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Category Archives: singing

Sweet Peas, Colour Contrast and A Birthday Video

28 Jul

Our Sweet Peas in one pot are glorious. The other pot is finished. 🙁

Sweet Peas

Serendipity again as the bright orange Montbretia/ Crocosmia has popped up with the purple Tom Thumb Pittosporum hedge.

Montbretia against the dark Tom Thumb Pittosporum

A  couple of months ago , I was asked to take part in a Birthday video for an ex pupil of mine. The idea was to screw up some paper with a Happy Birthday message on it. Have it thrown to you from the left, unscrew it, show the message to the camera and throw it off to the right. It made for a very special and individual birthday present.
It occurred to me that it would be a lovely thing to do for our dear choir leader, Claire, with whom we have been unable to sing in person for 5 months because of the Covid situation. Fortunately we have in one of our choirs a brilliantly talented individual who agreed to put together the 60+ videos valiantly made by our community of choir members! Thanks so much, Kenn! What a success it has been! Here it is for your delectation. The setting is the Penryn River, our view from the rehearsal room and the music is sung by the choirs.

 
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Posted by on July 28, 2020 in Celebration, community, environment, friendship, garden, Happiness, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, singing

 

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Bee, More Masks and Greenham Women

22 May

The bees are busy, we are glad to see. This one was moving around all the Lavender pots.

Bee on white lavender

Our eldest was due to come from Exeter for a couple of hours this afternoon to fix my Beetle. In exchange I made her a couple of fabric masks. I had not anticipated how hard it would be to see her but not be allowed to hug.

Elastic is running short

My spirits were lifted by a wonderful zoom session this evening, Greenham Women singing songs of the time, all led by my lovely choir leader, Claire. In between singing the songs, people shared their stories of being at the various gates, all given colours and each with a very distinct personality. A couple of the participants had been there with their Mums as very young children. One Mum and daughter were there together from their different parts of the UK; participants came from allover the country and were really inspiring. It was a brilliant session.

Posted with permission from all the participants
 
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Posted by on May 22, 2020 in community, environment, History, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, sewing, singing

 

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Clematis, Zoom and A Birthday

27 Apr

The Clematis Armandii sent us the last blooms today.

Choir was on Zoom tonight and was great fun! What a lovely lot we are!  Thanks to Claire for a fabulous lesson.

It’s my kid brother’s birthday today and despite us posting on 7th April (to Atlanta, USA) his card has not arrived so here is another!

 
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Posted by on April 27, 2020 in America, art, community, nature, photography, Photography, postaday2012, singing, Truro

 

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Spring Flowers, Singing and A Cat in a Tree

23 Mar

Our garden is a haven of peace and colour and bird song. We are so lucky.  The sun has been shining today and we felt the warmth.

There can be no choir today but our wonderful leader, Claire, has sent us a class from warm up to wind down, reminders of songs we know and the four parts for a brand new song so that when we are all together again, we will have a new song almost ready. Here is a starter song to get us all going. It made me weep to hear her voice again but after a few listens I was bouncing around the kitchen singing my heart out!

Next door’s cat Zorro was tree climbing but I wasn’t quick enough to catch him full face.

 
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Posted by on March 23, 2020 in garden, Happiness, music, nature, Photography, Postaday2020, singing

 

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A Book, Singing and A Treat

08 Jan

I was given a beautiful book for my birthday, The Singing Tree, written and illustrated by Kate Seredy, which I read yesterday and absolutely loved. The story was very touching and the illustrations very lovely. Thank you very much C.

It was Sing for your Heart, Sing for your Soul today at the Eco park and I thought you might like to hear a couple of snippets. They are both recorded with the camera looking at the floorboards as I hadn’t asked anyone if they would be okay with being filmed.  The sessions are open to anyone to come along and songs are taught by voice in four parts. Everyone comes away feeling loved and exhilarated.

We love these little Italian lemony treats which we buy at a local market occasionally.

