Today I have been out and about performing in High Wycombe the wonderful songs from the 1920s and 30s. What a wonderful period in music the Art Deco years were! Tomorrow I have another private party to do and this time I have been booked to do the 1950s and 60s plus another show on Saturday so it’s all go. Tonight I’m just trying to sort out my show plans for the weekend and plan ahead into September. I have to be very organised – I’m in Belgium the beginning of the month and then a run of shows with the Battle of Britain as soon as I get back so it’s a very busy time. I’ve never been so busy and I’ve enjoyed a record August with the WW1 centenary. I’ve really enjoyed singing the music of Music Hall which has made a refreshing change from the 40s.

On Monday I’m back in the recording studio picking up a new track, something I’ve been working on for a while now. I’ve been looking into the popular films of the 1940s and I wanted to give a

Come Fly with Me 1920s Style!

familiar song a new twist – adding that special Fiona touch. More on that later – in the mean time I must get on with my show plans.

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

It’s bank holiday Monday and that can only mean one thing – Rain! Not that I’m bothered by it at all. To be honest this month has been so busy Im rather enjoying the change in the weather. If you caught my last blog you will know I was working on Saturday performing at the Drayton Parslow’s summer fate. This year the committee went with a 1940s theme and there is nothing I enjoy more than a summers fate. I only wish I could have stayed longer to see all the produce as it ran in tandem with the local horticultural show.  Saturday evening I was booked to sing at a private party in Bracknell at the Grange Hotel so once I finished my show I had to grab something quickly to eat and dashed off to Bracknell. I’m no stranger to Bracknell as Richard who does all my backing tracks has his recording studio there. However on arrival the Police had shut off the road to the hotel as a car had caught fire in the car park opposite. You just never know what fate might throw in your way when you are travelling from show to show. Forchantly all was well and it didn’t take long for me to set up and change into my Pearly Queen costume.

I was engaged to sing for Chicks 90th Birthday Party and what a great knees up we had too.  Chick was born in London so knew all the songs and well you can’t really go wrong with “I’ve got a Lovely bunch of Coconuts” and the “Lambeth Walk” when your audience hail from London! Today I was out and about performing my last ” A Song for Summer ” show for the season and yes it rained! – How very English of it! Not that the rain put me off at all as I took my audience away with a real mix bag of summary songs. Today we went to the Music Hall with “I Do Like to be Beside the Sea Side”, back to the 60s with “Itsy Bitsy Tiny Weene Yellow Polker Dot Bikini”and finished up on a Greek Island with a selection from “Mamma Mia”, so I think we can say a good time was had by all.

Once again I have shows all this week and another private party next Saturday. Only another 5 shows to do before the end of the month which will take me up to 39 show for August. Phew I’m looking forward to taking a break!

That’s all my news for now, keep Watching and Toodle Pip!

Between Shows at The Drayton Parslow Fate!

It’s just a very quick post tonight as I am in desperate need of an early night but never the less I just wanted to keep you all up to date with my latest news. Some of you may have read on

Going Pearly Queen!

Facebook I have now updated my web-site with a refreshed 1940s and a new page with my credits. Reading through it can come as quite surprise just how much I have done over my long career. But then I have been singing professionally for 22 years now and I never like to sit still – onward and upwards as they say!

Tomorrow I have two shows to do, one at 1.30pm at the Drayton Parslow Fate and then a private party in the evening at the Grange Hotel in Bracknell. My first show is a 1940s ATS “We’ll Meet Again” one and the second show is a Pearly Queen, so it should be fun! I’m really looking forward to the Drayton Parslow one as there is nothing I like more than a village fate and it looks like we shall be having some good weather too – so fingers crossed. I hope you can all make it along to see me!

Come Sunday I’m looking forward to having a day of sorting myself out and not having to dash anywhere – although I have a feeling the washing machine will be busy! I only have another 8 shows to do before the end of the month and then I’m off to Ostend in

Belgium.

Time for Bed Thankyou for following and Toodle Pip!

Hello and welcome to part two of my tour as Paul and I headed on into Wales and onto the Victorian Festival in Llandrindod Wells. It was quite a journey from Falkirk but we had all day Sunday for driving and we arrived about 9pm. Our first impressions was Llandrindod Wells looked a bit like a Victorian seaside town only with-out the sea and then the penny doped ofcourse think Spa as the clue was is in the title with Wells!

