Hello every-one – I’ve just got back from Chatham and the “Salute to the 40s” event which took place at the Historic dock yard and what a weekend it’s been too! This year I was engaged to host the Hurricane Stage in the military zone and what a lovely place it is to be too as it’s right at the heat of the dockyard. Chatham had engaged some fabulous acts this year and on the Hurricane stage I had the pleasure of working with Victoria Yellop who not only plays the violin with great energy and exuberance but sings and dances as she does so too. It was lovely to see Mikie Driver again who does a wonderful sing-along Pearly King show which I really enjoyed. Like me he has some great medley arrangements which link his act together wonderfully and he even told me he sewed most of his Pearly Buttons on himself which I think is very impressive. We also had the fabulous barba shop quartet Puttin‘ on the Blitz with their dazzling close harmonies and the beautiful Lola Lamour who always looks stunning. The Spitfire stage was hosted by Madeline Brown and was played by Adam Hoffman, Natasha Harper, the fabulous Polka Dot Dolls and the wonderful Paul Casper who does George Formby better than George Formby himself,  so quite a line up!

This year I spent a long time thinking out my play lists and with the centenary I included songs from WW1 and I also featured a D-Day Normandy set which enabled me to sing in French and show off a little of my French show which tied in with the 70th anniversary. I enjoy trying out new arrangements and songs and this year I made some very brave and daring choices. At the end of each day all of us come together onto the Spitfire Stage and we perform a song each in the variety show before singing the finally number. This year I had been inspired by the Tarzan and Jane movies of the 1930s and 40s and put together a Jungle Jane song and dance routine complete with a cheetah glove puppet. Unfortatly it proved to be too ambitious for the surroundings as I highed in a radio head mike set which didn’t pick up my voice properly and attracted feed back from another radio mike which had been left on on stage. Sometimes in show biz these things happen but I’ve never been afraid of trying something new and in order to learn you have to fall over a few times in the learning process. What matters is being able to bounce back up again and not being faised by it. So come Sunday I went back to my roots and sang “Nessum Dorma“. An odd choice you might think but when you think about it opera is timeless regardless of wars and langue and judging by the audience’s reaction it proved to be the right choice as many choose to stand to applaud me which was a wonderful feeling after Saturday!

I’ve so many different shows and songs in my repertoire , I enjoy being versatile and creative. Chatham was a very full weekend and although I didn’t get much of a chance to look at the many stalls there was so much to see. I really enjoyed hosting the Hurricane Stage and I would like to thank Brian Shaw and Cherie for filling in while we waited for the fly pass and Paul Marsden who

Me in my French 1940s suit by the Hurricane Stage!

Me with film maker David Boyle!

Me in my Jungle Jane Costume with Cheetah!

Going American at Salute to the 40s!

Flying High at Salute to the 40s!

dazzled every-one with his Frank Sinatra. This week I’m going back to WW1 with a 50s and 60s show booked in on Friday. Then I’m off down to Somerset for a couple of radio interviews and the following weekend I shall be playing in my home town of Leighton Buzzard for their WW1 day with a quick dash up to Manchester with a return visit to Wythenshawe Hall booked in for Sunday so busy busy!

This is all my news for now Keep Watching and Toodle Pip!