News

 

November is always the ‘pit of the year’ for me – and this one has been suitably dark and rainy. Still, there are the autumn colours everyone raves about. From local gardens:

 

 

 

 

On the Musica en Moviemiento front, I have been preparing for the up and coming residential course and performances At-A-Distance. Both take place in early December – almost Now!!

 

 

I am excited to see my William Blake and Gnosticism book in production.

 

 

 

This is a Spanish version of my extended essay with illustrations of a similar theme:

 

http://www.michaelgrenfell.co.uk/william-blake-gnosticism-and-gnosis-2023/

 

Also reading a book with a Gnostic Theme, which goes under the splendid title of :

 

 

Coincidentally, it was also Blake’s birthday – born 268 years ago and thus also a Sagittarius:

 

 

He hated this painting by the way. It was by Thomas Phillips and he produced it in 1807. So, Blake would have been around 50. It smacks of the romanticism of the epoch and the style of Joshua Reynolds who dominated the art field. He and the painting typify all that Blake hated about the prevailing art trends of the day.

 

So, to Advent: a special time of year for me – the new waiting to be born is a common theme:

 

 

‘Come, Holy Spirit, not with outward manifestations, not with tongues of fire, but silently, as the warmth of spring creeps into the barren earth; come to this cenacle of a human heart, and stir the dull airs of it with the breath of hope.”

Ronald Knox (From A Retreat For Lay People, Deus Books, Paulist Press, New York, N.Y. by Sheard & Ward, Inc. 1955)

 

Books

A lot of reading this month:

 

I have been reading a new biography of Alfred Wallis by Matilda Webb. He was an old seaman cum rag-and-bone man who painted on any bit of board he could get his hands on in order to ‘keep himself company’. One day in the 30s modernists Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood happened to be passing the open door of his house near Porthmeor Beach in St Ives and espied the paintings. Somewhat of an epiphany took place and Nicholson and Wood immediately embraced him and his style, which was the kind of naive, pure style they were looking for. Since then, he has been seen as a pivotal figure of the St Ives School, his work changing  hands for large sums of money. Of course, at the time, all this did not prevent him dying somewhat destitute in the Madron workhouse. Anyway, this surely is the most comprehensive text yet produced on him and his work. Amazing detail!

 

 

 

Nietzsche’s On the Genealogy of Morals : a pivotal book which both analyses what shaped the present in the past but indicates where we are and going. His account of ‘resentment’ is especially acute:

 

 

 

The poems of the deist Lord Herbert of Cherbury, a fan of John Donne.

 

 

Music wise, it all becomes a bit backwards looking this time of year. But, I did track down the last  album by James Blackshaw. Blackshaw was positively prolithic in the early 2000s producing a series of quite impressive albums. He plays in a style which is called ‘Continuous Music’, where there is no pause in the playing. A similar style was pioneered on piano by Lobomyr Melnyk – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubomyr_Melnyk).  This produces a quite hypnotic effect: repetitive by layer upon layer produces a synthetic aural whole. In Blackshaw’s case, this is accomplished with 6 and 12 string guitars, piano and others. He also sings on later albums. Given he uses the 12 string extensively, this requires very strong nails to pick to say the least. He also uses a series of open tunings. The pieces are very emotive and comes with evocative titles:  the Glass Bead Game, Love is the Plan – the Plan is Death, Litany of Echoes, Oh True Believers, The Cloud of Unknowing. Blackshaw gave it all up in 2016 and sold his guitars – citing the pressure of the music industry as cause.. He then returned in 2019 but seems to have found it difficult to regain his momentum.  Unraveling your Hands  came out in 2024 with just three pieces, and two of these quite short. It was always said that Blackshaw was in the Takoma tradition of acoustic guitar music (John Fahey, Jack Rose, Robbie Basho) , meaning highly rhythmic instrumentals  bordering on the raga-esque – again often with mysterious titles: like Fahey’s The Voice of the Turtle.  I never really saw a close connect in intent and spirit in Blackshaw’s previous albums, coming more from an English dance/ baroque style. However, this latest collection is very much Fahey influenced, and two of the pieces make explicit use of both the syncopated style but also the dissonances that Fahey would use. As I writes, he always incorporated other instruments, and here he uses Woodwind to evoke the sadness and grief that came when his dog Dexter died. All very emotive and impressive.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qmEIwhdjp4&list=RD-qmEIwhdjp4&start_radio=1

 

 

See some of my Fahey references here – article, interview:

 

http://www.michaelgrenfell.co.uk/john-fahey/

 

Sadly….

