Singing as the Darkness Lifts

MY SOUL AS A METAL SPINNING TOP     Listening Link    This morning herring gulls sound in the distance, and the sky is clouded. The air is gently cold, not biting, and carries a hint of woodiness.   Alt text says this week’s photo is two women standing together smiling. I like that description. And I love this photo and that I was able to say hello in real life to Tanita Tikaram after the excellent concert at Stoller Hall. I enjoyed it all – it made my heart sing. And I felt my soul shining extra brightly on hearing such a beautiful performance of ‘Valentine Heart’ from Tanita Tikaram and Helen O’Hara.   I had been enjoying the anticipation of going to the concert for quite some time having safely stored the tickets away when I bought them back in May. On the actual day of the event, I had factored in the journey and made peanut butter and blackcurrant jam rolls for tea so that when we got there we didn’t have to ...

ON HAVING AN UNSTABLE CONNECTION     Listening Link This morning a chorus of herring gulls and a crescent moon in a pale blue sky. And the air is simply cold.   Alt text tells me this week’s photo is a stuffed animal in the air. I say it is Ronnie jumping for joy at Weedon Bec. Although this is an older photo, we were there at the weekend for a celebration of yarn at a Riverknits event. Stollen and Wolle is the name of the event, and it features both those things (cake and wool) and also has lovely live music towards the end which gives a wonderful uplifting feel to the closing of the show and our subsequent journey home.   This week my internet became unstable. No great drama you might think, but this is me and I was at an event where I was reading! It has taken me some time to develop my reading confidence, and to have the right kind of self-talk when things seem to be going wrong.   And now I take a bow because I did not panic! Not only that, I ...

THE WATER TOWER Listening Link   This morning a blackbird sounds an incessant alarm call after I have hit the snooze button twice. I take this as a sign to get up and see the day. The air smells of bare branches and the crows are conversing from chimney pots.   Alt text says this week’s photo is a person jumping off a water tower. I say I am rather glad it isn’t and that instead it is Herne Bay Water Tower in the late afternoon sun with Ronnie jumping for joy.   There is something reassuring about seeing the Water Tower each time I visit my hometown, and I love that this stark, concrete building can warm my heart. Taking a moment to notice it and feel the wave of nostalgia always feels comforting. It’s like a friendly, “ welcome back” .   My brother was very good at building a replica of this tower with Lego when we were little, and along with Herne Windmill, it is a much-loved landmark from my childhood. Both these structures were most...

LIFTED Listening Link  This morning, the cool air brings the smell of hash browns as the traffic builds its familiar rush.   Alt text offers no suggestion for this week’s photo. I say it is my sister, me and my mum in the lift after coffee and before a little shopping spree. I love this moment in time from our lovely, shared day, and the fact I remembered to take a photo.   This week I learned that I am a competent pumpkin carver. Good company, a simple design idea, a whiteboard marker pen and a last-minute pumpkin purchase resulted in a Trick or Treat worthy exhibit which made me smile.   It has been like adopting a mini half-term this week... catching up with a good friend, time with family, carving that pumpkin, having a toffee apple, going to a big firework display, landing on the settee of lovely people and having a photograph taken... and perhaps there will always be echoes of school holidays even though I no longer have these as ...

POET, COACH. COACH, POET.     Listening Link  This morning a swirling wind makes an incense of its own as it mixes the soft dry scent of wood smoke with the damper smell of fallen leaves.   Alt Text says this week’s photo is a picture of two women smiling. I say it is me having a post-gig photo with Wendy James, and feeling glad to have the opportunity to express my gratitude for the music which has been in my heart for a long time now.   This week while tuning in to POETs Day live with Kate Jenkinson (Fridays at 12:30 via LinkedIn) I found myself drawn to the Venn diagram image in the Poetry In Business Logo. It resonated with my recent thinking around how two of my favourite things (poetry and coaching) intersect. Whilst wondering about this I had also been toying with the thought that people might find it strange that my social media presence often flits between poetry and coaching. My answer to myself was that I am a poet and a ...

A CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH SPRINKLES   Listening Link Today rain and mist hold the scent of damp fallen leaves in the air.    Alt text says this week’s photo is a chocolate cake with sprinkles on the top. It is indeed. And to add to this description I would also say it is a birthday cake for my lovely wife. For this bake, I fine-tuned the recipe after making a cake for my debut poetry collection Magnifying Glass which had its fifth birthday last week. The book cake was delicious, but a little rustic looking after I piled on the buttercream and forked the number five on the top because I hadn’t really considered how I was going to finish it off! It was a good reason to enjoy cake, and it also gave me the perfect opportunity to enjoy the feelings of gratitude to have worked with Black Eyes Publishing UK to enable the book to have its place in the world.   I am also taking forward the lesson that it is useful to have an image of the end product ...