St George's is an Anglican church in Kemptown and a couple of weeks back I went to see Tom Paxton for the last time (though not the first - and thank you Alasdair Buchan for the tickets). I say last time because he is going to stop touring and I guess this is what happens with age, we see our early heroes dropping out of sight. And funnily enough, I will be going back in September to see another old hero of mine. I was nineteen when I played the Edinburgh University Folk Club (actually I played it twice - later on with my band, Southpaw) and on both occasions the headline act was Allan Taylor. Well he too is playing the St George and its part of a tour to celebrate his 70th birthday. How did we get so old. But his tour has inspired me to re-engage with that side of my life and so this year, having turned 60 with a new Martin guitar, I have been writing new songs, seven so far and I will be teaming them up with a couple of the old ones to record Alias Andy Melrose - a new CD which will be available on the Kitchen Table label - watch this space. But not before I write a new paper for a conference I have to attend soon. This morning I have been reading a 'picture book of philosophy,' by Susan Buck-Morss called, The Dialectics of Seeing, on Walter Benjamin and his arcades project. He had a lot to say about writing for children, in an obtuse kind of way, which is why I am reading the book. Although I am not sure I agree with his take on bourgeois education, bless him. But I think its time I posted an Allan Taylor clip - with a lesson attached:
