I first met Ray Shulman when we were both in class 1B (what would now be Year 7) at The Portsmouth Technical High School – now Trafalgar School which is opposite the Coach and Horses pub in Hilsea.

In music lessons, the teacher Mr Wassell would get Ray to play violin, which to be honest did not really impress me. However one Science lesson I decided to sit at the back of the class with two “Jack the Lads “ Trev Lovett and Jamie Adams. I got into trouble for talking to them, but my “reward” was being asked if I wanted to go and see Ray Shulman, not play violin. but bass guitar in a band called “The Roadrunners.”

The venue was Eastney Modern School in which Ray’s brother Phil was a teacher. I was totally naïve, and this was the first time I had been to anything more social than an Auntie’s birthday party. I had no cool clothes to wear – it was a toss-up between my school uniform or cricket whites! Fortunately, I had just about time to get to “Squires” in Commercial Road for mum to buy me a Ben Sherman button-down shirt and a black knitted tie.
I managed to refuse the cigarettes Trev and Jamie offered me on the walk from the bus. “What’s up, can’t your body take it?” I remember them daunting. When I got inside the “club’” I could not believe the atmosphere – it was super charged – girls in mini- skirts – and I mean mini -skirts – music so loud it made my ears hurt and a strange smell which I later found out was body odour and girls – girls in mini- skirts and I mean mini- skirts – whoops I have already said that! I was going to an all -boy’s school and was shy as anything with the opposite sex- so when one girl later offered me a cigarette there was no way that I could refuse. Mind you I made myself look a complete idiot by trying to light the filter tip end! But that was the start of my smoking “career” which finally finished on my 21st birthday.

The Roadrunners later became Simon Dupree and the Big Sound and had a top ten hit called “Kites”. Before that they had a minor hit with “I See The Light”. which is featured today. (Ray is playing sometimes on his back!) They then became a prog rock band that were really big in America called “Gentle Giant” (which I spoke about last week) One of my few claims to fame is that when I was 15 years old the Police caught me on my Lambretta Li 150 scooter with Ray on the back when I had not passed my driving test. We were stopped near his house in Eastney Road opposite a club- “The Birdcage”‎. We got away with it –I won’t tell you how as it was highly illegal- but having a rock superstar on the back of my scooter put up my street cred massively.

I had not seen Ray for many years, but we shared some great times and I miss him lots.

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I started writing this blog on February 6^th 2014 and Ray Shulman was mentioned in the very first episode. He sadly died in March and recently the Guardian wrote this obituary.

Ray Shulman, who has died aged 73, was an adventurous composer, musician and record producer. He was born in Portsmouth to Louis Shulman and Rebecca Laufer, and attended Portsmouth Technical high school. At first he seemed set to become a jazz trumpeter like his dad, then seemed headed for the National Youth Orchestra, but in 1966 he was persuaded to join his older brother Derek’s R&B group Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. Their career – whose highpoint was the psychedelic hit Kites – flared and faded while Ray was still a teen, but the group soon reinvented itself as Gentle Giant, an ensemble of supremely accomplished multi-instrumentalists who combined medieval, baroque, folk, jazz and rock elements with joyous panache.

Too challenging for the charts, the band’s music dazzled and delighted audiences in concert. Integral to its charms were Ray’s muscular but always elegant bass playing and his sprightly violin (often bounced around the hall by an innovative sound system).

It was after one such gig in 1973, in Cleveland, that Barbara Tanner, a photographer, snapped Ray outside a strip club and joked that she would send it to his mother if he didn’t stay in touch. Tan and Ray were partners from that moment, marrying in 1981.

After Gentle Giant bowed out in 1980, Ray experienced a creative renaissance as a producer of quirky alternative pop. He produced Björk’s breakthrough band the Sugarcubes and a slew of indie acts, including his personal favourites, AR Kane, with whom he also played bass. Morphing into a tech wizard, he went on to score video games, release a techno 12-inch under the name Head Doctor, author DVDs for bands such as New Order and Queen, and compose commercials for Nike.

