Farmers are working together to improve the habitat and increase quality food production, but we can’t be undermined by lower standard imports, argues James Cossins.
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November is normally one of my least favourite months of the year. The days are getting shorter and, generally, there’s wetter and colder weather arriving. This year, although the days are shorter, the weather has been particularly kind to us farmers. There’s been very little rain and the generally mild temperature has led to cattle being able to stay out grazing for longer without creating an enormous amount of mud. Also most of the autumn arable operations have come to a close. Most of the crops sown have established well and there should be a mass of yellow flowering oilseeds in April to look forward to.
Improving diversity
In the past month there have been many farmer meetings taking place out on the farm or in other venues rather than looking at each other on Zoom It makes a pleasant change to actually meet fellow farmers again.
I am sure that online meetings will still have a place but it is great to get out and about once more.
One such meeting involved our Cranborne Chase Cluster group which is made up of like-minded neighbouring farmers looking to co-operate to improve the diversity of our farms. We join forces to create a better environment for soil, water, air and wildlife habits.
The most recent gathering involved us learning from an advisor how best to manage our soils in order to produce good crops. This involves not destroying the soil structure by poor management involving compaction and poor organic soil content. We were also encouraged to do an earthworm count as a measure of soil health.
Our local agricultural discussion group hosted an interesting evening with our MP Simon Hoare. Simon gave us his thoughts on the future of farming which he thought was positive; although we must accept the need for change in how Government support is implemented, with a greater emphasis on the environment rather than just food production. Simon stressed that, with his involvement in the shaping of the Agricultural Bill, food production was still a key part of farming activities. It seems that some MPs have forgotten that food production was a key part of the UK economy. He said that although some trade deals have been successfully negotiated we must not let food production standards from imported foods undermine the high standards and potentially higher costs of production that we have in this country.
Thank you Simon for the support you give to agriculture and it’s associated industries, as I know you are often in a minority voice within government in keeping the rural voice alive.
Higher prices inevitable
As we look forward to next year we as farmers and growers face many challenges, especially with high input costs such as fuel, fertilisers and feed costs.
We have recently received a milk price increase, which is very welcome, and also cereals remain high, but I fear and believe that food prices in the shops will have to increase without anyone being any better off.
Let’s hope that maybe there will be some normality back next year. Perhaps that is wishful thinking.
Merry Christmas to you all! James
by James Cossins, a fifth generation farmer in the Tarrant Valley.
Breeding stock sales, tracking horses and the glory that is the matchless Honeysuckle – Lucy Procter reflects on November at the Glanvilles Stud.
Here on the stud, we’re still enjoying the dry autumn as we can keep our later foaling mares living out on grass, day and night. As the in-foal mares enter the last three months of their pregnancy, we bring them into individual stables overnight so we can give them more food, as this is when the foal inside them does the majority of its growing. Once winter proper arrives and the land gets wet, the rest of the mares will also come in at night to limit the damage to our paddocks.
Tattersalls December is in November Our focus this month has been preparing Demonstration, a three-year-old French flat-bred filly from a strong German family, to be sold in Newmarket at the Tattersalls December Mares Sales – which is, perversely, usually at the end of November as it was this year!
Breeding stock sales are the start of the whole breeding process; where fillies retiring from racing are sold as broodmare prospects, and in-foal mares change hands as breeders adjust their broodmare bands. Demonstration arrived with us from France just five weeks before the sale, straight out of racing, and she needed plenty of feeding to get more weight on her in a very short space of time. As well as daily turnout, we built her fitness on the horse walker, and the girls spent many hours grooming her to help build muscle and improve the condition of her coat. At the sales earlier this week, the hammer fell at 18,000 guineas (a guinea is £1.05), making a modest profit and keeping everyone happy. But if the Tattersalls sales ring is where the breeding dream begins, the winner’s enclosure for a Group/Grade 1 race is the ultimate destination.
Our girl Honeysuckle
We were all delighted that our TGS-bred wonder-mare, Honeysuckle, managed to reach this ultimate destination for the ninth time on Sunday, when winning the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse in Ireland for the third year on the trot. Including those nine Grade 1 races, at the start of her fourth season under rules, Honeysuckle has 13 wins to her name from 13 runs.
There is little that hasn’t already been written about her and her partnership with her equally indomitable jockey, Rachel Blackmore.
But the really hot news is that Honeysuckle’s win on Sunday makes her record equal to that of Bula’s from the 1970s – 13 consecutive wins from debut under rules.
