Snippets

Well, we have been enjoying the fantastic weather, yesterday we went for a long overdue walk across the fields. One field was purple in colour, I'm not sure exactly what was growing there, but it had purple flowers. This looked absolutely stunning against the blue sky and the other green fields. Of course it was lovely to be in the sun and feel warm for a change. Then last night we had a barbecue and ate al fresco which was also very pleasant, it did get a bit chilly towards the end though, but fortunately the house was warm inside.
Today I am full of anxiety, I don't know whether it is pre- festival nerves or something to do with the fact that I have been a victim of identity fraud and am in the process of sorting it all out. I have to constantly tell myself to put my energy into creating as worrying is unproductive.
We had a good rehearsal the other night anyway, no major hitches which was a relief.
I'm off outside now to soothe my soul a little.

Cling News

It's all go in the Cling household as preparations now start in earnest for Kelvedon Free Music Festival, I'm starting to get really excited and looking forward to it immensely. The weekend before I have decided to enter a charity run, I think it is about a five mile run through the forest, it's a yearly event , so if I can win then it will be good publicity! And now that I've told everyone I'm entering, I can't back out.
After Kelvedon, we are going on a well deserved break to Cape Verde Islands and upon our return we will be preparing for the rest of our festivals this year. we are now confirmed to play at Jackdaws Birthday Festival and also Alchemy Festival, plus another to be confirmed.
We are also in the process of signing a deal for Bodiless and Free, with a small label in the Netherlands, it will be interesting to see how we go down over there and opens us up to a whole new audience.
As for the fox, it transpires that my Mum has been feeding him on all sorts of scraps, even bananas. This made me feel so sorry for the wretched creature, I went and bought him some food. As long as he doesn't upset Coco, then I will try to help him. The RSPCA said if we can get him to come regularly to our garden then they can send someone round to catch him and then hopefully they can sort out his leg and everything, otherwise he's not going to make it, poor thing.
Details of our gigs can be found on our profile pages, and of course our website www.clingmusic.co.uk

Foxes and Bees

I know when we moved into this house we were told that we might see a bit of wildlife in the garden, but this is ridiculous. The lame fox keeps on returning,although I wasn't too amused to look up one day and find him dragging his backside all along the front lawn like dogs do after they have had a poo, I must admit that he has managed to make me feel guilty about chasing him off all the time. The thing is he comes so close to the house, he was even sniffing around Coco's litter tray (yes, we probably have the only cat in the universe that uses a litter tray outside!) The other thing is he if full of fleas and mange, poor thing. Despite numerous calls to various organisations, no-one seems interested in helping him. Anyway, the other night at about 1am, Coco wanted to go out, Gerald noticed the fox lurking around the front door, tried to chase him off, but to no avail, the fox just stared at him and didn't budge. So Gerald sneaked round the back of the house , armed with a torch and a tambourine. Although that would be a terrifying sight and sound for most creatures, even a person would be a bit alarmed to have such an apparition leaping out at them from the darkness, our dear friend was unperturbed, he did slink off into the darkness briefly , but was waiting at the front door again a few minutes later. One wonders how it's all going to end, I hope he is caught and helped soon as he looks hungry.
We finally found an explanation for the curious humming sound that we have been hearing recently in the living room, late at night. When it was hot last week and we were sitting outside, we noticed all these bumble bees kept disappearing into a hole in the wall by a pipe that runs underneath the house and realised exactly what was going on down there. At first I was a bit concerned, I kept having visions of waking up one morning and finding the living room covered in bees, like some horror movie. Fortunately beekeepers are more interested in helping than the fox people, and a couple have been in touch with us. Apparently bumble bees are quite harmless and their swarms not much bigger than 50, they will also leave us after the summer, at which point we must block up the hole. Until then we must live in harmony with each other and consider ourselves fortunate that they have chosen to visit us as they are an endangered species.
Hmmmmm

