Lights, Camera, ACTION!

The last few weeks have gleefully whistled by (don’t they always when you’re busy) and there’s no busier month than December. Whatever your profession, and especially if you’ve got children, the festive season can itself appear to arrive like a tornado…wreaking havoc on your daily routine, your bank balance, and your sleep! So, hold onto your hats…because we’re heading for the eye!
My self contained act Vocally Vintage kicked off a whole season of Christmas Shows last month with a Vintage Tea Party in aid of leading disability charity, The Papworth Trust . It was a pleasure to be involved, a privilege to witness so much passion for such a great cause, and an honour to also find myself twice in The East Anglian Daily Times together with organiser Sarah Moss because of it. Further shows continue, and you can find these on my Vocally Vintage Calender.

In the mean time, behind the scenes, Chasing Storms has been undergoing some major changes and is evolving hugely. We were deeply upset last year to see James Murphy move to Leicester to begin a new chapter with his family. The loss of James’s multi-instrumental talents, together with his songwriting and recording skills left a large gap to be filled, and while we have been fortunate to welcome him back for our most important gigs this year, sadly the distance and work commitments have proved too much to overcome. James is sorely missed, but we are very thankful to have worked with him since 2009, and we hope he will come and guest with us in the future whenever he can.
We always knew it would take more than one person to replace James so we have been really fortunate to welcome aboard the talents of Mark Sewell on Drums, and Ben Watson on Bass. Having such a strong and dynamic rhythm section has lifted the band into a whole new dimension and broadened our possibilities and opportunities, and not a moment too soon! 2014 is going to be very exciting for us, and to make the most of that, we have been very busy filming video, recording tracks, and being photographed. To be more economical with everybody’s precious time (it is December after all!) we decided to do this all at once, and hired the beautiful John Peel Centre for the purpose. Having already been there for gigs, it was wonderful to have the place to ourselves for the evening, and if the early glimpses are anything to go by, then we will be over the moon with the finished results. We were very selective about who we involved in the project, and felt that the combination of Steve Stoddart and Paul Nicholas proved to complete a really successful team on the day. We also have an exciting extra photographer on board….but we’re keeping that under wraps for now!

Here are a couple of those glimpses from the Wandering River Lens.

And finally…what could possibly make this month even busier? Well, if you count back 16 weeks from The 2014 London Marathon, you’ll find the starting date for my 16 week training plan, right smack bang in the middle of the month, on December 15th! It was a sobering realisation that despite the big build up and all festive jollyness, it looks like Christmas itself will in fact also be, pretty sober! This brings me swiftly onto the subject of my chosen charity for the big run. I have thought so long and hard about this; there are so many charities close to my heart that I would love to support, but I feel this year that to get so personal, and to be so emotionally involved with my fundraising cause this time would in fact hinder my ability to focus on everything else that’s going on right now. So, I thought back to this Summer’s ‘Gig In The Garden’ and remembered how overwhelmed I was by the dedication shown by the long term volunteers for the charity it supported. We’ve also performed at a couple of other events this year to support them, and as they will be again be giving us a opportunity to showcase at next years ‘Gig In The Garden’ I wanted to give something back, so I have decided to run for ‘Action Medical Research for Children’. We were busking the other night for the Choose Woodbridge Festive Fridays, and all the money raised in the hour has kick started the fund. So, if you would like to add to that, I, and thousands of families everywhere with sick and vulnerable children in need of medical help, will be very grateful indeed.
Click here to sponsor me for the 2014 London Marathon, running for Action Medical Research
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If Ever, If Ever A Week There Was….

I’m in a mild state of shock..still. Last week was really quite extraordinary. It began on the Saturday, when I found myself dancing the Conga with Marion Bartoli after dinner at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Sunday at the Emirates had me wishing I’d made a trip to the bookies, as I’d made a successful prediction of the Arsenal football scores. Wednesday brought some brilliant news on the music front, and Thursday was the cherry, on the icing, of a great big fat delicious cake of a week!!
Word on the Jaffa Running Club Facebook page was that the acceptance/rejection magazines for The London Marathon had arrived at Ipswich sorting office. Suddenly I regressed to being a child of eight on their birthday, pacing excitedly around the house, pausing occasionally to peer down the road in the hope of spotting the PostWoman. When she finally appeared in my view, I actually emitted what can only be described as a small squeal. I just had a feeling about this one.
The Marathon is notoriously hard to get a place in, due to the sheer volume of entrants every year. Coupled with the fact that a huge portion of the places are taken up by charities, you are only left with something like a 1in 8 chance of success. When the magazine landed on the door mat, my hands clapped over my mouth. I could see the words ‘You’re In’ staring up at me from the floor.
Running in 2011 was unbelievable. I did it for so many reasons, but giving a good performance wasn’t one of them! This is my second chance to realise a lifetime ambition. Second chances don’t come around very often, and this one’s not going to get away!
I wouldn’t have gambled even a pound of my money two years ago on any of these things happening now, let alone all at once, but that’s the beautiful unpredictability of life.
So, another chapter, another blog, another challenge, and another journey begins. Destination Kansas. Why? I’ll tell you next time!