In His Own Words
About him
I’m moving from NE Essex down to Bath in the Spring to be nearer my son and his family and we will be setting up our own music ensemble for playing and singing a whole variety of stuff from Bach to Brubeck. Rehearsals, as well as learning melodies and chord sequences, will include exercises which I have been working on to develop improvisation skills. We are inviting others to join us, especially if you’re a bassoonist or a blue grass banjo player.
I spent 45 years playing double bass and tuba on the London and home counties jazz scene (from New Orleans to bebop) as well as doing dance band and theatre work but turned down offers to turn pro, not wanting to live out of a suitcase and preferring instead to stay grounded at home to bring up my family (my dad was a pro musician, running his own dance band, and we hit on hard times).
Away from music (yes, I do other things), I founded a major UK marathon in the mid-1980s during the jogging boom for the love of running and humanity and would run 20 miles myself before breakfast on a Sunday morning after band-playing the night before, so I’m experienced at burning the candle at both ends.
In the 1990s I was involved a lot in youth football management (for the love of my son), which was great fun – we still reminisce (he can recall every goal he’s ever scored!). I’m a Myers-Briggs INFJ, which means that I’m an introvert by nature (though can be extrovert to suit the occasion), I’m intuitive, have feelings for other people and can be judgemental (but in the nicest possible way).
After my wife died in 2000 I lived in Bedfordshire for over a decade, where I did a lot of voluntary footpath clearance work around my village, gaining my NVQ in brush-cutting. More recently, I’ve been playing keyboard for a u3a “Singing for Fun” group and enjoyed particularly Flanders and Swann’s “The Hippopotamus Song” and was often holding back the tears when accompanying Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love”.
About his ideal match
Recruits for my new band would be expected to read music (though if you can’t, you can join my grandchildren and their friends in sight-reading exercises), to have eclectic musical tastes and to be able to sing whilst playing, eg a piano, a portable strummer like acoustic guitar, banjo, ukulele or even an accordion.
I’ve recently been singing in two choirs, where I discovered I have a bass voice (funny, I always thought I was a tenor). It’s the first time I’ve sung in earnest since I was a boy chorister and I find the experience very invigorating (why did I leave it so late to do it again?).
The sort of thing I envisage our doing as an ensemble could be like Regina Carter’s melodic violin as in “I’ll Be Seeing You” or we could do songs like Tuba Skinny’s “What’s the Matter with the Mill?”, New Orleans’ Royal Street on 13 April 2012 or we could try to swing like Stan Getz’s “On a Slow Boat to China” at the Munich Philharmonie Hall in 1990.
We could venture into exploring contrapuntal classics such as François Couperin’s Rondeau: Les Baricades Mistérieuses or Chick Corea’s “Spain” as their encore at Montreux 2004 (I have the dots for both) - the sky’s the limit for us. I discovered some well-written pop songs online during the pandemic, eg Billy Joel’s “Lullabye”, Tom Waite’s “Take Me Home”, Norah Jones’ “Sunrise”, George Formby’s “Fanlight Fanny”, etc.