I was booked to open the festival on the Monday and Tuesday as it runs all week. There were some lovely outfits and it was wonderful to see all the ladies and gentlemen promenading in their beautiful Victorian costumes. I was engaged to perform 3 shows daily and I brought along six suit carriers and three hat boxes with all my costumes and hats in. It’s amazing just how many costumes I get through because each of my shows requires a different out fit to go with the songs. Many of my costumes are interchangeable but they still take up quite a bit of room never the less. In the evening I was asked to sing the 1940s and to perform 2 x 20min sets  at The Pavillion Theatre.  So I opened with a glamorous 1940s Hollywood set and closed with a “Well Meet Again”  ATS sing along show. As you might imagine “We’ll Keep a Welcome in the Hillside” went down very well with the Welsh audience. I also had the pleasure of working with the Bilr

Me at The Pavillion Theatre!

Me with a Penny Farthing!

Me Wearing Steve’s Wonderful Cloak

ith Ladies Choir who came in spontaneously with so many of my songs. It just goes to show you can’t beat a good tune! On Tuesday I was singing on the band stand and performed in my Bustle, Burlington Bertie and Pearly Queen costume. Sadly the wind started to pick up but thanks to dashing Hassar Steve who lent me his cloak all was well. I’m so pleased the theatre allowed me to use their dressing rooms which made life so much easier.

After our last show on the Tuesday Paul took over the driving and we were home by 11pm. I’m back now until the weekend as I have two shows to do on Saturday. The first being an ATS one at the Drayton Parslow Fate and the second a Pearly Queen show for a private party in Bracknell. Since returning I’ve had shows every day which will be takeing me through to the end of the month. This morning I had a meeting with Rachel my web-designer and I’m pleased to announce we have now added a new credits page to my web-site. We have also refreshed my 1940s page adding in all my 1940s related videos which makes viewing much easier. So if you do get the chance do click onto my pages and take a look.

Thant’s all my news for now. Thank-you for following and Toodle Pip!

Me Sound Cheking at the Town Hall!

Me in my Dressing Room at Falkirk!

Falkirk Town Hall!

Sight Seeing at the Falkirk Wheel!

Hello every – I’ve just got back from a very intense five days away which has taken me to Bonnie Scotland and right down into the heart of Wales. As you might imagine I have decided to split my blog into two halves tonight as I have so much news I wish to share with you all. I’m not quite sure how many miles I have covered this last week  but it must be something in the region of a 1000 miles I’m sure! I’ve been to some fabulous places and it was especially lovely to be back on the boards in Falkirk again. I have some very fond memories of that theatre and when I was checking my records I realised I’d played it three times over three years in 2001, 2002 and 2003.  I was really surprised that the staff remembered me and my shows, in particular “We’ll Meet Again” where I played Lance Corporal Wendy and worked with a singing lamppost called Barty. Thinking about it it’s not every show that has a singing lamppost in it and Barty was very popular!

With so much driving my friend Paul very kindly agreed to share the driving with me and I engaged him to work as my sound engineer. We had two WW1 shows on the way up in the Cheshire towns of Winsford and Wilmslow so we decided to break our journey at The Best Weston Hotel – Pinewood on Wilmslow. I had a lovely room complete with balcony and then we started on the long drive up to Falkirk the next day. The road to Scotland up the M6 and M74 is a good one once you get past Morcombe and the Lake district. Although its many miles and North of Edinburgh the drive is a very enjoyable one as the traffic starts to thin out and the tarmacing is of a much better quality on Scottish roads. I was due for my sound check at 3pm and the theatre had very kindly booked us into The Park Hotel opposite.

It’s a funny thing but playing at the Town Hall in Falkirk was a little like coming home. It was wonderful to feel those boards under my feet again and I confess I do miss being in  variety and that way of life. I love to hear and feel the busel of back stage and being around other artists while watching their acts from the wings. I was engaged to perform for the first half the popular tunes of WW1 and then for the second half they had the Strathcarron Hospice Singers, Kevin Mc Lean the Scotish piper, the Strathcarron Singers and Trilogy – 3 students who presented 3 moving stories about the first World War. Then there were 3 dedications presented by Kevin Gray, Major Maurice Walsh, Rev George Mc Donald and Father Kevin Dow. For the finally I changed into my evening gown and closed the show with “Requiem for a Solider” and the national anthem. Perhaps the most moving part for me was Trilogy and when the piper played the Lament with the poppies falling  from the flies thanks to SM Ben.  A big thankyou to Billy who engaged me for the concert and who also did a wonderful job as compare. I would also like to thank Greig, Brian and Julia who all remembered me from my last visit and Ben for being a great SM. The Town Hall had also put on a wonderful exhibition of posters from the Great War

tomorrow I shall tell you more about my tour as Paul and I travel on down into Wales for the Llandrindod Wells Victorian Festival. In the mean time do click onto my facebook page by clicking onto the star and you will be able to see my photos. Time for bed – Keep Watching and Toodle Pip!

