Alberta

... Hunter.

We had a little time this morning before going to the fête so I took +1/3 off to a second hand record shop I pass every day: Record Detective Agency in Palmer's Green. The place is tiny, crammed to the gunnels (or gunwales if you prefer) with all kinds of records and the kind of place that requires dedication and patience. +1/3 has neither.

+1/3: "are you going to look through all those records?!"
me: "yup"
+1/3: "why don't you just stream it?"
me: sigh...

Some of the records out front are house clearance fodder but there's some good stuff inside the incredibly tiny shop. I picked out an Alberta Hunter album as much for the portrait on the front and sleeve notes as anything else. £5? Why not.

Of course, when we got back I remembered that the turntable preamp is dead so... I streamed the album. Oh, the irony. But here's the thing: I wouldn't have found this gem of an album by purely digital means and the copious biography on the back of the album isn't reproduced anywhere online (at least that I can find). And from the notes I learned that Alberta was already in her early 80s when she recorded this album in 1980. An amazing voice and by all accounts an amazing woman.

It's still completely lost on +1/3...

School fête in the afternoon: ice creams, coconut shy, more ice creams, teacups, pageant, rain (well, only at the very end!) A great afternoon and some very tired children by the end.