Chose the Mammas and Pappas song about winter for today’s title.
It has been bitterly cold this weekend! My toes were like frozen blocks yesterday at football. An ugly win for a change! My toes were also feeling the cold on Friday when I cycled down hill. Certainly tests out your Winter clothing on the bike! I am trying to climb a big hill three or four times a week.
Just finished my first draft of my Book Hunt story for next week.
An old Barclay James Harvest song for today’s title! A slightly spurious link because when I was bird watching with the children at Wick Court this week they asked me to put the scope on the full moon! I enjoyed Story Telling to them yesterday and told the Native American Story “Turkey Girl” and had the children singing softly in the background. The only negative because of the wind the fire kept blowing ash into my face!!!!
An enjoyable book club on Wednesday night discussing “His Bloody Project” which got an all round thumbs up from us all despite the rather gloomy theme.
At last we are getting some proper winter birds in our garden Siskins last week, today Redpolls and a Blackcap earlier this week. Still hoping Waxwings will turn up in Frampton.
Finally I am hoping to create a story for a school I am visiting on Monday week. One class are doing a “Book Hunt” based on Julia Donaldson Books. So my story hopefully will be a book hunt in my own distinctive style. I am also telling stories to adults in Bristol one evening that week.
Had to be a Bob Marley song today with the news of those tapes being found and restored. Sadly he was someone I missed when doing Gigs in and around London when he was in his prime.
A full on day Story Telling in my local school doing stories from around the world. I was tired afterwards and then had to go to a Children Centre Meeting. The new stories I had learnt went well and I surprised my self with a couple of added bits of improvisation involving audience participation.
We had our first Blackcap of this winter in the garden over the weekend. Clare and I did the BTO Winter survey on Saturday we were given a kilometre square in nearby Eastington to record all the birds seen.
Merging two things together for today’s title! I am currently reading the autobiography of “The Boss” so his song from the Magic album seem appropriate. I also went to a school yesterday to work with a group of children who are about to make a pod cast and so we were looking at how to talk to an audience, and perform etc. I also told them the story of “The Golden Apple” that leads to the Trojan War to illustrate different Story Telling styles. So that is why I picked a song title with radio in!
I did indicate I would mention football in my last blog. After watching a hard fought game on Saturday against a decent Cambridge team I was feeling optimistic for the rest of the season. Sadly on Tuesday at the Theatre of Comedy we gift wrapped three points to a poor Cheltenham team. I suppose the circumstances of losing our goalkeeper before the game was the main contributing factor resulting in our defence that is so normally rock solid having a bad case of the jitters! It is the hope that gets you!!!!!!
On a positive note we have had Siskins in the garden yesterday and with frequent visits from the Goldcrest the garden is attracting a good variety of birds. I popped to see Waxwings by Asda of all places today!
Trying out a new story this afternoon!
A short blog about the above film. We went to watch it last night a delightful film about a young Mongolian girl learning to be an Eagle Hunter normally a male occupation! Scenery was stunning and a good advert for tourism to Mongolia. The shots of the eagle flying were great especially when they were in the snow laden mountains.
Been wracking my mind for bird songs and came up with this one for today by James Taylor and Carly Simon. For younger readers they were both quite big in the 70s. I wanted a song about a Bittern but I don’t think one has been written yet, if I was a singer-song writer I would do it but be grateful I’m not with my voice! I had a marvellous view of a Bittern on Friday flying quite close to me, I was ecstatic ! Also saw a Peregrine, Cranes, Stonechats, Goldcrests among many others. I also went to an interesting talk on Barn Owls last week and the news is encouraging as habitats have been restored. While on the bird theme my pals have been busy building us a bird hide for the children at Wick Court (The Farm for City Children) and it is great!
The story learning is in full flow as I have my busy spell of Gigs coming up next month. I do enjoy the challenge of new story and you can be stretched doing 8 or 9 stories throughout a day in a school. I am also putting some ideas together for a new story of mine.
Football report in the next blog!
Been trying to think of weekend type of songs for today’s title. Not sure if the above fits but it sounded OK!
Last week saw me clock up a few miles on my bike one long social ride with friends on Friday. I am making sure I get in a few hill climbs to prepare me for the Pyrenees in May.
Story Telling is now back in full flow with several diverse Gigs coming up. Pleased with the Coyote story I learnt last week and told on Thursday although I look it as a story in development!
I managed to see one of the most inept performances by a referee yesterday. I was surprised he wasn’t arrested by the police for inciting both sets of supporters in the crowd!
Obvious song title when I am going to mention Book Club! Tomorrow we meet for one of our research meals. The book we will be discussing in February is “His Bloody Project” by Graeme Macrae Burnet is was short listed for last year’s Booker. So the theme is a Scottish Meal as the book is set in the Highlands of Scotland. I am doing a fish soup called Cullen Skink. I haven’t quite finished the book so I won’t make a comment till I have got to the end.
Yesterday I took part in a Gull count for the WWT. Over three thousand Gulls went over where I was standing by the Severn in the two hours from 3 p.m. and dark. I also have the bird survey on the Frampton Estate later this week.
I am trying out a new story on Thursday, so busy learning it at the moment.
A song title right from the days of psychedelia that I only came across recently not sure if I was aware of it before, by a band called Tomorrow and Steve Howe (pre Yes)was in it! The reason for choosing the title I had a bit of a disaster on Monday night. I had been to a Children’s Centre Meeting when I had a catastrophic mechanical breakdown about six miles from home. My chain somehow came off and got caught in the back wheel. You can imagine the difficulties of trying to untangle in the dark, I must have spent a good 40 minutes trying to sort it before I called International Rescue. Even in daylight and on the bike stand the next day it took about another 30 minutes or so to sort! I am trying to get in the miles on the bike because we are cycling in the Pyrenees in May, so need to keep climbing the hills here regularly.
First Story Telling of the year will be next week. and then it gets busy as we approach February. I am spending time finding new stories for Telling. I am investigating ways using modern technology to add music to a couple of my stories.
Had to have that song title as I’ve just heard Peter Sarstedt had died. What a wonderful song that is and so evocative of that time.
We have just been up in London for a couple of nights. We went to the British Library (what a marvellous building!), Natural History Museum to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year pictures, and the V and A. I went to a superb exhibition at the V and A called “You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-70” It is finishing soon; I recommend a visit if you get the chance. It encapsulated the amazing music and a dynamic period in History.
We also saw our Peter and Nicola while there.