Ramsfold

1986 – 2012

We drove down to Ramsfold in October 1986. Polly, Linley and Liza the nanny in my company car and I drove in my green morris traveller with wooden strips on the side. A year later we were surrounded by fallen trees with no electricity or telephone for about a week. The Great Storm was a chastening experience and I still wonder how I survived with limbs intact when all the villagers were out with their chain saws – two or three of them attacking the same branch! I was undoubtedly the least experienced. Commuting, gardening and school visits took up most of my time and, without the angst of London, song writing took a back seat. I was asked to be a God Father to a neighbour’s daughter, Portia Fellows and wrote Dream which I sung at her christening. I was also asked to sing in a few concerts for charity and Carol and Always look are fairly recent additions to my concert collection. Concorde’s ghost was originally written in the early days of Concorde and sadly recently bought up to date.

Linley meeting Kiri at Birmingham University gave me a chance to write some more romantic songs and as the friendship progressed I couldn’t resist singing at their wonderful Midsummer Night’s Dream Engagement party in the garden at Ramsfold; Midsummer was a great joy to write. Will Hayler and Lottie asked me to sing in the church at their wedding. This was a scary assignment but seemed to go well with Lottie and Will sung just after the signing of the Register. Will is the Co-Founder with Linley of the very successful ski and surf company Ticket to Ride. Kiri also invited me to sing at her wedding to Linley. This was a huge honour and Side by side flowed from my brain, pen and guitar in record time. One version of the song has my twelve year old great niece singing with me. It is comparatively easy to write when inspired to do so. The arrival of Ottilie has been such a happy event, and created a surge of a creativity for me. Ottilie and Bath time are the first of many I hope to write. Sweet waves deserves a special mention as it was written by Kiri’s Father, Chris Wilson. It follows the path of Kiri and Linley’s growing love and travels, mostly in Cornwall. It is based on a tune by Christie Moore.