Saturday 24 December 2011

Just because...

As the year begins to wind up, I think it's apt to leave you with something I wrote when I felt inspired to begin songwriting again! It's an ode to seeing the best in someone - something I'm consistently good at.
I think this will stand the test of time too!


It's a shame it soon became a farewell to charms...

I know there are many fabulous photos & videos from events in December taken by Jazzy Lemon & DaLord
Patience is a virtue I have had to cultivate over recent months, so I beg yours whilst I await the originals! 
Wishing a merry midwinter to one & all! 

Tuesday 13 December 2011

6 weeks & 24 hours later...

I was SO happy to be almost back to mobile by 5.12.2011! A little bit of audio/visual to celebrate my recovery!




The following night, at Lindy Jazz Blues Club I sang a few tunes too, will let the picture conjure my 1000 words this week (as I'm really cataloguing last week!).



Despite some technical hitches along the way, I have been documenting and recording lots the last few months so once hitches are overcome (they always are in the end!) I'll have a lovely little showreel to share with you all!

Saturday 19 November 2011

Publish & be damned!

My, my, passions were running high this week! In every way possible. Another eventful, slightly frustrating yet life affirming few days. Some of it I must keep to myself - to protect the guilty if you will. Some (too much?) I share here.

Pouring a quite decent Montepulciano as I now do, barely after noon, I'm feeling at once decadent & disdainful. I awoke to an exciting fact: I rounded the 100 followers on twitter mark. Very modest in these times of #newfangledfaxmachine but I was chuffed. My 'follower of the week' has to be NYC comedian, Steve Hofstetter, famed for his biting heckler smackdowns. At 26,000+ followers and following only 7100+,  rather strange, then that he should be interested in me. Was it my #occupywallst has kicked right off! guess support for NYPD might wain...? tweet? Or my good looks & charm...? ... Probably the #nypdbrutality thing!  (there I said it)




I was in NYC exactly 10 years ago to this day & the vibe then was still one of a city in shock. I felt completely safe touring around the city all night in the car of  man I had met after a Carmen Lundy gig. Barely knowing him doesn't even cut it, I'd have been pushed to remember his name by the time I touched down back home in the UK! He took me to Hogs & Heifers, smooth talking his way past a massive queue, #turnon. Needless to say we had a total blast! I resisted the ritual, maybe next time! #meatpackingdistrict didn't seem scary at all. It was like the city had been brought so close to the edge that the edge was gone from the city.
In my mind atleast!

Dear reader you will be pleased to note I survived, (unscathed) my quite insanely misjudged night out with said 'gent'! (I was but a young thing, set free in the metropolis whilst the neutered city did appear to slumber, for once).

Enjoyed DJing and hanging out with Glasgow Lindy Hoppers 
Fast forward 10 years & it is I who is now coping with clipped wings (ooh the irony). I won't repeat the reasons why (they are catalogued below), suffice to say, I reckon I've broken the back of it. A quick jaunt up to Scotland was a welcome tonic too.
Whilst many dancing friends congregate without me in London, my housemates (with a little help from a well known chain) continue to efficiently & politely hunter/gather for me. I, with my wpm increasing steadily, seek to entertain, to connect, to matter.


Looking forward to my next singing engagement back in my hometown of Manchester is just one of the things that will be lighting my dark nights this week - just as Lumiere lights the streets of my current city of Durham.

Sunday 13 November 2011

Safety in Rumbas

Reflection & gratitude have been strong themes for me these last 2 weeks**

To honour those lost in conflict, a moment's silent reflection was due from me this morning & on Friday, as it is every year.
Having now had a glimpse into living in this world with a physical impairment I can tell you that in the words of Little Britain's Andy, I "Don't like it!". Of course, I'm not faking though!

No more popping back upstairs to grab that pen I left on the side. And never mind leaving my mobile behind!!... Life has to be SO much more prepared in advance, and everything - yes everything! is a logistical challenge...

All in all, I'm telling myself for the most part I wouldn't change anything. This chapter has forced me to be (even more) OK with accepting & requesting help, & knowing it's temporary, however frustrating, means soon it will have passed. There will be a time when I look back & laugh how I almost cried at how much I'm missing out on.


I also extend my gratitude to my team of dancers and co-ordinators here. They are successfully assisting me to run a fantastic Friday night's Swing dancing for beginners and beyond at Washington. I'll be back cracking the whip soon enough, so enjoy the relaxed pace whilst you can!

As well as honouring those who made the ultimate sacrifice this week, I am raising a toast to my mum today. She lost her brother on Friday, & will face a tricky few weeks ahead.  Once I arrive in Edinburgh tonight to meet up with my lovely dancing friends at bluesFusion, I'll certainly raise the finest single malt I can find. Or, I might see if there are any quality rums on offer - The Rum Diary is next on the list for date-night movie!


