“As the spring is made alive the winter dies”

Midlake, Live at Birmingham Town Hall, 16 February, 2010

Now that spring is here it is possible to forget what an endurance test the winter has been. There's an old song by Rod Stewart- ‘Mandolin Wind’ - that contains the lines: "Oh the snow fell without a break/Buffalo died in the frozen fields/Through the coldest winter in almost fourteen years…."

The Met office - the UK’s national weather service - confirmed that the winter of 2009/10 was the coldest winter in England and Wales since 1978/9, making it our coldest in thirty-one years, though no buffalo died here, as far as I know. And 2009 was the year I discovered the beautiful wintry music of Midlake.

When I mentioned to the members of my writers’ group that I was going to a Midlake concert I was met with blank looks. Charlotte - the youngest member of the Severn Valley Authors at just turned 18 - had heard of them and a friend of hers was also going to the gig at Birmingham Town Hall. The band seems to have two types of fan - brooding teenagers who perhaps identify with the poetry of the lyrics and fortysomethings (or even fiftysomethings) who hear, in this music, echoes of Crosby, Stills and Nash, America and the fragile optimism of the early 70s.

I went to the gig with my friend Martin - conveniently a resident of Birmingham and an aficionado of semi-obscure Americana. Martin commented that he had never seen so many beards. The uniform of the band (and most of the audience) seemed to be that of a woodsman – beard, check shirt (untucked) - and many of Midlake's song evoke the woodlands and plains of America and the spirit of Walt Whitman and Thoreau.

Seen on their own without hearing the music, the lyrics of lead singer/songwriter’s Tim Smith often seem slight and childlike: “These buckets are heavy, fill them with water/I could ask these people, but I shouldn't bother… “(‘Van Occupanther’) or “Bring me a day full of honest work/and a roof that never leaks/I’ll be satisfied…” (‘Head Home’). Sometimes they seem close to nonsense poetry: “I caught an apple and she caught a fox so I caught a rabbit but she caught an ox…” (‘Bandits’). With the full musical accompaniment, however, they resonate as if part of some great folk/rock canon.

With a refreshing lack of showmanship and an apparent genuine appreciation for the venue and the audience, Midlake had come to play songs from their new album ‘The Courage of Others’. It was clear that Tim Smith had been listening to lots of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span but, with the full band of up to four guitars, flutes, recorders, harpsichord, bass and drums, I swear I could hear European progressive-folk as well as Anglo-American folk-rock and fleeting echoes of the Moody Blues, Focus and Procol Harum. The new songs from ‘The Courage of Others’ were accomplished but I suspect most of the audience, like myself, couldn't get enough of the songs from the 2006 album ‘The Trials of Van Occupanther’.

As we anticipated spring, Midlake were there to share with us the difficulties of winter. In the closing words of their song ‘ Bandits’ : “it's not always easy, it's not always easy/when the winter comes and the greenery goes/we will make some shelter/when the winter comes and the greenery goes/we will make some shelter….”

The wonders humble people own

Buffy Sainte-Marie
Live at Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, 31 January, 2010

What's a 68-year-old North American Indian doing in Wolverhampton on a cold Sunday night in January? Buffy Sainte-Marie has travelled all the way from her home in Hawaii to raise awareness of the plight of indigenous people - (she was born on a Cree Indian reservation in Saskatchewan). Perhaps this half-forgotten singer-songwriter has also come just to remind us who she is and to have a thoroughly enjoyable evening declaiming her songs to this seated, well-behaved English audience.

I became aware of Buffy Sainte-Marie when, fancying myself as a singer-songwriter at the age of 11, I first heard her song 'Soldier Blue' on the radio. It got to number 7 in the UK charts in 1971 but I was too young to see the film for which it was the title song - a graphic portrayal of the treatment of native North American Indians. I owned one Buffy record - the 1972 single – 'Mister, Can’t You See' but much preferred the B-side 'Moonshot', a remarkably original song about space travel and mythology that contains the lines:

See all the wonders that you leave behind
the wonders humble people own
I know a boy from a tribe so primitive
he can call me up without no telephone

and

An anthropologist he wrote a book
he called it ‘Myths of Heaven’
he's disappeared, his wife is all distraught
an angel came and got him

It's intriguing to wonder why Buffy's status as a singer-songwriter is so much lower than those fellow Canadian contemporaries Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. She herself has suggested she was the victim of censorship and suppression and it's true that the film Soldier Blue was not shown in American cinemas and the record failed to chart there.

Her best-known songs were hits for other artists -'Up Where We Belong' (for Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes), 'Until It’s Time for You To Go' (most famously Elvis) and 'Universal Soldier' (Donovan). Perhaps the reason she is less well-known in her own right is due partly to her relatively meagre output compared with other singer-songwriters and partly to her distinctive singing voice with its insistent sustained vibrato which can be an acquired taste.

At 68, though, Buffy's energy levels are impressive. Her singing and playing seemed to struggle to keep pace with her enthusiasm at times, but she seemed at her most confident with her never material. Songs like 'Cho Cho Fire' and 'No No Keshagesh' from the 2009 album 'Running From The Drum' fuse folk, rock and Native American chanting and rhythms in an exhilarating stomp that makes the spirit soar.

