The Masters Student, AKA Fiona Finks notes the following: My Mum usually uses a propelling pencil. But for this post she appears to have used an ordinary HB. There are none of the marks from snapped leads.
Using “diplomatic”, as it’s called in archiving, tells me that it’s her work. Familiar themes. The right handwriting. Her preferred type of tea slip.
Listening notes on the back that refer to Train Track Noises, a track from Keith Holzman’s Authentic Sound Effects, Volume 2. There are some familiar sounds elsewhere on the LP that my Mum would know.
Listening notes: listen to Can’s LP Future Days (1973). Imagine yourself on a wet day in Inverness in a debate with a room of music students. Though you were born in 1970, you have not heard this album before. You can hear rhythms that sound like a train journey, or perhaps placental pulsings. Your first experience of ambient music was through The Orb or The KLF, circa 1990. The students, though a third your age, think you should have started with Can. They have not heard of The Orb or The KLF. You think about words and tenses: can/ could have, shall/ should have. You tell the students you have never had a joint and never plan to. They will you on. You make to leave. You have marking to do.
Listening notes: put on the LP Great Day (1972) by Simon Haseley and Peter Reno. When you get to the track Hammerhead, read the above post, while stroking a white cat, or tabby if you can’t find one. Imagine that the easy listening track is a cover of The Offspring’s 2008 track of the same name. Tap your feet to the guitars, trombones, trumpets, drums, harp, violins, cellos, xylophone and flutes of messers H and R. Think awhile about James Bond themes that never were. Afterwards, eat a segment of tinned grapefruit, in juice rather than syrup. Sit for the rest of the album, thinking of sunny days by the sea, watching porpoises and fulmar. If you have sticky hands, don’t wipe them on the cat.
Listening notes: to be experienced on a rainy night, at a bus stop on the A9, opposite the exit to Dalwhinnie, listening to Gust by The Worm, after the last bus to Edinburgh has departed. Walk along the cycle path, heading south, in the hope that there is a spare room at the B&B, knowing that all this is self-inflicted.
Fiona Finks explores her mother’s papers, discovering her answers to some of the big questions: – what does Little Grapefruit eat? – how much kibble to give the cats
ARCHIVE REF: LGAS003
Listening notes: sketch a picture inspired by this post while listening to Nora Belle’s LP Crunch. Stop and reflect during the song Orange. Then start to colour in your sketch using pencils or paints.
Fiona Finks has provided some insights into her mother’s method during the GANTOB period. She would typically work a week or two ahead, dating her pieces in advance if she had a clear plan, but more often waiting until the narrative had unfolded and ordering and dating the posts from there. Sometimes there would be alternative versions.
The book that she worked on for a few weeks, late 2024, was called Little Grapefruit at Sea. Other similar titles were also used in her notes. Gillian Finks followed her more organic approach for this book, waiting for the story to reveal itself.
If you would like to send us a picture or photo inspired by this piece please email 100percentvinyl2@gmail.com
Pictures from inside Cushionpaw Tower, looking out over the bay, frequently including the boat and our two heroes, are featured in posts from a year ago. They also appear in full colour in the fourth book, GANTOB’s 25 Paintings, which has been printed, but is currently missing, along with The Benefaktor.
ARCHIVE REF: LGAS001
Listening notes: best enjoyed with The Doldrums, by Georgia Ruth
Fiona Finks, AKA The Masters Student has been going through her mother Gillian’s papers (pictured), trying to work out where she disappeared to on 23 August 2025. As yet there are no clues.
However, from her initial explorations, it looks as if Fiona has found extracts from one of her mother’s unpublished projects, first mentioned late 2024: Little Grapefruit Goes To Sea. (You may have read – and indeed contributed to – the earlier volume, Little Grapefruit Takes the Bus).
Some green tea slips will be shared on this site once Fiona has had a chance to order and archive them.
These extracts have very basic illustrations (black and white pencil drawings). With Gillian gone/away there are no committee members willing/able to contribute further attempts at art works. Enthusiastic GANTOBers may wish to provide more developed images to accompany the forthcoming posts.
With The Benefaktor also gone, it is not known whether this will ultimately form the basis of book. I suppose that depends on the quality of Gillian’s writing (which is, as I have mentioned, being carefully documented) and the GANTOB network’s response.
MAUREEN, 27 November 2025
Acting General Manager of GANTOB while Gillian is missing
GANTOB blog 