 

 

And, of course, John Lodge flew away. He was the bassist/ composer in the English band, The Moody Blues. I was a real fan in my teens, especially after they released their On the Threshold of a Dream LP. I first saw them with my first girlfriend Angela at the age of around 15!!. And continued to see them over the years. Only, this summer, I travelled to Bristol to see John Lodge play. A special event as you can imagine. He presented his best songs well and, as always, addressed the crowd warmly. He always thanks followers, for ‘holding the faith’, and so he did this evening.

Given one of his last compositions, the sense is he had a premonition that his Journey was soon continuing the other side of physical manifestation:

 

 

Advent:

 

 

October, and a month when autumn truly began to grip.

 

Still vestiges of Summer…

 

 

But elsewhere in the garden…

 

 

 

A positive Gallery of images in the nearby Forest.

 

 

 

Mushrooms:

 

 

Beautiful symmetry:

 

 

Time to light the fire: we changed the clocks so it is getting dark by 4 now

 

 

Spectacular Sunsets and Skylines:

 

 

 

Food-wise, I am still pursuing the Ayurvedic diet:

 

 

Time for preparations for Christmas as well.

 

 

 

During the month, we have a spectacular ‘Big Moon’:

 

 

New article by me on Bourdieu and Lacan:

 

Bourdieu and Lacan

 

I have been perusing a sumptuous book from my friends at Fulgar Press:

 

 

I have also been reading two biographies of two individuals I am a fan of:

 

 

 

Music, some more Brazilian guitar playing:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw0EMYl-TPM&start_radio=1

 

And then Doreen Carwithen. As I have written before, I have a penchant for lesser known British composers. Carwithin is curious: wife of the backwards looking William Alwyn, some of her compositions – including many for films – are also retro-romantic. However, sometimes, she seems really inspired and progressive. The piano sonata for example:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIyfG8dr9k4&list=RDWIyfG8dr9k4&start_radio=1

 

Montaigne

Lighten yourself and your soul of the weight of your burdens, moving about (travel, change of scenery) will only increase their pressure on you, as a ship’s cargo is less troublesome when lashed in place. Not enough to withdraw from the mob; withdraw from the attributes of the mob…we still turn our gaze towards the things we have left behind; our imagination is full of them. It is in our soul that evil grips us: and she cannot escape from herself. So we must bring her back…into our self. That is true solitude. It can be enjoyed in towns and in kings’ courts, but more conveniently apart. Let us gain power over ourselves to live really and truly alone – and of doing so in contentment.

 

 

 

 

 

The late summer and the Forest looks great:

Heather abounds:

 

 

 

 

My garden too!:

 

 

Sad to hear of the passing of the renown actor Terence Stamp. A leading cultural figure in the 1960s – he is reputedly the ‘Terry of ‘Terry and Julie’ in the Kinks Waterloo Sunset – his career more or less came to an end with the decade. He then went off to India for some years before being rediscovered to play a part in Superman. Also Fellini. He worked with Krishnamurti and also appeared in the film of Gurdjieff’s Meeting with Remarkable Men. I met him once, en passant as it were, and was struck by the time and courtesy he afforded me – given his stature compared to mine. Later, he spoke at Watkins at the time of the publication of his last memoir:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC5noRzj5FY

 

My chums of Musica en Muviemiento produced Volume 1 of our first LP. We recorded this last year.

 

 

https://musicaenmovimiento.bandcamp.com/album/m-sica-en-movimiento-vol-1

 

More photos of our concert in Milan with Robert Fripp earlier this year.

 

 

 

To London for some art at the National Gallery:

 

 

.Millet:

 

 

And some Siennese panels”

 

 

I have begun an Ajurvedic diet:

 

 

My book on Ralph McTell – Parallel Lives –is now available as a PDF from my Blog site:

 

 

This was begun when Ralph came and played for us with Interviews at Trinity College, Dublin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhLLmiqrixA

 

http://www.michaelgrenfell.co.uk/parallel-lives-the-biographies-of-ralph-mctell-michael-grenfell/

 

Down to Cornwall – and beloved home Mousehole of course

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst there I take a trip to St Hilary, to encounter again the wonderful collection of art Bernard Walke and his wife put together there: the cream of early C20 English modernism.  One day, I shall write his story:

 

 

 

 

A rare piece by Pog Yglesius.

 

 

 

I also did some walks around prehistoric sites. For example, the Merry Maidens. 

 

 

And, the beautiful Japanese Garden: a precious place to visit.