Timeslip photography

photograph (c) Phil Richards, 2009

They say you can't judge a book by its cover but there's no doubt that a striking cover helps attract readers. When A Passenger in Time was being prepared for publication, the publishers asked me for some ideas about the cover design.

As the book is set partly around the Severn Valley Railway and partly on the historic Great Western Railway I thought the cover ought to feature an image of a steam locomotive in action. Perhaps it could combine the idea of time travel and railway travel. I wondered whether we could incorporate the image of an old railway station clock, or play around with combinations of colour and black and white to suggest the time shift between 2005 and 1955. Could the famous 'coffee and cream' colours (the livery of the Great Western Railway) be used or would this create a bit of a dull impression for modern young readers? And what about the GWR guard's whistle that Jessica finds in the story? Could this be incorporated somehow?
photographs (c) Phil Richards, 2009
One thing worried me though. Although I'm no railway buff myself - and many people wouldn't know the difference between a 1950s GWR train and, say, an LNER one - I'm sure there are plenty of enthusiasts who would, so it would be good to aim for as much accuracy as possible.

This was quite a complicated brief but the cover designer Jacqueline Abromeit rose to the occasion. Jacqueline tried to take all my ideas into account but was struggling to find a picture of an authentic GWR locomotive on which to base her design. This is where my friend Phil Richards comes in....

Phil is a gifted photographer based in Bewdley - the setting for the book and the home of the Severn Valley Railway. Phil kindly agreed to a special on-location photo-shoot at Bewdley station, and Jacqueline skilfully incorporated some of these images into the design.

If you look closely at the front and back cover, you'll see the locomotive, the railway clock and the whistle all carefully blended in. Jacqueline's dazzling finished design would not have been possible without Phil's evocative original photographs, more of which we'll be seeing on this blog in the future.
cover design Jacqueline Abromeit, 2009

A Passenger in Time – a new children’s adventure, with Severn Valley Railway setting, from Worcestershire author Anthony Gillam

A Passenger in Time is a thrilling new timeslip fantasy adventure for 9-12 year olds set around Wyre Forest, Bewdley, Tenbury Wells and the magnificent Severn Valley Railway. 21st century young readers will identify with the lives of Jessica and Craig while their parents or grandparents, in the vivid evocation of 1950s Worcestershire, will be reminded of the adventure stories of their own childhoods.

.... and the train began to move. Jess rushed to the window. Craig was no longer sat on the bench. There were no flowerpots or garden ornaments on the platform ... the garden centre had reverted to a real, working railway station and her family were nowhere to be seen. ... Jess saw the open countryside flash by outside. The train’s whistle blew as they gathered speed.....

It’s July 2005. Sunday afternoon at a garden centre is the last place 15 year old Jessica and her brother Craig expect to find any excitement but, when a steam train arrives out of nowhere on a track which shouldn’t exist, Jessica finds herself making a journey back in time, to 1955!

Suddenly, nothing makes sense. Who is Jonathan Green, the boy whose life she saves? How can Jessica be in two places at once? To stand any chance of getting back home again, Jessica must become a passenger in time.

Publisher: Pen Press
Publication date: 17 Feb 2009
ISBN-10: 1906710503
ISBN-13: 978-1906710507
Price: £5.99 pb
Available from all good bookshops (including online bookshops) and Severn Valley Railway giftshops

Leaping and hopping on a moonshadow

Yusuf Islam – Cat Stevens Live at the NIA, Birmingham, 23 November, 2009

I can’t quite believe that, after a 33 year absence, Yusuf Islam – Cat Stevens, has decided to tour again and is standing in front of me on stage. Next to me, in the precipitous seating of the NIA’s auditorium is my 19 year old son – normally a thrash metal fan but, I’m proud to say, one who is also able to appreciate iconic singer-songwriters. I’ve adored the music of Cat Stevens from his pop hits of the sixties to his classic albums of the 70s. Now, the man seems at peace with himself and his music.

The evening starts with a 25 minute showcase of ‘Moonshadow’ – a musical based on his songs, blending some of his earliest (‘Matthew and Son’, ‘A Bad Night’) with some of his more recent (‘Maybe There’s A World’). Cat Stevens grew up in London’s theatreland and this represents the culmination of a dream for the songwriter. When he comes back on after the break with his guitar and starts playing ‘Lilywhite’, I smile stupidly and continue to do so through ‘The Wind’, ‘Where Do The Children Play’ and ‘Oh Very Young’.

The six-piece backing band helps it all go smoothly. Alun Davies (the original supporting guitarist from those classic 70s albums) is back while Pete Adams on keyboards makes an admirable attempt at recreating Rick Wakeman’s piano solo when it comes to ‘Morning Has Broken’.

After finishing with ‘Peace Train’, we are treated to an encore that includes ‘Sitting’, ‘Tuesday’s Dead’ and ‘Father and Son’. The evening has been a joyous event for this father and son and the songs, with a common theme of the importance of a spiritual journey, put into perspective any worries about the working week. On this particular Monday, at least, we could all agree that “Till tomorrow, Tuesday’s dead.”