Ray’s lack of interest in reforming Gentle Giant when prog came back in vogue frustrated fans; he had certainly moved on, but his alienation was not disapproval. “Sorry to give the impression that I’m not a GG fan,” he told me. “I loved our time and like the fact it’s still remembered, particularly when sampled by hip-hop acts.” A heartwarming YouTube video of Proclamation, directed by Ray’s nephew Noah and recorded during Covid lockdown by a far-flung collective of younger-generation fans and former band members, celebrated the music’s enduring verve. Ray had long abandoned his violin but he contributed some banjo, smiling gently.

He is survived by Tan and his brothers, Derek and Phil.

I will share my own memories of Ray next week.

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Taken from https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/tennis/66170486

Patiently I Wait For The Lord – featuring Edward Baker – Duly – guide vocal for Theophilus – the Musical – recorded by Joffy James

I am usually more interested in Test cricket, especially, when it is the Ashes, but I just had to share this clip of a 67 year-old tennis player at Wimbledon. If anyone thinks they are getting old when they near the “three score and ten” landmark then they need to watch this.
Incidentally my Virgin email has been down now for 7 days due to what has been described as an “outage” – basically an internet shutdown. I did not realise how much I relied on communicating through email and it made me wonder how people survived waiting for a letter to be delivered in the “olden days”.
Here is an extract from a history of the Royal Mail:
When Charles I first introduced public mail service in 1635, letters were carried from one ‘post’ to the next ‘post’ by carriers on foot or on horseback. Up until that time, the post system was reserved for the use of the King and his Court. At each ‘post’ the ‘postmaster’ would remove the letters for his immediate area and then hand the rest to another ‘post boy’ who would carry them on. Letters took a long time to reach their destination with foot messengers travelling less than eighteen miles in a day. A letter sent to Edinburgh from London might not receive a response for nearly two months. However, this system would continue for another century and a half.
There were six main post roads throughout England and Scotland and the very first ‘post office’ was set up in Bishopsgate Street in London. The four main post roads ran between London, Dover, Plymouth, and Edinburgh with Bristol and Yarmouth being added by the end of the century. Letters sent through the public postal service could travel only over these routes. This meant that a letter sent from Yarmouth to Edinburgh would have to travel through London. However, under this scheme, letters were to travel both day and night, and therefore could travel 120 miles in a 24 hour day. In the beginning, a letter written on a single sheet of paper would cost 2d to travel 80 miles with postage to Scotland from London being 8d and to Ireland 9d. In addition to this official post service, hundreds of carriers delivered letters and packages across the dominion in direct competition to the service.
And I’m complaining !!!

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Jesus You Are Everything featuring Lucy Stimpson-Maynard from the album “I Look Up To The Heavens” recorded and produced by John Hodgkinson

I always find it encouraging when celebrities testify to their faith. Premier News recently wrote this about Gold medal swimmer Adam Peaty:
Britain’s superstar swimmer Adam Peaty has revealed that a newfound faith in God helped him overcome alcohol misuse.
The breaststroker has started going to church every Sunday, in order to help him become a better athlete and father.
He said: “It’s about being a better person. Not only being a better athlete and fulfilling my gift, but also being a better dad for George. There are so many other reasons. It gets quite deep. But it’s great to be a part of.”
After suffering a foot injury, resulting in surgery, Peaty was initially disappointed by his early performances at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. However, after clawing it back later in the competition, he walked away with two gold medals, to add to the one he already had at home.
After struggling with his mental health, he reached out to the Olympic chaplain Ashley Null.
He says the conversations with the priest had a huge impact in understanding his mental struggles.
Last year, Peaty split from the mother of his young son, and says his relationship with alcohol, and his depression, worsened.
He was also diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
“I took a break because I was on this endless search of a gold medal or a world record and I looked into the future and I said ‘OK, if I do get that is my life fixed or any better?’ No,” Peaty told BBC Sport.
He continued: “Hopefully when I get to the Olympics I will be in a very good mindset, very grateful and most importantly happy.”
Peaty’s trophy cabinet is already bursting at the seams, with eight World Championship gold medals, 17 golds at European Championships and four golds at the Commonwealth Games.

