Putting My House In Order

I've spent the day looking through the CD collection, intending to throw some out, but that time will come when I finally move house. It was interesting, though- I found a lot of missing darlings and I'm gonna have a good old play through them when I have finished the current stage in the operation, Sitting Down For A While.
I found a couple of Helen and the Horns Etc CDs which I'm not sure whether to take down to Rough Trade or not- I will have to check to see if it's still up on their website. I found two Christmas ones (I wonder if Bendi want some new Christmas tracks? That was a lot of fun!).
Nude Magazine have been in touch to say they are going to review Poetry and Rhyme in their September issue. I'm dead pleased because I really like the magazine; they do a lot of stuff about illustrators and artists at the margins, and I love all that. They also advertise lots of weird clothing and jewellery and I love all that too.

Anyway... off to Rochefort en Accords on Thursday to a collaboration festival that will have to be my holiday this year too. BJ Cole's going, who played on Songbird, and lots of other people too. It will be fun.
I'm going into the studio again next week to finish a song off because Martin and myself have almost finished our distance-collaboration album. He is recording in Ross-shire this afternoon; I shall be recording in good old Kenton above the pub and the Indian sweet shop. You know the one.
Rant
I understand that musicians and artists are Up-Their-Own-Arseists. We were born this way and we can not help it. I remember being shut in a room at the Employment Office in the 1980s, the door bolted by a man in a pale blue nylon shirt who proceeded to harangue me for ages about how I saw myself as an artist in a garret, and how I should just get a normal job like everyone else.
He summed up something during that shoutfest: some people hate artheads because they can not understand them. They think we want to deliberately get up their noses by sewing our embroidery on the bottom left hand corner of our shirts instead of in the middle like everyone else (seriously, that was another one!!). But I hereby make a statement for our rights! Not for nothing did we get bullied mercilessly at school and despaired of by our parents! We are here, on our own planets while simultaneously treading the Earth with you; tolerate us, love us and we will share everything with you because part of being a true artist is a massive generosity of spirit, and we would like nothing better than for everyone we meet to enjoy the pleasures of creativity as much as we do.
So there.