Stamford

It was nice to pop over the county border into Lincolnshire to visit Stamford. Stamford is a town and civil parish on the River Welland district.It is 92 miles north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh
Lots of places of interest and unusual old bookshops and pubs to try. As well as some 15 or so Churches.
 Some lovely doors with their Christmas wreaths on show.

Jack Frost

Temperatures overnight dropped to a chilling minus 6 degrees leaving a covering of ice and mist turning the surrounding area into a 'fantasy land'.
 I decided to leave the car at home and walk down to the Samaritans Centre on the Kettering Road and take a few photos to capture the scene.
Surprisingly as I walked I soon got very warm , something to do with the 10 layers I was wearing no doubt.

It was lovely to come across this large herd of sheep grazing on some common land . They seemed totally oblivious to the cold.


The floodlights in the distance are at Northants County Cricket Club and the foreground is the old golf course that is now Bradlaugh Fields.

Magnum & Trillium - Wolverhampton

I have mentioned before I will always have a massive soft spot for Magnum. The title of this blog is dedicated to their 1985 masterpiece 'On a Storytellers Night'. This was something of a homecoming gig with most of the band being from the midlands/Staffordshire area. The Wulfrun Hall was pretty packed despite competition at the adjoining 'Civic' from 'Ned's Atomic Dustbin'...... Prior to Magnum we had Trillium who again impressed as they did when I saw them support Delain earlier this year.

There is no doubting that singer Amanda Somerville has a powerful and dramatic voice with great stage presence. They are a good band and guitarist Paul Owsinski is a talent. Amanda explained that she has known Bob (Catley) from working together on the 'Avantasia' projects a few years ago and he asked her to join him on tour. Magnum show no signs of slowing down despite being well into their fourth decade and Bob reaching the ripe old age of sixty five. Actually their latest album 'On the 13th Day' is excellent and probably their best work in the last ten years. First song 'All the Dreamers' was from the new album. We also had 'Blood Red Laughter', 'Dance of the Black Tattoo' and 'See how they Fall'. It's the timeless classics though that really steal the show. The first of which is the anthemic 'How Far Jeruslaem' with everybody joining in. This was followed by the emotive and passionate 'Les Morts Dansant'. The emotional 'The Spirit' never fails to move me and takes me right back to the mid 80's every time. It is pure poetry from the master lyricist/guitarist Tony Clarkin. Two of my favourites were still to come with 'Vigilante' and the pounding 'Kingdom of Madness' to round off a brilliant set. After rapturous applause we had a three song encoure which included 'Rockin' Chair' with Bob singing “I need my rockin' but I don't need no rockin' chair” which sounded like a statement of intent! I hope so, as this was two hours of pure bliss by a band I have followed through thick and thin. Full Set List All the Dreamers When we were Younger Blood Red Laughter Wild Angels Brand New Morning How Far Jerusalem The Flood Les Morts Dansant The Spirit Dance of the Black Tattoo All My Bridges All Englands Eyes Vigilante Kingdom of Madness Encore See How they Fall Rockin'Chair Days of no Trust