I was so delighted to hear my song ‘For Free’ on Aled Jones’s lovely new podcast ‘Oh My Goodness’.  With all the hardship and sorrow that people are facing around the world, it’s such a great concept to have a programme highlighting some of the good things that are happening.

I first met Aled back in 2007 when he was presenter of the BBC Radio 2 show ‘Good Morning Sunday’.  It was my first interview on UK national radio and all thanks to a fan called Andy Cole who had seen me play at Bournemouth Folk Club and decided to send my album ‘Keep Walking’  (with a box of chocolates) to Hilary Robinson, Aled’s producer.

Hilary clearly loved chocolates because the next thing I know Aled was playing my song ‘Back Home’ on his show.  Philip Tennant, the manager of The Waterboys, was listening and the rest is history…

I met Aled quite a few times as he very kindly asked me back on the show to talk about my Buddhist faith, launch my first book ‘Start Over Again’, do ‘Thought For The Day’ and sing live several times.  He is a super lovely guy who’d give me a big hug when I came in the studio.

It was so great to hear his voice again on his new podcast – aside from being an amazing singer Aled has the most wonderful speaking voice that makes you feel somehow incredibly comforted and reassured, like everything is going to be all right.  Perfect for these times…

I owe a big debt of gratitude to Aled and Hilary for supporting my music over all these years and I’m so delighted they’ve asked me to be involved in their new project. You can listen to the podcast here.

xx

Last night I nearly stepped on a snake.  It was dark and I was going up to my yurt to meditate.  As soon as I saw it, my torch started flickering on and off.  I thought it would be ironic, going to all the trouble of staying virus-free only to be bitten by a king brown.

It is autumn here in the Australian bush which means the snakes are looking for somewhere to hibernate.  I’ve been working on songs and lyric videos but my mind is elsewhere, thinking about my family and friends in the UK.  Here in Australia we are several weeks behind the crisis in the northern hemisphere.  People are self-isolating but there isn’t lockdown yet.

Today we’ve released another lyric video, this time for my song ‘Rain’.  Wherever you are and whatever is happening, may you keep safe and well.

xx

On World Bipolar Day, my song celebrating the silver lining of the cloud that is bipolar disorder…

and the one written to tell it like it is…

Here is a lyric video for a new song called ‘About Everything’ which will be on my next album. The song was inspired by conversations I had a few weeks ago with two friends in Australia, Sammy Lou Jones and Steve Thompson. This is my original demo version as we haven’t recorded it properly for the album yet but I wanted to share it now. I guess we all want to do something to help relieve some of the anxiety people are feeling.  I hope a song may help.

Sending you all love.

xx

A year ago today we got off a plane in Brisbane and drove up into the hills behind the Sunshine Coast to our new home, the old goat farm where we used to live.

After 12 years in a one-bedroom, first-floor flat in Bath with the constant roar of traffic from the main road out front and the clatter of trains out the back, it took some time to get used to the space and silence of the Obi Obi valley. Not that it’s silent though – the sound of the birds and the cicadas are constant. Living here so close to nature, you become very preoccupied with the wildlife.

Latest creature highlights include: our resident cane toad having a bath in my bucket of worm wee (it’s good for the skin apparently), me practically patting the head of a deadly Eastern Brown snake lying in wait among my pumpkin vines, a hyperactive Huntsman spider bouncing around our living room which I couldn’t catch so I pretended to Christian that it wasn’t there, the thin cattle in the valley filling their bellies at last with sweet green grass after the rains came, and the flies landing with precision timing on our ribbon mic just as I’m about to finish recording a guitar part for my new album…

…which is progressing, despite the flies. Guitars are nearly done so it’s the string parts next which could be interesting considering I’m going to try and record all the parts myself. I already have a cello and viola and I’ve just been given a violin by a good friend so that’s my string section sorted – it just remains to be seen if I can play the violin and viola upside down like a cello and not make it sound like a cat being violently strangled. We shall see…

In the photo I’m holding my first corn on the cob from the garden and looking extremely pleased with myself as you can imagine. I have since been brought back down to earth by some ruthless birds who shall remain nameless (my mother-in-law has decided it was crows but they are sacred in Buddhism so I’m not making any hasty allegations) who have eaten most of my crop the bastards. Ah well, I’m sure there’s a lesson in patience here somewhere… or possibly pride before a fall? At least they haven’t eaten my sunflowers.

Hope all’s well in your world.

xx

You can see more photos from my life in the Australian bush on Instagram.

I’m shocked and saddened by the tragic loss and devastation of people’s lives in Australia with bushfires out of control. Here in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, south-east Queensland, you can smell smoke some days and see the haze in the air from fires in the area.

But right now in NSW and Victoria it looks like the apocalypse. Christian’s aunt and uncle were among thousands evacuated this week from southern NSW. His sister is trying to get back home to Melbourne with highways cut off by the fires. It is terrifying.

And all the while the prime minister Scott Morrison ignores the fire chiefs’ warning that climate change is creating the conditions for the country’s worst fire season yet. But this is not about politics, it’s about people.