Totally unexpectedly, 2025 brought me back into contact with my "musical family" of the 1980's - the catalyst being Ashley Hutchings and an invitation to play at his 80th Birthday celebration gig in Birmingham Town Hall, April 18th - what turned out to be a memorable and inspirational day.

In preparing for the gig I got together a few times with Polly Bolton and John Shepherd in Shropshire to rehearse To Ireland - a standout epic from Ashley's "Gloucester Docks" album. We'd all played on the original. Feeling and picturing the song as an acoustic arrangement with Polly's amazing voice and John's exquisite piano arrangement moved me to think: "I'd love to find a way of recording this".

I'd last recorded with 3 tracks on Grandson of Morris on (2002) and was not expecting to do so again. But a seed had been sown with Polly and John, and on 19th April a plan began to form. I'd re-connected with a lot of old friends, amazing musicians and singers all, I wonder if ... and they did - Polly Bolton