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. 

(Get a) Grip (on Yourself)

I was today years old when I realised the opening line to the Stranglers' first single 'Grip' was "Didn't have no money 'round to buy a Morry Thou". From that day to this I had absolutely no knowledge*. 

That the Stranglers were too old to be punks barely mattered back then, even less now (all the Mk. 1 punks are old now). In January 1977 I just remember Grip being an absolute barnstormer. Even with the sax all over it. And Dave Greenfield's ill-advised tash. Also, when their debut album came out shortly thereafter it was nowhere near the best track on it. Not even close; such was the sheer brilliance of Rattus Norvegicus - don't @ me.

The fact that it works in a lounge format tells you just how great a song it is. 

Nouvelle Vague - Get a Grip (2019)

* Even in 2013 when I last wrote about this very song. (And yes, I'd totally forgotten writing that piece over ten years ago.)

Contemporary?

Having reviewed music both casually and professionally I'm painfully aware that it's all about the nomenclature; syntax is everything. Comparing one band to another, one artist to another, is generally OK. Lazy but OK. It' s form of pigeonholing that most readers are comfortable with. It gives them that first foothold on the climb ahead. But as soon as you drop a careless noun or, god help you, a misplaced adjective you're suddenly in choppy waters. Words like progressive come with a built in trigger warning. Mainstream ditto. Edgy, double ditto. And never, if you can help it, call anyone or anything, contemporary. Or, worse, retro. Even if he/she/they/it is/are. All of which is a rather convoluted preamble to explain why my new favourite band, the Sheepdogs, have a foot in so many camps that, temped as I might be to drop in a number of both passive and hyperbolic trigger words to tell you what they're like, I am instead just going to leave this one song here, and you can make your own mind up.

The Sheepdogs - Nobody (from their 2018 album Changing Colours)

 

Speaking of contemporary, the photograph at the top of the page is currently available as a limited (six only) edition and comes mounted, signed, numbered, and framed. Every home should have one! Drop me an email if you're interested and I'll tell you just how competitively priced it is - john@johnmedd.com

Lovely Rita

Rita Hayworth, legendary actress and dancer, was, without doubt, the favourite pin-up girl for American GIs during WW2. Often described a sex goddess, five times married Hayworth led a troubled life. Her second husband Orson Welles once said "All her life was pain." Early onset of Alzheimer's was misinterpreted by friends as alcoholism and her latter days were spent mostly isolated from the outside world.

Hayworth was, I think we can agree, the muse for Bryan Ferry's idea of how the first Roxy Music should look. He's never denied it.

★

Rita Hayworth (1918-1987)

Hey, Kari-Ann

You may not know the name, but you'll recognise the boat race. Former model and actress Kari-Ann Moller was the pin-up adorning the cover of Roxy Music's eponymous 1972 debut album. Her fee to lend her image to a bunch of then unknowns? Twenty quid. A steal. 

Two years later she can be found on Mott the Hoople's seventh and final album, The Hoople. Her fee? Unknown, tho' probably a tad more than Ferry and Co. gave her. 

By proxy

In a long and hugely successful career Linda Thompson has written, sung and recorded scores of seminal tunes - many of which are now considered folk rock standards. These days, however, Linda has lost her most personal of instruments: having being diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia she is no longer able to enchant audiences with her instantly recognisable voice; the voice that shaped and defined not just her solo albums but those on which she collaborated with her ex, Richard Thompson. 

Earlier this year she curated a collection of new songs she'd co-written with her son Teddy Thompson under the title Proxy Music (see what she did there?) With a star studded roster of guest musicians (many family members) including a brace of Wainwrights, the Unthanks, the Proclaimers and Eliza Carthy to name but a few, the resulting album is nothing short of beautiful. One of my personal favourites is a song she bequeathed to John Grant. Linda loves John Grant. I think the feeling is mutual. 'John Grant' is track six (18:10) - the whole album is here...

Christos Hatzis · Proxy Music by Various Artists.Friends sing the songs of Linda Thompson

We're a broad church

Hello again and welcome to November's Photo Challenge. This month I was asking you for places of worship. And, as per, you didn't let me down. This month's collection is staggering. Staggering in terms of quality and staggering in its global reach: this month more than any other, I think, shows that, here at Photo Challenge, we know no boundaries. Thank you as ever to everyone who takes the time. I love you all dearly.

Rol, as is tradition, is up first. "Hi John, When I was a boy, I went to a C of E school. This is Helme Church, which was right next to the school, where I also attended Sunday school for a while. I probably have loads more church pictures in my hard drive, but this was the one that means the most. Take care, Rol." Thank you, Rol. I love it. What a great start. Spoiler alert, I was expecting more clock faces this month tbh.

Khayem from the Kotwolds - what have you got? "Hello John, Mostly old photos this time. in 2005, Mrs K and I were lucky enough to spend a few weeks travelling around Japan. Temples galore as you can imagine, but here are a couple of examples from Nara and Kyoto. The statues within are immense, as this example from Nara amply demonstrates..." 

