THE DEEP POOL - DECEMBER 2002

I've just returned from staying with David Thomas in Brighton - he came to my show at The Greys in that newest of cities, where he sang Wearer Of The Dark - I broke a string as he sang but it made no difference to our brilliance! - another great show, like all the ones i've been doing recently - if I may say so.

So then we went back to David and Lynne's place (his lovely English wife) and had copious amounts of Remy Martin and roast beef sandwiches whilst listening to Fairytales For Hardmen. Next morning (this morning) I awoke to beautiful frosted sunshine over a dead calm English channel,had a cup of David's special black coffee and trundled off to Hove station where i had a little local difficulty with the natives.

I was standing on the platform, minding my own business, and ambled slowly over to the platform edge to see if my late train was emerging from the east. No sign of it, so I stood admiring the art deco writing on the side of the closed Duberry soap factory in the distance to the north. I was obviously being watched by CCTV, as a voice over the loudspeaker system suddenly said 'Attention please - here is a announcement for passengers on platform 3 - do not leave any item of luggage unattended'. All six of us on 3 looked at each other and it was tacitly decided that this announcement could only apply to me as I was about 3 feet from my guitar and bag. I continued to admire the Duberry factory for a while, and then a railway official walked briskly up to me and said:

- 'Are you deaf or sumat - didn't you hear that announcement about not leaving your luugage unattended?'

- I said 'it's not unattended - watch this' - then I strode back to my bag, and said 'how long did that take? - not even 2 seconds - it can hardly be unattended if I can get to it in less than 2 seconds. can it?'

- He wasn't having it; he said - 'it's unattended IF I SAY SO'. I said - 'well if you get litter bins back on this station. then I'll stand RIGHT NEXT to my luggage at all times'

- He said - 'the litter bins have been removed in the public's interest - they could be used as part of a terrorist attack'

- I said - 'so you're saying that the IRA might decide to blow up Hove train station, but would probably change their mind if there was no litter bin to put a bomb in - how likely is that? - and in the meantime every station in the country is covered in shit 'cause there's nowhere to dump anything'.

- He said - 'it's not just the IRA these days, is it? - anyway i'm not going to get into an argument with you - just don't leave your luggage unattended, all right?'.

- I said - 'It WASN'T unattended - you just wanted to make a fuss'. He then walked off and amde another announcement - 'attention passengers on platform 3, don't... etc.

I was beginning to enjoy the day - 10 minutes earlier, I was looking in the window of a butcher's shop. Inside all four butchers started sniggering and being openly rude about my lovely socks, the ones with the grouses in purple at the top, tied with yellow ties (known as flashes by the way). I decided to go in and buy some fillet of beef, and this completely mortified them - i think they'd decided that I was an animal activist looking in the window in sheer disgust.

'A pound and half of fillet beef please'.

Uncertainty - then 'well that's going to cost you about £24 mate'.

'That's fine - and a jar of Robertson's Highland marmalade as well please'.

The butcher served me sternly while the guy on the fish counter felt it was OK to just keep sniggering, so I said to him - 'oh, and a half pound of tuna loin please'.

This completely threw him, so he began fumbling around weighing his bit of tuna (could be a good new sex expression). I got my fillet of beef (£23 40p), paid for it, the said to the fishmonger - sorry pal, can't wait - i've got to catch a train - merry Christmas'.

Now the fillet of beef is in the fridge and I'm wondering what to do with it, besides give a bit to Harry the dog. Maybe i'll thin- slice it and make a stir fry, hmmm, it's an awful lot of beef - i'll have to think of something else to do with it as well....but at least I wrongfooted those fuckin butchers in Hove - thank god I sold some records in Brighton to make this possible...

Well, I've no more shows to play till next year, but then i'm going to be very very busy. Even as I write, shows are booking into Scandinavia, Italy, Vienna, Zurich, Germany, Australia and the UK......

SHINING BROTHER SHINING SISTER is now out on Feb 10 - what a great record! I'm feeling a lotter better about something, but I don't know what - there's plenty that's wrong. Maybe just being free of performance pressure for a few weeks - I enjoy performing, but when you're committed to being really good, it's just hard work. I know performers who don't think about being good particularily, they just get on stage and if it's good - great, and if it's not, who cares? What an attitude - but perversely, the people i'm thinking of get away with this in a big way. Maybe when i'm famous i'll be shite..that would be fun......

The deep pool is getting deeper - i can sense this, but don't know how I can..maybe the blue itself is getting deeper, like the Townes Van Zandt album- No Deeper Blue.

Merry Christmas to you all, and a happy New Year in which I hope to see you - may your soul be free of the bitter rain-seed of poverty - but if it should fall on you, the tearful harvest will be yours, and you will be recognised by good people in the marketplace....raise a glass with them to all that must pass....

jl