I first heard R.E.M. in 1984 when my friend Mike taped their new album Reckoning for me. It sounded like The Byrds, who we both loved, and became my most played album of the summer. When I saw that they were playing Nottingham’s Rock City that autumn, I had to go, though I couldn’t persuade anyone to go with me. There were less than a hundred people in the audience, but some fans (and Q magazine) have pinpointed this gig as the point where R.E.M. lifted their sound into the classic one that was to define them. Not having seen them before, I can’t comment on the change, but I can say that I went expecting The Byrds and found something more akin to The…

We haven’t visited Wakefield since some old friends moved away, unless you count staying with my  younger brother in nearby Streethouse, but the new Barbara Hepworth gallery drew us over for a fine lunch and a leisurely look around the superb new Barbara Hepworth gallery. Our visit neatly complemented our holiday near St Ives last month, when we revisited Barbara Hepworth’s stunning Sculpture Garden, which was just as magical as we found it on our first visit, back in the 90’s. As a Yorkshireman, I’m particularly proud to see such a magnificent new gallery at the edge of town (remarkably easy to get to by car, too). The David Chipperfield designed building fits the space well, with the windows opening onto superb views of the…

This Sunday there’s Heritage Open Day at Bagthorpe Gardens, Hucknall Road, Sherwood, Nottingham NG5 1DA (Opposite Teesdale Road). These are the allotments at the back of my house, the world’s oldest – dating from the 1840s. Some are cottage gardens, others more traditionally allotmenty. There’ll be displays of photos and artefacts. Refreshments, plants and produce for sale. (My partner’s baking cakes today). Wear stout shoes! Open: 12noon – 4pm. Tours at 12.30pm and 2.30pm. Oh, and I’ll be reading from my new aylum seekers & allotments novel, Secret Gardens, at 2pm. Selling and signing afterwards too. So why not come along? It’s all free (except for the refreshments and books, of course). Good reason to recycle an allotment photo above. This week’s song of the…

Lawrence Block: It’s so nice to be working together again. Jill Emerson: Oh, is that how you see it? LB: Well, don’t you?  We’ve got a book coming out together from Titan. Getting Off, by Lawrence Block writing as Jill Emerson. It’s Hard Case Crime’s first book since they hooked up with Titan, and their first hardcover book ever. JE: Blah blah blah. LB: You know, I don’t get your reaction at all. I thought you’d be excited. JE: You always think women are going to be excited. And then you think its their fault when they aren’t. LB: But— JE: I’m not even going to mention the fact that your name is like huge on the cover, and you need a magnifying glass to…

Early post this week because I’m off to Edinburgh at the weekend. Three things to say before the post proper. If you’d like to read about my perfect weekend, why not visit the Nottingham Post? This week, they also interviewed me about my new novel, Secret Gardens. More on that below. Finally, I have a surprise, very special guest blogging the Saturday after I get back (skip to the bottom to find out who). Here’s what I’ve been reading (and listening to) over the last month. My favourite novel was undoubtedly Pure by Andrew Miller, an engrossing account of the destruction of a graveyard by a naive engineer in eighteenth century Paris. This doesn’t sound like the subject matter of a great story, but I’ve…