In My Easter Bonnet!

I’m sorry I’m a day late with my blog this week but I’ve had much to sort out this weekend what with one thing and another. It’s hard to belive but I start “Easter Bonnet” shows this Wednesday and I shall be performing at the High Wycombe Vintage Family Fair on Sunday which is being staged at Adams Park Stadium, Hillbottom Rd, Sands, HP12 4HJ. I hope you can all make it along as once again I will be singing 20 minutes on 20 minutes off all through the day from 11pm – 4pm. I’ve had a run of performing these types of shows of late and now its full steam ahead with Easter Bonnets.

Last Saturday I was performing my WAAF show in High Wycombe and then afterwards I met up with my friend Kim for dinner in Quainton. We then headed over to the cinema in Bicester to see “Hail Caesar”, a comedy starring George Clooney. Set in 1950s Hollywood I can honestly say it wasn’t the greatest film I had ever seen although I did pick out one of two lovely outfits. The gossip columnists suits in the film were divine which has inspired me to experiment with light grey this season. When I see a design I like on-screen I usuly make a point to jot it down in my note-book. Poor Kim however nodded off which gives you an idea of just how good the film was. Perhaps one of the high lights if you could find a high light were the dancing sailors who performed a jolly musical number adding some male totty to the proceedings, – and if all else fails it’s important to have a bit with a dog! So marks out of ten – four!

On Sunday I took my mother shopping to Milton Keynes. She wanted to go to Marks and Spencer’s as she has been looking for a new coat. We weren’t able to get a coat but she did find three new jackets she liked and a jumper which was quite an achievement. It’s not easy shopping with my mother as she hates to try things on but it’s the only way to see if something really suits you or not. So I was really pleased we were able to find something she liked.

I’m now busy planning my wardrobe for my 2016 season. It’s all go with the Queens 90th Birthday celebrations and I had a dress fitting with Judi last Friday. My Pearly Queen costume was made for me back in 1990 and I needed  two new panels cut plus a sleeve lift. I’m now busy re sewing the pearly sequins back into place ready for my first Pearly Queen show which takes place on the 31st March.My “Happy and Glorious” show is selling really well too and I now only have four dates left for June!

I’m also thrilled to announce I will be back out in Normandy for D-Day from the 1st – 8th June performing for the British end in Arromanches on the 6th. We are still putting together the final show dates for the program but I’ve been engaged to perform three shows in Arromanches over the D-Day period so keep watching and I shall keep you posted. I’ve also been invited to perform at the Military Odyssey show on the 27th & 28th August. Odyssey is a new show for me and it will be taking place at The Kent Show Ground, Detling, Maidstone. It’s a multi period show although I’ve been asked to perform an American 1940s show to tie in with one of the displays. Once again do keep following my blog as I will have more news on that later.

Today I’ve been working with my pianist friend Ross to note bash through a few new songs for this season. I ordered some sheet music from London a week or so ago and sadly it didn’t arrive in time for my last appointment with Ross. So I was keen to try out the arrangements with her today. I now have three arrangements of Rule Britannia but this Barclay Wilson one is much more user-friendly and the words are better too. All the arrangements have slight variations on the words which often happens when a piece is old. Rule Britannia was writain in the 1700s and I also have a good 1940s arrangement by Malcolm Sargent which Ross lent to me. I will be seeing Richard this Saturday as I have quite a few songs i want to put into production. I will probably ask him to use a few elements from the Malcolm Sargent arrangement while I will be singing from the Barclay Wilson score.

Gosh is that the time I must dash! Keep Following the Blog!

Toodle Pip and Bye for Now!

My Friends Brian and Viv from Mansfield!

Once again I’d like to begin my blog this evening by thanking all of you who came along to support Paul and I who sang for Oxjam on Tuesday. We sang 20 minutes on 20 minutes off all through the day for donations and we were able to raise £173.25 for Oxfam so thank-you every-one for your wonderful support. I know some of you had travelled quite away to see us including Brian and Viv who had driven down from Mansfield especialy for the show. So thank-you every-one it was lovely to see so many familiar faces in the audience and I’m so pleased you all enjoyed our singing.

Paul and I Singing for Oxjam!

