From Luing...

Music of the Day
Andrew Hill – Judgement
Brian Eno – Clean OST
Alice Cooper – 1977-1987
Alice Cooper – 1994-2004
Various – Hit Singles

Awake around 9 and breakfast is scheduled for 10....

We are up quickly and take a walk around the tiny village of Cullipool. It’s bright and sunny but not too warm...



Round to Birgit’s cottage where she’s prepared some excellent fayre. Being German, she naturally partakes of some chocolate spread on her toast – which prompts a discussion about the strange eating habits (strange to Brits that is) of the German nation at large, including the above propensity for mixing bread and chocolate and their ability to eat raw minced pork without batting an eyelid....

I must confess to having enjoyed both these examples of German cuisine whilst I lived there...

We are looking to catch the midday ferry back to neighbouring Seil Island which is linked to the mainland by the famous “Bridge over the Atlantic”. Prior to this, the four of us take a stroll along the country road which leads from the village to the heart of this sparsely populated place....



I also get to touch Birgit’s pet American Corn Snake Ophelia this morning. She seems fascinated with the camera trying to touch it with her ever darting tongue. Anne declines an offer to get a bit closer but I like the wee beastie...



All too soon it’s time for us to go and Birgit drives us back to the ferry – we promise to return in August and to try our best for us all to meet up in Glasgow at some point (Norrie works there and comes to Luing at Weekends but will retire to the island soon)...

Our route back home is slightly different as we go from Oban to Tyndrum rather than via Glencoe as on the way up....

A traffic jam on the outskirts of Stirling causes us to make a detour to keep moving and we’re home by around 3:30 to a wee Black Cat with a bit of a story to tell by the sounds of things...

In the evning it’s round to Anne’s mum’s for tea. Jane and Bobby are away in London with the kids so it’s a bit more “civilised and quiet” than usual...

Keith and Maureen have bought combined TV/DVD/CD players for Maureen’s two girls and, since neither of these generous parents drives, I offer them a lift home. A taxi fair would have added rather a bit percentage wise to these bargain pieces of technology...

By the time we get home again around 9, I’ve driven around 400 miles this weekend and my ankle is giving me jip..

It’s been a good weekend though...



Highlight of the Day : A Visit to Luing

To Luing...

Music of the Day
The Violet Archers – End of Part One
Martin Tielli – Operation Infinite Joy
Ethan Iverson – Construction Zone
Ethan Iverson – DeConstruction Zone
Various – Hit Singles
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Deeperdown
Brian Eno – Clean OST

Today we’re off up north to visit our friend Birgit on the island of Luing (http://www.isleofluing.co.uk/)....

I once lived in a little village (Felsberg) near the city of Kassel in Germany....

I was a Foreign Language Assistant at the local school....

Birgit, then aged 14, was in one of the classes I took....

I got to know her family through the parent teacher association and we have remained friends ever since....

We will see her today for the first time in over two years....

Birgit has a shop in Oban (Whitmore & Hamilton) selling crafts and woolens and is working today so there’s no big rush for us to get there.....

After a leisurely breakfast of croissants and coffee, we set off around 10:45 for the drive up through some of the most beautiful countryside in Scotland. It’s pouring with rain....

By the time we’re leaving Callander however, the rain ceases and the weather starts to brighten....

We’re heading for the Balachulish Hotel, scene of the great CBQ becoming non-vegetarian last October and, after a drive through the wonderful Glencoe, we arrive around 1:15 for lunch....

Very tasty it is too...

We sit at the window, taking in the view...



Then it’s back on the road and we tootle down to Oban, never breaching 35 miles per hour....

We’re at Birgit’s shop by 4pm....

Top quality merchandise and we buy a few things....

At 5 we head for Tesco for few messages then drive down to the ferry and over to the island – we leave our car on the mainland as the Sunday ferry is passenger only...

At Birgit’s house we meet her new partner, Norrie, for the first time, although we’ve stayed in his cottage before and will do so again tonight....

While Birgit prepares dinner we take a walk along the beach with Norrie and he shows us two orphaned lambs who live nearby and where steps to the sea and the one track road were washed away in storms a year or so ago....

The weather is now bright and sunny...



Back at the cottage, Birgit has prepared a wonderful meal and we sit round the table eating, drinking and chatting until the wee small hours....



