On suffering a 'Stoke'

“The best layed plans o’ mice an’ men/ Gang aft a-gley”- (Rabbie Burns).

Looking back over previous posts in this blog I am becoming aware more than ever of the folly of airing any future plans and dreams and I’m becoming increasingly wary, almost superstitious, of discussing such things,(especially now in the light of recent events), as more often than not my current intentions are transformed into their opposite, apparent progress turns retrograde, reformations stagnate, and planned routes end up taking more short-cuts and detours through the ventricles of my heart and the canyons of my mind. But at the same time if you don’t say it, what’s the point of having a blog in the first place -good question that, what is the point?..I often think why do I keep doing this, is it just attention seeking or is it really about a Theophany, an awareness of God within and among us. Where’s the guidance here John Hick?... ‘well my boy, if it tends to lead fom self-centeredness to other centeredness it’s OK I think’, says the esteemed Professor.

One example of what Rabbie Burns maybe was getting at can be seen in my frequent comments on the progress of my book and it’s proposed accompanying website* – This giant Albatross that has been decomposing round my neck after landing on my shoulder way back in 2003 with a message tied to its leg concerning an account of my own indigenous spirituality told in a somewhat didactic and edifying manner that has now completely festered and is no-longer fit for human consumption in the global cafe culture of music, art, and spirituality that has blossomed in the Cathedral Quarter of the cyberfantatastic Web of Wyrd in recent years. (phew). As an itinerant busker on the streets of this sector I have been trying to develop and hawk reproductions of the sounds and scribbles told to me by this cursed sea bird on a boat where everybody’s talking but nobody’s listening. The enforced retirement I have experienced recently due to ill health and insanity has turned out to be a mixed blessing, a good example of the fallacious meaning of the Chinese character wei chi in action – or in other words the ‘crisis/opportunities’ that life throws up as a challenge now and again that are mixed into the joy and pain of love and fear we each encounter every day. The great thing that becoming ill bestows upon the patient ‘Patient’ is the gift of time and space, and it becomes relatively easy to embark upon imaginary journey’s over land and sea once we accept the inevitable emptiness we feel as we sit in queues and squeeze on through strange inner portals to the airport security zones of our mind where we are eventually able to board, if we’re lucky, the easy jets of transcendence and fly over mountains and seas to exotic new continents filled with Designer Cafes of Consciousness where all is love and life is forever a beach. Anyroad, enough of these mad metaphors and lets get down to some hard/soft science. The new seismic shift that has erupted within me in the aftershock of yet another health crisis – this time a ‘stroke’ that has seriously affected my eyesight and my perception of social situations and physical co-ordination – that has indeed turned out to be a mixed blessing of profound revelations and epiphanies mixed with a local Radio Nottingham soundtrack of 50’s to 90’s music (and a little Jake Bug) that accompanies the night terrors and piss bottle balancing of hospital sleep-overs – ‘the night has a thousand eyes’- ‘I’ve made some soup Jacob’

I have been recently introduced, via the awesomely wonderful Red Ice Creations Radio program on t’internet to the work of Anthony Peake,the Wirral based author of books like ‘The Infinite Mindfield’ and ‘Is there Life After Death’.The reason I say this is his work speaks direcctly to the experiences I have been having with this stroke and also other shamanic vusion quests I've been on recently. Perhaps it was just a mere co-incidence that I passed through his part of the world on a pilgrimage to the ‘Paps of Methonwy’ between Llandudno and Conwy this past summer and found myself gazing out of the window of a National Express onto the parallel Universe of the boon docks and big ships surrounding Birkenhead that I once visited as a bright eyed 3 year old when we went to stay with our Aunty Phylis and Uncle Dave back in 1955. Enough of this rambling round the world of Adrian Henri’s ‘Liverpool Scene’. We need to focus here boy:

Meanwhile‘Bungalow Shaman’ Sammy has been going all quantum -becoming both observer and the observed as the blood supply to my brain has embarked upon new journeys, taking new short cuts and detours through the backroads of my memories ‘that keeps you ever gentle on my mind’. During this recent stroke I experienced profound deja vu’s and interesting Pissarro-esque visual disturbances .The experience has reminded me of drunken bike rides home from late night music bars in Holland (Hello Bierreclamemuseum Breda)..you get good at falling off your bike after a while as new neural pathways are opened up in the nether-lands of your soul. Once I only had numbness down the right side of my body..now it’s there on both sides....Bugga... it makes busking with a guitar so much harder I can tell you. Though for some strange reason I find singing and chanting easier now - mixed blessings..mixed blessings indeed, I might no longer have an excuse not to join the church choir now..

