Oh, Nerina. I had no idea you had a sister with CP. Sorry to hear she died. I am sitting writing this from my son Charlie's hospital room. He has CP and on June 2 had a selective dorsal rhizotomy. He is now relearning to walk. (It's hard to learn that). He's alive and happy and courageous and getting stronger again every day.
I love the new album. It has been cathartic to sing I Don't Know What I'm Doing as I cry in my kitchen because one of my 8yo twin boys is in the hospital and my wife and I are trying to navigate keeping both Charlie and Henry's spirits up.
A a good day is, indeed, one where I don't fall apart by 10 in the morning.
Thank you for the album. It is helping me. And thank you for this newsletter.
David (in Texas but not any of the referenced people!)
So sorry to hear you news Nerina. I lost my darling Dad at the end of April to Parkinson’s with dementia , so May was a month of arrangements for me and supporting my lovely Mum who has cared for my Dad for the last 7 years.
As I have gotten older I now appreciate the sentiment that horrified me at the age of 16 when my parents, aunts and uncles we in the garden, in the sun, laughing and joking after my nanny’s funeral. It is about celebrating their life not mourning the loss, but it is about that as well if it makes sense ?
Looking forward to seeing you in October in Birmingham …. It has been too long !! In the mean time, keep safe lovely lady x
Nina, I'm so very sorry about your Dad. What a tough May you and your Mum have had. I hope you're both doing okay. You're so right - celebration is the name of the funeral game. I think to honour the person we've lost and also to help us still here to cope with it.
I'm also looking forward to coming back to Brum in the autumn, it's been a while and I've been in trouble for not playing a show there for a few years now. It wasn't on purpose, I promise!! See you then, and in the meantime I hope every day gets a little easier. XX
Nerina, just wanted to say that you are quite correct, in my opinion ,The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is your best song ever ! It was the first track of yours that I ever heard and to get to hear you to play it last night in Brum was amazing !!! Fabulous arrangement - thank you for your music x
I hope the rest of the tour goes well for you and T.I.G.Y, good choice to be with you.
Until I have the pleasure of seeing you again, take care, keep safe and keep doing what you do so fabulously
So sorry to hear about your recent loss. Life has indeed been hard and we never know what others are going through, so it pays to be kind.
I don't look like Willie Nelson (and am not he) but I did once message you on MySpace (2005-2006) 'Everybody's Gone To War' was taking off and I had tickets to see you in concert at The Lowry. I messaged you and you actually replied within minutes!
You were in Switzerland and had been (as I recall) trying to give up smoking? I then recommended, if you had time, to visit the Lindt factory. Fairly simple exchange, it was very kind of you to reply. I've seen you live a couple of times and have all your albums.
I loved that Lowry gig, was it the one when there was a match on at Old Trafford at the same time? That tour was so much fun. I didn't make it to the Lindt factory but I did go mad buying a load of the stuff in duty free if I recall...
Thanks for still being here all these years later. XX
Sorry to hear about the loss of your sister, you described her life and achievements with such positivity although it still must have been, and continue to be, a difficult time for you.
I forwarded your message to my special friend in Ireland as I think she would like the idea of a "Mystery Quilt". She is a wonderful lady, my former partner when she lived in England, who also makes quilts as gifts for people, and I am proud to have a couple of them. It is hard to explain how special a gift is that someone has made for you with their own hands, even more so because she suffers with MS, which makes all physical task more difficult.
Rather bizarrely, her Grandson's name is Ronan, so your message title made me wonder if I'd gone even more loopy than I know I am already! Not very up on chart pop (I assume it's Ronan Keating's song)?
Anyway, I listened to your new album today, and I really liked it. I thought it had a really intimate soulful feel to it. I especially liked the title track for its lyrics and apparent simplicity (I doubt it was that simple to record). Listening on Spotify when the album finished Circus started playing, another beautifully "simple sounding" song which reminds me of Rickie Lee Jones in the way the pauses keep you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next word or note. Even after all you've achieved, your music really seems to continue to evolve into something even more beautiful. Chris x.
Thanks so much Chris, I'm glad you're enjoying the album.
Yes, the Ronan bit is a nod to his song 'Life is a Rollercoaster' which is his best song by a country mile IMO, not least it was co-written by Rick Nowels who is one of the great songwriters I think. (And someone I was lucky enough to work with in the past.)
A handmade quilt is just something else. It's so painstaking and time consuming and I love that my Godmother had no idea what it would look like but kept going regardless - there was definitely a lesson in that I thought! It's meditative I reckon, and maybe while it's physically difficult for your friend, overcoming that and making something beautiful at the end of it is probably as rewarding for her as it is for you to receive it.
