There were a lot of very cool moments in 2020, from attempting the Hurricane tour, releasing Marigold, sitting tight in France, hiding away in Scotland, recording with OSKA in Vienna and also hitting the big 40. But perhaps my favourite moment from 2020 was this one -
A few years back, I was staying in Edinburgh writing songs for my album Resolute. There were a handful of evenings where I would visit some friends in Dean Village, a few blocks from where I was staying. When I walked home at night, I would get to the end of their street and see an amazing old guitar and dulcimer on the wall of an apartment on the ground floor. It captivated me.
On my last evening in Edinburgh, my girlfriend at the time had come to visit and we were walking home after one last dinner with our friends. It must have been about 11pm and as we came to the end of the street I was telling Hayar about the guitar and to my surprise, there were lights on in the front room and we could see the guitar on the wall and a man sitting at a desk. She said we should knock on the door and say hello and ask about the guitar. I thought it was a crazy idea and besides, the man inside would never agree to open his door to these strangers (especially my longhaired, bearded self) at this hour of the night.
But I am a believer in following your heart so I rang the bell for what I hoped was the right place. The man answered but couldn’t hear us very well so he buzzed us into the entrance and then opened his door to see who we were and what we wanted. I simply said that I had been admiring the guitar through his window for the last week or two and just wanted to know the story behind it.
He instantly invited us in. He was so friendly and there was an instant connection. When he said his name was Sandy Bell, I couldn’t help but ask if there was any connection to the bar of the same name in Edinburgh. He took great delight in telling me that he had only been there once, they had poured him a Guinness very badly and he had never returned. He told stories of his days as an architect and the jobs he had done over the years.
I remember his beautiful soul. I remember our wonderful conversations.
We turned to the guitar and he told me of his late wife Paddie and the wonderful story of her musical career, both solo and with the Corrie Folk Trio. He also told me the heartbreaking story of her depression and medication and her eventual return to music.
I took some photos of the guitar on the wall and the dulcimer beside it to show some luthier friends of mine to see if they might know the origins. We talked some more, exchanged email addresses and parted ways. We emailed back and forth for a while but then I didn’t hear back and I eventually assumed that maybe he had passed away.
Then, when I was in Scotland recently on the Isle of Raasay, I pulled out a vinyl from his late wife called ‘Paddie - Herself’ and it prompted me to try and track Sandy down again.
I searched online for a bit and eventually found Morven Bell who I suspected might possibly be the daughter of Sandy and Paddie. I sent a message telling her the story and thought I might never hear back but a few days later I received a response. She told me she was indeed the daughter of Sandy and Paddie and that Sandy is alive and well, 90 years old now, living in the same flat and taking care of himself. I sent a copy of Marigold to them in time for Christmas and received this beautiful photo of Sandy holding my CD in front of the guitar and dulcimer still hanging on the wall in the same spot where I first saw them as I walked down that cobblestone street in Edinburgh years ago.
I am thankful for people like this and for moments like this. Here's to many more of these in 2021