In My Easter Bonnet!

Paul with His Tailor Alex Bentley!

Let me start my blog to-night by wishing all my Irish followers a very happy St Patricks Day. I’m sorry it’s been a while since I last wrote but I’ve had a very busy few weeks what with one thing and another. I’ve been away the last six days performing on the south coast and in between times Paul took me to meet his tailor Alex Bentley in Southsea. Paul has just had made an Irish Tweed 1930s design Bi swing suit with a half belt which he likes to wear with his 1930s Dobbs Trilby or flat cap. He’s had it made for this coming season which is starting to shape up nicely. Between shows I’ve been catching up with my contracts and e-mails and I’ve already sold in excess of 200 shows for 2018 which is very encouraging.

I had a show in Cambridgeshire on Mothers day and then  I dashed down to Portsmouth straight after my show. On Thursday I drove back after my performance so I would be ready for last nights show at Wellingborough Golf Club which couldn’t have gone better. Paul and I were engaged to sing for a Golden Wedding Anniversary as we performed a mix of music from the 1930s through to the 70s.

Having a Chat with Alex!

As with all my shows there is a great deal of hidden preparation which I need to do so my performances are seamless. The trick is to predict and to always have a plan B and C ready should it be necessary to change direction. I spend a lot of my time programming and typing up show plans. I’m currently expanding my 70s and party repertoire which I know will be a good business investment. For the next three weeks it’s going to be a run of “Easter Bonnet” shows the first of which I performed last  Thursday and it’s among one of my favorites.

Speaking of shows my first radio show went out on 1940sradio.com  last Sunday and Tuesday and as yet I don’t know how I’ve done. I’d like to hear the show I recorded again just to refresh my memory. This weekend I plan to record a couple of more shows and while I’ve been away I’ve had lots of ideas which I must put forward to the powers that be. I’m

On Stage at Wellingborough Golf Club!

quite keen to give my shows a theme and I’ve  already put together the content for another four programs. I don’t want to run before I can walk so I’m taking things slowly and I would like my shows to have a strong Hollywood movie musical content as that’s where my expertise in vintage music really lies.  Watch this space and I will keep you posted!

Next week I have a couple of important meetings I must attend and I’m also booked in to have all my equipment PATS tested. Yes it’s that time of year again. I’m seeing my dress maker Judi on Tuesday who is making a couple of new 1940s dresses for me which I will be wearing out in France for the D-Day commemorations along with my uniforms.

That’s all my news for the moment. Keep Following and Toodle Pip! 😉

Collecting for Dogs for Good!

Firstly I’d like to start by thanking every-one who came down to All Saints Church on Tuesday to hear Paul and I sing for “Dogs for Good”. We made £177.84 which will be going straight to the charity and it was lovely to see Alvin who made a special guest appearance with his puppy carer and handler Annie Rourke. We had a lovely day and it was wonderful to see so many friends. So thank-you every-one for your fantastic support!

This last week I’ve been working flat out and once again I’m in a bit of a dash tonight as I have so much work to do before I head off on tour next

Paul Doing His Bit!

week. This Saturday I’m working down in Kent for a 1940s Time Travelling Tea Party which is taking place at Tatsfield Village Hall. I still need to prep my ATS uniform and polish my brass buttons and then on Sunday I’m in Cambridgeshire performing the Swinging 50s and 60s before heading off down to the South coast. I’m fully booked next week and then back up to Wellingborough Golf Club for a private party on Friday when I’m down to perform the music of the 1930s through to the 1970s. It’s full steam ahead and I have so much to get straight and done before I hit the road.

Getting Ready to Go On Air!

If you have been following me on facebook you may have seen on my pages that I’m going to be hosting my own music radio show on 1940s Radio. I was approached by the station as they thought I would have the ideal speaking voice for the American market. 1940sradio.com  has a growing following across the pond in the United States and I’ve already put together two pilot shows the first of which is to go out on Tuesday and Sunday at 3.00am – 12.00am and at 7.00pm  GMT. The different times are to tie up the the radio stations international listeners. As yet I don’t know if I will be any good as a radio host but I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity and I wanted to give it a go. I’ve lots of ideas and for my second show I took the theme of the Hollywood movie musicals so we will just have to see how I  get on and if the Americans like me. If you get the opportunity please do tune in to hear me at 7.00pm and hopefully listeners will enjoy my musical choices.

