on train York-Glasgow, teeming rain outside

On Thursday I had a whole day at home - the last proper one until about September - so I spent it practising Geminiani solos while reconfiguring a computer in the kitchen. Really serious practice is often best done whilst doing something else, so that you don't get too closed in on yourself mentally and physically. At the end of the day I recorded myself playing all the pieces so that when I eventually listen back to it I'll know what details to work on next. Listening to yourself when not actually engaged in playing, you hear all kinds of things that you would miss when a large chunk of your brain is still involved in the actual moving of the digits.

My other job on Thursday was to make the company accounts look presentable to share with the ConCal board on Friday night. We had two new directors, and one retiring; lots of support and useful advice were dispensed. Very worthwhile.

I also got my copy of Cubasis to work so that I can record my piano overdubs for Chris's Christmas album at home. I haven't used Cubase for about ten years, but I can remember some of the keyboard commands and I don't have to do any complicated editing, just comp some takes. There's something satisfying about being able to record at home, but I've booked into to a cheap local studio on Monday night to record the harmonium and melodica. On the subject of overdubs, I got a message from Lisa Milne today that she's up for appearing on SADN II - so 'Lisa sings the Buzzcocks' could become a reality after all.

I've spent some of my train journey listening carefully to the rough mixes of Chris's tracks and writing down all the chords that Andy plays on the guitar, so that I don't obliterate all his harmony. Because I live close to the airport, it's years since I took a long train journey like this (apart from the occaisonal overnight sleeper) and it's a very civilised way to travel. I used to do it all the time.

I was in York yesterday to produce a session for Ricordo's next CD of Schmelzer for Linn: they're doing most of it in the autumn, but this was the only day the wind players were free to do their bits. So after their live appearance on Radio 3's Early Music Show (with Alison playing violone) we waited for the BBC to clear out and then set up our gear.

Being around York during the Early Music Festival inevitably means bumping into all kinds of people: Kate Bott was presenting the radio show, and Mhairi, Gary Cooper, Paula Chateauneuf, and various others were around later on - a chance to swap stories and have the inevitable 'we really must do some stuff together sometime' conversations. I might have wangled another trip to the Met Museum in NYC next April too.

Driving south with sound engineer Matt Parkin yesterday, we listened to the new demo from Greg's klezmer/Balkan band Moishe's Bagel. Utterly brilliant (and pianist Phil Alexander plays the melodica, what more could you want). Greg gave me a copy after I bumped into him for the first time in months, in the garage at the bottom of our road at 11.30pm on Thursday. A couple of times they've asked me to produce sessions for them, but they don't need a producer, just someone to push them into the room and say 'go'. As Alison said when I played it to her yesterday, 'there's always at least one more thing going on than needs to be there', so it's tremendous fun to listen to. I must take a copy to Canada in a few weeks for Mr Greenberg, in his role as connoisseur of Jewish fiddle players.