The divorce rate in 2022, was is 7 divorces for every 1000 marriages, with on average marriage lasting 13 years in the UK. In total it added up to 80,000 divorces. The rate has however dropped significantly; it was 40% higher in 1997. This is due to less marriages, people marrying later, people living together and a change in attitudes i.e. there is no longer a stigma about bearing children outside of marriage

The wife is the most likely to file for divorce. Divorce rates for the over 65’s however are growing, affectionally known as the silver splitters. People in their late 40’s are the most likely to divorce. Divorce has a big impact on the adults concerned i.e. grief, loss, identity, co parenting, loneliness, trust etc 

The impact of a divorce on children can ( and usually does)  lead to loyalty conflicts, a sense of abandonment, behavioural problems and the overall effect on their adult life. There are also financial consequences  related to a division of assets, maintenance payments, logistics, housing and the like.

Children of divorced parents are three times more likely to divorce themselves i.e. a divorce rate of say 25%. My parents divorced when I was twelve years of age and I divorced 37 years ago when my oldest son was three. I don’t believe adults take into account the effect of a divorce on their children as much as they should. Years later I still feel guilt, almost daily.

 The divorce rate in 2022, was is 7 divorces for every 1000 marriages, with on average marriage lasting 13 years in the UK. In total it added up to 80,000 divorces. The rate has however dropped significantly; it was 40% higher in 1997. This is due to less marriages, people marrying later, people living together and a change in attitudes i.e. there is no longer a stigma about bearing children outside of marriage

The wife is the most likely to file for divorce. Divorce rates for the over 65’s however are growing, affectionally known as the silver splitters. People in their late 40’s are the most likely to divorce. Divorce has a big impact on the adults concerned i.e. grief, loss, identity, co parenting, loneliness, trust etc 

The impact of a divorce on children can ( and usually does)  lead to loyalty conflicts, a sense of abandonment, behavioural problems and the overall effect on their adult life. There are also financial consequences  related to a division of assets, maintenance payments, logistics, housing and the like.

Children of divorced parents are three times more likely to divorce themselves i.e. a divorce rate of say 25%. My parents divorced when I was twelve years of age and I divorced 37 years ago when my oldest son was three. I don’t believe adults take into account the effect of a divorce on their children as much as they should. Years later I still feel guilt, almost daily 

There are about 4300 religions in the world, led by Christianity ( 31%), Islam ( 25%, Hinduism (15%) and .Buddhism 7%. The majority believe in some concept of the afterlife. It could be called heaven, paradise or even re incarnation.

The word heaven comes from many sources, but the old English version comes from the word heofon – meaning the sky or the abode of Gods and Angels. 

There seems to be no scientific evidence of the existence of heaven, so it's surprising that so many people believe in its supernatural presence. For what's its worth I don’t believe in heaven.

Near death experiences provide the closest look at heaven, with out of body experiences and a feeling of peace or moving towards a light. Brain chemistry can also lead to similar thoughts. Past life memories and re incarnation are said to prove the existence of heaven, although not accepted by the scientific community.

Generally, its thought to be a spiritual belief, a matter of faith. Almost believing in something we all want to believe in.

This song is about a man going to heaven and how he sees his legacy, what he wants people to remember about him, if anything . I have had similar thoughts and mentioned them in some of my poems. It’s a brutally honest view of his arrival in heaven and what he would actually think in the circumstances.

When it come to a legacy, people usually search for a meaning and purpose to their lives. For me I’m immensely proud of my children and I guess that enough.

Some like to leave a project or a building in their name – like a friend of mine from University. Others like to leave a body or artistic or intellectual work. Watch out Taylor Swift, Brady Kent is coming ! Financial security for the family comes high on the list, as well as experiences, history, and story telling ( I like the last one as anyone will tell you !).

Life lessons to pass on  are also key for some people. In the main making a positive impact on other people is perhaps the best you can hope for. To love and be loved. The man in the song wants everyone to ‘sit down, so he can break the news’ ( he’s died)

He died in his sleep, which came as a surprise because he still felt ‘young inside’ He claims to be calm and not panicking but would rather ‘start his life again’ ( I think that’s where I’m at !)

‘Outside looking down, he does want to be in heaven’ but knows ‘there is no way back’ ( the first thing I would look for !) and therefore ‘feels sorry for himself ‘( yep !) as he was ‘happy on earth and loved his kids and his old life’ ( me too !). He also recognises that some of his friends are already dead and they have ‘leapt into the unknows’ ( are they around to have a chat with.

