gould...

The laborius task of manually shredding confidential papers was accompanied by disc one of the Weather Report box set - 80 minutes and I wasn't finished...

Dishwashing was accompanied by Martha Argerich's recital of Chopin, Brahms and Prokofiev...

While the PC was taking almost six hours to format the film, I set off to the Hearts game with Anne, as brother-in-law Keith was attending a wedding...

Me, Anne, Anne's mum, other brother-in-law Bobby and niece Kitty were greeted by this wee cat on our way...

And I was joined by nephew Craig for the match...

It was Kitty's first game...

She was excited before we got to the stadium...

Excited as kick off approached...

Excited at half time...

..and excited at the end (despite Hearts having lost 2-0 to Motherwell)...

...and keen to show off her recently acquired tooth-gap and her brother's old Hearts top...

Home to find the film complete but another hour and a half to turn it into a CD to allow for viewing...

In the evening, "Merlin" wasn't the best episode ever but entertained nonetheless...

Between that and "Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow" I worked again on the backing tracks for the upcoming gig (November 3rd - almost a year to the day since my last gig)...

For the third album release in a row, I have been invited to play at Secret CD (thanks Mr Jim Igoe) and despite a wobble last night when I enjoyed playing a ten song set on solo acoustic, including four from "Splinterheart", I am sticking with the gameplan of 30 mins of "Splinterheart" stuff...



The set won't include any of the more, shall we say, esoteric items on the album (Black Earth, Apple pt 1, Optimist, Cage) (see player above to sample the new LP)...

However, I have reworked several of the songs, including shortening "The Killers at the Counter" and totally revamping (and shortening) "Krebs went to War", taking out all Craig Sutherland's sterling work (sorry Craig!!) on which the original track is based, to give it a more acoustic feel, and rearreanging both "Splinterheart" and "Here They come With the New Machines"...

In addition to this upcoming performance, I'm still working towards Internet gigs on "Second Life" with Pol Arida - he has a "virtual" club there (sounds a bit weird I know - but basically I go to his studio and play there and it's broadcast over the net - and people's "avatars" come to the club to "see" me)...

The dilemma of using backing tracks is that, while the true style and sound of the CD will hopefully get across, it may well end up looking like someone doing karaoke of songs no-one knows...

Hence the film production this morning...

To pep things up, as I'm pretty sure the Secret CD venue (The Voodoo Rooms) has a DVD player and screen in the room we will be using, I decided to attempt to show some visuals in the background...

As ever, on the now rare occasions when I'm going to be performing, I'm probably getting ahead of myself...

Highlight of the day : Film production...

E = MC²...

Playlist
Richard Shindell – Blue Divide
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Splinterheart
To Rococo Rot – Kolner Bret
Herman Van Veen – Die Anziehungskraft der Erde
Count Basie – The Complete Atomic Basie (aka E = MC²)
Creek – 2010 01

A lovely leaf on the back path this morning...

Possible future cover art methinks...

Meanwhile, look what the book festival has done to the gardens in Charlotte Square...

Another week, another HMV sale...

Same old, same old really and I am slowly becoming conditioned into not buying any CD costing more than £3...

Today then, for a mere £2, I snapped up Count Basie’s 1958 classic of tunes written and arranged by Neal Hefti (of later “Batman” theme fame), “The Atomic Mr Basie” aka “E = MC²”...

I’m not a great fan of big band jazz but, when done correctly, it rocks – or rather it swings...

And this one swings with a vengeance...

Nice...

Back home to find a gorgeous aroma coming from the kitchen at Crispycat Towers – Anne had been preparing lamb shanks in a delicious sauce for around two hours...

Extremely tasty...

Post this and the first of tonight’s two “Coronation Street”s, I popped upstairs, picked up the acoustic and ran through around ten songs without the aid of music or lyrics and I was impressed...

Arghh! – another rethink perhaps re the upcoming gig...

Doing this meant I forewent the second Corrie but I did catch the third in the enjoyable latest series of “New Tricks”...

Meg the Black Cat enjoyed it too...

Then, to the PC to find the first new Creek track of 2010 in the inbox from Mr Sutherland, to which me and Mr Cobley (and Count Brodski if we can raise him from the dead – or rather his studies) are to add our input...

Yowsah...

Highlight of the Day : I might have said the new Creek track but I’m afraid Anne’s cooking just trumped it – sorry Craig – my tastebuds outdid my earbuds...

The quaffmeister...

Playlist

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Splinterheart Live Set

Cannonball Adderly Quintet - Mercy Mercy Mercy

Various - Early CDs I Bought
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Soundingfall

Horrible rainy day today...

Post cooking (and eating) a tasty chili...

