A Lark Ascending

Makes the late-60s look very tawdry; and the Stones come across as near inarticulate. Maybe just inhibited by the cameras and the ugly events at Altamont. Pleasant BBC period drama in the regular Sunday night slot for such things. Seems to be de rigueur to have the relevant hunk showing off his chest whilst doing the scything. Never read the book or seen the 70s film so can't compare.

Not sold in Sainsbury's in the heathen north, I'm afraid. Doom Bar or Tribute. I believe the Doom Bar is made in Burton-on-Trent. The EU need to investigate. What's good for pasties...

Storing digitally I do that too. When I first started saving downloads I'd rename the file with surname first (habit) but it soon became clear this was going to be silly. So I accept the forename approach. With physical CDs/CD-rs I file by categories. Where I have a lot by one artist they get a section of their own but within the right shelf. Still throws up the 'but is this blues rock or prog rock?' Issue. 98% of the time I can find what I need (so the filing works) but every now and then. My only Elvis Presley recording is one from the 90s called 'Elvis '56' and I've not been able to find it for years. Starting to wonder if a visiting workman half-inched it. Didn't take the Henry Cow records! Big problem comes when a category shelf fills up and reorganisation is called for. Fortunately I've freed up some shelf space retiring my school books to upstairs.

Still amazed that this has never been put out as a download edition, permanently available. Sad that it should degenerate to a mere collectors' item. I think it's the most expensive set I every bought when it first emerged; worth every penny (despite some technical flaws - a couple of discs that would not track properly at the end, the harsh remastering of the early 40s sides) .

I once thought I lived at the heart of the record buying world....but.... Vinyl Countdown: How do three new subscription services stack up? Cocktail recipes?

Thanks Bill. All down to the landscape itself - my skills are rudimentary. Back in the days of film I had an SLR where you could see the depth of field as you turned the appropriate thing-a-me-bob. Can't seem to do this with my digital camera. As a result I end up with way too many with ugly (as opposed to planned) out-of-focus areas. ****************** This is nice: http://www.theguardian.com/world/picture/2015/sep/19/eyewitness-vale-of-york#img-1 As is this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/34256903 You see some real skill there. If I'd have taken it I'd have got either a bleached out sky or an over-dark foreground. Going to have to explore how to handle that. I'm too reliant on bright sunshine. Finally, somewhere close to my heart: The beach at Gwithian in Cornwall

Making up for 37 years of being too knackered for weekday gigs....and, I now realise, too knackered to give up a chance to recharge on a Saturday by driving a distance. Aim is one a week where possible while I've got so much going on within driving distance.

None at all! £1.50 for all day down by 'The Railway Children' station.

Very good, well-balanced rehabilitation of The Moody Blues here: The Moody Blues – psychedelia’s forgotten heroes At the age of 14, my first 'favourite band'. Fell down the pecking order as I became more aware of their frequent twee-ness and cod-spirituality but their records always remind me of a time and place. I like this article - for its ability to pin point what appealed to me as a teenager whilst admitting to the more embarrassing elements of the band. And nicely scathing on hip rock journalism (which, admittedly, can't hold a candle to hip jazz or classical journalism). I have the author's new book on the shelf ready to enjoy when I finally finish Keith Richards auto-bio: Though it will be read with nothing stronger than a bottle of Doom Bar.

Finally got up to Haworth yesterday. Didn't spend long in the town which is Ye Olde Tea Shoppe City (with everything from estate agents to motor garages named Bronte or Heathcliffe) but after an overcast morning got some nice sunny spells on the moors: First time I've seen an English footpath sign with Japanese subtitles! Sadly no courting couples communicating their ardour in semaphore to be seen.

Last night: Moulettes at Square Chapel in Halifax (deepest Yorkshire). (so rock'n roll) Marvellous 'rock' concert (for want of a better term) of young musicians. Two support bands - a singer-songwriter with band and a very in your face punky outfit. Both very accomplished musicians, entertaining if not music I'd want to take home. But Moulettes are special. Came across their albums some months back and was bewitched. Wondered how they would translate to live - the albums are intricate, layered affairs with rich orchestrations (from the band) and beautiful vocal harmonies. Well they pulled it off in spades. Hard to describe the band - they get called prog, folk and all sorts of things but nothing quite fits. Imagine prime era XTC with the ever-so-English harmony vocals of The Northettes (on the Hatfield and the North albums) but with a dose of Les Baxter orchestrations. Utterly distinctive instrumental line-up - subtle bass/drum support with up front electric guitar, cello, bassoon (yea, bassoon!) and an electric autoharp. And then those divine vocals. Main songwriter Hannah Miller made a lovely front person explaining the songs in a rambling way...how many bands take the ideas for songs from reading articles in the New Scientist?! A really distinctive band. Bugger all to do with jazz but those of a catholic taste with a penchant for the more melodic end of rock might well enjoy them. On extensive tour at present including Canada in late Sept/early Oct. Hopefully they get a bigger audience than in Halifax - about 50 people! http://www.moulettes.co.uk/

