With my Mum and Dad, Sue and George in Musselburgh.
Mersey Wave Music presented a concert St Marys Church Hale Village on 4th April 2014 and I had lots of fun singing with the Mersey Wave Choir again. The theme for the concert was Musical Theatre with lots of our favourite repertoire from musicals 'Les Mis' to 'My Fair Lady' to 'Mama Mia' in the programme. We had a great time all in aid of St Mary's Church and future community music events. The next Mersey Wave Concert will be on July 14th 2014 St Ambrose Church, Speke Liverpool and will mark the World War One Centenary.
On 8th April 2014 I was lucky to have the opportunity to travel up to the historic town of Musselburgh in East Lothian to perform in a lunchtime song recital with pianist James Baillieu. This was my first recital in Scotland and we performed in the The Brunton in Musselburgh which was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1971. I really enjoyed the time there and there was lots happening at the venue - A lovely busy bar and bistro and as we walked from the dressing room to the concert room we snuck past a young community group creating their very own treasure island... wish I could have joined in! There were cute knitted herrings and Papier Mâché seagulls on the table at the back of the room we performed in ...apparently the theatre has been inundated with knitted herrings ready for the "Follow the Herring Community Exhibition!" the the local people pay tribute to traditions of the East coast communities - What a great idea! The name, Musselburgh, derives from the extensive mussel beds which lie along its shore on the Firth of Forth. The town lies six miles east of Edinburgh, where the River Esk meets the sea and the town dates back to Roman times when they built a fortress on Inveresk Hill. The Coat of Arms for Musselburgh is made up of 3 mussels and 3 anchors representing the fishing tradition of the community. Musselburgh Racecourse (the oldest in Scotland) has been a venue for racing since 1816. The ‘Honest Town” developed from the 12th Century as a rival port to the capital nearby. I had a lovely walk in the sunshine at Fisherrow harbour and sands admiring the stunning views across the Firth of Forth.
I returned to Melling Tithebarn, Merseyside on 25th April 2014 to perform an evening concert for the lovely local music group Melling Tithebarn Arts Association. The barn is such a lovely venue and there is always a really friendly atmosphere. We performed Schubert lieder, Italian song and English songs and ballads. Great to see the homemade biscuits being served again at the interval.