Keep Listening!

Talking about music I had my first meeting with Mike Moran on Monday as we had a play through and discusses some ideas for my Grease medley. I had a feeling that when I brought along my Grease score he would know the writers personally and sure enough John Farrar is a personal friend along with Olivia Newton – John and so it goes on. I don’t think there is anyone in popular music or musical theater Mike hasn’t worked with at some time or other as the walls of his studio show no shortage of posters of films he’s written the music for.

I can’t wait to hear Mike’s first draft of the medley although quite what his fee is going to be I’m still not quite sure. However to have the chance of working with someone of his ability and talent was too good an opportunity to miss and I hope to have the medley done for May. I’m also seeing Richard at the end of the month where I hope to commission another couple of songs for later in the year.

That’s all my news for now and I’m afraid I wont be able to blog again until I get back after next week. In the meantime don’t miss my radio show!

Toodle Pip and Keep Following! 😉

The Show Must Go On as I Keep Trucking!

Careful on the Roads!

To-day I’ve been making the most of the snow working on the assumption that due to the bad weather most people are grounded at home which has enabled me to catch up on my phone calls and paperwork. I feel very proud that despite the bad weather it’s been business as usual and I’ve made all my appointments and shows this week. Even when I’m not performing I still have a lot to do in the office and a full weekend ahead.

On Tuesday I had a two hour drive over to Gloucester which even though it was trying had to snow I made it there and back without too much of a problem. Thursday was a little more difficult as I was booked to perform in Northampton for World Book Day and it was very hard going coming back through Milton Keynes. Fortunately people were driving carefully and as long as you trickle along slowly all is well. It’s when people drive too fast and brake suddenly that they start to skid and the problems occur.

Yesterday I had a show in Hemel Hempstead and on my way it was raining ice. I had been b

See You There!

ooked to perform for a very smart care home and all the residents were extremely pleased to see me. I believe that week they had lost quite a few entertainers due to the bad weather so they were very appreciative that I had made that extra special effort to be with them. Certainly as I was performing I could see the snow falling and the traffic building. I was able to get away just after 4pm which was probably just as well as I used all my local knowledge to navigate my way home predicting the problems avoiding any inclines and hills such as Billington Hill on the Leighton Buzzard Road cutting through the village and back onto the bypass and then through Leighton Buzzard town rather than sliding up to Wing Hill. That journey usually takes 40 minutes but on Friday it took 90 minutes. However I think I was very lucky as it could have taken many hours more if I hadn’t have known the roads which ment I was able to keep trucking.

I look Forward to Seeing You!

This evening I’m supposed to be going to see The Shambles Big Band in Dunstable so I’m hoping the roads wont be too bad although I’m worried about black ice. Don’t forget next week you can catch my show “A Song in my Heart” at All Saint’s Church as I sing to raise money for “Dogs for Good”. Dogs for Good are a wonderful charity who train dogs to assist adults and children with physical disabilities and children with autism. I will be joined on stage by special guest and Sinatra style singer Paul Marsden and we will be singing from 10.30am – 3pm every 20 minutes for donations in the coffee shop. It’s free to enter and every-one is welcome so it will be lovely to see you.

I’ve also had a poster sent through for a 1950s and 60s show I’m doing at the Weatherley Centre in Biggleswade on the 28th April. If you can’t make it along to see me on the 6th March then I hope you can see me in April. Please click onto the poster for details. In the mean time I have a few pilot radio shows to put together for a radio station but I shall tell you more about that in my next post.

Keep Watching and Toodle Pip! 😉

Learning Grease!

Once again I’ve fallen a little behind with my blog this week only because I’ve been busy planning the year. I’ve been talking to a lot of different people these last few weeks and I’ve had all sorts of meetings from note bashing rehearsals with pianists to interviews with journalists and a guest appearance on a radio show.  So you could say it’s been pretty non stop. I’ve also had a lot of contracts to send out along with performing my usual weekly run of shows. I’m pleased to report the year is starting to take shape beautifully and I have some wonderful new customers this year, who I’m looking forward to performing for very much.