Me all Set for Llandrindod Wells &  The Victorian Festival!

As ever I’m in a bit of a dash making sure I have everything prepped for this weekend. I’m thrilled to say I was able to pick Connie up this afternoon. She has been in the garage on and off since Thursday and as you might imagine all sorts needed doing. She was loosing power so I had a full diagnostic test done which resulted in removing and testing the fuel injectors, a new mass air flow meter, a new starter motor, not to mention a fuel filter and fuel additive. Connie is now like a new van and all ready for Scotland. I also made sure she had a new set of tyres the other day as we do do some mileage and have become great chums as a result.

This Saturday I have been engaged to sing in Falkirk at the Town Hall which is a lovely theatre I first played back in 2001/2002 when I toured in “We’ll Meet Again” and “How Hovis Won the War”. On this occasion I have been booked to sing for the towns WW1 Centinary and I’m looking forward to meeting up and working with people I’ve not seen for many years. On Sunday I will be heading down into Wales for the Victorian Festival staged every year in the town of Llandrindod Wells. It’s the first time I’ve been to Llandrindod Well and I’m looking forward to sing there very much. The Welsh are very appreciative of good singers and I’ve put together a great program of music from Music Hall to Opera which I’m sure all the visitors will enjoy. I’ve been booked to perform 3 shows daily  on the Monday and Tuesday and on Monday evening I’ve been asked to open at the towns Theatre so it’s going to be a very busy 5 days away. On Friday I have 2 x WW1 shows to do on my way up to Scotland in Winsford and Wilmslow in Cheshire which will be where I’m breaking my journey before heading up to Falkirk. No sooner do I get back then I hit the ground running with shows every day next week so this really is a very busy time.

With the centenary there has been great demand for my services and the Music of Music Hall. I have been enjoying singing this music very much as it makes a pleasant change from the 1940s although saying that many of the popular tunes from  WW2 have their origins in Music Hall . Next month I will be performing at Chatham’s “Salute to the 40s” and I have been working on some new ideas behind the scenes. But more on that later for now I must work on my show plans and pack up my gowns for the weekend.

Keep Watching, thank-you for following and Toodle Pip!

Me Sitting in a 1912 Crossley T5!

Burlington Bertie and the BE2 Aircraft!

Meeting up with Brian at Shuttleworth!

Me with the Mark IV Tank!

On stage with Lynda at the RBL in Chingford!

I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to do a blog last Friday in prep for this weekend just gone but for those of you who have been following me will know I’ve been ever-so busy. In fact it will continue to be so right through August and to the end of the year so even now I’m in a bit of a dash to make sure I keep you all up to date with my latest news. This Saturday I had the pleasure of working with my friend singer and ukulele entertainer Lynda Styan at the Royal British Legion in Chingford, London. We were engaged to perform for a special 1940s Bliz Party night so between us we sung and played our way through a wonderful selection of songs from the 1920s, 30s and 40s. What I like about Lynda’s act is she is very knowledgable about her music and the songs she is performing – I find her patter very engaging and informative. Needless to say by the end of the night we had every-one up singing and flag waving and I think we can say a jolly good time was had by all!

On Sunday I was engaged to perform at the Shuttleworth collection for their special WW1 Commemoration Air Show. As I’m sure so many of you must have experienced we were hit by bad weather so none of the aircraft were able to fly. There should have been flying a replica of a DH2 and BE2c other wise known as the Biggles Biplane but due to the bad weather everything was grounded. However the BE2c and I are already well acquainted as I was lucky enough to have been photographed with it back in 2011 when I did a photo shoot with Dave Jackson of Retoair Photographic. On this occasion however I was photographed with the BE2 which during WW1 was the main workhorse of the Royal Flying Corps. I also bumped into a Mark 1v tank and a 1914 B2737 LGOC B-type bus which was on lone from the London Transport Museum. I was also photographed in the 1912 Crossley Staff car which was used in WW1 by the Royal Flying Corps. To see my photos do click onto my facebook star at the top of this page and you will be able to see me out and about at Shuttleworth. While I was there I performed two 60 minute shows daily one in my smart WW1 dress and the other in my Burlington Bertie costume. I do like that song – that’s the wonderful thing about Music Hall it wasn’t that uncommon for woman to dress up as men and it can be a relife not having to wear a tight corset. I also mixed in some opera which went down well and I finished the day with Nesum Dorma. Despite the bad weather it’s always lovely to to see friends and I was very touched that my friends Brian and Viv from Mansfield came down to see me and Paul who came all the way up from Portsmouth.

