Head Space Daily Words...

A week last Friday, I took my youngest son to his first gig. As part of the Sydenham Arts Festival, held at Livesey Hall in Catford, we saw a singer songwriter called Sean Taylor (see Head Space Daily Image,) a folksy young female duo known as the Carrivick Sisters and serious contemporary blues man, Ian Siegal, who rounded off the lineup, in a night called 21^st Century Folk and Blues. Livesey Hall is five minutes up the road, so right on our doorstep. It was not exactly Arctic Monkeys at Brixton Academy but to hear extremely accomplished performers play live music – loud live music – for the first time, sharing the experience with a like-minded group of people, is a momentous occasion. My son is currently learning to play acoustic guitar at school and is in a very enthusiastic moment with it. You cannot get him off the thing, with the riffs to Sunshine Of Your Love, or Smoke On The Water forever echoing through the house. When Sean Taylor struck the first notes on his electric acoustic guitar, my son was gobsmacked. The look of wonder and excitement on his face  at the sheer volume was a picture. We spoke to Sean Taylor after his set and he gave my son his plectrum. Wow. What a memory. Can I buy his CD dad? No, I answered, lets see who’s up next. Then, along came the Carrivick Sisters. He had never heard folk music before but was bowled over by the slightly strange tales they told in their songs and at the end of their set, we bought him a signed copy of their latest album. The final act was the slightly grizzled blues performer, Ian Siegal. The guy has a killer voice and is a fantastic guitarist but is a bit of a tortured artist, which meant he didn’t go down quite so well with my son, who prefers a bit more humour in his tunes. I love to hear him sing along to Riot Van by Arctic Monkeys. Seeing his first gig was a great experience and sharing it with him was terrific. Hopefully it will be the first of many...

Head Space Daily Image...

Sean Taylor performs at the Livesey Hall in Catford, as part of Sydenham Arts Festival.

Head Space Daily Tune...

Smith & Mighty - Evolve

Today I gave Bass Is Maternal by Smith & Mighty a spin for the first time in years and it still sounds good...

Head Space Daily Words...

As Charles Bradley - the screaming eagle of soul - accompanied me on my train journey on Wednesday, I took a moment to rest my pulsating, multi tasking brain and consider the future joy of relaxing on holiday - doing nothing but contemplating beer, wine, food, sun, sea and a good book. The only real task is remembering how to put the tent up. In between writing these words, as I traveled towards a work meeting, I would pause to bite an apple, resuming writing as I chewed each mouthful. Do we ever focus on just one thing at a time anymore? In the morning I tidied the house, dropped my youngest son at school, sent some work e mails, took the car to the garage, spent 20 minutes on hold to HMRC,  composed an e mail to the parents of my Under 10s football team, completed a tax return, attempted to collect a parcel from a shop  which was closed, picked up the car, then found myself en route to the aforementioned work meeting, writing these words and munching an apple at precisely 11.42. With the meeting over by 12.45, my next appointment was for my sons sports day at 2PM. Lunch was eaten on the train journey home and after arriving bang on time, I witnessed hearty sports day fun. With sports day over, I collected the parcel, cooked dinner, read to my son, sent more work related e mails, then attended a meeting of our football team in a local bar, so the day was rounded off with a beer. In a few weeks time, several days will be rounded off with a beer, feet up, listening to the sea, my multi tasking brain relaxed for a short time at least...   

Head Space Daily Image...

Here is a bee, that I set free, struggling with the concept of a window pane...

Head Space Daily Tune...

Two tunes today about a lack of time and the need to slow things down a little...

Loose Ends - Slow Down

Charles Bradley - No Time For Dreaming

Head Space Daily Words...

