Dave's Blog

Hi it's DAve and thank you for joining me on this page...............                                          I cannot believe that it is 4 (yes FOUR ) months since my last post on here.  That is so remiss of me and I can only apologise and start to rebuild the regularity as we go forwards. The calendar for this year is starting to fill up quite nicely which is good - we have Easter in early April followed by a wedding in Tavistock a couple of weeks later (sadly for me that actually clashes with an event I was going to be supporting (doing short coaching taster bytes) and because the bride is a long standing family friend I have no alternative but to attend. In addition I have been looking into different ways I can do something slightly different and as a result I have been writing some short stories (only 5 words) for example  "Alone in the darkness she wept!" or "Yester...

Hi and thank you for being here  I am proud to announce that the latest show from Capstone Radio is now available on various platforms around the interweb, but if you don't want to search for it you can simply follow this link and it will miraculously transport you rather rapidly so that you can wrap your ears around the great music interspersed with the smooth tones of your's truly  Or, you can be traditional and click the long hand version below:- https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e1mv1dn Thank you and I hope that you enjoy the show!      Be safe, be careful and above all remember Don’t Predict The Future - CREATE It ! DAve x Photo: wytchwynd photography PS. if you wish email me at  davethemerlin@mail.com

Hi, it's DAve (the wandering bard, itinerant photographer, husband, author and other interesting (well to me anyway) bits and pieces)! I am well aware that the posts on this page have been spasmodic to say the least, in fact they have been practically non-existent this year! That said, I have been busy with family stuff, photo work and also matters of the heart! But now I feel that the time is now right for me to give everyone a heads up about the latest book I am working on. The cover of which is illustrated here:- The content of this book is made up of snippets of conversations and other  moments from my experiences (over the last 25 or so years) during my work as an entertainment professional. ".... the Variety Club of Great Britain Awards at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, Park Lane, London........I mentioned that I was Musical Director of The Spotlight Theater Company and thanked him for his signed compliment slip wishing us all the best for our forthcoming production of Godsp...

Hi it's DAve Firstly I really need to apologise for being "absent" during the past 4 months  but all the days during that time seem to have simply rolled into one!   So now, all of a sudden, we are on the doorstep of Easter or in Pagan terminology Eostre (the Goddess of Dawn, the Celtic Goddess of Spring) There appear to be two versions of the same story Eostre and the Hare: 1) she found a bird that had frozen wings and saved its' life by transforming it into a rabbit, whilst still retaining its ability to lay eggs 2) a bird that laid beautiful eggs was so proud that Eostre was somewhat annoyed and turned into a rabbit.  The rabbit was so distressed and despairing that she allowed it to lay beautiful eggs (but only once a year). So thank you for taking the time to read this, have a fantastic weekend and remember. Thank you for reading this blog post! Be safe, be careful and above all remember Don’t Predict The Future - CREATE It ! DAve x PS. if you wish email me at d...

  All Star Celebrity Gala           VARIETY SHOW A long time ago I had the great pleasure of working on this show (as Executive Producer) alongside my friend Richard Hope-Hawkins. One of my earliest memories of the production was being invited (along with Alison) to attend a "Meet and Greet The Cast" event that Richard had organised at an hotel in the North Devon resort of Instow. The first member of the "cast" I met was the fantastic Jenny Hanley (tv presenter and radio host).  At this introduction her first words to me were  " you smell nice, I love a man who smells nice! " That "ice breaker" was the beginning of a friendship that still continues today and has been a filled with laughter all the way!  The friendship has led to discover mutual friends, several radio interviews between us and a fair number of alcohol infused telephone calls.  The event that took place in the Queen's Theatre, Barnstaple, was a great success and Jenny and ...

  Hi, yesterday I had intended to catch up with these posts but as sometimes happens in my world towards the end of last week I had computer issues and they affected everything I was doing (including building and launching last week's Cauldron FM radio show) and until the issues are fully resolved I did not dare do anything creative. The situation was really embarrassing because the weekend was Samhain (one of the biggest events in the Pagan calendar) and we had some great music lined up and a special "Crystal of The Month" segment and it all fell over. Anyway we seem to have most of the issues under control but the computer was out of action all morning, so I am currently building a replacement show. The primary image on the page was taken at 8am this morning as I was heading out of the house to travel to the office.  It had begun to rain and then suddenly things changed the sun began to shine through the rain and this presented itself to me. I am always in awe of rainbo...

