After the glorious chaos of Latvia’s Fonofest, I am in the midst of my mid-summer lull. Last weekend was my only free weekend this year, pretty much, so as tempting as it was to go hang out with friends at the wonderful 2000 Trees Festival, I decided to lie low. It feels a little strange having more than a week off shows, but I have been busy with various bits and bobs – writing songs, artwork for singles and tours, planning assaults on new parts of the world, and shooting a video (for “If Ever I Stray”) that involved two days of sitting on a chair in the North Sea, which was about as much fun as it sounds.

So today is just a few odds and sods that have been collecting in my inbox that I wanted to share with the world. First of all, a couple of interviews I did recently – there’s a good one here, and one here that includes some songs (even one in French!). Also, director James Henry recently posted up the (slightly) longer version of his short film about me, “The Road“. You can watch it right here.

Next up… Jenny Hardcore, the photographer who took the ace Victoriana band photos in the sleeve to the new album (and in fact the live shot in the sleeve for Love Ire & Song), is generally great, and wanted me to let you know more about her work. You can check out her site, her blog, and indeed her shop, at those links.

Finally… My old pal Jay, a.k.a. Beans On Toast, has made a little road film about his recent tour of the UK. Aside from amply demonstrating why I love the man and his music, it also made me wistfully nostalgic for, well, 2006 basically, when I was doing tours of a similar kind. Watch and enjoy.