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Floating Home 

It's been an incredible year! I never would have guessed when I set off from Norfolk in summer 2017 on 'Bluebell's Busking Bonanza Tour', travelling at 10mph by milk float from Norfolk to Land's End to raise money for Cancer Research, that I'd end up doing a Master's Degree in Songwriting at Bath Spa University!

 

The year has flown by, and I've learnt so much about songwriting, surrounded by some fantastic tutors and songwriters, and by simply having the time to devote myself to the study of my craft. It's an exciting time for me - returning to my Norfolk home I have plans to start a social enterprise recording studio and record label, teaching songwriting and making CDs for young and disadvantaged people in the North-Norfolk area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recording at Bath Spa University studios

I've also been busy writing and recording the songs for my new album, which will be released in spring 2019. I feel it's my best work yet, and am really proud of the songwriting and production on the album. I was fortunate to be able to take advantage of the talent on offer at the university, with some amazing musicians performing on the album, including Rob Brian, a Grammy-winning drummer whose credits include playing on Goldfrapp's last album.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gap year!

I'm also pleased to report that Bluebell has now made it safely back to Norfolk, and we will be continuing to slow the traffic down on the Norfolk roads for the foreseeable future!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Mid Summer Night's Cream 

After playing at Radcot Festival of Speed I took the opportunity to get some new batteries fitted to Bluebell, as the company I bought her from, CBL Electric Vehicles, were based just down the road at Bampton. While the batteries were being fitted I caught a bus to Witney, and realised I’d become truly acclimatised to travel by milk float when the bus hit 50mph and my stomach started churning because it felt so fast! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can’t describe the simple joy I experienced the next day when I managed a whole journey without the battery meter flashing red for the final few miles. My smart new batteries can do up to 50 miles on a charge, and I’m going to need them, as from Oxfordshire onwards the hills have been getting steeper by the day. 

I had a fantastic time the following weekend in Stroud, playing a street party for a friend who’d invited all her neighbours, and then doing an all-day music event outside the Subscription Rooms, where I was joined by some exceptionally talented local performers from the area. Overall, £500 was collected during the weekend, which is an amazing contribution towards my goal of raising £5000 for Cancer Research. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On my way from Stroud towards Glastonbury, I stopped at a beautiful little village called Woodchester to visit a Great-Great-Aunt that I’d never met before, who had recently reached her 100th birthday. It was fascinating to learn some more about my family history, and Aunty Clare (for short!) also thought my fundraising tour was brilliant. From the Cotswolds I made my way to Glastonbury for a Midsummer Night’s gig at The King Arthur pub. It was somewhat of a squeeze fitting Bluebell into the old coaching alley, but she just made it, and I even managed to sleep in there (in the milk float not the alley!) after doing my gig in the pub garden. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I travelled through some incredible countryside on my way to Dorset Midsummer Festival the following weekend, passing lots of quaint thatched cottages, and climbing the biggest hill of my tour so far, Bulbarrow, near where the festival was being held. I was playing Friday and Saturday at the festival, and had some fantastic helpers who went round the whole site collecting with my Cancer Research Bucket. Bluebell proved to be a big hit with the festival goers, and lots of new friends were made as well as money collected for a good cause. 

From Bulbarrow, I backtracked to Wiltshire for a weekend of gigs at the Barge Inn at Honey Street, stopping for a few days on the way at Wookey Hole in Somerset, where I’d lived when I was studying Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. Some much needed rest was taken, and I had a nice time walking in the Mendip Hills as well as doing some busking at Wells Market. AfterThe Barge Inn, I did an impromptu gig at Stone Henge Camp Site, and spent three days travelling cross-country to Charmouth, where I’ve just spent the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hills getting here were much bigger than I’d expected, and I got stuck twice on the way (I had to reverse back down the hills and go another way), and then I got stuck again on the final hill to my campsite. Luckily, the farmer was willing to come and give me a tow the final half mile, but Bluebell and I have even bigger hills to face between here and Land’s End. I’ve just set up a Facebook Group Let’s Get Bluebell to Land’s End – For Cancer Research, so please add yourself to it and share with your friends if you know anybody on our route that might be able to help tow us if we get stuck. All the details of our route and gigs are on the Facebook Page, and also at my gigs calendar, www.paulsmusic.co.uk/calendar.

 

So far a massive £2000 has been donated at gigs for Cancer Research – thank you everybody for your generosity. If you can’t make it to a gig but would still like to donate, you can do so at my JustGiving Page here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paulsmusic

Onwards, Upwards, Westwards! 

It’s been an incredible start to the tour, so much has happened since I set off two weeks ago on a rainy Friday afternoon from Sheringham, to go and do my tour launch at the Harnser in Cley-next-the-Sea. Lots of good wishes and farewells from friends and family, and a slight feeling of trepidation the next morning as I left the North-Norfolk coast behind for the long journey to Land’s End. 

