One of the good things about being bipolar is the urge to make the most of the times when I’m well to get as much done as possible. Last week I was in Purbeck on a songwriting retreat where a new song fell out of my head in a single day (you’ll hear it on my next album), I’m working on a guitar songbook, we’ve been making a new music video for my song ‘Memory’, and I’m about to publish a new book of poetry called ‘Meditation Mind’.
It’s been 6 weeks since we started touring again after I recovered from pneumonia and it’s been so lovely to see famliiar faces and meet new friends at the gigs. We both love performing so much and I’m aware that this may be the last tour for a while so I’m making the most of it, whether we’re in a hall or someone’s sitting room. Now we’re on a break for a couple of weeks before we start again with two consecutive nights at The Stables in Milton Keynes on 8/9 June.
Then it’s Artrix Arts Centre in Bromsgrove, the wonderful Hanger Farm Arts Centre in Southampton, followed by Barnoldswick, Helmsley, Carlisle, Cardiff and Biddulph. Then we head up north to play Crail Festival, The Glad Café in Glasgow and The Cluny in Newcastle before finishing the tour at Forest Arts Centre in Hampshire at the end of July. I’m also playing Royston Folk Club at the end of August and on Saturday 15 September we’re doing a one-off London show at The Slaughtered Lamb in Clerkenwell.
Before that, I’m doing a very special charity gig to raise money for the extraordinary Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings, an open-air museum of wonderful buildings which have been rescued and relocated to its site in Stoke Heath near Bromsgrove (www.avoncroft.org.uk). The gig is on Sunday 24 June and the museum has invited ticket holders to come and have a picnic in its beautiful grounds before the concert.
We’ve just put together a video of clips from my gig at Chapel Arts Centre in Bath – a tour highlight. If you’ve got friends or family you think might enjoy my songs, please do share it and spread the word about the rest of my UK tour. Dates and booking links for all my upcoming gigs can be found here.
I hope you’ve been enjoying the sunshine and I hope all’s well in your world – thanks so much for your support.
xx