'The only constant thing with you is change.” Ritchie Pickett wrote that a few years ago in his song ‘Chameleon'.

He wasn't actually the first to coin the idea, which has been around for a little while. The phrase: ‘The only thing that is constant is change' is usually credited to Heraclitus of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher who lived around 500BC.

On the bright side, Ritchie was definitely quoting from someone well out of copyright.

That general area of thought was actually Heraclitus' main wheelhouse, as he espoused the philosophy that change is central to the universe.

For that reason – and this might really help one day on a rare and obscure trivia question – most quotes about change actually originate with Heraclitus.

'Everything changes and nothing stands still”; 'Everything flows and nothing stays”; 'You could not step twice into the same river”; 'All is flux, nothing is stationary”; a whole pile of variations pop up throughout his doctrine.

And, if I might crave your indulgence just a little longer, he is also responsible for one of the great insights into life, a line often quoted by, of all people, Richard Nixon, a man whom, ironically, became an embodiment of it: 'Character is destiny”. Not a bad effort coming up with that sort of stuff 2500 years ago.

Musical flux

I mention this because it strikes me that the local music scene is also in constant flux and it's interesting to watch the slow changes going on.

I'm thinking particularly about the free music sessions that happen on The Strand or at various other bars throughout town and the Mount.

They come and go and switch days and times depending on when venue owners reckon will work best for them.

It's an interesting mix. Some places pick weekend afternoons, some weekend evenings, while some try and catch the after-work drinks crowd and schedule music early Friday evening. It depends where you are.

Most recently everyone has moved towards Sunday afternoons. A while ago there was more of a divide: some music Saturday afternoon, some on Sunday. But obviously Saturdays weren't working, so Saturday music has stopped. Perhaps that'll shift as winter kicks in and things like kids' sports change, and everything will flip again. But currently on The Strand both Croucher Basecamp (née Brew Bar) and The Phoenix are doing their music simultaneously from 2-5pm on Sundays while further down the road The Cornerstone has Sunday music from 4-7pm. Music sessions come and go for many reasons.

One of the most popular Sunday sessions withered and died last year when Andy Craw sold The Matua Pub. The innocuous-looking local had hosted many a wild afternoon with either Andy and friends or visiting acts playing.

Jack Dusty's

Good news! If you're overwhelmed with nostalgia for those long lost days of 2017, you'll be pleased to hear that it looks like the Sunday sessions have found a new home courtesy of Jess Luxton at Jack Dusty's Ale House. Jack Dusty's is just round the corner from the Bureta supermarket, placing it pretty much exactly where the old Bureta pub used to be.

This Sunday, May 6 from 3-6pm Andy and singer/keyboard player Chris Gunn are reuniting there as The Blarneys for what is planned to be the first afternoon of regular Sunday music.

To make the kick-off a bit more special Andy has arranged a bunch of guests – I guess the people who might be playing over upcoming weeks – to come along, so expect to hear the additional sounds of Mike Kirk on guitar, Trevor Braunias and Dave Henderson of the duo Take Two, and Play Misty, another duo comprising moonlighting B-Side Band members Paul Parkhouse and Simon Elton.

Incidentally, Sunday, May 6 also marks the last local gig for a couple of months from esteemed bluesman Mike Garner. He's doing the slot down at Croucher Basecamp along with percussionist Warren Houston and will then be swanning off to exotic international locales for a well-deserved holiday.