"...I always seem to find a way to work Gloucester Cathedral into most photo challenges so it was an obvious pick. This one taken from the top floor of a nearby office block..."

"...A few minutes walk away, to the docks and you can find the Mariners’ Church, dwarfed by warehouses all around..." 

"...Lastly, walking back from a recent gig, I couldn’t resist a nighttime snap of Bath Abbey. Cheers, K." A smashing little sextet, K. Churches in docks is a sub category we should explore more!

David gives us five straight off the bat: 1. 'Lincoln Cathedral'.

2. 'St. Paul's'.

3. 'Birmingham Cathedral'.

4. 'Holy Trinity, Stratford upon Avon'.

5. 'St.Mary's, Greasley'. Good work, David!

A great response from Matthew up in Stranraer: "Hi John, I didn’t realise I'd visited so many (for a non-church goer). From North to South – all un-edited snaps. (Matthew's nomenclature may or may not follow the order in which they landed in my inbox): 1.Hallgrímskirkja Lutheran parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland - pretty austere looking, particularly in February. Certainly not warm and inviting inside either. 2. The Cathedral of San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife (internal) - good audio tour there. 3. Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico (internal) 4.Mazatlan Cathedral, Sinaloa, Mexico. 5. Church of the Third Order of Our Lady of the Rosary of the Black People, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil -loads of historic Portuguese architecture in Salvador, but well dodgy, off the tourist trail. 6. Church of Notre Dame des Laves, La Reunion island - this was renamed following the volcanic eruption in 1977; the church missed the lava flow and was seen as a miracle – also fortunate for the tourist industry as it is on the island tour now. Hope you can consider these. M x." Considered and all fit for inclusion! Thank you, Matthew. (Some of these might be out of order, sorry!)

The lovely Miss Turner has just got back from a few days away on the North Yorkshire coast. "A church and an ex-church (now the Fishermans Chapel Apartments) in Filey."

"And, nearer to home, walking with Alfie to The Abdication past St. Paul's in Daybrook."

Kate, recently back from the Orient, had loads of places of worship from her travels. "Hi John, gold and silver temples in Chiang Mai..."

"...and the big Buddha of Phuket. The whole week, while we were there, I'd got 'Whoa big Buddha, bam-ba-lam!' in my head - to the tune of Black Betty."

Adam, our resident Manc, is next: "It turns out I have quite a lot of churches, but this one is a recent addition to my archive - St. John's in Offerton, near Stockport - a fairly ordinary suburb with a wonderful 1960s Modernist/Norse/Scandi inspired church." Thank you, Adam. I need to check this out next time I'm up there. 

The Swede doesn't come ut to play as often as he used to but this is a bit special: "Hi John, these snapshots of Walpole Old Chapel were taken one evening a few summers ago, when I visited for a Laura Cannell concert. It's an atmospheric, creaky old building that I pass regularly and must drop into again someday for a longer look around. If you'll forgive me, rather than rewrite its long and fascinating history, I'll quote directly from the chapel's website:  'At first glance the building appears to be an attractive 16th century Suffolk farmhouse, in a lovely agricultural setting. But a closer look reveals its story. A non-conformist meeting house was created from this domestic farm building in the middle of the 17th century, during a time of religious repression. The congregation, which was originally formed in 1649, leased the farmhouse in 1689 and converted it shortly afterwards into an independent chapel. A simple space, created by local people to meet their own worship needs. The Chapel has one of the finest meeting house interiors in England, and vividly conveys the atmospheric setting of 17th and 18th century dissenting worship. The historic chapel is one of the most threatened types of building in England. Many have been damaged by unsympathetic conversion or the removal of fittings. This building has been part of the village of Walpole for over 400 years, and was a place of continuous worship for nearly 300 years. The Chapel formally closed in 1970, and eventually came into the care of the Historic Chapels Trust in 1995. It is now cared for on a day-to-day basis by the Friends of Walpole Old Chapel and is itself a Registered Charity. Today this beautiful Grade II listed building continues to play an important role in the religious, social and cultural life of the community'."

It was only a matter of time - Ernie's grandstanding: "Hi John, after exercising great restraint on the tree challenge I am reverting to appalling showing off this month - we start with two scenic monasteries from the Caucasus, Haghartsin in Armenia and Uplistsikhe in Georgia. They are followed by the hard to spot La Merced church in Leon, Nicaragua and an interior from Urbino cathedral in Italy. Finally, a shaman's home in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. On the right of the photo you can see Mrs Shamen instructing me in no uncertain terms to bugger off. All the best,  Ernie." Splendid stuff, Ernie. I think you and Coops are tying for who's got most air miles. 