 

 

 

50 Years Anniversary of Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales, founded by my friend and mentor Pierre Bourdieu. Of course, there are lots of pieces on this site of my engagement with him and his work. This journal was begun at a most inauspicious time. At times, it was going to cease publishing – but carried on!! Anyway, congratulations that it has survived his passing as well. A good retrospective of the journal and its philosophy.

 

 

 

I don’t usually post personal photos on this site but could not resist in this case. Two Reunions! These always seem a dubious idea to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed both. A joy to catch up with ‘old’ friends and colleagues.

 

Firstly, the school where I taught in London. I had not seen these people for 35 years!!

 

 

And then, care of a friend’s ‘special’ birthday: fellow students from my graduation days: these I had not see for 45 years!!! A lifetime.

 

 

 

As I say, such a joy to catch up with both groups and to hear their life stories..

 

I have been reading elegiac essay: The Tree

 

 

Bit of a Van Morrison renaissance going on in my house. I already had a smattering of his records, but have acquired a few more at cost price over the last month or two. At the very least, these contain some romping Rn’B. But, there are also some real gems as well. All in all, VERY enjoyable listening.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVVkJI_2hog&list=RDPVVkJI_2hog&start_radio=1

 

I also acquired some delightful Delius – a real favourite:

 

 

 

And the very original Talk Talk:

 

 

 

The Equinox came and went so we are now downhill all the way with darkness growing until the winter solstice in December.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This period is dominated by my trip to South America.

 

But, it is Winter there!!

 

 

Snow in Mendoza. A shock.

 

 

I  am going there for a course and to perform in a local Art Gallery..

 

 

 

But, my trip is a first a bit hectic: delayed flights and then they lose my bag!!!

 

Time to reconnect with Buenos Aires. Cake on the River!!!

 

 

 

Also, I relax in the Winter sun in my usual accommodation – a joy!:

 

 

Then, my bag turns up!! After many, many calls.

 

 

We are in Lunlunta: Dining room and corridor:

 

 

 

The Team:

 

 

So, here we are – one octave old:

 

 

Guitars!!!

 

 

Me doing Qi gong with some of them.

 

 

The performance itself turns out to be quite an event. Many people arrive – more than the venue can accommodate. They shut the doors but there is ‘rioting’ outside. Not seen anything like this since Beatlemania!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Soon, I am back on the plane – next stop Brazil  – make sure of my bag this time!!!:

 

 

 

 

A really nice expo. on Andy Warhol at the local museum. They offer a good range of his work:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, up into the mountains. My accommodation and locale:

 

 

 

 

 

Gourmet food, I am treated to.

 

 

Into the local village. Very picturesque:

 

 

 

And local goodies:

 

 

 

 

Time to take time in the local cafes as well:

 

 

 

Back home – with bag! – and preparing for September. There is a reunion of the staff from the school I worked in in London. Some of these people, I have not seen since I left in 1989. Me as a language teacher in 1986:

 

 

It is Lammas: first stirrings of the dark: death and rebirth, harvest.

 

 

I celebrate with fire.

 

 

On a pagan theme I also watch that epic of occult British film-making – The Wicker Man!!!

 

 

I also see Red at the National Theatre a story about Mark Rothko’s – whose art I have lone since admired:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDxD8Z7btzM

 

I recommend the Seagram Restaurant murals. 

 

I have been reading Lilian Hellman’s Pentimento:

 

 

Old paint on canvas, as it ages, sometimes becomes transparent. When that happens, it is possible in some pictures, to see the original lines: a tree will show through a woman’s dress, a child makes way for a dog, a large boat is no longer on the open sea. That is called pentimento because the painter ‘repented’, changes his mind. Perhaps it is as well to say that the old conception, replaced by a later choice, is a way of seeing and then seeing again.

 

An analogy for life (!?)

 

Also, listening to some amazing Brazilian guitar playing – of course!!!

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aED9l_fCe6M&list=OLAK5uy_mPX6CZ72uC0AjGQVm4J2IBbPgIc5NGYVE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June and a time of midsummer. I celebrate, but know the sun is now moving away from the earth – or at least my part of it – or at least the earth from the sun – or my part of it.

 

 

 

Anyone who reads this Blog knows that the Lavender bush is a summer high for me – always full of bees as, but only at the right moment when the nectar is richest!!