It’s ironic that this should happen at a time in my life where I was just beginning to feel vaguely normal, playing advanced Jazz guitar chords and even getting some stamina again playing drum kit down in my studio. I was even dreaming of running up hills and I was thinking that it would only be a matter of time before ATOS would be sending me back to work again, (not that I would employ me even in the improved state I was before this setback). I’m determined however to keep striving to make music and artwork and write to the best of my ability, or as my Occupational Therapist said yesterday, ‘if you don’t use it you lose it’. I have devised an acronym W.A.R.M. (Writing,Artwork,Research, and Music) to give focus to the structure of my day, a structure that I have to have because often I no longer know what day it is let alone what I should be doing in it!

Anyroad I think that’s enough of a post to be going on with for now, so thanks to all my friends who have sent ‘get wells’ and offered practical help too..it it is all much appreciated.

So I say,‘onward and upward, to Narnia and the North’...bugga me... now which way’s North?

*Excerpts from my abandoned book and website ‘The Parish of Cool’ can hopefully soon be found at ‘my web page’ link on the side of my full profile if you’re interested.

Allah Hu & Soul Banks

...Back again after what has been a truly gorgeous summer. Although it took a long time getting here, the weather this past couple of months has been awesome. It’s a long time since I’ve experienced such enduring warmth and sunshine in the UK and as a result it’s been a very healing time for me both in body and soul.

I think I’ve said it before in blogs past, that the main reason I write here is to keep a kind of public diary of what I’ve been up to personally. I keep a rough notebook full of quotes, lists, scraps of lyrics, ideas and what have you by my side most of the time, but this is more of an ordered account of my adventures (or lack of them) over recent times so I can look back and get a handle on how I’m progressing or deteriorating or whatever. If anyone happens to want to read what I’ve been up to, then that’s a bonus, (unless you’re from big brother that is – though why you’re wasting your time reading an old man’s drivel is anyone’s guess if you are!).

On the health front I continue to make slow and steady progress. I am coming to terms with my long term physical limitations and learning to work with them rather than getting annoyed for not being able to do stuff. I still feel a lot of discomfort, aches and pains, breathlessness, and numbness down my right side since my heart failure and stroke, but I’ve been working quite a bit on my drumming and stringed instruments and slowly recovering many of my old skills which has been heartening. Sadly my singing voice doesn’t look like it’s ever going to get back to what it was. Not that I had much of a singing voice in the first place but I used to enjoy contributing harmonies and singing in general, particularly at parties and sessions after gigs, (though in those days drink was involved! ) But it’s also nice to say that, other than communion wine, I’ve not touched a drop for 17 months now and although I miss the sessions, I don’t particularly miss the alcohol that went with them.

A bit of good news is, my toes have finally dropped off! After my op and a month in a coma last year, I awoke with two frost bitten toes after having a vein in my leg removed to replace a couple in my heart. Somewhere along the line they failed to get any blood to my toes and they became necrotic. Although my foot is still sore, swollen, and I’ll probably always have a limp, it has been much easier walking in general. I have kept both necrotic toes in a little bag if anyone wants a gander, they don’t smell any more honest!

There is further evidence of my recovery in that I’ve joined the local church band as a bass guitarist for my sins. Got my first gig tomorrow with them and I’m really looking forward to it! Although I have my own bass, they have a lovely pink one down at the church, and one of the female members of the band commented that it ‘goes with my eyes’ – ‘wot bleary and bloodshot’ I said!? They have a little amp too which means I don’t have to take any gear at all down there, which is great.

I have been on several adventures to exotic places over the summer. July saw me off to Bognor Regis, via a Steve Riley gig in Oxford thanks to Suzie Wheller and her trusty Beetle. Had a great time down there with her amazing family and friends and enjoyed a local music festival (Rocs) and some lovely time on the beach, and I even met a famous actress! The coastal experience left me wanting more and I managed to get a cheap deal on a 3 night mini break in Llandudno, North Wales a few weeks later. It’s been over 10 years since I’ve been over there to the coast, and though I used to enjoy camping and being in the wild, something I can no longer do, I was happy enough in my little hotel room which was clean and cosy with a nice window seat for reading and contemplation. Each day I got the bus over to the West beach, which was almost empty. The weather was good on both days and it was awesome taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the sea, combined with awesome views of the mountains. I have to report that it did the job and it satisfied my cravings for the briny waves, (I do after all live in the place that is furthest from the coast in the UK and so means more to me than for most I guess).

