Picture the scene...

Playlist

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Starlightnight

Various - Denovali Swingfest Sampler

Cloudland Blue Quartet - File Under Electronica

Yello - Baby

The Beatles - 1

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Riverleaves
Various Composers - Music of Our Time
Beethoven - Symphonies 5 & 6
Golden Earring - Fully Naked
The Tubes - The Tubes

Raining today - but Meg the Black cat didn't care...

Uploaded "Starlightnight" before we headed out to Patisserie Florentin for breakfast...

...followed by a wander around the Stockbridge Market and to Homebase and B&Q re items required for stuff around the house and garden...

A new camera was purchased - one I've been swithering about for some considerable time... 

It will replace this as my everyday pic taker...

..and is good enought not to have to lug "the big one" around on holiday...

So, best of both worlds...

Pics taken around the house - a pile of remasters...

A box of cards...

Some CDs...

A painting...

...and out the windows...

The jukebox with 2012/13 thereon...

Post the final upload to Bandcamp, out to walk down to Anne's mum's - taking the old camera along...

The beast etc...

Stuff in the street...

..and on the verge...

Forestry commission...

Zoo...

Old, rather permanent, street sign..

Admired building...

Rabbit (slash) hare...

More stuff on the street...

Good tea at Anne's mum's - large attendance and a cake for Olly and Keith's upcoming birthdays...

Back home, took the latest McKenzie CD down to Drummer Keith's before ending the weekend with a shaky pic of the moon...

..and more around the house...

"Criminal Intent" and bed...

Highlight of the Day : New camera...

Discretion is the better part of valour...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Riverleaves
Nin-Culmell - Tonadas Volumes I-IV
Fuchs - Piano Sonatas 1 & 2
Various - Denovalo Swingfest Sampler
Mozart - Piano Concerto 12 arr. for Piano Quintet

A Saturday kind of split in three...

Part One - from 6am till around 2pm - spent uploading albums to Bandcamp - left me with two to do...

Part Two - over to Creek cohort Craig's for three, for our first physical meet up in around three years - his daughter Lucie is two and a half and this was our first meeting...

We were there ostensibly to reimburse his outlay for Depeche Mode tickets for a gig in November at a venue yet to be built...

Yesterday on the BBC website, there was a debate about the incessant filming of gigs on camera phones...

Reading the responses there gave me buyer's regret as I remembered the experience at the last DM gig I attended...

Truly, Hell is other people (at a concert or in the cinema anyway)...

Good to see Craig again and fun was had and chat was chatted, accompanied by some play dough stuff creation...



Mr Crocodile received much throwing about to the delight of a small child...

Annie the Cat remained unimpressed...

Home around 5:30 and finished off today's work before setting off into town...

Part Three - drinks and a meal...

To Ecco Vino...

...for half an hour or so before moving next door to The Gurkha Cafe - where Gurkha refreshment was enjoyed by your correspondent - probably too much Gurkha refreshment, truth be known...

Since we were last here, it seems the menu has changed and there is a new chef...

However, it was still tip top...

The Exec Producer proclaimed her chicken-based starter to have been one of the best starters since time began...

I was enjoying the food so much, it proved impossible to document matters...

...although this may have been down to the imbibing of Gurkha refreshment...

For those of you sensing a contradiction between my spouting above re gig behaviour and my incessant recording of everyday life, the difference is discretion... 

A bus home after an excellent night out, this tree catching my eye on the walk down the hill from the terminus to Crispycat Towers...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : All of it...

Motherly progress...

Playlist

Various - Acquisition 2012/13

Kat McKenzie - Demos

Fuchs - Piano Sonatas 1 &2

Nin-Culmell - Tonadas Volumes I-IV

Some work on the McKenzie demos...

Then, out to my mum's to see how she was getting on...

Much better, comparatively, and being visited twice a day by helpers...

She was on good form and in good spirits, very much happy still to be alive...

Here in conversation with the Exec Producer...

Back home, some TV "Have I Got News" with the irrepressible Brian Blessed and the weaker without Tim Vine "Not Going Out"...

Lights out...

Highlight of the day : Motherly progress...

Nice and tuneful...

Playlist
Various - Acquisitions 2012/13
Fuchs - Piano Sonatas 1 & 2
Nin-Culmell - Tonadas Volumes I-IV

To Fopp at lunchtime and two discs of piano music partaken of...

The first by Robert Fuchs, today almost unknown but well respected in the last quarter of the 19th century...

A protoge of Brahms, he himself taught many better known composers, for example Enescu, Mahler, Wolf, Sibelius, Zemlinsky, Korngold - the list goes on...

