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It’s Burns night as I write this. Our Burns supper was quite sedate – haggis, neeps, tatties and a glass of beer, a Bunny Wailer album on in the background. No piping in the haggis, raised glasses or reciting poems. I’ve been to plenty of Burns suppers though, and even on occasion stood up and read ‘to a haggis’ as it got dished up. I like haggis, but must admit eating it once a year is enough. I feel much the same way about Burns’ poetry though. The man wrote some iconic poems for sure, and was, by all accounts a hard working farmer. His poems were full of his daily hopes, fears, humours, affections and despairs. The stuff of good poetry. It’s more the cult of Burns I’m not so into, the romantic wish fulfilment. Edwin Muir puts it well…

‘The burns of popular legend is an imaginative incarnation of a people’s desires, unfulfilled in life. It has no fundamental resemblance to Burns himself. Burns was not, for the age he lived in, an immoderate drinker; nor was he a careless lover, and he perpetually cursed the weakness in himself which his admirers glorify’

Still I’ve always thought it cool that Scotland has a national celebration for the life and work of a poet.

January has been a quiet month for me, but very nice all the same. We avoided much of the snow and bad weather that affected most of the country. I’ve been to a few bonfires, and went to a ceilidh in a barn on Hogmany. Since then I’ve started work on writing songs for a new solo album. I hadn’t planned on doing another, but people seemed to want one, and if you haven’t planned on doing something, it’s often the best time to do it.

Sitting alone in my Hebridean home, the fire going, the wind howling outside, I’m introspective some might say, but I’m enjoying listening to the radio (in this kind of circumstance, It’s company). I don’t know what I’d do sometimes without radio 4 and 6 music. Together they educate and entertain me with music and conversation. I’ve also been phoning some friends, who always sound surprised to hear my voice. I suppose I don’t make phone calls that often. I’ve been told that on the phone I either tend to talk non stop or sound like I want to get off the line. I must practice calling people more often.

Of course, this quiet time would be the perfect opportunity to work on some songs. There’s an electric guitar and small amplifier in the house, but try as I might, I can’t find a lead. I’ve searched through all the cupboards and likely places with little joy. It’s no excuse really, yet writing songs on your own is hard enough, and with an electric guitar that you can’t plug in, it’s even harder. I have some words, and more to work on, but I suspect it’ll be a while before they turn themselves into songs, and it’ll take someone else to help me do that – Rod, Allan, Kris Drever or John McCusker namely. I need someone beside me to tell me if they’re rubbish.

We took a trip up to An Tobar in Tobermory last week. It’s the haven for the arts here on Mull, and is run by an enthusiastic staff. They have a great little studio and performance space there. Along with a café and gallery. It made me want to start a new record, which I’ve been thinking about. Since 2005 I’ve put out an album every year. I like the symmetry of documenting each year in song. I’m starting to think that 2010 might be a stop gap though, what with more idlewild shows, families, and other commitments for John & Kris. But maybe it’ll mean that I’ll have a whole year to collect extra thoughts & words.

The one other thing of wonder is Beck and his ‘record club’ thing he’s got going on his website (beck.com) where he assembles musicians together for the day to cover a classic album. So far he’s got wilco, devandra banhart, MGMT and a bunch of other involved doing albums by Leonard Cohen, the velvet underground, and a personal favourite, Skip Spence’s ‘Oar’. Doing music in a day and putting it online – is this the way music is going? Maybe so, but if only it’d always sound this good….