Apart from these adventures I’ve been starting to re-acquaint myself with the metropolis of Nottingham a little, with a visit to an African Sabar drum workshop and also a brief visit to the Riverside festival on the banks of the Trent. At last I’ve been to a local festival that has programmed a broad multi-cultural range of original bands including Cuban Band ‘Son Yambu’ who were awesome; Irish Trad band ‘Ducie’; and old mates ‘Sarah Savoy & the Francadians’, who sadly I couldn’t get to the next day ‘cos of other commitments.

Spiritually and study wise I’ve been making lots of headway. Been thinking a great deal about the idea of worship and the conundrum of chanting the name of a Lord who is ultimately nameless.. Sufis chant the name ‘Allah Hu’ (God is) which is about as close as you can get to solving this problem, but I know of no Christian equivalent. I don’t think the Vicar would look too kindly though to me hobbling up and down the pews chanting ‘Allah Hu, Allah Hu, Allah Hu’ in communion, though I don’t know really why he might! It is however a practice I could enjoy singing privately either silently or with my old Djembe, so don’t be surprised if you hear Arabic tones coming from ‘chez Withering Heights’ in the near future!

Been thinking quite a bit about the state of the nation recently too, Food Banks, Badger Culls, Bedroom Tax, and a continued policy of making the poor and the working classes even poorer, while the rich get richer, those sorts of thoughts. Our church proudly runs a food bank that is fast becoming a vital resource for many people in the community, but such facilities have many political ramifications attached, not least the fact that we can even consider military intervention in countries far away while our own people are being exploited and are suffering here at home. We must ask ourselves where the tax money our leaders use to fund such ventures actually comes from, (not just income tax but also VAT and other forms of stealth taxes),and why we appear to have so little influence on what it gets spent on. Finally we must not forget the effect our current way of life is having on our mental health and wellbeing. Poverty is not just about not having the latest labour saving device, Plasma TV, or games module. It’s also about not having a place to grow vegetables; commune with nature; create artwork, drama, and music; socialise & party; Find rewarding and altruistic career paths; Fish and hunt for those who do so ecologically and ethically; care for your friends and neighbours; and seek to live an authentic and unique individual way of life. I reiterate an earlier blog when I noted that many recipients of third world aid programs seemed to wear perpetual smiles in the film footage we watch, while we all trudge miserably round Morrison’s like ‘Shopper Zombies’ consuming things we don’t actually need – ‘and Christmas folks is just around the corner.. Joy to the world!’. As well as ‘Food Banks’, perhaps what we also need are ‘Soul Banks’, places where we can re learn true human values and discover our true potential as children of the universe, anyone fancy starting one up?.

I have been developing a practice with the Tarot of choosing a random card from time to time that has proved to be very instructive, both for familiarising myself with the cards and for general spiritual insight. Most Christians tend to look down on working with the Tarot, but historically Christians have often been at the forefront of their use, not so much for divining the future but as a vehicle for understanding the mysteries, a kind of ‘flash card’ that opens up the secrets of the soul. The latest card I drew was ‘The King of Cups’ or ‘Roy de Coupe’, (or as he’s known round here in Woodh’s - ‘Roy the Mug’!) It is a very auspicious card with few negative associations. Christ himself was a king of the cup, or chalice, who asked his followers to remember him often in the drinking of wine, a symbol of his life blood. The character of the King of Cups is gregarious and broad minded and comfortable with every kind of people, valuing whatsoever things are lovely and beautiful. This king is kind, wise, calm, tolerant, a peacemaker, allowing others their freedom, and displaying knowledge that comes from the heart. This card favours those who are natural healers, therapists, charity workers, volunteers, and those who practice the art of unconditional loving kindness. We are encouraged to be imitators of this King and I can’t argue with any of those kind of sentiments.

My old book, almost ten years now in the making, is almost complete, just a bit of hard graft now to finish it off. Got plans for a brand new spanking website, (no not that kind of spanking website!), with lots of extra content as well as the book in pdf format that I am making freely available, for the time being at least. I’m hoping to attract some kind of publishing deal eventually though that is not the main reason for writing it, which has been to explore my own spirituality in some depth at this time in my life. I’ve got loads of new ideas for writing in the pipeline already though, so I want to get it finished now asap.

