Yesterday was a nice day, in all senses of the word. The weather was good and all I did seemed to work as it should do. It was a lot of radio though, a live one hour discussion on Tourism in Somerset and Frome with three good guests, then an interview record, then across the county to deliver a drive time show, by which time my voice was fading.

Coming back from Wiveliscombe was fun, the weather was just perfect and it made for a pleasant drive, the last part of my journey had me on a lane driving east with the bright sun getting low behind me. As i drove left on a bend, the shadow moved right and vice versa, so for the last few miles home I was dancing with the shadow of my car. Great fun.

My interview was with ‘Ki’ Longfellow Stanshall, the widow of Vivian Stanshall (Bonzo Dog Doodah Band, Tubular Bells, Sir Henry Rawlinson), she was a delight, she drawls and sounds like Lauren Bacall and was fun to talk and listen to. She swore, she cy=ussed and she dissed a few people, then stopped and told me I should edit it out in case they came after me, “dont worry about me darling, but we can’t have them coming after you”. Her early life was amongst rock and pop royalty as she worked for Bill Graham who owned the Fillmore(s) and would interject “you know Ray?”, after careful negotiation it would be Ray Davis of the Kinks.

She lived on a houseboat  owned originally by Denny Laine that was a World War One submarine chaser, she sailed a houseboat from Sunderland to Bristol, they lived life to the full and it was great to hear her story of life with a man larger than life who effectively drank himself to death.

 

In conclusion, I asked what was her favourite memory of Viv, she was quiet for a moment started, then checked herself, “he was marvellous at so many things and I loved him dearly.”

It was good to hear, she is still dancing with the shadow of the man she loved.