It's been a while - the story of my eventful September so far (including a new addition to the family)

Right, I'm back! Actually, I haven't been away, I've just been so busy/preoccupied with myriad other things over the last couple of weeks that something(s) had to give - and in this case it was the "non-essential" things like blogging. Then again, I often feel as though I am letting myself (and who knows, perhaps others) down by not posting regular entries. Heaven forfend, I certainly don't want to lose the relatively small but very loyal following I have built up!

So, what have I been up to that has taken up so much of my time? Well, for starters, I had a rather brief but relatively successful promotion on some of my wines at the beginning of the month (if you aren't an existing customer, then you wouldn't have known about it) which had me burning a lot of midnight oil for a good few days. One should never underestimate the time and effort it takes to process and package orders for several hundred bottles of wine in such a short space of time - especially as I'm not just the brains of the operation, but also chief administrator, picker, packer and despatcher. I always think very carefully before deciding to offer (what really are genuine) discounts on my wines, because if one does it too often, there is a chance that customers will simply wait until the next offer before buying - and that is a dangerous road to go down. Frankly, I'd rather leave the deep (and totally disingenuous) discounting down to the supermarkets and remaining high street wine retailers. But in this instance, it was designed to make some quick sales, with a view to banking some money in order to finance some upcoming imports from growers in Roussillon and South-West France (of which more shortly).

And it had the desired effect of boosting the Company coffers......... until I got the email from one of those growers, reminding me that we had still to pay for last year's wines(!) My heart sank. We always, always pay our growers within the allotted time - but somehow, this one had slipped through the net. It's a long story and I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say that I felt compelled to get on the blower to my foreign currency provider and ask them to make an immediate transfer of almost 2,500 Euros to pay the invoice. It was a real setback, I can tell you, but at least we managed to save face with a grower that I consider to be one of (if not the) most important in our portfolio. Thankfully, September is shaping-up to be a really good (without being great) month, so despite this setback, the coffers are looking relatively healthy again - at least for the time being.

During this rather trying time, I was also in the process of organising a couple of pallets of wines from Domaine Treloar in Roussillon and a "groupage" pallet from South-West France, namely Domaine de Montesquiou in Jurancon, Chateau Peyros in Madiran, and a brand new grower in Cahors called Domaine du Garinet (whose wines I am very excited about adding to our list). One only needs to look at the map to see how scattered and geographically distant from each other these 3 growers are - which makes grouping the wines together onto a single pallet a very difficult job. The phrase "herding cats" springs to mind. nevertheless, it all went relatively smoothly, and I actually found out today that all of the above wines were delivered to my bonded warehouse today, so I can get my grubby hands on them tomorrow. Yippee - yet more work to fill my time over the next few days!

But although September has already proven to be a rather stressful month, work-wise, I've still managed to find time for a little play. And one of the highlights was a rather memorable gig at a small venue in Nottingham called The Rescue Rooms, courtesy of the brilliant Ron Sexsmith. Why this man is not a world-wide megastar is beyond me, although I have to admit that - having released around 10 albums - his music appeared on my radar only relatively recently. It was a brilliant set (and an initially reticent TLD enjoyed it as much as I did) and one that I will remember for a long time to come. Who knows, perhaps Mr Sexsmith will eventually get the recognition he deserves, but I'm not holding my breath. Meanwhile, here's a video of one of the songs from his latest album......

Finally, some of you may know that, after 33 years working for the Land Registry, I will be leaving at the end of October. The decision has been made so much easier by the fact that I am going on a "voluntary exit" scheme - in other words, my employer will be giving me a lump sum (and - because I am now 50 - a modest pension) to not work for them any more! Because the wine business does not yet provide me with a decent living salary, there's no way that I would have been able to leave of my own accord. And having watched some of the higher grades in the organisation (and a lot of the lower grades too) taking pay-offs over the last couple of years, I had assumed that there would be little left in the pot to get rid of middle-ranking people like me. So it came as a very pleasant surprise when the offer was made and - after a quick discussion with TLD - I grasped the opportunity with both hands. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a huge amount of money, but it will enable us to pay-off our (rather modest) mortgage, and the resulting reduction in our fixed monthly outgoings, combined with a modest pension income, will mean that we won't be much worse off than before. All of which will, of course, enable me to devote much more time to building the wine business - frankly, it's a win-win situation.

On 3 July 1978, I arrived at my first (and ultimately one and only) day job on my beautiful new Yamaha RD250 motorcycle. A couple of years later, it was written-off when some numpty cut through a line of stationary traffic and I went straight into the side of his car. Instead of buying a new bike with the insurance money, I blew most of it on on a 5-day trip to watch Nottingham Forest in the 1980 European Champions Cup Final in Madrid. It was a wonderful experience and provided me with many treasured memories - but it meant the end of my motorcycling days. Until now, that is, because part of my lump sum has been earmarked to buy me another bike. Well actually, thanks to Mr Mastercard, I've already gone out and bought it! So I'd like to introduce you to my 2005 Honda CBR600RR.......................

She (who is yet to be named) has a modest 15,000 miles on the clock and is to all intents and purposes in mint condition. She has a 599cc liquid cooled inline 4 cylinder 4-stroke engine, with a close ratio 6-speed gearbox and produces 105 bhp at 13,500 rpm. She is capable of 0-60 mph in 3 seconds and 0-100 in less than 7, with a top speed of just short of 170 mph. Which is of course all purely academic, because I'm far too old to be a boy racer and I doubt I'll ever use much more than half of that. But it's nice to know I have it in reserve, if necessary!

She looks great from all angles - especially her backside!

I think I'm in love!

I must admit that it was a bit of a nerve-racking experience riding the bike home from Derby on Saturday afternoon, given the slightly damp roads and the fact that I had hardly ridden a motorcycle in 31 years, but she handles beautifully and feels rock-solid. Nevertheless, this is a machine that demands respect, and I intend to go very carefully until I feel really comfortable. But I'm going to enjoy the ride........

Tomorrow, I will be mainly talking about wine. ;-)

Another wonderful evening of music - Mary Chapin Carpenter at the Derby Assembly Rooms

For one reason or another, I don't get to anywhere near as many live gigs as I would like to, these days. But in the last few weeks, I have been lucky enough to see no less than 3 of my favourite artists play live. In September, it was Wilco, in my opinion the best rock and roll band in the world. In October, it was Beth Nielsen Chapman, one of the great singer-songwriters of her generation. And last night, it was Mary Chapin Carpenter - in every respect, the equal of Beth, and an artist whose albums I have been buying for almost 20 years. No less than 5 Grammy Awards (from a total of 15 nominations) is testament to just what a great artist Mary Chapin Carpenter is, and a string of wonderful albums form an important - and oft played - part of my CD collection. Mary doesn't tour that often, and this was actually my first time seeing her perform live - but it was certainly worth the wait. She walked on and began the first song alone on her guitar, with each member of her band joining her, one-by-one, as the song built to a finish. And then we were treated to an hour and three quarters of pure joy, as she played a mix of songs from her latest album, The Age Of Miracles, and some of the gems from her back catalogue (I Feel Lucky, Shut Up And Kiss Me, He Thinks He'll Keep Her, Stones In The Road, Passionate Kisses, to name but a few).

There are artists who play their music, but do little else to communicate with their audience (Bob Dylan springs to mind!). And then there are artists who play, but also talk to their audience, form a bond with them. Ones that spring immediately to mind are Bruce Springsteen and Nanci Griffith, whose performances are liberally sprinkled with anecdotes and stories behind the songs. But even they never connected with an audience in quite the same way that Mary Chapin Carpenter seemed to do last night. She spoke eloquently and elegantly, in a semi-hushed voice (no doubt hindered on this occasion by a cold) and held the audience in the palm of her hand - I really did feel she was speaking to me. She talked about her experiences of travelling around the UK - she swore she'd seen both Heathcliffe and Colonel Brandon up on the moors on her journey between Buxton and Derby(!) She talked about her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, writing during the day and enjoying restful contemplation in the evenings, her 6 dogs and 4 cats and how she misses them when on tour, her worries about the current elections in the USA. Serotonin was mentioned (I don't recall why, but if you don't know what it is, look it up on Wikipedia) and Mary said the word always reminded her of Sarah Palin. Clearly, the very mention of that name does anything but give Mary a good feeling in her body - in fact, what she said cannot really be repeated here. But it was very funny!

One of the highlights of the show was a song called Mrs. Hemingway, which Mary explained was written about Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley Richardson, and the happy times the couple spent in Paris, before he fell in love with her best friend. The version on the latest album is beautiful, but the story and the way she sang the song last night added new meaning - it was beautifully moving. If you want to hear the song, it is available to listen to on last.fm (or Spotify, if you have it). You can read more about the story behind the song (and The Age Of Miracles album) on the CMT website. You can also learn more from the Mary Chapin Carpenter website.