Finally, on the musical front, although I have been exploring and familiarising myself with my instruments I haven’t been doing much recording. Partly this due to the gorgeous weather we’ve been having that has made me want to be outside as much as possible, but also that my musical partner in crime ‘Doghead Phil’ is off to Australia for the winter working. Meanwhile I’ve got plans to develop my own solo project ‘Segomo’ which is mainly a ‘Shamanic percussion/found sound’ based concept and hopefully some of these grooves will end up on future ‘Mighty Dogheads’ tracks.

Meanwhile, the nights are drawing in and there is suddenly an autumn chill in the air.. These days I’m very susceptible to the cold so I’m taking steps to protect myself with layers of extra clothing so I can still go out and get about a bit, unlike last year where the cold made it difficult to get much further than the garden gate.

‘Allah Hu’ my friends..’ Allah Hu’!

Sun is shining weather is sweet, make you want to jiggle a bit.

At last summer has appeared and the cold wind has abated, and in the words of St Bob Marley, ‘the sun is shining, the weather is sweet, make you want to move your dancing feet’- or in my case a bit of a jiggle around at least. Been trying to get out in the garden most days, still not able to do a lot but I’ve got a row of potatoes in and some beans and one sunflower that didn’t get eaten by the slugs. There’s lavender and lots of berries on the blueberry bushes and plenty of Roses but still lots of wilderness which has been great for the cats and for the wildlife if not so easy on the eye. Bees, Butterflies, frogs and horny toads, 5 inch killer slugs, insect loving birds, have all been visiting and it’s lovely just to be able to sit out in the sun and appreciate it all.

Also I’ve been getting out and about a bit more since I got a free bus pass courtesy of Notts County Council. Among other things there have been lots of free local festivals in the area like ‘Emerge’ at Shipley Park, and ‘Furthest from the Sea’ in Derby City Centre and it’s great to see local talent both young and old getting a proper chance to perform and do it for themselves. There’s so much X factor and Voice type shows around that seem to convince people that they are not good enough or that they can only write and perform within certain parameters, so it’s great to see people still shining through and doing their own thing. Last week I went to Sutton Lawn festival, and it was a lovely day and there was a great turn out but mainly to see a load of cover bands doing Jesse J and Coldplay tributes (Coolplay). I performed there several years ago with the Cajun Roosters but it siled it down with rain and we ended up playing to 4 men and a dog! Seems like the council have now abandoned any attempt at bringing culture and originality to the Suttonians but at least it brings the punters in which is I’m sure their thinking behind it. Talking of originality, I really enjoyed the Glastonbury footage on BBC i Player if only to witness 200 000 people opening their minds up to such a variety of weird and wonderful performing arts, I would have loved to have been there but the BBC did their best to convey the atmosphere of the event, though quite honestly I think there ought to be a part of the website that just focuses on all the fringe stuff. I would have probably spent most of my time watching that rather than the Stones and the Arctic Monkeys. Chic and Seasick Steve were great though, and I am a convert to Swedish voodoo rockers ‘Goat’ – awesome!

I’ve been having a bit of a breakthrough with my musical endeavours and I have decided to focus on recording and playing for the fun of it rather than trying to get back into live work in a serious way. I have finally conceded that my days of professional performing are well and truly over as I’m not physically capable of lasting out a gig and the insurance I need to get abroad to work is too expensive anyway. As well as the Mighty Dogheads recording project I’m working on with Phil Holmes I have started to work on a new venture with the working title of ‘Segomo’, thought by some to have been a Celtic deity but in fact was more likely to have been an epithet signifying the victorious and triumphant aspects of the gods. It’s also a groovy funky name that may be familiar to gamers who have played Super Stardust HD as being the final planet, and it also corresponds to the Tarot card the 6 of Wands that I drew the other day in relation to my future musical direction.

I’m still writing the book and the end appears to be in sight at last. I’ve also been thinking a lot about working on some kind of screenplay using all the various dreams and visions that I had when I was in a coma last year. I have bought a sketch book and some pencils and I’m going to try and draw some of the things I saw as it is too much for me to try and describe them using words alone. What I need really is a strong narrative to draw everything together and I am thinking of something along the lines of Life on Mars or The Singing Detective but I doubt if I am any good at that kind of story telling though I’m hoping these illustrations might eventually be some good to someone who is.

