Was chuffed to see that Dan Lee, a good friend of mine, launched his new website this weekend. The website is chiefly a comics portfolio, and features his debut offering The Sent: The Rumour Mill. I got a sneak preview of the comic last week and it's well worth a read; I don't want to reveal too much about the story, so I'll just say it delivers a real emotional punch in the gut (for me, anyway). Here's what Dan has to say about it:

"The Sent: The Rumour Mill is my first serious attempt at making a comic. When I first came up with this story the idea was that it would be part of a series of vignettes surrounding the fictional band 'The Sent', hence the awkward, double barrel name of this comic. I hope you enjoy it."

Dan and I are actually working on something together at the moment, which will hopefully also see the light of day very soon. It's been fun to collaborate with such a talented artist, you only have to glance at the page to the right to see that Dan has the potential to go really far. 

This week Dan will be joining the guys on the Live in the Laundry Room podcast to talk about his work, so keep an eye out for that episode – it should be a good one! Dan's website can be found here: danleecomics.squarespace.com

Last weekend saw the launch of May It Be – a first ever CD release for Morriston Ladies Choir. Earlier this year, I was asked to record a brief spoken word introduction to the 8th track on the CD: 'Inscription of Hope' (not my own words, I hasten to add, but more on that later). Although I wasn't able to make it to Swansea Central Library last Saturday, I'm told that the launch went well.

The choir, which this year celebrated its 70th anniversary, hails from an area of Swansea with a strong choral tradition (and one which I am proud to call my home town). One of the first (if not the first) Welsh ladies choir to make an impact on the international music scene, MLC have toured Canada, Germany, Holland, Spain, Finland, Ireland, Italy and Poland, singing at venues such as Cologne Cathedral and the National Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.

Composed by Z. Randall Stroope, the lyrics of 'Inscription of Hope' are based on an engraving found on the walls of a cellar in Germany where Jews had been hiding from the Nazis during World War II. In order to explain the significance of the lyrics, Stroope wrote a short spoken word introduction to be read whenever the piece was performed. These are the words I have lent my voice to.

To order a copy of May It Be, or find out more about Morriston Ladies Choir, visit their website: morristonladieschoir.com