Music in the 21st Century

My Life in Music: Part Six

2000 to 2018 

My work was keeping me away from home too much of the time so I needed a job with less travel involved. My director at the RSPB offered me the UK Overseas Territories; a rash of tiny islands scattered all over the globe. I was supposed to go to meetings at the Foreign Office in London and attend a few conferences in places like Gibraltar and the Caribbean. However I soon found myself travelling regularly to Ascension, the Falklands and Anguilla, which meant more Reggae music. 

One conference was in Cuba, not long after the Buena Vista Social Club album was produced by Ry Cooder.  I remember sitting in the back of a tour bus with a group of wary Americans. I was listening to local radio on a Sony Walkman with a huge grin on my face. The pretty tour-guide remarked that I was the happiest person on the bus and asked me why. I said that I had always wanted to come to Cuba and now, here I was in Havana, listening to fantastic music on the radio and looking forward to seeing a lot more of Cuba. I caught as much live music as possible on the trip.

While all of this was happening, our son Nicholas was showing real talent as both an artist and a musician and it became my job to ferry a car load of schoolboys down to London to see the latest bands. It was novel for me to enjoy young British bands through the eyes and ears of another generation. Soon Nick had his own band and we had a boot load of gear to cart around between gigs and recording sessions. We still go to see his own band Lucky Shivers and two others that he plays in, called Red Kite (based in Northampton) and Oro Swimming Hour (based in Bristol). 

Meanwhile, my grandson Jake has become an operatic bass, singing with Holland Park Opera and performing in Arundel and Chichester regularly. No-one saw that coming!

Oro Swimming Hour

Admittedly, since Nick left home, there is less music about the place. I always have some CDs of the old stuff in my car, but I usually listen to Radio 4. Hanna and I chill out to mum and dad music, like James Taylor and Mary Chapin Carpenter who comes to Cambridge regularly. Hanna sings in a women’s choir while I take photos . It's all very mellow and cosy, so sometimes, I just have to crank up the volume and let off steam. My current playlist includes David Bowie’s Black Star, probably the best album he ever made, and my son’s latest releases.

My youngest boy, Dan has special needs 

but is also showing some talent as a musician. 

After always having guitarists around, I’m finally trying to learn the guitar for myself. Don’t hold your breath.