1967 – 1970 

After three years commanding a Troop of tanks in The Royal Dragoons (later to become The Blues and Royals)  in Germany, I had the good fortune to be sent to Canada on a two year Exchange with a Captain from The Royal Canadian Dragoons  This was 1967 and I was twenty four. It was a time of ‘Flower Power’, and ‘I wanna be free man’, was the acknowledged mantra. As nobody knew me, apart from my new Canadian friends, it was a time of great freedom for me.  I was encouraged to  travel extensively, often on my own, sleeping on beaches on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and also  the occasional road verge, after a foray into a nightclub. One night I was aggressively woken up  by the boot of  an officious ‘Mounty’. Some nights were  spent under huge Dawn Redwood trees in the Rockies, having spent the day at the Banff Hotel enjoying the amenities, but choosing  to save my Military pay by not using the hotel  beds. I’m happy  to say I had  many friendships, but I never stayed in one place for very long .This was probably a good thing, but emotionally unsettling it would appear from the songs I’m a travelling man , Can you see I’ve changed and  I’m going Home. I did have a short period of  great happiness and a feeling of complete freedom ,and Two People Free was the result. On the same theme it was a time for experimenting with love songs ,even if some content was mostly in my imagination ,a few of these were  Love Song , My head is full , You Slipped out of myLife  Do You Remember I am happy to say I never ‘Heard Someone Knocking  , but it was one of the first songs Iever wrote. In the sixties the French in Quebec were extremely restless with talk of Secession,  and there were political riots and kidnappings, hence my concluding verse in ‘Canada’ filled with doom and foreboding. This was  a time of Protest and the Vietnam War. I joined the debate with We Were Young   Your Thoughts   She’s An Artist    Come to the river  Where are you going   LittleGirl   Sometimes I was asked to sing at parties and one of the favourites was Postcard

Canada is a very beautiful Country with very friendly people and was a fantastic experience for a young man.I thought I’d return soon after leaving .I haven’t, but the songs remind me of some great experiences.

1. I’m a travelling man
2. Two people free
3. Can you see I’ve changed
4. Love Song
5. Postcard
6. Little Girl
7. You Slipped out of my Life
8. Where are you going
9. She’s An Artist
10. Do You Remember
11. Your Thoughts
12. Canada
13. We Were Young
14. Come to the river
15. I heard Someone Knocking
16. My head is full
17. I’m going Home