Sloe Gin and The Quaich...

I didn't tell you this story yet, but here goes...

More music...

Sorry.

GJ, Grizz and I took in Mr Joe Bonamassa, Blues Guitar Legend, in Edinburgh in Autumn last year. We stayed in a fine traditional British B & B run by an artistic Edinburgh creative and her Japanese beau businessman. The Bed & Breakfast is named The Quaich, which is Celtic for drinking cup. The house was filled with references to Glasgow artist and architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Samurai culture, complete with swords from Scotland and Japan!

By the way, did you ever hear about the famous skean dhu that the Scots wear in their sockies?

Meanwhile, during the daytime and before the gig, I pressed my nose up against the window of Louis Vuitton in Auld Reekie hersel', and licked the glass, a la Francaise (to lick the windows is to go window shopping!)...

Grizz and I also trolled through Harvey Nicks, having the door opened for us like the important folk that we are, bien sur, and we looked at what we could not afford and mainly used the posh bathrooms... Meanwhile, GJ visited a close colleague who'd recently lost his writer/artist/nature-loving father, and drank tea with sympathy.

Grizz and I sauntered steadily through the trendy, 'yoof' stylee shops, beloved of Teens and Sk8ers, who hovered like black, beleathered bats, within the nooks and crannies of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, looking for treasure.

In the evening, we enjoyed relaxed Spanish Tapas in a national chain restaurant in the city, then walked amid the bright lights of the pre-Chrimbo city, to an oak-panelled Art Deco once-upon-a-time cinema to see this child prodigy, now beautiful man, Joe Bonamassa, famed for his Ballad of John Henry and Sloe Gin...

I love another man too. With profuse apologies for his use of the F-word in this vid...

Proceed with caution.

Not for the faint-hearted.

Joe does a version of this song, Sloe Gin.

This might even be the original, performed by Tim Curry.

I adore Tim Curry for his life and his art and his Wild Heart and his humour and his music.

And while, you know, I'm twittering about music, I'm not telling you what's really going on chez Fhina...

Meh! Tant pis!

It's all I can do at the mo' until my dicky tummy settles down again, we know what we're doing at work, or NOT, and I feel more like bold, sassy, Fhina-Fee again.

Enjoy, mes bloggy Tweeter-Bixes!

Stalking John Smith...

You're probably quite sick of me now, go on be honest, I do tend to go on, and on... and on...

Managers carrying out my annual Personal Development Assessment, have been known to ask if it was still daylight, when we eventually emerge from a windowless room...

So today, to give you a rest from blethering, mithering me, I thought we could have a musical interlude, a sort of 21st Century version of TV's Potter's Wheel!

As our friends over the pond will understandably be glued to TVs watching precious new moments in history, and I reckon won't even find the time to blog or read today... I thought I could treat you all to a few moments with one of the greatest rising young stars of British nu-folk

- That's folk music for those of you over 40...

I find as I segue into my mid 40s and my son grows away beyond my grasp, GJ and I have a little more time to go to gigs when we can, and to explore new music.

I was excited when I first saw this young singer-songwriter guitarist, when he supported John Martyn at The fabulous Sage, Gateshead, and indeed I have been stalking him ever since.

Of course he doesn't know... Well maybe he does now? Oops!

"His name, you say?"

"Why, it's John Smith".

"Who did you say again?"

"John Smith!"

"Honestly?"

"Yes!"

Blurb: "John Smith is the guitar man from Devon, (now living on the banks of the Merseysippi, when not in his VW car touring from gig to festival), and quietly becoming recognized as one of British Folk's most exciting new voices.

He has toured with and supported John Martyn, Davey Graham, Tunng, John Renbourn, Martin Simpson and Jools Holland and is currently working on his new record. John is a totally independent artist".


This is a quirky video (lasting 3.06 mins) that was produced to illustrate his somewhat magical song, The Magician, from his first album - Hope you like it...




His sort of hallmark piece is this one, Winter (5.14) with John tapping the guitar on his knee as if it were a drum - It always makes for a silent audience, as you can't quite believe what you are seeing and hearing:




You might know Cara Dillon better, so here John performs on her video for If I Prove False (5.48) - a very traditional folk song. John occasionally performs with Cara's band:



Finally, for the younger ones, here's John's own version of The Queens of the Stone Age, No-one knows... Electrifying! (3.59):