...during which cooking your correspondent probably quaffed a little too much of the old vino rosso, it was back to the computer and managed another ten CDs, finishing off the first page (see yesterday if that's a bit oblique)...

Struggling a bit with the brand new Blogger posting scenario - a lot harder now to get pics where you want them...

Later on telly will rule, with "Mock the Week", "Question Time" and "This Week"...

That's it...

Highlight of the Day : Cookin' with Annie...

Rippedy rip rip bloomin' well rip, probably not...

Playlist
Kansas - Leftoverture
Rush - Power Windows
Various - My First 40 CDs
Yes - Fragile

This evening, mucking about and telly...

Started ripping all my CDs again from scratch with Eno's "Thursday Afternoon"...

Well, I'm not ripping them all, I'm putting them on one of the external hard drives and many of them are currently on one of the jukeboxes so only a few were actually ripped...

I managed the first 40 - almost all of the first page of my "Red Book of CDs I've Bought"...

At that rate it will take me over six months to get them all onto a hard drive - so no doubt my enthusiam will wain and it'll be just one more unfinished project...

On telly, "Law & Order UK" was followed by "Law & Order : Criminal Intent"...

Tasty...

Highlight of the Day : Listening to discs bought 25 years ago...

Remake, remodel...

Playlist
Cannonball Adderley – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
Planet X – Quantum
Miles Davis - Siesta
The Pineapple Thief – Someone Here is Missing

Worked this evening on the backing tracks for the proposed set – eight of the songs from “Splinterheart”, with five of them re-worked from the versions on the LP...



Then spent some time running through the set – firstly with the electric, then just singing along, then singing along while playing the acoustic...

The third option was best...

Meanwhile Annie was listening to the CIS Cup, from which both Hearts and Queens were dumped out...

Hearts lost 4-3 away to First Division Falkirk - Hearts were reduced to ten men but had come back from two down to lead 3-2, only to concede a third almost immediately and then lose with the last header of the game in 94 minutes...

Bobby and Ollie were in the crowd...

Queens lost 3-0 away to Premier League St Johnstone in Perth, having held out for almost 70 minutes before conceding a penalty and promptly going to pieces...

The day was rounded off with a new acquisition courtesy of Prog Rock Willie – The Pineapple Thief – not really prog – more interesting rock in a kind of mid-period Radiohead stylee...

Nice...

Highlight of the Day : Progressing with the proposed live set...

S'wonderful...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Proposed Happygolucky Set
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Splinterheart Set
Jutta Hipp – Jutta Hipp with Zoot Simms
Art Blakey – The Freedom Rider
Ornette Coleman – At The Golden Circle Vols 1 & 2
Cannonball Adderley – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

This morning’s listening convinced me to revert to the “Splinterheart” based set...

Meg the Black Cat was unimpressed either way...



Despite this, I will start work again at some point this week...

On Saturday, in Fopp in Glasgow, I’d noted the £3 Blue Note deal had returned but that no titles I did not already have were on display...

Today, at Fopp Edinburgh though, I found five LPs previously un-owned (ok I had an illegal burn of one of them) but now in the collection...

One from 1956 by Jutta Hipp, of whom I’d not previously heard – a German pianist and artist who fell in love with jazz whilst listening to it on the radio in Leipzig in the thirties and whose family fled the Russian occupation at the end of WWII...

Discovered playing the clubs in Frankfurt by Leonard Feather of Blue Note, she emigrated to the USA in the mid fifties and went down a storm in New York...

Hot bop indeed...

Chronically nervous when performing though, she retired from music before the end of the decade and spent the rest of her working life as a seamstress – indeed, when she died, her friends only discovered she’d once been a jazz pianist when her obituaries appeared...

A disc by Art Blakey of a couple of 1961 sessions including three bonus tracks only previously released in Japan – featuring the talents of both Wayne Shorter and Lee Morgan no less...

Yowsa!

Two titles by Ornette Coleman, comprising both volumes of his famous 1965 concerts in Sweden (volume one was my previously owned burn – now in the “doublers box”)...

Far out, man....

And, finally, Canonball Adderley’s 1966 classic “Mercy, Marcy, Mercy - Live at The Club” – the second disc of the day with a Weather Report connection, featuring as it does, Joe Zawinul – writer of the famous title track...

Groovy...

Dark skies on the way home with my booty...



In the evening, in between listening to the new purchases and post an excellent tea from the Exec Producer, I was on fire during University Challenge, managing over 15 correct answers (ok not quite as on fire as the Edinburgh team which beat Jesus College 335 – 35)...

Then, as if things couldn’t get better, post more listening, at nine came the return of, probably, my favourite programme on the telly, the magnificent “Spooks”...

Oh yeah...

More listening and updating post “Spooks”...

Good day...

Highlight of the Day : The return of Spooks...

Inconsequential pontificating...