Finally, I have recently discovered the grave of my great Grandfather George Taylor who was a miner at Sutton Colliery who died in a roof fall there in 1915 at the age of 40 years. I have had it on my mind to go and look for it as my late mother had found out quite a bit about him including a newspaper cutting of the incident in the local paper. Armed with just enough information I set off in the rain to search for his grave at Skegby Church though I wasnot even sure that there would be any memorial stone or where about in the churchyard it might be. Within about 10 minutes I had found what was actually a very impressive grave though it appeared at first that it had been vandalised. It was quite an emotional experience for me sitting there in the rain but also very satisfying to have found it so easily. Subsequent research has revealed that the stone was actually laid down by the council as it was considered to be an ‘Elf & Safety’ risk some years ago and that at today’s prices it would have probably cost around £4000 to purchase. As George was a ‘Day taller’ -a miner payed by the day- our family would not have been able to afford such a magnificent grave at the time, and it is more than likely that the mine owners as well as a collection among his fellow mineworkers payed for the stonework. I am currently trying to raise the funds to have the stone re-erected and secured both as a physical memorial to our family heritage, but also as a small tribute to all the miners of the region who gave their blood for the coal that contributed so much to the prosperity of these Isles and its people, (though we can argue about who actually profited the most from their blood).

Les Flammes d’Enfer

April blog didn’t happen but here’s a 2000 word bumper sized May edition to make up for it.

I’m writing this after the recent machete murder incident in Woolwich. So much anti-immigration and Islamophobic gobshite on my facebook wall means I can’t stand by and say nothing about this but I’ll try and keep it succinct and to the point.

Firstly what happened was truly horrific and should be absolutely condemned as an atrocious act of pure evil, nothing else can describe it. But I would say the same about the acts of war and genocide taking place throughout the world by both corporate governments and idealistic terrorists. Imagine what we and the British news media would say if we were being bombed by a hostile government or suicide bomber on a daily basis like they are being in many other countries?

Sure, Islam can be perceived to have an agenda that wants the whole world to become Muslims, but Christianity or the corporate UN Agenda 21 can be seen to have a similar plan of action. We must see through and resist all forms of totalitarian control and celebrate the sovereignty of the people that insists that our leaders are representatives rather than rulers.

It is one of the primary tenets of corporate state craft that it furthers one to have an evil enemy. In my younger years this was the Soviet ‘iron curtain’ and the Chinese ‘yellow peril’ but when the trade barriers came down we were sore pressed to find a worthy opponent until Islam extremists stepped up to the plate. Do not be deceived, the corporate powers that be are seeking to control the mineral and land resources of the world for their own gain and profit and that is one of the real reasons behind the global war on terrorism. ‘War on terror’ is a contradiction of terms and both terms are wrong. What we all need to realise is that we’re being played off against each other. Divide and rule is another classic tactic of state craft to control a people.

Problem, reaction, solution is still another tactic. Create a problem and make it look like your enemy has caused it and even if they have then ‘big it up’ into a huge global incident. History shows us however that governments are quite capable of staging their own ‘False Flag’ events if the enemy fail to deliver. Look a little deeper into the Woolwich incident and ‘machetes’ have been involved in two other incidents currently in the news - the attack by a Chechen Muslim in Florida thought to be with a machete and the riots in Sweden linked to unrest among Muslim communities after a machete wielding man was killed by the police. These kinds of memes are used time and again in government propaganda efforts and by extremists willingly play up to the stereotype as well.

The issue of immigration in general is an interesting one. It can be seen as an attempt to de-stabilise a society by filling it with people that have no other concern but to increase their economic wealth while having no concern for the society and land that is their host. We should be suspicious of Agenda 21 and EU directives that encourage this destabilisation and seek to develop ways of integrating genuine migrants into society and discouraging pure economic workers from other countries who just want to make a quick buck at the expense of our own workers and our health and education resources. Immigration has always been a fact of life in this country that has previously made a massive contribution to the material, cultural, and spiritual health of these Isles but we desperately need to develop ways to ensure that as a people whether black, white, yellow, pink, or blue we continue to work together to create a just society of the people for the people.

Anyroad enough of this political diatribe, I could go on but I won’t. All I can say to those who have posted knee jerk reactions on my wall is do your research, connect the dots, and don’t allow yourself to be ‘played off’ by the media propaganda but be sure of your facts before you spout off. Enough said.

