Last Sunday I went to a great gig at a great venue- the Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses in South London. From time to time they put on sessions of wild and wonderful music which they call (appropriately enough) 'Avant Garden'. 

 I'd arranged to meet some old friends of mine Neil and Kelsey who moved to Penznace about twenty years ago. I'm sorry to say we lost touch during that time and it was good to catch up. Indeed, Kelsey was one of the performers and played a selection of her beautiful nature-themed songs, mainly solo piano/vocals with a little help from her friends (and daughter).

 At one point she led the audience in a singalong about the joys of Red Valerian. This plant is the subject of quite a few entries in this diary but I never expected to be singing a song about it! The number of songs concerning Red Valerian is limited; in fact Kelsey's may well be the only one of the genre. Anyway, she sings of the Hummingbird Hawk-Moth and the Painted Lady on Red Valerian so here are photos of both these insects nectaring on that very species.

 If you want to listen to Kelsey's music check out her recent release 'Kelsey Michael Music of the Waves' which is available from an internet near you.