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About him
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom | |
Location: |
Bath, Somerset, England | |
Gender: |
Male | |
Age: |
83 | |
Star sign: |
Scorpio | |
Height: |
5' 10" (178cm) | |
Body type: |
Average | |
Looks: |
Attractive | |
Hair colour: |
Greying | |
Eye colour: |
Blue | |
Relationship Status: |
Widowed | |
Looking for: |
Activity partners; Friends; Let's see what happens | |
Have children: |
Yes, not living with me | |
Want children: |
No | |
Daily diet: |
Eat healthily | |
Smoking: |
Never | |
Drinking: |
Occasionally | |
Education: |
Postgraduate | |
Occupation: |
Retired | |
Income: |
Solvent | |
Ethnicity: |
White/Caucasian | |
Home language: |
English | |
Other languages: |
Ask me later | |
Religion: |
Atheist |
About his ideal match
Country of origin: |
Anywhere in the World | ||
Location: |
Within 10 miles of postcode district BA2 (Bath) | ||
Gender: |
Female | ||
Age range: |
75 - 86 | ||
Star sign: |
Any | ||
Height: |
5' 2" (157cm) - 5' 10" (179cm) | ||
Body type: |
Slim | ||
Looks: |
Average | ||
Hair colour: |
Any | ||
Eye colour: |
Any | ||
Has a photo: |
Decidedly important | ||
Relationship Status: |
Widowed | ||
Have children: |
Yes, not living with me | ||
Want children: |
No | ||
Daily diet: |
Eat healthily | ||
Smoking: |
Never; Occasionally | ||
Drinking: |
Occasionally | ||
Education: |
University; Postgraduate | ||
Occupation: |
Arts / Music / Writing; Retired; Self-employed; Teaching / Education / Training; Science / Engineering / Research; Public sector; Consultancy / Design; IT / Telecoms | ||
Income: |
Solvent; Enough; Comfortable; Wealthy | ||
Ethnicity: |
Any | ||
Home language: |
English; French; German; Spanish | ||
Other languages: |
Any | ||
Religion: |
Atheist |
- Not important at all
- Slightly important
- Moderately important
- Decidedly important
- Non-negotiable
More about him
Sense of humour: |
Dry |
Intelligence: |
Intelligent |
Ruled by: |
The heart |
Party behaviour: |
A social butterfly |
Personality traits: |
Confident; Easygoing; Faithful; Funny; Generous; Happy; Independent; Intelligent; Loving; Loyal; Optimistic; Outspoken; Philosophical; Realistic; Sensible; Stable; Thoughtful; Trustworthy |
Valued qualities: |
Faithfulness; Friendliness; Honesty; Hope; Humility; Humour; Kindness; Mercy; Moderation; Patience; Self-control; Tolerance |
Fashion sense: |
Alternative (I'm stylish in my own special way) |
Favourite clothing: |
Shorts & a T-shirt |
Favourite colour: |
Green |
Is the glass half full or half empty: |
What glass? |
Hair style: |
Medium |
Eyesight: |
I wear bifocals |
Facial hair: |
None |
Body hair: |
Hairy chest only |
Body art: |
I don't have any |
Date activities: |
Meeting for coffee; Going for a walk; Visiting a gallery; Going to a museum |
Music preferences: |
Blues; Broadway / Theatrical; Classical; Country & Western; Folk; Gospel / Religious; Instrumental; Jazz; Latin; R&B / Soul |
Reading: |
I read books occasionally; I read newspapers occasionally |
Books: |
(Auto)biographies; Non-fiction; Romance; Science / Technology |
TV habits: |
I tend to watch cultural programmes |
TV programmes: |
Documentaries; Educational; News |
Movie frequency: |
Never |
Movie preferences: |
Romance |
Interests: |
Cooking; Gardening; Internet; Music; Reading; Singing; The arts; Voluntary work; Writing books |
Sport involvement: |
An active participant |
Sports: |
Athletics; Running; Walking |
Cooking: |
I quite like cooking |
Food: |
Chinese; French; German; Indian; Italian |
Go Out to Eat: |
I eat out a few times a month |
Dietary Restrictions: |
I have none |
Pace of Life: |
Manageable |
Time at work: |
I don't work |
Pastimes of choice: |
Pursuing a hobby |
Time online: |
I'm on for an hour or two a day |
Family size: |
I've got a brother and a sister |
Family contact: |
I see them when I can |
Relationship Type: |
I'm just plain single |
Willing to Relocate: |
I'm flexible |
Animals: |
I like animals |
Turn-ons: |
Intelligence; Skinny dipping |
Turn-offs: |
Sarcasm; Tattoo(s) |
Work aspirations: |
I already have my ideal job |
Religious attendance: |
Rarely |
Politics: |
Green |
Feelings about using Encounters Dating: |
Optimistic |
Honesty: |
Extremely |