Indeed, if you include her point- to-point win, which doesn’t count as under rules, she has technically already surpassed his record with 14 wins from debut! How much further can this mare go?
And can her full brother, Last Royal, due to make his seasonal debut soon, after over a year’s absence from the racecourse due to injury, prove himself worthy of her?
Tracking the best of the rest
There are plenty of other TGS- bred runners for the coming season and, as our Racing Post horse tracker shows (right), it is starting to get jolly busy out there on the racecourse.
Some of these racehorses we are following with particular interest as we are still breeding from their dams. Any good performances on the track from them will help improve the sales potential of their younger siblings.
Could one of these TGS-bred racehorses scale the heights to glory and be our next Grade 1 winner?
Since retiring in 2018, top five- star horse Happy Times has lived on the outskirts of Gillingham with the Berry family. Frances ‘Mouse’ Berry, who cared for him during his eventing career, and groomed for him at the London 2012 Olympics, shared with us how the now-20-year-old Oldenberg gelding is adapting to retirement. “He now enjoys a varied life, including being introduced to hacking quietly, rather than with a view to fitness. By taking him out with no pressure, I am introducing Happy to the idea that his role has changed. He makes the 10 minutes trip back to Sam Griffith’ s yard at Symphony Farm most weeks where he’s schooled to keep him supple and to ensure his mind is settled.” Having always had a life of routine, Mouse says it’s important to keep everything as similar as possible for him. “He no longer jumps as there is no need to. He always jumped with so much velocity and enthusiasm that it would be easy for him to pick up an injury. He loves his time in the field with his pony companions, Bluebell (Happy’s ‘wife’), Enya and Donk.” Since his retirement, Happy has successfully shown in veteran classes ridden by Sarah Gwilliam, coming second at Royal Windsor and winning the Gillingham and Shaftesbury and Frome Cheese shows this summer.
“He still loves a crowd and enjoys showing off in the ring. His signature move is a flying change; asked for or not!
This winter he will do some dressage with Hayley Lippiatt, and hopefully return to the show ring next summer. He’s certainly not thinking of putting his hooves up yet! Keeping Happy fit and well is very rewarding and his long term soundness is a tribute to Sam’s management.
He’s fed on Saracen Horse Feeds, he has regular physiotherapy and acupuncture and is still cared for buy the same team of vets and farrier as he was when competing.”
In 2016 Happy was inducted into the Eventing Hall of Fame. He loved cross-country and had total confidence in Sam – and vice versa. Together they were known for making the most enormous and technical courses around the world look easy. “He’s retired, but he is still very much the superstar with all that know and love him.”
The Happy facts:
Happy Times.
Born in 1999.
Sire – Heraldik
Owned by Dinah Posford, Juliet Donald and Sam Griffiths.
Ridden by Sam Griffiths.
1,711 British Eventing Points. Completed:
27 3* (now 4*)
13 4*(now 5*)
3rd at Badminton, and twice 3rd at Burghley.
Represented Australia at the 2012 London Olympic Games
The CPRE feels Dorset Council’s summary of responses to the consultation on the Draft Local Plan raises more questions than it answers, says Rupert Hardy, Chair of the North Dorset branch.
The view towards Ball Hill, Plush, in Dorset AONB image – Rupert Hardy
Dorset Council (DC) recently published a summary of responses to the consultation on the Draft Local Plan. Dorset CPRE is undertaking analysis of the responses and what they purport to show.
A community response
Firstly, the recently published summary of responses to the draft Local Plan (LP) has revealed overwhelming opposition to Dorset Council’s housing strategy, disguised as a misleadingly low number of responses. This was achieved by recording the submission of each town and parish council as a single response and by incorrect categorisation of many of their responses.
A search for answers to the question DEV1: Do you agree with the suggested approach and what it is trying to achieve? suggests only 460 responses, of whom 72% disagree.
Although this shows a rejection, it is highly misleading in number. Amongst the responses are the names of Town and Parish Council Clerks, who represent over 108,000 residents between them.
Sorting the data
As statutory consultees, the views of Town and Parish Councils should be easily accessible; but the alphabetical listing of responses by first name, rather than surname, makes this more difficult. Discovering the true scale opposition to the LP is further complicated by the fact that responses are recorded in the name of individuals, rather than their organisations. Who would know that the Dorset CPRE response can only be found under the name of Chairman Peter Bowyer, or Jo Witherden – the Planning Consultant who put together our submission to the Draft Local Plan? All of this seems like an effort to hide the reality, or at best it is a poor collation.
