On the Justin Dealey Radio Show!

Paul and I by the Remembrance Stone!

Hello every-one once again I’ve had a full week having done a radio interview for BBC Three Counties radio on Saturday and then dashed back from performing in Fareham. Tonight I’ve been rehearsing my Halloween repertoire in time for tomorrows show in Marlow which is my first Spooky show of the season. I’m dying to try out  “That Old Black Magic/Witchcraft” arrangement which I commissioned from Richard new for this season. I also have the Elvis song “Devil in Disguise” and “Spooky” which are two new numbers for me which I haven’t as yet sung live in performance. I’ve been  re -looking at some of my Halloween arrangements as I wasn’t happy with them and it’s lovely to see the show coming together. After all there is nothing more thrilling than stepping out on stage with a brand new, tailor made musical arrangement!

Fareham’s WW1 Commemoration Ceremony!

Fareham’s Remembrance Stone!

The next two weeks are going to be a mix of Halloween and Remembrance shows ranging in style from ATS, WAAF and WW1. So I have quite a variety of costumes to wear and musical content to sing my way through. On Monday Paul and I were down in Fareham as I had been engaged to perform for a WW1 ceremony which involved the mayor and all the local VIPs representing the services. A speech was given by the mayor as she unveiled a Great War commemoration stone and a bugler played “The Last Post”.

In the Studio with Justin Dealey!

I sang just prior to the unveiling and at the end as the VIPs made their way off to a special commemorative lunch. Part of my job was to get the local children from Good Manors nursery involved with the singing. The children were only 3 and 4 so very young and it soon became apparent in rehearsal expecting such little ones to clap for 3 – 4 minutes was a little too much.  When it came to performance I thought on my feet and gave the children flags instead which was easier for them to use and gave the press the shots they needed.

A day or two before I was on the Justin Dealy radio show for BBC Three Counties.  It’s a bit of a wacky show and Justin and I had such fun. He asked me to sing live “Johnny B Goode”, “Mr Sandman” and “The Boogie Woogie Bugler Boy from Company B”. As yet I haven’t heard play back but it might be another one for my web-site  radio archive.

This Saturday I’ve been engaged by Morrisons super market in Leighton Buzzard to open the Poppy Appeal by singing 20 minutes on 20 minutes off from 11am to 4pm all through the day. The lady that booked me is away on holiday and I’m hoping we can still go ahead as she wanted to be on hand to organize. I’m fully booked for the next three weeks so I’m not able to reschedule but all being well Saturday will go ahead as originally planed.

On the 6th November I will be in Birmingham  at New Street Station singing for the Poppy Appeal there but more news on that later.

Keep Following and Toodle Pip! 😉

Meeting up with Friends in Pickering!

Paul Meets the Spivs!

I’m sorry I’m late with my blog this week but to be truthful I really don’t have enough hours in the day to do all the things I need to do. Since returning home from Yorkshire on Monday I haven’t stopped and this Saturday I have an interview for BBC Three Counties Radio on the Justin Dealey show straight after my afternoon performance. I still need to prepare and then on Sunday I’m off down to Fareham to sing for a Great War commemorate ceremony.

Today I’ve been working with David on editing some new videos and it was good to complete the 1920s number “If I had a talking picture of you” and the traditional Scottish song “Loch Lomond” which is perfect for Burns Night and New Years eve. I’ve also been working with my web-designer on building my i-cloud account and a new sound bites page for my web-site. It’s still a work in progress but steadily it’s starting to take shape although I feel I need to have another look at some of the lay-out.

Paul With 1940’s DJ Windy!

The Joint is Jumpin’!

If you follow me on social media you will know that last weekend Paul and I were up in Yorkshire performing for Pickering’s 1940s event. I had been booked to perform Saturday night at Pickering’s Recreation Club and to sing at Levisham Station on the Sunday for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The last time I had played for Pickering’s War Weekend was back in 2007 and naturally as you would expect much has changed.

Paul and I with The Daisy Belles!

On Stage at Levisham with my Tiller Boys!

Tastes in 1940s music have moved on from sing-along songs to Lindy Hop Swing tunes which pleases the many dances who attend. Once every-one would be in 1940s costume and now the town attracts an influx of day trippers who all seem rather out of place amongst the 40s re-anactors and period music.