2018 is going to be a real mixed bag of different musical periods from Victorian Music Hall to the Swinging 60s and 70s and everything in-between so I’m keen to invest in some new musical arrangements this year. In fact I’m due to see Richard my musical arranger later in March and because of Richard’s work load I’ve also had to track down another musical arranger.

Summer Nights!

Hard though it may seem to believe  but the nations favorite musical is now “Grease” shock horror, and for a long time I’ve been wanting to perform a medley from this show as I work to expand my 1970s repertoire. The time is now right for me to invest in this medley. There’s certainly no shortage of people who do arrangements but tracking down the right person hasn’t been easy  and then through a chance meeting I was put in contact with Mike Moran. If you know your music and musical arrangers Mike did all of Freddie Mercury’s and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s arrangements not to mention co wrote “Rock Bottom” which was the UK’s 1977 Eurovision song entry. Here’s what I found out about the song on Wikipedia

“Rock Bottom” was the British entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in English by Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran. It was also written and produced by de Paul and Moran and released on the Polydor record label. Originally it was written for the group Blue Mink;^[1] and submitted unbeknown to de Paul and Moran as an entry for “A Song For Europe” by the publishers and when it was selected, de Paul agreed to perform the song if Moran would join her.^[2] On 9 March 1977, “Rock Bottom” was selected to represent the UK at the “A Song for Europe 1977” event held at the New London Theatre, presented by Terry Wogan.

The jaunty sing-a-long song says that when people are in a bad situation they should work to solve problems and not be pessimistic about tragedies. Apparently it represented the situation at the time; Eurovision 1977 was almost cancelled due to budget restrictions and it was delayed by five weeks due to a strike by cameramen and technicians.^[3] The BBC, who had to host the contest that year, did not give the song its whole-hearted support because it was the favourite to win the contest and, if it had won, then they would have to finance and host the 1978 contest.^[4]

It just goes to show how little the world changes and how corrupted the music industry can be when money is  involved. This might go someway to explain why our recent entries have been on the ropy side in latter years as the UK doesn’t want the expense of hosting the next event should the UK song win. Anyway I’m looking forward to meeting Mike next week and I’m keeping my fingers crossed he will take on my commission.

Tomorrow I’m in Gloucestershire and then in Northampton on the 1st so much to do. Oh I almost forgot – I have two new videos out J’Attendrai and April and You which was inspired by a Jo Stafford recording she made in the 1950s with Liberace. You can see both my new films by clicking the round You Tube icon at the top of this page,

That’s all my news for tonight. Keep Watching and Toodle Pip! 😉

Meeting Up with Alvin!

Hello every-one, once again I have to confess I am in a bit of a dash this evening and feeling somewhat snowed under with work as I still have a pile of contracts to get through and loads of e-mails to answer. Firstly I expect it wont come as a surprise to learn that Paul and I have had to pull out of the Oxjam festival this year due to all the bad press concerning Oxfam. It’s a tragedy for the organizers who work so hard to put on the event but due to the scandal and the change in the public’s mood neither of us felt confident singing in front of Oxfam buckets for a charity which has severely lost face.

Paul and I had purposely set the 6th March aside for our show and we still wanted to go ahead with a charitable event so I’m thrilled to announce our show will be going ahead as originally planed but this time for a different charity called Dogs for Good.  Just to fill you in.

See You There!

Dogs for Good provides three services – Assistance Dog: trainin

g assistance dogs to support adults and children with physical disabilities and children with autism; Family Dog: providing advice and support to people on how their pet dog can benefit their whole family; Community Dog:  training activity and therapy dogs and their specialist handlers to work in communities and schools.

Paul and I will be singing from 10.30am – 3pm at All Saints Church Coffee shop, Church Square, Leighton Buzzard for donations and all proceeds will be going to Dogs for Good. To find out more about the charity click the link at http://www.dogsforgood.org 

Today I met up with puppy Alvin who when he is a little older will be going off to be trained to be a Dog for Good. Alvin will be making a guest appearance on the 6th so we hope you can all make it down to All Saints church to support us. It’s fee to enter and of course the coffee shop is famous for it’s freshly cut sandwiches and homemade cakes. So we look forward to seeing you.

