Bad News

Everyone by now has heard about the tragedy in Oslo.  What a mad man!.   The shocking news that unfolded was unbelievable.  First the bomb and then the Island with all those young people there.  The young people’s account of their ordeal was now being told on TV and was said with such dignity and it seems, without remorse.  What a tear-jerker!  A young man who was shot in the shoulder at point-blank range told the interviewer how he played dead to survive.  He then jumped into the sea and started swimming and was one of the lucky ones to survive.  So what now I ask myself…..90 people dead or more and still some people missing. I must admit, I wondered why there wasn’t a police presence on the Island with so many young people there discussing politics.  So many questions to be answered.   I am not going to go into every detail about this incident.  The killer has written a 1,500 page manifesto which reflects his thinking and it will be discussed tomorrow in court. It makes me feel sick inside that he could be so barbarous and brutal.   I pray for the people of Oslo and hope that they know that the world is united with them as this horrible news unfolds.  

I must also mention Amy Winehouse.  I think her early death was inevitable……although others might not think the same.  The 27 club is the name for a group of influential artists/singers who died at the age of 27 and Amy has been added to the list which includes Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain.  Wow!   I am old enough to remember these amazing artists.  It’s a shame that Amy didn’t want to overcome her drug and drink addiction, and that the ‘Music Industry’ stood and watched this happen.   Something must be done in the future with young artists like Amy.  The ‘Music Industry’ and Government need to talk!

I have read various blogs and messages about Amy Winehouse but I like the one written by Russell Brand who was talking about when he saw Amy on stage.  He wrote:

“Entering the space I saw Amy on stage with Weller and his band and then the  awe.   The awe that envelops when witnessing a genius.  From her oddly dainty presence that voice, a voice that seemed not to come from her but from somewhere beyond even Billie and Ella, from the font of greatness.  A voice that was filled with such power and pain that it was at once entirely human yet laced with the divine.  My ears, my mouth, my heart and mind all instantly opened.  Winehouse. Winehouse? Winehouse!  That twerp, all eyeliner and lager dithering up Chalk Farm Road under a back combined barnet, the lips that I’d only seen clenching a fishwife fag and dribbling curses now a portal for this holy sound. So now I knew, she wasn’t just some hapless wannabe, yet another pissed up nit who was never gonna make it, nor was she even a ten-a-penny chantuse enjoying her 15 minutes.  She was a fucking genius. “  {Russell Brand}

I don’t particularly like Russell Brand but agree with him on this one!

It is hard to see any young person leave this earth so young and I, like so many others, choose to remember Amy for her music.

24/07/11

Friends United

I recently decided to ‘have a look’ at the Friends United site - you know….one of those days you want to have a look and see if you know anyone.  I had looked a few times before but didn’t pursue anyone. Well I found an old close friend and although I knew her before Senior School, she was also the sister of my brother’s best friend. (Are you with me?)

I wrote to ask her if she was the girl I knew….who had a brother called ‘Derek’ and to my surprise she replied yes (although ‘girls’ we were are no more!).  We have been writing to each other for a few weeks now….what a surprise.  She has triggered off loads of memories although neither of us remembers how we lost touch.  It’s something I don’t do – lose touch with friends…..although obviously I did back then.  It could have been something to do with ‘boys’ and falling in love.  She told me she moved away from the area so perhaps that’s why. 

I was also kept very busy when I was younger……no time for friends…….the dance school I went to put on shows at Greenwich Town Hall and in local hospitals and other venues like ‘ Eltham Little Theatre’, (now called ‘The Bob Hope Theatre’).  I had to learn songs….I always sung about 6 songs for every concert. At the time I also took exams in Ballroom dancing, Latin American, Modern Ballet and Tap.  In fact, going by the old photographs of me dancing, I danced the national dance of every country…….Scottish, Hungarian, Greek and Spanish….. and the Jive, of course  (bless my mum who made all the costumes herself – how many sequins and ribbons did she sew onto them).

Anyway, it’s been great reminiscing and finding out about her life over the last 40+ years.  I’m sure there is loads more to find out, we have exchanged photographs of our children and grandchildren, strangely enough I did recognise her…..she hasn’t changed much at all which is quite remarkable.   It made me feel so happy as I am only in contact with one school friend and she lives abroad now.  My lost friend was more than a school friend, she used to come to our house, sometimes with her brother,  they had an unhappy time at home…and my friend said in one of her emails “I would come around to your house and your parents seemed to be lovely and very welcoming”.  She also remarked “ I think I remember fancying your brother, who was lovely” Ah!..... so that’s the reason she came round! (By the way, my brother still is a lovely!  

Have you ever had ‘A blast from the past’?  Firstly I thought of all the years lost…….but now I am thinking about the future and possibly meeting up sometime.  I won’t lose touch again.  Today, it is so much easier to keep in touch and not lose friends via all the social network sites and iPhones.  With the release of  new iPads and iPhones people have gone mad with excitement to get hold of them. Other manufacturers are out there making products that are just as good, if not better and cheaper.  Ido understand though why it makes people happy when they use them, but alas, I do not possess one…….yet!    What’s your way of keeping in touch, iPhone in one pocket, a Blackberry in the other!

Back in the dark ages….. I did used to keep in touch and write letters and postcards to friends and family, I was looking at some of them the other day that my mother collected over the years. Pictures, letters and the Concert Programmes with my name inside………..did I really sing “ You need Hands” (Listen to it on ‘youtube’ - Max Bygraves recorded it in 1958, not bad sentiments for this day and age!).

 I wrote postcards home when I was on school journey at the age of  ten and eleven. I used to ask my children to write ‘thankyou’ letters on receiving a Birthday or Christmas present.  I think this is a rarity these days. It’s a shame as Newspapers, Books and Magazines will all fade away and we will be reading our Newspapers on-line (as some people do already) and downloading ebooks. I think they have their uses though especially when travelling.

It’s my birthday today, I’m 63.  Is that a significant age or date, I ask myself…….Well it was for some people… Queen Victoria ruled for 63 years – she was an unlikely successor to the throne at the time there was serious doubt about the future of the monarchy. She became Queen at the age of 18 and her reign spanned much of the 19^th century.  The term “Victorian” often refers to a priggish attitude towards sexuality or morality, though it is also applied to a period of literature, art, clothing, and architecture. Victoria is one of the rare people whose very name defines their time.  She was remembered for saying ….“We are not amused”.

Well I am still alive and kicking!

Louis Armstrong died on this day 6/07/1971.  He was born in 1901 in New Orleans. He was called “The most important figure in the “History of Jazz” and  the “History of Music”….. and no one played the trumpet like him. He didn’t follow the notes on a sheet of music, he improvised by playing the notes in his head. His singing was called “scat” and he recorded many songs with another “scat” singer…Ella Fitzgerald.  (How I would have loved to have seen those 2 sing!). He holds the record for being the oldest artist to have a Number 1 record which he accomplished when he was 63 years old with the song "Hello, Dolly," from the musical. The song reached number 1 in 1964 by toppling the Beatles from the top of the charts (.he had come a long way from his poor beginnings).

I had better get writing a song then!  Perhaps that is my achievement in my 63^rd year.  You only have to think of: Genre, Structure, Verse, Chorus, Melody, Tempo, Rhythm, Harmony, Beginnings and Endings, Ideas, Rhyme and of course Lyrics…….Aahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I’ll stick to blogging!

6^th July 2011