14/09/2007 by Andrew Smith.

Okay, so I nicked this from Nigella… do I look like a domestic goddess?!

• Put powdery stuff in a plastic sandwich bag. I used semolina (really!), sesame seeds and garam masala… mostly because I mis-remembered Nigella’s stuff!
• Little squid. From the supermarket (got mine frozen in Waitrose).
• Push out the little tentacle-y bit (ie, the squid itself). Thomas enjoyed helping with this! (You can use these bits as well, but Jess didn’t fancy it)
• Slide the outside bit into strips (ie, to make rings). Drop them in the bag and shake (Thomas and I called it “tickling the bag”)
• Deep-fry the individual coated rings in very hot oil (we used sunflower) until they’re golden (no more than a couple of minutes.  Squid is only NOT tough if its cooked very quickly or very slowly - that’s the science bit!)
• Serve over a mixed salad (we like the beetroot ones) with a balsamic/lemon/olive oil dressing.

All done inside half an hour, utterly delicious and good for you, to boot!

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14/09/2007 by Andrew Smith.

Our elder son, Thomas, is a few months past his fourth birthday, when we gave him a bicycle. He loves his bike and almost every evening when I get home, he asks whether we can go for a ride. When there’s a suitable gap between my walking through the door and his bedtime (maybe half the time), I say yes and we got out for anything between 15 minutes and half an hour. We talk about what he’s done at school, which of his friends he played with that day, what we might do at the weekend, and sometimes I ask him to be really still and silent so we can listen to the birds that are just starting to roost for the night.

When we started doing this, we usually went to the same place (one of the two local playgrounds) but recently I’ve started taking him off on different routes around our neighbourhood. We always start off in a particular direction, playing a game of Pooh-sticks at the bridge over the stream that runs alongside the cycle-track, but I try to go in a circle rather than reach a point where we have to turn round and retrace our steps. At first this was just for some variety for me, but I realised how important it will become for him, over the next few years, as he starts going out around the local streets on his own and playing unsupervised with his friends. He can be the boy who knows all the short-cuts, and feel the confidence of knowing how familiar the area is to him.

Of course, it’s also hugely important to me; particularly since his baby brother George came along, I’ve tried to make special times to spend time just with Thomas. We’ve gone to the beach, to the zoo, camping and, our favourite, to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. Thomas particularly likes to see the dinosaurs (of course) but I’m trying to introduce him to the assorted mammals, birds, insects, minerals and comprise the rest of the museum; we’ve even gone round the corner to the Science Museum on one occasion, although he could do with being a year or two older to really appreciate that.

So, “Daddy, can we go for a bike ride?” have become eight of my favourite words. If anyone asks you the same question, make sure you answer “Yes”.

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26/08/2007 by Andrew Smith.

As the weather was nice yesterday, we decided to have our “summer holiday” while we had the chance (we skipped a proper holiday this summer because George is still only 3 months old). Rather than go down to Littlehampton, as we have for previous day-trips, we went a little furthe afield in search of a sandy, rather than pebbly, beach. We settled on West Wittering, which I’m sure I’d heard of for some other reason. Its name makes it sound very genteel, so maybe it was the location for a gory murder mystery or somesuch.
Anyway, after a (longer than necessary, thanks to satnav?) drive, we passed through some picturesque little villages and arrived at a an absolutely packed car park next to a lovely, huge, sandy, well-populated but certainly not crowded beach. We arrived quite late, by which time some people were already on their way home. The tide was way out, so Thomas and I set off to the sea with our buckets, playing in the tide pools and rivulets on the way. Jess looked after George, and we were pleasantly relieved that he didn’t “go ballistic” on his first experience of sand and sea. Maybe earlier is better, rather than waiting until the following summer as we did with Thomas…

On the way back, we stopped for supper at a family pub called The Black Horse in Apuldram. Jess had cottage pie, while I had cajun tuna… I won! Thomas ordered pasta, but didn’t really eat it; by this stage he was absolutely wiped out! George had his final bottle of the day, and slept from just before we set out at 8.30pm right through until 8am today! (Although Jess tells me his eyes were wide open when I carried him in from the car)

So, the verdict is that West Wittering is lovely, and we’ll certainly go back there again… maybe even later this summer, if the weather holds.

