Summertime

Many Years ago my father used to listen to old records and he had a very wide range in music. One he had on vinyl was Porgy and Bess, and from the listing, the one I enjoyed the most was Summertime. I would sit on the floor by the fireplace listening to the rich voices and wonderful lyrics rolling out of the speakers, humming and swaying along eyes often closed imaging I was there, I was part of the story. My love for story came from my dad, he would read to me and my brother at night when he was home, he would tell us stories as we drove round Devon, and I spent years watching the Forestry Commission land for the wolf! Always felt the tall pines were much ore likely to have wolves than the normal woodland.

Sadly I cant even hold a tune in a bucket, in fact at school where choir was compulsory and the lengths some kids went to avoid it were quite extreme, I was looking forward to it. The day the auditions note went up (to decide where you sang in the choir) the teacher stopped me and said to not bother coming, he had heard me in the corridors singing and didn't feel it would be fair to turn me down in front of the rest. At the time I was a bit non-plussed, but over time I have come to regret not going anyway. I wasn't the only child who didn't get sent to choir but we were very few. For all that I love listening to good music, and I esp. love stage music and big music.

My Dad's collection ran to Under Milk Wood, and quite a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan and well as the likes of Bizet's Carmen. My growing up was full of noise and music, of voices from all over the world with accents and rich tones that I didn't hear in Devon or at Grannies in Liverpool. I wasn't into Duran Duran, more Tom Jones, which made me a bit of an oddity when they talked pop at school. I bought Smash Hits to try and keep up and one week it had a poster of a girl all dolled up which I pinned to my study door cause I liked the image. I doubt I read the magazine and I found her on the cover I must have just taken out the poster and handed the magazine on. I like the image, didn't find out for months it was Madonna!


My 'to work to' playlist has all sorts of music from skyfall, to siggur ros and many more, which I enjoy when I get a chance. I occasionally add bits but very rarely take any away, it is a very fluid thing. I started this thinking about the sunshine and blue skies but all it has done is blow all day so much like my song that started this the day has been bitter sweet. 

A less reflective mood for next week.