(This heading is being written retrospectively! It's just that this page turned out slightly longer than anticipated. You might like to commit it to your computer, rather than attempt to read it on-line. Of course, if you value your sanity, you might take the other, the more sensible route, and totally ignore it!)
I am a war baby and, as such, am to be pitied. Questions like "which war?" will be ignored. The bare fact that I was born is enough. It is pertinent to say that I spent all of my formative years living within a spit of the Atlantic. The sea played a big part in my development. So did music. Not just the "pop" music of the day, but all kinds. Of course, it helped that the pop music of the day included all kinds! Remember Mantovani? Dave Brubeck? Dylan? Peter,Paul and Mary? Bill Haley? Alma Cogan, Manuel and his Music of the blasted Mountains!? Et al! Magic days. Days longer, brighter, warmer and fuller than the post-formative ones. Or so it seemed…But that's regressive. |
The first pivot point of my life came when I went to see The Benny Goodman Story. I was fifteen at the time. Thinking, "That can't be so hard!", I bought an old simple-system clarinet for a fiver and faffed about on it, wondering why it was!. Shortly afterwards, and I do mean shortly, I saw an ad in the Melody Maker. The Staff Band of the Royal Engineers needed musicians. And a musician - I thought! - was what I already was. How wrong can you be! Anyway, because I lived so far away from Aldershot, the Director of Music decided to take my word for it and waive the audition. We both soon realised our mistake, but by then it was far too late. Several hard, retribution-filled years later, I was the musician I had always hoped to be. |
Photographed on the "Queen Mary" when I was single, footloose and often plastered This lounge was way up the sharp end of the ship. On rough trips the bell of my saxophone(a baritone on this gig) would frequently hit the deck. Vice versa, actually!...The Queen Mary is (was?) a big ship, but the waves in mid-Atlantic are bigger! I don't remember the guys' names but I'll never forget the faces. |
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| After the military, I did what most army musicians did - I joined the big
band circuit in London, which inevitably led to the recording session scene. Demanding
work, that. But hellishly rewarding. Though I will not be specific, I can be heard
footling about records you may well have in your possession. They'll be antiques now, of
course! Just like me. And - if you do own one - you too, for that matter! I met "herself" on a concert tour. Hopefully, in the fullness of time, her side of it will appear on her page. That meeting was the second pivot point. The big band era collapsed just as I was getting itchy feet, which was the third pivot point. I - we, actually -moved over to small-bands, starting out working the American Bases in Europe and the Middle East. Then it was hotels, the boats, tours, back to the ever-shrinking bases, and back to everything else. What started out as a six-month contract stretched to thirty years! How time flies when you're having fun. |
Photographed on board the "Queen Elizabeth" with "herself" and brother, Derek, who is currently playing "Charlie" in the BBC series,"Casualty". We were doing cabaret at the time, and made a nice sound. Folk'ish. |
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| By now, I was painting and writing novels in my spare time; of which
there was an abundance. Later, I was fortunate enough to have a novel published. I am
currently working on my ninth. The paintings started selling, too. Rosy times. Now, two children later, we are back home in Cornwall. And that's about it. The gaps need filling because they are huge, but that comes later. |
| This beauty, "Shadowfax", will fill one of the gaps. We sunk a not-so-small fortune into her, in Bahrain. Lost the lot, plus the houses of several family members. That's me leaning nonchalantly against the wheelhouse, and mum, bless her, emerging from the up-and-over. Elaine - "herself" - took the picture. |
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The dust covers of some of my novels, including a Swedish translation. This page would not be complete without them. The link takes you to my books page |
A brief, but pertinent, slideshow...