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26/08/2007 by Andrew Smith.

… intended more as a short-term means-to-an-end than a replacement for my Takamine EG 523 SC “super-jumbo” acoustic guitar… but now I’m not sure.

Basically, on Friday night Jess and I went to the cinema in Maidenhead. In the window of Sheargolds we saw a lovely bright yellow half-size strat that would make an excellent Christmas present for Thomas. The deal in the shop was that if you bought any guitar in two mid-price Tanglewood model ranges, you could buy the strat for £10 rather than £100. So, yesterday morning I went back and spent half an hour playing a few, and walked out with the strat and a TW-145SC for £260. So, about £100 less than the Taka’s list price, but £50 more than I paid for it.

My intention was to sell the Tanglewood “as new” but having played it a little, I’m wondering if it’s better suited to my style of playing than the Takamine (at least, until I get an evening to put some lighter strings on the Taka…). It has less of a Wow-factor but sounds good without having to dig in so much (or maybe that’s just the strings…) I’ve left the tags on, and kept the box (no case) so I can decide which one to sell over the next week or two.

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04/08/2007 by Andrew Smith.

I’ve been reflecting this morning on how lucky I am. Not just the usual time/place relative to the rest of humanity or gratitude not to have been caught up in recent more local tribulations (flooding, and yesterday’s announced outbreak of foot and mouth).
On a more personal level, I’m surrounded by family and friends (physically, but also metaphorically, however far away they might be) . I’m working in a job I enjoy and do well, and in being a musician I have a hobby that I love but that can also earn me money (over the past couple of years, I’ve paid for all my new instruments etc from gig money - and I have got some lovely new toys recently!).

In an even shorter term, I’m feeling particularly lucky today because, at just over 10 weeks, our second son, George, has just started sleeping through the night (today was the first morning in a long time that I’ve been woken by Thomas, who always comes in to visit at 6.30am). So, I’m more rested than I’ve been for months. And what’s more, Jessica and I are going into London today, to spend the night at a very posh hotel in Mayfair, to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary and her birthday a few weeks late.

So, as I pour my second cup of yummy coffee, I’m feeling lucky right now

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18/06/2007 by Andrew Smith.

This weeks, I’m playing Guitar 2 (mostly acoustic strummy stuff, with the odd bit of electric) in an amateur production of Tommy: The Musical, reorchestrated from The Who’s classic 1969 album and the resulting 1975 film. This takes me right back to the roots of my rock music heritage…

By the early 1980s (aged 11-12) my musical taste ranged from baroque classical music to traditional jazz (Fats Waller was a particular favourite of mine, and my Dad’s). Then I “discovered” some of my Uncle Michael’s old vinyl albums, and, as they say, my life would never be the same again! The Who was the first band to really grab me, particular the two albums released immediately after Tommy (ie, Live at Leeds and Who’s Next).It was a while later before “Axis: Bold as Love” and “Led Zeppelin II” moved the process on a bit more and in 1984 I was introduced to bands like Kiss and (particularly) Rush and I was hooked.
Anyway, biographical details over with, it’s great to be playing with such a great MD and band (I’ve not heard the cast properly yet, but I’m guessing they’ll be great as well!) and particularly with another guitarist with pit experience; it’s nice to compare notes on equipment, tips and techniques for the unique setting of the orchestra pit.
I’m also thrilled to be playing a jazz gig next Sunday with the Andy Drysch Band. We rehearsed last night (after the Tommy band rehearsal all day!) and tried a few new numbers (eg, Watermelon Man and impromtu versions of Birdland and 42nd Street) which might even find their way into Sunday’s set…

My thrill-dom was further enhanced by a phone call over the weekend asking me to dep(utise) for the guitarist of a soul band in a couple of weeks. This was from Robin, an excellent keyboard player who I met doing Bat Boy a few weeks ago. Once Tommy is out of my head, my attention will turn to the “other” classics of 1960s American soul!

And I’ve written all of this without even once mentioning our new son, George, and how significantly touched I was by a poem given to me by Thomas for Fathers’ Day (he didn’t write the poem - he’s not quite 4 - but he added his hand prints…) Hopefully I can write something else later in the week…

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