Every morning I’ve been waking up early and going for a walk.

And unusually, I find myself wanting to do exactly the same walk each day.

It takes me along little lanes and trails, bridleways and quiet country roads. Everything so quiet.

I often feel like I’m interrupting something.

Birds disappear into the bushes as I walk. Squirrels scramble for cover. And who knows what else is going on in there, making their hasty retreat.

I pray. I talk to God. Sometimes I’m just quiet.

It’s a lovely feeling knowing there’s nowhere to get to. Tomorrow morning I’ll get up and walk exactly the same way again.

And, if I could, I think I’d just keep walking on and on and on.

What to do with memories that have already started to fade, and tears that leave no stain?

Such a brevity, I had no time to take hold;
I leave the land my feet will never again tread,
and now remains a grief I know not how to carry

Yet it will fade from view, I know this much.

For the horizon is already moving, the sky already changing,

And this - all this:

It will become more than a distant memory; the faces I will forget, the moments will slip away, and these hours; a grain of sand quietly disappearing beneath the ones still to come

It is true, my farewell, although slow, is already here and what remains a grief I know not how to carry

Really excited that the unfinished is now finished.

I’ll share more very soon 😉

And it didn’t stop there.

After exchanging some emails, what had initially begun as a change of perspective went further…this new fan had now decided it was time to quit what she was doing and pursue being true to herself and where her heart really was…

What strikes me the most in all of this is the fact that when writing the album Glasswing. Fly, the biggest battle I had was ensuring that I was being true to myself - not being concerned with whether the piece of music or the song that I was writing was radio-friendly or followed ‘the songwriting formula’.

Instead, I knew I just had to create the music true to me.

And it’s this very truth and deep beauty that I believe resonated with this new fan.

On Christmas Day when I was 7, my younger sister, who was 5 years old, was given a small red Rainbow Brite keyboard from Father Christmas.

When she opened it up, I remember my eyes lighting up - I wanted to play it straightaway!

But of course, I had to keep calm and remember it was my sister’s and not mine and that I had to wait my turn.

Wait my turn is what I did and then, when my moment finally came something happened.

I was able to (albeit all with one finger!) pick out the melodies of Christmas carols despite never playing a keyboard before.

Little did I or my family know that it would lead to me writing and singing my own songs one day.

I still remember that when you switched the keyboard on it made this whirling sound - not quite like a washing machine, more like a hairdryer!

They don’t make them like they used to!

One Sunday morning, I woke up to a message in the My Northern Sky inbox…

“Last night I was driving home from rehearsals. I’m a dancer, and at the moment I’m due to fly out to India for a show - one which is very commercial, and very different to the dance that I really love. Therefore, on my journey home I was battling with myself, trying to talk my head around to the fact that it’s only a job, and that maybe one day the work I create in my own time will be the work I am able to perform and earn my income from. But altogether, I was feeling pretty frustrated, and pretty exhausted.

Then, out of nowhere, I fall across new sounds on the radio. As I casually flicked through radio channels, I came across your music being played on Radio Berkshire. And my whole heart and soul relaxed, and uplifted - a physical feeling of relief. Because here was music that connected to me. Here was music that matched how I truly dance, and how I feel. And here it was, being played out to listeners of the radio.

Thank you for making this music, changing my perspective yesterday evening, and reminding me to push through for what I know to be right. I’m now full of ideas, and have spent most of last night writing and sketching them down.

I just thought you should know, really.”

Umm...


(And there's more. I'll share Part 2 soon...)