This weekend I will be back on the road again as I head up to Scotland and to the Town Hall in Falkirk. I’ve been engaged to sing for Falkirk’s WW1 commemorations and I’m looking forward to returning to the theatre very much. I first played at the Town Hall back in 2001/02 when I was touring in “We’ll Meet Again” and “How Hovis Won the War” so it will be just like old times. From Scotland I’m then cutting back home through Wales and stopping off in Llandrindod Wells. I’ve been booked to sing for the towns Victorian Festival so it’s going to be a very busy week. In the mean time I’m a bit worried about Connie my van. She has been suffering from a diagnostic problem and this weekend I have been having to use my brothers van. I hope to get her back tomorrow as we have a lot of miles to cover this week.

That’s all my news for now – Keep Watching and Toodle Pip!

After an exhorting drive down to Portsmouth last Friday from Leeds Kim and I were so relived when we made it onto the ferry. All was well until we hit the M25 and then we were stuck in traffic for 2 hours before we were able to cut across and down the M3. Even so the M3 was blocked at the end and I then had to cut through Petersfield and onto the A3 which I think is a much better road. I’ve never known it so busy but I guess with all this lovely weather everyone wants to be on holiday.

I’ve always enjoy working at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s Victorian event and this year I was keen to try out my new arrangements and costumes. So I brought my bustle and Burlington Bertie tails complete with monical only it’s very hard singing with a monical as I have to screw up my face in order to keep it in! Doing Victorian and Music Hall does make a refreshing change from the 1940s. I know I shouldn’t say this but so many of the 1940s events these days seem to have lost their focus and have become rather boring, with the same old things which is why I’ve been enjoying Music Hall and the WW1 revival. There is no shortage of wonderful music I can pull from and I enjoy the whole process of finding the sheet music, note bashing it through, deciding on the arrangement style and then putting it into production. I think my favourite Music Hall song at the moment is Burlington Bertie as I do rather enjoy playing the swell only I must remember to bow and not curtsey. Sometimes I forget wheater I’m a man or a woman!

On stage with the Wavy Navy!

Me all Pearly Queen with the Wavy Navy

Pinky and I with Fred the Monkey!

Even Monkeys Get Tired After a Long Day!

I’m very well-known with all the re-enactment groups and this weekend I met up with lots of friends. Queen Victoria and the Victorian Strollers not to mention the Wavy Navy and Jolly Tar, come barrow boy, come convict Pinky. In fact I think Pinky might have had even more costume changes than me. I did three 45 minute shows daily and we finished the day with all the re-enacters on stage for Land of Hope and Glory with my “Best of British” Pearly Queen show. We even had a bit for the monkey Fred although I have an idea he will be joining me on stage next year for my new Jungle act I’m working on – but more on that later.

In the mean time a big thankyou to Liz and all the staff at the railway who made this weekend possible, not forgetting the many re-enacters who made this event so glamorous. As some of you may have read I launched my new album “The Good Old Days” there and I’m pleased to say I sold a lot of copies. If you would like a copy then it’s now available to buy on my web-site by clicking onto my CD page and you can also read the list contents there too. After our shows Kim and I headed back to the main land on Monday mind you we did do some very important shoe shopping in Newport first. Monday was a very important day as it was the WW1 centenary  and we had to get back  quite promptly. Kim had organised a very special “Lights Out” event in her home Village of Quainton to remember the 23 men who fell in the Great War. I was very honored when she asked me to sing so I included some very ponient numbers like “Danny Boy”, “Keep the Homefires burning” and although a modern piece “Requiem For a Soldier” which just seemed right.

Now I’m back home I’m still very busy with shows everyday for the month of August. This Saturday I will be playing in Chingford at the Royal British legion for a Blitz Party with my friend Lynda Styan and then on Sunday I will be singing at The Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, Biggleswade for their WW1 event. In the mean time do enjoy my photos from the weekend you can find them on my facebook page by clicking onto the star at the top of this page.

Time for bed now I think. Thank-you for following and Toodle Pip!