Disappearing comments...

Can one compare people who add comments to my lovingly prepared blogs purely to advertise their own money grabbing schemes as parasites? Hmm - I think one can. Hence I've been removing said comments, just in case you were wondering why I seem to have suddenly gone in for a bit of comment censorship. Such a let down - I get really excited that people have commented on what I've had to say and then I find that it is some nomark (good Liverpudlian phrase)trying to flog their own website. Do I not like that... Other than that, it's very sunny today.

Rx

Airplay and procrastination...

It's been quite a week. It started with a lovely lunch with a friend over from France, in fact from Le Couvent in Roujan. I have mentioned Le Couvent several times, so if you're keeping up you'll know exactly how excellent that place is. That could be too many exes in one sentence but I'm feeling hyperbolic (if that's a word - it's late....) so bear with me.

Anyhoo, I then got a call late on Monday night asking if I might step in to the unfillable shoes of Mr. Ian Shaw on his weekly BBC Radio Kent/Southern Counties Radio jazz hour with Charlie Crocker. Wow. That sent me in to frenzied activity mode. I had a rather hectic couple of hours pulling together a few tunes to play - that was the deal, I got to choose all the music for a whole hour. How excellent is that?! It was like making a compilation tape - which I did a lot when I was 14, hardly any time ago at all... At this point my management consultant skills kicked in and I wrote up the playlist in a rather natty little spreadsheet. Armed with my CDs and my spreadsheet I headed for Tunbridge Wells and got to spend an hour chatting with Charlie Crocker, the presenter, who was excellent, made me feel right at home, and played my tunes. Radio presenting has to be a very close second to singing jazz in the 'best ways to pass the time' top ten . That would be the 'can write about it in public best ways to pass the time' top ten. What I'm trying to say is that I loved it. If you haven't tuned in to Charlie and Ian's double act, you should. It's on every Tuesday night from 9pm - 10pm on BBC Radio Kent and BBC Southern Counties Radio. You can tune in from anywhere via internet at http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/radio_Kent/index.shtml and click on 'listen live'.

Then, on Friday night I was the gorgeous Ian Shaw's special guest at Pizza on the Park and loads of my family and mates came along to listen. Fab. Could that be bettered? Well I was only asked to go back on Saturday night and do it all over again. Extremely fab. And I've just got in from the luscious Pete Churchill's gig at the 606 - what a jazztastic week.

It's half term at the Guildhall this week which means we have lots of time to catch up on the considerable amounts of homework we have. Oh, and practice. Now it might be said that I have an unsurpassed ability to procrastinate when it comes to piano practice. So much so that I have spent the entire day, up until going to see the wonderful Pete Churchill, rearranging my room. An essential activity, though. I think the feng shui was a bit mucked about so I'm sure the time spent will have a positive impact on my practice.

You might think I'm being a tad excessive in my bigging up of the tremendously talented Mr. Churchill. He's my piano teacher...

Rx

Erm, hooray!

Hard to appear unexcited so I'm trying to tone it down, but HOORAY! A couple of corking gigs on the horizon. Firstly I'm going to be Ian Shaw's special guest at Pizza on the Park on Friday 21st October. Then I'm on at the Progress Bar on Sunday 13th November. Then, pum pa pa pum (that's a big build up in case you didn't figure it out), the 606 on Wednesday 7th December. Pretty good so far.

All that would have made this weekend really special would have been an engagement in the family and my brother only went and proposed to his girlfriend. That would be HOORAY! The only person more excited than me is my six year old niece, although she is very disappointed indeed that she is not allowed to come to the 606 in December. I told her it's because they serve alcohol at the venue and she said 'well I just won't have any'. Hmmm. Hard to argue with that.

Rx

Time for some buttered Shreddies...

I've just come in from the 606 and a totally excellent gig. Ian Shaw is the most moving, talented, brilliant, funny, mesmeric performer. His singing is quite beyond anything I've heard and he's lovely. Not only that, he let me sit in with him and do a song. Can't beat it. So, I'm on a bit of a buzzy high at the moment which is not entirely good at gone 1am on a school night. Still, not the earliest of starts tomorrow so I can't complain and hey, I sang at the 606. Hooray! Almost as good as a whole afternoon's sitting with coffee, muffins (preferably lemon poppyseed) and Ian included. If they did SitIdol, I have no doubt that we would win in the 'pairs' category by a country mile.

Right, off to bed. Perhaps after a few buttered Shreddies. Not sure I've mentioned buttered Shreddies before. You might scoff but I'm telling you, once tried, you will not be able to resist. Just make little sandwich type things with two Shreddies and a bit of butter in between. If, like me, you just can't wait that long for the taste sensation, drag a Shreddie along the butter to scoop up a reasonable blob and then squoodge as many shreddies as you can on the blob of butter. Heaven. Only works as part of a calorie controlled diet...

Rx