Very tuneful...

The second, a disc of 48 pieces by the German born Joaquin Maria Nin-Culmell, brother of the writer Anais Nin who, let's just say (and by her own account), was a wee bit closer to her dad than she really ought to have been...

This is a beautiful disc of four volumes of short (0:44 - 2:54) "Tonadas" written 1956 to 1961 - versions of traditional Spanish dances and songs "treated" by Herr Nin-Culmell...

Nice (as they used to say of jazz on "The Fast Show")...

This evening, picked up by Ms McKenzie and off we drove down to Mr Apter's for our first run through as a trio of six of Kat's songs (although we will be a quartet, as I am doubling up on guitar and bass for her sessions in early May)...

A good night with some fast accurate work undertaken - much like Tuesday - and things are progressing nicely...

I recorded the evening to give a record to Kat and Keith...

Back home by 9:30 and some TV...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Playing in a group again...

Terminated terminator...

Playlist
Various - Acquisitions 2012/13 on Shuffleplay
Various - Hit Singles April 1983
Various - Denovali Swingfest London 2013 Sampler

A call to mum this morning...

Too weak even to get her dressing gown on...

Not good...

Her chum Janette very kindly went round to help her out...

A nice lunch today with some lovely ladies and my roomie from the January London trip...

Anne was out at what sounded like a superb ballet performance with her chum Theresa...

I thought she had the car and so did not visit my mum in the evening (turned out the car was in the garage all the time - I stupidly didn't check)...

Mum had other visitors though...

I will see her on Friday...

Chum Bernie's son will be 30 this weekend and Bernie asked me to compile a disc of hits from April 1983 - done...

Nice April 1983 pic of Brook Shields on the cover...

Doesn't seem like 30 years ago...

This followed by the final two episodes of "Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles" - which had become probably my fave watch over the last few months...

Sadly, it was cancelled after this season...

Writing this up while here...

...listening to the sampler re the music I will hear in London in a couple of weeks' time...

Time for bed...

Highlight of the Day : Terminator...

Illogical captain...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Bandcamp Sampler
Mozart - Wind Concertos
Ferry Corsten - Gatecrasher Sheffield
Regina Spektor - far
Euan Stevenson - Portraits Preludes and Landscapes
Rush - Retrospective I 1974-1980

A call around 10:30 to say mum would be discharged by 11 but the pharmacy may not have provided her drugs so, if necessary could someone pop by the hospital, pick them up and ensure she got them by 8 tonight...

A call at 11:30 to say mum was just being discharged and getting hospital transport home and she had all her drugs with her...

At lunchtime, three CDs purchased at the St Columba's Hospice shop - given that my orders from Amazon Marketplace have all now arrived...

Several calls to mum's house during the afternoon elicited no reply...

Finally, just before five, the phone was picked up...

Mum sat in a room at the hospital from 11:30 till 3:30 waiting for transport...

Then, a ten minute journey took over an hour as the two other people in the van, who lived farther away, were delivered first...

Illogical captain...

Anyway, home safe and sound although a little (or, in fact, very) knackered...

Sister Sheila was visiting this evening as I walked down to Kat McKenzie's for a pre-mum-getting-out arranged meet...

A good ninety minutes of work detailing exactly what I should play on each of the songs...

Then walked back up the hill...

"New Girl" entertained...

A decision made to attend Depeche Mode in Glasgow in November with Creek cohorts Craig and Stu and chum Chris-with-a-ch...

A hell of a cost - and the venue's not even built yet...

Lights out just after midnight...

Highlight of the Day : Mum home...

Interesting trees...

Playlist

Cloudland Blue Quartet - Bandcamp Sampler

Ferry Corsten - Gatecrasher Sheffield

Mozart - Wind Concertos

A quiet day...

Word that my mum will leave hospital tomorrow...

One last visit - on the way there, these trees were deemed interesting...

Three bags of clothes and other stuff taken back to mum's house...

Home...

"Broadchurch"...

Other stuff, now forgotten...

Bed...

Highlight of the day : Mum getting out...

Triple saver...

Playlist

Various Composers - The Ultimate Baroque

Various - Last 100 Acquisitions

Up at 6 and working again - more uploading - takes a while...

At 10 out and down to drummer Keith's to pop a CD of Kat's demos through his door re work to be done this week...

Into town and to Patisserie Florentin for breakfast...

Today, a long leisurely and very enjoyable one with my mum's old friends Lex and Moira and my childhood chum Lindsay and her husband, Guy...