My next public performance will be on the 9th 10th April when Paul and I will be on stage at The Lincolnsfield Childrens Centre, Bushey Hall Drive, Bushey, Herts, for The 1940s Family Experience so I hope you will be all be able to make it along. I shall be performing 3 x 45 minute shows daily and also at the Saturday night dance. I will have more details on that later on but don’t forget  you can also catch me on stage at Ollie Vees in Leighton Buzzard performing a Music Hall Show “The Good Old Days” on the 16th April. Doors open at 8pm and Tickets are £10 each which can be obtained by ringing Ollie Vees on 01525 851726.

2016 is turning into an exciting year and it’s lovely to hear that so many of you follow me through my blog. I up date my blog twice weekly and this is the place to visit if you want to keep up to date with what I’m doing and where I’m

All Saints Church, Leighton Buzzard!

going. Speaking of which I was having a word with Rachel my web designer the other day and we’ve now got to a point where we are going to have to start archiving some of my older blogs. Some of you may have noticed we are having a few problems with my news feeds on my home and media pages so we need to do a bit of archiving so my blogs can run freely.

I first started writing my blog in March 2012 and I now have over 800 entries which is slowing down my web-site. It seems I’m one of those rare excentrics who actachaly kept it up and I’m pleased to say I now have quite a following. It’s a great way of me keeping in touch with you all and I can only thank you for your continued support. It’s lovely to hear when I’m at events just how many of you follow my blog so do keep watching and I shall keep you posted. I have a lot to do and write about this year.

On Stage with Paul!

Hitting the High Note!

Apart from my blog I know quite a few of you like to track me in photos through my facebook pages. A big thank-you to Robert Etsell who took some lovely photos of Paul and I which you can view on my facebook pages. It’s easy to forget just how important social media is now and sometimes I’m not sure if every event organiser understands just what a difference good photos can make. It’s important events get recorded. You can often judge just how succesful an event has been by its social media follow-up. So many 1940s events are folding. Times and tastes are changing and if the organisers get it wrong then the public lose interest and stop recording it which in turn means they stop coming.

Enjoying the Spring Sunshine at All Saints Church!

To-day I popped down to All Saints Church for lunch to thank every-one who helped with Oxjam. The weather was delightful so lets hope Spring really has arrived. Tomorrow I’m performing in High Wycombe a WAAF show so I’ve  been busy tonight polishing my brasses. Next week I start on my Easter Bonnet shows from Wednesday and I have shows every day for the next three weeks. I also have to fit in some time to see Richard in the recording studio as I get set for the Queens 90th Birthday Celebrations.  I hope it wont be long now before I can show you the finished cut of my 1950s 60s show reel. We have two little gremlins which need to be sorted first so keep watching.

I must go now. Thankyou for following and Toodle Pip!

Kim, Sam, Me and The Polka Dot Dolls!

I’d just like to start my blog today by thanking all of you who came along to see me sing in St Albans yesterday for the Grand Vintage Fair. It was so lovely to see you all and I hope you were able to stock up on some wonderful vintage finds. I had been wonderfully positioned in front of the refreshment area which couldn’t have been better. It wasn’t far for a cup of tea as I did have a very fast turn around singing 20 minutes on 20 minutes off throughout the day! If you caught my last blog you will know I had been a little worried about my voice after coming down with a sore throat a day or two before. As it turned out all was well

Getting Ready to Sing at The Grand Vintage Fair!

My Vintage Find – A Lambs Wool Muff!

and the night before I had a bag of salt and vinegar crisps. I try to avoid crisps usually if I can due to their fat content but when I’m a little under the weather or I have a heavy singing shedual the combination of the fat and salt can be a real help. So it’s good have a bag to hand when I’m working hard. I also took along my leomonsips which saw me through even if the sugar content can make me a little hyper at times!

While I was at the fair I met up with my friends Brian, Robert and Sylvia, the lovely Kim, Sam and the Polka Dot Dolls. Like me the Polka Dot Dolls are looking forward to a wonderful 2016 season. They have just landed themselves a fantastic touring contract with the Ray Mc Vay Glenn Miller Orchestra and they start their tour on the 17th April at The Floral Pavilion up in New Brighton.  The Floral Pavilion is a lovely theatre and I can remember doing an audition there many years ago when I first started out in showbiz back in the 90s.