I should also mention her band, two of whom - guitarist John Jennings and piano/keyboard player Jon Carroll - have been with her for nigh-on 30 years. I have seen some great backing bands in my time (for example, the aforementioned Buce Springsteen's E-Street Band, or Brian Wilson's current band) but I've never seen a better, tighter or more self-assured one than this. It was musicianship of the very highest order, with fantastic arrangements and not a bum note in sight.

What a band! Vinnie Santoro on drums, John Jennings and  Jim Henry on guitars,

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Don Dixon on bass and Jon Carroll on piano and keyboards

The opening act is also certainly worthy of mention - Tift Merritt is a talented singer, songwriter, guitarist and piano player in her own right. In fact, she has already had a good deal of success, with several albums and even a hit record or two.

Tift Merritt

All-in-all, this was a wonderful night and one I will remember for a very long time. I hope Mary Chapin Carpenter doesn't leave it too long before returning to these shores to tour again. If you don't know Mary's music, then I urge you to check it out. Meanwhile, here's a taster from YouTube, with Mary performing one her of best-known songs (although this one was written by another great American singer-songwriter, Lucinda Williams);

          

An evening with Beth Nielsen Chapman

I first discovered the music of Beth Nielsen Chapman in 1997, after the release of her third album "Sand And Water". The title track, plus one or two other songs from the album, were getting lots of air play on Radio 2, mostly via Terry Wogan and Bob Harris. Beth had lost her husband Ernest to cancer in 1994, which rendered the content of the album (much of which had actually been written prior to that time) even more poignant than it might otherwise have been. I was totally blown away by it, in every way imaginable. Musically, lyrically and melodically, it was packed full of achingly beautiful songs - some sad, some happy, but each one very uplifting in its own way. 

The release of Sand And Water was all part of a long healing process for Beth, and subsequent albums have continued the trend. Not that things have always been plain sailing for her since then - her own battle with breast cancer in 2000, plus the removal of a (thankfully non-malignant) brain tumour in 2009 means that she has been dealt more than her fair share of setbacks in life. But those setbacks seems only to spur her on to keep producing music of the very highest order. Beth isn't prolific - at least in terms of her own album releases, of which there have been eight, plus a "greatest hits" compilation since 1990 - but there is not one song on any of them that isn't a worthy one. She also writes songs for other artisists (perhaps the best-known being "This Kiss" by Faith Hill and "Strong Enough To Bend" by Tanya Tucker).

But it is as an artist and live performer in her own right that Beth Nielsen Chapman excels. She has a very loyal (and growing) following in the UK and tours regularly these days. I first saw her perform live at an intimate little venue in Nottingham that holds barely more than 200 people. It was a truly magical evening that I will remember for a very long time - and I got to meet her afterwards! That was in 2004, and I have been lucky enough to see her perform a further three times, the most recent of which was last Friday at the Warwick Arts Centre. This time, she was accompanied by her trusty old friend Maartin Allcock (formerly of Fairport Convention and Jethro Tull) on bass, plus two delightful young Irish ladies whom Beth had discovered via one of her songwriting workshops; Eilidh Patterson (pronounced "I-Lee"), on guitars and harmony vocals and Ruth Trimble on piano, keyboards, bass and harmony vocals. And I'll tell you what - those two ladies between them have more talent than all of the so-called "talent" discovered in umpteen series of X Factor. They were brilliant, and I wouldn't be surprised to see both of them go on to have very successful solo careers as singer-songwriters. In fact, Beth gave them their own mini set in the middle of the performance and I was so impressed, I bought both of their CD's after the show - and I got to meet them, too (as well as Beth, once again)!

Yours truly, with the lovely and very talented Eilidh Patterson after the show

......and with the equally lovely and talented Ruth Trimble

.....and with the amazing Beth Nielsen Chapman

I'm not a music reviewer, so I won't go into detail about the show itself, other than to say that Beth was on top form and performed many of her best-known songs, plus a good number of songs from her latest album, "Back To Love", in a set that lasted two hours. All-in-all, it was a great night. If you want to know more about Beth Nielsen Chapman, check out her website. You can also hear some of the songs from the latest album on the music page. In an ideal world, she would be a very (very) big star. But in the real world, Beth Nielsen Chapman remains a well-kept secret amonst her loyal legion of fans.