I shall leave my blog hear tonight and I look forward to catching up with you all very soon.

Keep Watching and Toodle pip! 😉

On the Radio with Alan Pagram!

Paul and I at The Film Festival!

Hello every-one as you can see I’m burning the candle at both ends again as there are never enough hours in the day to do all the things I need to do.

As I’m sure many of you already know this week is a very interesting week with lots of important dates coming together. Today is Shrove Tuesday, tomorrow is Valentines day and then on the 16th February it’s Chinese New Year. So you could say everything is happening all at once which is why I can’t be too long at my blog tonight. I have 3 Valentine Shows to perform back to back tomorrow with shows on Thursday and Friday too so much to do.

Firstly I would like to thank Alan Pagram for inviting me onto his Radio show last Friday. It was lovely to see you again Alan and to meet up with Latha. It’s always great to be on Alan’s show and last Friday we had a real ball as Alan played lots of fabulous tunes from new and up and coming artists along with a few of my own of-course. We spent the interview having a good old natter on the airways as we caught up with all my latest show news.

Getting Set for Oxjam!

Speaking of which Paul and I will be performing in the Oxjam music festival on the 6th March. We shall be singing from 10.30am to 3pm 20 minutes on 20 minutes off all through the day in All Saints Church coffee shop for donations so we hope you can all make it along to see us. The event is free and All Saints Church is the best place to go in Leighton Buzzard if you like home made cakes and sandwiches. So Paul and i look forward to seeing you all on the 6th.

On Saturday I was performing in Dunstable and I had a really good afternoon singing all my favorite songs from the 1950s, 60s & 70s. Afterwards I made a quick dash over to Richmansworth for “The Renowned Festival for Film” which was held at the Watersmeet Theater. Paul and I had tickets for Sunday’s show where we watched lots of old advertising films from the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The festival also had some of the old stars from the 1950s and 60s talking about their experiences which was very interesting and Lola Lamour performed two fabulous numbers from the movies to introduce the stars. Personally I would have liked to have heard Lola sing more as she brought glamour to the event and always gives a great performance which added a wonderful splash of colour to the monochrome.

I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave my blog here tonight as I must get to bed and it’s full steam ahead with Valentine shows for the rest of the week.

Keep Watching and Toodle Pip!

Me with Our Dafne Tutors Andria and Mel!

Learning the Dafne Way!

I feel I’ve rather fallen behind with my blogs of late which is hardly surprising when I spent all of last week attending the Dafne course at Milton Keynes hospital. The course ran for five days from 9am in the morning to 5pm at night and taught everything I would need to know about diabetes and how to manage it including Carbohydrate Potions and how to count them. As well as attending the course I’ve been trying to catch up with my paper work in the evenings which has lead to some very late nights and early mornings. I’ve often been working until 2am getting my work finished and rising at 6am which hasn’t been giving me enough sleep.

I have to confess there was a lot to learn, and Dafne was very intense as our tutors Mel and Andria were everso thorough. At times I found it extremely hard going especially as I’ve been burning the candle at both ends. I’m not use to sitting down all day and I’ve been trying to compensate by getting up extra early so I could go for a 7 am run before getting dressed and heading off to the hospital.

Now I’m back home I’ve been struggling a bit with the carbohydrate potion counting . I understand

A New Vintage 1940s Suit for the Season!

the principle but being Dyslexic I often get my words and numbers muddled and sometimes I miss read the information and add it up wrongly. This last weekend I had a lot of catching up to do and sadly a few hypos along the way which weren’t good. Dafne is designed to give diabetics a better balance although they want me to have lower sugar levels. I find it a little frightening as I often need the extra sugar which gives me the confidence to rig and perform my shows. Keep watching this space and hopefully it wont be too long before I get the hang of it although at the moment I feel it’s a bit hit and miss.

