These are the lovely people who are working harder than ever to make my debut album 'Gentle Heart'. We are something of a dream team, and so far have recorded the basics for four tracks over the last week (despite the donkey fiasco!). Caren is a talented artist, craftsmaker and caring wife of Robert whose touch makes this house and studio a happy one. There are very few people I trust with music, but Robert is one of them. One of the first things he said to me was "No metronome. Full takes.", and I was on board... and I haven't looked back, despite his sense of humour. So amid artwork, coffee, and more jokes than I can count, 'Gentle Heart' is taking shape.

​Today I wrestled with a donkey. No euphemism. I didn't exactly win, but I did get away safely-ish and protect the little foal it was attacking. All while getting stuck into recording, which is really my purpose for being here. In my charge are four donkeys (one of which thinks I'm its mother), a horse, numerous birds, a guinea pig, a guinea fowl, ducks, and a lizard. What I really mean to say is that while I am very excited about spending the next weeks(/months) almost entirely in the studio with a wonderful producer getting my Gentle Heart album ready for launch in Feb, it would be easier if I wasn't farm-sitting at the same time. And better if the donkeys were as stupid as they are supposed to be and didn't figure out ways to escape their pens. The lesson here is that Donkeys & Recordings don't mix. Don't try this at home. But look out for more blog posts from me!