I have the foresight (thanks to a reminder from my Executive Producer, Anne) to switch from quaffing tasty red wine, to sipping sparkling mineral water since I’m driving back home tomorrow.....

A slow, relaxing day...



Highlight of the Day : A Visit to Luing

Out and about with Dr Prog...

Albums of the Day
Larry Coryell - Spaces
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Five New Songs
Andrew Hill – Judgement
Donald Byrd – Mustang
Cara Dillon – Sweet Liberty
Coldplay – Speed of Sound (EP)
Grand Funk Railroad – The Singles
Enchant – Tug of War

Began the day at 12:30am this morning (I invariably listen to music when I go to bed as I can’t sleep without it unless I am amazingly tired) listening to Larry Coryell’s 1969 album “Spaces”..

It may well be the only album to contain joint performances by members of all three of the greatest jazz fusion groups of the 1970s (Mahavishnu Orchestra – John McLaughlin & Billy Cobham; Weather Report – Miroslav Vitous; Return to Forever – Chick Corea)...



I was pointed in this album’s direction by my German chum Jorg when he was over staying with us last October...

During his stay he bought the same Reeves Gabrels album which I bought at e-bay recently and which arrived yesterday. The album had been sitting on my hard drive waiting to be copied and burned for seven months before I bought it not realising it was the same one...

Visited the Music Library today and borrowed two CDs by Irish singer Cara Dillon. It’s a wee bit too folky for my tastes but I have three weeks in which to persevere or reject...

A flyer from the Queen’s Hall alerts me to a concert on Tuesday by The Bad Plus – jazz trio led by Ethan Iverson – I will attend...

Before going out to meet up with Dr Prog tonight, I ran through a CBQ Set (around 20 minutes) of my most recent songs:-
“Go Away (And Leave Me Here)”
“The End of Everything”
“The Luckiest Man Alive”
“Happy Song” - hmm I need a new title for that one I think...
“I Still Write You Letters (I Just Don’t Send Them Anymore)”
and, finally, Lindsay West’s fine song
“Do As Others Do”

Then I drove to St Giles cathedral for tonight’s concert in the Sonicfusion Festival (http://www.sonicfusionfestival.com/). I was intrigued as to how this was going to sound – and a little apprehensive. It was billed as mostly improvised music with an instrumental line up of trumpet and clarinet...



I needn’t have worried though. From the first notes which resounded beautifully around the interior of the old church buildings, this was a delightful concert...

Markus Stockhausen (son of Karl-Heinz) and his wife, Tara Bouman, actually played a variety of instruments over the duration of the 90 minute recital, including flugelhorn, trumpet, piccolo trumpet, piano, clarinet, and bass clarinet...

Instead of an interval, Markus stood in front of the audience and invited us to close our eyes and tune in to the harmonics of a single cymbal, which he proceeded to play for around five minutes....

At one point during a piece, Tara even removed her left shoe and used her heel in the horn of the bass clarinet to treat the sound of her instrument...

After the concert Phil Prog and I engaged both Markus and Tara in conversation, congratulating them on their performance and Phil bought their CD and had it autographed...

What an unlikely enjoyable time we had – check Markus’ site at http://www.markusstockhausen.com/

Then we walked down the High St and along to The Jazz Bar on Chamber St to see what was going on there. If you’re into Jazz or just live music in general, check out the website at http://www.thejazzbar.co.uk/ for the interesting stories behind he club...



We caught an entire hour-long set by young Perth saxophonist Fraser Campbell who’s back in the UK for just a few days break from his studies at Boston’s Berklee Jazz College....

He was brilliant – really top notch stuff – and ably backed up by the unnamed pianist and electric bass player (his solos sounded like guitar solos) and, on drums, the bar proprietor, Bill Kyle – a true stalwart of the Scottish Jazz Scene...

Fraser’s playing again on Wednesday night – I will attend...

And so a busy week ahead next week:-
Monday – Acoustic Idol
Tuesday – Ethan Iverson
Wednesday – Fraser Campbell
Thursday – Out of the Bedroom
Friday – Paul Buchanan

Highlight of the Day : Out on the ran-dan with Dr Prog

Watching TV with the sound blocked out by Jazz...

Albums of the Day
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Five New Songs
UK – Best of UK
Freddie Hubbard – A Soul Experiment
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers – Free For All
Freddie Hubbard – Backlash
Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers – With Thelonius Monk
Reeves Gabrels – Rockonica
Various – The Wire Tapper 15

I start the day listening to CBQ’s “Five New Songs” with the intention of going along and playing three of them at Out of the Bedroom tonight...

