I am wondering how Gilbert�s gig went in LA. I looked for a report on his site � there was none. But I was pleased to see that he has the St Martins gig up � evening 27 November 2004.

I went up the hill to see Jeff and Gillian Lloyd. Their house could be the one on the old route from Gfd to Farnham where the pagan Saxon war grave was discovered as the foundations were dug � its either that one or the one next door I think. I took my CDR machine and portable. We took his recording of Gillian playing the lullabye by SPDIF optical into the CDR and recorded it in real time. Then we took the CDR into the portable and loaded it into Steinberg Clean. Somewhere between Debussy and Messaien was my verdict � very carefully recorded in the place where Cleveland did his recital a year or so ago.

The Lullabyes CD is now 8 tracks long rather than 5. There is the Lloyds� original Lullabye plus Charlie Alexander�s duo version of Dream Weaver plus Cathy�s Muse song by V-Wms. I need to work on the normalisation I have decided having played it back on different bits of kit.I made copies for Nick and Richard Jones.

The radio 3 programme about the Village Vanguard came to an end. I have a photo that I took outside but I have never been in � well no risk of that next time I am in NYC.

I wrote Peter C some stuff about recorded music from Varese and Les Paul through Frith and Victoria St to the glories of Spaceward. There is an odd coincidence between the Spaceward contingent and Cathy�s dad.

Vita and her friend Becky asked to be picked up at the videoshop near the off-licence. They are having a night in.

I dug deeper into the FoA. Funny old wells are def worth more investigation. There is a large one at Berkeswell which was used in earnest until 1940. The church is Norman with Saxon masonery in the crypt � also a good pub where Peter C and I have been known to hatch plots. I think the pressure to bring the water to the surface must be generated by strata to the north. As you go past Coventry on the M6 just before you get to the Expressway Toll you can�t help noticing going over the top and looking down on Birmingham and Coleshill. I think this high ground catches the water and then surfaces it a bit lower down at Berkeswell and Honiley.

I have been wondering about the military coup � the one we didn�t have in 2003 in the UK. As far as I can work out the army was worried that there wasnt legal cover for the Iraq venture � when in comes to war crimes the soldiers are personally liable. Some reassuring guff was needed. Unfortunately most of the legal establishment in the FCO thought the war was illegal too � hence the recently dropped prosecution. Who knows how the circle was squared but the closeness with which the whole thing was run (I speculate) explains some of the official sensitivities eg surrounding Kelly-Gilligan and possibly the Hutton whitewash. Maybe even C Short�s continued vindictiveness � which is (in my view) attracting disproportionate criticism. No wonder the Cab Sec is keeping such a low profile � if anyone understands how close they were to the precipice it would be he. Hope I am still here in thirty years time when some of the papers come out! For example - the Guardian story at the end of May 2003: "Two soldiers who were sent home from the Gulf after openly questioning the legality of the war against Iraq will not be disciplined, they have been told. The soldiers also questioned the morality of a war in which innocent civilians would be killed. The MoD was unlikely to have wanted to take any action that would stimulate controversy over the war. Moshin Khan, an RAF reservist from Suffolk, is to appeal against being disciplined for being absent when he was called up for the war against Iraq. He is understood to have argued that his Muslim faith prohibits him from fighting other Muslims."

Jackie has written from Australia � good place to be.

Clad to see the back of R Perle.