Just goes to show doesn't it - it's not flash expensive stuff that brings joy but things made with love and the human who made them inside of them. XX
We all need a bit of Juliette’s spirit for life by the sounds of it! When a good one leaves us they often leave a kick up the backside and reminder to live life to the full. A reminder to do more of what you love and channel more Willy (Nelson) ...this includes dancing on tables or sitting at a piano making amazing music, it’s all optional and to definitely get out and experience life and adventure…well a weekend in Whitby at the very least. Your idea that death would be the final piece of the jigsaw and everything would then make sense is definitely a plan because death makes absolutely no sense to me at all. I am however reminded that given all that’s gone on recently for you it should be I/we helping you through and making sense of it all. And yet, as always, you’re on it and writing your way through the grief and so I know you’ll be ok and that means I can let go of my molly coddling, get my first cuppa of the day and book a day trip to Aberystwyth…I’ve no idea what it’s like or how long it’ll take me from Sheffield but it jumped in my head writing this so it feels like it is meant to be! Big hugs, Jo x ps I’m the one that never stays behind (at Nunnington) I do want to but I remove myself before I see you and start curtsying and come across all Alice off vicar of Dibley.
I'd never say no to a weekend in Whitby. I love it up there. Aberystwyth I've no idea about but that's one hell of a day trip from Sheffield going on my wonky geography. Did you have a good day once you got there? Tell me you didn't book it for Monday or Tuesday this week and you melted on your way there and back...!!
I know it's the same-old-same-old phrase, but time does heal. Perhaps not completely, but eventually the tremors of the earthquake become an occasional revisiting rumble from those deeply embedded trigger points we know as memories. My wife lost her two elder sibling brothers prematurely along with her mum and dad. She was de-familied before 50! That's been a tough gig to watch. But time did its work supressing the omnipresent hurt until the newness of less traumatic years could prevail. Such shared experiences are obligatory for our fragile species.
Gosh, your poor wife. I can't imagine how hard that must have been. De-familied. Just thinking about that makes me feel all weird. I wish her all the best, and you. XX
It's more common than people think. Those of us left behind are the survivors, maybe left behind to help other people make sense of such tragedies. I personally don't think physical death is the end of the energy that drives every living thing. But no doubt physicists would disagree with me!
I always enjoy reading your thoughts in your newsletters. They actually inspire me to reflect and write words; but I'll leave the songwriting to the likes of you and my various bandmates.
Did Juilette ever feel this way. The rush of blood, the swoon and sway. I'm sure she did. Sorry for your loss.🌷If any of your penpal's want to read a book about enjoying the ride. The Perfect Present by Dr Johnson. Short but very sweet. For a deep dive on same. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I must finish that one myself or listen to it on line. 2 yrs later and There's a river. Still my favorite.
Jul 3, 2022·edited Jul 3, 2022Liked by Nerina Pallot
So sorry for your loss <3 hope you're doing okay-ish despite the tough times you're going through right now! Things are going to get better, I'm sure. Meanwhile: we've got your back :)
So sorry to learn, of the loss of your Sister, Nerina. Heartfelt condolence, to you and your family.
Another good read!..... its true, we are only here once, in this life, so we have to make the most of it. The world lost one of my music idols in May. Andrew Fletcher from Depeche Mode, left us suddenly. A bolt out of the blue, that nobody suspected. Just goes to show, we don't know, what is around, the next bend
Such words of wisdom, from 'Willy'.....jump on board, hang on, don't get too serious and enjoy, whatever the magical mystery tour has in store.
Loving the new album and loving the musical journey you're taking us on, Nerina........and long may it last xx
Beautifully written as always, your words always carry the perfect weight of smiles, tears and wisdom. As I said before, keep on. Doing. What you’re doing.
My closest friend and longest term musical collaborator (me on drums, Nick on bass) died suddenly in May while I was out of contact in the Arctic. By the time I found out on my returned he had been buried, so I missed the funeral - at which Hozier sang (!). But you are right - the old guys advice was spot on. I should know, I'm an old guy, too....love, Mike Wade
Thanks for replying, Nerina – you have a good heart.
Yes, Nick Ryan and I had played together for fifty years – from part of a band of pop hopefuls (album out on Motown, but no cigar) to sessions and big venue gigs like Albert Hall, Rainbow, Wembley, etc. Nick’s son is now Hozier’s musical director, carrying on the musical tradition.
