Latest news

Video of ‘Mother of Love’

6th December 2023

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Filmed live and produced by the Fuelcast, check out https://www.thefuelcast.com/li...

‘Be Like a Child’ Adaptation

19th May 2023

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Fuelcast have produced a spoken word adaptation of 'Be Like a Child' which we filmed on Branscombe beach. https://www.thefuelcast.com/li...

‘Emmanuel’ spoken word

1st December 2022

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Inspired by the incarnation and Hamilton the musical (not your usual pair of themes), I ended up working on this, which Fuelcast have kindly produced: https://www.thefuelcast.com/li...

‘When it rains’

10th October 2022

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This is the first attempt to adapt my songs into spoken word form. 'When it rains' is from the In my street album, and it's quite slow and reflective, so it seemed like a natural one to try this out with. Fuelcast have kindly produced the video. https://www.thefuelcast.com/li...

Recording of ‘Mrs Ferguson’

12th October 2016

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Well it's been a long time coming but I have finally got a mastered mix of 'Mrs Ferguson' which was mixed by Andy Turner.

This is the first of hopefully many tracks which I am recording at home and then getting mixed by Andy, and I'm really grateful for the sound he has got for this. I hope that this track will help in some small way to offering a creative, if haunting contribution to conversations about racialisation and racial oppression that still go on in this world. Prayers for Michael Brown's family, and others who have suffered because of the colour of their skin.

A different sort of hope

13th April 2016

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I've just arrived back from a trip to Peru. We spent one week in Lima, one week in the jungle town of Iquitos, and a week in the mountains doing the Inca trail.

It's been an amazing three weeks where I have learnt a tremendous amount about myself and who God is. There are so many things to share about it but I will focus on just experience.

One day in Iquitos we went to a place called Punchana. I've seen poverty and hardship, but there was so much squalor in this place. I found it hard thinking about what hope there could be. A pastor of a church cried as he told us about how tough it has been. However, in that moment, as I was filled with tears myself, I felt a sense of something real, tangible, a true humanity that I often spend so much of my life trying to avoid.

So many of us are too guarded and insecure to talk about our problems and concerns. Some of us will use our problems as a curtain to cover up what is really going on inside of us. I guess this trip to Peru has taught me that there is nothing more liberating than being truly real, truly ourselves, cutting the crap and seeking what is truly human in others. Most people on the team thought that the time in Punchana was where they saw God most at work, and I wonder if part of that is because it was real.

Ceilidh Fun

21st September 2015

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I had a great time this weekend doing a Ceilidh with Becca and my friends Andy and Nicola Turner. It was so fun to be playing with Becca particularly, she is such a talented violin player.

Something I love about a Ceilidh is that everyone is encouraged to take part. There are a bunch of moves that are unfamiliar to some, but which all can enjoy. When the dance doesn’t go so well, that doesn’t spoil the whole thing, but when it works, it looks incredible as everyone moves in and out of each other.

One dance, we started off slowly and gradually got faster and faster. Becca’s violin was smoking at the end. The way everyone was laughing and cheering each other made me feel like I had a slight glimpse of what we were made to be like as humanity. Everyone involved in the dance, finding joy and laughter together.

‘All my fault’ free download

4th September 2015

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It's been a long time coming but I can finally release this free download, 'All my fault', which is a song written for the Faith and Justice committee in association with Food Banks. As I'm sure many of you know, the need for Food Banks is increasing as more people are finding themselves without, despite sometimes working full-time and doing their very best to make do. This is a song which hopefully encourages people to support Food Banks, but more than that, to provoke conversations around the problem of why, in such a well off country, we need them at all. You can download it for free here, thanks for listening.

Driftwood

7th May 2015

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It's been a while since the last post. I have been pretty full on with studying and it's been nice to get a bit of time to take stock of things. I built this driftwood mirror which is in our spare room now. It's got loads of really uniquely shaped bits to make it and it was fun trying to slot them all into place to made them fit together. It's interesting how in life we can sometimes come across people who seem to be really different to us, as thought we don't fit together. I guess there are always people we will find difficult, but, like this mirror, when time is taken to realise how they fit, how they can sit next to each other, it can really work. A slightly simple analogy perhaps, but it's helping me to try a bit harder in seeing how I can learn from other people who I think are a bit 'different'.