Excellent chat and some funny tales of a kitten found behind a fridge and adopted and a wedding the night before in Doune castle based around various well-known Monty Python sketches...

The Spanish Inquisition and some comfy chairs made an appearance...

Home and suspecting my two memory sticks (one of which was my 32GB 650 album stick) which resided in the Cloudland Blue mobile have been snaffled by some unscrupulous auto servicers...

Goddammit Arnie...

Not to worry...

A brief stop back home then round to Jane and Bobby's to pick up Nephew Olly for his third footie match this week...

Having seen Blackpool see off Crystal Palace and Hearts' miraculous recovery yesterday to beat Ross County, today we were off to Livingston to see Queen of the South, Division 2 Champions take on 1st Division leaders, Partick Thistle in the Ramsdens Cup Final...

Today, Olly was an honorary Doonhamer...

In we went...

..and took our seats amongst some fanatical fans...

Your correspondent continued to be affected by the lurgi...

The game was being covered live by BBC Alba...

...and Dougie the Doonhamer was in attendance...

Kick off was late at 4:05 to accommodate the TV...

This was our view...

An exciting end to end game post Queens withstanding Thistle's initial onslaught in the first ten minutes, before holding their own...

0-0 at full time though, with chances having been few and far between - highest goalscorer in the UK this season, Nicky Clarke, missed a tap in late in the first half and had an excellent shot in the second well saved...

In the first period of extra time though, he got Queens' 100th goal of the season with a header, after a shot from Carmichael came back off the bar with the goalie beaten...

The crowd went wild...

With seconds of extra time to go, Partick were awarded a penalty for a foul which, when we watched it back later, was outside the box...

Justice was done though when Queens' keeper Lee Robinson tipped the kick over the bar...

In the resulting melee, Thistle's penalty taker was sent off for headbutting and breaking the nose of QoS's captain (who, to be fair had been taunting the hapless spot kicker re the save)...

We thought it was all over - but no, with the last kick of the game, Partick bundled the ball over the line for an equaliser...

1-1...

Their fans were singing about our fans not singing anymore...

Penalty shoot out...

Queens scored then Robinson saved Thistle's first...

Then Queens missed and so it went on...

Much gamesmanship from Mr Robinson but he was the hero of the day...

He even took and scored a penalty as one the Doonhamers' five...

In the end he saved a third spot kick (including the one in extra time) and Queens won 6-5 on penalties...  

We went mental - while the Jags went home...

Their half of the ground was empty just eight minutes later when Queen of the South lifted their second trophy in eleven days...

Goalscorer and hero keeper...

Hero keeper and hero manager...

By the time we left the ground it was around 7:30 - five hours in the freezing cold...

Well worth it though...

A happy wee boy dropped off and home...

...where we watched the best bits again, having recorded the coverage whilst attending the match...

Some other TV and off to bed, a happy chappie...

Highlight of the day : Queens lift the cup...

Working through the incursion...

Playlist
The Move - Shazam
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Callingstill
David Bowie - The Next Day
Massenet - Last Sleep of the Virgin
Various Composers - The Ultimate Baroque Collection
The King's Consort - The Music of The King's Consort

Up at 2 am...

Up at 4 am...

Up at 6 am and cancelled a meet with Dr Prog due to the ongoing lurgi scenario...

Instead I worked through streaming eyes and around a running nose to further the upload of the CBQ back catalogue to Bandcamp...

At 11, with Anne heading off for the early kick off of Hearts v Ross County (a 4-2 win from 2-1 down, including 3 goals for the JTs in 10 minutes), I then worked on two more demos for the Kat McKenzie project...

I have enough to provide a wee CD to drummer Keith to flesh out some ideas...

While I worked four of the five remaining outstanding CDs from Amazon Marketplace popped through the letterbox - the Mussorgsky given to Brodski last week and collections of Massenet, Baroque and The Kings Consort - lovely stuff...

On Anne's return, not having seen my mum since Sunday, I decided to chance a visit, keeping a good distance and avoiding all coughing etc...

Anne did most of the conversation but mum is doing really well and likely to be sent home Monday or Tuesday, probably the latter...

This the only pic today...

More preparatory tidying of her house on the way home...

A curry cheered, as did "Dr Who" - a fairly weak episode though, which seemed to be there only to provide some back story for the new rather attractive assistant...

Three episodes of "Spiral" back to back, more CBQ uploading work, updating this and then "Law & Order : Criminal Intent" and off to bed for what will most likely be another sleepless night...

highlight opf the day : Working despite lurgi incursion...