Following the national 'Giant Ant with Wings Day' on Saturday, Sunday was a jam packed corker. Our annual street party went by in a glorious sunshine haze. We officially close the street for the day and everyone brings a dish, some drink and hangs out together. Young and old. One guy on the street is 90 and has lived here for approaching 70 years, whilst other people have lived here for well over forty years. I think it is probably quite a rare thing nowadays to find people who have lived in the same area all their lives, let alone lived on the same street for the majority of that time. Two playlists provided by yours truly accompanied proceedings (see HSD Tune.)The annual snail race is always the centrepiece of the entertainment and causes tremendous excitement, (see HSD Image.) The greatest thing though is seeing the kids able to run free on their own doorstep, as if they were growing up in the 1970s (See HSD Image.) Next year we should peg pieces of card between the spokes of their wheels to get the full on 70s sound effect. Our youngest rarely gets to ride his bike, as it means driving to a park but he spent all of Sunday afternoon riding up and down the road with his friends, having races. Pure pleasure. Following the street party came the World Cup Final. What a tournament it was, packed with incident, a record number of goals and incredible football. Last night it all came to an end. For the first time in my life I wanted a German victory. After England lost in the 1990 World Cup semi-final to the Germans, I remember leaving the pub as a sixteen year old and seeing people openly damage German built cars. The song was "two world wars and one world cup," and there was a tangible mix in the air of hatred and jealousy. Looking back it was very unpleasant. I think that being the generation following the wartime generation of our parents, a sense of simmering fury and injustice towards Germany pervaded and manifested itself in football matches between the two countries. Today though, life has moved on, times have changed. The current generation doesn't feel the need to be consumed by anger. My boys have no ill feelings from what happened during the second world war. There is disbelief from them as to what took place and they learn about it as a vital part of our history which can never be forgotten; but for them, they love German football. They religiously watch Bundesliga highlights on ITV4. They know all the players. For them, Germany is a positive place where fantastic football is played. So on to last nights Final. I wanted Germany to win because they played the best football throughout the tournament. The game was thoroughly absorbing and if Argentina had put away their chances - that means you Higuain, Messi and Palacio - they could have won. How Messi was named player of the tournament, I do not understand. The resolve and spirit of the German team shone through once more and the goal scored by Mario Gotze was stupendous - the icing on the cake of a great tournament. Any team that beats Brazil 7-1 in its own back yard deserves to lift  the World Cup. So, congratulations to the German national football team...

Head Space Daily Image...

The kids ride free at our street party…

Go snails Go!!! The slimy critters get their skates on at yesterdays annual sail race.

Head Space Daily Tune...

Lee Fields - Honey Dove

This gorgeous tune by Lee Fields was my stand out summer tune from yesterday's street party...

Head Space Daily Words...

I went to visit a friend yesterday in her Penthouse suite in Soho. Actually, it is a top floor flat of an ex council block in Fitzrovia, which as I have mentioned before on these hallowed pages, is one of my favourite areas in London.  The flat was bijou with a balcony - including a window box full of pansies and an artificial, solar powered butterfly – see Daily Image. I love the view, which although at first sight, may not seem much to write home about, it contains so much history and places of interest in one skyline that it is rendered stunning. Imagine waking up every morning and opening the curtains to Centre Point and the green mass of trees surrounding Soho Square. Turn your head to the right to see a single chimney of Battersea power station and the imposing church tower of Westminster Cathedral. Then, as you scan your eyes to the left, you pick out the Houses of Parliament. The London Eye peeps out from behind a white residential block and the angular curved roof of Charing Cross Station crouches like an alien space ship directly in front of it. A little further on is the Strata building at Elephant And Castle, with its three trademark massive fans stationed on the roof. The old fashioned looking Shell Mex house on the Strand, with its toy clock face overlooks the South Bank, then as your gaze continues to drift left, the nearby steeple of All Saints Church on Margaret Street in Fitzrovia pulls into focus, before being drawn back to Centre Point, and behind that the colourful buildings of St.Giles High Street. Cranes crisscross as far as the eye can see building the future London, as directly below the continual pulse of pneumatic drills pound the huge Primark extension into shape. When you open those curtains, you well and truly know you are in London Town.

Head Space Daily Image...

A room with a view. the scene from my friends balcony in Fitzrovia...

Head Space Daily Tune...

Blood Orange - You're Not Good Enough

I have only recently discovered Blood Orange and their Cupid Deluxe album and damn fine it is too. Apparently it's the latest project of Lightspeed Champion, Dev Hynes, who has reinvented himself from indie guitar songsmith to funk soul love god. The move from forlorn indie to laid back electronic soul is a great move, with the male/female vocals working really nicely. This track reminds me a little of Kindness…