Bagpipes at the golden hour

three weeks old

my daughter is three weeks old today.

yes, i have a daughter.

a peaceful, tiny, perfect girl.

she has an adoring, proud big brother.

feeling very blessed and happy to be home.

i am amazed again at the way being a parent

makes me become more.

just had my first long weekend away since the birth.

llewella thrived. i survived.

what a wonderful response tho, in costa mesa.

we were back at the first ever celtic festival we played.

16 years down the road. and quite the road it has been.

i look forward to a busy summer.

being in the garden with my family.

and playing shows all over the country.

a time of change it is. and more change coming.

i suspect things will look quite different come the fall.

i suspect i will look quite different come the fall.

angus

any day now

any day now

i become a dad again.

and asa a big brother.

the little bloke has me smiling and laughing,

and changing my point of view. a lot.

and that's the medicine i want.

so glad to be home in this time.

just being with the family.

tending the garden.

we have a deer proof fence this year,

so we're planning on having a lot more veggies.

keeping the business rolling along too. thanks leels.

amazing things are happening in this time.

20 years since i came here from oz,

with my 2 brothers,

and BROTHER began.

yes, it is quite the time...

we have a busy summer coming.

our busiest since we became 3.

i will enjoy it all very much.

but for now, there's a new human coming ...

angus

today, 2 years ago,
my son came into the world.
changed everything. got my heart to expanding exponentially ...

meanwhile, outside, there's a world on fire.

can't imagine what people in japan are going thru.

can't imagine what people in the middle east are going thru.

earthquake, tsunami, rebellion, more war,

another crazy celebrity, a royal wedding. what now?

divide and conquer. yes, it's all a distraction, n'est-ce pas?

and yet, more every day are waking up. seeing thru the illusions.

the sun sets. the sun rises. and i'm talking to myself again.

oh, my god. oh, my god. oh, your god. let them talk, shall we?

drew's here. time to be making music again.

anticipating my little boy becoming a big brother soon.

truth and sanity there.
and today? happy birthday little matey ...

angus

egypt revisited

as the uprising continues in egypt i think back on our time there
and try to reconcile what is happening with my memories.
warm and friendly people everywhere we went.
an incredible mix of the modern and the truly ancient,
which seemed to highlight the humility of the people.
crazy taxi rides in cairo, straight out of an indiana jones movie.
rich, bustling markets filling the alleys and squares of beautiful buildings
many centuries old.
finding the bargains with my sister and brother in law, ahmed.

the pyramids. words don't begin.
riding horses around them with our dad, big dave.
the big fella perched up on his steed, looking mighty uncomfortable,
stirrups way too short for his long legs.
a far cry from the farm - my last time on a horse, at seventeen.
the ubiquitous hustlers, selling everything from camel rides to souvenirs,
priceless antiquities all.
visiting a place of abject poverty in alexandria,
playing music on the street there.
being welcomed with open hearts and beaming smiles.
table and chairs brought out onto the streets,
and a big pot of tea to share with us.
communicating without words.
the happiest children in the direst circumstances,
following us like we were pied pipers,
smiling and dancing til the end of their neighborhood,
where they shouted and waved goodbye.

and of course, the military presence.
most obvious when we went to do an interview
at the government run radio in cairo.
the only radio in cairo. with heavier security than the airport.
but in spite of all the oppressions, the people were inspiring.
may their will and their good hearts triumph in the days ahead.

angus

egypt - rising like lions

thinking of the people of egypt,

with a million or more people on the streets as i write.

our time there a few years ago was truly magical.

an incredible place. wonderful people.

the memories make what's happening all the more real.

my brother in law's family is there in cairo, a part of it all.

the stories we hear are astounding.

of the multitudes shunning violence,

but remaining resolute in their stand.

protecting each other against the government's agents.

doing their best to thwart false flag outrages.

a human shield around the cairo museum.

christians and muslims worshipping together en masse,

protecting each other.

my sister's brother in law, shot in the head with a rubber bullet.

miraculously okay. others not so fortunate.

the words of percy brysshe shelley come to mind.

written in 1819 after the peterloo massacre,

the poem they are from is said to be the first modern statement

on the principle of nonviolent resistance ...

rise like lions after slumber

in unquenchable number.

shake your chains to earth like dew

which in sleep had fallen on you -

ye are many, they are few.

angus