The orthographical conventions adopted are those of Australian English- so stop pointing out my “mistakes”, Uncle Sam!
About Quentin Bega: Quentin Bega was born in the middle of the last century and then stumbled into the present one with something more to say and sing about.
The Summa Quotidia is a blog of 10 albums featuring 12 songs apiece. These were posted during 2016. Each song is preceded by an essay of about 850 words, canvassing a variety of topics, with accompanying illustrations. Sample these essays and/or songs sequentially or at random. The highlighted song is the album title.
These were amended and progressively rolled out over 30 weeks as podcasts- during COVID- beginning in January 2021, entitled Letters from Quotidia comprising four podcasts weekly (Monday-Thursday) each of which concluded with a song. A supplement, on Friday, subtitled Postcards from Quotidia comprising four songs with commentary was added. These were taken from the section, A Bit of Banter which forms another major part of this site.
The Letters from Quotidia then continued under a variety of names until December 2024. By this time, they had generated several hundreds of songs, several hundreds of thousands of words and 80+ hours of podcast time. By New Years’ Eve, 2024, the Letters from Quotidia ticked over at 80 hours or so and that seems a nice round number to put the podcasts to bed for a long, perhaps terminal, rest. Of course, it didn’t end there because the Letters were re-posted and 16 Weekend Supplements were added! This brought up two auspicious totals- 300 posts and 200 original songs. So the project proper finds a terminus at last!
For those who prefer to consume text through the ears rather than eyes, the podcasts, which form the Letters from Quotidia, are recommended.
Below are the 120 blogs that comprise The Summa Quotidia on which the Letters from Quotidia podcasts are based. This is followed by another 120 blogs that comprise A Bit of Banter on which the Postcards Edition of Letters from Quotidia are based. The Summa Quotidia and A Bit of Banter contain visual text to supplement the written text.
4- Foss Hill (The Old Comedian)
19- The Good times of Doris and Ronnie
36- Staring (in the Antrim Lounge)
46- -Everything Goes/Restless Paces
47- Waiting For the Drought to Break
50- Since You Walked Out of My Life
80- Any Old Song/Dancing House
84- (on what would have been) Your 32nd Birthday
88- I Was Taking a Lend of You
90- Where Henry Lawson Can Be Found
106- I Wonder How They Got So Far
112- BMD (Births Marriages Deaths)
113- Slow Burn (a title for this song)
114- You Ask How Much I Love You
120- Love Everlasting Complete
A Bit of Banter- Banter is a folk group from Western Sydney. They play songs from (and inspired by) the folk traditions of Ireland, Australia, Britain and North America. Presented in the traditional 12 item CD format, I had finished five such groupings and started a sixth. Then I slacked off in 2018 until the pandemic hit in 2020. From the fourth song in Banter VI on, I have recorded 55 songs in lockdown in 56 days- the group, like the crew of The Irish Rover, has therefore, in terms of these recordings, been reduced down to one- me.
Banter I
5- The King of the Fairies/Queen of the Fairies
9- The Grand Old Duke/ Heel and Toe Polkas
12- The Old Man’s Tale/Instrumental
Banter II
13- Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore
15- The Raggle Taggle Gypsy/The Battle of Aughrim
17- Central Story/ The Hag at the Churn
19- Sam Hall/ The Palmer River Song
22- The Lark in the Morning (instrumental)
Banter III
26- When the Boys Go Rolling Home
27- Denis Murphy’s/Rathlin Bog
Banter IV
39- The Triumphant and Centenary Marches
Banter V
57- McAlpine’sFusilier’s/ Instrumental
Banter VI
68- Champion at Keeping Them Rolling
70- Rosalita and Jack Campbell
Banter VII
73- North and South of the River
79- Her Father Didn’t Like Me, Anyway
Banter VIII
85- Will You Come to the Bower?
87- Waltzing Matilda (Queensland version)
89- The Augathella Drovers (Brisbane Ladies)
96- Joe Hill (redux)
Banter IX
97- It’s Heaven Around Galway Bay
99- The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
101- A Bunch of Thyme( Redux)
104 Whiskey in the Jar (redux)
105 McAlpine’s Fusiliers (expanded)
Banter X
116- Little Old Wine Drinker, Me
Outliers There are two major song collections on this site, The Summa Quotidian and A Bit of Banter. Each contains 120 songs. This collection will be much more modest, comprising those songs composed in lockdown from mid-2020 on, and quirky songs which make their way to the surface from a time long, long ago (or it might well be yesterday)- and were thrown a lifeline-or maybe just thrust into the pitiless glare of the limelight…
…And Leave Him There is a playscript. (20,000+ words anyone?) Set on the morning of the 11th of September, 2001, in Manhattan, New York City, it encapsulates the tag of this blog: a tale of three islands, Aruba, Ireland and Australia. The songs, which form part of the play, are all accessible as part of The Summa Quotidian. Update: this playscript is being adapted for presentation as a 10-part podcast between 10 January and 14 January; then 17 January and 21 January, 2022.
Making the Living Poetry by Quentin Bega This is a memoir in verse which bridges my first stint as a teacher in Australia, and my first encounter with unemployment upon my return to Northern Ireland. (Again, songs included here can be heard in The Summa Quotidian.) This verse memoir has been adapted for presentation as a four-part podcast between 4 January-7 January, 2022.
Wollongong Sonnets Here is a crown of sonnets. First published in 1978 in Poems in Public Places, a real, published poet told me they were the first authentic poems of mine he had read. (He was wont to pour scorn on various effusions I had shown him over the previous five years…) These sonnets can be heard as part 3 of the podcast series from Making the Living Poetry, above.
Quentin Bega is introduced as a character from a novel. This is the first chapter. Whether there are to be any more chapters is in the lap of the gods.
Feel free to leave a comment on any aspect of these posts. All such commentary will be thoughtfully considered…
That’s quite an epic overview, Quentin!
Thanks Mitch- and you keep up the great work you do!