 
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Posted by on January 8, 2020 in books, Food, Happiness, music, Photography, Postaday2020, singing, Uncategorized

 

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Action Calendar, Paul Robeson and A Film

01 Nov

New for November

The great actor, singer, and socialist Paul Robeson died on this day in 1976. He was a great friend to the mining community in Britain. Here he sings for miners during a visit to Britain in 1949. This song was played at my Dad’s Humanist  funeral and is a great favourite.
I grew up hearing and loving Paul Robeson’s voice and in the year that my Dad lived in Cornwall before we were able to join him (I was only 6 years old) Mum played ‘Just a Wearyin’ for you’ every evening and it can still bring me to tears as I remember how much I missed my Dad and it’s only now that I realise that she wasn’t playing it for me but for herself. How they must have missed each other that year. They’d already had five years apart during the war and now Mum had three of us to look after and a fourth on the way who was born just ten weeks before we eventually moved to Cornwall and were all together again and living by Pill Creek as I wrote about here.

We have just come home from watching Official Secrets, the story of Katharine Gun, whistle blower extraordinaire. See it if you can.

 

 
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Posted by on November 1, 2019 in Happiness, music, Postaday 2019, singing

 

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No Protest Fatigue …..

19 Oct

…. if we all take it in turns to breathe.

Michael Moore’s words

 
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Posted by on October 19, 2019 in community, Peace, Postaday 2019, quotations, singing

 

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Saltash, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Ann Glanville

22 Jun

The Suitcase Singers went by train all the way to Saltash Regatta & Waterside Festival 2019 today to sing in the glorious sunshine, the highlight of the day being singing ‘Ann Glanville’ around her statue. It was a brilliant day out, singing our hearts out and interestingly,  being underneath the Brunel Bridge for a change!

Boat full of flowers on Saltash station

The Suitcase Singers with Ann Glanville about whom our lovely Claire, choir leader, has written a song

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

His bridge

View of the bridge from up the hill

Blue plaque to Ann Glanville

 

 
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Posted by on June 22, 2019 in Cornwall, mural, Photography, Postaday 2019, singing

 

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Breakfast, Shanty Festival and Bunting

16 Jun

It’s Father’s Day here in the UK and so breakfast was the lovely Mr S’s favourite, French Toast with Summer Fruits, Creme Fraiche and Maple Syrup.

Breakfast

It’s been the Falmouth Shanty Festival this weekend and my choir was singing.  There are shanty singers around every corner and in every venue throughout the weekend. It is enormous fun.

My choir, The Suitcase Singers, at the Shanty Festival

We went to watch The Jolly Strumpets in which a friend sings and then Femmes de la Mer, run by my choir leader and with many of my friends singing. They are brilliant.

The Jolly Strumpets

Femmes de la Mer at the Shanty Festival

Bunting in the streets

 
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Posted by on June 16, 2019 in Cornwall, Falmouth, festival, Food, music, Photography, Postaday 2019, singing

 

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Super Blood Wolf Moon, Paul Robeson and A Fox

21 Jan

I set the alarm for 4am so that I could get up to see the Super Blood Wolf Moon, hoping that the skies would be clear. They were, the stars were very sparkly and the Moon amazing! I watched as the shadow crept over the moon and it began to go red leaving a white glow on one side. I stayed up for an hour until it was total and red. Sadly, my photos don’t do the colour justice. It was much redder to the naked eye. In the midst of the starry silence and the moon magic, I heard an Owl hooting.

First sight

Almost total

We are sorting out our cds with a view to giving away those we no longer listen to.  One definitely to keep is the Paul Robeson. When I was just five years old, my Daddy was away having moved to Cornwall ahead of the family. What was supposed to be a short time turned out to be a full year. I used to ask all the time for Just a Wearyin’ for You  by Paul Robeson to be played and I would weep along to the song, missing my Daddy so much. Heaven only knows how Mum coped. Playing it this morning, I cried again, remembering how it was all those years ago and missing him all over again.

On my way home from singing tonight, not far from home, a beautiful ginger fox strolled across the lane and went under a gate into a field. What a treat!

 
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Posted by on January 21, 2019 in music, nature, Photography, Postaday 2019, singing

 

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