Universal Records are releasing an album of poetry readings set to classical music on 16th November for National Poetry Day in the UK. The album is called “Words For You”. I mention it because the British actor Geoffrey Palmer is one of the readers and although it might sound gushing, I LOVE him. And also because all of the royalties are going towards the UK communication charity I CAN who work with children who have speech, language and communication difficulties. This could make a great Christmas present.

The UK tour is nearly over, two more gigs in Basingstoke tonight and Leicester tomorrow night. It’s been great touring with Yvonne and Gentry and I had a chance to play some venues I’ve not played before like the Cellars last night in Southsea. We recorded the show in Brighton, thanks to Paul Burton for his work there and we hope to release the live show in some form before Christmas. It will be available through all our websites so make sure you are on the mailing list for up-dates.

I have added some new gigs in Lynch’s Bar in Tullamore on the 30th Oct and in the Spirit Store in Dundalk on the 27th November. Please see the gig guide for booking details. Thanks to everyone who came to the UK shows, bought cds, left comments on the website and who generally supported the live music and a huge thank you to our booking agent and general helpful person Jonathan Johnson and to the lovely Napier family who allowed us all to invade their houses, sleep on sofas and drink their tea over the last three weeks.

people who dent other people’s cars and then drive off without leaving a telephone number. You know who you are, you stinker…

Some new travel experiences. I haven’t taken the ferry in years, but we travelled Stena Line to Stranraer on Sat morning and it was fabulous and cheap and if you are a musician with four guitars, three bags, 600 cds and Gentry Morris in tow, then it is the only way to travel. I hate travelling by air but I also discovered that Aer Lingus will let you book a seat for your instrument (unlike Ryanair), and this is cheaper than putting it in the hold (30 euro each way). So Gentry and myself are flying home accompanied by Mr Guitar, Mrs Guitar, Miss and Master Guitar. I am not sure how we are going to get the seatbelts around their middles but it’s cheap.

Glasgow (King Tuts) was the kick off gig and it went so well. A very big crowd turned up, which was great because we hadn’t played in Glasgow in two and a half years. Yvonne Lyon, an old friend of mine from my year living in Glasgow, opened the show with her husband D.L. and her voice is beautiful. We used to busk together on Buchannan St. The last time I played King Tuts, K.T. Tunstall supported me and she went on to do quite well, so hopefully the same thing will happen for Yvonne and Gentry, who also went down a storm.

In order to stave off boredom on tour, we have taken up the Fisherman’s Friend Challenge. We all have one packet of Fisherman’s Friends Lozenges which we purchased in a old- fashioned sweetie shop in Berwick-Upon-Tweed. The challenge is to ask people we meet at gigs “would you like a Fisherman’s Friend?”. The person who manages to get rid of the entire bag by the end of the tour wins. It’s the small things that keep you sane on tour…

Thanks to Celtic Music Radio and Ross MacFadyen who made “People Have Names” their album of the week and have been playing lots of songs. To hear the interview we did with Ross with some live tracks you can check it out. www.canstream.co.uk/celticmusic

I love this venue. Click here to purchase tickets.

Sunday 8th March
doors 7.30pm
£10.00

Bridge Street
Berwick on Tweed
TD15 1ES

www.thebarrels.co.uk

March 13th
Back Room
GJ’s Bar
62 High St
Colliers Wood
London SW20

nearest tube Northern Line
£12.00
Doors 7.30pm
for more info

there will be a paypal link shortly to buy tickets, but you can reserve
them at the following e mail
startledchameleon@yahoo.co.uk

Limited to 100 seats

Not sure what this about, been getting some emails from the yahoo group list. Ziggy says he’s waiting to hear from me but I haven’t heard from him. Any light anybody?

Been getting some requests for tabs and lyrics, all the lyrics are on the album sleeves apart from Juliet Turner Live. Guitar tabs are another days work, I will someday sit down with my guitarist and try and compile the chords for everything, maybe this summer when I get time. Currently children’s phonological disorders are claiming all my attention. Pizza and Wine in in the key of C, and the chords are roughly C, G, Am and F.

Charlie, the lyrics you wanted are below. feel free to buy the album as well…greetings to Stockholm.

