Tubby and Simon

A great evening watching (again) the Tubby Hayes documentary A Man In A Hurry, followed by a set from the Simon Spillett Quartet. All in Hitchin.

Too many people have never heard (or even heard of) Tubby Hayes and they should. He was an extraordinarily talented musician who died far too young.

He was 38 when he died in 1973.

Simon Spillett has researched Tubby's life and made a great job it.

He also plays a mean tenor himself and takes Tubby's tunes and adds a bit of a modern feel. Especially with a quartet that is so young. It's fitting that young men should play and understand Hayes' music. It's not just about those of us older jazz lovers.

Beautiful Hitchin sunrise

This was my morning view toward Chania. The little round table at the bottom is where I had breakfast. A lovely setting.

Staying in a hotel like this, on the beautiful island of Crete, is a blessing. Being able to afford both the holiday itself and to take time away from my business counts as success to me.

Tomorrow night, I'll be heading for the airport and a considerable drop in temperature as we land in Luton. I love autumn, so that'll be all right. As long as I have socks, loafers and a jacket rather than sandals, T-shirt and shorts.

I love my job and I love that it allows me this luxury from time to time.

Going underground

Just found this photo. Forgot I took it while on a massive hike to a cave in Crete.

Check out those stalactites!

The Shires - My Universe'

That second album is always tricky and I was pleased on Friday morning to discover that 'My Universe' from The Shires improves on 2015's 'Brave'.

I wasn't a fan of Country music until I heard 'Brave. My favourite track was always 'Jekyll and Hyde' but the whole album has sat resolutely on my playlist for 18 months.

Now 'My Universe' looks like it'll perhaps take that place in my headphones. Not that I love every track. But how many albums would that be true of?

If anything, the duo of songs in the middle of the album that tell elements of the stories of Ben and Chrissie's pasts works best for me. Even brought a tear to my eye. 'Daddy's Little Girl' and 'Everything You Never Gave' are emotional outpourings that reflect on the past but nevertheless present a positivity for the future.

This is probably an album that improves with the listening - two days of dipping into it so far and I'm not bored. My favourite so far might be 'Not Even Drunk Right Now'. Who knows what it'll be next week?