   

Sickness, Internet problems, the mighty Wilco in the Toon, and a lovely white Burgundy

Once again, it's been a while since I blogged. Actually, it has been a funny old week (or more). I went to meet up with my friends Messrs. Bennett, Leslie and Bamford last Tuesday night, to discuss a boys' trip to Burgundy we are planning for next March (or is it April?) and, of course, enjoy a few nice Burgs with some good food in the process. Unfortunately, for some reason, I wasn't feeling my chipper old self, which became more apparent over the next few days, when I seemed to be suffering from some sort of throat infection and general malaise. In fact, to quote an old work-mate's once (in)famous "nature of illness" on his sick form, I "felt rough". By the weekend, I was beginning to perk-up a little, and was about to get blogging again - and then my Internet connection went down for the best part of Sunday. Very frustrating, and it meant that I had a lot of catching-up to do over the next couple of days.

Which brings me to Wednesday (last night) which saw me driving up to Newcastle with my son Alex and his friend, to watch a gig by the greatest rock band that most people have never heard of. Wilco comprises Jeff Tweedy (guitars, lead vocals and 99% of the songwriting), John Stirratt (bass), Glenn Kotche (the finest drummer I have ever seen, bar none) Nels Cline (guitar player extraordinaire), Pat Sansone (guitars and keyboards) and Mikael Jorgensen (keyboards). I've watched this band develop and grow over the past ten or so years, into what I genuinely believe is one of the finest, tightest bands in the world, with a back catalogue that would be the envy of many more famous bands. And with the incomparable Jeff Tweedy at the helm, they can do little wrong, in my eyes. A bit of me is happy for Wilco to remain a jealously-guarded secret, whilst the other bit of me wishes that they would receive the world-wide acclaim they surely deserve, as heaped on many a lesser band. I won't bore you with the details of the gig (this is a wine blog - and I'm no music reviewer) but suffice to say that the band were on superb form and produced a rip-roaring set. And I managed to snaffle Jeff Tweedy's set list from one of the roadies afterwards - a nice little souvenir! If you want an idea of how good Wilco are live, here's a taster from Youtube.........

Afterwards, we got chatting to a couple of fellow fans from Gateshead and went for a couple of pints in a charming little pub just across from the station. We had a good old chin wag about Wilco, music and life in general. The hazy photo below was taken on my mobile phone at gone 11 in the evening. I'd never been to Newcastle before (never been further north than Durham, in fact) but I was stuck by what a lovely place it is - lots of beautiful old stone buildings, clean, safe streets, nice pubs and charming people. So thanks to my new friends Jamie and Andrew - and of course to Wilco - for making my first trip to the "Toon" a memorable one. 

After the gig - Andrew, Jamie, Alex, Paddy

Tonight, it has been a relaxing night in front of the telly, with our favourite home-made lamb curry, rice and naan, accompanied by a rather delicious young white Burgundy;

Domaine Jean & Gilles Lafouge Auxey-Duresses "Les Hautes" 2007

This was a sample bottle I picked up for a song from a local supplier. I suspected it would be good, because I heard that a fellow local merchant friend had taken a bottle to the Wine Circle last night and it apparently went down rather well. Not surprising, as it turns out, because this is a cracking wine. The back label (praise be - a rarity for Burgundy!) for once describes the wine perfectly; "With a rich, heady nose of hazelnut and lime blossom and an intense, mineral-streaked, lemon-edged palate, this wine delivers on all fronts." Spot on, I'd say. It bears certain similarities to the wines of its near neighbour Meursault, with minerally, lime oil-tinged fruit and an underlying richness. There's a touch of oak, but it is very subtley done and one is struck by its elegance and tight, focused structure, not to mention its fabulous depth (and length) of flavour. For a relatively humble village-level Burgundy, it punches well above its weight. It probably has a few years of development left in it, but it is so lovely to drink now, I'd say why wait? I think I'll snap a few cases up - some for the website and a few for myself. And it certainly won't be expensive. ;-)

   

Wilco - the greatest rock band in the world

I went to Leeds a couple of weeks ago to see my favourite band, Wilco. Most of you will probably never even heard of this Chicago-based band, but I genuinely feel that they are the finest rock band in the world - bar none. I meant to post a few lines about this fantastic gig (my third time seeing the band) but just never found the time. I've sure been wearing out my CD collection (and my reasonably extensive collection of concert recordings) since then, though. Meanwhile, one fan's comment about the Leeds show on the Via Chicago forum just about sums it up, when they say "How many bands can go from pretty acoustic folk to Krautrock wig outs to gospel tinged bluesy rock to straight-ahead rock or pop and remain incredibly on and unified throughout the whole show? Amazing musicians, fantastically varied and melodic songs and a great dolefully funny front man in Jeff Tweedy."

