Another piece for the Clutha Project, this time reflecting on childhood memories of days out on the Clyde. For those that could not afford a full holiday or eating out in a restaurant, the answer was to pack a picnic, get cheap train tickets down to Gourock, Largs or Wemyss bay and then a ferry out on the Clyde either just to cruise for the day or maybe to visit somewhere to eat your picnic, play crazy golf, or go to the beach for a few hours. A day trip to Dunoon was often the choice in our house but its geographic location appeared to give it one of the highest rainfall instances in the UK. More often than not we would have to take refuge in a bus shelter there to eat our picnic and wait for the sun to come out again, but it never seemed to matter to us as kids. Billy Connolly famously sang in the 1970's of the decline of the Guest House industry in Dunoon as people realised they could broaden their horizons with the help of cheap foreign holidays provided by Freddie Laker.  This was just another facet of the social changes affecting the Clyde area from the 1960's onwards - gradual but inevitable. There are still places to stay in Dunoon, but it's not the high-density tourist destination that it once was. And there's still plenty of rain.......

I had intended this to be a song but in the end felt it was better as spoken word with musical accompaniment. All the instruments in this track are virtual.... in case anyone's wondering how my guitar and mandolin playing  has suddenly improved.... :)

RAIN IN DUNOON.

When we didn’t have much
The smallest things would do
Like the way we took our comfort
In those small words “I love you”
Or the carefully made sandwich
Of dates or cut-price jam
Or sometimes, if we were lucky,
Some cheese and smoky ham.

With flask of milky coffee,
And a blanket for the ground
We’d set off on our journey
And listen to the sound
Of steam making dreams
As we’d clatter down the rails
To Wemyss Bay and the ferry
That would take our spades and pails

Across the sparkling water
To the joys of far Dunoon
To ice creams, parks, and castle
And a hopeful afternoon.
Where parents left their drudge behind
And children freely played
That great trip doon the watter
Was where memories were made.

But always in the picnic bags
Our anoraks were ready
For the weather there is fickle
And the rain can fall so steady
And many’s the time the Bus Shelter
Became our restaurant
Where a warm drink and a date sandwich
Was all we’d ever want.

These days we have our easy jets
And far-off holidays
The steamers went to scrap-yards
And no crowds now pass this way
The gift shops and the cafes
With signs saying “Come back soon”
Are these days not so busy
When the rain falls in Dunoon.

© enlimila 20/10/2021

Rain In Dunoon

(Clutha Project) Rain In Dunoon

There Is A Better Place

Crow Hill Composing Challenge using Pocket Strings

Pocket of Infinity_Alistair McGrann_LHZ Collective

Track made exclusively with Crowhill company's Pocket Strings Library as per the challenge. 

No additional effects or plugin used
Made in a *very* short time ;D and had a lot of fun doing so! First go at a 'scary' vibe.

Pocket String is an affordable, very well built little jewel. It is highly customizable, from cinematic sound to gritty sound design.

Daemonic Whispers

Daemonic Whispers - Crow Hill Company's Pocket Strings Composing Challenge

For the Crowhill composer challenge July 25. Using only their pocket strings plugin.

Time's Up! - Crow Hill Composer Challenge - July 2025

PocketStrings.Challenge.Crowhill.by.David.O.White.07,06.2025 - 01 Start(2)

Challenge - to compose a track using only the Crow Hill Pocket Strings library, one day turnaround.  Library has amazing shorts and pizz, sweeping longs, and a really intuitive GUI which allows you to blend as needed great string samples, and also two vintage string synths, with in-library effects.  Chose this genre to make something different to my usual style in the spirit of a challenge, but also make the best of those cracking pizz and shorts and see if I could use them as a creative stand-in for brass stabs and punchy bass.  Really brilliant library at the price point, I had lots of fun!  Thanks for listening!

Rachel Howie Pocket Strings Challenge Soundcloud

https://youtu.be/c--TU69LxkU

Made entirely from stringed instruments, using the updated Crow Hill Company Glass Strings, this is one of the most vulnerable pieces I’ve put together.

It’s for moments when words fall short. Music to sit with when you feel quiet, overwhelmed, or just need space. Like the mirror it’s named after, it reflects something back - stillness, sadness, or whatever’s been waiting to surface.

I wanted each note to feel like it was disappearing into the distance. Like how a mirror creates a sense of space - not actual space, but reflected space. That illusion, that gentle stretching of reality, is what this track leans into.

I hope you enjoy it!

The Looking Glass

Original song by Nick Drake

Lyrics:

When I was young, younger than before
I never saw the truth hanging from the door
And now I’m older see it face to face
And now I’m older gotta get up, clean the place

And I was green, greener than the hill
Where flowers grew and sun shone still
Now I’m darker than the deepest sea
Just hand me down, give me a place to be

And I was strong, strong in the sun
I thought I’d see when day was done
Now I’m weaker than the palest blue
Oh, so weak in this need for you

Place to Be (live acoustic cover, orig. song by Nick Drake)

Tom's piano melodies are so inspirational, not just to me (Mark) but also to Jussi, Georg and Boon. The energy of this piece carried us all off on a wonderful journey. We hope you enjoy the joyful enthusiasm that Tom initiated. Tom also gave me the key line, 'My Way Through' and I had to run with it as it made so much sense with this uplifting and hopeful music. Thanks for listening.

Tom Regnier -  @tom-r-gnier Music composition, piano and other instrumentation
Jussi Welin - @juswel First guitar and guitar arrangement
Georg Boehme - @georg-boehme Horns and horn arrangement
Boon Suzuki - @boon-suzuki Final guitar and guitar arrangement
Mark Bennett - Vocals and lyrics

Wherever you’re bound you know I’ll, 
Make my way through 
Sure may take a little while
 But I’ll make my way through

Wherever I’m bound I know I’ll,
 Make my way through
 It may take a longer while 
Till I make my way through

Wherever you’re bound,
…You’re bound
I know that I’m bound, yeah!

When I get there you know I’ll
Make my way through
Sure may need a broader smile
But I’ll make my way through.

My Way Through - Tom Régnier & Friends

Here's track 7 from the album "Congeries," featuring Marty Lucas on piano. 
Mixed and mastered by Jon Huxtable.

Lyrics:
Whispers 
The wind on the plains 
Restless 
The eternal remains 

They all will rise up at the omen 
Snow-covered kings, yearly frozen 
Sprung from the hills like new children 

From the stone-laden tombs long forgotten 
Clad in a cold fallen cotton, 
They’ll emerge to the fields that they fought in

Congeries

Whispers with Marty Lucas

This is my latest spill-over page for newer stuff. The older material is at @enlimila and @enlimila-plus

Thanks for looking. :-)

 SoundCloud
 hearthis.at/4YJwNLhy/
 metapop.com/enlimila

(Clutha Project) Rain In Dunoon

enlimila++