I didn't have the heart to tell you.

I've known for quite a while that things haven't been right, you just know don't you? Speaking to and seeing various medical bods, I knew in the summer that I would have to have major surgery. I met my surgeon on 20 August who told me as much and talked me thru the procedure in some detail. He told me then that he would like to see me 'sooner rather than later.' Although he explained that I was in no imminent danger, my condition will only get worse and left unattended will result in death. That kind of focuses the mind.

We all know about the seven and a half million people currently sitting on various NHS waiting lists so I had no real expectation of being seen this side of the new year. My surgeon, however, had other plans. He said that all things being equal he saw 12 weeks as being realistic. His PA rang me yesterday: my surgeriy is scheduled for 6 December.

Apologies for my previous vague and ambiguous stabs at trying to tell you  something was 'up'. But until I'd got a concrete date I didn't know how to play this. Thus far, I've been drip feeding information to close friends and family on a need to know basis. So, I guess, this is me coming out. I've been told that I'll be in hospital for five days, gradually working towards a full recovery in three months. Just writing this down has been cathartic. Message ends. 

 ❤️

I'll keep writing until I go in to hospital (it keeps me sane, you know that); December's Photo Challenge will still happen and that will tie things up quite neatly - two full years of your wonderful photographs (thank you for all the sunrises and sunsets you've being sending me). The photo at the top of the page was taken last night, minutes before I got rid of the goatee. I started growing it in August and said to myself I'd shave it off only when I got a date for my surgery. J x

Beware of imitations

It's common knowledge that Ian Hunter and his Mott the Hoople pals were just about ready to pull stumps before Bowie came along and bequeathed them All the Young Dudes in 1972. A great rock and roll yarn for sure. But where's Leon Russell in Mott's back story? Russell's place in the rock pantheon is every bit as assured as Bowie's but his benevolence to Hunter barely gets a mention.

I'm referring to a track he stuck on side two of his eponymous debut album from 1970. Not only did Roll Away the Stone give Hunter the material for one hit single it also provided the foundations for a second. I'm talking about Roll Away the Stone (obvs) and All the Way From Memphis. I do hope that Mott did the honourable thing and bunged Russell a few coins of the realm but I doubt very much they did. Leon Russell was the real deal. Mott the Hoople? Coat tails. Beware of imitations.

Leon Russell - Roll Away the Stone (1970)

★ 

 Leon Russell (1942-2016)

Don't think twice, the time is right

I remember telling you back in April that I'd written my first new song in bloody ages. Well, eight months in (and a showcase gig to boot in September) and I've now got eight (count 'em) new songs. That's practically an album's worth! Well it would be if I were to record them; yep, that's my 2025 project. Tho' any mention of the word 2025 is all a bit tentative at the moment as I may well be sitting out the first part of the year*. 

Anyway, back to the songs. Tomorrow's Third Thursday Songwriters meet up at the Winchester will see me playing my latest ditty. It's called This is Your Life and is my stab at writing something both uplifting and, dare I say, inspirational; September and October's tunes were, if not bleak, then certainly on the dark side! So as this will probably be my last one for the year, I'd like to go out on something of a 'high'. I've arranged it so that the brass (I know a great trombone player) I can hear in my head can be overlaid in the studio to make me sound like I know what I'm doing.

Another more imminent project, however, is something I'm starting this weekend. I'm putting together another photo book - a companion piece to Battersea and Beyond. It'll be a similar format with 30 odd new photographs with maybe a bit more text this time. I've got a long list of around 75 pics and I'll be spending Sunday afternoon knocking it into shape and coming up with a zappy title (as opposed to the non-zappy title that I'm currently calling it in my head). In an ideal world I'd like to have it completed and back from the printers in 2/3 weeks but depending on how the cards fall next month (which will be out of my hands) I may not be able to distribute it till next year. Bear with.

*Apologies if this reads a bit, how can I say, mysterious (I'm not trying to be coy) - I will let everyone know (some of you know already) what's occurring when I know for sure what's happening and when... 

マンホールの蓋

I truly can't conceive of a world without 99% Invisible. So much of what passes for knowledge held within the confines of my brain has been uploaded to it from this peerless podcast. Take the episode I heard earlier today: who knew that Japanese manhole covers were works of art in their own right? If you have a spare thirty minutes then let Roman Mars tell you how he first discovered them.

These circular steel covers that keep us separated from the effluent below are all majestic installations that would not be out of place in major galleries the world over. Indeed, if anyone reading this has visited the Land of the Rising Sun and has examples on their photo roll please feel free to share them. 

Darlington 4

Pulling off the motorway yesterday in search of gasoline and nosebag, I found myself in Darlo; that's Darlington to you. Imagine Watford transplanted into the North East and you're halfway there. I didn't outstay my welcome; a bacon cob with brown sauce and a full tank of unleaded and I was offski.