I recall as a child a photo of a man in uniform, enclosed in a plastic art deco frame on the sideboard at my grandparents’ house. It never occurred to me that it was my grandfather, despite seeing it on every visit. Later I assumed it was his brother Alan who we will meet shortly. It was only decades later, after my father died, that I found this photo in my father’s possessions. Studying it with more interest than the young child I was back then, I could discover from the uniform the role my grandfather played in WW2. Let us see ..read more

This is my journey back into my musical past - This is 1970s England. Music on vinyl that opened up a world of discovery - musically and personally ..read more

I appreciate Liege and Lief is considered the most important album Fairport produced but Unhalfbricking is my favourite. It is difficult to imagine that there was a finer group of British musicians at this time. The whole album has moments of sheer perfection. In the case of Sandy’s immortal ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’ the perfection holds throughout the track ..read more

It is this classic, definitive collaboration with the E-Street Band that is my number one go-to album by him. It is pre the superstardom he was to have. The process of making great art is pressed into these tracks on ‘Darkness ..read more

Order on Amazon My retrospective ‘review’ of 22 vinyl albums with the added colour of the amazing concerts I saw I put these into the context of life of the times – for me this was Northern England at a time of social unrest and change These albums were the soundtrack to my heading into adulthood They meant a lot at the time and writing this I find they still do Please enjoy remembering how these artists shaped our lives My reason for starting this journey through my past, to paraphrase Neil Young, was my father’s vinyl collection. My father died recently, and he left a vast collection of vin ..read more

Pre-Order on Amazon My retrospective ‘review’ of 22 vinyl albums with the added colour of the amazing concerts I saw I put these into the context of life of the times – for me this was Northern England at a time of social unrest and change These albums were the soundtrack to my heading into adulthood They meant a lot at the time and writing this I find they still do Please enjoy remembering how these artists shaped our lives My reason for starting this journey through my past, to paraphrase Neil Young, was my father’s vinyl collection. My father died recently, and he left a vast collection of ..read more

Collioure Harbour South of France Please Enjoy my Travel Books on Amazon – FREE on Kindle Unlimited https://bit.ly/bookneal This chapter is taken from my book ‘OFF the AUTOROUTE’ – a journey around France from Normandy to the South stopping in between We first set eyes on the beauty that is Collioure on an evening excursion to the town in our tour company’s minibus on our first foray into France. This was a slightly unnerving trip of some twenty miles with a somewhat unconvincing driver on a bus packed full of fellow travellers. If the journey out to Collioure was unnerving it was nothing comp ..read more

Please Enjoy my Travel Books on Amazon – FREE on Kindle Unlimited https://bit.ly/bookneal This chapter is taken from my book ‘Off the Autoroute’ which is now available on Kobo as well as Amazon Where our French adventure began – Le Malassis Bar Restaurant Perpignan The area around Perpignan in French Catalonia is where our travels all started around twenty-five years ago. It is a short hop from Provence so let us see what we found there starting in Perpignan or Perpinyà as the Catalans call it – I advise you to do the same. Walking down a bakingly hot Rue Alsace Lorraine in Perpignan I was fee ..read more

Please Enjoy my Travel Books on Amazon – FREE on Kindle Unlimited https://bit.ly/bookneal Vaison La Romaine Vaison la Romaine – view of the old town This excerpt is taken from my French Travel Book THYME for PROVENCE Our first stop on our travels by car into Provence from the north, our entrance to the sun, has nearly always been the town of Vaison la Romaine. It is for that reason a location that is important to us in telling our story of travels in Provence. It is simply the gateway to Provence. We have always found the restaurants of Vaison provide a perfect lunch stop after a journey that ..read more

Please Enjoy my Travel Books on Amazon – FREE on Kindle Unlimited https://bit.ly/bookneal This chapter is taken from my book ‘Off the Autoroute’ which is now available on Kobo as well as Amazon Where our French adventure began – Le Malassis Bar Restaurant Perpignan The area around Perpignan in French Catalonia is where our travels all started around twenty-five years ago. It is a short hop from Provence so let us see what we found there starting in Perpignan or Perpinyà as the Catalans call it – I advise you to do the same. Walking down a bakingly hot Rue Alsace Lorraine in Perpignan I was fe ..read more