Listening to them is a bit like rehearsing them – certainly it’s the closest I’ll get to that task today...

Of course I should possibly play “The Crocodile Song” or “Half A Lifetime Away” as they’ve both been nominated for Song of the Year at Monday’s annual “Acoustic Idol” awards. Apparently I’m also nominated as Best Solo Artist and my last album, “Deeperdown” is up for best album...

Since I’ve not sent out any newsletter to my, ahem, “fans” regarding these nominations and how to vote, I don’t expect to actually win anything – but I’ll go along in any case...

In 2004, my previous album “Anotherhappyday” came 4th overall and was the top album by a male artist...

Uptown, a kind of semi-sale at the moment at HMV prompts me to purchase two discs, Freddie Hubbard’s 1967 album “Backlash”, in which he moves away from his previous role as hard bop trumpeter and makes his way into a bit of a soul trip...

Cracking stuff....

While I wait to get home to hear it, I spin his later album “A Soul Experiment” on the Jukebox to get me in the mood...

Second disc is Art Blakey’s 1958 album “With Thelonius Monk” which is described in the Penguin Guide to Jazz as “indispensible”, receiving five stars and a coronet no less...

To tee me up for this, I set the jukebox to play the Jazz Messengers’ “Free For All”...

I love jazz – except Dixieland, Trad Jazz and anything with vocals....

Not content with me adding these two to the collection, fate leaves the recently successfully bid for on e-bay Reeves Gabrels album “Rockonica” on the doormat for my return to Crispycat Towers, along with the latest edition of The Wire magazine, which, this month, comes complete with an eclectic selection of new music...

Dr Prog has phoned today to invite me along to two concerts, one tonight, a selection of South American Guitar Music at a Church on Princes Street, and one tomorrow night, Markus Stockhausen, trumpet playing son of Karl-Heinz, playing some improv jazz at St Giles cathedral on the Royal Mile...

I forego tonight’s thinking I’ll be at OOTB but give a tentative affirmative to tomorrow – I’ll need to check with Executive Producer, Anne, re any clashes in the social calendar...

Back home and, by the time we’ve had our tea, it’s a wee bit late to get along to OOTB to get a slot, so, with all the new music which has made its way into my life today, I decide to crack open a bottle of red, get the headphones out and have an evening of classic jazz, metal and weirdness on one settee, while Anne watches the telly from the other...

We are accompanied by Meg the Black Cat...

We watch Jimmy McGovern’s drama for BBC, “The Street” (I don’t have sound of course) – this week re a particularly nasty wife-beating bastard who, rather satisfyingly, is himself battered to death in the street by his wife and her sister, having just beaten up the sister’s husband, causing his mother-in-law to die from a heart attack – rather fittingly, the girls dump his body in the freshly prepared mother’s grave where it is covered by her coffin...

Excellent – even without hearing the dialogue!!

This is followed by “Newsnight”, by which time my listening evening is over. Labour take another kicking at the hands of the audience and panel. They don’t realise of course that Gordon Brown will be even worse than Tony Blair...

Then “This Week” in which Stephen Fry, a luvvie whom I’ve never liked, makes an arse of himself with some, seemingly drunken, spouting about how Labour and politicians in general are ok (even though they fail miserably to do any of the things they said they’d do in order to get elected) and in fact, we, the public at large are to blame for all woes currently plaguing the country...

Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys also makes an appearance to give his opinion of the 80’s. He has a new album out on Monday you see (which I will be buying no matter the man’s politics)...

To bed at 12:30...

Highlight of the Day : An evening of listening

Avoiding bourgeois stuff...

Albums of the Day
Grandaddy – Sumday
Grandaddy – Excerpts from the Diary of Tod Zilla
Tony Williams’ Lifetime – Believe It
Tony Williams’ Lifetime – Million Dollar Legs
Wetton/Downes – Glasgow Setlist
Shadow Gallery – Room V
Tool - Lateralus

Been trawling e-bay again but only bought one CD so far, the latest from erstwhile David Bowie guitarist, producer and co-writer, Reeves Gabrels – which I expect to arrive any day...

Mainly I’m looking to buy the new CDs by The Church and Grandaddy and, possibly, Tool’s new album – hence the recent listening to Grandaddy and Tool...

