It’s been a bit of a summer

I know I haven’t blogged in ages…..sorry.

But with the summer shenanigans it was a little tricky to say anything, so it was easier to say nothing and hope I’d remember stuff. Obviously having a few nights heavily sedated on love n Guinness……I’ve forgotten the lot.

It’s not often you can say “I think I’ve just done the biggest gig of my life”. In terms of audience I think it’s true and I’ve done it. A stadium of 80,000 and an estimated worldwide audience of 1 billion watched us proudly sing Ian Dury’s classic Spasticus Autisticus as part of the opening ceremony.

It was brilliant to be part of it all.

Jenny Sealy is just an amazing woman who I’ve been privileged to get to know and work for. We had shared a few rocky roads getting Spasticus onto that big stage and we shared chats n texts about the dilemmas of how it would be perceived and then getting the various concerned peeps to understand that the song was so important…and fine….people would get it….it’s our song! Jenny is just so strong, sincere, passionate, hard working and a complete crazy punk…love her loads!

But to be honest, we always believed in the power and meaning of that song. This little collage helped things a bit too. I created it as a gift for te reasons gang on our first tour and Ian says it all:

After the big one we party’d to excess and walking home through Hackney in the morning we could see in the news stands….we had plenty of media coverage, tv news and front page news on every paper, which was lully and strange to deal with. I was lucky to get a few name checks in the various spreads which was nice. You could well be eating your chips on my name today! Getting recognised has been a bit regular and weird too, but again, lully. I had an interesting channel 4 news interview and then we rocked Hackney Empire, The Grosvener House Hotel, Trafalgar Square.

Our final ever Reasons To Be Cheerful gig at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank. This gig was to celebrate the end of a brilliant Unlimited Festival, the closing of the Paralympics and to thank the thousands who have come to see, support and rock with us at Reasons for the last two years. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the reaction from the QEH crowd to every song…especially the end of sex n drugs ad then Spasticus…they set the hairs off on the back of my neck alright.

So, forgive me for not writing before now…still unpacking it to be honest, so I will right a bit more sooner or later.

Thanks to everyone for the hundreds and hundreds of lully, lully messages of support. Don’t forget you can get Spasticus/where is it going with us and Orbital as a download on iTunes here Well worf a listen, even if I do say so myself!

And the future……..looking exciting sausages xx

R2Bcheeerfuuuull: Day 66, Allo London

So here we are….flippin London Hackney Empire.

I have to be honest, I started the day mostly in the bathroom. Nervous, not cause it was London, but nervous cause I didn’t want nerves to ruin me day!A sausage sanger set me right and we walked down Hackney Road onto Mare Street and then a very long walk down to the Pire.The sun was out n Ackney waz looking very good indeed.

Saw me phizzog on the side of a wall and I guessed this must be it. This was confirmed by a few passers by who said “hey that’s that fella up thereon that poster”, first time that’s ever happened to me.

The Empires got history. Charlie C (The Chaplin that is), Mr Laural and of course Ian have all rocked this place. Even the house stage manager had gigged the Blockheads, West Endies, Jesus and the 12 apostles! So it was a big day, we did sound check which I smiled all the way through. I even had an asparagus tart for lunch, which was well more poncey than I usually ave, but flip it,I’m living the dream (I did have a sausage roll as back up…neither tart or roll got finished as I forgot, I’ve lost all ability to eat properly or sleep properly.

We are using 3/4qtrs of Status Quo’s rig in this show, the other quarters in me dressing room, so the sound rocks, big time. The theatre holds 1300 and when our lovely crowd got in, we all ‘ad it.  There’s a big rake (slope not gardening tool) on the stage which has created a few new challenges for Gaz & I at ‘Ackney.  It almost beat me tonight when I lost all position on Wake Up, flying towards the Bar Phone, luckily all the others are Pro’s n me lully Jude covered it beautifully by thrusting on the floor like it was all meant to be…..which it was of course!

Bar confusion at the end, but we still got plenty in. Fanks to me many lully friends for comin and joining the fun tonight.

bed now sausages.

xx

R6BC: day 43, I’m comin huurm!

Ok, travel day today, it’s few days of time so sorry this is short but…………….Hull n shows n shots n fun n frolics have taken their toll…so in a nutshell, Chinese Laundry Retro Shop, spent too much on nice gear, taxi train, power stations, pickles in-accessing my needs wiv bubbles, bizarre first class waiting room toilet moment at Kings Cross, taxi, home, cuppa, phoned loved ones, quick blog, bed….hibernation, next blog when I come round in the next few days.

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep sausages, it’s been a blast and there’s more to come.

R2BC: day 42, just one more time in the Truck

‘Ad it in Ull!

Nuff said except to say thank you lovely people and friends in and around Hull, we’ve had a right giggle and a few too many shots!

Great shows n memories I’ll cherish.

Up the boys in green sausages x

RtoBC: Day 41, 2 a day keeps the Dr away

Oooh two lovely shows today, friends in the growing audiences and lots of fun n shenanigans. This blog is short n sweet not because there’s not lots to say, but because I’m completely jiggered. Eeeer went to Nandos wiv the gang..what’s that all about……….Nandoooos?

It’s been great here in Hull, Trucks a great venue, lully people, nice places to frequent, although after the bad head of the night before I stayed away from Propoganda last night even though I love it there too, £1 a shot is the equivalent of a sign reading bad head mornings bought here, especially with ‘Teccy Dan’ buying a tray full of shots on each visit to the bar. So I was kinda sensible for one night, mainly cause I’d given it my all in the two shows and didn’t want another head.

