So here is the story behind my album, Stories. A collection of folk songs born from the recovery of a veteran

suffering from Complex PTSD following a 22 year career as an infantryman in the British Army. Obviously,

the veteran is me, so buckle in and come with me on the journey of ‘Stories’.

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PENJALAU

To begin with let me introduce you to the artists behind the album. The name ‘Penjalau’ is nothing more

than an anagram of ‘Paul’ and ‘Jane’. Jane is my partner, also a veteran, and has witnessed everything that I

went through, she has supported me, never faltering, helped in my recovery and became a major inspiration

in the making of Stories. She has also helped in the production and provided the amazing backing vocals.

Jane and I are ‘Penjalau.

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THE ORIGIN OF STORIES

As I said, the album came from my recovery. In a little more detail, my therapist, some years ago, suggested

that I write down my thoughts and feelings without holding back. Write whatever was in my mind no matter

how dark, disturbing, twisted, warped, funny, sad, whatever, just write it down on a bit of paper and get it out

of my head So I did.

Seventeen years down the line, I have turned into a writer, a veterans campaigner and a more open-minded

person. My army issues aside, my writing took on a life of it’s own, writing about average people dealing with

their own issues of life, I wrote about world peace, something which is very close to my heart, I wrote about

other veterans from wars past, in fact anything became a target.