This is a note to self, a journal of sorts. You might find it relevant too… So a few nights ago, I walked into a music venue with my guitar. The moment I set foot in the door, I was met with a couple of 20-something-looking lads who chanted my name. ‘OMG it’s Dr Fabola’ ‘Ah man, so glad you’re here tonight’ ‘I love ya music man, can’t wait to hear you play’ And on…
This is a note to self, a journal of sorts. You might find it relevant too… Years ago, as an inexperienced learner driver with no more than a few hours of practice under my belt, I booked an evening driving lesson with my instructor. It was the first time I would be driving without the safety of daylight. The driving instructor picked me up from home in the early evening. Things got real when he…
Fill in the following sentence for me, will you? Anything worth doing is worth doing… Did you opt for the word ‘well’ by any chance? Did you say ‘anything worth doing is worth doing well?’ That’s what I would have said a while ago. I would have said anything worth doing is worth doing well, because that’s the expression I remember from my youth, maybe even going back to my primary school days. We were…
Here is an idea so obvious and yet so insightful, at least to me: Nobody exists in a vacuum, and nobody lives outside some sort of environment. There is always some sort of setting, place or physical context for every aspect of life. This is true for every waking moment, and every sleeping one too. Think about the most basic activities you engage in on a daily basis. You eat, you sleep, you engage in…
This is the second part of a two-part series I started last week. Last week’s post was part one, the penultimate post of the year. I shared some of the key takeaways and things I learned from my artistic and creative journey to date, having started this weekly blog and newsletter in the spring of this year. This week, in the last post of 2022, I’d like to share a list of podcasts, books, and…
This is a two-part series. This post is part one, the penultimate post of the year. Part 2 will come next week, and it’ll be the last post of 2022. I started this blog in the spring of this year and I’ve written and published a post every week since. I’m immensely grateful to everyone who has read, commented, shared, and/or has been a part of the blog in some way or another. Now, I…
This is a note to self, a journal of sorts. You might find it relevant too… Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reading Supersense by Bruce Hood. Supersense is about the brain science of supernatural beliefs and it covers diverse phenomena like why we’re prone to superstitious beliefs and why we fall for conspiracy theories. As I’ve read on, I’ve found myself more and more fascinated by the capricious, unpredictable, and fallible nature of…
It was Thanksgiving a few days ago across the pond. The holiday has a controversial history and origin story, and the national pastime that follows it the day after is nearly as contentious, at least in some circles. Yet, the sentiment of the holiday that is Thanksgiving is one I hold dear. It’s a day set aside in the calendar when everything stops, business is put on hold, and families and friends reconvene to eat,…
Sometimes song lyrics are literal, sometimes they’re metaphorical, sometimes they hold hidden or double meaning, and sometimes it’s all of the above. Recent events have reminded me of an old song of mine that fits the above description, a song whose lyrics resonate in the literal sense as an account of seasonal weather changes, but also serve as a metaphor for life’s ups and downs. It’s a song I wrote in a previous time, called…
This is a note to self, a journal of sorts. You might find it relevant too… Last Sunday I was a guest on a local radio station, Manchester-based ALLFM. I had an hour-long chat with the lovely host and played some tunes live in the studio. Fast forward six days to Saturday and I took to the stage at the Manchester Coffee Festival. I played to an eclectic audience and had a lovely day out…