 

 

I go to London for three art exhibitions:

First, art from Siena in the C14, including various artifacts (weaving, rugs, wall hangings). Amazing patterns:

 

 

 

 

 

The second one is of the painter Ithell Colquhoun – the St Ives expo has transferred to London:

 

 

Readers will know I have done quite a lot of work on her:

http://www.michaelgrenfell.co.uk/ithell-colquhoun-painter-surrealist-feminist-magician/

 

Thirdly, an exhibition by the artist Edward Burra – good in a German expressionist sort of way but doomy:

 

 

Good series on BBC TV about Britain in the last decades of the twentieth century – Shifty: rather explains a lot. Many of my friends outside of the UK have a very positive image of England. This programme explains some of the underlying trends. It is made by Adam Curtis – with contributions from Massive Attack.

 

 

Sadly, one of my all time heroes died this month – Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys.

 

 

Again, I have done a lot of work on these, at one point arguing that ‘the sea’ – surf – should be read as a kind of metaphor for Heideggerian  dasein. One of many pertinent tracks is Surfs Up

 

 

http://www.michaelgrenfell.co.uk/bourdieu/bourdieu-and-the-beach-boys/ 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyOYQ8qfFng&list=RDtyOYQ8qfFng&start_radio=1

 

It is a struggle to pick a favouriite but this track comes very close. However, my final choice has to be the Our Prayer/ Cabinessence sequence on their 20/ 20 LP. When I first heard this, it blew my mind – I still cannot imagine another ‘pop’ band making such a thing!!!

 

Our prayer

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X76ejh4EIV4&list=RDX76ejh4EIV4&start_radio=1

 

Cabinessence

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA_kZR1kPug&list=RDWA_kZR1kPug&start_radio=1

 

More wanderings in the West Country and to a favourite corner – Bathampton:

 

 

 

I have been reading transcripts of Gurdjieff’s sessions in the 1940s:

 

 

I have been listening to a Playlist of Meditation music:

 

 

And so, to Argentina and Brazil and Musica en Moviemisnto:

 

 

 

 

 

As I begin the month, I am still in Milan.

 

We hire an apartment near the centre and explore:

 

 

The Cathedral

 

 

Thirsty work.

 

 

So, to Lake Como:

 

 

 

 

And, Town:

 

 

Soon I am back in the UK and visiting Ryland Abbey:

 

 

 

Home and time to get the garden going for the summer.

 

 

 

It is the time for English Asparagus:

 

 

Some spectacular flowers:

 

 

 

I go to Cornwall, where the countryside is full of pink campions and Foxgloves:

 

 

 

Gwithian has to be my favourite stop-off point:

 

 

 

I am with the Pathways to the Past Team, exploring pre-historic monuments:

 

 

Wonders a plenty. One needs to know. For example, we might walk through a field with a small hill, but it turns out to be a 5000 year old barrow!!

 

 

Men-an-Tol – an enigmatic favourite:

 

 

Then, the story of Courtyard Round Houses: apparently, we are about the only site for this phenomena. The actual round structures are still there:

 

 

 

Magnificent views from Carn Brea:

 

 

 

Plenty of typical Cornish food at hand:

 

 

Some Church exploring as well: typical Cornish Church:

 

 

Sancreed: here the present day next to a painting of the same entrance by a favourite John Miller:

 

 

 

The churchyard actually has 5 medieval Cornish crosses in it:

 

 

 

 

 

Love these Cornish road signs:

 

 

To Truro, and a visit to the newly opened Art Museum for an exhibition by Kurt Jackson. A good selection of his works in various forms:

 

 

 

Also, some old friends like this one – the Signal – by Norman Garstin. Did a lot of work on it once upon a time in a previous lifetime.

 

 

I have been listening to the latest by Salif Keita: surprising since he was supposed to be retiring.  Retirement!!.

I love his music. The competition is great, but he must be my favourite.

Ironically, he is a lousy performer.

I fee the same about Van Morrison.

 

 

 

Time to check out the programme for this year’s Proms: much on offer with a slight tone of predictability:

 

 

 

I have been reading Techno-feudalism by Yanis Varoufakis. A fascinating and important book.

 

 

Also, reading Stephan Hoeller’s The Gnostic Jung and the Seven Sermons of the Dead. Actually, a re-read – I read it first in the 80s and it made a big impression on me. I am re-reading a lot of Gnostic material at the moment – new readings as well.

 

 

So, concluding with a sunset from Gwithian:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring is upon us and the energy is everywhere. Grasses and weeds and flowers.

 

My Buddha almost submerged in the new season.