Town by town
CPRE also found numerous examples of respondents who had comments to make on housing policy, but their comments have been recorded elsewhere. Places such as Wimborne Minster and Weymouth are unable to support the LP, but have confined their comments, understandably, to their own town.
CPRE identified the representatives of a further 124,000 residents of Dorset towns and villages, who do not agree with the housing proposals. Dorset CPRE will be requesting a meeting with the chairs of Dorset Council’s Planning Committees to outline their case that Dorset Council should claim exceptional circumstances to reduce the number of planned homes, following the example of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council.
Dorset’s Green Pastures Under Threat From Developers Secondly we analysed the responses relating to the
AONB. Some 56% of Dorset is designated as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), more than any other county in England. Much of the housing proposed in the draft LP will be built either in or very close to AONB land, changing forever the county’s unique landscape and rich biodiversity. Research carried out by CPRE, the Countryside Charity, reveals that housing that has been approved in AONBs nationally, since 2017/18, is overwhelmingly large executive homes, with only 16% affordable housing. Dorset is one of the main authorities regularly surrendering green fields as opposed to brownfield sites.
Adverse impacts on AONB
Natural England and a number of neighbouring authorities are highly critical of the Dorset plan. For example, “Natural England considers there is limited scope for major new development within the Dorset AONB above that already allocated.” With reference to development at Blandford Forum, they state that “The scale and location of the development will inevitably result in residual adverse impacts on the Cranborne Chase AONB.” By contrast, numerous developers’ submissions propose reducing the current protection of AONBs. Wyatt Homes suggests “these sites should not be excluded simply because the village is within the AONB”.
Persimmon Grainger admit that part of the proposed Dorchester development would have an impact on the setting of the AONB, but promise to minimize any “specific, evidenced reports” by tree planting. Dorset Council admits that the public interest test used to justify the release of AONB for major development is necessary to meet its excess housing target and Cllr David Walsh concedes it is ‘likely’ that protected areas will be affected by development. This means that town and parish councils who believe themselves protected from development are enjoying a false sense of security.
Town and parish councils who responded to the Dorset Draft Local Plan represent 287,000 voters.
Of these, 88% do not agree with the draft LP, which proposes over 4,500 homes in or within 250m of an AONB.
Dorset CPRE now calls for Dorset Council to acknowledge the overwhelming public opposition to the Local Plan and to accept that its findings put at risk the special areas of Dorset’s countryside. Accordingly, we believe it is now timely to revisit the whole Plan, especially in the light of recent statements by Michael Gove, who clearly signalled a shift towards greater recognition of AONBs as meriting special consideration in future development plans.
This month Wayne is featuring two exceptionally beautiful books by illustrator/artists Angela Harding and Susan Ogilvy.
Angela Harding, you may remember, illustrated the memorable covers of Raynor Winn’s books Wild Silence and the Salt Path. The second illustrator is Somerset-based artist Susan Ogilvy, who has produced an exquisitely illustrated, one-of-a-kind celebration of the hidden beauty of nature and the ingenuity of birds, ‘Nests’.
A beautifully illustrated guide to nature through the seasons by much-loved printmaker Angela Harding. The cover of this stunning book has an exclusive triptych printed on the reverse – a perfect collector’s item, and wonderful gift. This stunning work, the first book that is solely dedicated to Angela’s art, is a celebration of her beautiful prints, and a glimpse into her detailed and meticulous process. A Year Unfolding is a journey through Angela’s year in nature, watching the seasons unfold in front of her from her studio in Rutland, and giving the reader detail into how nature transforms and evolves over the course of the year. A Year Unfolding also tells the stories behind some of Angela’s most popular images, giving context to Angela’s celebrated work, as well as new art created specifically for the book. The beautiful illustrations and evocative imagery of the prose make this the perfect book for nature and art lovers everywhere.
Susan Ogilvy started painting bird nests by accident. Tidying her garden after a storm, she found a chaffinch nest – a sodden lump on the grass. She placed it indoors on a newspaper, and over the next few hours, as the water drained out, the sodden lump blossomed into a mossy jewel. She was amazed, dropping everything to make a painting of the nest at exact life size. It was the start of an obsession; Ogilvy has since painted more than fifty bird nests, each time marvelling at its ingenious construction. Every species of bird has its own vernacular, but sources its materials – twigs, roots, grasses, reeds, leaves, moss, lichen, hair, feathers and cobwebs, less usually, mattress stuffing and string – according to availability. Ogilvy would, of course, never disturb nesting birds; she relies upon serendipity, which is why all her nests have either been abandoned after fulfilling their purpose, or displaced by winds. This wondrous book is all the more special for its rarity. Few modern books exist specifically on the subject of bird nests; the most recent among the author’s reference works was published in 1932. Exquisitely designed and packaged, Nests will be an essential addition to the libraries of all nature lovers.
