Late Summer Update: This Is The Fire

Hello!

I hope you've been enjoying the long warm summer. Things are definitely on the turn now, with colder, crisper mornings — the season of mellow fruitfulness is coming in.

It doesn't seem long since we unpacked from our last Campout up the road in the foothills of the Black Mountains, Herefordshire. It was a real thrill to be alongside Jodie Miller as she led a community choir session on Saturday afternoon, singing some of the songs from the This Is The Fire album. It was a joyous and fitting end to our ten year run. So much nourishment for the soul.

I am personally feeling emotional, and have shed a tear or two afterwards — in joy, in separation, in the process of shedding those elements that no longer serve.

I have found over the years that I have to take a conscious decision to close one door to open the space for the next opportunity to call. In the afterglow, we carry the bubble of love that we created way beyond the gardens, fields and pastures of the Black Mountains foothills. We take it to the wider world.

We have marked the completion of a ten year cycle after returning to The Bridge, and it felt symbolic — rounding it off at the same place as it all began.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks and deep gratitude to everyone who has been part of this journey with me: since 2016 and 2018 in Michaelchurch Escley, on tour around the country in Campfire Conversations in 2017, in Frome in 2019, the Mendips in 2022 as we tentatively emerged from post-lockdown trauma, 2023 in Oxfordshire as we joined forces with the Elevate community, 2024 and 2025 at Three Pools in Abergavenny, and now as we come home after taking it to The Bridge — as James Brown might say.

Whether as active crew or as participants, everyone has helped leave their imprint on the tapestry that has become the playground. At Campfire no one is really passive. We're all active, whether in personal development or wider social change. One isn't possible without the other. This co-creation has been the fruit of our latest endeavours.

As I wrote in this year's programme — it feels like the end of an era. For some, Campout has been a joyful long weekend of new treasures. For others it has clearly been transformational, even life-changing. I heard that phrase several times on Sunday as our Campouters left to grapple with re-entry. Each time it moved me.

Campout has never belonged to one person. There is no IP stamp or any other corporate nonsense. In so many ways it's been an emergent social experiment. It belongs to anyone who has pitched up with a tent, lit a fire, offered a workshop, played a tune, volunteered on the crew, washed up, cleaned the loos, welcomed a newcomer, shared a story, or simply arrived with an open heart and a curious mind. Big thanks to each and every one of you who has shaped this remarkable decade. You have been the true creators of Campout.

I am very happy that we have gone out on a high.

It has been a surprisingly obvious and easy process of letting go for me. Now Campout is done, we're ready for the next phase — the sparks and the alchemy that will follow.

Embers are already sparking within me, as I feel into the space that is needed in order to create again.

I can feel something in the air. It's not so much an ending as a new beginning. Fires aren't meant to be kept in one place — they're meant to be carried onwards, as we light our various paths ahead. I already see beacons of light guiding the way. All will reveal itself in time.

Now, space has been created for what follows. We already have some very exciting ideas which will be unveiled soon. Wherever that future journey takes us — be safe, be sound. And keep it lit.

The album, and a new website

I've been busy designing a brand new website for the forthcoming album, with a hand from my pal Claude on the coding side.

The album production has been going really well, and once again I take several of my various hats off to my co-producer Oskar Vizan for his diligence, attention to detail, incredible musical ear and patience. We have just about finished all the recording now and are working on the mixes, on schedule to finish around the beginning of September. We'll then move onto mastering the album, and spend the autumn preparing a game plan for release early next year.

Since the last update, several other guest musicians have done some amazing work — have a peep at my work-in-progress new album website if you'd like to see who.

Sing Out, this September

This week in September, we're coming together again to sing some songs. This time, at the farm where I live when I'm in the UK — Trealy Farm, near Monmouth, again on the Welsh borders. Last year's Sing Out was a fun, uplifting gathering, and we expect this year's to be too. Several of my songs will again be sung, this time led by community choir icon Helen Yeomans.

It's a great back-to-nature setting for the weekend — a 138 acre organic mixed farm on a hillside looking out towards the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons. It's a beautiful, wild and secluded space. Amongst the fields of sheep and the small herd of horses are woodlands and wilderness and magical places: Trealy Wood, Women's Oak, the coppice, meadow, secret garden, and ancient yew, hillside walks and a stone circle. And there's a fresh water pool and sauna too.

After that, back home to Greece for the autumn — and look out for some very exciting news, which I'll share later this month.

Get in touch about the album