I am really enjoying your new album and have already started playing tracks from it on a weekly two-hour radio show I broadcast, if you’re ever at a loose end:
I re-discovered your body of work (post that hit!) when I did a bit of consultancy for Andy’s anti-piracy company and he mentioned you two were married. I now have just about everything you have ever produced. I’m also a great admirer of your writing – you have a rare gift for amusing candour that really involves the reader.
As for the Arctic, my wife has recently become an avid consumer of all things relating to Polar exploration, as a result of which we have been on expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctica (both stunning, but the Antarctic would get our vote if you held a gun).
Anyway keep up the good work on all fronts, it means a lot to your followers…
Mike
PS a cheeky thought: several of the artists I play most on my show, including our mutual friend Gary Clark, have kindly recorded a little ident for it, along the lines of “Hi I’m Nerina Pallot and you’re listening to The Radio Telescope with Mike Wade”
If you ever got the chance to do one and send me a sound file I would be most grateful. Fingers crossed!
Hello Mike, sorry for my slow reply. So many portals these days I get confused and don't get me started about trying to remember login details.
I'm so sorry about Nick. Fifty years of playing music together... wow. What an adventure. I have heard of the legendary Rainbow and am so jealous of anyone who got to play there - didn't they also have a famous record fair there too? (I miss record fairs; I wonder if in the midst of this big vinyl revival they might come back.)
I would love to do an ident - tell me where to send the sound file and I will happily oblige. Always happy to follow in the footsteps of the amazing Mr Clark. XXX
Just beautiful, your letters always are, this one made me cry. Also thank you for the very kind message that arrived with my CD, that made my year, so grateful. Take care
Oh, Nerina. I had no idea you had a sister with CP. Sorry to hear she died. I am sitting writing this from my son Charlie's hospital room. He has CP and on June 2 had a selective dorsal rhizotomy. He is now relearning to walk. (It's hard to learn that). He's alive and happy and courageous and getting stronger again every day.
I love the new album. It has been cathartic to sing I Don't Know What I'm Doing as I cry in my kitchen because one of my 8yo twin boys is in the hospital and my wife and I are trying to navigate keeping both Charlie and Henry's spirits up.
A a good day is, indeed, one where I don't fall apart by 10 in the morning.
Thank you for the album. It is helping me. And thank you for this newsletter.
David (in Texas but not any of the referenced people!)
Brilliant - great to have another listener on board, Jo. Mike
So sorry to hear you news Nerina. I lost my darling Dad at the end of April to Parkinson’s with dementia , so May was a month of arrangements for me and supporting my lovely Mum who has cared for my Dad for the last 7 years.
As I have gotten older I now appreciate the sentiment that horrified me at the age of 16 when my parents, aunts and uncles we in the garden, in the sun, laughing and joking after my nanny’s funeral. It is about celebrating their life not mourning the loss, but it is about that as well if it makes sense ?
Looking forward to seeing you in October in Birmingham …. It has been too long !! In the mean time, keep safe lovely lady x
I
Nina, I'm so very sorry about your Dad. What a tough May you and your Mum have had. I hope you're both doing okay. You're so right - celebration is the name of the funeral game. I think to honour the person we've lost and also to help us still here to cope with it.
I'm also looking forward to coming back to Brum in the autumn, it's been a while and I've been in trouble for not playing a show there for a few years now. It wasn't on purpose, I promise!! See you then, and in the meantime I hope every day gets a little easier. XX
Nerina, just wanted to say that you are quite correct, in my opinion ,The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is your best song ever ! It was the first track of yours that I ever heard and to get to hear you to play it last night in Brum was amazing !!! Fabulous arrangement - thank you for your music x
I hope the rest of the tour goes well for you and T.I.G.Y, good choice to be with you.
Until I have the pleasure of seeing you again, take care, keep safe and keep doing what you do so fabulously
Nina xx
Thank you for your kind words x
Not sure if your set will allow but if there is any chance that you could play The Heart is a Lonely Hunter that night it would be awesome !
Take care xx
Love reading your news letters. So eloquent.
Hi Nerina,
So sorry to hear about your recent loss. Life has indeed been hard and we never know what others are going through, so it pays to be kind.
I don't look like Willie Nelson (and am not he) but I did once message you on MySpace (2005-2006) 'Everybody's Gone To War' was taking off and I had tickets to see you in concert at The Lowry. I messaged you and you actually replied within minutes!
You were in Switzerland and had been (as I recall) trying to give up smoking? I then recommended, if you had time, to visit the Lindt factory. Fairly simple exchange, it was very kind of you to reply. I've seen you live a couple of times and have all your albums.
I for one am really glad you are out there.
