Off to the Music Hall!

Hello every-one, once again I’m busy chasing my tail trying to get everything ready for tomorrows show at Ollie Vees when I will be stepping out in my Top hat and tails and Edwardian gown, taking my audience back to the days of Music Hall. Tickets are priced at £10 and doors open at 8pm. I will be presenting one of my Music Hall CDs in the interval to the best dressed Victorian, Edwardian person although dressing up is optional. Check out the poster for more details although I’m thrilled to say we made the local paper this week which is always wonderful! If you would like tickets please call Ollie Vees on 01525 851726 to reserve your seat although there may well be a few available on the door if you are quick.

I’m sorry I wont be able to blog for too long tonight only I’m having to think ahead. I’m off to Tilbury on Wednesday with Kim who is working with me as my sound engineer. I’ve been booked to perform my “From Cobbles to Rock” show A 100

See You There!

years of Music and Costume from 1900 – 2000 at The Ellis Theatre and I confess I need to go over a few of my songs. There are a couple of numbers I’m still doing a bit of an Eric Morecambe on that is to say, singing all the right words but not nessaseraly in the right order. So I must get everything right before Wednesday. Some of these numbers I’ve not sung in a while so I need a bit of a re fresh. This show has 11 costume changes which I often have to do in the space of less than 20 seconds so it requires a lot of preparation. I’ve sorted most of the costumes but once again I still have a few more to pack and check over before Wednesday.

On Monday I start the first of my Queens 90th Birthday shows although the client has requested a slight variation and asked me to bring in the music of the 1940s and 50s too. As soon as I get back from Tilbury on Thursday I’m straight off to Marlow for the first of my “Happy and Glorious”

In the Leighton Buzzard Observer!

Shows before a weekend of Pearly Queen performances to tie in St Georges weekend. I find St Georges Day is always one of the first dates to sell along with Halloween and then before we know it we will be into May.

Many thanks for all your comments about my new 1950s and 60s show reel. I’m so pleased you’ve been enjoying it. I start filming again on the 15th May and I’m back in the recording studio on the 9th. This Sunday I hope to make it along to Hammersmith and the Vintage Fashion Fair at the Town Hall. There are one or two items I would like before I start filming on the 15th which will finish off a couple of my outfits. This time I shall be capturing the music of Music Hall and the 1920s and 30s  so much to plan for. If you haven’t seen my 1950s and 60s showreel yet just click on the follow Fiona tab on the right hand side of the screen and click the You Tube button. It’s the first video you come to.

Gosh I must dash as I still have quite a few jobs to do before bed.

Keep Watching and Toodle Pip! 😉

Meet the RAF Brothers!

Paul by the Microphone!

Hello every-one it’s good to be back and what a busy week it’s been too. I’ve just returned home after performing at The 40s Family Experience which was staged at The Lincolnsfields Childrens Centre in Bushey. The centre stands on the sight of Bushey Hall which is now a WW2 heritage site and was the USAAF 8th Fighter Command HQ back in the day. Sadly the original house no longer remains  although quite a few of the buildings built by the Americans still do. These include the gym which has a wonderful sprung dance floor and was where the centre staged the Saturday night dance. They also have a military museum and a display of interiors which show the inside of a typical 1940s house plus a war-time garden. Every so often you do come across the odd original feature from the second world war. My favourite was the old US mail box. We don’t often see those in this country!

I had been engaged by Lincolnsfields Centre to perform 3 x 45 minute costumes shows daily plus a 60 minute spot at the Saturday night dance. This year Paul joined me on stage having learnt a few new numbers and wowed

Brian the Friendly German and I by the Old Mail Box!

every-one with his “Night and Day” and “The Way you look tonight”.  This was the first time Paul and I had used our new Amp Yam which has so much more power than Arther and can power four speakers easily with-out the need of an additional power amp. We still haven’t quite mastered everything about Yam yet but I would like to say Paul did a fantastic job this weekend and it wont be long now before we are back out in Normandy using the full 6 speaker rig for our show in Arromanches.