He then passes on some of his life lessons ( don’t let go of yuor4 friends, be cool , everything will work out ‘). Be a good person and ‘amen gives way to applause- in heaven’ ( not sure I’m ready for all this- just saying !)

I was born to a family of seven with 5 sisters and one brother- only 2 in every 1000 families have seven children ! – gulp. We were brought up in council housing, part of the 8% of people in the UK ,living in  council houses.

Our parents divorced, like 8% of the population, versus married and single people. To say our childhood was stressful is an understatement.

All my siblings live in the Uk except my brother. He is part of the 160,000 Briths ex pats that live in France. 5,700 people ( was 10,000 pre-Brexit)  move to France every year from the UK, with about 20% returning within 5 years.

530,000 people immigrate every year from the UK in total to all countries, whilst 1.2m move to the UK. Mr Brother and I look very similar, often being taken as twins. But we are very different.

We were both good at sports at school but my Brother was exceptional, representing both the City and the County. He is also much better looking than I am –although things have levelled up a bit. post baldness.  

My brother has been married for 40 years ands had three grown up sons and grandchildren. 

I love country muisc. There have been millions of country songs released from hundreds of thousands of artists. Country music is most popular in the USA, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Australia.  For me the challenge is to take an every day situation and create a country song that does not sound formulaic or twee or like thousands of similar songs. I like country songs with an edge and maybe a message. This is a country song about my brother, living quietly, with out stress, in a small village in France for the last 10 years

I like the phrase ‘strong jaw bone loner cowboy’ as it sums up my brother's personality. The song starts by saying ‘ we allowed him to go’ ( not that we had much say in the matter. Once he arrived, he ‘took his jacket off and has not been in touch’

One thing is for certain he ‘Had the courage to chase ‘his-and his wife's- dream. So now he lives ‘Out of town. Somewhere way out far’. He’s had ‘the same gal for well over forty years. Three kids and a dog. Sure, gone through the gears. 

We think of him as ‘private soul’, who will one day ‘let us know what he feels. I visit him one of twice a year to clam down and take stock. I love this song. For me it’s an edgy country song about a real-life situation and a brother I miss a lot 

Survival rates depend on age ( the younger the better) and the type of cancer. Prostate cancer survival rates are as high as 88% , whilst liver cancer can be as low as 13%

The good news is that survival rates in the UK, have doubled in the last 50 years. Catching the decease in stage 1 is critical, with survival rates of 90%. If it reaches stage 4 , then rates drop to 10%

I have numerous friends and relatives who have been diagnosed with cancer and survived, albeit one or two have died. This song is about someone who has survived and is in remission, although they don’t quite know how long they have to live. The song explores their approach to life in this critical period. 

It’s a period of relief, of gratitude, of a new beginning , of getting back to normal, of having a new perspective.

Often, they avoid the word cured, given the uncertainty about the future. Phrases like ‘ not thinking too far ahead’, and ‘taking it one day at a time’ start to arise. Some claim ‘they have won the battle’, or ‘I’ve reached a new chapter’

Remission is a a period of new hope and an understanding of how fragile we all are

This is one of my top 5 favourite songs of all time. Sometimes I write a song lyric , stream the song, listen to it in the car, then go home and take it down. It drives me mad. Most times, I upload the song and live with the minor issues that bug me every time I hear the song ( I have a long list) . Like use of the wrong word, the wrong sentiment, a lousy rhyme etc. I chastise myself by saying ‘I could do better’ . These song lyrics takes days or even weeks to write.

This song is different. This is one of the rare occasions where every thing was perfect from the moment I finished the lyrics. The lyric too less than a day to write , with very few edits. It just flowed out .The main sings , ‘Life is about today. That’s the journey. Yesterday, has no say. Tomorrow, shows no mercy’. Then ‘Survived, the final show, I got, one last chance. See how long I can go’. 

On a positive note , ‘I’ve got stories, I’m still alive, I'm back, seeing old friends. He principal concern is ‘Can I handle this .Going under, in fear. Speaking, of injustice

Then, talking to her’. His mood then changes saying , ‘It just, doesn’t add up I’m a dead man walking’. He wants to ‘ Run naked in the rain. Bathe in the morning mist

Follow the sun, south. Show, a winning fist’. He claims ‘People offer me a seat 

I just want, one more kiss’. We are left with the thought ‘ Can I handle this’ Tomorrow shows no mercy’. This song is for my friends that are in remission.