On a brighter note my friend Yvonne invited me to her vintage clothes sale last weekend and I was thrilled to pick up three fabulous 1940s suits which I shall be wearing this coming season. I also took the opportunity of sending a couple of sacks of clothes along to the charity shop as I wanted to make room for my new arrivals. My diary has been filling up for

New for the 40’s Season!

2018 and this year you will be able to catch me in Wales at Milfest, Normandy for the D-Day Commemorations, Newark Air Museum, Hughingdon Manor and at Pickering to name but a few. I will have more news on that closer to the time so do keep watching this space and I shall keep you posted.

Today I’ve been working with David editing a couple of new videos. Today we have been working on the popular 1940s French song J’ Attendari which in actual fact started life as an Italian song before it was adopted by the French. This makes perfect sense as when I sung the song in Italy a couple of ladies came up to me and said it was sung to them by their mothers. It will be good to have a video record of this song as I always enjoy singing it and I’m very pleased with today’s edit.

Today we also worked on “April and You”. Originally recorded by Jo Stafford in 1953 with Liberace I first discovered this

Editing J’Attendrai!

song on an old 78 and my musical arranger Richard Whennell very cleverly copied the arrangement for me. It’s one of those little gems which has been forgotten about over time and I think I can probably say I’m the only person in the world who sings this fantastic number. I wanted to get the video done for Easter as it makes up part of my Easter Bonnet show and I thought it would be an important song to record for posterity.

This Friday I will be heading to L&D Radio as I’ve been invited by Big Al as a guest on his radio show. I still have a few things to sort out and lots

April and You!

to talk about so I must  bring along my CDs. This Sunday Paul and I will be in Rickmansworth attending the Festival of Film so lots to look forward too.

I will leave my blog here tonight and I look forward to catching up with you all after the weekend as I get set for my next run of shows which will all be Valentine inspired.

Keep Watching and Toodle pip! 😉

Tea at The Fourteas!

Hello every-one it’s been a busy  7 days and I have so much to tell you all since I last wrote my blog. These last few days I’ve been on a week long intensive course learning everything there is to know about Diabetes, but I shall tell you more about that in my next post. I’m having to get to bed much earlier than normal due to my early morning starts so I’m going to have

Lunch at the Fourteas with Paul!

Shopping at Razzle Dazzle!

to write quickly tonight.

Last weekend Paul and I were in Warwickshire and on the Saturday we took the opportunity to visited a few of our favorite haunts in Stratford-Upon-Avon. I always enjoy visiting Stratford especially the Fourteas Tea Room which is a great place to stop for lunch. The tea room was especially busy on

Gold Gloves Grace Kelly Style!

Saturday but we were lucky enough to get a table as we sat down to enjoyed their homemade sweet potato soup which was delicious.

There is always plenty to see and do in Stratford-Upon-Avon although Paul and I like to potter around the Antique shops. After our visit to “Razzle Dazzle” Paul was able to buy a beautiful tie pin and I, some vintage earrings and a pair of  long 1950s kid leather gold gloves. They are similar to the ones Grace Kelly wore in the 1950s film “To Catch a Thief”. So I was thrilled to find them as long leather gold gloves are extremely rare!

Of-course our real reason for being in Warwickshire was to visit Sunday’s Militaria Show at Stoneleigh Park. I was in need of a new pair of ATS shoes and I wanted to see if I could get a new suit for France. I managed the shoes OK but I couldn’t see anything in the 1940s suit line to suite. Paul did OK and picked up a fantastic brown Homburg and an exhaust pipe for a Willies Jeep while I was able to buy an exquisite navy & fuchsia pink hat from my friend Jenny along with a sweet little swing coat. Stoneleigh is a great place to meet up with friends as we had a good catch up with Yvonne and Rishi and enjoyed their stall immensely which was a treasure box of delights. Another great highlight of the show was to meet up with the cast from the TV program “Allo Allo”. So it just goes to show you never know who you might meet when out and about.

I’m having to cut my blog short tonight but I will

Buying Hats from Jenny!

contune with more news about this week in my next post. Enjoy the photos and Toodle Pip and Bye for Now! 😉

Paul and I with Yvonne!

Shopping for Hats!

Meeting Up with the Cast From Allo Allo!