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There’s Gonna Be A Party” featuring the Mustard Seed Soul Band from the album His Story recorded and produced by Ross

I have never attended Glastonbury, but way back I did attend its forerunner -the Bath Festival of Blues at nearby Shepton Mallett ((well 25 mins away!) I remember seeing Led Zepplin, Fleetwood Mac and The Nice (later Emerson. Lake and Palmer) Seeing the huge crowds at Glastonbury brought all those memories flooding back including an impromptu performance by the folk singer Donavan.
The music of Elton John has never really been my thing but his performance at age 76 with a dodgy hip was, I have to say, pretty amazing. One song did, however, remind me of my post referring to Ed Sheeren’s legal case re plagiarism. In “Crocodile Rock” there is a sing- along part which is identical to one of the hits of American 60s singer Pat Boone – “Speedy Gonzales”.
Have a listen to the two and see if you agree.
“Crocodile Rock” (sorry it is not the Glastonbury performance, but it is pretty much the same as that of Glastonbury with Elton enthusing the audience to la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la. (found around 3 min 30 secs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrpI7WbJcO8
“Speedy Gonzales” (the la, la’s are found around 2mins 20 secs)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajEkzwf7WNY
Apparently, the writers of “Speedy Gonzales” did make the point to Elton, but nothing came of it – Ed Sheeran eat your heart out!

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Father Let Your Spirit Fall Upon Me featuring Lucy Stimpson- Maynard from the album I Look Up To The Heavens recorded and produced by John Hodgkinson

Back in January I started to tell you about Mustard Seed Song’s “Theophilus – The Musical – “A Journey of Faith”-how we have taken from the full 2- hour stage production those conversations that Luke and Theophilus share which relate to some of the challenging issues that people face, especially those on a journey of faith. I went on to explain that we have filmed two episodes centred on “Will I go to heaven when I die?” and “How can a God of love allow all the suffering in the world.”

Once we have received funding, we will film the remaining 6 episodes which hopefully will be used by Home Groups and their guests.

Edward Baker- Duly. who plays Luke, explains more in this week’s featured video.

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A dear friend of mine, Jimmie Guyman, an American basketball player many regard as the best to play in the UK recommended two films (he calls them movies) for me to watch. The first was “Redeeming Love” made in 2022 which is based on Francine Rivers’ 1991 novel of the same name, The story is based on the Biblical story of Hosea, and is set in the American Old West during the California Gold Rush. It stars Abigail Cowen, Tom Lewis and Logan Marshall-Green.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Redeeming Love” but was less keen on the start of Jimmie’s second recommendation “I Can Only Imagine”. However, I went back to it and was so very pleased that I did. I had not realised that the song by band “Mercy Me” had, as of March 2018, sold 2.5 million copies, making it the best-selling Christian single of all time.
As you may know I am a huge fan of “Les Misérables” and was, therefore especially interested to find that the actor who plays Bart Millard, the composer and singer of “I Can Only Imagine”, is J. Michael Finley who was discovered for the role while playing understudy to Jean Valjean on Broadway.
Some words of the song I found particularly inspiring.

Surrounded by Your glory
What will my heart feel?1
Will I dance for You Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in Your presence
Or to my knees, will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine.

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You Can Call Me Abba featuring Lucy Stimpson-Maynard from the album “Where Would I Be Without You”? recorded and produced by Ross Gill

I read this in Premier Media News and thought it worth sharing.
Abbey Clancy, the wife of former England footballer Peter Crouch, revealed that he never misses a prayer every night.
Speaking on their podcast “The Therapy Crouch,” which they both host, the football star admitted that the ritual began during his childhood when he used to pray to God asking for the opportunity to become a professional footballer as he grew older.
Peter giggled as Clancy, 37, told the story: “So you say prayers every night.
“It’s funny, like when we’re going to sleep, I’ll be like talking, obviously. And then he’ll just like, stop talking.
“And then obviously – I’ve slept in the same bed as him for 17 years now – so I just like stop talking while he says his prayer, and then just continue my conversation.”
Peter replied, “’I say it in my head”.
Clancy then confessed she was “desperate” to know what the prayer is every night and gave a go at guessing.
“’He’ll be like, dear God, please can you look after all of my loved ones?
“I just want to say thanks for my house, happiness and can you please look after my family and loved ones and blah blah?”
To which Crouch answered: “Not far off. I think it is nice to just appreciate what you’ve got.