I visited my ailing Mother in hospital, along side three other ladies. One of them had no living relatives and had not had a visitor for 6 months, rarely speaking to nurses etc. She died two days later. This song is for her.

220,000 women aged 50-54 in the UK live alone, about 12% of the total. This rises to 35% by the time they hit 75.

Cancer is the leading cause of death for women over 50, which equates to 75% of all cancer deaths for women. Around 30,000 women over 50 die from cancer every year 

There are 150 hospitals in the UK treating cancer, 2700 cancer charities, 200 hospices and 5,000 funeral homes. 

This is a song about what people say and don’t say, when they find out that a woman on her own has been tested positive for cancer. It's about she is treated by others when her diagnosis becomes known.

There is no single right answer to what you should say. Because you can't fix it for her. Listen and acknowledge seems to be the norm and then offer specific help.

This song goes into some of the cliches and  silly things that people say, mainly due to simply not knowing what to say to help.

She sings ,I had a long life, I got children, had my suspicion’ then she repeats what she has got from others , ‘It happened for a reason’. Her reply is that ‘I’m on my own ,In the war zone. No one knows, how I feel’ and worse still , ‘no one knows, how to heal ’ 

Everyone tells her that ‘she is in their thoughts and to call if she needs to talk’, but it doesn’t help and never will. Thoughts and goodwill will not save her.

She would rather be upfront and state  , ‘I’m not brave, I got no choice. It’s just the roll, of the dice’. She wants to keep saying it over and over in the chorus , ‘I’m not brave, I got no choice 

In the overall schemes of things, she feels she is a liability or a victim of the ‘one out, one in’ lesson in life, i.e.  what makes the world go around. She doesn’t want everyone to feel sorry for her, reminding them that ‘she can still, tell a joke, drink, and sometimes smoke’

They all shout ‘We are there for you’, but the reality is they are not . She ‘can’t be, set free’ However you dress it up ‘she has got no choice, she has got no voice’

The only way she can make sense  of events is to question , maybe ‘she is in God’s plan. Maybe she will be missed ?’ Sobering thoughts !

Silent Assassin was first pushed as a poem in my Poetry Book ‘Poems and Sentiments’

Later in 2024 I entered the poem into a competition in the USA and was successful. I was awarded an Honourable mention in the Best of Prose category in the Northwind Treasury Writing Award. This single event led me, to write many more poems and books and eventually start writing song lyrics and podcasts etc. The song version was released as ‘A silent assassin is amongst us’

The life expectancy in the UK for men, has increased from the age 66 in 1950 to 79, an increase of 12%. This is down to medical  advancements, a decline in smoking, improved living conditions and better nutrition.

I graduated in 1978, alongside 8 other close friends from a population of 4,000 male students at Newcastle University and 275,000 male University students in the UK. At that time only 8% of all 21year old men graduated, versus 40% today.

The top killers of men over 65 in the UK are related to the heart, cancer, respiratory diseases and dementia.

My friends and I have met up twice a year for 47 years. Two of them are now dead. This song is for Brian and Martin, who died from cancer and dementia in 2024.

The song starts by stating that a ‘silent assassin is amongst us, we cry tears, but we’re helpless’. The lyric video features a man in his 60’s sitting and contemplating on the beach. The voice is of an old man singing the blues to a guitar and a slow drum beat. The song is desperate looking for answers.

The first big question he asks is ‘we all got old, how did that happen ? It seems just yesterday we all graduated ! One two of our friends died it made the rest of us sit up and realise ‘ we are all under threat’.

When Martin walked over the rainbow bridge’,  the chapel was full , ‘we all paid homage’. We still care for their wives, and they join us on university reunions when they can.

Although we ‘still drink and fool’, its not quite the same. We all know that a ‘silent killer man is out to get us’. In the end there will be ‘one lonely man, with no friends ‘

Dictators generally have absolute power, very little political opposition, control their media, use force to suppress , with one single ideology.

About 87 of the 200 countries in the world are under authoritarian rule or 43%. But it equates to 65% of the world's total population of 8.1 billion.

The top three are Russia ( Vladimir Putin), China (Xi Jinping and North Korea ( Kim Jong Un.The total population of these 3 countries is 1.6 billion which is one 5th of the people that live on the earth.

So very few, all-powerful people control more than half of the world. Its also worth bearing in mind that there have 200 major conflicts since 1945. This song is about the Dictators, what I call the Big Bad Boss.