 

 

 

And the apple blossom is out:

 

 

A trip to Bristol and then one of my favourite places – Little Solsbury Hill near Bath:

 

 

 

 

Nearby Bathford has a beautiful view of it:

 

 

 

A new Pomera Press book – Hyparxic Dialogues by Pablo Mandel. I wrote a Foreword/ Preface for it:

 

 

https://www.pomera.co.uk/new-releases-and-editions-2024/

 

It is Easter: The Resurrection by William Blake:

 

 

 

Soon, I am travelling to Milan, Italy:

 

 

 

The house and view:

 

 

 

My room:

 

 

 

The Dining Room:

 

 

The ‘Ballroom’

 

 

Kitchen:

 

 

 

House Rules – These have become challenged of late. So much so that a working group has formed to review them:

 

 

Our Concert:

 

 

 

The Church where we play:

 

 

 

The team:

 

 

 

Next, I am travelling to Milan…..

 

    —— More next month.

 

 

Along the way, I have been reading transcripts of Gurdjieff’s meeting 1941 – 1946:

 

 

 

Music, I have been getting into Charles Ives again:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

March, so it is Spring and Pancake day.

 

 

 

A yearly treat!!

 

And, the garden is suitably decorated. Daffodils and the ‘holy’ Magnolia in bloom.

 

 

 

 

Still, Winter lingers with dramatic skies near where I live.

 

 

 

 

I enter into a correspondence with a friend on Tarot cards. This takes me back to past studies and issues in archetypal psychology. So, Jung is not far away:

 

 

 

There is also an eclipse of the sun as well – a partial eclipse. For once, the English weather behaves and I get some photos:

 

 

 

An interesting Japanese version of Shakespeare’s ‘As you Like it’. A frivolous play in many ways, but containing some noble and telling eulogies. Like the ‘seven ages of man’ and ‘All the world’s a stage…’. As always, there are phrases that have entered the English language: ‘no rhyme or reason’, for example.

 

 

A new book on the production of Bourdieu’s translation of Panofsky’s Gothic Architecture. A seminal text for Bourdieu and one that allowed him to stabilize his ‘Field Theory’. The new book is a piece of ‘intellectual archeology’, setting out their correspondence and, amongst other things, stressing Bourdieu’s interest in arts. The book I did with Cheryl Hardy on Bourdieu and Art is still unique:

 

 

 

A new Musica en Moviemiento AAD begins:

 

 

https://musicaenmovimiento.com/

 

I also attend a lecture on the Druids by Ronald Hutton. As so often with his work, he is at pains to suggest they did not really exists/ were a late invention.

Blake struggled with the concept: anyone pagan was too close to the material world for him – only the spiritual counted!!

 

A new DVD: the collected Thunderbirds series. My favourite.

 

 

Surely the zenith of the Gerry Anderson work.

 

I have been listening to Kathryn Tickell, and her wondrous Northumbrian pipes:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD9z7Qk-ESE

 

 

I have been reading a book by Mark Fisher on the ‘Dark Enlightenment’: Cyber meets Gothic, meets Alt Right, meets Deleuze and Baudrillard meets Misinformation, meets racism, antidemocratic, meets oligarchies and corporate capitalist accelerationism!! It is not that there is a conspiracy, but that the conspiracy is that there is no conspiracy. And, there is not as a linear socio-political movement/ direction. Rather a set of systems are set up – rhizomes – that do not really connect or acknowledge each other but together constitute an ecology. And, one that is dangerous and pernicious – but no-one is really ‘in charge’ so to speak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, the month has been a short one.

 

Still, it marked a transition from winter-winter to winter spring: to say that there is a soupcon of a hint of suggestion that lighter days are not far away.

 

My garden feels it:

 

 

 

A special time in terms of celestial movements. In that for a few days, all the planets were lined up in the sky at once, Theory:

 

 

 

In practice, harder to see, but Venus and Jupiter were bright as can be:

 

 

 

Other planets in between were fainter.

 

The two end points: live.

 

IMG_5404

 

Apparently, it will not happen for another 40 years!!

 

I have always been interested in Fashion; so, happy to see a show of the work of Vivienne Westwood – doyenne of the punk movement in the 1970s but then a lively, and creative fashion designer with a mixture of styles in provocative clothing. Her clothes and accessories range everywhere:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An unusual evening for me, I go to see a chat with Geoff Hurst at the local theater.

