Paco de Lucia - Entre dos aguas (1976) full video

Following on from my earlier post, here is the young Paco playing Entre dos aguas. Stunning dexterity brings me out in goose-bumps every time.

Paco de Lucía - En Vivo

I have always loved the artistry of Paco de Lucía, the flamenco guitar god par excellence. I first heard his playing on a holiday to Spain in 1975; the wonderful album entitled 'Fuente y Caudal' that contains the classic track 'Entre Dos Aguas'. It was this track more than any that endeared me to his virtuosity.

I recently purchased 'En Vivo Conciertos Live In Spain 2010'. This two-CD set is culled from his 2010 Spanish tour.  De Lucía performs extended variations of eight of his compositions (almost every track surpasses the ten-minute mark) together with his new band of guitarist Antonio Sánchez, bassist Alain Pérez, singers David de Jacoba, harmonica player Antonio Serrano, and dancer Farru, all eminently up to de Lucía's notoriously high standards.

It was therefore with considerable sadness that I learned, only today, that Paco de Lucía died on 25th February this year, aged just 66. I had no idea. He retained his prodigious dexterity to the end.

If you love flamenco music give this artist a listen. Such a shame that he died so young...

Plebgate and Mitchell

Andrew Mitchell, the Tory MP and former cabinet minister at the centre of the Plebgate row lost his high court libel trial today in a ruling which sees him facing a legal bill of millions of pounds and leaves his political career in tatters.

Outside the court, Mitchell told reporters he was bitterly disappointed with the ruling and that it had been “a miserable two years” for him, but that he now hoped to move on with his life.

Well, Mr Mitchell, I expect it has been a ‘miserable two years’ for PC Toby Rowland, who was only doing his job when you attacked him with a tirade of verbal abuse.

Mr Justice Mitting described the MP’s behaviour as “childish” and found his version of events was inconsistent with the CCTV recording from that evening.

How wonderful to see another Tory grandee given his comeuppance by a High Court judge and to see PC Toby Rowland exonerated.

I know who’s story I believe.....

Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop by Jenny Colgan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Chick-lit? Romantic? Certainly. And as a male reader I am not embarrassed to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this Rosie Hopkins delight. I became totally immersed with the wonderful location of Lipton, the characters - Rosie, Stephen, Lilian, Hetty, Mrs Laird, Dr Moray - love them all in this fabulous, witty love story that was a joy to read. OK, I am a romantic but this book certainly sailed my boat. Perfect fodder for the run up to Christmas. Sit back with a glass of your favourite in front of the fire and simply enjoy.

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It's Great in Grantchester

Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death by James Runcie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Despite so many poor reviews on Goodreads I thoroughly enjoyed this first book of the Grantchester series with its delightful, pastoral atmosphere. Full of charm and old fashioned values and set in a period before computers, tablets and mobile 'phones. Very well researched to provide an authentic 50s setting. What's not to like?

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The Endless River

I have been a fan of the prog-rock band Pink Floyd for 42 years ever since I purchased on vinyl in 1972 their seminal work ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’, an album I still play today. Like so many PF fans I anguished over the loss of Syd Barrett, the breakdown of the relationship between Roger Waters and the rest of the group, which was terrible, and the sad death of Rick Wright who died of cancer in 2008. And despite all of this I have remained enchanted with this band for over more than four decades. I will continue to play their music that still fills me with a sense of wonder.

 There is a kind of poetry to the fact that with Waters long gone, the new album The Endless River - Pink Floyd’s first studio outing in two decades - is a tribute to Rick Wright. For me, this is a cathartic work - the sum is greater than the parts. It packs a great deal into 53 minutes. The album features Wright heavily. He was back on board for 1994’s The Division Bell and it is from the sessions for that album that the material for this one has been taken. Fans of PF will recognize Wright’s keyboard magic, Mason’s tight drum playing and, above all, the emotional guitar of Gilmour, which at times cries out and brings tears to your eyes. The track ‘It’s What We Do’ comes across like a quiet composite of ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’. I listen with a lump in my throat. Nick Mason works up a fast tattoo on the track ‘Skins”, two minutes of echo and atmospherics that leaves me breathless. Stephen Hawking reprises his talk about language that he did on The Division Bell - ‘keep talking’. I am moved once again by these words.

 The closing track ‘Louder Than Words‘ has lyrics written by Gilmour’s wife, Polly Samson. It’s about bitching and fighting, making up and carrying on. Quite fitting for this band that has had its fair share of conflict and turbulence.

 Nick Mason and David Gilmour have said that this will be Pink Floyd’s last. I have already played this album six times and I am full of emotion. This is it. This is the final cut, Roger, not yours.

The words of Matthew Arnold in his epic poem ‘Dover Beach’ echo through my mind:

 ‘I feel the melancholy roar of the withdrawing tide...’

 Withdraw you might Pink Floyd but your music will live on. For me - forever....

The Imitation Game

This is one film I am determined to see at the cinema and have booked tickets for Ros and me for a performance on Sunday at Cineworld, Brighton.

The film (sorry US readers - movie) is a nail-biting race against time following Alan Turing (pioneer of modern-day computing and credited with cracking the German Enigma code) and his brilliant team at Britain's top-secret code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II. Turing, whose contributions and genius significantly shortened the war, saving thousands of lives, was the eventual victim of an unenlightened British establishment, but his work and legacy live on.

The cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Beard, Matthew Goode and Allen Leech.