The song starts by asking ‘ Do you need to be the big bad boss, As the world holds its breath’?

‘The news is not good, the threat is everywhere, the time for talking is over’.I particularly like the line ‘ We should all scream at God’

‘V is just a patsy’ refers to Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukraine – often mentioned when phrases like ‘A bad war, a bad peace’ are thrown around.‘We are all truly terrified’ I guess is a nod the nuclear threat we all face.And ‘Humanity at its worst’ I suppose sums up everything.

This is an intense blues number with a mean guitar rift in the background. There are lots of gaps to give us time to reflect, building up to the chorus ,’ Do you nned to be the big bad boss@

I guess I really want to know how these dictators sleep at night, knowing the  misery they have caused.

This is a sad, sentimental song ,which listeners tell me, has made them cry. It’s my attempt to look at a subject from another point of view. It’s adapted from one of my early poems

The Vietnam war lasted for nearly 9 years ending in 1975, after five Presidents. Albeit the conflict started 10 years earlier. Ho Chi Minh ( a communist revolutionary in the north) rebelled against French Colonial Rule to demand independence for Vietnam, whilst the Americans feared the domino effect and the rise of communism.

About 1.4m Vietnamese soldiers died on both sides and 58,000 US soldiers. The total death toll rises to 2.5m if you include all sides and civilians.1968 saw a shift in US public support, with gaps between govt statements and news footage and with rising casualty numbers. The war was becoming personal for many US families. The Tet offensive and The My Lai Massacre, ( the murder of 500 civilians by US troops) ,  raised big questions about US involvement and led to an anti-war movement. 

Nixon's expansion of the war into Cambodia and National Guard shootings at Kent and  Jackson State Universities, galvanised the opposition. The war as seen as a ‘mistake’

Returning Veterans were greeted with hostility, spitting, verbal abuse and condemnation. They were called baby killers, murderers and war criminals. Many suffered from PTSD and Agent Orange exposure. The draft was mainly from poor, working class youth.

PS my favourite social protest song is Marvins Gay ‘What's going on’ – about his brother in Vietnam, family problems, and anti-war protests.

‘We can never ever, hope to feel the void. I still remember the day I was told’. The toughest job is to tell the parents’ is how the story is told. These are the words in the song of grieving US parents, told that their son is dead. It must have been much the same for the 1.4 m Vietnamese parents.

A long time afterwards the father says, ‘I sill cry and it’s been over 40 years. ‘I will never again celebrate Fathers' day.’ The parents hold on to ‘I think of the last night I was with you’ and ‘Your framed picture sits alongside the flag’

Finally, they ( like the US public) being to question the war and the reason for their son’s involvement and his death. He asks question like ‘‘When you went to war, did you kill anyone’. ‘God, why don’t I get any answers’ ‘ I don’t care about medals’

He also suggests ‘ Your Mother still thinks you will return’ – the pain must have been unbearable.

 This is a song about unspeakable pain and a desperate plea from a father to try and make sense of events.

Through his thoughts I hoped to personify the war that killed millions. To show what it meant to a family in the USA and families in Vietnam at a very basic level.

The song is a lonely lament, a commentary that eventual asks questions, which I guess will never be answered.

It involves one lonely piano. Then more instruments are introduced ,rising and falling, with the man’s questions and his sadness. I guess its in the blues, pop genre.

‘He lights the candle and prays, but he’s gone’

That’s very little more you can say about this, other than we seem to be repeating the same awful chapter in the Ukraine and elsewhere.

To make a song out of these events is very risky and easy to get wrong.

I hope my song adequately describes the pain involved.

‘Not another love song’, I hear you cry. So, this is my first attempt to write a ‘political or protest song’, following in the wake of songs like Blowing in the Wind, Give peace a chance, What's going on and War by Edwin Starr, with the famous line ‘what is it good for, absolutely nothing !’

This song was prompted by a  comment from the local Mayor in Calais, who claimed migrants were willing to risk all to reach their ‘El Dorado’ in the UK.

There are about 280m international migrants worldwide, i.e. people escaping poverty and persecution) from well over 100 countries. 120,000 people have made it across the English Channel ( since 2018) with 60-100 deaths

Of course, it’s now a topic of fierce political debate, not least in the UK, for both legal and illegal immigrants.

