Writing

Some of my thoughts, ruminations, blogs, rants & flights of fancy.

Miscellaneous

Careering forward - an unexpected change in my working status and what happened afterwards.

The alphabet jukebox - at the end of 2015 I submitted a series of Facebook posts containing some of my favourite pieces of music. This is the collated list.

My last dance workshop - in November 2016 I led my last folk dance workshop, here are some thoughts about the day.

Rewatching UFO - looking back at the 1970's science fiction series UFO from a very different viewpoint.

My personal radio station - a look back at the evolution of my listening habits.

An idiot touched by god - a short rant about obnoxious action heros in sci-fi drama.

A countryside walk across London - finding a more rural way to cross London on foot.

The saga of the yellow boots - an adventure in footwear shopping. Really!

Riding the Two Tunnels - a cycling trip through the Two Tunnels Trail.

Weymouth for £1 - I went for a seaside day trip to Weymouth and discovered several things to do for £1.

Musical creativity

The Renmei project - a look back at six years of creating electronic music and releasing it into the world.

Tribulations of a musical hobbyist - the story of buying a new synthesizer and some of the challenges & insights it brought up.

On creativity - some thoughts from my hobby of composing & recording electronic music.

Life with the Volcas - for Christmas 2015 I bought myself a trio of small synthesizers to rekindle my interest in composing & recording electronic music. As I started using them I wrote a short series of blogs about the process, both on a technical level and as an exploration of my approach (and responses to) the creative process.

Searching for the sound - a brief history of my experiments in new music and synthetic sounds.

Soundscapes of Isolation - in the mid-2000's I found myself composing long, drifting musical pieces as I struggled through a difficult period in my life. A rediscovered recording of one of these leads to recollections of the creative & reconstructive processes I was going through.

Annual review

Since 2011 I've made a habit of looking back at my year and writing a summary of the events & changes that it brought.

Birthday bashes

Staring in 2009 my UK-resident sisters and I have taken our mother out for a birthday meal, usually at an 'interesting' venue. In recent years we've started meeting for all of our birthdays, continuing the tradition of finding quirky or unusual venues for lunch or afternoon tea together.

Blogs

A new home - the process of buying an off-plan home for myself in 2014, and what came after.

Australia & New Zealand 2012 - teaching a series of dance workshops across Australasia.

Maidstone 2011/2 - moving back to England after twelve years in northern Scotland.

Brazil 2010 - going to a dance festival in São Paulo to teach and play music with Gadje Dilo.

Scenes & moments

Places that have made a deep impression on me.

Saigon - un unexpected gathering in the middle of the city.

Huế - a ride through the rice fields in Vietnam.

Shwedagon pagoda - a Buddhist temple in Yangon, Myanmar.

Choeung Ek - visiting one of the Killing Fields sites in Cambodia.

Otama beach - strolling along the beach in New Zealand.