Back Through The Mists Of Time

Years and years and years and years ago... Lester Square and me organised what we called Music Halls, but what were really Music Free For Alls (time limit ten minutes to avoid boring acts). we put one on at the London Musicians Collective in Camden with free sausages and rough cider, raising money for the London Lighthouse Aids Hospice. 

The following year, we took 30 people up to the Edinburgh Fringe to perform at the Rifle Lodge. Bloody hell, it was fun! Often, there were more people in the cast than there were in the audience. We had Dada poetry, members of the band Furniture as a big band playing interval music, Lester Square as an MC, Carmen Miranda Tribute act, a Women's Health and Beauty tribute act, a clarinet act, a play about a Marine Biologist condensed from an hour into ten minutes, and more. Dry ice! I dressed in tap shoes and galloped around on a plywood horse with moveable legs singing a fake music hall song called She's A Girl Who Likes To Have A Horse Between Her Legs ('she's a rotter to that trotter, she's a stinker to that steed').

Lester Square sent me these photos the other day, some from each one, I think. Some of the cast slept in layers on the floor of McMum and McDad's flat, some at Lester's sister's (it had just burnt out a few days before, so those people smelled of smoke) and some in an old Post Office van. 

Woven Together, Ortus Gallery, Camberwell

This is a small but perfectly formed exhibition of textile works by artists from the Bethlem Gallery. Stars of the show are a denim jacket with custom patches made by individual members of the workshop group, a black leather jacket with a beautifully painted back, and this crocheted map of the Bethlem Hospital grounds in Sydenham. The gallery has regular exhibitions at its Sydenham site, but these examples are on view in Camberwell in the gallery/café just behind the Maudsley hospital. I found them to be quite inspirational. Offsprog One has been involved in setting this up, and it's great to see it up and running!

Thanks To Loud Women

Thank you Loud Women for 'seeing' me, or maybe that should be 'hearing' me. I am loud in my head and in my heart!

https://loudwomen.org/2026/08/20/rebellion-2026-saturday-highlights/

'Helen McCookerybook on the Almost Acoustic stage on Saturday, bringing decades of DIY music history into a setting made for songs and stories rather than sheer volume.

From punk beginnings to a long solo catalogue, she is a reminder that the history of women in independent music is much wider than the names that usually get repeated. A quietly essential Rebellion booking.'

Photo by Jeanie Jean

Part Of A Huge Film Crew, Denmark Street, London

 

Lost Doll In The Weeds

 

Dammit

Arfur, next door's barky dog (Arf! Arf!) has just given up his morning barkfest; now the builders have started up over the road with their whining drills and clanging hammers.

What's a girl to do, trying to home-record vocals this week?

Actually, I've already been playing guitar and bass this morning and I'm resting the track to see what it sounds like before doing anything else to it. It's a song that was sounding turgid, so I upped the BPMs by ten and it has come to life. Playing bass has made my back ache: it must use muscles that are normally dormant. It's very tempting to start up drumming classes again because I think that's a similar area of the body, muscle-wise.

I've just arranged to have Gran's banjo looked at. It has no bridge and I'd rather get one from the correct era put on it if at all possible. The repair man sounded excited. That's the sort of repair man you need!

Bathtime For Robin

The Robin hasn't been around for a long time, but just now it was having a drink in the water that I put out for thirsty birds. It was looking a bit bedraggled, scruffy and dusty; sure enough, it took the plunge and had a jolly splash about for about ten minutes. I kept thinking it had finished, and then it jumped in again. By the time it had finished, it was glossy and sleek: it shook the drops off its feathers and flew off.

Next thing I knew a large Wood Pigeon decided to copy it, and smashed a plant pot full of thyme on the concrete of the yard. 

O the small garden dramas of bird life!

Mini-review Of Rebellion Songs

A vote of confidence for my new songs from Gary Trueman at www.devolutionmagazine.co.uk 'Helen McCookerybook wins the room over with her beautiful voice and brave, deeply personal songwriting. Tackling serious themes with pure heart and soul' Just what I need to hear today!

Mindlessness

I've invented a new thing: mindlessness.

It's the opposite of mindfulness, and much, much more relaxing. 

Playing Bass

Bloody bingo! Trying to write it in my head worked- I have the bassline written but not the skill to play it yet. Which means practicing. Urgh. I'm trying to channel Andy Warren, while sitting down instead of standing up, and not having my ankles crossed like he does. To be honest, I don't practice bass at all so I shouldn't begrudge putting a couple of hours in to get it right.

I had a tiny moment of triumph this morning trying out a new plugin which made an awkward recording work. It only takes a small thing to boost your confidence to do the Next Big Thing.

Funny how inspiring the big butch lad walking through Newcastle upon Tyne in his t-shirt in the cold, with a cute little cockatiel in a cage was!

Skiving

I'm not sure if I'm skiving or just taking a bit of time out!

Yesterday, I was a victim of funky lateness twice in one go: things that are supposed to begin at a certain time and don't seem to be part of social life. I didn't mind though. Every time I walk somewhere it's an opportunity to think through stuff to do with the album; the reflection is part of the process.

The bass guitar is looming in the kitchen, waiting to be played. Are my fingers ready? I do hope so!

Thoughts On Recording

Playing the songs 'out' on Saturday has taught me a lot. I'm going to swap to playing the Telecaster for some songs- which means quite a lot of re-recording. The Green Goddess sounds just too pretty for a couple of the more energised songs. I also know it was a wise decision to wait until the weather cools down a bit to do the lead vocals. I've finally got used to the change in my lung capacity and there's a different voice in there that is louder and more expressive. I suppose the cancer was working like a cork in the top part of my lungs and my instinct is to explode with loudness, but one does have to sing in tune doncha know!

It's going to be very hot again, and I got up early to edit Tracy's vocals that we recorded last week. I am going to sing to her vocal after her singing to mine, so to speak. What a great thing to be properly in touch with her again. There were some parts of punk that were so awful that a lot of it has been suppressed. Revisiting it now has been very uncomfortable, but it was hugely cathartic singing on the Almost Acoustic Stage at Rebellion on Saturday- there are so many things that I've never told anyone before. There is something about storytelling in song that makes it neater and easier to speak the truth. I feel a lot taller and stronger after that. Bones of steel mate, bones of steel.

I've just remembered what the most cruel person in Brighton said, the person that I'm not going to sing about. He accused me of being 'meek'. I am not that at all. I am extremely strong.

In some ways, all those years of writing musicals for youth groups and theatre groups has unfolded into this album, and all the strategies that I've used to help people to express their thoughts in songwriting at the workshops that I've run have played out in my own creative life. I have such a clear vision for this album!

Man Walks Past Ronnie Rude In Blackpool

 

From the High Tide Festival Twickenham, A Few Weeks Ago

 

Blackpool Street Trader Sells Fluffy Little Things On Sticks