Warm welcome friends. Thank you for being here.

Warmth of the Ages was recorded at friends places and my home studio over the last few years. The songs are about themes; personal and social and intertwined, from holding love and grief, looking at my racism and patriarchy, feeling the power of protest and liberatory expressions of identity and not giving up on those parts of me that need love. That’s the warmth of the ages to me passed down…and down…and down. The warmth in my body, not separate from the warmth of generations – I am that, that is me.

A meditation on this idea by Sister True Dedication gave the album it’s name

Below is the album (band and acoustic versions), lyrics and band pictures.

The album has an extra track “The Stars Taught Me To Read” which is based on the poetry of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. I wrote the song on a collection of his words in honour of the culture of Palestine which has experienced such desecration in it’s  attempted erasure this last year . I have been involved in Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, Quakers in Britain and Pal Action – all who are responding with solidarity with the Palestinian people in different ways.

There is also the beginning of a journey with a podcast and a live film to be published every month. These are conversations with people I’ve met on my journey as a songwriter: Episode one is with former leader of the Green Party and MEP Caroline Lucas who I met on a retreat earlier this year. We talk about the Right To Roam bill, Caroline’s love of nature and what inspired a life in politics. Alongside is Green of Grasses from the album, a song about the beginnings of the Right To Roam bill; the Mass Trespass action of 1932 in Edale, near Sheffield. I climbed Kinder Scout with my guitar to record the song.

If you’d like to be reminded when the new episodes come out –
let me know and I’ll send you a message.

Then there’s a link and description for my sharing spaces, a place where I’ve been collecting stories from anyone who had personal experience of the themes. Have you a favourite place in nature, have you been on environmental activism for example? There are also sharings on other themes: depression, gender identity, friendship, racial awareness and others.

Lastly another photo of myself with the effervescent, ever-present Naomi Haigh who plays cello on the record. Naomi passed a couple of years ago. A beautiful friend who I feel lives on in me and many others still.

clockwise from top left: Jill Ryan, Jon Ryan, Martha Wright,          Joe, Myles Eastwood, Tim Monkey, Will Saunders, Seth Roberts, Alex Felix Nunn, Monica Max West, Tom Pugh, Sophie Lowendahl, Sergio Costa, Naomi Haigh.

clockwise from top left: Melissa James, Kasia Stephens,
Helena Davies,  Manu Farenzena, Dave Vered,  Sebastien Schuster,
Robbie Campbell, Joshua K,  Doran Amos, Jonathan Ryan, Monica Max West and Li Zhang,