Invisible to the Eye

I”ve got a job to keep me, working nights on the factory floor.
I do my thinking, spend my time, rub my eyes til they are sore.
These long nights hold no surprises
But I leave here as the sun rises
Don’t need your sympathy, don’t need your bended knee,
Everything is alright.

I got my reasons, I am doing this for fun.
I don’t roll over for the pleasure of just anyone.
All my possibilities lie open to the sky
They’re here all the time, invisible to the eye.

I am sweeping down these courtyards, making up my children’s beds,
dancing close to cliff top edges, walking blind inside their heads.
And I know that you don’t see me,
But that’s the way it should be.
A quiet room at last, a fire behind the glass.
Everything beyond sight.

Beyond sight, beyound sight…

I now have a facebook profile and a facebook page. Exciting. One could spend one’s whole life just messing around on the internet, much the same way as Ratty from “The Wind in the Willows” felt that there was no better way to spend a day than messing around with boats. Only boats are much more fun.

One of my favourite songs from the People Have Names album is “Pick a Story” and I was so pleased when Louis McCullagh, photographer and film maker asked if he could use the song in a short film he was making about a young boy within the care system. The film is sceening in the Manchester/Salford film festival in November and in Australia in March and it highlights the fact that thousands of children enter the care system every year and how many have to move from foster home to foster home, mostly transporting their clothes and belongings in a black bin liner. To find out more about the film visit Call me Son and click on the screen

WHAT WOULD IMPROVE THE LIVES OF CHILDREN IN CARE?

The answer is relatively simple. More foster parents. In the UK about 10,000 new foster parents are required. Fostering is undertaken by a wide range of people but at any one time when a social worker is looking for somewhere to place a child their options can be very restricted due to lack of foster parents.

The child’s placement can be far from ideal. It may mean splitting them from siblings, being placed far away from their home area, being placed with foster parents who are not ideal (different ethnic background, religion, social interests, expertise, length of placement eg may only do respite fostering etc.)

Getting a good matched placement where the child can have stability would be perfect. The lack of stability creates “problem” children.

WHY ARE CHILDREN MOVED?

It might be cheaper for the local health board to use another foster home, the match with the foster carers may not be good, bad behaviour, the foster carers may only do short term, the foster carer is stopping fostering, social worker may wish to move the child back closer to original home area, foster carers circumstances change e.g. illness, job, moving home.

In the 10 years to 2006 the number of children in care per 10,000 children in the UK increased by 19%.

17% of children are placed over 21 miles from their original home.

Under 1% of children over 10 are placed for adoption, 18% of kids 1-4yrs old are placed for adoption. If you are 12 you aren’t going to get adopted.

A recent survey in Scotland found 40% of children in care had run away at some time.

The rate of staff leaving social work varies between 10.8% to 24.7% depending on where you are located. Each worker would have about 20 children in their files to look after. The statutory minimum visits they make are once per month but this could be once a week or more.

47.5% of all placements are 3 months or less.

All is not bad, a higher percentage of children in care are now put into foster care (as opposed to residential homes/schools) in recent years. The percentage has gone up from 66% to 70%.

62% of all kids are in care because of abuse and neglect a further 25% because of their parents leaving or what is termed having a dysfunctional family. One scenario might be that the mother may have a new partner who now wants his own family and so the existing kids are not wanted.

Going into care is a very traumatic experience. Trying to understand why it is happening. Meeting new people with new rules in a new environment. The child may be ashamed of its unfashionable clothing, split up from his or her siblings. Maybe only seeing them infrequently. Changing school, losing friends. Trying to fit in with new groups of people. Being moved. Thinking always that it is your fault.

Children want to be with their own family, however some do realise that fostering is the best option for them.

When in care 1000′s of these children/young people are being moved around and around.

Children in care can be different in some ways .They may not know their father and/or mother and so they might fantasise about them, that they are rich, really cool, wonderful e.g. like David Beckham etc. They may equate love with material things and be very materialistic. They may have no personal history, no photos, no one to tell them what they were like when they were small. Longterm being in care and the instability it brings can be very destructive to young lives.