So enjoy your tour Polka Dots and I wish you all the very best for the future – Knock em dead! xxx. In the meantime if you would like to see the Polka Dot Dolls with the Ray Mc Vay Orchestra click onto his Glenn Miller orchestra web-site and look out for a theatre nere you. http://www.glennmillerorchestra.co.uk

Whenever I’m at a fair I always like to keep an eye out for something special and on this occasion I treated myself to a new grey lambs wool muff. There is something very feminine about a muff so I’m now on the look out for a matching 1940s grey topper style hat to go with it. I think the pair would look very fetching so if there are any dealers out there who might have such a thing I would be delighted to hear from you.

Now I’m back home its full steam ahead for Tuesday’s show “You Must Remember This” and the Oxjam Festival. Paul Marsden will be joining me on stage as my special guest which reminds me I must sort out an out-fit to wear. If you didn’t catch the details we will be on stage from 10.30am – 3pm singing 20 minuets on 20 minutes off all through the day for donations. It’s free to entre and all the money goes to Oxfam. Our show will be taking place at All Saints Church in the coffee shop, Church Square, Leighton Buzzard. All Saints is renowned for its wonderful freshly cut sandwiches and home-made cakes. More details about the Oxjam festival and all the shows taking place can be found on the Oxjam festival web site http://www.oxjamleightonbuzzard.org.uk

I hope you can all make it along on Tuesday Thank-you for following and Toodle Pip!

Me with Rachel’s Preloved & Vintage at Wendover!

Once again I can’t spend too long tonight blogging due to the fact I have an early start tomorrow as I’m due to perform at The Grand Vintage Fair in St Albans. I’m on stage from 10.30am – 3.30pm singing 20 minutes on 20 minutes off all through the day. In truth I’m a little bit worried about my voice. I’ve come down with a sore throat and I’ve gone from Soprano to Mezzo in two days. Oddly enough people often say they like my voice when I have a cold as it sounds more sexy! I’m not quit sure what to make of that although I did manage to get through my Thursday show ok singing the 60s! I’ve been taking my lemonsips and it’s important I get as much rest as I can as I have a very full couple of days.

Don’t forget I will be singing for Oxjam on the 8th too doing a similar thing 20 mins on 20 mins off. Ordinarily it’s easy for me to do but having a sore throat doesn’t help. It’s important I get fully fit and well again. In the mean time I’ve been working hard selling dates. The Queens 90th Birthday has been a good seller for 2016 and I shall be in the studio again in a few weeks time putting some new patriotic songs into production. I don’t know why but until now I’ve never sung Rule Britaina – so it’s long over due that I include it into my repertoire. My Proms show is selling well and it will be fun to sing in the classical style again making a change from Rock and Roll which has sold well for the early part of 16.

This week I was able to catch up with David and he has finished my 1950s and 60s show reel. He e-mailed it to me but for some reason I couldn’t open it so I will have to wait until he sends me the DVD. So not long now. I’m very pleased with what he has done so far. I will be filming again with David on the 15th May. This time we will be recording Music Hall and my 1920s and 30s songs so much to plan for!

In the mean time I will leave you with a photo of me with Rachel’s Preloved and Vintage display at Wendover Antiques Centre. I popped in after my Thursday show. Rachel will be in St Albans on Saturday with a stall and I hope you can all make it along. I will be taking my lemon sips with me and sounding like a Mezzo but you know what they say the show must go on!

Keep Watching and Toodle Pip!

Justine, Anne, Chris and Jo!

This Sunday I had the pleasure of singing for a very special 90th Birthday in Aspley Guise. For those of you who are in the know Aspley Guise is a charming Bedfordshire village which sits next door to Woburn Sands. Some of you may remember I shot my WW1 show reel there and the songs “Bye Bye Black Bird” and “The Sound of Music” all in the village. On this occasion I had been invited by my dear friend Joanne Cook to sing for her Anties 90th Birthday party which was held at The Link Room just behind St Botolphs Church.

Joanne and I!

Joanne and I go back a long way. We first met when we were 10. Jo was modeling in a fashion show and I had been engaged by my dancing school to perform a Ballet routine. We hit it off straight away and became pen pals as we were both keen dancers. Although we went to different dancing schools our lives followed very similar paths. Jo is 2 months

older than me and as her birthday falls in August where mine is in October she was always a year ahead of me at school. We meet up again at our Upper school The Cedars and we both use to dance in the school shows as our games teacher Miss Stocking was really into dance. Our school would put on An Evening of Movement every year and Jo and I would often dance solos in the show. Happy days!