Meanwhile life here at Withering Heights goes on. Spring didn’t so much as arrive as creep in like a naughty spouse after a sordid night out. I have come to the conclusion that the default weather setting for these Isles is cloudy, wet, and cold. If we get anything resembling nice weather it is a wonderful bonus that should result in all but essential workers given instant time off to make the most of it. I’m sure this would contribute mightily to the health and true wealth of the nation.

I’ve reached a few milestones this month. It’s been over a year now since my heart attack and stroke and I still appear to be making progress. I’m about 15% up to my previous level of fitness but believe me that is quite a long way from waking up after a month in a coma unable to move, walk, or talk. The nurses in intensive care called me the ‘miracle man’ and this year has been nothing short of miraculous and every day I wake up is a miracle and a blessing, I’m so thankful for my life now.

It’s also a year since I stopped drinking alcohol and smoking weed. I drank literally every day for 25 years or more and although I am allowed a small amount of alcohol I prefer not to bother with it now. I find when I’m out I’m even more unruly than I ever was on drink and much as I would still like the occasional toke of weed for my emotional and spiritual edification the state of my lungs forbids its use and I’ve never liked eating it anyway, too much of a commitment.

I appear to have taken to attending my local parish church of a Sunday in recent times. As a recovering Christian fundamentalist with Pagan leanings this has been somewhat of a challenge but it is proving to be a most agreeable experience. A couple of weeks ago I was invited to sing a song in aid of Christian aid week and I came up with the idea of performing the old Copper family classic, ‘Hard Times in Old England’ with some lyrical changes to reflect the current times. ‘ You go to the Job Centre to look for a job, they answer you there with a shake and a nod, some folks will do anything just for a bob’ – and – ‘The soldiers and sailors come back from the war, been fighting for Queen and for country for sure, post traumatic stress and they can’t get a cure’- anyroad, I delivered a little homely on charity beginning at home based around the old saying that ‘the Blacksmiths mare and the Shoemakers wife are oft the worse shod’ before realising that was putting the kibosh on the whole proceedings while we were looking at films of communities in Africa and South America that the charity is working with. What struck me most though was how happy these indigenous people appeared compared to the lines of shopper zombies I encountered in Morrison’s after the service. I wonder what we’re doing wrong?

Connecting with the Parish Church with its rich legacy of the past has been an enriching experience on many levels. On my first visit to evensong I saw a Robin in the church yard and felt that it meant something but I wasn’t sure what. The last hymn in the service happened to be the same one that my mother chose for her own funeral a couple of years ago. I thought that it was quite a sync moment seeing as there were over 3000 hymns they could have chosen from for my first visit. When I got home and back on facebook the first thing I saw was a picture of a Robin that said, ‘If a Robin crosses your path or visits you it’s a sign that someone in heaven is with you and is thinking of you’.. Good start to my church going experience and a true sync indeed – (sync = synchronicity, a term adopted by C J Jung the psychologist and mystic to denote meaningful coincidences). I’ve figured out that having been to hell this past year, there must be a corresponding heaven and here was a sign indeed!

Talking of Les Flammes d’Enfer I recently took up an invite from Jo van Strein and the organisers of the Zydeco Zity festival in Raamsdonksveer Holland to come to their great music bash. I first played at this festival in 1996 with R Cajun & the Zydeco Bros from Derby and I have probably played about a dozen other times with various bands. My Cajun performing days are pretty much over now but I thought that a little visit and a cameo spot with my old Dutch band ‘ZydeGoNutZ’ was in order. This was made even more poignant on finding that the accordion player Wolfert has just been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. Although I was down to sing a couple of songs I ended up staying up for most of the set playing percussion and guitar. The weather was gorgeous for the whole weekend and I ended up swapping my hotel room for a bed in a van on the camping field. So wonderful to connect with so many Dutch, and other friends on the Cajun & Zydeco scene and special thanks to my ‘nurses’ Becca & Suze for looking after me on the epic road trip. Link to some of that performance can be found here:

http://youtu.be/Mx_EIkXlYFg

Been busy in the woodshed writing new songs and recording demos with the eventual aim of putting together my own solo live project. It’s a long shot but if you don’t ask you don’t get and it’s something I am enjoying working on regardless of the outcome. My immediate aim is to be able to perform a few songs solo at folk clubs and open mic nights etc and then maybe put together a band to do longer performances and it’s all coming along nicely so far.

