A Lark Ascending

Lost track of this when away but caught up on episodes 2-4 this week. Really like it - a very unusual way of doing a detective programme. Interesting article here: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/06/bbc-drama-river-abi-morgan-explore-mental-health-issues "BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore said the drama pushed the cop show genre “in surprising ways” and promised last month that every new commission on the channel would look to “break the mould”." Well, the Tories' attack on the BBC on behalf of Murdoch and their other media mogul controllers has achieved one thing... *********************************************** Ended last night on ITV. Rather than an all fireworks crescendo, a lot of resolution and redemption (even Alan Sugar saw into his heart of darkness before hanging himself in prison). There's to be another series. Not sure that's a good idea. But then there are strong character here so maybe that did not just want to waste them.

Abigail is really causing disruption in Scotland. Wet and blustery here: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/nov/12/storm-abigail-forces-school-closures-in-scotland

It's a middle class storm - all show and no substance. Named after Abigail's Party.

Oooh! We have our very own named storm: "The first storm to be officially named by the Met Office, is set to bring winds up to 80 mph across far north of UK on Thursday." http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/

Abstract painting? That's what my world looks like when I take my glasses off!

County Durham, England: A rainbow appears above the sculpture Eleven ‘O’ One in Seaham http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/nov/11/photo-highlights-of-the-day-armistice-day-and-a-holy-cow My back garden in November

Label looked like this when it came out here. HELP was the budget release part of Island. By 1972 they'd replaced the lovely pink label with the palm tree one:

I was especially moved by "The Blackwater Lightship". John Banville and John McGahern are anothe couple of more recent Irish writers I've enjoyed. The only Barry I've read is A Long Long Way (my macabre taste for endless WWI books!). Will have to correct that.

Don't play this unless you have medical help near at hand. Annie Ross sings King Crimson!!!!!! Rick Laird and Dave MacRae (Matching Mole, Nucleus etc) aboard! Ross was clearly way ahead of Andrew Lloyd-Webber.

The last couple of paragraphs betray a multitude of prejudices: "Perhaps once the espionage plot has kicked in, London Spy will finally leap up off the treatment table. This was a first script by the novelist Tom Rob Smith (Child 44) who, it says here, lives with Ben Stephenson, until recently the controller of drama commissioning at the BBC. I spy with my little eye. Something beginning with Q. (Quota.)" To me it was slow until the last ten minutes; but in the good sense. Allowing an atmosphere and storyline to build. So many TV programmes seem to operate on fast forward. I think I first noticed it on 'Spooks' ten years back or so. The early series were normally paced and then it came back and everything was happening a mile a minute. I've only seen 'Downton Abbey' a couple of times (not looking for connoisseur points there!!!!) - everything seemed to fly by. A bit odd for something you'd have thought would bask in the landscape and life of the leisured classes.

Spectators were spoilt with both fireworks and the Northern Lights on 3 November. Photo taken just outside Inverness by Lewis Mackenzie. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/34776553

Mel Collins later played in a group called Kokomo who played very soul-based music. When I saw the current KC line-up a few weeks ago his sax playing was still more R'nB than jazz. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokomo_(band) ************************************************* Edit (many hours later) I vaguely remember this from the time but had it confirmed in Sid Smith's book on KC - Wallace, Burrell an Collins were in a short lived Alexis Korner band called Snape (just noticed there is a record!) after KC. The band also included Peter Thorup who did some of the vocals with CCS (of Top of the Pops theme tune fame). My memory is probably playing tricks here, but I have a feeling they were slated to play my university student union but fell apart before that. There's a nice passage in the Smith book about the growing tension in the 71/2 band between Fripp and the others: "This caused some raised eyebrows, as Ian Wallace recalls with relish. "I remember that Alexis Korner was opening up, we were in the middle and Humble Pie were closing and for our encore I got up on stage, looked up and shouted to Mel and Boz '12-bar blues in G' and I remember Boz looking at me saying 'You can't do that!' and I said 'Watch me' and I started up and everybody joined in. Fripp on the other hand sat on his stool with his guitar round his neck with his hands on his lap looking down, tight-lipped and never played a note. Alexis Korner and Humble Pie and everybody backstage freaked out." The Smith book is a good read for KC admirers. Was published in 2001 and seems to be OOP: Smith's website says he's working on an updated version. He must have cursed when they got back together again!