Sherborne’s independent bookshop Winstone’s has won the ‘British Book Awards South West Bookseller of the Year’ four times and was winner of the ‘Independent Bookseller of the Year’ national award in 2016. Owner Wayne Winstone is one of the three judges for this year’s Costa Prize for Fiction. This year Wayne was selected as one of the top 100 people in the Book Trade’s ‘Most Influential Figures’ listing.
Why are so many north Dorset parish churches outside their villages? The answer is the Black Death, argues Paul Birbeck
Across the Vale, there are examples of parish churches found in isolated positions. These include Holnest, Hilfield and, particularly, Hazelbury Bryan, where the church and Manor House are 1km from today’s main village.
Local historian Maurice Beresford in his 1954 study, ‘The Lost Villages of England,’ cited 19 places in Dorset where a village had existed in the middle ages, but was later abandoned. There are a number of possible explanations for these fascinating anomalies, each demanding research. Most medieval village desertions are linked to the Black Death (bubonic plague) which arrived on a trading ship docked at Weymouth in 1348 (there’s a moderately hilarious plaque on the north quay ‘celebrating’ Weymouth’s place in history for this honour). The acutely fatal disease quickly spread across the country by fleas living on rats, causing one of the worst catastrophes in recorded history – a deadly plague that ravaged communities across Europe. Over three or four years, as many as 50 million people died in Europe. The population was reduced from some 80 million to 30 million. Breaking out in Asia (some believe not too far from Wuhan province, from where Covid 19 is believed to have spread) the Black Death came to Britain from the eastern Mediterranean, Italy, Spain and France. A familiar spread to today’s pandemic!
Hazelbury Bryan aflame!
The parish of Hazelbury Bryan, near Sturminster Newton, includes the hamlets of Droop, Kingston, Parkgate, Pidney, Pleck, Wonston and Woodrow. In 1201 the village name was Hasebere, a name derived from the Old English meaning a hazel grove or wood. Bryan is the manorial name of Sir Guy de Bryan, of Woodsford Castle, who gave his surname to the village in the 14th century when he married the daughter of the First Earl of Salisbury. The original settlement is the hamlet of Droop, which is the location of the parish church and Manor House. The church dates mostly from the 15th century, though it is likely that earlier buildings existed on the site. The other hamlets in the village are believed to have originated as a result of the Black Death which twice struck the original settlement, causing the villagers to respond by burning it and rebuilding several smaller settlements on higher ground nearby. It is presumed that most villagers houses were wood, wattle and thatch (which burns easily) but the manor houses and churches were stone. So they stayed put.
Farms grow, crofters leave
After the Black Death, labour shortages forced traditional Lords of the Manor and monastic owners, to change from being lord of men (lordship) to being landlords who rented out their land. This resulted in fundamental changes to the landscape across the Vale. Traditional open field arable land was converted to pastoral farming which required fewer workers. Isolated family dairy farms surrounded by hedged and ditched fields became common.
Change continued as agricultural techniques improved during the 17th and 18th centuries causing smaller tenancies to merge into fewer large ones leased to well-to-do tenants. Ancient landholding rights were overridden, causing rural poverty across the Vale. There are many examples of shrunken villages associated with depopulation and poverty during this period. For examble, Melbury Bubb had 33 houses in 1672 but only 28 residents by 1841. As opportunities for work diminished, families were forced by poverty to depart their homes in tears as they sought new livelihoods elsewhere.
Progress or social mayhem?
These changes are a common theme in Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Woodlanders,’ and ‘Tess of d’Urbervilles’ and local resident dialect poet, William Barnes wrote in ‘Two Farms in Woone’ (see image above for full poem)
“That’s it. In these here pleace there used to be Eight farms avore they were a-drwd together, An’ eight farm housen. Now how many be there? Why after this, you know there’ll be but dree.” Barnes deplored the changes in farming which increased output and profits through better organisation, mechanisation and more efficient use of labour, at the expense of the traditional rural community. Rural depopulation is of course still going on today. Some may say that many villages still occupied are ‘lost’ or deserted in winter because of their high proportion of second homes owned by affluent townies who have priced local people out of their local housing. The present generation has therefore been forced out in search of employment and an affordable home.