Recent weeks have seen me hobbling to our nearest bus stop and to freedom! I recently purchased a shooting stick with a seat on it that means I can rest up and get my breath back when I’m walking. This has increased my walking range considerably and apart from Holland I have embarked on several bus trips to Mansfield and even once to Sutton in Ashfield as well as Derby. The more I walk the stronger I am getting, it’s slow but steady progress so far and long may it continue.

One good thing that has come from this illness has been the way I have become closer to my family and my many friends. My sons Bill & Tom have visited recently and although along with my sister Jo they have been going through various problems in the area of love relationships the bond between us continues to grow.

Despite the lack of nice weather the garden inevitably grows and today I have taken delivery of a new strimmer to keep the weeds on the paths in control. On a recent visit from my son Bill he has cleared out the garage and weeded a large border for us, lots of work still to do though in the yard and I keep enjoying doing a bit when I can.

Work on my book continues apace and I have a clear idea of what is left to do now and most of the research is in so it just needs writing up now..Still a lot of work left to do and I’m trying to work a regular writing time into my schedule, which means I haven’t been, but I will..I will..I will.. I will. And already the idea of a second book looms large in my mind.. A daunting task but it’s nice to have plenty to do I guess.

Anyroad, enough for now, hope the summer is a good one for you all.

Revd. H.T. Elsecott –aka Sam Murray

Cosmic Gaviscon and Ras Nyabinghi Bong

Rather late blog this month (Feb) as I've been quite busy with various music and writing activities, and visits to the hospital and what have you. I still feel like I’m improving health wise though I still have my 'up' days and 'down' days. My ‘heart failure nurse’ as he is called, tells me this normal and that I should be gentle with myself during the fallow days. These tend to come after I’ve been busy so it’s just a matter of learning to go with the energy flow.

February began with a private celebration of Imbolc/Candlemass where, right on cue, a bunch of Snowdrops appeared in the garden. This has become quite a meaningful little celebration for me in recent years focusing my appreciation of the first stirrings of spring and this event has become even more poignant over the course of this year. I so much need the milder weather and energy of spring, the Sun, and the Green Man to heal my body and sooth my mind. Although I have been able to sit well wrapped up in the garden a few times this month when the sun has shone, the cold weather has been all pervading and the relentless wind has been in sore need of some Cosmic Gaviscon to settle itself down.

This month I have made two important musical purchases, a huge Djembe and an old Irish Bouzouki with some surprise money that came my way. Although I am still weak on my right side it’s getting better all the time and all the drumming and strumming seems to be helping me get back to normal. I am also trying to sing and chant again and my capacity to breath is slowly improving. Last week, thanks to my friend Nell Brooker who took me to a music showcase at the Palace Theatre in Mansfield, I met an old friend from my 1990’s drum circle days, Biant Singh, who is still running workshops around and about. Meeting him again has inspired me to think that maybe I’ve still got something to offer even if I’m not fit enough to teach whole classes and run workshops myself any more. Bought the Djembe from Mickey at Sabar Sound in Nottingham who is also very active in the local Drum Circle scene and we had a great chat about drums and coma dreams. I slowly seem to be connecting with a whole new group of drummers/musicians/shamans which is amazing..More power to ‘em!

Did an awful thing last week on facebook. A young lady from Wales who shall remain anonymous (but her first name is Sioned), put up a post inviting us to discover our Reggae names based on the first letters of our real names. As I used to play in various Reggae bands many years ago I thought I was more or less entitled to give it a try and came up with the wonderful moniker of ‘Ras Nyabinghi Bong’. Apologies to any Rasta folk who may be reading this but I couldn’t resist going for it.. A punishment of 10 hail Haile Selassie’s for me.. Sorry, but I shall wish to be called by this name if I ever get to play in a Reggae band again.

Local resident Martin Bell, who has done some sterling work trying to save our local wood ‘the Shrubbery’ from being turned into a golf resort, has recently published a calendar of photos of the area. Good news is he has raised over £1500 for a scanner at our local hospital. I have still got one left if anyone wants it for free. It’s nice to have such nice pics of the fields and woods hanging on the wall throughout the season, especially when you’re unable to get out there often yourself.