Hardcastle Crags in West Yorkshire Part of a nice selection of photos of Britain's past industrial landscape as it survives today: http://www.theguardian.com/community/ng-interactive/2015/nov/10/brick-by-brick-readers-photos-of-britains-post-industrial-landscapes Clipstone Colliery near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Driven past them many times...the most spectacular of the headstocks in this area; and one of the few surviving. When the Tories destroyed the coal industry they did everything they could to wipe its memory from history. Most former pits are retail/business parks with half a winding wheel and maybe a statue to remember what was once the dominating landscape feature. I still recall the first time I saw a pit in the middle of Hucknall on the way to a job interview. There were scores around then.

Many of the live sets came out originally as part of the King Crimson Collectors' Club series about 10-15 years ago before downloading took off and were only available from DGM. Some of them can be had on Amazon now - you need to track them disc by disc. Some are Japanese issues, I think. If you want to hear the 72/4 band live and don't want to shell out for the megaboxes I'd strongly recommend 'The Great Deceiver' - 4 CDs drawn from across that period. It used to be in a box but it now comes as two double CDs: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Deceiver-Live-73-74-Part/dp/B000V6JUS6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1447184535&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Great+Deceiver http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Deceiver-Live-73-74-Part/dp/B000V6JUSG/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1447184593&sr=1-3&keywords=The+Great+Deceiver I've just listened to the Detroit '72 KCCC disc for the first time in a while. Very good sound - worth it for the chatter; a hilarious bit where Fripp tries to explain to an extremely noisy and self-obsessed audience (well, some of them) why they won't just play the hits; and towards the end one of the others (Boz Burrell, I suspect) gets very sarcastic. There's also a bizarre, short version of In the Court of the Crimson King played as a blues song! I think I recall reading somewhere that the band were falling apart with Collins/Burrell and Wallace wanting to head in a bluesier, more soul like direction. You can hear the seams splitting on these live discs.

There are endless concerts available as downloads, of variable quality. In 1969-72 you are going to be victim to the sound quality at the time. Some are available as CDs (and some are incorporated in the huge boxes). The CDs are available in the USA via this part of the site (in Europe they are sold via Burning Shed): http://shop.schizoidshop.com/king-crimson-collectors-club-c67.aspx The Summit Studio one I recommended is on page 3. I think you'll have plenty to choose from there.

London Spy (BBC 2) Another new thriller with Ben Whishaw and Jim Broadbent. Slow moving but kept my attention. The Guardian liked it; The Telegraph didn't. http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/nov/10/london-spy-tv-review-thriller-love-story http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/11985109/London-Spy-episode-one-review.html

I bought it when it came out as a cheapo LP in summer 1972. Was very disappointed by it, rarely played it, sold it in the early 80s. However, curiosity got the better of me and I bought a CD version last year. The original tapes were pretty rough but to my ears the CD improved the sound considerably (or maybe my way of listening had changed given how KC became a much more improvising band from the autumn of '72 in the new line-up. The first four records were very arranged). It's actually quite an exciting record. Worth hearing...but I'd say there are better recordings of that version of KC that have come out through the KC website. Live at Summit Studios is especially good. https://www.dgmlive.com/archive.htm?show=218 I think I'm right in saying that apart from Earthbound there wasn't a live KC album until 'USA'. I didn't hear another live recording (apart from the sections used on the main albums) until 'The Great Deceiver Box' in the 1990s...that was a revelation.

Someone has installed a sheet of steel across the sky for the last week and it's staying there for the foreseeable future. I don't think we make steel here any more; must be part of the Osborne deal with China. Could be Corbyn...an alternative to Trident.

The Arne Dahl series from Sweden currently in the Scandi spot on BBC4...though I'm four episodes behind. Watchable but not the best that has come from that direction. Apart from the inevitably messy personal lives they're all a bit goody two shoes. The God of Hell-Fire in free bus pass years. Psychedelic Britannia BBC4 Nothing new but an enjoyable hour looking at 1965-70 with the usual suspects interviewed - Pete Brown, Arthur Brown, Joe Boyd, Robert Wyatt, Gary Brooker, Justin Hayward, Barry Miles and the very posh Emily Young who was supposed to be the inspiration behind 'See Emily Play'. Nice to see footage of the Pink Floyd and Soft Machine in their early days.

