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Thursday November 19th 2009
The year is drawing in and the period running from autumn into winter feels like a dark curtain descending. The clocks have gone back and there is cold damp weather. For me there is a powerful energy at this time of year and the seasonal shift is either positive or negative. This year it's good.
My companion Ginger the farm cat feels depressed now that the fine weather has gone and has moved into semi hibernation mode. She climbs up and finds a place on top of me while I’m playing the guitar and often falls asleep.
I read late at night, and my house is full of all kinds of unusual books. Currently reading a biography of Hermann Hesse by Ralph Freedman which is full of detail and insight. Hesse is an author with whom I felt a close affinity in my teens and early twenties. His books helped to shape part of my thinking and I still value him as a kindred spirit.
Sunday
October 18th 2009
For ten years I have lived in a rural location not far
from London. It’s surprisingly remote and there is a mysterious ‘spirit
of place’ here which appears to help my music. I often
feel that I was destined to live here and I’m inspired
by the magical landscapes.
A few years ago I discovered that the house, which is a converted
farm building, sits directly over the site of a medieval rectory
where a well known and intriguing 17th century figure grew up.
Fragments of the ancient house remain in walls and old beams.
There is only a farm cat for company but I’ve enjoyed
the isolation. This has been the most productive period
of my life. My days here are now numbered, and the time has
come to write down a few of my thoughts and experiences.
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