I always enjoy Bushey and the Lincolsfield centre as it’s a lovely little show with a great atmosphere which always seems to open up the season. This weekend Paul and I met up with so many friends. So thank-you to Robert and Sylvia, Trudy, Anthony, David Hibbert and family, The RAF Brothers, Brian and Viv who came all the way down from Mansfield and especially to the kind lady who gave me her  wonderful collection of coloured gloves, they all fit perfectly

No Nonsence Here!

and thank-you so much for thinking of me. I have quite a thing for gloves and as I have small hands I only take a 6 and a 1/2 many of the vintage styles fit me. So thank-you every-one who came to support us. It was lovely to see you all and I’m so pleased you all enjoy reading my blogs. So keep following and I shall keep you posted with all my events and latest news.

Speaking of latest news for those of you who follow me on facebook will know last week Rachel up loaded my new 1950s and 60s show reel to you tube. If you haven’t seen it yet just click onto the Follow Fiona tab on the right hand side of this screen and then the You Tube button. It’s the first video you come to and I think the last time I looked the video had already had over 150 hits. So please like and share with all your friends. I next start filming again in May when we go back to the Music of Music Hall and then on through to the 1930s.

See you on the 16th April!

Don’t forget you can catch me on stage this Saturday performing my Music Hall show “The Good Old Days” at Ollie Vees 8pm Tickets £10 Tel 01525 851726. It is optional to dress up although there will be a prize for the best Victorian/ Edwardian costume. So See you there.

Gosh I’ve just seen the time so must get to bed.

Keep Watching and Toodle pip! 😉

All Ready for Bushey!

I’m afraid I can’t blog for too long tonight and in fact I may well only have time to do one blog this week what with one thing and another. However despite being in a bit of a dash I wanted to let you all know about my shows for this coming weekend at “The 40s Family Experience” which is taking place at The Lincolnsfield Childrens Centre, Bushey Hall Drive, Bushey, Herts, WD23 2E5 9th 10th April. I’ve been engaged to perform 3 x 45 minute non repetative costume shows daily and also at the Saturday Night Dance where Paul will be joining me on stage too.

My shows are as follows. Saturday 11.30am “We’ll Meet Again” ATS, 1.30pm “Hooray for Hollywood” Songs from the Movies, 3.30pm “In the Mood” Lindy Hop Show with the Swingsters.

Sunday 11.30pm “The Fleets in Port Again” WRNS Show, 1.30pm “GI Jive” US WAC Show, 3.30pm “Those Magnificent Men” WAAF Show.

Paul and I Getting Set to Sing the 40s!

On Saturday night Paul and I will be singing at the dance so if you would like tickets please call the centre office on Tel 01923 233841. Tickets for the dance are priced at £10. If you come for the day tickets are priced at £7.50 or if you are a senior, veteran, child or period costume wearer £5. There are also discounts for families. You can find details about the event in the Best of British magazine on page 40 which is available to buy in WH Smiths or look the event up on-line at  http://www.fortiesexperience.co.uk/nextevents.html

Shopping at Andertons!

Meet Yam my New Amp!

So I hope you can all make it along as it would be lovely to see you.

It’s Very You Paul!

If you caught my last blog you will know on Sunday Paul and I met up at Andertons Music in Guilford. Poor Arther has sadly died and it was time to invest in a new Amp. Andertons is an extremely well stocked shop and stocks everything the professional musician or singer might need. They also give extremely good service and Paul and I spent over two hours with the shops manager finding the right Amp and mixer which would work with my rig and set up. In the end I wanted something a bit bigger than I had and we went for the Yamaha EMX312. This amp has a much larger out put and can quite comfortably power 4 speakers with-out me needing to bring out my power amp. I will only need that when I use the six speaker rig.

