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The piece is described by Turibio Santos in his book Heitor Villa Lobos and the guitar as a homage to Bach - and the second section certainly is.. I just think there is a bit of Django Reinhardt in there particularly in the chords and arpeggios of the first section. Villa Lobos was in Paris in the late 1920's - I think - its inconceivable to think that he didn't hear Django .. Anyway I l...

Lifting some chords from Prelude No.3 by Villa Lobos this piece is a light tune - Fridays here! Support the show

The second of the 5 Villa Lobos " Preludes" recorded over the summer - A lot of finger squeak - too late for me to change a habit of a lifetime !   Also on Roberts Hybrid guitar - which has these wonderful witter planetary tuning pegs, a laser cut rosette based on a crop circle pattern and carbon fibre struts....I could go on but you get the idea. Support the show

Most of your average Joe's ( I include myself in that !) think the employers of the world want blood from their employees - Most of the employers think their employees just don't give enough. Support the show

In the late 1960's, when I started to learn the Spanish guitar - as my teacher called it - the 5 preludes by Villa Lobos were concert pieces recorded by the great English players - John Williams, Julian Bream. I have played them for a long time and , as with pieces you get very familiar with, your own bits creep in. During this summer I went back to the sheet music and have recorded them. Thi...

Timing is everything - who you meet , who you fall for, where you end up - totally reliant on the time and place. It could even come down to a matter of seconds - right place - right time. That life changing episode you don't even realise is happening sometimes - its already happened. Support the show

After days of courses, meetings, training and safeguarding off we go again tomorrow .. I'm looking forward to a new term some new enthusiastic pupils and not too much IT training. I don't think the last would happen - wishful thinking on my part. Support the show

In the UK this is indicative of some form of privilege.  The wikipedia bit: A grace-and-favour home is a residential property owned by a  monarch , government, or other owner and leased rent-free to a person as part of the perquisites of their employment, or in gratitude for services rendered. [1] Usage of the term is chiefly British. [1] In the United Kingdom, these homes are mostly owned by the...

There you go .. what a weird expression that is - what does it mean ? It seems to be slightly dismissive, lets move on, type of phrase. The AI bit on google tells me: The phrase "there you go" is an idiom used in various contexts, typically meaning: Here is what you needed : It is often used when presenting something requested, e.g., "There you go, the complete works of William Shak...

The second piece I played during the signing of the register in August 1985 was originally called Song for Sarah -  I didn't include Malcolm as it felt a bit weird at the time. For the 40th anniversary I re-named the piece Song for Malcolm and Sarah. Support the show

Amidst all the turmoil we, at the bottom of the pile, have to try and remain as human as we can despite the inhumanity so often being shown by the great and good who lead us. Support the show

In August 1985 I was asked to play at a wedding. In August 2025 I played at the couple's 40th wedding anniversary - the Ruby Wedding. It was a lovely occasion with children, grandchildren and friends of old all in attendance.  The piece I know and learned as a Spanish Ballad is better known as Romanza. Support the show

Stress and Pressure is there in so many things we all do - from work, home, relationships, children, relatives anything we care about - Oh Lord - this was meant to be a positive contribution. Maybe just put it all into perspective ( whatever that means?) Support the show

This tune was called Saving Grace - for the meaning of the phrase - the one saving grace that prevents something being completely bad. Robert Plant has a new album called Saving Grace - absolutely nothing to do with this piece. I've renamed it Saving Face - it was an attempt to re-work something that I wasn't very happy with. Support the show

Over the summer I've met a few oldies ( like myself) who harp back to the good old days and what they could have done if only etc etc etc..... The message seems to be - you gotta do want you want to do . Nobody really cares about what you do as much as you do. This is an upbeat tune to reflect that self evident truth Support the show

When you look this up there are many versions or interpretations - but they all come back to the same thing; you've misunderstood something.  Day to day life usually rumbles along happily enough until these tension points : a misunderstanding, a chance to become an email warrior and go at someone full on.  There are two tension points in this piece, one close to the beginning one near the end...

Many endeavours we undertake have little what is called "value added" to society. I'm really not sure that matters. Support the show

Quickness of thought and tongue is something I was not blessed with. Some teachers and parents have the ability to wither their charges to nothing with just one short phrase. I think the damage it does to their victims is awful - humiliation doesn't seem to be a great tactic in managing any relationship. I'm probably wrong - I usually am about these things Support the show

There is a lot of anti-immigrant stuff going on in the UK at the moment - targeting hotels and accommodation provided for some of the families. Our country has relied on immigration and diversity to prevent it becoming the place full of little islanders it has the potential to so easily become. Come in - make yourself at home. Support the show

Being an acoustic guitarist who mainly plays without any amplification - I've had the drowning out thing happen many many times - if the rehearsal bit goes well the performance seldom works - everyone seems to turn it up ! I just end up playing as loud as I can .... Support the show

The bank holiday weekend sees the end of the summer holidays for most teachers. Even if you're not back in school straight away - its already in your mind. Have a good term. Support the show

This is a re-working of a tune called "The Hook" - which aligned fishing with the online phishing - which catches the unwary and either does something very unpleasant or the usual - tries to steal from you.  I was caught by a bogus fast food delivery service who apparently over a couple of days ordered their food on my card - at least I'm doing my bit.  Support the show

One idea done to death in a short piece Support the show

A tune written when I was in Spain - listening to a Spanish lady who was in turn  listening to the world service radio. Support the show

This is another one that bombed last year - recorded in about late June 2024. A tale of those clever deceivers who we never actually realise are deceiving us until its way too late. Support the show