Came home tonight to find Anne in the house with a strange man. Turned out she’d been persuaded to change our Gas and Electricity supplier from British Gas to Scottish Power. Some kind of convincing argument had been made on the doorstep apparently...

Being an artist and musician, I don’t get involved with bourgeois stuff like where the heat and light come from so I let Anne get on with it while I took over preparing the evening meal, a very tasty indeed, pasta dish...

Watched the European Champions Cup final between Barcelona and Arsenal. The game was robbed of any real meaningful footballing content after around twenty minutes when the Snel’s goalie was sent off for a foul on the edge of the area – during which incident Barca had the ball in the net but the ref had already blown for a foul....

Twenty minutes later, Arsenal scored after their right back took a dive just outside the box and Thierry Henry (for me one of the best players in the English League, Europe and the World) sent in a pinpoint cross for Sol Campbell to head home...

From then on it was Barca attacking and Arsenal defending for the remainder of the game apart from a couple of breakaway chances for the latter...

Eventually Barca broke them down and scored two goals in five minutes and spent the last ten minutes of the game holding on to possession...

So a brave fight by Arsenal, my favourite English team since 1971 when, during their bid to win the Double of League and Cup, everyone else in my primary school class was supporting Liverpool for the Cup final...

Ah how I remember Charlie George’s superb goal that day 35 years ago...

Stayed up to watch a Bill Murray film but deemed it rubbish and went to bed around midnight, 30 minutes in...

Highlight of the Day : Taking over the prep of and completing the evening meal

Forgotten discs just lying around..

Albums of the Day
Yes – Yes
Yes – Time and a Word
Yes – The Yes Album
Yes – Fragile
King Crimson – Cirkus (2CD)
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Ambient Collection (Unreleased)
Grandaddy – The Broken Down Comforter Collection

Didn’t do anything today really. I resisted the urge to sit in front of the computer all evening and sat in front of the telly instead. Or I would have if I hadn’t got bored with it....

I went upstairs and tidied up the back room while listening to King Crimson’s “Cirkus”, a two CD “Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson Live”..

Whilst tidying, I came a cross the inevitable pile of white labeled CDs in amongst all the stuff, unlooked at for probably more than a year. Many of these were discs for the car and I’ll deposit them there shortly...

One was a compilation I must have made up a while back. Scribbled on the label was “CBQ Ambient Collection”. I gave it a listen and it was good. Starting in 1986 and moving through time to 1999...

I am very undisciplined when it comes to labeling CDs I make and putting them into labeled boxes – so I often come across CDs I can’t even remember making – all in all, I must have a couple of hundred CDs just lying around or stored on spindles, or in unlabeled boxes, waiting for me to remember them...

JY Johnny visited Crispycat Towers for the first time tonight. He was round to pick up the CBQ CDs for his Charity Golf Day for Maggie’s Cancer Centres, which takes place at The Royal Burgess Course on Thursday...

Ended off the day watching the second part of a two part documentary on Gretna FC followed by Newsnight which had a very long piece about someone trying to give up using his car to do his part to reduce Carbon emissions....

If everyone in the UK gave up their cars, Carbon emissions in the UK would be reduced by just 2.5% apparently...

So I don’t feel too guilty about continuing to use mine....

Highlight of the Day : A visit from JY Johnny

Ha Ha, I am brainy...

Albums of the Day
Bozzio Levin Stevens – Situation Dangerous
Bruford Levin Upper Extremities – Same
The Violet Archers – End of Part One
Yes – Keys to Ascension
Yes – Union

Arranged for JY Johnny to come round tomorrow night to pick up the CBQ charity CDs...

Also arranged a visit to the island of Luing to see old chum Birgit who I’ve known since she was just 14 and in one of the classes I taught in a little town in Germany many years ago...

Watched “New Tricks” – mildly entertaining for a Monday and, before that, the final of University Challenge in which underdogs Manchester University beat Smug College Cambridge...

Particularly pleased that I was able to answer around 15 questions, including two on the subject of Cat Litter....

Updated the diary – writing an entry for every day is taxing but I still enjoy it...

Highlight of the Day : Arranging a visit to Luing

The wind in my hair (if I had any)...

Albums of the Day
Rheostatics – Making Progress
Yes – Union
Bozzio Levin Stevens – Situation Dangerous
Graham Fitkin – Kaplan
PAhud/Terrason - Into the Blue

Despite the late night, I am awake early again today but decide to listen to some Yes on the jukebox before getting up...