I plan my shows very carefully and I’ve learnt from experience that it’s important to have a varied selection and a couple of different options with-in my show plans. When Paul and I played at the Recreation Club it very quickly became apparent that the audience wanted to dance rather than a sing along so I quickly changed the music to swing. Paul sang a few extra Sinatra numbers which went down well with the audience including his new arrangement of “I’ll be Seeing You”. A lot of the audience knew the DJ Windy as they danced through to midnight

The same was true at Levisham station. I opened with my WAAF show but quickly moved it into a swing set as many people wanted to dance. Sunday was very wet but Paul and I had a lovely heated marque to perform in and we worked along side three girl harmony group “The Daisy Belles”. On this occasion we also had a sound crew so we didn’t have to worry about rigging our PA. With so much rain we were rather relieved we could use the sound crews PA and not drag our own down the platform. Their rig was very powerful and perhaps a little larger than needed for the size of the marque, but as the audience were sitting back behind the dance floor it all seemed to even out.

Pickering is one of those events where it’s easy to meet up with  friends. It’s one of the last 40s events of the season and attracts a great number of re-anactors. Next week I will be opening the Poppy appeal in Leighton Buzzard before performing a series of Halloween shows.

All the Nice Girls Love a Sailor!

More news on that later. In the mean time enjoy my photos and keep following! 😉

Going Back to 1914 in Leighton Buzzard!

Meeting up with the WW1 Re-anactors!

It’s been a full on couple of weeks as I’ve been working hard to tie up all sorts of loose ends involving paper work to web-design, new musical arrangements while still performing my shows. It’s hard to believe, but it’s my birthday today and thank-you every-one for your kind gifts and cards especially Gordon and Fay as I know how you love to follow my blogs. Thank-you Gordon for going to so much trouble to make my card, that was very kind of you and much appreciated.

In truth I would much rather be out and about doing something exciting today to celebrate but I’m having to face facts and crack on with my paperwork before heading up to Pickering. I’m due to perform for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway this weekend for their 1940s event and I still have much to prepare before setting off on Friday.

On Saturday night Paul and I will be on stage performing at Pickering Recreation club and I’m thrilled to say our show sold out months ago. We will be performing 2 x 45 minute sets. My first set will be ATS followed by glamour and Paul will be singing too. It was Paul’s birthday a few days

Between Shows with Punch and Judy!

ago and for his birthday I commissioned a new track “I’ll be Seeing You” in the Sinatra style from my musical arranger Richard Whennell. As you can imagine Paul is looking forward to singing it for the first time this weekend and I too have some new musical arrangements I’m looking forward to performing later this month.

On Sunday we will be singing at Levisham Station and you can catch our first set at 12.30pm – 1.45pm and then we will be back on stage at 2.15pm -3.15pm. The station is going with a V.E. Day theme and to tie in with RAF 100 I thought I would perform my first set in my WAAF

Dressed for My Burlington Bertie Set!

uniform and then change into something more glamorous for my second set. There will be a dance floor in front of the stage and Paul and I are looking forward to really getting the party swinging. So if you are in town it will be delightful to see you. We will also be working with 3 girl harmony group The Daisy Bells and between us we have a terrific show planed.

There never seem to be enough hours in the day and as you can see I’m back at my desk planning ahead. It’s the only way to succeed. Halloween is just around the corner and I’ve invested in a couple of new musical arrangements. I popped along to the recording studio on Monday and picked up a wonderful arrangement from Richard of “That old Black Magic /Witchcraft”. I’ve been wanting to sing this for a while now as I was never happy with the arrangement I had of “Witchcraft” and I needed  a new approach to make the song work for me. Once again Richard has surpassed himself and by combining “That Old black Magic” with “Witchcraft” it’s made

Meeting up with Big Al from L&D Radio!

a wonderful addition to my Halloween show. I’m currently busy  leaning new material for Halloween and Christmas as I refresh some of my popular shows. I have lots of plans for next year and ideas I want to put into production.