Just before my heart attack last spring I was due to go to a ‘Romper Reggae Party’ hosted by my good friends DJ Andy McAllister and his partner Candice. Unfortunately I never made it but I was pleased to hear that the party went on and was a great success. I have recently discovered while researching my book that wearing animal rompers or ‘Kigurumi Onesies’ has a long history going back to the old stone age days when shaman hunters would get down to Primeval Primark and buy Lion and Camel suits to wear at parties and the odd hunting trip. It seems that they have a long and illustrious career in the history of the Pagan religions of North West Europe.. I guess the old gods never really disappeared but live on through our unconscious promptings and deep primaeval urges.

Got a new music genre to add to my collection of descriptions – ‘No Boundaries Music’ – unfortunately not been doing a great deal of composing lately but I can feel an outpouring coming on before long.

Finally, just heard about the death of an old friend Malcolm Bennett from Belper who also harks me back to the old Drum Circle days. He came to the project I was working at in Derby in the mid 1980’s to do a series of drum making workshops and he taught me how to cure goat skins and string up drums using plastic containers and everyday items. I would like to think some of the great drums we made are still around somewhere even though it was almost 30 years ago that we produced them. He was known affectionately as the ‘Man from the Hills’ something he never let me forget especially when I ended up living in ‘them there same hills’ many years later. I taught his sons Henry and Colin at Belper School who have both appeared to survive their forced educational ordeal intact, Henry becoming a fine blues guitar player to boot. One thing I have learned through my recent illness and coma experiences is that our souls cannot die and I trust that Malcolm has found himself a nice ‘real ale’ pub in the sky with bands playing every night to hang out in while he sorts himself out. Rest in Peace Mate.

Revd. Magic Sam Murray Feb. 2013

'Crimbo Limbo' Lord is over!

Well ‘Crimbo Limbo’ is over and here we are in a brand new year. Really happy to have made it through. New Years Eve was a blast even though I spent it on my own. Ended up recording a clip of me playing Auld Lang Syne and posting it up as an offering to the world, (see on my facebook if you’re curious), and watching Jools Holland which was great despite what looked like a pretty lack luster line-up. Still not had a drink of alcohol for over 8 months now and feeling much the better for it and lost over 3 stone (20k)! Main reasons are that it interferes with my medication, costs too much, and I don’t want to get back into the addiction of drinking every night, something I did for over 25 years.

Started working on a new book which is feeling very exciting, I’ve been doing a lot of research during these long winter nights and it’s resulted in a lot of new ideas and a lot more topics to look into. Been feeling a lot more creative generally in music, writing, and even some visual artwork, (a shelf for my shrine). Still can’t make it out far on my own yet but I have a nice calendar of the Shrubbery, the wood at the top of our road, courtesy of Martin Bell one of the team that has tried unsuccessfully to stop a golf resort being built on the site. Good news is that the farmer has planted crops so it looks like no-one has taken the project on yet. With the economy being the way it is at the moment I’m not surprised. Martin has contributed some lovely photos so facebook me if you want a copy.

I've just come up with a couple of new music genres - ‘Wyrdcore’ and ‘Sub Moby’ - that I think aptly describes the Mighty Dogheads project as well as my own Shamanic stuff I’m working on right now.

Tried growing my hair for the past couple of months but I’ve shaved it off again. Next day I found this poem in a book I was reading – ‘They Pollard the Willow until it looks, like the shaven head of a Dartmoor crook’! (Reginald Anknell). It’s from a book photos and poems about trees by Yorkshire artist Herbert Whore (1926-2011) called ‘Touch Wood’. I found the book a year or so ago when the Roosters were staying at Ripley Castle in Yorkshire, but the hotel wouldn’t let me buy it. I found it on Amazon when I got home and I’ve just discovered that it is signed by the author! ‘For Peter & Monica from the author Bert’ – awesome as he’s an artist I already feel a strong connection to.

Been discovering some great music lately via Songlines magazine and some great roots radio shows including BBC radio 3’s World Routes and World on 3, FRoots radio, and Mike Harding’s new internet show which seems better than ever. Listened to Mark Radcliffe’s’ new Folk Show on BBC radio 2 but I’m not sure what it’s going to be like we’ll have to see. I once played on the same bill as one of his bands in Audlem Cheshire. He offered me a toke on his spliff but as it was made with Tobacco I declined his offer, nice chap though.

Anyroad that’s it for another month, unless I get the urge. Hopefully we’ll start noticing the spring flowers and lighter days before long. All the best in 2013..

Revd Magic Sam Murray