Foxy Business

This afternoon I was just warming up my voice to do some recording, when lo and behold, I looked up to see a fox staring at me, he was not more than a metre away, but obviously behind the patio door. I shrieked excitedly for Gerald to come and have a look as the creature did not seem perturbed by my company at all, in fact when we opened the door and went outside to peer at him, he didn't even flinch. In all our wisdom, we came to the conclusion that there was definitely something wrong with it, he was behaving like someone's dog. Since he was also limping, Gerald said I should give him some chicken, I was astounded, after all this is Coco's garden and I have never been that keen on feeding wild animals as it leads to nothing but trouble. I was then accused of being cruel, well what about poor Coco, why should she have to go wandering around in danger of being attacked. Anyway, I begrudgingly donated some chicken, in the meantime Coco was going mad as she had spotted the intruder. We decided to call the animal rescue centre and were told that this particular fox was quite famous and had been spotted numerous times. The lady on the phone then told us to feed it cat food and try and keep it in the garden till someone could come and collect it. Whatever next?Let it come inside? Of course an altercation ensued, in which I was once again accused of being cruel, then Coco got out the door and charged fiercely at it, hissing with claws outstretched and it was actually more scared of her than us! Anyway, I needn't have worried because after wandering gingerly around the garden expecting it to all of a sudden dart out the shrubbery , I was relieved to ascertain that it had, in fact, moved on. I suppose he was quite sweet really....

Snippets

Hi everyone, hope you all had a great weekend, just getting ready for the photos tonight, Gerald said I should be writing blogs everyday and that if I couldn't think of anything to write then I was a sad case!
Well, he has been working exceptionally hard as usual, we have a D&B remix of Slipping Away that we use on our live set and that is the first track to be finished for our Live Cd. I can assure you that once you listen to it , you will be amazed by what he has achieved.
We have just been offered another festival as well at the end of August , so we will be posting details about that soon. Of course at the end of the month, we are travelling up to Swindon to do the radio interview, I suppose it we be quite scary as it will be a live broadcast and of course I will be singing live, so there's no margin for error.
I'm enjoying the spring, the warmer days and the lighter evenings, watching the garden come to life. I'm still running despite my knee having some kind of injury, it really hurts in certain positions like walking up stairs for example. I don't know what I did to it. I'm still playing the guitar and my strumming is getting quite good now, well significantly better than it has ever been so I'm glad that I persisted, it took me ages, but now I am pleased, and now I have to get ready to go out, so I bid you farewell...

I'm back

Hello it's me, yes I'm here, it has been absolutely ages since I've written a blog, shocking and disgraceful really as I'm always inviting people to read it, but perhaps I needed the break. I'm looking forward to our photo session next week, mainly because it's going to be done properly, by that I mean professionally, in a studio with makeup artist and all. So it will be interesting to see what I look like in the finished product. See how music involves so many other things as well. Be prepared to work very hard if you get into music.
Anyway, yesterday I had the pleasure of going for afternoon tea in one of the most beautiful hotels I have ever visited. It nestles in the heart of London and from the outside just looks like a very old fashioned building. When you enter however, you are swept up a white marble staircase into the most opulent surroundings and as you look up you realise that the entire ceiling is glass, it is quite magnificent. I love going to places like that, London has so many well- hidden secrets.
Nyo survived another nasty accident , her cage was toppled over by a strong gust of wind when I was outside with her the other day. That little bird has had more lives than a cat!! She is getting so old now and spends most of her time sleeping, just like a cat.
Speaking of cats, we grow more and more attached to Coco every day. She has the sweetest nature, like when I return home from somewhere, she charges up the passage to greet me, she is quite plump and her belly almost drags from side to side as she runs, she looks so cute.
Enough of my ramblings, I have a load of admin to do!

The Tree

Look at this majestic tree, a sentinel of the fields across which I go running. Gerald said how amazing it was that I have such scenery on my runs, I must agree, no wonder I have such a feeling of well being afterwards. I love the sense of power and freedom it gives me.
Think of how many years this tree has watched silently over the landscape, how many changes it must have seen. How did it come to be the only tree left in an area that was probably all forest before?
Stability, endurance and strength. There is a lot to be learned from the wisdom of a tree.