Last Saturday I was performing in my home town of Leighton Buzzard for Heritage day as the town went back to 1918. I had been engaged to perform 3 shows daily and yes you guessed it it rained all day. However the show goes on what ever the weather and thanks to some brilliant organizing I was able to park my van right next to the marquee and change in All Saints Church

Getting Changed at All Saints Church!

which made a huge difference. It’s such a shame when the weather isn’t on your side as the town had WW1 re-anactors, Suffragettes, Punch and Judy and a Bristol Scout WW1 bi plane which sadly had to stay under plastic to protect it from the weather. I sang my way through two sets of WW1 music and for my final set I came back in my WAAF uniform and performed my “Those Magnificent Men” WAAF show to commemorate the RAFs centenary.

Thank-you to every-one who came along to support this event despite the rain. As a professional I’m paid to smile and sing what ever the weather which sadly just seemed to go from bad to worst on Saturday. I really appreciate those of you who came along and stayed for my performances including L&D radio who had come down from Dunstable to see me especially. Thank-you that really meant a lot L&D.

Me with the WW1 Bristol Scout Aircraft!

As with all these things a great deal of work goes into the planning of events and if only the sun had been with us on Saturday, it would have made all the difference. Oddly enough I remember when Leighton Buzzard went back to 1914  in 2014 it rained then too. Fingers crossed we have good weather this weekend for Pickering. So Wish me luck!

Some of you may remember I spoke about adding a new sound bite page to my web-site and I’m pleased to say it’s starting to take shape. I hope it wont be too long now before the page will be up and running but as I move my repertoire on into the 1970s I felt it was important to have this music represented.

That’s all my news for now. Enjoy my pictures from the weekend and I look forward to catching up with you all again soon after Pickering.

The Show Must Go On!

Toodle Pip and Bye for Now! 😉

Off to Bletchley Park!

I’m afraid I can’t spend too long at my blog tonight only because I’m up to my ears in paper work and once again I’m fighting against the clock to get all my jobs done. Last Sunday I’d set aside the day to catch up with all my computing jobs which on the face of it were all simple enough. However in every case I came across glitches  which left me unhappy that I had wasted a whole day and I’d not achieved any of my goals.

The Bombe Computer in Hut 11a

The 40s Wedding Dress Exhibition!

When it comes to computers I have no talent at all and I do struggle with technology.  I have trouble retaining computer style information and I never seem to use the right words when it comes to trouble shooting or asking a computer or You tube to solve my problems. My brain doesn’t click that way and being dyslexic I often get things back to front. I find it really frustrating and now I’m having to play catch up from the time lost on Sunday.

The ironic thing I was at Bletchley Park on Saturday the birth place of computing. When you think what the boffins at Bletchley were able to crack & do durring WW2 I feel utterly pathetic in comparison. Perhaps I should have devoted my whole weekend to being in the office but as I get so little time to myself I wanted to see the museum as they had a special 1940s event on. Although I visit Bletchley Park often  due to the fact my web-designer has offices there I hadn’t visited the house or museum in a very long time and certainly much has changed since my last visit.

The weather last Saturday was beautiful and it was good to get out and listen to the music. I particularly enjoyed the wedding dress display in the mansion and the ATS recruitment film in the

Meeting up with Friends Lesley and Martin at the Mansion!

visitors center.

This Saturday I will be performing in my home town for Leighton Buzzard’s Living History day as it celebrates the end of the Great War and the RAFs centenary. I’ve been engaged to perform 3 shows daily 12pm – 12.45pm ,WW1 set “I’ll Make a Man of You”,  1.45pm – 2.15pm Top Hat and Tails, “Burlington Bertie”, 3.15pm – 4.00pm WAAF “,Those Magnificent Men”. I shall be performing in the high Street so I hope you can all make it along to see me.

That’s all my news for now but on Friday 12th I shall be making my way up to Pickering

Out-side Bletchley Park!

to perform for the towns War Weekend.

More news on that to follow soon. Toodle Pip and Bye for Now! 😉

Inside the Mansion!

Out and About in Bexhill at the De La Warr!

Comfy Room 8 at Park Lodge!

Last weekend was one of those occasions where nothing quite went to plan. I had been looking forward to this weekend for quite a while. Paul and Poppy were going to meet up with me in Bexhill  but due to unforeseen circumstances they had to cancel their travel plans at the very last minute and return home which was ever-so disappointing.

When I revived the news I was too far on my journey to turn back so I decided to take pot luck and find a hotel. For any-one who knows me this is so unlike me  as I like everything organized and booked  well in advance. However I thought lets throw caution to the wind, have an adventure and see where fate takes me. After all it’s only Bexhill what could possibly go wrong!

