Took a couple of weeks away from the study, but didn’t take a guitar. And I regretted it badly.
Thought Mahon, main city of Menorca, would have a decent music shop or two, but the only one was closed for its own holidays.

Wrote copious notes beside the pool and on the beach. Lyrics in embryo. Have barely taken an hour off since getting home last weekend. I still have the old journalist’s way about me when it comes to getting a promise settled. Deadlines work for me. Book the studio, book the musicians, much money committed, and the work begins. I write all the time, in truth, but the serious business of recording demos of new songs really only happens in my world once the deadline, any deadline, a promise, a commitment, makes its presence ominous enough to panic me slightly in the small hours.

We horse-trekked through holm oak woodland on the little island and chartered boats in Fornells. Hot sun, cool pool, then back to our own Barbecue Summer. Do they ever get it right?

Andy Fearon is working long hours on our updated website. Should be ready to go Live in a few weeks’ time. It’s sexy. Inter-active. Forum coming. Comments. A gig report area (Karen? Deborah?). We’ll have to give you a private password, dear girls.

Have felt pangs of mea culpa regarding thanks due to a few kind people. Stephen Mungavin sent me a fine photo book of The Highlands. Thank you; Martin Patching sent his own Live pix. Perhaps he’ll let us know how goes his health? I mention these guys here because in a mad clear-out at our office their letters/cards went missing, along of course with their addresses. I wasn’t there when the clear-out happened, but mea culpa all the same. Took too long responding.

Got a DVD of the ChildLine Rocks show. Looks good. Trudy intends selling it to raise more funds. I plan to approach her for permission to put up our A Friend For Life performance on the new website.
My horses have had a period of hit ‘n miss lately. Vacario ran in soft ground and finished a poor fourth, going off 10/11f. Given quick ground in future, he’ll surely win again. Land Hawk, the 3-year-old in Newmarket, bled on a gallop several weeks ago, and was put on the easy list. Jeff Pearce says he’s fine now, back galloping and showing no signs of the problem recurring. Tried to watch the Vacario outing Live from Menorca on my laptop. Those dongles, they don’t work do they. Weak signal, coming and going, never, never 3G as they boast in their ads. I’ve got two friends who threw theirs away and let the contract run its course. Had 3G signal on my mobile, Vodafone, just like the dongle, so what’s the excuse? And what’s the point of the gadget when it causes such frustration!

Been looking at YouTube late at night. Fascinating. I caught my cover of Dylan’s Love Minus Zero – No Limit, then the list beside it flicked to a list of vids of Dylan himself. Some wonderful Desolation Row variations. Many dozens of me and the band. How’s it done? Phones? I don’t mind a bit. Don’t approve of video cameras though. That’s a form of theft, compared to a phone film for YouTube. YouTube. Fascinating. Kept me up past the dawn.

SH