Dear Someone

Who knew that blogs had to have names? I didn’t, until I was installing WordPress and it asked me for a blog title. I hadn’t put any thought into it at all, and the installation was stalled until I entered something, so I used the first title that popped into my head — and it so happened that I was listening to the album Dear Someone by Rachel and Lillias at the time.

Rachel plays the harp and sings (in English and Gaelic). Lillias Kinsman-Blake plays the flute. And the album sounds like… exactly what you would expect an album with harp, flute and voice to sound like. Only better. It’s absolutely beautiful. My favourite new album of the year, so far.

So now you know. (Not that anybody had asked.) Anyway, I think it fits.

Although I often write with music playing, I don’t edit with songs playing.

Friday night I broke the rule and started copy-editing my latest story while listening to David Gilmour live in Gdansk.

I was doing ok until I had to sing along to Wish You Were Here. Then playing air guitar to Comfortably Numb completely finished me off. It’s impossible to read something accurately if you don’t have your full attention on it, and if you’re not reading something accurately then you’re not editing it properly.

Last night I finished the editing to Vaughn Williams’s 9th Symphony. This isn’t quite as bad, as there are no words to sing along to, but it’s still not good. If music is any good, it has to be listened to. Putting it on as ‘background’ is pointless. So with a complex symphony I still have part of my attention following the music and I’m not reading properly.

The only real way to edit is in silence. Or with background noise that you don’t need (or want) to listen to. I’m thinking that doing it on the beach, listening to waves and seagulls, might be the best approach. Unfortunately it’s going to be months before we get good enough weather to try it out.

(This post was brought to you with the accompaniment of Ravel, Daphnis and Chloe Suite No. 2.)