The Hastings Premier Inn was fully booked which I didn’t mind too much as the car park was over run with building work. So I thought lets try St Leonards as I drove down to the sea front and found the “Sherwood”. Yes they had a single room and at £45 a night, I didn’t think that was expensive. However when I asked to see the room the gentleman said ” I don’t show people rooms,

Philip of Second Spin!

you either want it or you don’t” which made me think there must be something wrong with it so I said “I don’t” and left! There’s nothing like service with a smile!

Next I thought lets try Bexhil as I drove on along the cost. Bexhill is a town I know very well as I’ve performed at the De La Warr  Pavilion many times. Back in those days I always use to stay at Park Lodge which is more or less opposite the theater and to my delight they were able to accommodate me. Phew! It was just like old times as I stayed in room 8 on the second floor. I can’t tell you how relived I was as I popped along to the

Second Spin in Bexhill!

Italian restaurant “Rustico” for dinner .

I love this part of the world and on Saturday morning I was able to catch up with my friend Philip who runs Bexhill’s famous record shop “Second Spin”. Hastings old town is also one of my favorite vintage shopping haunts. I had made an appointment to see Anne Finch the lady who knits all my vintage jumpers and I also wanted to meet up with a few of the dealers to sell some of my vintage clothes. I’m now having to be ruthless as I’m running out of storage space. All my clothes have been well looked after so I was able to sell them

The Old Town Hat Shop!

with ease and order my new jumper from Anne.

It’s been a while since I was last in town but every-time I visit there is always something new to see as the shops are ever changing. Hastings old town is very Bohemian and is full of creative interesting people. I feel very at home there especially as it’s where they filmed “Foyles War”. On this occasion I was thrilled to discover The Old Town Hat Shop at 52a High Street. It’s packed full of wonderful creations and I can’t wait until the time when I can visit again.

Keep Following, Toodle Pip and bye for now! 😉

Well Recommended B&B Park Lodge

Out-side Park Lodge!

Paul and I on Stage with the Polka Dots!

If you are a regular follower of my blogs you will know just how busy I’ve been these last three weeks with the run up to Battle of Britain and RAF 100. I can’t quite believe it myself but last week I performed a staggering 13 shows in 7 days and I’m only just beginning to catch up with my e-mails and paper-work. This is why I’m a little behind with my blog.  It’s been an amazing week flying from show to show and I’ve so much to tell you all.

From “Proms in the Park” last Saturday to now I’ve been out every-day performing WAAF shows. Last weekend Paul and I had the privilege of

Out and About on the North Lawn!

performing for the National Trust at Hughenden Manor which during the war from 1941 – 46 was home to a secret map-making base code-named Hillside. Over 100 men and women worked at Hughenden making maps to support the RAF pilots and nearby Bomber command. This highly secret operation helped turn around the outcome of the war. High on Hitler’s hit list Hughenden Manor was ideally chosen at it’s difficult to spot from the air due to all the surrounding trees.

Last Saturday and Sunday the Manor came alive with History tellers, vintage vehicles, re-anactors and entertainers as we all worked together in our

Paul, Marina and I at the Parterre Stage!

special fields to re-create the history of the 1940s. This was my 3rd year at Hughenden and it’s thrilling to see an event go from strength to strength.

Usually a busy weekend at Hughenden attracts between 800 to 900 visitors but last weekend broke all box office records attracting 1734 people on the Saturday and a staggering 2423 visitors on the Sunday. Not only did we have record numbers through the gate but fantastic weather and at one point all I could see on the Parterre lawn was a sea of people. All soaking up

Suits You Sir! Paul Buying a New Vintage Suit!

the wonderful atmosphere enjoying Punch and Judy while waiting for the fly past, which this year included a Spitfire and Hurricane. We also had a special visit from Station Commander Robert Woods from RAF High Wycombe who gave a speech from the North Lawn stage.

This year we had two stages one on the Parterre and the other on the North Lawn at the front of the manor. This meant fellow entertainers Marina Mae, the Polka Dots and myself were able to perform at both locations. I had been engaged to host and compere the event, perform two singing sets, one uniform and one glamour plus host a 45

Rehearsing my Moves for the Work-shop!

minute dance work-shop as I took  popular party dances from the 30s & 40s re-choreographing them slightly to fit the shape of the Parterre stage. Paul also performed the music of Sinatra which went down extremely well with the National Trust audience.