See You There on the 5th March!

Oddly enough I bumped into Miss Stocking by chance when I was performing at Sheringham’s 1940s weekend a few years ago. I would have loved to have stopped and chatted but I was just about to go on stage and when I’d turned around she had disappeared into the crowd. Which was a shame. As for Jo she always wanted to be a professional dancer and she was able to achieve just that. Jo now lives out in Italy and runs her own dancing school so it was a real treat to catch up with the family this weekend, Anne her mother Jo and her sister Justine at Phillis’ 90th.

With it being such a special occasion I put together a hand-picked program of songs for Phillis which spanned the decades from the 1940s to the Swinging 60s which went down really well with the audience, especially my Hands knees and Bomps a Daisy – that number never fails as I drafted in a few male volunteers!

This Saturday I will be singing at The Grand Vintage Fair at The Jubilee Centre, Catherine Street, St Albans. I will be on stage from 10.30pm – 3.30pm singing 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off all through the day so I hope you can all make it along. Don’t forget I will be singing with Paul Marsden for Oxjam  on the 8th March at All Saints Church in Leighton Buzzard. I will fill you in with more details on that in my next blog.

Keep Watching and Toodle Pip!

Paul and I in Old Portsmouth!

Hello every-one as you can see I’m back from a few days away in Portsmouth and I’m looking forward to a busy March. It’s been good to have a short break away with Paul. Connie enjoyed her run down although it would appear this diagnostic problem is a common fault with the Ford Connect Van. After having her throughly checked over by the “trusted mechanic” the light re-appeared on for the journey home as I exclaimed Oh no or words to that effect! I did as suggested and accelerated hard through the gears which has now allowed Wynns extreme Diesel System cleaner to work it’s magic. The yellow light has

Outside the D-Day Museum!

now gone off and it might be a case of using Shell rather than Tesco’s for fuel in future. I always though fuel or Diesel was Diesel but apparently not! It’s something I will have to keep an eye on and maybe just like me Connie favours the better things in life. I will keep you posted

This week Paul and I visited Chichester and the old town of Portsmouth. Chichester has some great shops although I have to say the fashion world is floundering some what. I couldn’t see one thing I wanted to buy although Paul and I always like to have a rummage for vintage at The One Legged Jockey. I’m now starting to know this area very well as it wont be long before we head over to Normandy for the D-Day commemorations in June. We are still putting together the final program and I will have more on that for you later. However in the mean time Paul and I enjoyed lunch at The Spice Island Inn on Wednesday as we watched the Isle of Wight ferries pull in and out of the harbor. That’s another place we will be playing later on this August. On the way home we stopped off at the D-Day museum in Portsmouth. Sadly we were too late to go in on this occasion but I hope when I am next down I will have the chance to visit in-between taking Poppy for walks.

Out and About in Chichester!

This week I shall be working with David to finish off my 1950s and 60s show reel and I also have some time set aside to go over some new music with my friend Ross. Ross is a great pianist who I’ve had the pleasure of working with on many occasions. As I’m sure most of you know I commission my music but before I do so I take it to Ross first and note bash it through. When I look at a song I go over everything especially the verses. Sometimes you can find a forgotten gem which deserves to be included in the arrangement and sometimes after a play through you can understand why some verses don’t get sung at

Paul and Poppy!

all. This time is invaluable as it enables me to make informed desions about which tunes I want to include before putting them into production. I have much I wish to do this year!

Speaking of which we are still having a few problems with some of the plug-ins on my web-site. The new up dates are proving to be more complicated than we first hoped, but don’t worry Rachel is on the case. Why is nothing ever straight forward! It seems the modern world is getting more and more complicated with every day.

That’s my news for now! Keep Watching and Toodle pip!

In the Studio with Alan Pagram!

As ever I’m in a dash as I have so many loose ends to tie up before I head off on Monday morning down to Portsmouth. I have a show in Berkhamsted first thing and I will be heading off straight afterwards so I was keen to write my blog a little earlier today as I’ve much to get ship-shape before I hit the road.