I was e-mailed the other day by a band who wanted my advice about the Shure super 55 Microphone. Many of you will have seen me using it on stage as it looks like a 1950s mic and has a blue foam inside. The blue foam represents the SM beater . If you are looking for that 1950s of vintage look this is by far the best microphone on the market as the cardioid can take a high gain before feedback which is why the beater inners works best with this design. Paul and I did look at a limited edition microphone also made by shure which was a little larger in size and had a red foam backing.  Upon asking about its sound reduction it would appear this microphone would suit Paul’s voice better. I wish we had had more time to try it but it’s important to know what’s available and making sure you have the right microphone for the job.

That’s all I have time for now. If I don’t have time to blog this Thursday it will be down to me rehursing with my new amp Yam. I hope you can all make it along to Bushy this weekend.

Keep Watching and Toodle pip! 😉

Beautiful Nylons!

It’s been a busy day today which started this morning with me getting all my equipment PATs tested ready for the season. It’s very important for anyone in my job to have their electrical equipment PATs tested yearly without fail.  I do get asked for my PATs certificates from time to time especially when working in Theatres and Hotels so it’s important to have the paper work ship-shape and up to date just in case I do get asked.

Sadly it would appear poor Arther my trusted Amp has given up the ghost! I rang the repair shop on Thursday and after 18 years of local service it would seem he is now no more. Poor Arther!

Fully Fashioned Stockings!

This week I have been working with my back up Amp Anabell although I will be needing a larger Amp for my bigger shows especially when I head out to France this June. So this Sunday Paul and I will be meeting up in Guildford as we have an appointment to try out a couple of new Amps. I have my eye on a Yamaha one but I want to try it first before I buy just to see if it’s the right one for me and will do the job.

For those of you who read The Best of British magazine will already know April’s issue is all about the 1940s as it lists all the 1940s events for the year. This month I’ve writain a double page feature on Stockings and just how important they were to women during WW2. If you haven’t got your BOB yet do pop down to WH Smiths and pick up a copy. You can read my article by turning to pages 32 and 33 which is part of the special stitched in Forties Post. I’m also giving away five copies of my CD albums “Time on my Hands” which I have personally signed as part of the Best of British Competition on page 54. All you have to do is answer a simple question and send your answer on a post card to the BOB address as printed in the magazine. So good luck every-one!

I  shall leave it here tonight but don’t forget I shall be performing at The Forties Family Experience Weekend on the 9th 10th April. You can find their add on page 40 in the Best of British and mine on page 53. More detail on that in my next blog.

Keep Watching and Toodle Pip! 😉

In My Easter Bonnet!

If you caught my last few blogs you will know this week has been all about Easter Bonnet shows which is a great seller for the 60+ market. I’ve just returned from performing in Stoke Hammond today and once again I’m fully booked with shows for the rest of this week. The weather has been a little wet and windy to say the least and it was pity hard going trying to keep my Easter Bonnet on while getting my equipment through the door of the venue today. Although I have been pretty fortunate when it has come to dodging showers. I almost managed to go jogging yesterday without getting wet but the rain just caught me on my last stretch. Rather appropriately I saw a rainbow which made a great cue for that famous Judy Garland number and not forgetting “Easter Parade” and “April Showers” of course which are a must sing for any Easter Bonnet show.

I took Arther in for repair on Saturday so Annabel and I have been making friends and working together since Friday. It’s interesting working with another amp as Arther has been my faithful amp for 18 years. I like his built-in reverb unit where Annabel’s reverb is very subtle. I think in recent years I have been using rather a bit too much reverb only I’m not quite sure why or how this has come about. A friend very kindly did some recordings of a couple of my recent shows and it’s been good to hear the play back. When you stand in the middle and not by the speaker your take on sound is very different. So to be working with Annabel hasn’t been a bad thing. It’s been good to go back to basics and let my voice do it’s thing naturally!

Something to Look Forward To!

Just to keep you up to date with some of my forth coming events I shall be at Bushey and the “1940s Family Esperance” on the 9th 10th April at the Lincolnsfields children’s Centre, Bushey Hall Drive, Herts. I shall be performing 3 x 45 minute non repetitive costume shows daily and also at the Saturday night dance. Do check out the link http://www.fortiesexperience.co.uk/nextevents.html I shall keep you posted with more news about the event over the next few weeks so do keep following.

