Monday 23 July 2018

LOST THE ORANGE STAYED WITH THE MOUTH

The very small spoken word track entitled THE BIG HAVE NOT can be heard on www.skcsongs.com and on Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/the-big-have-not 

Also on Bandcamp:I had a struggle with the image which was initially contrived from a real orange and the real mouth and the eyes of a mean man but eventually I decided to loose the orange and stay with the mouth - hence the title of this post 

Below is the black and white image I intend to use wherever an accompanying image is required 



Some of my words were confirmed by comments from the man who contributed to the following article 

Monday 16 July 2018

GROWING FEATHERS

This morning I discovered there are many reasons why my blackbird is no longer waiting for me on my window sill or in the nearby tree and most of them can be found in a 2013 BBC article Where Have All My Garden Birds Gone 
The link is http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/natureuk/entries/188f15e1-f71b-431e-8999-43dc578b4cd4

And of those reasons I am choosing to post the following one This is partly because I have a spoken word track which includes a few words about growing feathers 


'As we get into the end of the breeding season, a lot of your garden regulars will enter the moult. This is the time of year when many birds lose their feathers, and replace them with fresh new ones ahead of the winter. Many juvenile birds will lose their young plumage, ready to emerge as adults. Whilst necessary, this process puts a lot of pressure on a little bird. The energy cost to grow a new set of feathers is high, and losing a primary wing feather or two can really make a difference when trying to evade a predator. For this reason, a lot of the birds in your garden will lay low, skulking in bushes and hiding in hedges.'


The article may also help to explain more about my perceived close affinity with blackbirds- athough in my case a tendency to lay low and skulk is not restricted to any particular season 


As for the 'growing of feathers': they belong in a selection of words entitled ON THE WAY TO SONG which I compiled months ago The words are 


And where are the birds 

In all this rain
They've disappeared completely
From the park and down the lane

Surely having feathers
Makes them immune
Perhaps if I could grow some
I could be immune to you 

The recordings were mastered and then foolishly uploaded onto Bandcamp Foolishly because as the title suggests they were on the way to becoming something - and were not yet there And this reflects another questionable tendency i.e an impatience to move too quickly on from an old task to a new one 


However I am also not against going backwards and/or regressing (a bit) and I may reapproach On the Way to Song and decide what if anything I should do with it now


Friday 13 July 2018

THE REFINDING OF FINDING VIVIAN MAIER

It was a very special moment when I learned about Vivian Maier 
It was particularly special because it happened around the time I had written some words about being a ‘shadow of myself’ There are a few related comments and images on my old web site at http://www.sheilakcameron.com/id192.html and it was there I relocated the article about her 

But today, in a conversation about a different shadow - the one of the blackbird with the sultana - I was reminded again of this incredible photographer And having found her again I knew the best thing I could do with my time today was to share the video with anyone who might visit this site
The link is http://www.vivianmaier.com/film-finding-vivian-maier/#.W0iEAtvdbsc.email

There are hundreds of other links about her and about her work but I think this is a good place to start

Thursday 12 July 2018

NOTHING BUT THE BLACKBIRD

- and the slates on the roof of an outhouse, the blackbird's shadow, the sultana in the blackbird's mouth, the shadow of the sultana in the blackbird's mouth, two sultanas on the slates, the shadow of a few leaves from tree in the neighbours garden and (unable to be neatly cropped off without losing what I wanted to keep - and anyway a genuine feature of the image) an unwanted extra from a pigeon


This bird sings, flies and loves sultanas 
This photograph is/was on the web site at www.skcsongs.com The same caption was used and it is/was there alongside the song DON'T SIGHT EVEN SLIGHTLY which had been very recently rearranged by Wild Biscuit at 
www.wildbiscuit.com 

The image will probably be reluctantly moved from there when the next song entitled DO YOU WANT TO TELL ME AGAIN is ready

Meanwhile DON'T SIGH can be heard on the SKC site and on Bandcamp at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/dont-sigh-even-slightly-6

Tuesday 10 July 2018

FALLS ON THE RISE

Quoting from somewhere or other there has been an increase in falls 'from falling out of bed to taking a tumble out of a tree' So I guess the falls must apply to more than the elderly as I personally have not seen many elderly persons up trees

However, there have been times when I (personally again) did not take sufficient care to stay on my feet  Now admittedly streets covered with snow and ice was a factor but whatever the weather the advice in this song still applies 

I had thought when writing it it might prove to be a useful reminded to others and have continued to think so - so here it is again - in a shortened and remixed version The lyrics matching those on the track are being made available but the image will remain the same as before

It was on Bandcamp and the new version has now replaced the old one and can be found at https://sheilakcameron.bandcamp.com/track/feet-feet-feet

Saturday 7 July 2018

THREE LAURAS

There was Laura the movie which I loved and Laura the song which I liked very much and now there is the Laura who has written a review of Those They Chose And apart from making some very
 encouraging comments which I am appreciating very much she recognizes the frailties of my work and mentions them in a way I experience as very real and thoughtful

I particularly liked the following ‘Brilliantly simple in its sophistication; this is not a technically perfect album. The singers voice is limited in range, the musicianship often apparently pedestrian. The power is in the integrity of the artist, and the belief of the listener’. 

In a while - when I have taken on what she says - and enjoyed it some more - I will probably provide a link to the whole review on here and perhaps elsewhere

PS! The desire to keep it to myself while I continue to take on what she says - and enjoy it some more - has been overcome by the desire to show off a bit!

The link to Laura and the review is http://www.fatea-records.co.uk/magazine/reviews/SKC/

Thursday 5 July 2018

FROM THE HEART OF YORKSHIRE

Tony Haynes tells me he played GOODBYE BABY BLUES - Track 13 from THOSE THEY CHOSE - on his mixcloud show FAB Folk and Blues (Wetherby, for the Heart of Yorkshire) 8-10pm Wednesdays.
The link is https://www.mixcloud.com/tonyhaynes52/midweek-midnight-mayhem-4th-july-2018/

TONY HAYNES