Tim from Hucknall - wot ya got? "Figured it was time to send some church based material, John. Yet again, a ton of stuff here so tried to limit to a degree but please feel free to edit as usual. Sagrada Familia in Barca. Wonderful place. Strong stained glass game..."

"...St. Paul's Cathedral - 'Are you sitting comfortably?'  Wonderful symmetry on the roof and inside of the dome. The detail is insane..."

"...Bobbers Mill at dawn. Blurred glimpse from the Robin Hood Line. I like the artistic quality this has taken on..."

"...Berlin Cathedral - bass paying angel. Top 'heavy metal axe' pose. I'll leave it here so others have the chance of getting some pictures in." Thank you so much, Tim. Strong church game, for sure.

    

Charity Chic: "We are equidistant between two magnificent Church of Scotland buildings - Marylee Parish Church and Cathcart Trinity Church." CC adds that he's never been in either of them. No shame in that, CC. You heathen. Unlike Coops...

My +1 on a U.S. vacation in 2022, the current Mrs. Medd, took this great photo of a beautiful church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I love the white crosses against a brilliant royal blue sky backdrop.

Go on Mr. Cooper: "I do go in churches/cathedrals etc. quite often when away - for the architecture, a bit of peace and quiet and also they tend to be cool. Have gone for a couple of photos from the two extremes of extravagance. Firstly the Catholic Church in Funchal, Madeira ‘Igreja de São João Evangelista do Colégio do Funchal'..." 

"...the second is attached to a monastery in Warsaw ‘Sklep monastyczny Monastica’. I know which one I prefer..." 

"...my wild card was taken in the largest model railway in the world ‘Miniatur Wunderland’ in Hamburg." Thank you, Coops. I love the miniature church.

Portugal calling. Come in, George: "Hi John I have just collected about 120 litres of water from the natural spring you can see in this photo. It is under a chapel: in a period of great drought, Mary (mother of jesus) appeared and showed a group of shepherds where they could find a natural spring. And many many years later the ground was consecrated and this chapel built. It's about 6km from our farm and we, like many people in the area, use it as a source for drinking water. Best wishes, George (your correspondent from the Alentejo Litoral)." George - the story alone gets you a podium finish this month! Thank you.

Jo, our delightful, far flung Cornish snapper is next: "Snowy morning in my village, Stithians..."

"...a church in Haarlem, Amsterdam. It was a beautiful place..."

"...St Austell Church in Cornwall." Thank you, Jo! Stithians looking like it's straight out a film set.

Alyson from way up in the Highlands: "Hi John, York Minster from when we met up for #BlogCon23." Thank you, Alyson. How could I forget?

Pete Zab with four belters: "Hi John, not had much time for photography this month, so a few from the archives. The crypt at St. Wystan's Repton - burial place of some of the Mercian kings..."

"...St Mary's at Whitby..."

"...A section of some of the wall art at St Peter & St Paul's Pickering..."

"...and finally, Witley Parish Church, this is next door to the remains of Witley Court." Great shots, Pete. For my sins, I know the Pickering church well - I used to ring the bells there. True story.

A newbie next: Former AC/DC roadie, Johnny Legs, all the way from Basford Crossings. Legs has been criss-crossing Europe and beyond - first up, 'Lecco, Italy'.

'Milan'.

'Santiago de Compostela, Galicia (x2)'.

'Leon, Spain.'

'Burgos, Spain (x2).

'Copenhagen'.

Celia at Sun Dried Sparrows says "Hi John, just one simple photo from me this month. My local church looking rather picturesque and a teensy bit spooky here too. C x." Are you sure the roof wasn't on fire, C?! 

A couple from me, then, to wrap things up. The notorious crooked spire in Chesterfield. 

And its stunning stained glass. (Every picture tells a story.)

As Phil Lewis once said, you can play my trusty organ.

Two junctions up the M1 from Chesterfield and this random church in deepest Sheffield caught my eye.

The Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool a.k.a. Paddy's Wigwam.

Bingham Parish Church. I visit these ne'er do wells probably more often than is good for me. For some reason I take great comfort from them. 

Midwest USA 2022. God knows where, exactly. On the Amtrak from Chicago to Los Angeles I was pointing and shooting out the window at all sorts of flotsam and jetsam. And then I saw this...

And there you have it. I hope you like what you see - I predict a fantastic photobook coming soon comprising the Best of '24. Waddya reckon? Until next time...

...

Postscript 4.11.24

My friend Riggsby has asked if I can squeeze a couple of his snaps in as he missed the deadline. Of course, never a problem. Richard is based in San Diego and any opportunity to fill this feature with California sunshine is fine by me. "Hi John, the Encinitas Self-Realization Fellowship, Golden Lotus Towers on Pacific Coast Highway: a spectacular building and a beautiful setting. The Meditation Garden is open to the public (you have to keep your voice to a whisper) and has a panoramic view out over the ocean. A place for meditation and reflection." Looks idylic. Are they related to the Quakers, I wonder?