 

He was a player in the football club, West Ham United – London. When I was a child, I remember playing with a friend one Saturday and coming in just at the point where England and Germany begin extra time in the 1966 World Cup Final, as they were drawing 2-2 at the end of 90 minutes. I was not that interested in football, but I did sit and watch for 30 mins. Significantly, Hurst scored 3 goals in that game: two in extra time. One of those was famously in the very final seconds of the game: the commentator, Kenneth Wolstenholme shouts, ‘they are on the pitch’, referring to the fans, ‘they think it is all over’….and then Hurst scores: ‘It is now!!!!’

Anyway, 58 years later, I relive this event from my childhood. Geoff turns out to be an ordinary guy: lots of stories and anecdotes, of course, and then Q&A from a devoted audience. The sort of questions that begin, ‘Do you think that it was right that Martin Peters was dropped before the 1963 FA Cup Final?’

The whole event was interesting to me: besides Hurst, the audience, etc. Also, there was an auction of signed football jerseys. These went from anything between 250 GBP – 750.00. Depending on their rarity.

When I was a child, I had a photo of the winning team. And, I diligently sent it around to each player to get them to autograph it – Alan Ball, Bobby and Jack Charlton, Roger Hunt, Geoff Hurst, Gordon Banks, Bobby Moore until I had just one left to get – Nobby Styles. I remember thinking whether or not it was worth the risk. I did have 10 of the players after all. I could have kept it with one short. But, I went for it and gambled and sent it off to Manchester United for Nobby to sign. It never came back. A lesson learn that day…..

 

I have been reading Goethe’s elective affinities, probably the best novel of this polymath.

 

 

The title comes from physics to describe exothermic chemical reactions when an ion replaces another.

However, the novel is about a young couple and their niece and the way they react to a visitor. What plays out is a meditation on the forces between rationality and passion, with an underlying hint as to whether chemistry and physical laws can be applied to human relationships.

 

Answer…not really….

 

To end, a historic photo of the Bennett group: the man I was with the team now sadly missing three of them – Michael, Mary and Beryl.

 

 

 

January begins the New Year – things do not look auspicious:

 

 

It is certainly a time of low light: still, epiphany is the 6^th and the sun is now returning.

Snowdrops:

 

 

I make it up to London for a concert at the Royal Festival Hall to celebrate the 80^th birthday of Ralph McTell:

 

 

As readers know, I wrote a biography on him

 

http://www.michaelgrenfell.co.uk/music-n/parallel-lives-the-biographies-of-ralph-mctell-preface-content-to-the-second-edition/

 

Also, the fantastic live interview we did with him in Trinity College, Dublin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhLLmiqrixA&t=6610s

 

A trip to Bath and one of my favourite spots: the canal at Bathampton:

 

 

With a Scottish focus – where I went next – it is also Burns Night. I celebrate in the traditional manner:

 

 

I give a seminar on Bourdieu’s Reproduction to mark the 50th anniversary of its publication:

 

Bourdieu’s Reproduction – 50 Years After – Seminar Presentation

 

I also make it to the local theatre for the play, An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley. An enigmatic play: a bourgeois family is celebrating together when a ‘police inspector calls’. A woman has committed suicide. One by one each are found guilty of driving the woman to this – their world falls apart. The inspector leaves. They convince themselves it was a made up story – check the local police station (no inspector of that name) – no dead suicide in the local hospital. They are relived and celebrate when the phone rings…..

 

 

A Cornwall trip later in the month. Of course, I visit my family home – Mousehole:

 

 

 

IMG_4967

 

The, onto St Ives:

 

 

 

There is an exhibition on the work of Ithell Colquhoun. Again, readers will know I did a lot of work on here. See:

 

http://www.michaelgrenfell.co.uk/ithell-colquhoun-painter-surrealist-feminist-magician/

 

 

I don’t really like the way she has been reconstructed by the Tate, and they do misrepresent her in parts. Still, it is a good selection of her work:

 

 

 

 

 

Someone who dies in obscurity and virtually penniless in 1986. Her work was then stored in a shed by the National Trust in Exeter. Then she was rediscovered….

 

 

 

A visit to Cape Cornwall – another favoured spot:

 

 

 

 

Gwithian and probably my favourite part of the coast in Cornwall:

 

 

And, Temple on the way home:

 

 

 

 

Angels at the alter:

 

 

 

 

I have been reading Thomas Pikerty’s book on Equality:

 

 

Wealth has become a black hole – sucking everything into it. The question is, surely, is it too late to do anything about it? I fear it is. On this, I also recommend the broadcasts by Gary Stevenson:

 

https://www.youtube.com/@garyseconomics

 

Some lovely quartet music by John Pickard:

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=QyHdnq7EzEA