The apple-oatey thing was delicious if I may say so myself. Earlier this week I made sticky chicken with mixed veg spicy couscous. It was lovely. I had it for tea in the evening and for lunch at work the following day :)
I have done session 3 for my course and all is going well so far!
Has anyone experienced a line manager that really is pure evil? Because that's what I've been experiencing for over a year!
Anyway!
I've been listening to Jazz fm a lot lately. They do play some excellent music and mention gigs happening around London.
If anyone knows any unsigned bands that wouldn't mind me mentioning them on here please let me know!
I'm getting involved with music promotion for Oxjam. It's a worthwhile cause. Go to www.oxjam.org for more information.
Saturday 31 January 2009
Saturday 24 January 2009
I need your help!
I'm into the second week of my PTTLS course and still going strong!
I'm making an apple-oatey thing in the oven at the moment, a recipe recommended by a friend so I hope it turns out well!
Does anyone know any really good, relatively unknown bands? Please let me know so I can research them! You can post a comment on here or e-mail me. I'll use your comments to make a (hopefully) big blog just talking about the bands.
Here's a bit of poetry that I didn't write.
The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are,What a beautiful Pussy you are."
Pussy said to the Owl "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing.O let us be married, too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose."
Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?"
Said the Piggy, "I will"
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand.
They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
The lyrics to "the owl and the pussycat" - What is a Runcible Spoon?A traditional childrens poem , or folksong, as the lyrics to the owl and the pussycat have been set to music and recorded by several artisits. The author of the owl and the pussycat was of course Edward Lear (1812 - 1888) and the first publication date of the owl and the pussycat was 1871. Wonderful illustrated graphics have also been set to the words of the owl and the pussycat poem helping to fire the imagination of a child! The burning question remains, however, what exactly is the runcible spoon referred to in the words of the owl and the pussycat poem? The probable definition of this term is that a runcible spoon is a small fork with three prongs, one having a sharp edge, and curved like a spoon. This spoon is used to eat pickles, etc.
Taken from http://www.rhymes.org.uk/the_owl_and_the_pussycat.htm
I'm making an apple-oatey thing in the oven at the moment, a recipe recommended by a friend so I hope it turns out well!
Does anyone know any really good, relatively unknown bands? Please let me know so I can research them! You can post a comment on here or e-mail me. I'll use your comments to make a (hopefully) big blog just talking about the bands.
Here's a bit of poetry that I didn't write.
The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are,What a beautiful Pussy you are."
Pussy said to the Owl "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing.O let us be married, too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose."
Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?"
Said the Piggy, "I will"
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand.
They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
The lyrics to "the owl and the pussycat" - What is a Runcible Spoon?A traditional childrens poem , or folksong, as the lyrics to the owl and the pussycat have been set to music and recorded by several artisits. The author of the owl and the pussycat was of course Edward Lear (1812 - 1888) and the first publication date of the owl and the pussycat was 1871. Wonderful illustrated graphics have also been set to the words of the owl and the pussycat poem helping to fire the imagination of a child! The burning question remains, however, what exactly is the runcible spoon referred to in the words of the owl and the pussycat poem? The probable definition of this term is that a runcible spoon is a small fork with three prongs, one having a sharp edge, and curved like a spoon. This spoon is used to eat pickles, etc.
Taken from http://www.rhymes.org.uk/the_owl_and_the_pussycat.htm
Saturday 17 January 2009
A little poem
Okay, this is a poem I wrote a little while after the terrorist attacks in London. I don't know if it's a little too political, or maybe cheesy for some people but I feel it's not as rubbish as most of my other stuff! For a reminder of what it's about go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings
Doves Over London
These people who bomb, thinking of hate
Are not clever, brave or true
The hate that they feel is what they create
When they kill people like me and you
After these deeds they think they shall come
To a divine and glorious reward
But with such evil in mind, all they have won
Is a place where but darkness is stored
If you have been touched by some evil deeds
Pray don’t feel angry, hateful or sour
Pity these bombers full of selfish greed
And you shall hold your own power
For such evil in the world thats causes us pain
Can be culled only by peace and love
So someday these things will not happen again
In place of bombs over London there’ll be doves
Thanks for reading :)
In music news, a good artist that seems to get overlooked is KT Tunstall. I think she's written some brilliant songs. She is very talented and I really enjoy listening to her music. Check her out at http://www.kttunstall.com/ which I must say is excellently designed. My favourite song is "If Only" because it can be about so many things but to me it means something important and very personal. Oh yeah, she also plays guitar!