Take care
Pete
I loved that Lowry gig, was it the one when there was a match on at Old Trafford at the same time? That tour was so much fun. I didn't make it to the Lindt factory but I did go mad buying a load of the stuff in duty free if I recall...
Thanks for still being here all these years later. XX
Sorry to hear about the loss of your sister, you described her life and achievements with such positivity although it still must have been, and continue to be, a difficult time for you.
I forwarded your message to my special friend in Ireland as I think she would like the idea of a "Mystery Quilt". She is a wonderful lady, my former partner when she lived in England, who also makes quilts as gifts for people, and I am proud to have a couple of them. It is hard to explain how special a gift is that someone has made for you with their own hands, even more so because she suffers with MS, which makes all physical task more difficult.
Rather bizarrely, her Grandson's name is Ronan, so your message title made me wonder if I'd gone even more loopy than I know I am already! Not very up on chart pop (I assume it's Ronan Keating's song)?
Anyway, I listened to your new album today, and I really liked it. I thought it had a really intimate soulful feel to it. I especially liked the title track for its lyrics and apparent simplicity (I doubt it was that simple to record). Listening on Spotify when the album finished Circus started playing, another beautifully "simple sounding" song which reminds me of Rickie Lee Jones in the way the pauses keep you on the edge of your seat, waiting for the next word or note. Even after all you've achieved, your music really seems to continue to evolve into something even more beautiful. Chris x.
Thanks so much Chris, I'm glad you're enjoying the album.
Yes, the Ronan bit is a nod to his song 'Life is a Rollercoaster' which is his best song by a country mile IMO, not least it was co-written by Rick Nowels who is one of the great songwriters I think. (And someone I was lucky enough to work with in the past.)
A handmade quilt is just something else. It's so painstaking and time consuming and I love that my Godmother had no idea what it would look like but kept going regardless - there was definitely a lesson in that I thought! It's meditative I reckon, and maybe while it's physically difficult for your friend, overcoming that and making something beautiful at the end of it is probably as rewarding for her as it is for you to receive it.
Just goes to show doesn't it - it's not flash expensive stuff that brings joy but things made with love and the human who made them inside of them. XX
Maybe we'll return to a time where creativity is what's important to us as individuals, rather than consumerism.
Good for the planet and us, but what will it do to our economy? Cx
We all need a bit of Juliette’s spirit for life by the sounds of it! When a good one leaves us they often leave a kick up the backside and reminder to live life to the full. A reminder to do more of what you love and channel more Willy (Nelson) ...this includes dancing on tables or sitting at a piano making amazing music, it’s all optional and to definitely get out and experience life and adventure…well a weekend in Whitby at the very least. Your idea that death would be the final piece of the jigsaw and everything would then make sense is definitely a plan because death makes absolutely no sense to me at all. I am however reminded that given all that’s gone on recently for you it should be I/we helping you through and making sense of it all. And yet, as always, you’re on it and writing your way through the grief and so I know you’ll be ok and that means I can let go of my molly coddling, get my first cuppa of the day and book a day trip to Aberystwyth…I’ve no idea what it’s like or how long it’ll take me from Sheffield but it jumped in my head writing this so it feels like it is meant to be! Big hugs, Jo x ps I’m the one that never stays behind (at Nunnington) I do want to but I remove myself before I see you and start curtsying and come across all Alice off vicar of Dibley.
I'd never say no to a weekend in Whitby. I love it up there. Aberystwyth I've no idea about but that's one hell of a day trip from Sheffield going on my wonky geography. Did you have a good day once you got there? Tell me you didn't book it for Monday or Tuesday this week and you melted on your way there and back...!!
I know it's the same-old-same-old phrase, but time does heal. Perhaps not completely, but eventually the tremors of the earthquake become an occasional revisiting rumble from those deeply embedded trigger points we know as memories. My wife lost her two elder sibling brothers prematurely along with her mum and dad. She was de-familied before 50! That's been a tough gig to watch. But time did its work supressing the omnipresent hurt until the newness of less traumatic years could prevail. Such shared experiences are obligatory for our fragile species.
Gosh, your poor wife. I can't imagine how hard that must have been. De-familied. Just thinking about that makes me feel all weird. I wish her all the best, and you. XX
It's more common than people think. Those of us left behind are the survivors, maybe left behind to help other people make sense of such tragedies. I personally don't think physical death is the end of the energy that drives every living thing. But no doubt physicists would disagree with me!
I always enjoy reading your thoughts in your newsletters. They actually inspire me to reflect and write words; but I'll leave the songwriting to the likes of you and my various bandmates.
Grazie mille!
Thank you for sharing your news and conveying your sisters beautiful departure for which I also offer condolences.