Playlist
Creek – Masters Vols 1-15
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Happygolucky

Spent the majority of the morning and early afternoon listening to and transferring to the hard drive, the 15 or so discs of music created by our Electronic Improv Quartet, Creek, from its inception in June 1997 through to its initial hiatus in 1999, its reactivation in 2003/04 (which resulted in the LP "Somewhere Between") and our sporadic recordings in 2005 and 2006...

I was doing this because Creek may be stirring again – certainly both Stuart Cobley and Craig Sutherland have expressed an interest in reactivation while Count Brodski, who didn’t really participate beyond the recording of the 2004 album, is now almost finished with his studies and may also be ready to return to active service...

Last time we convened as a trio was towards the end of 2008 - but the resultant tracks ended up as CBQ songs and formed the basis of around half of the "Soundingfall" LP of 2009...

Late afternoon, all Creeked out, I whittled down the CBQ "Happygolucky" collection to half its original 24 songs...



...and had a couple of plays through but, frankly, I find my solo acoustic guitar playing rather boring to say the least...

Despite the Exec Producer’s advice on Friday, perhaps I ought to be reverting to playing a “Splinterheart” based set but utilising available technology to produce the true “quartet” sound of CBQ – and perhaps too playing sparse electric guitar as opposed to strumming the acoustic...

Or perhaps I spend too much time pontificating over my now seemingly once a year, probably inconsequential, 30 minutes or so in front of an audience...

Although, whichever set and set up I finally decide upon, it will be used too for the proposed internet gigs which are also in the pipeline...

A lovely tea at Anne’s mum’s with Jane, Bobby, Ollie, Kitty, Keith and Maureen took us to post 9pm and our holiday was all but over...

It’s been an enjoyable two weeks, with reasonable activity almost everyday and, really, not too much time spent by me at the PC, other than very first thing most mornings while Anne was still sleeping...

As ever on a Sunday between August and May, the evening was rounded off with “Match of the Day 2” – with no highlights of wins this weekend by both Hearts (3-1 away at Inverness Caledonian Thistle) or Queens (2-1 at home to Partick Thistle) both having won after coming back from a goal down...

Highlight of the Day : Creeking...

Take a break...

Playlist
Fripp & Eno – No Pussyfooting
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Happygolucky
LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
Justin Currie – The Great War
Steve Harley – Stranger Comes to Town
Sumner McKane Group – Night Blooming Cereus
KD Lang – Recollection
Rheostatics – The Final Set
Moby – Wait For Me
Besnard Lakes – Are the Roaring Night
Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
Field Music – Measure
The National – High Violet
Miles Davis – Siesta
Hawkwind – Take Me to Your Leader

Further to Anne’s suggestion yesterday, this morning I compiled a disc containing 24 “upbeat” CBQ tracks – giving it the ironic moniker of “Happygolucky”...

Then a trio of new MP3 discs for the car – one comprising almost the total 170 odd tracks of the 10 CD Anthology of the first thirty years of my music making which I compiled a couple of years back, another of classical music I like and a third containing a dozen or so recent albums...

The last of these soundtracked our trip to and from Bearsden with my mum to visit chums Lex and Moira...

We were slightly late in arriving due to unforeseen congestion as we made our way across Glasgow – but were buoyed by tasty home made soup with lashings of French bread while we set the world to rights until the late afternoon...

Anne and I went off to catch the train into Glasgow for the ubiquitous shopping trip – passing through what might be Annie’s homeland...



Visits to Fopp and Missing were rewarded with the snaffling of Miles Davis’ late work, the soundtrack to the film “Siesta” for three of your British squids...

Back at Bearsden, relaxing drinks and more chat were followed by excellent home made fish pie and rounded off with home made apple crumble – made with apples from a neighbour’s tree no less – and coffee and biscuits...

During the evening, Lex regaled us with the tale of just why it is he always has to have a goodly supply of KitKats in the house...



...it was due to their having been considered a bit of a luxury item when he was a youngster visiting an “affluent” aunt...

Meanwhile Moira took delight in pointing at her depleted plate collection...



...depleted due to, post a redecoration effort, it having been the general consensus that there were, frankly, too many plates on the wall...

The quintet chatted into the night before my mum finally called time, reminding us that, once back at Crispycat Towers, she would then have to drive back to Mum Towers...

So we made our way home after another enjoyable trip to the West...

Highlight of the Day : A visit to Lex and Moira’s...

Origin of the species...

Playlist
Sumner McKane Group – Night Blooming Cereus
Beethoven - Complete Piano Sonatas
Brian Eno – Thursday Afternoon
Brian Eno – Discreet Music
Alice Cooper – Alice Does Alice
Alice Cooper – Singles Real & Imaginary
Fripp & Eno – Paris Olympia 1975
Fripp & Eno – No Pussyfooting (Backwards)

Up late at eight...

