All that Jazz - with Clare Teal in Concert

Clare Teal in concert, Leicester 14.4.

My agent's a big jazz fan. Her health not being up to attending award-winning singer Clare Teal's Leicester concert last night, Max & I were asked if we'd like to go along instead.
We were glad we did; although we know little of her work, Clare did justice to every song. She's very funny and her band was wonderful! I particularly enjoyed her version of Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars'.
Don't think I'll ever be a jazz fan (with the possible exception of Billie Holiday) but hearing music being played & sung as well as this is something special.

TOP SECRET PROJECT, continued

The TOP SECRET project continues to go well. It's taking way too much time but I LOVE it! Only wish I could say more. Spilling the beans has to wait but I promise to tell all very soon!

Photographing the LOROS Twilight Walk

LOROS Twilight Walk & balloon release

One of the benefits of taking photos for the Leicester Mercury is having the opportunity to attend a variety of events; last night I was at the football stadium for the annual LOROS Hospice fundraisers' Twilight Walk and balloon release.

LOROS fundraisers are a hard working lot. I see them a number of times through the year but the Twilight Walk is always colourful, particularly with this year's Hawaiian theme.

Cancer effects many people and touches so many lives that it's good to know volunteers can have fun whilst raising money essential to keep our Leicester & Leicestershire hospice doing its valuable work. 
I'm only glad I was there to take photos and not to run six miles around the city centre!

The piano accordion habit

Gaffer tape wanted!

Don't think I've told you that Max has a piano accordion habit? This week he bought another broken down specimen to do up, so out with the gaffer tape and glue until he's once again bored with the thing. 

The noise would drive me bonkers if Max wasn't such a natural musician, able to play pretty much any instrument even when it's in bits, and if I wasn't enjoying my SECRET project!

You'll be pleased to hear that for now both Max's accordion repairs and my project are going GREAT!

Health project makes Leicester Mercury

Loughborough's NHS campaign appears in the Leicester Mercury

My recently completed NHS project featured in the Leicester Mercury this week, as the Loughborough health campaign made it into our regional newspaper - which is good advertising for the project and for me!

Happy Birthday Patrick

The Birthday Boy; Patrick at 50

Been working every day this past week on my SECRET (!) project. I'm sworn to secrecy so can't breath a word but if it comes off it'll be brilliant! 

Promise to let the cat out of the bag as soon as I'm allowed :)

Something I can talk about is the 50th birthday party held yesterday for Patrick McCracken in Melton Mowbray. 

Patrick is joint-founder of 103 The Eye, Melton's community radio station, and since my agent works on the station I went across with Max to help Patrick celebrate with the assistance of many of the station's broadcasters, volunteers and listeners.

It was a good evening and, as you can see, the birthday boy thoroughly enjoyed himself!

Hockney - the man's a genius!

David Hockney's 'A Bigger Picture' RA exhibition

Visited the Royal Academy in London for the wonderful David Hockney exhibition, 'A Bigger Picture'. 

To be around so many wonderful artworks was inspiring, the scale of the pieces and the vivid colours took my breath away. And something I hadn't noticed before; Hockney's brush marks are not unlike those of Van Gogh.

Got home and got painting!