Tag: musician

#365daysofbiking The sound of music:

November 20th – This is the coolest bloke I’ve ever seen on a commuter train. 

Bar none. 

We were sharing the bike space on a Birmingham commuter service. He’s on an urban flat bar; partially consumed coffee in the cup holder. He clearly works in something musical as he’s playing a small, portable electronic keyboard of the musical variety, and listening on headphones whilst reading sheet music.

He was playing the keyboard in total silence to the outside world, pensively and in the considered way someone might type an email on a laptop.

I’m not sure if he was learning music, marking it or writing it, but I have to say, you are a seriously cool man. Fascinating.

October 21st – A free afternoon in Birmingham was fun, rooting around the markets for fruit, veg, shellfish and other treats. On the fruit market itself, one stallholder only selling melons stored his rather lovely Orbea road bike in an innovative way I had to admire.

Also admiring was the young musician, guitar case in hand, photographing the wonderful Bowie artwork by Anna Tomix near the Smallbrook Queensway bridge. I think David Jones would approve of that imagery.

An afternoon in Brum is never wasted. And the shellfish was superb.

Beech dene grove

March 2nd – I think I might be the only unconnected person to ever remember this. In the early 90s, there was a Birmingham musician, composer and singer called Lou Dalgleish. She used to play regularly in a city centre pizza restaurant, and was a regular performer at Ronnie Scotts. She had a couple of albums out, and now tours with a an Elvis Costello tribute show. I still enjoy her solo work immensely, although she seems to have stopped recording her own work.

One of the earliest tracks of hers available – now long since deleted – was called Beech Dene Grove, and is about the street in Erdington in which she grew up. it’s a lovely thing I think most of us can relate to.

You can listen to the track using the player at the top of this post.

Yesterday, after I left the Erdington bike jumble, I cycled past Beech Dene Grove, and thought of Lou.