venta

My commute to work each day takes me down the A4074 which, so

hendybear tells me, recently featured in the Sunday Times as "the deadliest road in Britain". However, I'm very fond of it. It goes in a straight line from here to Reading, passing through reasonably open farmland and little bits of woodland, with only the occasional flocklet of buildings to remind you you're just a few miles from a largeish city.

Driving along it each day I get to watch the seasons changing. At the moment, when the sun is shining, much of the land is the almost sickly, acid green of new leaves. I try to avoid looking at fields of rape - it's not quite reached eye-straining shades yet, but it's already too yellow for comfort. The candles are out on the conker trees, the bluebells are flowering under the beeches and various undefined arborial examples are showing blossoms of all colours.

The huge, green swathes do not look like they're in a county which faces the possibility of severe drought this summer. However, people with serious expressions and more knowledge of acquifers than I say things are bad, so we must believe them.

So we should be glad each time we look out the window and notice that once again (and frequently in defiance of the BBC forecasts) it's raining. The more it rains, the less chance of standpipes looming large in our future. Rejoicing in rain when it spoils plans and picnics is difficult, though, so to help out I thought I'd provide a nice mp3[*].

Quicksilver are a duo - Hilary Spencer & Grant Baynham - who file themselves under the folk heading but are really all-round acoustic cabaret. Incidentally, if anyone's familiar with the band Artisan, Hilary is better known as The Voice from Artisan. As Quicksilver, she and Grant sing tradtional folk stuff, blues, music hall, songs of their own composition and the odd bit of Flanders and Swann.

To quote their own introductory song:

"We're Baynham and Spencer,
Together we dispense a
Kind of English entertainment all our own"

(and yes, that rhyme is a good gauge of what they're like).

They're humourous, but in a gentle, genteel sort of sense; they're old-fashioned in a good way. You could take your grandma along to a concert and know she wouldn't be shocked or find it too loud. At the same time, if you like your entertainment acoustic and with a folky bent, you won't find better.

If you think you might like to hear more of their stuff, I'd recommend their first album, Plenty (which doesn't have the track below on it). It's a thoroughly splendid collection of songs serious and sad, funny and flighty - with some amazing singing and virtuoso guitar playing.

Quicksilver - England Green

(This link will expire at some point in the future. Click here if you want a zipped version.)

Update Files now actually uploaded. Whoops.

[*] I can't post to LJ from work, so this is written in advance. So if it's blazing sunshine at midday then, er, you can thank me and keep the song for later.