the Coomer Oxbow. Pic by John Levell.

Jeff says:

The delight of the month for me has been the discovery of the Avon Diary blog. Written by the river keeper, John Levell, it gives a rare insight into the day to day life of a river. This is ‘country’ writing at it’s best and, by letting us into his world, John’s document becomes something not only fascinating but also incredibly valuable. A real inspiration. Here’s an extract from last week:

Swims of every depth, shape and pace, long glides where chub and dace make long trotting a delight. Deep holes with bold perch jockeying for the best feeding spot, stencilled pike that hang motionless watching the fishy landscape with their cold unblinking gaze. Its not just that, there’s something else, that takes me back to those very first fish and the craving for writing and knowledge about the secrets of those mysterious, slightly threatening waters I first cast into. I think like so many of my generation it is the imaginary swims that Mr Crabtree found and fished, catching those glass case monsters. Those classic overhanging trees and deep weedy runs, every swim seems to fit those pictures. I often wonder if any of those “Crabtree” swims were described by Bernard Venables with the river south of Ellingham in mind.

Very special.

Best thing I’ve heard is ‘Troubled Mind’ the debut LP from The Liminanas. I know nothing about them. It was playing in the Rough Trade shop and I bought it. I know they are French, and a loose description would be garage-psyche-pop kind of Velvets meets Jean Jacques Perrey meets Stereolab. And, yup, it’s that good.

It’s been a good month for telly but after getting fit to bust with anticipation for Boardwalk Empire who’d have guessed it would pale into (near) insignificance beside a Danish cop show. OK, not unfeasible, but jeez, ‘The Killing’ is very fucking good. Minor chord / major tension. I’m running a little behind but at ten hours in (out of twenty) I swear that unless you count the payback-time grin on the face of Haartman the politician guy, there has not been a single smile. If you’ve not been watching it they’ve put the lot on the iplayer. Take a day off.