My hosts the following night, The Ostrich Inn at Castle Acre, had forgotten I was coming, so it was a good job I phoned ahead to let them know I’d be arriving in a milk float later that day! Rosie, the bar manager, did a fantastic job rallying round some last-minute support, and we had a decent crowd with plenty of donations to Cancer Research, and a booking for me to return at the end of August for their bank holiday beer festival. 

From Castle Acre I made my way through the Cambridgeshire Fens to a gig two nights later at The Blueball Inn, stopping in Cambridge to do a radio interview for Cambridge 105 on the way. I played a song I’d written for my dad ‘A Suitcase Full of Memories’ live on-air, and both myself and the presenter Leigh were having to choke back tears by the end of the song. Afterwards, I went in search of a fancy-dress shop as I thought it would be fun to get a milkman’s outfit. The only thing I could find that I liked was a rasta hat with a dreadlock wig attached, so I bought that and started dreaming up an imaginary roadie who’d be joining me for the tour, Milk Float Rasta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next gig was the most unusual so far, in front of some concrete cows at Milton Keynes Museum. I wanted to make a video of me playing a song next to the iconic cows, which the museum had kindly agreed to, and I was soon joined by a large group of schoolchildren who were visiting for the day. After more cross-country travel, I arrived in Oxford two days later for my gig at the Tap Social Brewery, a fantastic brewery that is also a social enterprise helping people back into work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a slightly petrifying experience afterwards, when the Sat-Nav guided me from a nice country lane directly onto the A34, with oncoming cars approaching at 80mph. Luckily (but not for the drivers behind me) the road funnelled into a single lane due to road-works, and I drove for another two miles with a massive queue behind me, until I turned off for my campsite, giving the road-workers a big thumbs-up which they found hilarious! 

I was up early the next day to get to my gig at Radcot Festival of Classic Speed (ironic I know!), organised by a friend of mine, Mike, who’d done some of the conversion work on Bluebell when I bought her two years previously. There was a fantastic display of vintage motorbikes and cars at the festival, and after playing some music, Alan the landlord of Ye Old Swan Inn across the river asked if I’d do a gig for them in the pub garden the next day. When I tried to park Bluebell parallel to the garden, Alan decided that we needed to get rid of a couple of bollards in the layby so that Bluebell could get in closer, and produced a chain-saw! Mike’s daughters, and Zoe who was running the BBQ, went round with my Cancer Research bucket, and I raised over £100 in an hour. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity of the people I’ve met so far, from campsite owners returning my fees and putting donations in my bucket, to an elderly man in the queue at the bank who I’d said could go before me, and who then came up to me afterwards and gave me a £20 donation after I’d told him about my mad-cap quest to reach Land’s End at 10mph.

I’ve started doing Facebook Live videos (and so has Milk Float Rasta - send him a song request to play live from Milk Float HQ!!), and if you haven’t already done so I’d really appreciate it if you could like my Facebook Page, and share some of my posts to help spread the word. The fundraising is going really well, with almost £1,000 raised so far, and it should be another great weekend at Stroud, with a street party on Friday, and 'The Bluebell Music Festival' (named in our honour!) at the Subscription Rooms in Stroud on Saturday, where I’ll be joined by some fantastic local singer-songwriters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the Woods Again! 

Travel by milk float is always full of ups and downs (literally!), and the last couple of weeks has been no exception. Bluebell broke down during a long test-run in Norfolk last week, and I had to call out somebody from the company in Oxfordshire where I originally bought her to come and find out what the heck was going on. They were fantastic, and set off at 5am the next day to fit a new accelerator, which meant I was able to go ahead with the photo-shoot I'd arranged in some bluebell woods the day after. 











Needless to say more adventures ensued, with Bluebell getting stuck on a slope in the bluebell woods. A phone call to my friend with a Land Rover later, and Bluebell and I were soon out of the woods again! The photos were taken by Chris Taylor, who is a fantastic North-Norfolk based photographer, and he kindly donated his time for free as the aim of the tour is to raise as much money for Cancer Research as possible. 











Talking of which, I had my first busking session outside Budgens of Holt on Saturday 6th May, which was arranged by Baker’s and Larner’s who own the store. I set off with Bluebell for Holt feeling slightly downhearted as the wind was freezing and there was one of those steady drizzles that seems to permeate everything it touches. After a cup of hot chocolate in town I convinced myself to set my music gear up in the rain, and was soon singing my heart out. Despite my fingers turning a whiter shade of purple due to the icy wind, I raised £80 in an hour and a half, and went home feeling very contented with my first fundraising session. 











My tour launch at The Harnser in Cley on 2nd June is getting frighteningly close, from where I’ll be making my way gradually westwards to Cambridge, Oxford, Stroud, Glastonbury and then onwards to Land’s End in Cornwall by the end of July. If you’re on my tour route, please do come along to support me, and if you can’t make it but would like to donate please visit my JustGiving page here.