I should like to start by thanking all of you who tuned in to hear me live on Alan Pagrams show on L & D Radio last Friday evening. It’s always good to receive your e-mails and it was fun to catch up with Alan and be part of his show. Alan will be interviewing me again in August on the 6th and 7th when I shall be performing at the Isle of Wight Steam Railways Victorian Weekend. In fact I know a lot of you have been enquiring about whether I will be in Normandy again this June for D-Day . Just to keep you in the picture I am currently discussing things with the powers that be so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. One must never count ones chickens before they have hatched but all being well it’s looking very likely! I shall keep you posted!

Getting Ready to Go on Air!

For those of you who live in the Leicestershire area you might be interested to know that I have been invited to perform at the Victory Show on the 3rd 4th September this year. I’ve never sung there before and it’s a new event for me which I’m looking forward to singing at very much. I’ve been engaged to perform 3 x 45 minute non repetitive costume shows daily and also to perform a spot at the Saturday night dance which I belive has already sold out. It’s a very popular show and I’m already planning my shows for my 2016 season. It’s my intention to invest into some new musical arrangements –  so what with the filming I have planned I have a very busy year ahead of me with so much I wish to achieve.

It’s very important I keep Connie tip-top with all the mileage we do and I’ve noticed the other day she might have a diagnostic problem. Her yellow light was on and when I took her to the garage I was quoted rather a lot of money to replace the EGR valve all because it’s in an awkward place. I belive this is what mechanics call a “Bxxxxxxd Job” You can fill in the blanks – that’s if I spelt it right! The light has since gone off which might suggest it’s the MAP sensor which is why I’m getting a second opinion.  Paul knows a “trusted man” and I have since put Wynns Extream Diesel System cleaner in with half a tank of diesel which with a good run down to Portsmouth might be just the thing to give her a good engine clean out. We shall see what this trusted man says and it will be lovely to spend some time away with Paul not having to worry about shows.

That’s about all my news for now other than Rachel is working her magic to sort out my plug-ins. I noticed the cover photo I choose on my blog didn’t come through as it should have done on facebook and went with photo number two. As you know I see the world in pictures and I can’t tell you how annoying that is. Also Rachel is going to be working on my news feeds which are also playing up on my web-site so do bear with us. The modern world is wonderful when it works but tiresome when it doesn’t!

Must Dash – I shall be back at my blog by Friday

Toodle Pip and Bye for Now!

Getting Set For Alan’s Radio Show!

Once again I’m in a bit of a dash but I just wanted to do a quick blog to let you all know I will be going out on L and D Radio tomorrow evening as a gust on Alan Pagram’s radio show. I’m heading over to the studio for 2.30pm for a bit of a chat with Alan first and then I think Alan’s program goes out from 4pm onwards if I remember rightly. We have so much to talk about and I have some new 1950s & 60s tracks I hope Alan will play on his show.

If you’ve been following me you will know I’d spent the end of January filming songs from the 1950s and 60s. David Pustansky my film maker sent through the first showreel draft last night and I now have my work cut-out sorting out the edits. I’m very pleased with what David has done so far although I’ve now got to be really ruthless. The show reel needs to come down to about 3 to 4 minutes and at the moment it’s over 5! Editing can be a really hard job!

This week I had a meeting with Rachel my web-designer and she has been helping me to sort out some of those annoying little plug-in issues you get with a modern-day web-site. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that when I post this blog tonight and it clicks through to facebook you will see the picture I choose rather than a random one. These things sometimes have a mind of their own. I’ve also noticed some of the up dates we planned haven’t quite come through as they should have done on my Media page although my magazine Vintage Fair is now sitting where it ought to sit when you look at it on a mobile device.  We also had another look at the spelling in my magazine as we all know that’s not my strong point. So thankyou to Robert and Sylvia for being such excellent prov readers – it’s always good ro receive your comments and I’m always looking at how I can improve! Speaking of which I thought it was about time to change a few of the photos on my 1940s page which I think has freshened it up a little. So I hope you enjoy the changes.

If you didn’t catch my post on Facebook I will be singing for Oxjam again on the 8th March at All Saints Church in Leighton Buzzard. I shall leave you with a poster and I will try to blog again on Sunday night. If I don’t manage to squeeze another blog in before Sunday I will catch up with you on Friday. I’m away next week down on the South coast and I will catch up with you all when I get back.

Keep Watching and Toodle pip!