The Librarian

Last summer's weather lacks many redeeming features. I don't think I was the only one who decided last April that a summer without sun just isn't . And I swear it has made this summer all the better. I keep on noticing all the simple summer things. Picking a basket of apricots, riding down a (small) rapid in an inner tube, having my cup of tea and christmas cake in a shady spot of the garden. My beach bag is brimming over with bookish goodness. Here's what you'd find if you tipped it out on the picnic blanket:       The latest Frankie and Extracurricular mags       A borrowed copy of series 3 of The Good Word       New albums Sad but True , Carry Me Back , and Wreck and Ruin and an amazing, 'unputdownable' book called Room . Wishing you a year of sunshine, good reading, and plenty of take-a-skip moments (and an outdoor bath too - I cannot recommend them highly enough).

I'm unashamedly soft when it comes to 'music moments'. Nothing gets me in the same way as the right song, in the right place, at the right moment. Nothing. I've got a stockpile of memories, magical spots of time, when music has got me. Those moments can't be manufactured - it's the show of human qualities that make the magic. I like that - a lot. So, I take my hat off to people who commit themselves to making music. Who work at their craft even when it's going badly, who commit themselves to daily practice, who turn up for the weekly band practice. I've never been one of those people - a proper musician - so I can only imagine that it's not always a picnic, but that perhaps the lure of being part of (or the cause of) one of those special moments can go a long way. Here's my pick for this month's top three hard working New Zealand bands, bringing the magic. (Click on their names to check out their video)        1. Nightchoir - who are a...

Favourite birthday present ever! (Apart from all the others that I adore also...)  I love these guys, and top of my wishlist is to see them live one day soon.