London Singer and Songwriter

Sunday, 3 June 2012

Red, White and Blue

It was great to be asked back, to sing at The Royal Standard Pub, Blackheath and how much more appropriate a name could you get for a venue to kick of the Queens Diamond Jubilee celebrations!

This is actually one of the most local gigs I have, it’s literally just up the road from where I live, I went to school round the corner and I've walked past this pub more times than I can tell you. It’s an impressive building that you cannot fail to miss and the immediate area is known as 'The Standard' after this local, iconic, landmark. It was built in 1848 by William Wynn at the cost of £2,000, which was probably a lot of money at the time.... The Standard has recently changed over to new management and they are doing a brilliant job in turning this pub into what feels more like a community hub with a welcoming atmosphere, more like it should be and was intended to be when it was built. Go to their Facebook page to see some of the different sporting, family, music and other events they have going on and some pics of us too!

Katy and I (Sax Singer) really enjoyed the gig, the people were lovely, friendly and seemed to really appreciate us being there. A few of my friends and neighbours came too, some of whom did a great job singing backing vocals! It was good fun and we’re looking forward to playing here again.

The Standard Pub 1815

Sax Singer were here in 2012

We even wore red, white and blue

The official Diamond Jubilee flag

Wednesday, 30 May 2012

A wedding fit for a Princess

When I was asked to sing at my cousin Paul’s wedding, I felt very honoured. I have shared many happy childhood summer holidays with him and I have such fond memories of this.

The wedding and reception was last Saturday at Hampton Court House, the website doesn’t really do it justice, unless you are lucky enough to be able to afford to send your children to school there. It’s not obvious from the website you can hire it for weddings but it really is perfect and a stunning venue, I can highly recommend it. It was a Hindu ceremony which was beautiful and truly harmonious. Di’s dress was spellbinding and the Indian sari’s were colourful and elegant, I loved them and now would love to have one. Although the young girls on my table couldn’t wait to change out of theirs for the evening reception, I did offer to swap, was worth a try.

The weather was spectacular, you could never have predicated it. Performing with me was Pete Duncan on guitar and Rufai Ajala on alto sax, we played outside the beautiful conservatory on a quaint patio, shaded by palm trees, it wasn’t hard to imagine being somewhere exquisitely exotic! I love singing outside, it’s my favourite place to sing. The soft breeze was also very welcome in the heat but it meant my choice of a lovely floaty frock was revealing a full frontal with every gentle gust! And my choice of black knickers made it look far worse that it was...thank goodness I had some leggings on hand.

Apart from the slight wardrobe malfunction, it all went very well. People made some lovely comments, which was great. For me it was an unforgettable day, really beautiful.