Like Bookends

Jan 21, 2026 | Cancer, Music

I intended to have a dry-ish January, not out of any fashionable health concerns but because of very real health concerns and an attempt to be as healthy as possible when the radiotherapy starts next week. And I have – mostly – stuck to my intent until the last couple of days.

On Sunday I was at True and Bold, a tribute night for Dick Gaughan, a grand show with far too many highlights to list. I met up with some old online friends beforehand and beers were had. Prior to that I’d wandered along Argyle Street to Glasgow Cross and noticed an intriguing 12-string guitar in the window. The shop was closed and unlit so I couldn’t see detail, I just lodged it in my memory.

The day after the show I did something I haven’t done for a while; an inner voice said the time was right: I took my Martin 000-15 guitar out of it’s case and, despite protesting fingertips, reminded myself that I can still play a little and that the muscle memory is there.

Then yesterday I spent the afternoon with an old friend. Once again, beer was implicated. Brian and I have several things in common, including encounters with oncologists. Something that is heavily promoted in cancer care is meeting others in the same situation and talking with them; Maggie’s and Macmillan do good work around this. It is fair to say, though, that it is better when you’re talking with a friend and you can mix the serious stuff in with a right good laugh around common memories and interests – and we certainly had a right good laugh while also talking about diagnoses and dark nights of the soul, conversation that felt right though might have sounded irreverent to any civilian listening in. I’m happy to insist that, as the cliche has it, laughter is the best medicine.

Another thing we have in common is guitars. Brian has a more accomplished semi-pro background than me but we have similar interests. One thing led to another and we’re giving serious thought to working up a set and trying a secret gig at an open-mic night at a convenient spot, possibly in Dundee. I’ve been thinking about potential songs all day; one or two of them would benefit from a 12-string guitar …

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Three videos: Dick Gaughan and his long-time set opener; Gaughan again with 5-Hand Reel, the first I ever heard him, and Simon and Garfunkle.