Half a millennium away...

Playlist
David Bowie - The Next Day
Sumner Mckane - Slect Visual History
Depeche Mode - Delta Machine
Sparks - Two Hands One Mouth
Jason Lytle -Dept. of Disappearance
Pro Cantione Antiqua - Music of the Renaissance
Gabrieli - The Glory of Venice
Alice Cooper - Muscle of Love
Wings - Red Rose Speedway
The Move - Shazam

Selected my current three best released-in-2013 CDs to soundtrack what started off as a grey day...

...but which brightened up later, as I visited the newly saved (along with Fopp) HMV...

The new Sparks 2CD live set was purchased and joined back home by the two latest arrivals, discs of Renaissance music from the 14th, 15th and 16th Centuries and some Venetian favourites from the 16th and 17th centuries...

Out to mum's tonight to set up her TV etc - we are advised she will be home on Tuesday...

Still lurgied up, hence no hospital visit...

Later on, new series of "Have I Got News for You" and "Not Going Out" were enjoyed...

Ended the day listening to 500 year old music - and a Cooper classic from 1973 but not that one - and a Wings album released 40 years ago this month...

Highlight of the Day : House prep...

Concrete music...

Playlist
David Bowie - The Next Day
Gerald Garcia - Romantic French Music for Guitar and Orchestra
Various - Recent Rock & Pop on Shuffleplay
Various Composers - Monet in the 20th Century
Acqua Fragile - Mass Media Stars
Eduard Brunner - Music for Solo Clarinet
Peter Lawson - American Piano Sonatas Vol 1
Cloudland Blue Quartet - April 4, 1955 (from "Betonmusik")

A sunny day...

Up around six and finishing off the ripping of recent acquisitions to the Jukebox...

Nine years ago today, I was doing this...

Fourteen years ago this...

And, fifty eight years ago today, my mum and dad were married...

In 2013 though, I'm still prey to streaming eyes and a runny nose...

My tooth was fixed though - for the fourth time...

Back home, with the sun still shining - here as i walked through Haymarket...

....and another new CD had arrived - music for solo clarinet...

Surely there cannot be many more to come...

News from sister Sheila in lieu of my inability to visit due to lurgi onset - mum doing very well and likely to be sent home early next week...

An excellent pasta for tea followed by some new music listening, while Anne enjoyed the latest series in the "Masterchef " franchise...

This updated for the last week...

Some downloading of three new demos from Kat McKenzie and some work on my guitar parts...

On Tivo late on, "Law & Order:Criminal Intent" and "Person of Interest" - two of my fave programmes...

An arrangement put in place for a breakfast on Sunday with in-Edinburgh-this-weekend chums Moira, Lex, Lindsay and Guy prior to us taking nephew Olly to the Cup Final between Queen of the South and Partick Thistle...

Late on, more listening - with the American Piano Sonatas disc particularly impressive - works by Copland, Ives, Carter and Barber...

Lights out...

Highlight of the Day : Tooth fixed...again...

South American type frenzy...

Playlist
Various Composers - Art of the Baroque Trumpet
Fehlfarben - Xenophonie
Family 5 - Wege zum Ruhm
Udo Lindenberg - Udopia
Kraftwerk - TEE at the Tate
VArious - The Trojan Story
Messiaen - Catalogue d'oiseaux

Lurgi taking hold…

Consequently no visit to mum…

The beast etc...

A sunny day...

Eyes streaming, nose running...

Sister Sheila advised mum doing well but needs more antibiotics and won’t be out for another week or so…

A night going up and down stairs ripping recently arrived CDs during the ad breaks whilst watching TV – another two discs arrived today – I have been going a bit mad on the Amazon Marketplace re the 1 pence plus £1.26 postage classical stuff…

“Scott and Bailey” was good…

Under the weather though…

Highlight of the Day : Packages continuing to arrive…

Return of the lurgi...

Playlist
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Discography
Various - The Trojan Story
Messiaen - Catalogue d'oiseaux

Post Easter post brought four new CDs…

Pictured here with Brodski's burns and yesterday's Haydn set...

In the evening out to Kat McKenzie’s – this time with Capital Models’ drummer Keith Apter – we played through a few songs and Keith made some notes re drummer ideas…

Progression being made…

Elsewhere, sister Sheila advises mum’s living room now redecorated and furniture back in place for her eventual return…

Back home, listening to new arrivals and watching some TV – “New Girl” a highlight…

Very late on, the lurgi made their presence known…

Highlight of the Day : Music progressing slightly…