The blessed night

I was walking along the river last night, reflecting upon the beauty of this changing time of year, and in particular the nights.

It might have been because of the conjunction of the twin diamonds of Venus and Jupiter in the western sky, or the warmth, clearness and peace, but it was a stunning evening.

(And first aside here - to the more cynical of you, because I can almost hear you thinking it.  No, I'm sure it wasn't anything to do with the three pints of ale I'd enjoyed beforehand.)

Anyway, the point of this blog was a little musing about the night.  It's a favoured Hall time, not because I'm a creature of the darkness (although that may be entirely arguable), but because it's my chance to think.

The way I tend to write, whether it's the tvdetective books, or anything else I'm working on, is to do the actual scripting in the early morning, normally around this kind of time (6 - 8am).  But the evenings I set aside for thinking about what I'm going to be writing the next day.

I find it an effective way to clear my mind before setting of to sleepland, to help me relax after whatever chaos the day has inflicted, but also a very good time to explore a few ideas.

I lay back upon the sofa, or sometimes recline in a chair in my study, close my eyes and think.  There's always some music on in the background, not too loudly, just enough to tickle the consciousness (listening to music with the eyes closed always enhances the experience, in my view - it takes out the dominance of sight and makes for better concentration) and I let my mind wander.

And this time of year is wonderful for an evening's thought.  The promise of the oncoming summer, the renewal of the earth.  Ahh!   Tomorrow, when the clocks spring forward, we'll almost be in what John Travolta and co. would have eulogised in song as those Summer Nights.

On the subject of which, it's choice of song time. I was picked up by several people in my last blog for forgetting to mention some preferred music.  I apologise; this must have been due to the trauma of the Butlins weekend.  So, for this blog, I'm going with several songs on the theme of night, just to make up the average.

Try these - Franki Valli's and The Night, because of the dangers of the darkness hours, The Eagles and One of These Nights, for the same reasons, and because I'm a softy at heart, Nights in White Satin, by The Moody Blues, for its evocative lyrics and melodies.

And a final thought for this blog - tomorrow we're doing the first full rehearsal of the play.  Lots of people have been asking me about how it's going.  Standby for a report early next week, when I've calmed down sufficiently to write again...