I suppose one of the flaws with this sort of blog is that the more I have to write about, the less time there is to do it in. So when I’m running about all over the place doing gigs every few days, I have little opportunity (let alone enthusiasm) to sit down and write about them. Similarly, when things are a bit quieter and I have ample time to chronicle my adventures, there’s not really much to write about.

The past few weeks serve as a good demonstration of this fundamental principle, as I’ve had a number of last-minute bookings arrive to fill my diary in the run-up to Christmas. And annoyingly, they all seem to have been hundreds of miles from each other, so that the time I haven’t been playing has largely been spent travelling! I did plan to draw a map showing my recent journeys but it turned out rather messy, something like this:
 

 
Therefore, instead I’ll simply decorate my tales with some mileages, to give an idea of the distances I’ve covered as the crow flies. (Did I tell you I’m actually a crow?)
 

I said goodbye to the month of November, and bid a familiar “Oh hi there, how ya doin’?” to the month of December, in Dublin. My rehearsal pencil and I made the voyage over to participate in the Irish Film & Pops Orchestra for the third year running, and enjoyed a wonderful selection of repertoire which you can see here displayed:
 

 
To stop it feeling left out, I took my bassoon along as well and let it join in the concert:
 

 
The occasion also gave an excellent opportunity to catch up with my old friend Darth, whose presence I haven’t felt since…
 

 
Should you wish to peruse more photos ‘n’ things relating to the occasion, you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/irishfilmandpopsorchestra/
 
Miles travelled: 332 (Manchester to Dublin and back)
 

It was not long after that that I dutifully struck up a chorus of ‘Hi Ho, Hi Ho’, and off to London I went. This time I was playing a variety of Christmas musique in the reception area of some office complex near Paddington. Here is a photo of me performing, although you may find me difficult to spot because I dressed up very convincingly as a Christmas tree:
 

 
Miles travelled: 163 (Manchester to London)
 

The next stop on my world tour was my regular territory of Scarborough high street, where I joined my colleagues from The Jelly Roll Jazz Band to perform for a late-night (well, 5:00 till 7:30) shopping event on 5th December. Sadly there exists no evidence, photographic, videographic or anecdotal, to verify that this occasion ever actually happened. So you’ll just have to take my word for it and accept my promise that, honest, it’s true!

Miles travelled: 192 (London to Scarborough)
 

That weekend I made another excursion to the London vicinity, to attend a wedding of some friends. But I didn’t play anything (unless you count a bit of ukulele), and therefore on that basis it’s not really any of your business.

Miles travelled: 330 (Scarborough to London-ish, then back to Manchester)
 

I then had a couple of days to recover, but it wasn’t long before I was back on the clari game yet again, this time performing for a New Orleans-style funeral near Manchester. The occasion marked my debut with the Silk Street Jazz Band, with whom I almost had a gig about 4 years ago. And what a fine bunch of players they are – hopefully they’ll have me back within the next 4 years!

Miles travelled: 22 (Manchester to Manchester-ish and back)
 

The following morning I scraped the mould off my baritone saxophone (you think I’m joking…) and plonked myself on yet another train, ready to voyage south once again. London-bound I was, this time destined for illustrious venue The Jazz Café in Camden, where I would be playing flute, clari and mould-free baritone with The Sam Jewison Orchestra.
 

 
While I was away, I came up with the idea of doing a remake of 2001: A Space Odyssey, featuring my very own obelisk:
 

 
This one actually turned out to be a very easy gig. We all turned up ready to perform 2 hours of music, but in the end we only had to play one note and the audience were fully satisfied:
 

Miles travelled: 326 (Manchester to London and back)
 

That weekend I journeyed back to Scarborough to fulfil my annual duty of decorating the Christmas tree. But I didn’t play anything (unless you count a bit of bassoon), and therefore on that basis it’s not really any of your business.

Miles travelled: 186 (Manchester to Scarborough and back)
 

Before I knew it, it was Wednesday 18th December, and time to pay a return visit to the jazz club in Southport with The Dixie Beats. So I did that, and we played a lot of tunes, and we had some mince pies and some pasta, and then I returned to Manchester to get a few hours of sleep. But not before getting a picture of this sign, which I particularly liked:
 

 
Miles travelled: 68 (Manchester to Southport and back)
 

After all that fun and excitement (not to mention pork pie related signage), you’d think I’d be ready for a bit of a rest. And you’d be right, however I still had one more set of gigs to fulfil before resting my reeds for a bit. So after getting home from Southport in the wee small hours of 19th, I then had to be up bright and early to catch a flight all the way to Guernsey!

My purpose? To combat a national bassoon shortage by playing my musical drainpipe in the annual Christmas concerts of Guernsey Choral and Orchestral Society! We played the same programme on both 20th and 21st, which included well-known carols such as While Shepherds Watched, more modern choral pieces like John Rutter’s Star Carol, and some olde music like Handel’s Utrecht Te Deum (with its never-ending and never-breathing bassoon part). I personally think the event was a great success, but you can judge for yourself by having a listen to the hightlights broadcast here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p07vsfqb
 

 
Miles travelled: 540 (Manchester to Guernsey and back)
 

Since returning from the Islands of Channel, I’ve been enjoying a rather fine Chrismas holiday, which has given me a chance to catch up on my backlog of eggnog that’s been building up over the year. But that’s not to say I haven’t been making any musical noises. Over the past week these have included:
 

• Christmas Eve busking with The Jelly Roll Jazz Band.
• Playing some clari in a nativity service.
• Playing my special homemade lampophone in the annual Boxing Day Comedy Band, round Scarborough sea front:
   
  

   
  Can we also just take a moment to appreciate the true majesty of the lampophone? What you can’t see from the photo is that it lights up whenever you use the right hand keys or the left hand little finger cluster:
   

  

 

• Recording some trad. jazz clarionet for You’re My Cadbury Flake, the latest song to be added to James Ure and the Fridge Doors’ upcoming album Banquet.

And that, laddies and gentlewomen, is just about it for the year of 2019! I do, however, have one more gig to fulfil tomorrow night, as I travel all the way to Reading to play for a private New Year’s Eve party with The Jelly Roll Jazz Band. I might even get a video clip or something for your amusement. But we’ll see.

For now, though, all that remains to do is for me to add up the grand total of miles I’ve travelled since the end of November. And the winner is…