**Not so much gratitude to this software which lost my last 2 posts!

Monday 31 October 2011

Weak 1

It has been said that I never do things by half, and in true Velodious form, this first week on tour has been no exception. The aforementioned injury was finally taking it's toll so upon the advice of my rather fabulous new housemates I drove (yes, drove) to the Urgent Care Centre in Peterlee - a quite lovely drive along the B1283 if you're ever in the area.

After a short wait, (thanks NHS!) my foot was prodded, x-ray'd and it was confirmed that I had in fact broken the neck of the 5th metatarsal. A jagged, nasty break I could see from the x-ray image and my, my did it explain a lot! As having never broken a bone before, I can only presume that because I could stand on it (of a fashion, painfully, and only quite a few minutes after it happened), I of course assumed nothing could be seriously wrong.

Any excuse to be carried!
When I informed the nurse that the incident had occurred 6 days previous, I had driven from Manchester to Durham the day after & danced alternate nights on it since, his expression was a picture! Whipping out my cameraphone just felt wrong somehow so you'll just have to conjure up that image yourself! He did say that I was obviously 'not a wimp' or words to that effect.

He didn't hear me scream like a girl during the incident itself - mind you that was from the excitement just before the clatter, not the pain just after - I was pretty silent for a few minutes then I can tell you!

I am a firm believer that it's when your back is against the wall that you find out who you truly are. Of course for most of us, for most of the time, it is only the perception that there is imminent danger or disaster which makes us power up or panic ... & that was me Saturday night. The extra hour in bed was somewhat fortuitous as I did wake at 3am wondering what 'the hell' was I going to do...?

You see, I was no longer just dealing with a bit of a dodgy foot that would no doubt heal any day, I was now under doctors orders to rest, NOT dance, NOT drive, AND be on crutches for up to 6 weeks. Spanner in the works doesn't really cut it when you've just relocated 130+ miles away from friends & family to launch your year of dance! I have to confess that during that dark hour before the dawn I did 'reach for the facebook'... It did help put me back to sleep though.

Upon attending the fracture clinic first thing Sunday morning, I discovered the prognosis was a little more favourable - 3 weeks rest, elevate, elevate! then come see us again. I breathed out (finally).  & so, dear reader, the adventure continues, Dorothy's biography is on it's way to me, the Lindy Jazz team have been amazing & we are on track for a fantastic launch party in Washington! Tonight's costume..? Stumbling zombie I think.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

The early days...


Do you ever make promises that you have every intention of keeping, but then somehow, events occur, distractions abound, time runs away...? It happened to me this week, but more on that later!! The promise I am keeping right now is to begin my blog and as you are taking the time to read it, as many of you promised you would, "it's all good!"

So, why this blog?
I have done the unthinkable - given up my house, most of my possessions and the (albeit part-time & my only ever) dayjob, and set myself the goal of travelling light for 1 year. The express purpose of which is to push my dancing and performance to their absolute limits. The distractions of homely delights (& housework!) needed to be minimised as I am a simple soul.

Currently chaneling Dorothy Parker, (prized author and grand wit who resided at the infamous Algonquin Hotel NYC, which I aim to visit during this imposed year of no fixed abode!), I resign myself to a maximum of 2 small cases of clothes, a portable PA - well, you never know when you might need one! - and ofcourse some quality booze! The current tipple being honeyrum, FYI.

A bit of Charleston!
As one that oft deals in complex ideals, has ethics and integrity but is still simple underneath it all, the distractions of much of modern life - this season's must have outfit, co-ordinating linens, who's who on the X-Factor, just don't mean the same to me as they seem to to other people. I make no judgement on those that appear to be able to balance those things with self-fulfilment, as I know there are plenty of you out there too! I just know in order for me to excel, I need my days simple, my amount of choices limited, and my injuries to heal quickly!

I refer to my current injury - torn ligaments across my entire left foot - as it impedes my dancing abilities, and being as the main purpose of this year's tour is to 'max out' my dancing achievements, it's not the best ever start! Mind you, nor was being so distracted by normality (unpacking!) the other day that I arrived at my first teaching engagement with only seconds to spare before the cavalry jumped in! The saying goes 'the only way is up' so I'll leave that there...

So I make this promise to myself & you dear reader, to go headlong into the next 365 days, with a literal swing in my step, to regularly update you with the challenges & the successes, & to most of all, to stay on the road, chaneling Dorothy & championing the dances of the era she lived at the Algonquin - namely, the Prohibition years! After all, it don't mean a thing...