Getting to the shops in Porto on the weekend is hard if you don’t go to bed till between 4 AM and 6 AM. It seems that everything is closed at 1 PM on Saturday and generally closed on Sunday. It’s pandemic rules, so you’d better be stocked up on what you need in the week. Having said that the man at one of the nearest mini-supermarkets told us he’d been open till 8 PM today but although we got there before then he was closed. So whether he forgot it was Saturday or closed early due to a lack of people we won’t know. The point of me telling you this is that it gave us an opportunity to venture out for a walk and we were surprised by how warm it was. It wasn’t raining, there was no breeze and although it was 8 PM at night and dark, it wasn’t cold at all and the strange thing is that on this lovely Saturday night there were no people around (one couple by the water). We were talking about how the virus had changed the world, what a different world it might be afterwards and how weird it’s going to be to live in the world without the virus, despite the chaos we’ve got used to. That’s what humans do, they adapt, that’s why the super-rich can live in the world of the super-poor, they adapt to their situation, the lucky ones consider their luck and live it out and the unlucky ones accept their lot and have to live it out, what else can they do, the lucky ones are not forthcoming to save everyone who is in trouble.

Dare sent me the first mix of the first track on Ahad’s album today. This is how we do it when I’m not there. Dare generally gets the sounds and balances together and I come in to check balances and overall sounds of things but I was there for all the recording so I know what sounds are on the track and we’ve generally already discussed the direction of the mix before it’s mixed. Exciting to hear this after a break. 13 songs to mix, it’s quite a project, it’s Ahad’s songs and singing, I play all the bass and all the guitars. Our drummer Ed plays drums (Noctorum & MOAT). When will it be ready? When is it coming out? Where will it be released? I know nussink at this point.

It was a relief to get a mix from Dare as we had a very scary moment in the studio. The day we left Penzance for Porto the computer wouldn’t start up. We’d had some issues before but this time it was dead. There’s a place in Penzance to take it with a knowledgable person, he also couldn’t get it going so Dare had to buy a new computer from eBay and have the hard drives transferred and hope it all worked. The other problem was that the computer Dare uses was built in the last part of the 17th century so he had to find someone that was selling this model dressed in period costume. Luckily he did and it worked – phew.

Another project that Dare and I have been working on, Arctic Lake, which is Tony from Sydney, is sharing a 30-second teaser today with the full song coming on Dec 17th. The song is called Shimmer. I play lead and rhythm guitars on it and sing it with Olivia on BVs. Tony wrote the song and is on rhythm, DC on bass, and Nigel Macara from legendary Australian band Tamam Shud plays drums. We have recorded four songs so far and will keep you posted as to where you can hear them or get them as we know the facts. Andy Jossi from The Churchhill Garden is responsible for the graphics, nice one Andy.

 
“The phrase read Tamám Shud. The scrap of paper discovered in a concealed pocket in the dead man’s trousers. Tamám shud is a Persian phrase; it means ‘It’s ended.’ The words had been torn from a rare New Zealand edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.”

But who was the dead man?

The Betsey Trotwood will be live on Sunday on Facebook and Youtube. Olivia and I perform a song with a host of others. It all starts at 6 PM UK time as they try to raise some funds for this amazing venue to stay open. We played there last year (two nights) to an enthusiastic audience and we hope to be there again next year.

Today was semi-finals day for the Scottish Open snooker championship with Ronnie O’Sullivan losing 1-4 to Li Hang and winning 6-4 to make the final. Mark Selby beat Jamie Jones 6-1 in the other semi-final. Final 1 PM Sunday. Today’s football was drab, Man U vs Man City 0-0. Neither team looked very hungry, trying to get millionaires to fight physically on the football field seems hard. Having said that Liverpool will be playing tomorrow against Fulham, one of the bottom teams. I hope they don’t think it’s going to be easy. Nothing is.

Music today goes Beatlemania as we listen to Help!, John’s call to the world in the midst of the years of madness. Strong Lennon songs on this album, Ticket To Ride, You’re Going To Lose That Girl, It’s Only Love, You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away.

Song Of The Daze