And this story reminded me of another I had heard about a guy called Jim.

Jim would stop by his local church every day, sit down and simply say “Hello Jesus, its me Jim”. He would then leave.

Many years later Jim was in a care home where he never received any visitors. When asked if that upset him, he replied “No, you see I get a visitor every single day……………. every single day Jesus stops by, sits down and says “Hello Jim, its me Jesus”.

Which I think is a nice example of prayer not having to be complicated.

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Model Release: No
Property Release: No
Man touching tree bark

I Love You Lord (Laurie- Klein) featuring the Portsmouth Gospel Choir recorded and produced by Joffy James

So last blog I looked at the expression “fingers crossed” and found that its origins may be found in Christianity – so what about “touch wood”?
Wikipedia states that it is apotropaic or protective magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune. So touching wood, or merely stating that one is doing so is done to avoid “tempting fate” after making a statement you wish to come true. Interestingly in USA the expression is more likely to be “Knocking on wood” or “knock on wood” as in the Eddie Floyd classic soul song (Eddie, incidentally, is still alive aged 85)
Some believe the origin of the expression can be traced to ancient Celtic peoples, who believed it called on spirits or gods of the trees. Others believe that it comes from Christianity and relates to the wood of the cross of crucifixion. A more modern theory from folklore researcher Steve Roud suggests it derives from a form of tag called “Tiggy Touchwood” in which players are safe from being tagged if they are touching wood.
I personally avoid the expression as I am not a fan of anything that could be construed as superstitious, which leads me nicely (I hope) to next week’s blog which focuses on fear.

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We Can Do Anything featuring Lucy Stimpson-Maynard from the album “Precious” recorded and produced by Ross Gill

When I was at Junior school in Gillingham, Kent if you wanted to call a truce on a game e.g. not be caught in a game of chase you would cross your fingers while at the same time call out what I thought was “fan lights” but which I now discover was “fainites.” Fainites was apparently first recorded in the original Notes & Queries in 1870: “Fains or Fain it – a term demanding a truce during the progress of any game, which is always granted by the opposing party.” The word itself derives from the 14th- century “feine” or “faine”, itself deriving from the Old French se feindre meaning “to make excuses, hang back, back out (esp. of battle)”. The “nites” part may have originated in “faine Sir Knight”, a medieval truce in non-mortal combat or jousting.
Anyway, when I moved to Portsmouth I was astonished to find that instead of “fainites” children shouted out “creamies” which may in fact have been “crees”. Crossing fingers is also sometimes considered as an excuse for telling a white lie or invalidating a promise being made. Of course it is also commonly used to wish for luck. Whatever its use I always thought that saying “fingers crossed” was simply a superstition, however I discover that it may have its origins in Christianity.
“Plansponsor” states “Crossing fingers dates to a pre-Christianity belief in Western Europe in the powerful symbolism of a cross. The intersection was thought to mark a concentration of good spirits and served to anchor a wish until it could come true. In those days, people would cross their index finger over that of someone expressing a wish to show support. This eventually evolved into one person crossing their fingers on their own.
In the early days of Christianity, when Christians were persecuted for their beliefs, to recognize fellow Christians, people developed a series of hand gestures, one of which involved forming the fish symbol by touching thumbs and crossing index fingers. Christians also would cross their fingers to invoke the power associated with Christ’s cross. In 16th-century England, people crossed fingers or made the sign of the cross to ward off evil.
What about the expression “Touch wood”? Ill look at that one next week.

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