No idea. Are these trick photography? http://www.visitbritainblog.com/blog/2015/07/08/5-amazing-photos-of-the-milky-way-above-britain/ http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/stunning-photos-show-milky-way-5774948 Another one here: Forsinard, Scotland: Stargazers gathered near the RSPB’s watchtower in the Flow Country to observe the Milky Way are greeted by the surprise appearance of the aurora http://www.theguardian.com/world/picture/2015/nov/09/eyewitness-forsinard-scotland ******************************** Pink flamingos above the low water in the Camargue, France. Photograph: Rex Shutterstock. Lovely...but from a worrying article. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/09/storm-and-drought-what-europe-has-to-fear-from-climate-change Looks like something out of Dr Who! Crossrail, London Photograph: Crossrail Flikr Giant squashed platypus? Beijing airport Photograph: Render by Methanoia Zaha Hadid Architects http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/nov/09/megastructures-seven-wonders-of-the-modern-world-near-completion

Northumberland, UK: A view of the Milky Way near Hadrian’s Wall http://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2015/nov/08/the-weekend-in-pictures

Thanks, Bill. Looks interesting. I'll keep my eye out at the Sheffield Showroom. I hope to see Brooklyn some time next week.

I read several of those many years ago. Remember enjoying them greatly...a picture of an Ireland that was probably still hanging on when I read them but is unrecognisable now. My mother grew up in that Ireland about a decade or two before they are set; it affected her outlook on life profoundly. Have you read Colm Tóibín's 'Brooklyn' ? From a similar world. It's just come out as a film (as I imagine you'd know). ******************************* Still working through the Shakespeare bio (lots of interruptions) and into the final stages of Passchendaele (brilliant book). But after seeing 'Suffragette' the other day I had to start this: I've taught the topic to younger kids (13-14) and bumped into it a lot because my colleagues used to teach it on the other side of the A Level course we did (I did Civil Rights and Korea/Vietnam, boys stuff!!!!!). But have never read anything beyond school textbooks. Really enjoying this. First hundred pages are about the background in the Manchester radical scene of the late-19thC. It's no hagiography - Pugh tries to to deal with all the Pankhursts (including Adela who I'd never even heard of) and points out the contradictions and vanities in their characters. Just got to the founding of the WSPU.

The Rheingans Sisters - in the upstairs room of an unreconstructed pub in Sheffield, my favourite type of venue. Gosh, these women are humbling. Mid-twenties-ish and they play fiddle in a scratchy, scrape-y, ancient way and speak Swedish and French! Daughters of a violin maker they appear to have grown up with music around them, playing together. A mixture of British, Old Time American, Scandinavian and, increasingly, French traditional music (the younger sister, Anna, is studying in south-west France and sourcing from the archives). The interaction between the two is hair-raising - you almost start believing in telepathy. Rhowan plays a bit of banjo and, on one song, an invention of her father's, a cross between a banjo and a sitar! She also has a lovely voice which she uses plainly without vocal mannerisms. I go to lots of folk type concerts and am endlessly impressed by the quality of the new generation of players and singers (the older too!); but these two have a repertoire which is so different from the norm and without having to indulge in strange crossovers (unless you count weaving a Swedish waltz into an English folk song a strange crossover). Currently an up and coming name but I imagine before very long these two will be headliners at festivals, if the fact that they live in different countries and have independent musical careers doesn't get in the way. I've been lucky to hear so much good live music this year...this was up there with the best. Looking forward to listening to the new record later on. Here they are last December in the same venue where I saw them last night playing a foot-stomping couple of French bourees: And a lovely version of Robin Williamson's 'October Song' with a lengthy prelude of tuning, story telling and giggling: Love the mirror at the back.

Thanks, Shawn. I thought it might be something like that. ************************ Dresden, Germany: A tree is partially obscured by morning fog Sydney, Australia: A Qantas Boeing 737-800 flies through heavy rain as a storm moves towards Sydney. Imagine this is related to Bill's picture above. http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/nov/06/photo-highlights-of-the-day-a-red-faced-beckham-and-a-fallen-skater