The HOPE list #5
Bite-sized hopelets to warm your soul. With a 50yr Smiley-Wall, Hannah Peel’s panoramic Fir Wave, Jersey Royals, and a May-be.
May was capricious, teasing me with flashes of heat and flickers of freedom. It was a bungee-jump of a month. If my hopes drifted too far into the future May yanked me back and left me dangling above solid ground, drenched by a flash-flood.
We are not there yet. But we will not be contained. Come hell or hailstorms we are marching forward.
Here are a few friends that helped me to keep the faith this month.
1. A 50yr old Smiley Wall by Valerie Wright
In the 1970s Valerie Wright painted a smiley face on her Norwich home. Subsequent residents kept it, and 50 years later it still greets people as they turn the corner. Its half-century was marked by the memories of many people whose days it has brightened.
I love the power of simple pleasures.
Is there anything more simple, or more powerful than a smile?
2. Fir Wave by Hannah Peel
My nights were not easy in May, as regular readers will know. Two albums became my witching hour companions: Chemtrails Over the Country Club by Lana Del Rey and Fir Wave by Hannah Peel. I recommend both but would love more people to experience the irrepressible creative talents of Hannah Peel. Please check her out.
Fir Wave is an album that keeps on giving. It is grounded in the sounds and patterns of nature, reimagined through electronic soundscapes that are reassuringly elemental and excitingly original. It somehow soothes and stimulates, with confidence and humility. It is an album to immerse yourself in, but here is the track Ecovocative as a taster.
3. Jersey Royals by Mother Earth
I miss seasonal produce. Not enough to forgo imported berries on my granola in winter, though I feel bad about this (does that make it better or worse)? I need to be forced to respect the seasons, and no one does it better than the Jersey Royal potato.
Like champagne, the potato has Protected Designation of Origin – only potatoes grown on this tiny island can be called a Jersey Royal. They have a distinctive texture and flavour, creamy and firm. I am confident I could pick out a Jersey Royal in a blind potato tasting. They are at their best in May, by the end of June they are gone for the year. Jersey Royals are May on a plate, heralding summer, and cheering my heart and tastebuds.
4. Maybe Tomorrow by Stereophonics
I found myself singing this Stereophonics song on many inclement May days – it felt apposite.
“Maybe tomorrow we’ll find our way home”
There are two parts of this song that delight me. First, the rhythm and harmonies of the constant ‘hmm, hmm’ backing vocal. Very unusual, very brilliant. Second this lyric:
“I look around at a beautiful life
I’ve been the upper side of down
Been the inside of out
But we breathe
We breathe”
The upper side of down, the inside of out. I wished I written that.
I leave you and May with this piece of songwriting perfection. Enjoy.
Yours hopefully,
Nazneen xxx
Yours Hopefully is an experiment in living hopefully. With music and musings, from a singer-songwriter-scientist. Why not subscribe and get a post every Sunday in your inbox?
Hi Nazneen a week later hey ho. I hope you're keeping well and enjoying the sunny weather 😎. I agree with you on the sub of Jersey Royals so distinctive. Thanks for the intro to Hannah Peel she sounds interesting. I look forward to your latest installment shortly. Best wishes ❤️