I notice three albums are missing, “Union”, “Keys to Ascension” and “The Ladder”, so, on getting up, I transfer these to the jukebox then listen to “Union”...



It’s probably one of Yes members and fans least favourite albums but I’ve always liked it...

Soon, Anne and Pam are up too and we have breakfast then head round to Anne’s mum’s (mmm lovely pancakes and coffee by the way) to drop Anne off – she’s going to watch the Hearts team parade the cup through the streets on an open topped bus...







Meanwhile I take Pam out to other sister Sheila’s in Penicuik where we meet up again with my mum..

Sheila’s husband, Andrew, lets me have a go on one of his scooters. It’s a bit nerve wracking and I feel very vulnerable being so used to always being in a car on the roads...

Wishing Pam and mum a good holiday, I head back into town and take a look round Fopp and Avalanche in Cockburn St...

I pick up these three CDs for just £5 at Avalanche but once again fail to spend my £20 Token at FOPP – weird...



Excellent prog rock trio...



Excellent electronic/classical crossover...



Excellent Jazz/Classical crossover...

Then to Jane and Bobby’s for a celebration drink and to watch again the best bits of the final – especially Robbie Neilson's now legendary tackle..

Then we take Anne’s mum home and return to Crispycat Towers for a quiet night in. I transfer my purchases to the jukebox then attempt to watch a programme about Hannibal – but I wake up lying on the settee at around 12:30 and so head for bed, exhausted again...

Highlight of the Day : A Scooter Ride

Cup Final Day...

Albums of the Day

Les Arts Florissants – 10 Years (Disc 1)

Bruford-Borstlap – In Concert In Holland (DVD)

Various – No 1 Hits

Up around 6:30 and I update the diary for the first day of our Amsterdam holiday, before Anne gets up and prepares a slap up breakfast for us as, today, Cup Final Day, we will not be eating again until 7pm...

I decide to experiment with the larger of the two memory cards I have for the Digital Camera and see for how long I can film some video footage...

17 minutes of filming Anne and I making breakfast and coffee respectively, Meg the Black Cat lying around on the floor and various shots around the house – I don’t expect any Oscar nominations but it opens up possibilities...

Pam and mum arrive at 11 as arranged and, at 11:30, after showing my mum all my birthday cards and some of our photos from France and from Ballachulish last October, we are off to pick up Jane and Bobby...

We listen to various No 1 hits on the drive through to Glasgow, with everyone singing along. Bobby is the DJ...

It takes 40 minutes to get to Glasgow Cathedral and a further 40 minutes to reach our parking spot around 15 minutes or so on foot from Hampden – the same one Anne and I used last month for the semi final against Hibs...

We’re all expecting Hearts to win easily against Gretna, even though the latter won Division 2 this year (i.e. two leagues below Hearts)...

Of everyone I’ve spoken to re the game, only Anne seems nervous that it won’t go according to the form book...

How right she is to doubt. Hearts are dreadful. In the first half they forego chance after chance, finally scoring after around 40 minutes and going in just one up at half time...

The second half is even worse, as Gretna surge forward time and time again. My favourite player, Robbie Nielson, keeps the Jam Tarts in the game with a heart stopping tackle just as Gretna’s first sub has sliced through the defence and rounded the keeper...

Then, disaster, Gretna are awarded a penalty (rightly so) and, although goalie Craig Gordon saves it, the taker, Brian McGuffie scores on the rebound...

In extra time, Hearts seem to be back on top for the first time since scoring and they are denied a strong claim for a penalty with just a few minutes remaining – then Gretna miss a golden opportunity to score and the chance to make a piece of incredible history...

And so it’s penalties...

At 2-2, Gretna’s big Centre Half (ex Hibs and so pilloried by the Hearts fans at every opportunity) steps up. His body language just cries out that he’s going to miss – and miss he does, hitting his shot almost straight at the keeper...

While 40,000 Hearts fans jump up and down celebrating, I must admit to standing stock still and almost bursting into tears at the thought of the poor guy missing the kick – but that’s football...

Another conversion from Hearts and then Gretna’s fourth man hits the bar and it’s all over...

Hearts have won the cup – just and no more, mind you....

The celebrations seem to go on forever...