Your songs are a constant delight and you must take inspiration from so many sources.
I hope we will hear more of your amazing Juliette.
Keep smiling wherever possible and remember the post office staff also need you and they may even, one day, smile back x
Did Juilette ever feel this way. The rush of blood, the swoon and sway. I'm sure she did. Sorry for your loss.🌷If any of your penpal's want to read a book about enjoying the ride. The Perfect Present by Dr Johnson. Short but very sweet. For a deep dive on same. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I must finish that one myself or listen to it on line. 2 yrs later and There's a river. Still my favorite.
So sorry for your loss <3 hope you're doing okay-ish despite the tough times you're going through right now! Things are going to get better, I'm sure. Meanwhile: we've got your back :)
Dear Nerina, So sorry to hear about your sister, she sounds like an amazing woman. I'm also sorry it's been a really tough time for you recently.
Your Willie Nelson correspondent is absolutely right, life is a bit like a bouncing ball, coping with the joy of the up and the inevitable descent.
You have most certainly added to the joy with your new album. ❤️
So sorry to learn, of the loss of your Sister, Nerina. Heartfelt condolence, to you and your family.
Another good read!..... its true, we are only here once, in this life, so we have to make the most of it. The world lost one of my music idols in May. Andrew Fletcher from Depeche Mode, left us suddenly. A bolt out of the blue, that nobody suspected. Just goes to show, we don't know, what is around, the next bend
Such words of wisdom, from 'Willy'.....jump on board, hang on, don't get too serious and enjoy, whatever the magical mystery tour has in store.
Loving the new album and loving the musical journey you're taking us on, Nerina........and long may it last xx
Beautifully written as always, your words always carry the perfect weight of smiles, tears and wisdom. As I said before, keep on. Doing. What you’re doing.
Glen
Commiserations on your loss.
My closest friend and longest term musical collaborator (me on drums, Nick on bass) died suddenly in May while I was out of contact in the Arctic. By the time I found out on my returned he had been buried, so I missed the funeral - at which Hozier sang (!). But you are right - the old guys advice was spot on. I should know, I'm an old guy, too....love, Mike Wade
Oh Mike, I'm so sorry about your friend. What a shock that must have been.
Nosey me wants to know what you were doing in the Arctic... X
Thanks for replying, Nerina – you have a good heart.
Yes, Nick Ryan and I had played together for fifty years – from part of a band of pop hopefuls (album out on Motown, but no cigar) to sessions and big venue gigs like Albert Hall, Rainbow, Wembley, etc. Nick’s son is now Hozier’s musical director, carrying on the musical tradition.
I am really enjoying your new album and have already started playing tracks from it on a weekly two-hour radio show I broadcast, if you’re ever at a loose end:
(https://60north.radio/podcastfilter/the-radio-telescope/ )
I re-discovered your body of work (post that hit!) when I did a bit of consultancy for Andy’s anti-piracy company and he mentioned you two were married. I now have just about everything you have ever produced. I’m also a great admirer of your writing – you have a rare gift for amusing candour that really involves the reader.
As for the Arctic, my wife has recently become an avid consumer of all things relating to Polar exploration, as a result of which we have been on expeditions to both the Arctic and Antarctica (both stunning, but the Antarctic would get our vote if you held a gun).
Anyway keep up the good work on all fronts, it means a lot to your followers…
Mike
PS a cheeky thought: several of the artists I play most on my show, including our mutual friend Gary Clark, have kindly recorded a little ident for it, along the lines of “Hi I’m Nerina Pallot and you’re listening to The Radio Telescope with Mike Wade”
If you ever got the chance to do one and send me a sound file I would be most grateful. Fingers crossed!
Hello Mike, sorry for my slow reply. So many portals these days I get confused and don't get me started about trying to remember login details.
I'm so sorry about Nick. Fifty years of playing music together... wow. What an adventure. I have heard of the legendary Rainbow and am so jealous of anyone who got to play there - didn't they also have a famous record fair there too? (I miss record fairs; I wonder if in the midst of this big vinyl revival they might come back.)
I would love to do an ident - tell me where to send the sound file and I will happily oblige. Always happy to follow in the footsteps of the amazing Mr Clark. XXX
Brilliant news. You could send it to me here: mike.wade1@btinternet.com. Thanks so much Nerina. Mike x
Wow Mike I just clicked on your link and I’m hooked! Will be catching up on them bit by bit. Hope Nerina gets chance to send you a sound file.
Just beautiful, your letters always are, this one made me cry. Also thank you for the very kind message that arrived with my CD, that made my year, so grateful. Take care