Guitar Emporium

The conflict in Iran is confusing, contradictory and makes you wonder what is the real reason for all this conflict  - or is it just one or two leaders belligerence? Support the show

Seasonal affective disorder can affect mental health throughout the year - but its often associated with winter - tiredness and sluggishness. I don't think it affects most people but "woah" this winter has been awful - it feels like it may finally be coming to an end Support the show

I was reading stuff about some Arab states being keen to get big rock bands over to their part of the world to perform to their audiences - sounds great to me - and ( I would imagine) very lucrative for the bands that get invited. Support the show

Happy Birthday - 6 years on - and how your life has changed - for the better. Support the show

I'm not sure if this is the case but one of the lessons of learning from history is not to make the same mistakes as our predecessors . I'm not sure we're doing very well at it. Support the show

Ever been the wrong side of a trend ?  I've heard the phrase many times - and they're right . Support the show

Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness ) is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective criteria , rather than on the basis of bias , prejudice , or preferring the benefit to one person over another for improper reasons. I have little sympathy for those who get publicly vilified for bad things they have done but every so often our wonderfully imp...

Continuing with yesterdays pursuit of an approach to jazz guitar - this is another studied study of the style- not even close ... Support the show

I've been fascinated with Jazz guitar over the years - but never studied it for any length of time. The music of Philip Catherine has been something that I keep returning to - the effortless way he moves around acoustic and electric guitars has always been great to listen to. This piece was an achingly studied pastiche of that "effortlessness"  - doesn't sound anything like him...

As the rain continues in the UK - No days without rain since the New Year out in the sticks its getting very muddy.  Support the show

I was talking to a shop keeper about how quick children are with IT - compared to the oldies they are so confident and competent they barely notice it. Support the show

Its the Weekend - enjoy the break, take it easy, do something just for you if you can. Support the show

The Winter Olympics are usually quite remote from us in the UK. We had Torvill & Dean once a long long time ago - but now the skeleton and we're winning medals. OK I don't in any way understand the skill involved - but who cares we won something... Support the show

We all play down getting hurt - usually until its so bad we can't hide it any more. Support the show

These choices come up again and again - social occasions, job opportunities, life choices - may be I should call it indecision Support the show

The tune for this piece arrived in the middle of the night - I don't have a problem sleeping but when I wake up I can worry about the most insignificant things for hours.. Support the show

Monday in mid-February in the UK is not all that amazing: grey skies, rain everywhere, but Shrove Tuesday just around the corner - pancake day ! That breaks the week up nicely  Support the show

Some good things come along often entirely by chance and very rarely- don't seek out an explanation just enjoy it Support the show

The 14th February is St Valentines day. According to legend , St. Valentine signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and healed from blindness . Another common legend states that he defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from being conscripted to serve in war. He has become associated with romantic love.. Todays...

One for Friday the 13th - the wiki bit... Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition . It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday , which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year. For a month to have a Friday the 13th, the first day of the month must be a Sunday . The Origins Unluckiness of...

That excruciating moment when you are literally high and dry - I've been there more times than I care to remember - and it still sends a shiver of horror down my spine, Support the show

Where the dots are - add your own word.  In talking to a colleague about how her Christmas went she came out with - At least no-one died !!. A very dark and negative positive - in a very strange way it was quite funny. Apologies for the very dark sense of humour. Support the show

The Epstein saga will rumble on for quite a while I'm sure. Donald Tusk( the Polish Primeminister) has an interesting take on the affair. ( From the Daily Mail ) American intelligence experts believe Epstein was inducted into the world of espionage via business deals with Robert Maxwell, the disgraced media magnate who - like Epstein - died in murky circumstances; in Maxwell's case his b...

There is one interpretation of sacrifice as requiring the ritual slaughter of an animal or person - this is not the interpretation here. The version I'm using here is "the act of giving up or losing something of value for the sake of something else" much less dramatic but still I think significant for most of us. Support the show

Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British former politician, lobbyist and diplomat. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Hartlepool from 1992 to 2004 and served in the Cabinets of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as Minister without portfolio , Secretary of State for Northern Ireland , Business Secretary and First Secretary of State . He served as British Ambassador...