Eventually we leave the ground and meet up with Jane and Bobby, who’ve been sitting in another part of the stadium...

Back to the car comparing notes and stories and a quick drive over to Byres Road for a lovely meal at The Ubiquitous Chip in Ashton Lane..

The food is excellent, the drink is flowing (except for me as designated driver) and the service is just right...

We leave around 8:40 and head back along the M8 – once again singing along to all the No 1 songs - a bit louder than before probably due to the excess alchoholic fuel guzzled at The Chip....

We drop off Jane and Bobby and head back to Crispycat Towers with Pam, who’s staying the night...

We are home in time for the highlights – it seems more exciting on the TV than it was live – truth be told the football on show was pretty average – but the extra time and penalty shoot-out combined with the very possible fairytale ending for Gretna made it a memorable final...

It’s probably a very long time since there’s been a Scottish Cup Final without either Rangers or Celtic which has managed to be a sell out at Hampden Park and the atmosphere was superb...

One highlight was the Hearts fans giving Gretna a totally deserved standing ovation as they took their runners up lap of honour...

And Queen of the South have to play them four times next season....

Highlight of the Day : Hearts Win the Cup

Far out jazz and a bottle of wine...

Albums of the Day:
Mott The Hoople - The Ballad of Mott : A Retrospective (2CD)
Ian Sclater – It’s Weird In Here
Conspiracy – The Unknown
Mathilde Santing – Under Your Charms
Mathilde Santing –Ballads
Art Blakey – Like Someone in Love
Andrew Hill – Dance With Death
Shadow Gallery – Room V

Forgot to mention yesterday that Ian Sclater popped a finished copy of his CD “It’s Weird In Here” through the door. Sounds just like the recordings I have on my hard drive! But it’s good to have the finalised CD with cover, lyrics etc...

You can find his site at http://www.iansclater.com/

Sister Pam is back in town, preparing to take our mum on holiday to Spain next week. She’s coming with Anne, me, Anne’s sister Jane and Jane's husband Bobby to the Scottish Cup Final tomorrow – Hearts v Gretna – I might be tempting fate, but I imagine Hearts will win – despite Anne’s constant “what if” scenarios...

In the evening, watched "Corrie", taped “Green Wing” (as we haven’t watched last week’s yet which we taped whilst in Amsterdam) and watched two episodes of “My Name Is Earl”...

Also tonight - Put in a pre order for a signed copy of American songstress, Alice Peacock's upcoming album - she's superb (www.alicepeacock.com)...

Uploaded the Amsterdam CDs onto the Jukebox...

Wow – Friday night eh?

While listening to the far out jazz sounds of Andrew Hill’s Dance With Death (my album of the month so far), I suddenly got a hankering for a bottle of wine –so cracked one open - a nice Chilean Merlot...

That’s a little more like it...

Highlight of the Day : Far out jazz and a bottle of wine...

The fog lifts...

Albums of the day
Alice Cooper – Lace and Whiskey
Alice Cooper – Pretties For You
Alice Cooper – Zipper Catches Skin
Alice Cooper – School’s Out
Alice Cooper – Easy Action
Alice Cooper – Flush the Fashion
Alice Cooper – The Eyes Of Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper – The Last Temptation
Alice Cooper – Love It To Death
Alice Cooper – Killer
Alice Cooper – Trash
Alice Cooper – Muscle Of Love
Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies
Alice Cooper – Brutal Planet
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Callingstill (Disc 3)

Still on a wee bit of an Alice Cooper frenzy today as you can see...

Lovely day today – our friend Birgit’s 40th birthday...

Here’s the sky this morning...



Spent the evening printing, folding and inserting the lyric sheets into the “Deeperdown” CDs for the Maggie’s Golf Day. Finished at last...

Watched a great episode of "My Name is Earl" on E4 - you might have seen it - it was the one where Y2K was coming up and the group thought everyone had been killed by the computers and so decided to live in a department store...

Also caught “Question Time” – Labour are taking a real hammering these days, which is great. Unfortunately, they’ve manipulated constituency boundaries so much, it’s unlikely they’ll be voted out next time round despite Blair’s lying, Prescott’s philandering, Brown’s tax raising and profligacy etc etc etc – man I HATE LABOUR – they really are a bunch of inept, lying, pocket-lining, hypocritical useless bastards. The only thing they seem to be good at is holding on to power for holding on to power’s sake...

