(Checking In Then Checking Out Then Checking In Then) Checking Out Of London (Again)
A couple of weeks ago me and the band headed down the M1 to Camden. It was great to play in such an historic venue as The Dublin Castle and in an area with my own family history from my mother June being born in Randolph Street. If you follow the John Hackett Band Facebook page you’ll have seen Jeremy’s rather lovely account of our trip straight from the quill of the post master himself. If you haven’t already “hit that like button” (as the youth say) then maybe this is perfect time for you to go forth and do it!
Last week I found myself back in London to attend ‘A Service Of Thanksgiving And Reflection on the 80th Anniversary of Christian Aid’ at Westminster Abbey. I’ve supported Christian Aid (a charity that works with people of all faiths and none) for many years now and it’s sometimes easy to fall into negative comparisons of fund-raising amounts, but sitting in a sea of other Christian Aid supporters really sent the message home that all of us working together a little can do a whole lot of good. It was an incredibly moving occasion and an absolute joy to hear Elgar’s Anthem hear sung by the Westminster Abbey Special Service Choir (directed by Matthew Jorysz with organist Paul Greally). And I was taken back to my school days in Victoria when the congregation joined together to sing the wonderful hymn ‘All My Hope On God Is Founded’ as the composer, Herbert Howells, was the examiner for my grade 8 flute exam when I was 17.
I stayed with my mother June and Stepfather Mike the night before and our meal out seemed to set a trend for me as it felt like I was flitting from restaurant to restaurant even after I got back up north to Sheffield (yes, it’s a difficult life having friends and family who insist on saving you from your hatred of cooking by taking you to restaurants instead). It was off to a vegan Thai restaurant in Gloucester Road with my old school chum Nick Clabburn and artist Peter Rudden. With Nick being the lyricist for ‘Checking Out Of London’ and ‘Another Life’ and Peter painting the cover for my ‘Moonspinner’ album, does this qualify as a working lunch?
Then in the evening we all caught up with my brother Steve and my sister-in-law Jo for dinner and an invite to go back to their house to play… Nick said it was like watching a couple of little boys with their toys when I had a go on Steve’s electric guitar setup and he showed us all the amazing sounds he can get from his myriad collection of effects pedals. To round off the evening, Steve gave me a copy of ‘The Lamb Stands Up Live At The Royal Albert Hall’ which I’m incredibly proud to have been a part of and that you’ll all be able to get your hands on soon!
The excitement doesn’t end with our looking forward to the Trading Boundaries cruise in July next year when I shall be joining Steve, Rob, Amanda and Nick Magnus for an acoustic show.
But before that I have a goodly number of gigs with my own band as you can see below. This weekend we point the Bongo south towards Honiton and Penzance once more accompanied by the wonderful Heather Findlay.
We hope to see you there!