This is my response to this week’s Flashback Track Friday prompt, where we were asked to think about something small that became big for us.

---

Just over two years ago in May ’20, we didn’t understand COVID, the UK was in full stay-at-home lockdown, shops and businesses here were closed, I resolved to post a heartbeat message every day. For a while I took part in a prompt called – it’s a mouthful so let me get this right – the Mindlovemisery Menagerie Music Challenge.

The drill was that the host presented a song, including lyrics, and just said “how does this inspire you?”. It was a musical prompt, so the expected response was a link to a song.

This particular week, he presented Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood. It’s been recorded by a number of artists but I can never look beyond Nina Simone. I’ll post her at the bottom.

Play the song in your head. Or below, if you wish. It keeps banging on about My intentions are good. So I hooked in on the word intentions.

One of my favourite artists growing up was a chap called Maxi Priest. He was pretty softcore reggae, just produced a pleasant, easygoing sound. I have everything he did, up to about 1990 when he became too hip-hoppy for me, including an album, titled Intentions, from 1986.

But I had my doubts. Reggae is an acquired taste. So I decided to see if Spotify offered alternatives.

And found Sarah Coponat.

As the name suggests, French. A pianist, current artist. Has a web site. And young. Twenty something. It’s cruel to see somebody that young, with so much talent.

I was still just about on Facebook at the time. I followed her link and found that, given France was in a similar lockdown, she performed micro-concerts every day.

I must admit, I am a real sucker for piano music, love people like Debussy. But that music is a hundred years old, so I was smitten to hear something so recent. This was the track I found.

It’s 5:30 here on a sunny Saturday morning. I have solitude except for a sleepy cat and a million industrious birds. I can hear a woodpecker outside, tapping for breakfast. I hope your weekend is just as perfect.

Before that day, I’d never heard of Sarah Coponat. She’s now one of my go to artists.

Oh, and I promised Nina Simone: