Look what I chanced upon a few days ago whilst out for a wheel and a woof with Pixie, hound of wonders …
… a heart-shaped mushroom! Those who know me well will be having a wry laugh at this moment knowing as they do that I find fungi particularly repellent. However, even I will admit to being slightly enchanted by the shape of this specimen. It was gone the next day, beheaded by the grass cutters. As the mellow, misty Autumnal thingie comes upon us I feel a new crispness in the morning air and reach for a thicker scarf and fingerless gloves for I am a true big Jessie when it comes to any inkling of coldness!
I had an unfortunate incident in August involving a car which did not notice me wheeling across a very small quiet road and hit me. It fairly knocked the stuffing out of me, and I’ve had the “pleasure” of wearing an attractive foot boot for quite a few weeks. But it could have been so much worse and I’m even more wary of wheeling across roads now. Anyway, 2 more weeks to go and then it will be interesting trying to get a shoe on ….. although I think by then it will be almost October and time for purple furry Doc Marten boots!
Due to the unfortunate incident work has taken a back seat for several weeks but I’m now getting on with Room to breathe commissioned by Drake Music Scotland. The first movement of this (Fear, hope & breathing) was performed earlier this year by some lovely members of Nevis Ensemble at Plug Festival at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and you can watch the performance of that by clicking here. There will be 5 movements altogether, each representing a room where we explore breathing in different ways. There is lots of work and collaboration to do before the performance at Sound Festival 2022 towards the end of October in Aberdeen.
And finally, I will also draw your attention if I may to an article published earlier this year in Itamar, an online new music journal curated by the University of Valencia. I was asked to write a reflective piece on my composition process, and I ended up writing about the transformation of my creative practice during the pandemic in 2020 & 2021 while shielding at home. You can read the article here if you fancy it.