You see, that’s me job, largin it up with the lemons. Each of those songs are pretty physical, I mean, you have to do them properly (technique-wise) in order to give every ounce of breath to the tunes, that’s what they deserve and what I feel I have to do every night (and matinee). ‘avin achy neck n shoulders after a gig is the sign I’ve given it all and last night I had those signs everywhere all pointing to the middle of me neck.  It’s not a bad achy, it’s a good achy, if that makes sense.

A JD n coke and then I was finished, so staying away from Propoganda was a good move me finks!

Keep Truckin sausages x

R2BC: day 39, Propoganda ministers wohoho madness,I call it gladness.

First show day in Hull began with sound and tec time. First song n blew a speaker, rock n roll eh. Well in a way, but it did mean spending the rest of tec feeling like I was singing in another room with the sound travelling back to me a few days later.  The good thing about technical disasters is knowing you are in good hands and our sound & tec crew are top banana, so by showtime all was hunky-dory & the show rocked with some lovely audience moments and encores to follow.

Earlier I went into KCFM Radio to do an interview and as a result the gang are comin in to join the rockin, nice.

The end of the night turned a bit messy hitting a little bar/club for a dance n drinkey, drinkey drink.  Oooh shots.

Be ware shots sausages x

R2BC, day 38 – Adventures in a fish tank.

After reading about William Wilberforce I went for a walk round the docks and headed to The Deep where I spent most of the day in a huge fish tank looking at………….well, fish n that.  Big ones,  frightening ones, small ones, glowing ones, jelly ones, poisonous ones, cute ones, flat ones, horse ones, shark ones n ants that aren’t really fish ones at all but got themselves into their own exhibition tank about the Amazon n that. Then we went in a lift that took us 10m up n down in a fish tank which was attenboroughtastic.

After finding Nemo, which I did,  I had haddock fish cakes (in honour of The Haddock himself) and felt very guilty about the whole choice of lunch as a result.

Off for beers n footy soon in order to get into shape for rockin Hull over the next few days, listen out for us on KCFM sometime tomorrow.

Keep fishin sausages.

R2BC: Day 37- It takes a lot longer to get up Norff…….

As the word tour suggests, there is a lot of travelling around, and as access means different things to everyone else we started the day doing a little mechanics.  We took my driving bar off my chair so I could get into the more likely available twin ramped cabs, mainly cause with the frame, i ground on the ramps.  Now they would be easy peazy.

Headed off to Kings Cross where Tim (bubbles) & I met with Pickles & four cans of Guinness. Bumped into Adam and his lully lady then we headed up Norff to the lovely Hull. This was all after being called Miss Dunstan a number of times whilst confirming my assistance arrangements, “This is Miss Dunstan for the 13.50”. I wouldn’t mind but I hadn’t shaved and I put on my deepest voice & the real Miss Dunstan is lully n that.

Got to Hull easy and was all excited to try my new easy access wheels into a cab when I was reminded that even though access can be varied certain drivers hold the same “can’t be arsed attitudes” to getting the ramps out,so the first cab driver said I wouldn’t get on his ramps…the other drivers had a go at him which was a bit of a laff, then I got in the next cab (same ramps) no problems.

Got to the hotel and me room is lully, I’ve even got a balcony over-looking the Marina which is nice.  We had a little adventure into town, a nibble at the theatre n a few beers ready for the next days adventures.  Had a bubble party too.

Eeee sausages.

R4BC: day 32, Trurotastic!

2 shows today and they were just amazing.  If honest, we were a little (only a little though, cause I’d be ‘appy playing to one man/woman and their dog) worried as ticket sales have been a bit slower here, but they are picking up and we needn’t have worried.  The audience for both shows have just been fantastic.  All our matinees have been top banana so far and today was no exception. We got on telly, you can see it here for the next 18hrs (from the time of this post) and we are getting a bit of a buzz around Truro Town now.

Two shows in a day is completely jiggering and the body (neck and shoulders in particular) from belting it are beating me up now, although the voice is holding up nicely…phew. Lully Fish n chips today n a bite our Judes birfday cake (appy birfday me lovely x) have kept me going wiv a couple of Satsumas along the way.
So to bed Sausages, we’ve got adventures in Truro ahead tomorrow….and another show, bring yer aunt Mabel, she’ll love it.

xx

R2BC: Day 31 (on 32)

So, here we are in Truro.  The furthest South west we are taking the Reasons Road Trip n I’m waiting for me croissant as it’s breky time.  After settling in, I learnt the intricacies of the English language, you see, when you ask Premier Inn for a twin bedded accessible room with shower, you need to be much more specific.  What we needed to say is, we need a twin bedded room without a double-bedded sheet joining the beds together as a double as me n me PA prefer the twin bedded beds to be separated.

When asking for an accessible bathroom, what we actually should have said is the shower needs to be a flippin real shower and not a shower doohdah within the flippin bath that I can’t get into and is why in the first place we asked, and double asked when booking, for an accessible bathroom with a flippin shower in it.

Who designs accessible rooms? I’d like a meeting, the arrogance of not involving skilled qualified disabled people to do the design is beyond the beyond, now, here in the 21st century, surely its obvious that the best people to know whats best are those with the experience and nouse to do it, wake up architects & don’t make love with me, sort yer flippin design ideas out!

The English language intricasies bit I learned was from my dearest wise  Sir Garry, is not to ask for an accessible bathroom with shower, but to ask for a wet room! Accessible room is not enough…….sausages, we have to spell it out to ’em!

Nuff said.

Had a look around Truro, nice flea market, gadget shop n olden worldy buildings. Then Basil n tomato soup, satsumas, banana, into the lovely Hall for Cornwall, interview with BBC TV local regional news (Spotlight), sound check, tec rehearsal, back for a late dinner (duck wraps) n couple of pints, a discussion on logistics of moving hotels, decisions made, bed, wake up, blog.

In a nutshell sausages x