John Barnard

October 2026 Newsletter Part 2 : Bali

Sapphire Blue waters rolled into view as we banked onto the base leg of the approach. Sun reflecting off the wing in a blinding light. Bali, Indonesia and a group of friends I hadn’t seen in quite some time was waiting down below in the scooter and narrow road chaos of the beautiful island. Immigration, bags, whiskey at duty free, taxi, first roundabout stuck !! Thirty minutes later and I made it to our beautiful Villa and my friends in one piece after eleven hours in…

The reverse thrust engaged on the large twin as I touched down in Bangkok almost a month ago. Massive thunderstorms flashed in all directions and the aircraft kicked up a storm of water on the flooded runway that made it hard to see outside the tiny windows. It was time for a break and my friends were waiting there for me. I felt tired after my nightshift and I couldn’t sleep during the flight but I knew things were going to get sporty, having some drinks, dinner and plunging head first into the dark…

“ Morning’s rough, it don’t give a damn about the mission
   Has no aesthetic or tradition
   only lessons never learnt
   And I’d had enough, about a month ago tomorrow 
   Parting holds no trace of sorrow 
   for the bitter and the burned “ - Jason Isbell -
 

I rolled out of bed this morning, 4:15 am. It was still dark outside. A sure sign that the seasons are changing. Outside, the city lay fast asleep with its gold and neon lights playing on the mirror-like water in the bay. In the West, the early dark purple…

“ I choose to believe that there is good in people and that everything is a lesson. Our place on Earth is to go deeper, to somehow get wiser. To have Spirit “ - Glen Hansard 1970 - 2026

I rolled out of bed this morning, still half asleep. I put the kettle on, made a fresh pot of coffee and stumbled to my chair by the panoramic window overlooking the bay and the deep blue Gulf. Next to the chair I keep my old guitar. Almost sixty years old, she’s battered and scarred from years on the road. Her spruce top a…

I arrived on the farm last Monday, finally being able to leave the Middle East after months of uncertainty brought on by the war in Iran and the subsequent fallout. It felt great stepping out into the winter chill of Tygerfontein and surrendering to the loving embrace of my parents, sister, brother-in-law and  nephews. To shake hands with my employees and seeing their bright smiles and friendly eyes. I scanned the yard and I could see the effort put in by my team to maintain the buildings, tend to the…

I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop staring at the gusty Northwester picking up a paper bag, swirling it upward and dropkicking it to the other side of the road. Summer is setting in fast here in the Middle East and with temperatures creeping into the low forty celsius territory it is time to consolidate my snippets of poetry, songs and other musings into what might need some more work and those that are ready to be recorded and added to the growing folder of new songs that will eventually make their…

I woke up feeling worn out and still tired this morning. Wild, vivid dreams came to me in salvos in the early morning hours and when I finally fell asleep I slipped into one of those “slumbers of the dead” where you wake up shivering and soaked in nightmare sweat. I pulled the curtain back and the white light of the sun over The Gulf came rushing in over my face and unadjusted eyes. I flipped on the radio and stumbled to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. 

Last night I finished reading Empire of the Summer…

The Westerner

“ My Fathers sleep on the sunrise plains, and each one sleeps alone

  Their Trails may dim to the grass and rains, for I choose to make my own

  I lay proud claim to their blood and name but I lean on no dead kin
   my name is mine, for the praise or scorn. The world began when I was born. “

 - Andy Hedges and Charles Badger Clark

It has been another night of interrupted sleep in the desert and after a few days of respite from the national threat notification system, my phone once again screamed to…

Call me “ Lucky “ - Musings from the Road

A rusty, ice covered Chevy stood idling in the sleet of the farmyard parking lot. Cloud cover formed a blinding white dome over the late November Wisconsin landscape and very carefully, as to not slip and fall out on the ice, I picked up my bag and made my way out the door.  It was early and the familiar sounds of the massive dairy farm filled the morning with things to do and anticipation of a new day ahead. I had said all my goodbyes to friends and colleagues, I…