A few random thoughts for a new week

I have been a bit tardy on the blog front over the last week. This was mostly because I was away in Scotland for a wedding, then I had the small matter of a big football game yesterday, which rather absorbed my concentration.

I usually write a Sunday Reflection blog. I simply didn't have time yesterday. As sometimes happens, I had about three different themes going through my mind and I couldn't pick one. The first theme was about the randomness of the symbols we choose to rally around. In recent days, the flying of flags has become a hot topic. The Union Jack is a rather interesting flag. It is a conglomeration of three flags. The flags of St George, St Andrew and St Patrick. All flags are basically symbols of the Cross. Yesterday was the Feast of The Holy Cross, which all of our flags signify. I have never truly understood why Christians venerate the cross. It was a barbaric method for repressive regimes to murder opponents. Various priests and theological experts have tried to explain to me why the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ transformed it into a symbol of hope and triumph over death, but in truth I am too thick to really understand this. The early Christians used the symbol of the fish, as Jesus fed 5,000 people with seven  of them and some of his Apostles were fishermen. It was a symbol of sharing. I have always preferred it. Having said that, crosses make visually more appealling flags. If the Union Jack was three different fishes, I don't think it would look too good. I've always wondered what Jesus would make of it, walking into churches with images of him murdered on the cross everywhere? I am not entirely sure the early church were into design, but they certainly picked a symbol that is easy to reproduce and is instantly recognisable. I thought about some of the other symbols we see. The British Rail double arrow, the MOT centre triple triangle and the Olympics five coloured circles. All are simple and work well. It has always puzzled me just how few football clubs have logos that are easy to draw. Anyway enough of that.

There is an article in the Guardian today about the decline of grassroots venues. This is a topic which is a massive concern to me. Regular readers will know my views on this. It directly affects my business. There are numerous issues causing an almost perfect storm for small bands, venues and promoters. The more I look at the issues, the more I realise that if we want to save our UK music industry, we will have to do more than just talk and sign petitions. I am working on a plan, which I hope might make a difference and actually be a blueprint for a recovery. I have come to the conclusion that where we need to start is not by working out what someone else can do, but starting to say "What can I do". In some ways, the scene has parallels with 1975/6 when music was stale-, but things started happening under the radar. The punk explosion was a comming together not just of musicians, but writers, artists, fashion designers and all sorts of other wierd and wonderful people. For maybe eighteen months, the lid was off  and all sorts of brilliant music that would never have seen the light of day emerged. Clubs like The Roxy emerged. Most nights there were probably a hundred people or less there, but the spark was lit. I am an optimist and I hope that something similar is stirring. What we cannot do is wait for someone else to do it for us.

Beer has been on my mind lately. As I mentioned, I was at a wedding in Scotland and drunk rather too much of the stuff. I was saddened to read that CAMRA have cancelled the Great British Beer Festival for next year. This years was a bit of a financial disaster. CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) was, like Punk Rock, a reaction to large Breweries taking over the industry and destroying local breweries who made great made beer. They thought we should all drink bland beers which were cheap to make and easy to keep. The fruits of their efforts made my life infineitely better over the last 50 years. I love decent beers. But like the music industry, it appears that the corporates are winning again. I go into a lot of pubs. I travel great distances to sample interesting beers at pubs with character. Like many things in life, pubs only really work when they are run by people who love running pubs and enjoy the culture. It is the same with breweries. It rather saddens me that people seem to be taken in by clever branding of booze, rather than taste. If  I wasn't fully committed running my music business, I'd open a pub. I'd love to make a proper pub that had all of the elements I love in pubs and none of the things that annoy me. If you are a millionaire, with spare cash and a desire to disrupt, and you'd like to open a brilliant pub in Mill Hill, I'd love to help you spend your money getting it right! 

So that is a potted summary of what I was thinking about, but couldn't decide.  They say a week is a long time in politics. It certainly feels like that right now. I don't really have anything which my readers might find interesting to add to the Angela Rayner or Peter Mandelson debate. The only observation I can possibly make is that Sir Keir Starmer really should employ some ordinary people as advisors, who might inform him what the general public think of all this. 

And finally, after the appearance of Elon Musk on the screens at a 'British Patriot' rally, I was inspired to write a brand new song. It is called "This is not America". I am hoping to get the boys playing it on Wednesday when we rehearse. As so often, such ideas pop into my head on the way to work. Here is the seed, recorded walking down Bunns Lane. It won't even sound like this next time you hear it. But it may give you an insight into the songwriting process!