And, before and after breakfast, at the PC working again on the revamps of three early songs re possible inclusion in my proposed “downbeat” live set – eight songs, one from each of the CBQ song LPs:-

This Is All There Is pt 1 (Callingstill)
You Taught Me How to Love You (Doveloveshawk)
Twenty Twenty Vision (Ampersand)
I Rearranged the House (Anotherhappyday)
Very Small pt 2 (Deeperdown)
Lights Out (Ersatzreal)
Blend (Soundingfall)
Never or Now (Splinterheart)

Five hours later, I had some, albeit less than satisfying, results...

Lunch with the Exec Producer, now returned from a (probably fortuitous given my musicking) four hour Zumba and extended natter session with Lynn...

More work post lunch...

Then, at Anne's suggestion, a lovely walk in our “garden” – Corstorphine Hill...



I descended from the hill inspired to doing things other than this music nonsense - but then I asked the Exec Producer’s advice re my quandary on what and how to play re this upcoming set...

Her advice was simple – “play your happy-go-lucky” songs...

I advised "I don’t really have any “happy-go-lucky” songs"...

So her advice was amended to “well, play your faster songs then”....

Brilliant – why didn’t I think of that?

It is for this reason that everyone should have an Exec Producer...

And so, on our return to Crispycat Towers, although Meg the Black Cat had usurped the artist's chair...



...my non-music plans were set aside and I commenced work on a new, Exec Producer inspired, setlist, which may well include such songs as:-

A Nice Job in a Small Town (Doveloveshawk)
The Crocodile Song (Deeperdown)
Blue Eyes Across the Room (Ersatzreal)
Splinterheart (Splinterheart)
Please Stay With Us (Soundingfall)
Dirty Men in a Red Car (Callingstill)
Perfectly Simple (Anotherhappyday)

...plus “upbeat” versions of:-
You Taught Me How to Love You (Doveloveshawk)
Twenty Twenty Vision (Ampersand)
Blend (Soundingfall)

...and, the Exec Producer’s one song choice which she opined I must play:-
Never or Now (Splinterheart)

[of course, all these songs can be found on the players at each of the individual LP websites – click on the LP titles above – or use the links to your right]

So, to the kitchen - and, soundtracked by Herr van Beethoven's superb Piano Sonatas, I created a pasta dish formulated in my head yesterday – comprising onion, chilli, tomatoes, chorizo and crème fraiche (and penne pasta)...

Served with lashings of parmesan and black pepper, some freshly baked ciabata and a cheeky wee Pinot Grigot – success on a plate...



Post this, to the back room to listen to (for the first time in a very long time) Brian Eno’s “Thursday Afternoon” in its entirety (one 61 minute track), while I perused the new Ikea catalogue (in search of CD storage solutions) and the “Interior Design Atlas”...

I like books with pictures...

There was a time when I had only one CD (as opposed to 6,000) – and “Thursday Afternoon” was that CD...



The book browsing continued with side two of Eno’s 1975 album “Discreet Music” – three variations on Pachelbel’s Canon in D...

Ended the day with some surfing, soundtracked by the Coop, before heading to bed with backwards Fripp & Eno in the cans...

Another happy day...

Highlight of the Day : Inspiration from the Exec Producer...

How to pronounce the word scone....

Playlist
Rush – 100 MP3s
Rush - Time Stands Still : The Collection
Yes – The Ultimate Yes : 35th Anniversary Collection

Up early and out to Tesco for some essentials which, for some reason, included a newly released Rush compilation, of which I already have every track...

This prompted today’s MP3 listening in the car as I compiled a quick 100 track Rush disc prior to our setting off around 11...

Today, avoiding the pope, we were off up over the Forth Road Bridge, through Fife and on to Perth and Scone Palace...



First stop was Boot Hill, which is where Scottish Kings were crowned in “the old days”, using the famous Stone of Destiny...



Then, inside for a walk around the sumptuous apartments of the palace...



Then a walk around the huge grounds, enjoying the wildlife...



...and the many spectacular tree scenarios...



We ventured into the maze and managed to make our way to the fountain in the middle...



Then, having spent a good three hours or so at Scone, it was back to the car and north again to Blairgowrie..

However, it's difficult to see the attraction of a village where the pound shop is the highlight...

So we drove west to Dunkeld...



...where we enjoyed a walk and a browse along the main street and a wee drink at the Taybank Hotel, before ambling along the river bank to the Cathedral...

As the sun started to sink, we made our way back to Crispycat Towers where, in the evening, some re working of old songs re possible use of backing tracks was undertaken...

Probably pointless...

Once again, an enjoyable day...

Highlight of the Day : Scone Palace