Wow!  How quickly has that last week gone?  The whole week seemed to be taken up with visiting the sick and infirm, helping Alison with her issues, work and attending to other personal matters.  I really did not have time to turn round and catch my breath. I had a call on Thursday from a friend (also a client) who was suffering with a back injury and during the call I did a silent Reiki treatment.  On Friday she called to say that she was feeling much better so I then offered to do a full healing treatment for her on Sunday when we visited her house which she welcomed. Unfortunately (my own fault) I did not advise her that before the treatment she should not consume any alcohol and when we arrived on Sunday she was walking round with a glass filled with a mix of wine and an energy drink.  I gave her an apology for not telling her and I advised that as a result of the alcohol I had to postpone the session to another date. She was fine about that and the rest of t...

  Standing The Norm On Its' Head There are a number of "common sense" rules for running a successful business and it is my contention that one of the most important has been immortalised by Sir Richard Branson!) In my early days working for the Boots Company Ltd. it was impressed upon me that the customer was always right (even if they were wrong)!  This statement is a maxim that still holds true today. The belief and standing instruction was   "always take care of the customer!" Every business course I have ever attended has always placed its' focus on the same point - that being - the customer is "king" and must always be "taken care of and put first!".  However, Mr Branson has added a further dimension to this!  He has taken the situation, and stood it on its head, and I have to say that I totally agree with him! He states "Clients Do Not Come First!  Employees Come First!  If you take care of your employees, they will take care o...

Hi and welcome to today's post on my blog Over the years I have taken many photographs that have been shown in publications ranging from local newspapers, to galleries, books to magazines. Some of my favourite assignments were to produce the cover photos for a New Age / Ecological magazine called "Connect North Devon" and the relaunch issue in 2017. If anyone is interested I am still available to take on projects such as this - to see examples of more of my work please visit my photography website that you can find at  https://moonshadowmedia.wixsite.com/photographyportfolio Thank you for reading Be safe, be careful and above all remember Don’t Predict The Future - CREATE It ! DAve x

  Hi and welcome to today’s blog We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new handle. Nobody will know how “disconcerting” it has been, let alone embarrassing to have lady visitors to the caravan unable to properly close the bathroom door if using the toilet. However, I have been categorically assured that the replacement is on its’ way via the Royal Mail. But the cynic in me warns “don’t hold your breath!” We shall see! Thank you for reading Be safe, be careful and above all remember Don’t Predict The Future - CREATE It ! DAve x

It is surprising what shows up in a Car Park! Photographed by Dave Baxter 01/10/21 oooOOOooo Thank you for reading this post and check back again soon   If you want to email me -  Click Here! Have a fantastic day, be safe, be careful and above all remember - Don't predict the future - CREATE IT!

The Story Continues… We are now coming more up-to-date – as I said at the end of the last part I had set up CauldronFM   The station was created to provide a resource for those who followed a Pagan path both nationally and internationally, and also to be the platform for music created by Pagan artists. The shows also contained articles and discussions that were of interest to a Pagan audience. The establishing of this service proved popular, and soon it had att racted enquiries from fellow Pagans with regard to them joining the station as presenters. One of the potential candidates was a lady from America who goes by the name of Raven Moonshadow. At the time she was co-presenting a podcast called Pagan Moonbeams which was a service designed to introduce young people to the Pagan tradition The podcast had been running for some time and Raven was seeking a new challenge.  I auditioned her (merely a formality) and she joined the team. Raven and I worked together and she is a hig...

So having completed our fact-finding mission Dave and I submitted our findings to the Council, but (to cut a long story short) the project was curtailed because Dave had accepted a promotion and that meant he had to move to another local authority. This effectively brought an end to the plans as far as we were concerned and I returned to working with music and musicians, and dreaming of someday having a radio presence. Eventually I moved to Devon  (where I still live) - a move that proved to be very worthwhile. I retrained and reskilled and became qualified as a life coach but I also set up an artist management business and predominantly began working with bands.  For one particular band I put together a major 6 week tour (something that they had never done before) and took them to have 3 tracks recorded in a professional studio (owned at the time by 10cc's touring keyboard player Steve)  During this tour I became acquainted with a number of local radio presenters that re...

Hi and thank you for joining me on today's blog post coming from a very dull and overcast top of the hill here in Ilfracombe.   The sky all around is grey and there is a modest breeze blowing.  I cannot see the Bristol Channel today - something that is normally visible from my office window. Last night I had a wonderful "catch up" with Marc over a couple of drinks at The Thatched Inn - it seemed very odd going to a pub to have a drink for the first time in many, many months.  It also seemed weird having to sit outside and order the drinks through a serving hatch. But, I detract from the main topic of today's post - the controversial subject of a lady called "Verity" "Verity" is a sculpture created by the artist Damien Hirst and this piece has been on loan to the town but that loan period is sadly* coming to an end. During this time she has been a major talking point and whether or not you like her, she has brought a large number of visitors to Ilfr...

