Starlings

Without doubt, one of my favourite bands over the last ten years has been Elbow.

Their first two albums intrigued me, and in the case of Asleep In The Back, held me spellbound for weeks on end.

But they’ve got even better with the last 2 albums.

I once listened to an interview with their lead singer, Guy Garvey, where he said that songs often start off as poems he writes down.  This is really, powerfully obvious at the start of Leaders of the Free World – Station Approach is a wonderful ode to Manchester, and the stomping, rocking anthem Forget Myself is littered with wonderful imagery (including one of my favourite lines of all time: “He’s so mercifully free of the pressures of grace/Saint Peter in satin he’s like Buddha with mace.”)

Their latest (The Seldom Seen Kid) begins with the most incredible, honest and beautiful love song.  So I thought I’d share the lyrics (and I hope they don’t mind if they ever read this…)

Starlings

(words by Guy Garvey)

How dare the Premier ignore my invitations? He’ll have to go

So too the bunch he luncheons with. It’s second on my list of things to do

At the top is stopping by your place of work and acting like I haven’t dreamed of you and I and marriage in an orange grove.

You are the only thing in any room you’re ever in. I’m stubborn, selfish and too old

I sat you down and told you how the truest love that’s ever found is for oneself,

You pulled apart my theory with a weary and disinterested sigh.

So yes I guess I’m asking you to back a horse that’s good for glue and nothing else.

But find a man that’s truer than,

find a man that needs you more than I

Sit with me a while and let me listen to you talk about your dreams and your obsessions. I’ll be quiet and confessional.

The violets explode inside me when I meet your eyes.

Then I’m spinning and I’m diving like a cloud of starlings.

Darling is this love?

And every time I hear it, I have one of those moments where I need to stop and savour everything around me.  And even if I did start moving, everything else would feel so much faster…

My Favourite and my best: December 2009

It’s Christmas time!  Mistletoe and Wine!  Woo hoo!

I’m going to blog about Christmas more generally when I get the chance, but I’m starting the month off with a couple of recommendations (thought I’d get in nice and early – before I left it too long and forgot…)

“How To Catch A Star” by Oliver Jeffers

I came across this quite by accident.  In fact, I did what convention would tell you not to, normally… I judged the book entirely on its cover.  I loved it – I generally see books as works of art as much as reading tools, but this one captured me absolutely before I’d even opened it.  Then I picked it up to see if my judgement was right.

And it was.

This is the story of a boy who loves stars so much that he decides to own one for himself.  It’s a beautiful expression of the rollercoaster of emotions that we know of as possibilities and disappointment – but it is topped off by a fabulously feel-good ending that feels like a triumph to the reader every bit as much as it does to the boy.

I’m pretty certain that every adult who reads this will think that its a book describing how they’ve felt – and that’s a key to the success of this book.  It makes a connection with something everyone has in common, a dream and a possibility.

“Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really Big Adventure” by Kristina Stephenson

Once upon a time, there was a deep, dark forest, where monstrous trees groaned, terrible beasties moaned (or the other way round) and wiggly woos waited to tickle your toes. Nobody ever went there until…Sir Charlie Stinky Socks, his good grey mare and his pet cat Envelope decide the time has come for a really big adventure. Sir Charlie packs his best sword and his sandwiches and off he goes, over the hills and far away, until he gets to the deep, dark forest. Sir Charlie doesn’t flinch when he meets the beasties, or the dragon, or the wily witch, but when he comes across the princess, he realises he’s met his match!

This is an absolutely brilliant – the text ebbs and flows like a proper little adventure story (if that sounds trite or daft, you wouldn’t believe how many children’s adventure stories sort of flat-line and never move up or down in tone or pace), it moves along in a breathless way that absolutely keeps kids and parents reading, it’s funny and has some great little characters in there – and none more loveable and brave than its marvellous hero.  I’ve heard a number of little boys in the local library talk about either being or wanting to be Sir Charlie Stinky Socks, which surely means this book captures imaginations!

I can’t think of a better argument for the importance of books and libraries than how well they capture little people’s imaginations.  (and big people’s too)

Advent Calendar (day 3)

Click to open the door and find the song - then click play on the little player (on the right) to hear it

Advent Calendar (day 2)

Click the picture to go open the door - and then look on the right for the song!

Aw, shucks…

I’ve been pretty awful keeping up with this for a while – which is almost entirely due to being a civil servant in the day job and doing all those torturous parental tasks like taking a three year old to playgrounds, libraries and the London Transport Museum…  I didn’t enjoy a moment of it, honest… (cough, cough)

It maybe hasn’t helped that I’ve been as easy to distract as a magpie in a room full of shiny things.

I’ve somehow managed to stumble my way through a book, though, that has helped me bring back a little focus and fire the imagination… (The Princess Bride by William Goldman.  Well worth reading, even if you’ve seen the film.)

But I have news, and it’s good news…

A wonderful illustrator called Katie Green has agreed to work with me on developing the story into a picture book…  I’m not going to go into much detail now, as its still very much a “spare time” project for both of us, but from what’s on her website, I’m extremely happy to be working with her.

Do go and have a look at her website and marvel.  You’ll never look at fruit and vegetables in the same way again – nowadays I always wonder what they’re thinking and am even thinking of renouncing vegetarianism due to the guilty feelings I have when shucking peas since seeing this…

And if you have some spare money and want something lovely to make your house look even nicer than I’m sure it already does, Katie has a shop too…

www.katiegreen.co.uk

Oh, and one more thing.  I finished the first draft of the story… and I’m just putting finishing touches to it…  It’s a small thing, but it feels like an achievement.  There are bits I still want to work on, but I’m getting there and we’ll see how things go!

In the meantime, I’m starting to really enter competitions and well, work on a few things… There’ll be a few new little bits to stick up on here shortly, as I’m starting to research a few things, and it might well be interesting for some!  There are also vague plans to produce a little volume of poems for people to order through me if they feel so inclined…  I’ll let you all know once I have something more concrete.

But for now, toodle pip!