My song is from the perspective of desperate people in a boat in a storm in the cold and the dark. It touches on political issues, but its mainly about ‘ a tragic, end of life night mare’. The man’s wife and a baby boy both die, when the boat overturns.Alas, I offer no solution to the overall problem

The story of the song starts with people making the leap, to reach their El Dorado, before following them in their journey across the English Channel  ( or any other stretch of water around the world)

The boat is overcrowded, the sea is rough, its black and cold and they are barely afloat.They are just waiting for the engine to cut out, whilst brutal gangs are recruiting, the next boat load.The boat overturns, whilst emotions erupt in the news about even more boat people arriving.

The water was eight degrees and wild. The man’s  wife and a new born baby are lost at sea.The man ‘wished he had cried more, when he heard about the baby boy.’ More political debate and people playing the blame game. In the meantime, coastguards continue to search.

I went for a dark, moody, atmospheric song,  making a lyric video with lots of  images bended into a colour crush style.I compare the people in the boat with brutal gangs and political debates.

The song it about desperation , about a hopeless situation faced by our fellow human beings. The songs builds up gradually.The mood is one of chaos, about being in a boat at midnight in a storm

A blues electric guitar gave the song a depth of feeling in  a harrowing lament. It’s about desperation and lost hope. The song’s chorus says it all ‘Brutal gangs, midnight flares. A tragic, end-of-life night mare.’

The song ends with  heartbreaking statement ‘ Coastguard continues to search. Lost souls, lay dead in the church, A tragic, end-of-life night mare’. Any yes, it continues night after night in the cold and the dark

This is another attempt at apolitical song- allowing the  listeners to make up their own mind about an issue. This is a song about the Kamikaze pilot suicide attacks on allied shipping at the in 1944/45. The word Kamikaze means ‘divine wind’.

Japan was losing the war,  so Vice Admiral Onishi proposed using young pilots to fly planes packed with explosives into enemy ships. They were 21 years old ‘volunteers’ on a divine mission. There task was carried out with great ceremony involving keepsakes, prayers, a last meal, white headbands and so on. Only average students were selected to avoid using up clever students or picking ones unable to fly.

4000 pilots died sinking about 50 ships, damaging a further 300, with 5000 allied sailors killed and 5000 injured ( the biggest loss in the war). However,  this was  also a catalyst for the dropping of the atomic bomb which killed ca 300,00 people over time.

Absolute loyalty to Emperor Hirohito ( the supreme leader)  was a key issue, with personal sacrifice seen as the highest honour. The pilots we dying for him and Japan. He survived and visited the USA in 1975

‘The only way to win the war’ was the phrase used to try and break American will power, but in reality, hardened their attitude to using the bomb as ‘the only way to win the war’, leading to surrender. 

This is another attempt at apolitical song- allowing the  listeners to make up their own mind about an issue. This is a song about the Kamikaze pilot suicide attacks on allied shipping at the in 1944/45. The word Kamikaze means ‘divine wind’.

Japan was losing the war,  so Vice Admiral Onishi proposed using young pilots to fly planes packed with explosives into enemy ships. They were 21 years old ‘volunteers’ on a divine mission. There task was carried out with great ceremony involving keepsakes, prayers, a last meal, white headbands and so on. Only average students were selected to avoid using up clever students or picking ones unable to fly.

4000 pilots died sinking about 50 ships, damaging a further 300, with 5000 allied sailors killed and 5000 injured ( the biggest loss in the war). However,  this was  also a catalyst for the dropping of the atomic bomb which killed ca 300,00 people over time.

Absolute loyalty to Emperor Hirohito ( the supreme leader)  was a key issue, with personal sacrifice seen as the highest honour. The pilots we dying for him and Japan. He survived and visited the USA in 1975

‘The only way to win the war’ was the phrase used to try and break American will power, but in reality, hardened their attitude to using the bomb as ‘the only way to win the war’, leading to surrender. 

I went for souring vocals like a plane crashing into a ship. I also used choir like background vocals to give the song a divine, religious hymn like tone. The lyric video was of one man in one plane, a lonely place to be. And how all the pilots much has felt.

I selected a gravel voiced male singer to give the song a heavy presence. I compare the thoughts of the men alive, with the young men selected and the fear they must have experienced.It a sombre blues type song ( not the most cheerful), which stays away from the political debate to a large extent

I guess what I am really doing is questioning humanity in general and how we could ever as a race ,think this was an acceptable way of ending a war. Whilst sending young conscripts to their deaths in Ukraine  continues to this day

The keepsakes and customs now seem little more than background details. If my son Thomas had been involved I would be wordless.