The Vale is an area with a fascinating and complex history.
When fire ripped through Blandford on June 4, 1731, it was a catastrophe for the town and a personal disaster for most of its inhabitants.
image Roger Guttridge
But the destruction of almost the entire town centre also paved the way for a magnificent phoenix to rise from the ashes.
During the following years and decades, Blandford brothers John and William Bastard designed a new town centre that to this day is seen as a model of Georgian planning and architecture. Among other things the brothers had the vision to create a wide- open space at the heart of their development.
It wasn’t like that before 1731.
A cluttered place
From Malachi Blake’s contemporary sketch illustrating the extent of the fire, we know that pre-1731 the Market Place was a cluttered environment. The Shambles, the old Town Hall and four cottages called Middle Row stood parallel to the present-day Corn Exchange and adjoining shops but further out. Occupying a sizeable site at the junction of the Market Place and Salisbury Street was the Market Cross, where cheese and butter were sold. A document dated 1644 refers to a set of scales ‘which the cheese was weighed with at the Cross’. The stone cross probably survived the fire but was cleared away soon after along with the charred debris all around – although the spot was still known to locals 100 years ago as ‘the Cross’.
In the late 19th century, workmen digging up the road discovered some worked stones that had originally formed part of the cross. By 1906 they were said to be ‘piled together in a small enclosure near the Rectory’. Does anyone know where they are today? These two pictures, taken 120 years apart, underline the versatility of Blandford’s open Market Place, which is variously used for car parking, market stalls, the May Fair and ceremonial events.
image Roger Guttridge
Then and now
The former Posting Office (far left) is now W H Smith & Son. The poster on the wall is advertising a show. At the time of the earlier picture, about 1900, Greyhound House – the original Greyhound Inn – was the National Provincial Bank, which it remained for many years. Part of the ground floor is now vacant following the closure of Beaton’s Tearoom last year. The other part is a florist’s. In the background of both pictures can be seen the Crown Hotel, looking much the same in 2021 as it did in 1900.
Among the students to whom I teach the guitar is a 10 year old called Laura. She is an utter delight.
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Laura is serious, hugely determined, she listens to what I say (unlike some of my students), she practices hard (unlike some of my students) and every week I see amazing progress (unlike etc etc). She is one of my favourites, and when she and her dad arrive in our drive 20 minutes before the lesson starts – which I told them to do – we all play guitar and have a laugh before the lesson. My weekend could not start in a better way. Laura’s dad, Damian, is himself a guitarist and he twiddles away on my other guitars, pedals and amplifiers while I teach. I see progress to the extent that when Laura started she couldn’t play a single chord – and now, with some prompting, she has written her first two songs. ‘We’re going to write a song today,’ I announced. ‘How do you write songs?’ she asked. ‘We choose someone or something you feel really strongly about, say, your brother, and we write about how lovely he is to you and how much you love him.’ That, apparently, wasn’t a contender so we’ve ended up with two masterpieces; ‘Pixie, You Rock,’ (her dog) and ‘Strawberry Lollipop’. With my greatest respect to Laura, I don’t think Taylor Swift should be too worried about being toppled from her throne as yet, but that day will come.
Stairway to Heaven
But we had a problem. When Laura first came to the Studio for lessons she was so nervous that she visibly trembled and couldn’t speak. I really felt for her but I had a solution. Her dad is obviously in the Studio, so I said to Laura, ‘You and I are Team Laura and we’ll have a competition with Dad.’ Much happy nodding, as it took the pressure off her. And for a few weeks the competition would be me playing parts of famous songs, for example the intro of Stairway to Heaven or Smells Like Team Spirit. Damian would pretend he didn’t know the answer. I’d give Laura the answer on a scrap of paper and she’d turn to her dad and say, with the utmost indignity (which I always admire) ‘Dad, everyone knows that’s Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin’, and she and I would shake our heads sadly at her dad’s ignorance of classic rock music. Damian would look defeated and Laura beams in triumph. And Laura would be relaxed enough to sink in some guitar magic.
…my weekly telling off
And so the lessons delightfully progressed. And it appears that Laura has got over her nerves. I know this because no lesson is complete now without her telling me off. The sheer incongruity of it makes me smile. Recent indignant accusations include: Laura: Andy, you’re wearing odd socks!!! Me: I’m a man – it’s what we do. Laura: Well, it’s wrong!!
