Songs and Scripts and Dunking Biscuits
OUTFIT
In my hometown of Prescot in Merseyside on the 21st and 22nd of August it was the Serious Nonsense Festival which featured lots of great street performers and artists, many dressed in costumes, and a tremendous amount of effort and passion went into them all. The festival mirrored the three-day cultural carnival that used to…
WELCOME TO THE AMAZING WONDER OF BETTY’S SECRET GARDEN
Deep in the heart of suburbia, in a small area of Warrington in north-west England, a secret garden of wonder lies out of sight. Down an avenue that looks like any other lives Betty Smith, who has lived quietly there for just over fifty years. Originally from Liverpool, Betty was married to Gordon who passed…
HOW THE NEED FOR SELF-EXPRESSION BECOMES A BATTLE FOR SELF-RESPECT
At the moment I am in the process of promoting my new song that came out on July 8th. I hate promotion. It’s like admin. It sort of begins when I send a press pack to influential music bloggers in the hope that they will like it, then talk about it in a positive enough…
A SPRINKLE OF SALT AND VINEGAR ON MY FISH ‘N CHIPS DRAMA
20 years ago, England were playing in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. It ended in another inglorious failure, an apparent Golden Generation of English players that included Stephen Gerrard, Joe Cole and Wayne Rooney losing 1-0 to France in the Quarter-Finals. Just before it all kicked off however for me there was a bright…
HOW MY LITTLE BLOG TRAVELS THOUSANDS OF MILES TO THE PLACE THAT USED TO BE HOME
WordPress, the hosting site host of my blog and pretty much each one I follow, have recently been giving out badges in recognition of a blogging milestone that your blog may have reached. It’s a little like badges given to Boy Scouts but for bloggers, and if you run a successful site these can no…
ANOTHER LIFE, ANOTHER TALENT GONE FOR NO REASON
Earlier this week the death of song-writer Tala Riley was announced, following a fatal stabbing at his home in East London. It has been a terrible period recently in the UK for stabbings, a couple which have been seized upon by opportunist politicians to increase division and hatred no matter what the violent consequences might…
WHEN CHANGE FEELS SCARY AND SCARY FEELS GOOD
Forgive me WordPress, readers and bloggers, it is two months since I last posted. I have no excuses, but I do have reasons. First off, I didn’t have anything to post about, but I knew you’d muddle along without me. Given the sporadic nature of my posts, I wouldn’t think you’d probably even notice. But…
HOW THE BURDEN OF SORTING MEMORIES BECAME A VIDEO TRIBUTE
In the last few months I have had the unenviable task of working through a huge pile of old family photographs and items that needed to be either kept or thrown away. Anyone who has ever been in this position knows how the responsibility can weigh heavily. This can be extra difficult when you are…
Daffodil Days #WordlessWednesday
All photos by Paul Ariss. No AI used in production of any images.
HOW NOT TO FEEL OLD IN A MUSIC WORLD DICTATED BY THE YOUNG
Yesterday at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall in Hope Street, Liverpool, between the city’s two iconic Anglican and Catholic cathedrals, I attended the Music Career Industry Festival. The festival, being organised and run by Sentric Music, a music publisher founded and based in Liverpool but also with an office in London, is mainly for people planning…
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SONGS AND SCRIPTS AND DUNKING BISCUITS 