I performed my first dance work-shop at Hughenden last year and as it went so well I was invited back to do so again this year. I never like to stand still and it’s great to take on new challenges. This year I included a new Charleston routine which was all about having fun as I taught my audience to create the illusion of crossing their knees just like people did in the 1920s which caused lots of laughter.

A great deal of thought goes into my shows not only musically but costume wise. This year I had my skirts made with extra pleats to accommodate my dancing and sleeves  released from

Teaching the Dance -Workshop!

the arm hole so I could stretch my arms with-out upsetting the tailoring of my bodice.  For my glamour sets I wore two very smart suites the first being a Lilly Anne I recently bought on line and came to me from Australia and the second, my purple suite which many of you will remember from my J’Attendrai show-reel. I also wore a pale green dress with birds on it which I had made especially.

On both days I opened the show at 10am on the North Lawn stage and as Saturday was Battle of Britain day it seemed only right to perform my

First  Set of the Day on the North Lawn Stage!

WAAF show. The first slot of the day is always the hardest set to perform as many visitors haven’t arrived but come Sunday it was clear early on we were going to have a busy day as visitor numbers very quickly started to grow. I performed different sets both days opening with my US WAC show on Sunday and giving my Glamour show on Saturday a Hollywood twist, where on Sunday I incorporated some sing-along and Lindy Hop favorites “Cho Cho Ch Boogie” and “There ain’t No-body here but us Chickens”.

I always say it’s all about preparing properly and I

Dressed for the 40s!

don’t mind admitting last week I had some very late nights typing up my show plans, practicing my dance routines, researching the history of the Spitfire and Hurricane so I would have something intelligent to say when they flew over and making sure I programmed  a back-up computer just in case if something went wrong. Fortunately all this hard work paid off as my main computer crashed but thanks to my back -up this wasn’t a problem as Paul continued to sing and I was able to swap the computers in mid set with-out the audience knowing.

Paul Doing His Thing!

That was a close one but fortunately Paul’s song “Night and Day” is just over 4 minutes long which gave me the time I needed! Phew!  Both Paul and I are really looking forward to next year’s event and a big thank-you goes out to Moria Andrews and every-one at the National Trust who made Hughenden’s 1940s Weekend such a success.

This weekend Paul and I are going to be down in Hastings Bexhill and I can’t wait as Poppy will be coming with us too. That’s all my news for now as

Dressed for my Final Glamour Set!

I must get to bed but don’t forget we will be up in Pickering for the War weekend in October, but more on that later.

Keep Following and Toodle Pip! 😉

Packed with Visitors!

Sound Checking with my Ear Monitors!

If you have been following my bogs and face-book pages you will know on Saturday night I had the pleasure of performing in Dunstable at Priory Park for Proms in the Park. It was a fantastic event as I had been engaged to sing a mixture of Opera, Hollywood movie musicals and wartime favorites just prior to the big screen going across live to the Royal Albert Hall for The Last Night of the Proms. Proms invites a wonderful atmosphere and it’s the one Prom concert of the year where it’s perfectly acceptable to sing along, wave a flags and dress in what ever you like usually sporting a red, white and blue theme.

Getting Ready to go up in the Cherry Picker!

Proms has music for every-one regardless of weather it’s classical, jazz, or something more contemporary. The last night is where every-one can let their hair down and enjoy the party while soaking up the patriotic atmosphere.  My sound check was at 4pm and while we were rehearsing it was lovely to see Priory Park filling with visitors.

I’m game for anything and for the first half of the concert I was booked to sing on the stage in front of the big screen which was completely inflatable. I’m seeing this more and more now inflatable stages which are easily collapsible and after the

Up We Go!

Dunstable Town band finished their set I was straight on for 30 minutes at 6.45pm. For my first set I sang a selection of Hollywood dance tunes from 1950s musicals, The Flower Duet from Lakme’ “It’s Magic” from “Romance on the High Seas”, a wartime sing along selection, a medley from “South Pacific”, concluding with the aria Nessum Dorma.