And then we had: Laura (even more indignant than normal, and that’s saying something): Andy, there’s a big cobweb under the table! Me: Can’t be, I hoovered the Studio yesterday. Laura: Look, it’s there (points at what does turn out to be a large cobweb, give the girl her due). Me: I left that one on purpose because I like cobwebs. Laura gives me a suspicious glare and shakes her head pityingly.
And then it was: Laura (with a curious mixture of delight and indignation, I don’t know how she pulls that off, but she does): Andy, you’ve got nail varnish on your toenails!
Varnishing – the truth
And yes, I had varnish on my toenails. Midnight Blue by Rimmel (I rather liked it). I explained that while dozing off in front of the telly my wife saw fit to apply the varnish to my right foot (not both feet – she’s not a weirdo).
And I told her and Damian that in a suddy (is there such a word?) (There is now – Ed) bath. I got the shock of my life. I saw what I took to be a small black mouse or huge spider skim across the surface of the water and I jerked upright in terror, sloshing water over the floor. False alarm: the ‘mouse’ or ‘spider’ turned out to be my Midnight Blue (by Rimmel) toenails which I’d forgotten about. Last word goes to Laura. I asked her why she wanted to learn guitar not piano. She said, ‘because guitars are cool.’ And there, we are in agreement. Guitars are cool. Saxophones aren’t – and if any reader says they are, I’ll just imitate Laura and shake my head pityingly. You can learn from children.
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Bloody Cliff Richard!
My method of teaching is not to get students to learn chords by rote as it’s boring. I get them to tell me three songs they’d like to play: it tells me a lot about them, plus I work out the best way to play them and we go through the chords. Then they can start impressing their mates by playing an actual song, plus build up a repertoire of chords which relate to actual songs, so they remember them, and they begin to see how chords work together. With another student, Paulo, at our first meeting in the Studio
I asked what song he’d like to learn. He answered, ‘The Young Ones by Cliff Richard.‘
Unfortunately we were both drinking coffee at the time, so after I’d wiped my splurted-out coffee off my Fender Stratocaster (USA-built Custom Shop, sunburst, I’ll have you know), I said, ‘Good one! But really, what do you want to learn.’
And rather hurt, Paulo repeated, ‘The Young Ones by Cliff Richard.’ ‘Great song,’ I gabbled (there’s a place in life for white lies,) ‘it goes like this,’ and I played the intro riff. Think I got away with it.
And, over the years, we’ve gone through a veritable smorgasbord (why are smorgasbords always ‘veritable’?) of 60s and early 70s songs. You name it, we’ve done it: I Saw Her Standing There, Black Magic Woman, Dock of the Bay, Honky Tonk Woman, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Have I The Right, Dock of the Bay, Need Your Love So Bad, Pretty Woman, Dock of the Bay (he likes this song, you’ll note) and Waterloo Sunset are a fraction of what we’ve done. And we’ve done the Otis Redding song. And a remarkable transition has come over me. I’ve come to like stuff from the 60s that I’d always considered below my ‘cool factor’. I’m rather ashamed at my former arrogance; there’s a reason why these songs are still popular. They’re bloody good. They’re well-written, they tell a story and they’re played well. Dock of the Bay is good. And it’s all thanks to Paulo – teaching isn’t all one-way. As a footnote I’ll add that it’s an idea to Youtube Cliff singing the Young Ones. Not only is he absurdly handsome – so reminds me of me when I was 20 (I pay you to be accurate – Ed) – but the girls in the audience, all absolutely adoring Cliff, are dressed like our grannies. Unsurprisingly, the boys in the audience view Cliff with sullen resentment!
95 million songs?
There’s a common misconception about guitar teachers; students think that they can mention any song – literally any song – and the teacher immediately knows how to play it. I usually point out that there are 95 million recorded songs (figure from EMI) and oddly enough I don’t know every one. A bit of a lapse in my work ethic, you might think (‘don’t you take teaching seriously?’). No matter, I still get questions like, ‘how does Ritchie Blackmore play the opening riff in Mistreated?’ Well, I have no idea, I say (I do really, but I want to make a point) but perhaps send me a mail before the lesson rather than spring that on me. Another student asked ‘do you know ‘To Sir, With Love’, by Lulu?’
‘No,’ I said emphatically, ‘It was a massive hit in 1967,’ she said, as if that would jog my memory. I replied, ‘I was seven years old and more interested in where the next biscuit was coming from…’