Anyway, sorry about that little rant there – also watched “This Week” in which Rik Mayall reprised his Alan B’Stard character from the early 90’s – it seems the odious beast has defected to “New” Labour...

How fitting...

Hope to see the stage show when it comes to town next month...

Highlight of the Day : Watching the fog lift from the electorate’s eyes...

Charitable chap...

Albums of the Day :-
Alice Cooper - Top 100 Alice Cooper Tracks
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Doveloveshawk
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Callingstill (Disc 1)
Cloudland Blue Quartet – Callingstill (Disc 2)

Another beautiful sunny day in Edinburgh...



This evening, we watched the first half of the UEFA Cup Final between Seville and Middlesborough – pretty boring stuff.

At half time, while switching channels, we came across a programme about how lives have been influenced by food – this week’s episode was on “Punk Svengali” Malcolm McLaren. Very entertaining – much better than the football...

After this, while Anne watched the end of the match (4-0 Seville) I went upstairs and finished off the printing of the covers for the big “Deeperdown” project and then put the remainder of the CDs together....

I continued through my back catalogue while I worked...

Here's what I've been working on over the last few weeks...

CBQ fan, John Yuille has organised a golf day for Maggie’s Cancer Centres (http://www.maggiescentres.org/) There are to be 20 teams of four, with each team paying a massive £1,000 to take part....

As part of the day, every player gets a goody bag full of various items – one of which is going to be, at John’s request, a special Maggie’s Limited Edition of CBQ’s “Deeperdown”...

So I’m doing my bit to raise £20,000 for the charity – which can’t be bad...

Here’s the special text which appears on the cover of the CD:-

“The chances are you will never have heard of the Cloudland Blue Quartet.

It's not even a quartet.

It's one man, David Reilly who, as singer, player and producer, has had a hand in over 200 releases in the independent music scene over the last 25 years.

Your host for today, John Yuille, is a big fan of CBQ music and approached David to provide these special edition copies of his 2005 song based album "Deeperdown" for inclusion in your bag of goodies.

John knows you'd probably have preferred to find a copy of "Now That's What I Call Music 63" in there, but there you go.

All profits from the provision of these CDs have been kindly donated to Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres by David's record label, Crispycat Recordings.

Find out more about Crispycat and Cloudland Blue Quartet at www.crispycat.co.uk .

Enjoy your day.”

Ha! Bet you wish you could have one - but you need to pay £250 to get one!!

Finally finished off all the CDs, and here's Meg the Black Cat making sure they're all ok...



Then she cheekily started walking all over them - don't tell the golfers....

Ended the day by updating the diary and then looking back at what I was doing a year ago - it's like reading someone else's blog - someone else who is very similar to me...

Highlight of the Day : Doing my bit for Cha-ri-dee...

Hand made compact discs a speciality...

Albums of the Day:
Cloudland Blue Quartet – 5 new songs
Jacques Loussier - Play Bach 1
King Crimson - Thrak
Focus - Focus III
Focus - Hamburger Concerto
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Deeperdown
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Anotherhappyday
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Ampersand

A happy birthday today to my good old German chum, Jorg Sonnenschein...

Up very early and to the Post Office at 7 to pick up new supplies of ink re the big "Deeperdown" print job...

A fine and sunny day - my birthday always seems to herald the start of summer...

Spent all evening hand cutting covers and putting them together with the discs and boxes - all whilst listening to my own back catalogue - and why the hell not?? It's bloody good!!

Finished around 11:30...

Then surfed the web - mostly re Alice Cooper - and went to bed around 12:30 with my Jukebox playlist "Best of Alice" in my ears, as Meg the Black Cat snuggled down in amongst my discarded clothes....brave wee cat....



Highlight of the Day : Making huge progress on the Deeperdown project

Home from the 'Dam...

Albums of the Day :
Andrew Hill - Dance With Death
Conspiracy - The Unknown
Jacques Loussier - Play Bach aux Champs Elysees (Disc 2)
Mathilde Santing - Under Your Charms
Art Blakey - Like Someone In Love
Huelgas Ensemble - Lamentations

Just back this afternoon from Amsterdam...

I'll update over the next few days as to activities (which mostly comprised eating lots of lovely food, drinking FAR too much HooegardenWittbier for my own good, and walking around in the hot sunshine), so please do check back...



























Highlight of the Day : The return of Meg the Black Cat...