LaMountain

Ray LaMontagne was amazing live. He looks like a kind of muppet hobo with a flip-top head and raggedy clothes, but when he sings it's raw and visceral and really quite beautiful. His singing voice is huge, but he didn't speak to the audience in more than a whisper all night. It was a very sedate concert really. The crowd was more enraptured than anything. I enjoyed Kathryn Williams too. Bitter sweet and lovely close harmonies. She was very funny between songs too.

Lots of students in the audience - not surprising since it was at Warwick Arts Centre on the University campus. I'm sure Ray attracted more than a representative number from the anarcho-hippy crowd. The smell of cardboard and lentils and unwashed jumpers was unmistakable. Good to know they're still around.

The rest of the weekend was pretty productive. Tidying, shopping and cooking on Saturday. Met G for lunch and got to see his workplace for the first time. It was fun watching him in action. We had a lovely walk on Sunday again. I foolishly challenged him to race up one of the steeper inclines - mainly to get away from some ramblers on our tail. As he dashed up the slope on tip-toes I was left gasping and scrabbling at tufts of grass. I think he was a bit worried about me - he made me put my hands on my head and breathe through my nose for a while at the top. Not sure what for, maybe just to make me look even sillier. Anyway, I had plenty of stamina to get me round the rest of the route without moaning and it wasn't me who fell asleep on the sofa when we got back!

Being out and about together made me keen to get working on the travel plans again. Hope this clear cold weather holds for our trip to The Beacons and Beyond this weekend.