SEPTEMBER BECKONS...Hello folks and folkettes,
Well, it's definitely scary now how quickly this year is going - I always think once August is done with the year just rushes along towards its conclusion. The next thing I know it's my birthday and then it's Christmas and New Year. Still, there is a lot going in the world of Shy Yeti - which is partly why I realised how quickly the year is speeding along. As of last week on this very blog I was working out exactly what videos I aim to edit or film before Christmas - what book projects I'll be working on and what trips I still plan on achieving! *cross paws*
There are two big things coming up for me during early September - although they're both sort of connected. One is that it's exactly a weeks until my next Poetry Cafe show and the other is that I hope to release 3 new books on www.lulu.com over the next few weeks. Typical, isn't it!? I've been working on these three for quite some time - eight years on and off in the case of one of them and five years in the case of another and yet here they are ready at the same time. Oh well... They're all quite different projects so I'll try and make it sound like I planned it that way.
I'll be writing more about this when they actually come out, of course...
The first is the Mouse of Commons short story collection TALES FROM THE MCWHISKERS ARCHIVE, the second is my script book that vaguely celebrates 20 years of Sutton Park - THE BEAST OF FRIENDS and the third project is my new collection of short stories and poetry, ARE WE THERE, YETI!?
I'll be reading pieces from the last of those books at my Poetry Cafe show on Wednesday 5th September - as well as performing some of my animal poems from the SHY YETI GOES WILD compilation. I also hope to read a number of completely new pieces from the book that I am currently working on, NOT AS SHY AS I WAS... I've really been rocketing along with the new poems over the last few weeks! Anyway, I'll try and find something from ARE WE THERE, YETI!? to post at the end of this post as more of a taster for what is to come.
Anyway... There's a new video out and here are the details:
SHY YETI BOTTLE SUMMER is a film to remind us that we did actually have a few days of Summer during 2012. It was recorded in a number of locations around the UK between June and July 2012 and includes 3 new poems, NATIONAL TREASURE, SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH ROCKY LOBSTER and I'M SICK, BUT DO I WANT TO BE CURED? - all of which will eventually appear in Paul's NOT AS SHY AS I WAS book at some stage, probably early 2013. This episode contains a yeti-dance or two and also co-stars Dominic McCauley. Music is by Luca. Camera by PC and DM. The copyright of this film and all content belongs to Paul Chandler, 2012. This is a Shy Yeti Production. There may well be a sequel to this episode coming along in the autumn, but shhh... don't say I told you so!
Youtube link: http://youtu.be/HKaeruG8N8Y
The Vimeo link is a shorter, 9 minute version which still includes all the poems, yeti dancing and some of the silliness - but very little of the legendary Rocky Lobster... So of the two, I'd recommend the first link - but then I would say that, wouldn't I!? ;)
I'm going to try and write less in my diary of what went on this week, as there probably won't be enough to say, just the highlights... Probably...
Thursday 23rd August:
I decided today that at 12 minutes the edit of SHY YETI BOTTLES SUMMER is as short as I want it to be for the Youtube version and so I will do a slightly shorter edit for Vimeo with less "Rocky" footage and without the LA flashback and hopefully that will sort the problem! Other than that I just continued working towards getting the final two (of 3) books due out in September ready for publishing.
Friday 24th August:
I woke early today full of creative ideas and the like. Over night I was pointed in the direction of the site Bandcamp by a Facebook friend, musician - Homer Marrs who has an awesome E.P. on there called PROM KING: http://homermarrs.bandcamp.com/ Anyway, as a result I decided to load up my first spoken word album that I recorded back in 2007. The details are as follows:
SHY YETI'S HOME-BREWED VERSE
This album contains 34 poems written between 1992 and 2007, recorded back in 2007 in a number of secret locations across London. The album was only released in a limited edition at the time and although the track-listing remains the same it may be in a slightly different order as there was never any "ideal" order established at the time. The only thing I did try to do was to record the poems in different locations so that the sound quality was different across the album. The tracks are as follows:
DISCO YETI
KEEP ON GETTING IT WRONG
THE INFATUATION DANCE
THE BLACK-EYED GROWL
MY DOG IN A DRESS
THE SORRY TALE OF FRED THE DINOSAUR
MISTER BEE
I SHOULD NEVER
THE TRUE LIGHT
YOUR APRIL FOOL
GRANNY ETHEL KEEPS THEM DECENT
I AM THE GERMS
IT
PICCADILLY CIRCUS
READY-TEDDY-GO...
THE ONLY YOU THERE IS...
ALL GOOD PIES MUST END
ANIMAL CRUELTY
ANOTHER PATHETIC ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
BEING COY
COLD-HEARTED KITTEN KILLER
BALLAD OF AN ALRIGHT BLOKE
CRASHTESTBOYFRIEND
PEACE TREATY
THE EUROVISION HERO
RHYMES BEARS STEAL PIES FOR
LITTLE BEN
THE BALLAD OF TINY ELVIS
STEAL A MILLION
DANCEFLOOR SLAUGHTER
FLAUNT TRADITION
ROLLERCOASTER
CUB UP A TREE
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES
A sequel to this album PIE-TRY IN MOTION was recorded in 2008, but never really got compiled. I intend to go through the tracks and put this album together over the next few weeks and then I'd like to move on to record a completely new album before the end of the year.
