as told by me

ok, after that lil moan i guess i should actually bless you with the newspaper article that will hopefully see the light of day sometime soon, i don't know why i didn't just get on with it and post it up sooner but never mind

i do know that a second group of Orange Rockcorp volunteers were at Forty Hall Vineyard this week, so it is still a timely piece (just about)




Why would you want to read about me digging up weeds, pushing around wheelbarrows and spreading manure, and why is it relevant at all to my music column?


The reason me and around 50 others were putting in hard work at London's only commercial scale vineyard was all down to the return of Orange's Rockcorps initiative for 2011.

Launched in the UK in 2008, Rockcorps has been inspiring music fans to help communities and charitable organisations, with 4 hours volunteering being rewarded with a ticket to an exclusive gig with an all-star line-up.


This was my second year involved, having helped rejuvenate the Selby Centre in Tottenham last year and seeing a gig headlined by Pendulum, also featuring N-Dubz and Mark Ronson, I was more than up for mucking in all over again, especially knowing that a local organisation would benefit from it


Because tucked out of sight behind the stately Forty Hall, and unknown to many residents, fifteen acres of land is home to a community led and community driven vineyard.


The maintenance of the plants is essential throughout the year and whilst it was Rockcorps volunteers handling it this time around to keep the weeds under control and give the vines the best chance at growth, the vineyard also accepts volunteers from all walks of life, working with a wide range of local residents including adults and young people with learning disabilities, people suffering mental distress and young people at risk.


The graft and the goals seem to unify so many of the people involved, and it is uplifting to see everyone brought together and working alongside each other.

Although by the end of it i had a couple of blisters on my hands and my back ached, it had been worth it to join like-minded people for a few hours where everyone feels equal and comfortable in a situation so far removed from our usual social circles.


Primal Scream will top this years bill, but regardless of the exclusive gig, and despite the hard work necessary, I genuinely feel that you get out so much more than you put into it.

heard it through the grape vine...

how bittersweet today's news is

if you've followed my blog at all, you may be aware of the recent ups and downs surrounding The Enfield Advertiser and it's fluctuating entertainment section, The Weekender

despite my contributions to the paper, i am never aware of when (or even if) my articles will actually make an appearance

every wednesday i take a flick through to see if one of my pieces made it to print

after an absense of 2 months from the paper, last week featured my piece on Daniel Haaksman and i had kinda hoped that my next article would appear before i produce a huge back-log that would result in either inane irrelevance by the time it surface or simply being scrapped entirely


i'll admit that it has only been a couple of weeks since submitting an article relating to the volunteering i did for Orange Rockcorps, and i have had to wait a lot longer for my colums to see the light of day

it was entirely relevant, shedding light on the good work being done to promote volunteering amongst young people, and also of local interest, since a group of us had been working hard on the Forty Hall vineyard, that until the volunteering opportunity came up i wasn't even aware that it existed, as it is tucked well away out of sight

while their i got to speaking to one of the people running the vineyard, as she was showing us how it should be doen and getting her hands dirty with the rest of us, and far from being an opportunistic wine venture she was telling me how they have worked with people from MIND in Enfield with mental health problems, giving them time out in the fields and helping in exactly the same way we were, but with the added benefit of giving them a little bit of much needed therapy through the work they are doing

in an off-handed comment when i submitted my finished article i mentioned that it would be great to give the vineyard a bit of well deserved exposure

low and behold, do i find that my article has been usurped by the annual give-away of Latitude festival tickets and after another flick through i then find that there is actually a large feature on Forty Hall vineyard and it's work with mental health charities!!

i'd like to think that my music column mat have been a push in the right direction to securing people's attention (it could after all, be coincidence) but i'm hoping that the piece i put time into writing won't just do a disapearing act now because of it