I could be dead by now*. Longwell Records #1. Recording a tune in Wells-next-the-Sea. This is the sixth of my ongoing series of posts about my latest adventure – being diagnosed and treated for bowel cancer.  It follows on from the last post published on 2 March. It is has been another interesting month for news and stories in the wider world about cancer diagnoses and further studies into cancer treatment. I also want to share something that I have been creating over the past few months. It is a song has meant a lot to me over the past year since it was released in March last year ..read more

‘1001 Albums to Hear Before you Die’ (2013 edition) by Robert Dimery The Whole of My List Earlier this month, the music world lost Karl Wallinger, formerly of The Waterboys and the leader of the band World Party. Having been involved in the first three Waterboys albums, including most notably ‘This is The Sea’ (below), Wallinger only released five studio albums under the WP name and at least three of them were great: Private Revolution, Goodbye Jumbo and Bang! Egyptology, with the original version of ‘She’s the One’ and ‘Dumbing Down’ not so much. ‘Arkeology’ made up for this with lots of stud ..read more

Gardening: Into Step 4 of my Stoma Op recovery Introduction This is the fifth of my ongoing series of posts about my latest adventure – being diagnosed and treated for bowel cancer. This one aims to be even more educational than before due to a recent, alarming report about the rise in bowel cancer diagnosis and risk of death in younger adults. As before, this lengthy post also includes personal details of my treatment over the past month (February), getting physical exercise, my working future and the prognosis going forward into Spring. It is also published one month after King Charles revea ..read more

In the Vinyl Tap, Preston, August 2023. Introduction This short, reflective post has nothing to do with my recent cancer diaries. However, it does refer to a 2013 book entitled ‘1001 albums that [you] must hear before you die‘. So, with my recent cancer prognosis, and not knowing how long I’ve got left to live, the title has become more apposite. Over the past few weeks, I have been struggling with getting a full night’s sleep, with steroids and other medications that I have been taking causing some ‘insomnia’. As the late Maxi Jazz of Faithless once sung, ‘I can’t get no sleep‘ or as Mick Jag ..read more

Note: This is a flashback, nostalgic post that has nothing to do with my new diary series. The next post in December will hopefully be part 3 of that ongoing diary. A few years ago, I wrote a very brief post and a recording about an album that I was involved in making. It was a live recording of a short-lived traditional jazz band.  It was the final gig of a quintet who used to play at the Golden Fleece public house in Wells-next-the-Sea.  I played keyboards and was 24 years old at the time. In the post, I made an ever briefer reference to a slightly earlier album that I r ..read more

Waiting at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, 4 November Introduction This is the second part of my cancer diary, which details the past month. The first part of my cancer diary was published on this WordPress blog on the evening of 14 October.  Over the course of that evening and the next day alone, my blog received 220 unique visitors and 684 views. This is the most ever in the first 48 hours of a publishing a new post! Visitors naturally dropped off the following week, but it clearly resonated with people. It has encouraged me to continue to publicise what would otherwise be ..read more

Preston Bus Station and Sign Move to Preston In September 2021, I moved to Preston, Lancashire. I drove a loaded van up from Wells-next-the-Sea in North Norfolk to the city, with a stopover in Doncaster. I collected my new flat keys on 9 September and moved into a block of flats beside the historic Winckley Square and close to Avenham Park and the train station. I spent a few days and evenings unpacking all my stuff, orienting myself with what was within 5-10 minutes walk away, buying stuff from Wilko (now sadly closing) and getting mentally ready to start my new job. On my second full day, lo ..read more

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