Pat Blythe – The Mariposa Experience….Part Three…..Eddie Bullen….a Hootenanny and More…..

It’s been a busy Tuesday. It’s the last day with my daughter Colleen. A cappuccino and croissant at Zane’s, the local bakery, and then she’s off to catch her 1:30pm train back to Ottawa after a five-day stay here. At the end of the month it’s back to Thailand for her until summer next year. Later, at precisely 4pm it was tea time.  I enjoyed the company of a friend over for a “British” tea of Welsh cakes, crumpets and Yorkshire Red. What is it about sharing a cuppa….the comfortable, companionable feeling you get whilst draining your second or third cup (or pot) and having a lovely chat. It’s oh so……..British…….and oh so relaxing. It’s the best way to catch up or get to know someone. Will that be one lump or two…….?

Pat Blythe – Festivals, a little Snarky Puppy, Quisha Wint and SING!….plus Music!

So, I’ve been doing some cogitating, ruminating, deliberating, pondering, considering and generally thinking. My first loves are music, dance, writing and photography. Not necessarily in that order but they’re all a number one and blend together rather agreeably…..well…..except for the dance. It’s a little more physical. You have to visualize that one. (okay, you can stop laughing now). I began penning this weekly diatribe over three years ago writing about women in music which graduated to some of the leading ladies of blues and subsequently all those ballsy women of rock ‘n’ roll. Somehow I graduated, or drifted (depending on how you look at it) into writing about all the explosion of talent here in The Big Smoke. I’ve been covering as much as one body will allow me to for the past two-and-a-half years.

Pat Blythe – The Blushing Brides and Smooth Jazz

Holy summer!!! The weather is simply gorgeous. Warm and sunny….Mother Nature has apparently had a relapse or she’s feeling a bit guilty about the rather insipid summer we just…..I don’t know…..experienced?  Let’s see…..what else…..day-to-day shit you don’t need to hear about but I will say this, the homemade grape jelly IS AWESOME!!!! Made from my own concord grapes, the vines are now 20 years old. Every year it’s a battle between me and the urban wildlife. Just who plucks the most grapes? The ones left behind or dropped from the vines eventually ferment, providing the neighbourhood with a little late night comical relief as the raccoons waltz about, stumbling and bumbling until they flop over in a deep slumber. The following night is unusually quiet as they nurse their hangovers.