On the 16th April I shall be performing “The Good Old Days” a Music Hall show up stairs in the Tiki Lounge at Ollie Vees in Leighton Buzzard. Check out the poster for details as it would be lovely to see you. A show in two 45 minute halfs with doors opening at 8pm. For one set I shall be performing in a beautiful Edwardian gown and for the other set as Burlington Bertie, Vesta Tilley style in my top hat and tails – so do join me.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting up with a very interesting gentleman while I was playing at a residential home in Aylesbury. This gentleman’s name was Barry Castle and he was a french horn player at Covent Garden. We spent over an hour taking about musical arrangements and all the wonderful artists he had played for over the years. He told me he started his professional career in 1957 when he got a job at Covent Garden. Durring that time I think he said he had played for 9 Ring Cycles which if you know your Wagner is no mean feat. It plays for over four days and is essentially four big Operas in one. He had also worked with Frank Sinatra and was part of his final tour in 1992 at the Barcelona stadium. Some of the other names he mentioned was Liberace, Shirley Bassy and Morecambe and Wise. In fact he was the french horn player when Morecambe and Wise did that classic sketch There is Nothing like a Dame with the news readers. Classic 70s TV which I still think of today when ever I sing my South Pacific Medley. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to talk to Barry about his career and he’s the first man I’ve met who atchaly knows who Richard Bonynage was. Richard Bonynge was married to Joan Sutherland and did many musical arrangements for her including an overture to The Merry Widow which Lehar for some reason never wrote. It just goes to show you never know whose in an audience and it was a real honor to speak to him.

That’s all my news for this week Keep watching and I shall keep you posted!

Toodle Pip and Bye for Now! 😉

In My Easter Bonnet!

Well what a week it’s been what with one thing and another! If you caught my last blog you will know my net book went down on Monday and I played my Easter Bonnet show using my back up Mini Disk system instead. For some reason and no-one can tell me why all my show plans have crashed in my net book. However saying that the main play list of songs is still there which is a blessing. The down side is I’m going to have to re-program all my show plans of which there are over 50. Some of the longer all day shows have more than 90 numbers in them so I’m not looking forward to doing it but it must be done!

As soon as the crash happened I called my computer man Martyn and I also went down to see Richard in Bracknell at the recording studio. Richard has a wonderful brain when it comes to music and tecnolagee and he was able to re -instore my Glenn Miller back ground music as that had crashed too. It’s now just a case of reprogramming the shows.

If that wasn’t bad enough my amp gave up the ghost yesterday too. I sometimes forget just how long I have things and I think I’ve been using this amp for something like 18 years. When you think I do 260 shows a year Arther really has done some work and he’s like an old friend. I will of course be getting him fixed as he has a rather nice built-in re-verb unit which I like as I don’t use a mixer. Fortunately I’ve been carrying a spare amp with me for the best part of a year just in case of this eventuality. I think I will call her Annabel. Paul very kindly bought Annabel for me as a back up and thank goodness he did. This morning I had a quick rehearsal with her just to familiarise myself with her lay out before my show. We still aren’t entirely sure of each other but we are getting there and I’m still trucking along despite all the mishaps. You know what they say “The show must go on!” Although I feel a bit like that song – One wheel off my wagon but I’m still rolling along! – With a little help from my friends!

On Wednesday I met up with Rachel my web-designer after my show and it’s now time to invest in having my own server for my web-site. My sight is ever-growing and evolving and over the next few years I plan to be adding lots of new videos. I don’t have enough room to expand with the server I’m using at the moment and I’m sure with more space a lot of the problems I am encountering will disappear. It’s very frustrating to see my news feeds aren’t working properly so do bear with us. We are on the case although it’s going to be a long job transferring everything over as I now have a very large web-site. We will also be archiving my older blogs by year which means if you wish you will be able to go back and read my older entries. It will be interesting for me to see how my blog has grown over the years and I thank you for your continued support.