Extreme folk music

21st November 2014

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It's been a rather busy couple of months with a fair few more gigs than I had initially intended to book. It seems I'm not great at saying no, although I'm getting better at balancing my time and Becca my wife is a great reason to turn things down. As autumn is upon us I am starting to think a bit about the next project. It won't be until next summer when I start anything new as I have a MA to do first which is proving to be quite intense. A highlight of the last few months was playing in Manchester at the Faith and Justice conference. I'd written a new song which touches on 'The Food Bank Question' and it seemed to be received well. This December I have a lot of gigs going on, from performing to senior judiciary, to a bunch of bikers, from singing in a church to giving it what for in a pub barn. Hopefully see you at something. All the best.

Thoughts of the Middle East

1st September 2014

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Over the summer I've seen so many videos and read so many articles covering the events that have been going in in the Middle East. Iraq, Syria, Israel, Palestine, not to mention other things happening elsewhere. It's been particularly difficult reading about the Israel/Gaza war having spent time in the region myself building relationships with both Jews and Arabs and seeking to understand a bit more about them. It seems everyone has an opinion and often the western world is particularly good at casting blame whilst enjoying the comfort of their own homes, free from fear themselves. My 'Love Wins' album covers a lot of the sentiments I have from my time out there but there is one article recently which has really moved me in amongst it all. An article on the BMS World Mission website quotes Yohanna Katanacho, a lecturer at Bethlehem Bible College, who states that we will only find true peace if we learn to cry with our enemies. This has humbled me time and time again as I have thought how difficult this must have been for him over the years to look with kindness and grace on those who have in the past beaten him, imprisoned him and made his life hell. Of course there are always at least two sides to a conflict but I find this whole mindset of Yohanna's deeply challenging, no, impossible! But I believe that with God all things are possible. I want to learn to cry with my enemies, not just my friends. Thank you Yohanna. You can find the article here.

Building patience

16th June 2014

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I was outside yesterday afternoon with Becca my wife and we were finally getting started on the garden of our new house. It's been a good few months since we moved in but we had taken a while to get round to it. In fact, there are loads of things we want to do but there always seems to be another job which is waiting and can't be sorted straight away. I started trying to dig up some old plants that had been around and soon realised that it was going to be a tiring job. Some of them had roots which went so deep and it wasn't going to be a simple case of pulling them out. It made me think about the fact that some things are never quick to do. In a world where food, clothes, even friends, can sometimes feel instantaneous, it is quite alien at times to have patience and perseverance working at things. I think I need to learn the forgotten art of being patient and taking little steps in building whatever I am trying to build, not expecting things to be sorted straight away but persevering over time.

In My Street - New album release

11th May 2014

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It's finally here! The new album entitled, 'In My Street' is due to be launched on Friday 16th May at the Woodman Folk Club. Check out the gigs page to see where. It would be great to see as many people there as possible for what should be a really fun evening. It's the first place I ever played guitar in public and the Woodman is an incredibly warm and welcoming club. My Dad, Keith will be performing too as well as Becca (my wife) and, of course, you can buy the new album too.

Mud for Water

27th April 2014

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It's been a busy month with the latest fundraising project. On Saturday 26th April I took part in a Tough Mudder event with my brothers, Ben (right) and Robin (left) to raise money for Water Aid. Thank you to all those who sponsored us. We managed to raise a wopping £1,073.48 to help provide clean water and sanitation to people, a basic need which should undoubtedly be available to everyone. If you are interested in finding out more of what Water Aid do check out the link on the justice page. Thanks again.

Singing of Spring

13th March 2014

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It seems after a heck of a lot of rain, we are finally getting glimpses of Spring. I've been really fortunate to get a few opportunities to play at some great venues over the last few months. I'm also hoping that by May time there will be a new album out, I'll keep you posted. In the meantime if you are about for any of the upcoming dates it would be great to see you at a gig. Until then, enjoy the sun!

New year, new website

13th January 2014

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Well it's been an eventful few months. I got married, moved home, started a new vocation and to top it all off, got a new website. Thanks very much to Dan Kingsley for putting this together for me. On this new site you should be able to find out about the upcoming gigs or projects I'm involved with, listen to samples of my music, watch a few videos, explore the kind of things that I advocate when I play, and if you want to get in touch about anything then just send me a message on the contact page. Tim

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