SpideWriter

Sounds of London - September, 2026  I am going to have to work backwards through my weekend. It’s been a long one, with a few miles on the road, family and friends and football included, so I think it best to rewind from the end through to the beginning to give my memory a chance to trawl up the events of Friday evening, after clearing the frontal lobes of Saturday night's delights. St Paul’s cathedral, looming large behind the glass and concrete of Newgate Street, still has the capacity to draw a sharp intake of breath. Its huge structure and elegant lines stand in stark contrast to the Legoland simplicity of its contemporary surroundings.  How impressive it must have been to the  citizens of 18th Century London when the wooden scaffolding was finally removed, I cannot imagine. I had taken a 56 bus to the Central Line from outside Dalston Junction through the streets north of the city on Saturday night, my head still buzzing and my feet tapping out the rhythms of Sovi...

Norwich is a City of Music Too Catch 21 Records:  Independent Record Label and Norwich Recording Studio I have spent a lot of time listening to local bands since moving to Norwich in August 2020.  The breadth and quality of music being produced here is nothing short of phenomenal.  Like another often overlooked music generator, The Isle of Wight, Norwich is a little remote and as such the citizens have to make their own entertainment.  Consequently, you will be able to find every music genre you care to mention, with excellent venues to suit. The Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant English church and non-conformists can take credit for their legacy of many acoustically sweet buildings that have been re-purposed as contemporary music venues, but Norwich has some more recently developed performance spaces of sonic quality too. The cathedral and old churches provide the most beautiful acoustic spaces, as was their design in the time before electric amplifica...