During rehearsals I was given radio ear monitors which took a little getting use to. I’m not sure if I have funny shaped ears but I always find it difficult getting ear plugs to fit but for this show they were essential. Once the staged had been collapsed after my first set I was set to return during the interval to sing a selection of songs to commemorate the RAFs centenary  and the Great War with “Requiem for a Solider” and popular classics such as “The White Cliffs of Dover” and “We’ll Meet Again”. It had been my intention to sing more from WW1 but after receiving the BBCs play list this could have caused a clash

Getting Ready Backstage!

so two  Vera Lynn WW2 songs seemed a better choice and went down extremely well with the Dunstable audience. I also included a selection of songs from the popular West end show “Mamma Mia” which really got the party swinging.

The wonderful thing about my job is I get to preform so many different musical styles in all sorts of usual environments. Once the stage had been collapsed revealing the big screen it then became necessary to fly me in for my second set on a cherry picker.  My Air Force medley was the obvious choice and initially the idea was to have me singing on the roof of Priory Church. However due to all the solar panels this wasn’t possible which became apparent during rehearsals when I was lifted up about 50 feet and sang from the cherry picker for the first time.

A great deal of thought goes into my costumes and for large

On Stage and in Full Voice!

open stages it’s important to wear big dresses especially when I’m singing Opera that are colourful and easy to see from a distance. I was able to secure the wires to my ear monitors by sliding them under my choker for my first set which went with my red and black evening gown. When it came to flying in for my second set I wore a green evening coat. This is where the ear plug monitors became essential as up in the air I couldn’t hear a thing from the ground.

I say I’m game for anything and to be hoisted high in the park beside the big screen was a wonderful experience especially as I sang the “Dam Busters”

Flying in for 2nd Set with Dam Busters!

theme tune. I had a hand held radio mic and with my other hand I held onto the rail of the cherry picker to steady myself although keeping my ear monitors in wasn’t easy as I also had to wave a flag too . At one point I was down to one ear monitor but I kept going and a great time was had by all. So thank-you to Lisa and Dunstable Town council for engaging me to sing for Proms and afterwards Paul and I stayed to see the fabulous firework display.

Now I’m back home it’s full steam ahead with Battle of Britain week and RAF 100. This week I have a staggering 13 shows to perform in the next

Flying In!

7 days and as you can imagine they are all WAAF shows to tie in with the anniversaries.

This weekend Paul and I will be performing for the National Trust at Hughingdon’s Manor’s 1940s weekend. I’ve been engaged to host and compere the event and to perform 3 shows daily. I’m opening the show at 10.am and at 1.00pm I will be running a dance work shop on the Parterre Stage. Paul will be singing too in the Sinatra style and at 4.00pm we will be closing the show with a grand finally which will be including all the other artists.

Enjoying the Atmosphere!

It’s promising to be a fantastic weekend as we have Living history groups and re-anacters and a fabulous line up of artists which include the beautiful Marina Mae and 3 girl harmony group The Polka Dots. We will also be having a fly past on both days which includes a Spitfire on Saturday and a Spitfire and Hurricane on Sunday. For more details about the event click the link below.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hughenden/whats-on/hughenden-1940s-weekend 

That’s all my news for now. Keep Following and don’t forget to join us this coming weekend at Hughenden Manor as it would be delightful to see you. Keep Following and Toodle Pip!

All Set & Dressed For Proms in the Park!

Paul and I with the Cherry Picker!

All Set for Proms in the Park!

It’s just a very quick blog to let you know you can catch me this Saturday performing live in Dunstable’s Priory Park in front of the big screen for “Proms in the Park”. The concert opens with the Dunstable Town Band at 6pm playing a selection of movie and popular tunes. I will be on stage from 6.45pm – 7.15pm just prior to the concert going  live to the Royal Albert Hall for “The Last Night of the Proms” on the big screen .

On Saturday I will be singing a selection of popular classics from Puccini to songs from the West End, Movies and Military favorites to tie in with the centenary. The concert is free, so bring a pick-nick and if you want a good spot arrive early to ensure your place. During the interval the plan is to raise me above the big screen in a cherry picker for my final selection of songs and there will also be fireworks too. For more details click the link and I look forward to seeing you all. Keep Following and Toodle Pip!

https://www.dunstable.gov.uk/whats-on/priory-promsin-the-park/

Priory Proms in the Park Gallery