A Very British Map: The Ordnance Survey Story (BBC4) Quaint little programme about the map making institution - a bit 'aren't we British special' but a nice tale. Great to see the OS map collector with a room filled with shelves of OS maps - wonder what it reminded me of? Finally got round to this. I thought it was excellent - much, much better than the last two films I watched addressing similar issues ('Lincoln' and 'The Butler').

This is a slur. I don't.

Pennsylvania, USA: The end of a fishing trip on Briar Creek Lake. Melbourne, Australia: Tightrope artist Kane Petersen successfully walks 300 metres above the ground at the Eureka Skydeck in Melbourne. Now there's a way to admire a cityscape. http://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2015/sep/16/photo-highlights-of-the-day Dark sky over a coastline Atmospheric evening light in Rhosneigr, Anglesey on 14th September. Photo by Phil Taylor. These seagulls seem unfazed by the crashing waves in Eastbourne on 15th September. Photo by Adam Ransom. This was what Debussy was on about. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/34256903

Didn't know that. I only started eating it a few years back. It's always been sea bass to me. I'll drop the sea.

I would like to point out that I am currently waiting for baked sea bass* on a bed of fresh vegetables (carrots, aubergines, courgettes etc) to come to perfection. Fish fingers are a fortnightly treat when I just want something quick. Never eaten them in a sandwich - tend to go for mash and peas. (I never pronounce this right in restaurants - always say it like the instrument and get mocked mercilessly for being obsessed with music) The most famous brand in Britain also made full use of the nautical allusions: Captain Birdseye was a household name in the 70s. Don't know if he is still used - I buy supermarket own brand.

Gary Cowan photographed this tranquil lake scene near Rosslea, County Fermanagh on 27th August. Bubbling cumulus clouds over Kirkcarrion near Teesdale, County Durham on 1st September. Photo by Carol Grey. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/34114966

Hopefully with subtitles! Never seen this right through before - one of those things forever on at Xmas while you are doing other things. Pleasant 90 minutes if rather corny in this day and age.

Fish fingers turn 60: how Britain fell for not-very-fishy sticks of frozen protein I love fish fingers...the gastronomic equivalent of needing to listen to The Carpenters or The Sound of Music every once in a while. Baked beans fall into the same category. And it seems they are exactly the same age as me. Though I've always had a little guilt after hearing Leon Rosselson's song: The song then becomes very political taking on the Daily Mail and the police. Suspect the joy in fish fingers is a very British thing. A bit like grits in the southern USA...doesn't travel well.

New one from Karrin Allyson due in a couple of weeks: Where Rodgers and Hart are staples of jazz singery Rodgers and Hammerstein are much rarer...hard to be hip with Julie Andrews in your head. Good to see this - R&H may owe as much to operetta as Broadway but I love the harmonic modulations in their songs. Looking forward to it - Allyson rarely takes the straight road (or the hip road, come to that).

"Raining, raining, raining, Always bloody well raining. Raining all the morning, And raining all the night."

Lovely one from the BBC weather site: "A glimpse of the rising sun," Arlene Towriss describes her photo taken on 9th September at Castlerigg, Cumbria. http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/features/34184907 And from the same site: Beautiful landscape shot of the Buttermere Valley, Cumbria on 4th September. Photo by Mike Whorley. Colours a bit odd on the last one - looks like a postcard from the 50s.

I've seen Richard a bunch, too. He's never boring, that's for sure! This was the last time I saw him - at SXSW in 2013. I actually saw him 3 times that year! He tours here regularly so I catch him every 2 or 3 years. His music has been with me since around 1971 so it's a bit like seeing an old school friend! 3 times in a year - that is dedication!

Watched all three when they were screened here a while back. Enjoyed them very much indeed. Last night: "A303 - Highway to the Sun." Missed this when it first screened and on its repeats but found it on the iPlayer. Very nice, gentle programme about a road I often find myself on. Never knew Weyhill Fair was so important - only know it from a song (which they played a snippet from).

Strange rituals: http://echoesanddust.com/2015/09/live-king-crimson-at-hackney-empire-london-september-7th-2015/