If you love great rock music (and just about every other shade of music) then check them out. In fact, here are links to a couple of great videos of live songs, which I found via the excellent Wilcoworld.net website (no need to wait for the whole thing to load - just click play);

"Impossible Germany" from the "Sky Blue Sky" album.

"Monday" from the "Being There" album.

Oh, and just in case you like what you see/hear, you can catch a live live webcast of their show at the Paradiso in Amsterdam tonight (16 November) at 7.45pm (8.45 Central European time). I'll certainly be tuning in!

Neil Young Rocks!

Neil Young is one of those artists that has appeared on my radar from time to time, over the last 3 or more decades. Whilst I could never claim to have been an avid follower, his rich back catalogue of albums and stand-out songs have often provided much enjoyment. And he is definitely an artist worth revisiting (or rediscovering). With a career spanning well over 40 years, from Buffalo Springfield, through Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crazy Horse, The Stills Young Band and goodness-knows-how-many reinventions of his solo persona, there is plenty to go at. From laid-back country/folk all the way through to heavy rock that could teach the young upstarts a thing or two (they don't call him the "Godfather of Grunge" for nothing) he has done it all.

So a chance to see Young perform in my home town was not to be missed - and boy, was I glad I didn't miss it. I'm certainly no music reviewer (I'm too much of a music lover to be too anal about such things) so I won't even try to do so. Suffice to say that this was right up there with some of the best gigs I have ever seen. Hardly a "greatest hits" set - he's never really done "hits" - but a liberal dose of some of his most classic songs, interspersed with a few that I was unfamiliar with. He began with an incredibly heavy (and incredibly loud) Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black), followed by Mansion On The Hill. Later on came other rollicking rock classics such as Cinnamon Girl, Down By The River, and Rockin' In The Free World (which, with four or five "false" endings, must have been an attempt on the world record for the longest ending to a song!). Whilst no fretboard virtuoso, Young's guitar playing is gutsy and heart-felt, and totally unique. Brilliantly simple is a phrase that springs to mind.

It wasn't all heavy and grungy, though. Interspersed were some more of his laid back and thoughtful songs, such as Mother Earth (with Young playing harmonica and some sort of pump organ, to great effect), Heart Of Gold and Old Man. An encore of The Beatles' A Day In The Life was an unusual, but mightily impressive way to finish. For those that are interested, you can see the full set list on the Sugar Mountain website.

I would have liked to post an image or two, but I didn't take my camera with me - just my mobile phone, the camera of which proved not to be up to the job. Instead, here's a video I found on YouTube of Rockin' In The Free World, from the concert in Aberdeen, the following night. It gives a fair idea of what the Nottingham gig was like.........



Neil Young also happens to be the Friday headline act on the Pyramid Stage at this Year's Glastonbury Festival. That means tomorrow! I have a feeling his set will be very similar to the one he played in Nottingham. With a little luck, the BBC should give it some airtime on their (usually) extensive coverage. If I were you, I would try and catch the coverage - because Neil Young rocks!



Footnote;
Whilst writing this entry, my son came in and told me that Michael Jackson had died. A little shocking, yes (it always is when someone so famous dies relatively young) but surprising....? Not really. I was never a fan, though I admit to having bought "Off The Wall" when it was released (some excellent Rod Temperton songs and typically lush Quincy Jones production) and did recognise the fact that he was very talented. Indeed, as a youngster, his voice was almost (but not quite) a match for Stevie Wonder. But what a sad life he had thrust upon him. From a young age, it seemed he was groomed for stardom and pushed relentlessly by those around him.


I never quite saw the big attraction, but the millions who paid good money for his records and concert tickets must have seen something I didn't. To me, he came across as a deeply flawed and eccentric human being - someone who I could never identify with in a million years. He had it all - yet ultimately, he had nothing. I hardly have the proverbial two pennies to rub together, but I do have a lovely wife, two teenage boys that make me very proud (well, at least most of the time!) a close-knit family, good friends, a boring day job and a dream that one day I will have a thriving wine business. In other words, I have my feet planted firmly on the ground. And I wouldn't swap my existence for the one that Michael Jackson led for all the tea in China. Nevertheless, a very sad demise. R.I.P, Michael Jackson.