Hi today is a crisp late summer day here in North Devon and I have been out and about – it feels like autumn is just around the corner. My car has now been serviced and MOT need and the bill will arrive with me soon. So today I feel that I want to give you just a little insight regarding some of the work I do…… One of my earliest productions (Musical Director) I am a therapist, life coach and musician on my own account  But professionally.... . For many years I have been involved in the entertainment industry – playing in bands, broadcasting, and for the past 20 years or so I have been a senior member of a team in a company that provides theatrical drapes and backdrops plus lighting effects to the World’s entertainment industry Working with this company has enabled me to experience places that I could only dream off as a child and meeting people that I have only been able to admire from afar. However I still remember the words that my Dad said to me when I was a teenager and I had ...

Good Morning and Merrie Meet Welcome to today's blog! "Flat Calm - next stop America"  It is a beautiful, blue sky day and as you can see in the photo the sea is a wonderful Flat Calm. It is at times like this when living in North Devon has significant plus points that come into play. The crowds have diminished, the roads are much quieter and safer and we are able to enjoy the late Summer Sunshine in comfort. This weekend is #3 with friends and the caravans, it is also "hopefully" the last one we will spend with a leaking shower unit. If I am lucky, I might get some time to write a few forward posts for the blogs, get some lyrics on paper for the latest album I want to record PLUS get some more photographs up on the Moor. BUT THEN AGAIN -  I may do none of those things and just CHILL! We will have to see. Anyway - whatever you choose to do with your weekend make it a great one and enjoy oooOOOooo Thanks for being there and thank you for reading this post! Please...

Hi and welcome to my Personal Blog At 7.30am this morning I was on a mission!   Image - ©2021 wytchwynd photography We had run out of black rubbish bags and the alarming way we generate rubbish chez nous means that this was a far from satisfactory situation. So whilst I was wandering the streets making my way to the local Premier store that proudly proclaims that it is open at 7.30am every morning, there we the normal people exercising both themselves and their pampered pooches BUT there were NO BLACK BAGS anywhere because the early morning shop was CLOSED! But, what I did come across was the stunning sight of the Landmark Theatre bathed in the most beautiful morning sunlight and standing against a stunning backdrop of grey clouds interspersed with patches of blue sky.   I was so in awe of the sight I just had to take the photograph for this blog. ......and what of the black bags? A friendly neighbour just happened to have a spare one and saved the day! oooOOOooo Tha...

Hi and welcome to this personal blog page of a self confessed hippie child of the 60's.  I was no stranger to the sounds of the "Underground" (and not the ones referred to in that famous pop song by Girls Aloud - a song that I did actually like) music scene. However, this photograph is the nearest thing I got to the cult movie  "Easy Rider" as I personally cannot be doing with motor bikes.  Unfortunately, I cannot credit the photographer because I have no idea who it was - but if it was you and you can tell me exactly when and where it was taken I will happily add a credit to your image. So moving on, the reason for this post being called "Waterlogged" and the attending image is the fact that some days I feel like that and the weekend just gone contained one of them. We had a lovely day on Saturday - went shopping (maybe spent a little more than we should have done), then we went for a lovely meal in Exeter (thank you Tina) and then took a steady and e...

Hi and welcome to today’s blog page. We are back home after a couple of nights in the caravan.  It has been a lovely weekend but sadly 2 nights are not really long enough.   ©️2021 wytchwynd photography Yesterday after a slow start in the morning we had to do battle with a problematic water system before heading off to Exeter for the afternoon.  That proved to be a tad expensive as I happened to say that I liked a wicker-style patio set that was on Special Offer in The Range.  Oh boy!   Guess who left the shop £140 poorer? On the plus side we had a lovely meal at Toby Carvery, Rydon Lane, Exeter (not a sponsored mention - but always happy to discuss) that was, as always, great value for money in an establishment that is clean, friendly and welcoming. After the meal we took a steady drive back to the caravan. This morning was a little fraught because I was feeling a wee bit tetchy over this on-going water issue but hopefully I will get something resolved this wee...

Hi it's Dave Welcome to Friday's post from "Yours Truly" After bending you ear yesterday about "stuff" I decided that today I would write a lighter post.  Later today we are heading off to cause madness and mayhem at our caravan - we being Alison, Tina and I. ©2010 wytchwynd photography  ©2010 wytchwynd photography However the adventure really began last night (Thursday) when Alison and I had to go to our friends and  fellow caravan owners - The Stewart Family to pick up something affectionately known as "The Twatting Hammer" (I hope I have the strength to wield it). This remarkable piece of kit is ideal for knocking the pegs into the hard standing area (which almost has the strength of concrete) so we will be able to put the awning up. But first we have an important funeral to attend tomorrow morning and then back to the local golf club for a buffet.   Then mid afternoon I will be heading off to pick up the girls and away we go for our mad weekend...