If you want to see more about this album it can be purchased from the following link: http://shyyeti.bandcamp.com/album/shy-yetis-finest-home-brewed-verse
Additionally, on Friday I continued editing - working on future books and took a few spooky photos and the like for my forthcoming Halloween special.
Saturday 25th August:
Today, I continued with the editing - putting on the music and titles for both versions of the next film with the intention of posting them on Tuesday. I'm now moving on to editing the first of the 2 SUTTON PARK episodes for the 20th anniversary and the first episode of 2 from the Broadstairs Folk Festival. I also began loading up tracks to make up the PIE-TRY IN MOTION album.
Sunday 26th August:
Today, I headed into London to meet my old school friend Harry and we followed one of the Olympic trails around Regent's Park. I also managed to get Harry to be my cameraman and filmed a poem from 2 or 3 years ago, THAT OLD BLOOD MOON which I have decided to include as part of my Halloween episode this year. It's a little way in advance, but there's no harm in starting early! Although it did look a little summery today... for a change! During my trip into town I also began work on two new Halloween poems, HELLO! HELLO! I'M HALLOWEEN... and I'M FEELING A BIT GHOSTLY... I also continued work on the first SUTTON PARK 20th anniversary episode and did more on the Broadstairs episodes. Once home I completed work on compiling PIE-TRY IN MOTION, which comes to 33 tracks in all - having listened to every track and selected the best recording for a number of tracks where there was more than one version recorded at the time.
Monday 27th August:
Just after midnight on the 27th I made PIE-TRY IN MOTION available - but I'll be writing about that more next week as, unlike SHY YETI'S HOME-BREWED VERSE this album has never actually had a proper release. I'd definitely like to record some new tracks soon and intend to start doing something about that this week. Today Calum and I took a long circular walk (of about 7 miles) around the village of Pluckley in Kent and I also recorded a number of scenes for my Halloween episode - although the weather was far brighter than expected! Ironic that when I start filming for Halloween the weather suddenly improves. Never mind! On the train journey up to Pluckley I completed my poem HELLO! HELLO! I'M HALLOWEEN! and recorded it during the walk. Rather in keeping with the Halloween theme we encountered a rather frisky horse who wasn't keen for us to leave his field - and also a plague of dragon-flies! Okay, so I exaggerate, but there were a lot! The horse I got footage of, so you may see him in the episode - although he wasn't pleased when we got away! I had to jump through a hole in a hedge and across a ditch like some kind of glamorous yeti stuntman! We also passed through some nice orchards of plums and apples, so I took photos of them for the forthcoming foody episode - I also managed to get a few shots of blackberries in the hedgerows and made suitable comment.
Tuesday 28th August:
I took another day off today, rather short notice but there we go. Dominic was about so we were able to get some quality time off together and also do a little filming. We did a head-to-head that should find a place in the SHY YETI COOKS episode - and also a yeti dance, but mainly we were working on the Halloween episode. In fact we finished it! Lots of silly sketches, daft props and I also recorded new poem, SHAVING WEREWOLVES; all filmed no more than 15 minutes from our flat! As well as this I also worked on editing the first SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE edition and the first 20th anniversary SUTTON PARK episode. In addition to that I decided to put together a video called SHY YETI LIVE IN BROADSTAIRS which contains the full versions of the poems I read open-mike during my time in the town earlier this month. I recorded enough new material that only brief clips of these readings will appear in the two SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE episodes. The video is around 9 minutes long and will probably be posted just before my SHY YETI GOES WILD - AT THE POETRY CAFE gig next week.
Wednesday 29th August: Today, I loaded the new video (see above) on both Youtube and Vimeo, posted this blog and worked on some of my writing projects...
I'm hoping to begin work on recording a new album as of tomorrow, if I can get DM's spare Macbook working again! It has Garage Band on it, you see!
Next week I'll be looking at the PIE-TRY IN MOTION album and why I'm suddenly releasing it now, more than 4 years after I recorded it. They'll be links to a live video from Broadstairs, as a prelude to my SHY YETI'S SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE two parter and also a little excited noise or two about the next Poetry Cafe show which is a week today, Wednesday 5th September...
I'll leave you with a short story from ARE WE THERE, YETI!?! which is due out in a couple of weeks time... More news on that soon!
Yeti hugs,
Paul xx
THE DUST OF AGES
Anita had worked in
the college library for many years – her former students always seemed to recognise
her though. “Oh, my dear! You still work here?”
Anita would smile and nod. “Yes... It’s been a long time
now!”
“But you don’t look a day older...”
She
didn’t either, but they always did.
Anita remembered every one of them; each and every reader.
She recalled them as undergraduates in their early 20s – but the earliest of
those were now nearing retirement; were wrinkled and or balding – and that was
just the women.
“You look just the same...” They’d say – at first casually
and then with surprise when it hit them quite how long it had been. “EXACTLY
the same!”
They would never truly understand the full implications, of
course and it just wasn’t worth explaining; this was Anita’s own little secret.
It was the dust of ages collected in the library books that
did it. When the library closed she would select a few of the oldest texts and sniff
the dust; rather like someone taking snuff or something stronger. It made her
cough; but it was worth it.
It
really did the trick – and, best of all, it kept her young.
Anita had been the college librarian
for a little over 175 years now – and she had no intention of retiring any time
soon...
The story THE DUST OF AGES appears in Paul's forthcoming collection, ARE WE THERE, YETI!? which is published next month. This Post and its content are Copyright Paul Chandler 2012.
