Thanks to everyone who came to my gig at the Square and Compass pub in the Isle of Purbeck on Saturday night (and thanks to Anthony Paine for the photo).  It’s always such a special night there and a bit of a homecoming gig for me as I’ve known Worth Matravers my whole life and the pub is where I performed one of my songs in public for the very first time nearly 30 years ago.

My friend and neighbour Jody Prewett played a fantastic opening set and a particularly magical moment in the night was when my cousin Melissa Viney sang the backing vocal for my song ‘Back Home’ from the middle of the room (she’d had enough Guinness by then!).  The next day we did a house concert in Corfe Castle for some very lovely locals which was a great end to a great weekend.

My last public gigs of 2025 are at Green Note in London (Monday 3 November), Kingsmead House Concerts in High Wycombe (Sunday 23 November), and The Old Stables in Cricklade near Swindon (Thursday 11 December).  Ticket links can be found here.  Please spread the word…

I hope all’s well in your world.

xx

I’ve just made a space on my website for some of my poems – ones from my collections ‘Words With Wings’ and ‘Meditation Mind’, plus more recent ones that haven’t been published yet.  They are all stream-of-consciousness, written after my meditation practice each morning.  I seem to have this habit now of writing them – if I write something I’m happy with, I feel like I’ve done something creative to start the day.  Click here to read them.

You can also now hear me reading all the poems from ‘Words With Wings’ with their piano accompaniments.  Click here to listen.  You can download the album for free here.

   

In May 2022, I wrote a song about Donald Trump.  I can’t remember what triggered it, of all the things that might have triggered it.  Click here to listen.

I’m really looking forward to my concert at Fiddington Village Hall on Saturday 13 September which is in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.  Tickets are £12.50 and can be booked by emailing Juliet Harkness at fiddingtonnews@gmail.com.

It’s been a while – time has flown!  In June and July I did 3 house concerts – in Norwich, London and a beautiful farm in west Wales – which I really enjoyed.  I was supposed to play Twickfolk in London in June but got a virus so that gig has been postponed to 11th January next year.

I’ve been taking a break from gigs during August and working on a new album.  These are songs which were mostly recorded in Australia before I left in 2023 and I’ve just finished recording the vocals here in Bath with a very lovely and renowned producer called David Lord.  We are now in the process of mixing the album.

I am still writing a poem a day after my meditation practice – just sitting down with a coffee and writing down the first thing that comes into my head.  It’s become a habit and though it’s not always I write something I’m particularly pleased with (!), it’s a creative start to my day that I really enjoy.

I hope you’ve been enjoying the wonderful spring and summer – sometimes it’s felt like I’m back in south-east Queensland!  In the autumn I’ll be doing more private house concerts and some public gigs (please see my gigs page for ticket links and info) supported again by fantastic singer-songwriter Jody Prewett.  Please do get in touch if any of you would like to host a private house concert or a gig in your local village hall.

I hope all’s well in your world.

xx