Oh before I forget David sent me through the finished version of my 1950s 60s show real so I hope it wont be too long now before Rachel up loads it to my You Tube channel. I’m waiting for the DVD hard copy and then I shall give it to Rachel to up load so keep watching this space and I will let you know when it’s done.

In the mean time I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. I’ve Easter Bonnet shows all this week although I have my first Pearly Queen show of the season on Thursday. I still have a few pearly sequins to sew onto my dress after the repairs so I’d better get cracking! While I think about it I’ve also got to re – program my show too.

Thank-you for following and Toodle Pip!

Paul and I with Eugene and the Levys!

I’m afraid I can’t blog for long tonight as I’m up to my eye balls with computer mayhem. Some of you may have already noticed that my web-site is grinding to a halt due to all the information it now carries. I’ve writain over 800 blogs and it’s now straining to cope with all those words. I’m seeing Rachel on Wednesday and we are going to have a bit of a spring clean so my blog and news feeds can run freely. Rather annoying my news feed on my home page hasn’t changed in weeks so it’s important we get it fixed as soon as possible!

Speaking of computers my net book crashed

On Stage at Edgewear!

today just before I was due to go on stage and I had to change over onto my back up system of mini disk. In many ways mini disk is more reliable and theatres prefer it to net books and lap tops. I now have a very busy two weeks ahead of me and some how or other I’m going to have to get it fixed between shows. I’ve two different shows back to back tomorrow so I’ve been working hard to try to work out my play lists using the mini disk system. It’s the last thing I need at this very busy time of year but at least I do have a back up!

On a brighter note this Sunday Paul and I were singing at Adams Park Stadium for the High Wycombe Vintage Family Fair. While we were there we had the pleasure of working with 1950s Rock and Roll Band “Eugene and the Levys” who were just great. You can’t beat some good old-fashioned Rock and Roll as they played their way through classic Elvis, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly numbers.

I must go now as it’s late and I have so much I must still do. I hope when I post this blog the right photo will come through onto Facebook as it’s been chosing photos at random which is very annoying. Once again my thanks to Robert Etsell who took some wonderful photos of me in Edgeware last week when I sang the music of the 1920s and 30s.

Keep Watching and Toodle Pip! 😉

I’m afraid I’m in a bit of a dash again as I’m away tomorrow in the recording studio and then I’m singing all day in High Wycombe on Sunday for the Vintage Family Fair. I’m going to be staying over in High Wycombe on Saturday night which will save me time driving all the way back from the studio so I’m afraid I can’t spend too long blogging tonight. I need to sort out my music and pack something smart to wear for Sunday. I can’t make up my mind what to wear!

This week was the start of my Easter Bonnet shows which I have to say is one of my favourites. The show has some lovely music in it and on Thursday I had two shows back to back in London. My friends Robert and Sylvia very kindly invited me for tea between times which was very kind of them and most enjoyable. Although Thursday was St Patrick’s day neither of my shows were Irish in content. My first performance was a 1920s and 30s one while my other was an Easter Bonnet show. Both went really well even if during my second show I successfully caught my heel in the carpet fell over during the dance break and finished the song “There’s a Small Hotel” with only one shoe! What can I say that’s shoe business! From Monday I have a run of Easter Bonnet shows which will be taking me right through to the beginning of April and then I start on the music for the Queens 90th Birthday celebrations.

Don’t forget if you would like to see me I will be performing this Sunday at Adams Park Stadium, Hillbottom Road, Sands, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP12 4HJ. I will be on stage from 11am – 4pm singing music from the 1920s – 1960s 20 minutes on 20 minutes off all through the day.

Oh before I forget I hope it wont be too long before I have the finished 1950s 60s show reel to show you all. David has a poorly family member which has ment he has had to put things on hold for a while, so we wish him and his family all the very best and I shall keep you posted.

Keep Watching this space and Toodle Pip!