An example of a very bad artist is Basshunter . The lyrics are just awful, the songs are simply uninspiring in general and the videos are also terrible. I don't think it's good to see scantily clad women in music videos in the daytime. What about impressionable children? And their poor ears, having the bad music on top of all those images?
http://www.basshunter.se/basshunter.htm
That's my personal opinion though. I don't mean to offend anyone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings
Doves Over London
These people who bomb, thinking of hate
Are not clever, brave or true
The hate that they feel is what they create
When they kill people like me and you
After these deeds they think they shall come
To a divine and glorious reward
But with such evil in mind, all they have won
Is a place where but darkness is stored
If you have been touched by some evil deeds
Pray don’t feel angry, hateful or sour
Pity these bombers full of selfish greed
And you shall hold your own power
For such evil in the world thats causes us pain
Can be culled only by peace and love
So someday these things will not happen again
In place of bombs over London there’ll be doves
Thanks for reading :)
In music news, a good artist that seems to get overlooked is KT Tunstall. I think she's written some brilliant songs. She is very talented and I really enjoy listening to her music. Check her out at http://www.kttunstall.com/ which I must say is excellently designed. My favourite song is "If Only" because it can be about so many things but to me it means something important and very personal. Oh yeah, she also plays guitar!
An example of a very bad artist is Basshunter . The lyrics are just awful, the songs are simply uninspiring in general and the videos are also terrible. I don't think it's good to see scantily clad women in music videos in the daytime. What about impressionable children? And their poor ears, having the bad music on top of all those images?
http://www.basshunter.se/basshunter.htm
That's my personal opinion though. I don't mean to offend anyone.
Thursday 15 January 2009
Update about me and an update about music
I attended my first PTLLS class on Monday which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was a real keener and submitted my homework via e-mail on Tuesday night. I've had it back and I've made the grade on them so woohoo!
A problem I've got is confidence. The course requires me to do presentations and a "micro-teach" for my peers. I tend to fall to pieces on anything that involves me speaking in front of an audience. Quite badly. Which doesn't bode well for teaching, does it, haha!
I seem to be alright when I perform my poetry though. I mean, I feel the nerves, I shake and everything, but on camera I look okay, just a little shy.
I'm hoping to get on the poetry circuit again as it's been nearly a year since my last performance.
Maybe reading out poetry in public will help me gain confidence with the teaching course, or vice versa??
Anyway, in other news.
Amy Winehouse has been offered her first film role - as a music teacher! I say, hurrah!
Amy is a fine singer and musician. I recommend people listen to her first album "Frank" which in my opinion is much better than "Back to Black".
Back to Black is essentially 60's style Motown, whereas Frank is more her style, it's total jazz with a contemporary beat and feel. I hope her new album will return to this genre.
Yes, she has drug problems but she is getting help and has put on weight recently which is excellent news for her fans and the music world.
I downloaded Frank from iTunes for a very reasonable price.
For some relaxing music and an interesting website, please go to www.mywoollyhat.com .
This is a loooong post...
I love St. Ives in Cornwall. Beautiful beaches, art galleries, cornish pasties and ice creams. However what a lot of people don't know about St. Ives is its excellent music culture. It has a very big blues scene. My favourite St. Ives band for the past donkeys' years has been Dirty Livin' Rhythm Band which can be found at http://www.myspace.com/dlrb .
They are looking for a lead singer if anyone is interested!
By the way...
LISTEN TO REAL MUSIC! Don't listen to X-Factor rubbish. I've had my ears tortured for the past four days at work having to listen to Burke murdering "Hallelujah" on GWR fm twice a day. Come on, this cannot happen again! Stop the awful covers!
Kiss FM is utter rubbish, while we're on the subject of bad radio. Listen to Radio 1. They always showcase new bands and DJ Colin Murray really helped the Christmas Jeff Buckley campaign by publicising it at the beginning of one of his shows and playing the definitive version of "Hallelujah"
Just think, "what if I were in a band, trying to earn a crust"?
A problem I've got is confidence. The course requires me to do presentations and a "micro-teach" for my peers. I tend to fall to pieces on anything that involves me speaking in front of an audience. Quite badly. Which doesn't bode well for teaching, does it, haha!
I seem to be alright when I perform my poetry though. I mean, I feel the nerves, I shake and everything, but on camera I look okay, just a little shy.
I'm hoping to get on the poetry circuit again as it's been nearly a year since my last performance.
Maybe reading out poetry in public will help me gain confidence with the teaching course, or vice versa??
Anyway, in other news.
Amy Winehouse has been offered her first film role - as a music teacher! I say, hurrah!
Amy is a fine singer and musician. I recommend people listen to her first album "Frank" which in my opinion is much better than "Back to Black".
Back to Black is essentially 60's style Motown, whereas Frank is more her style, it's total jazz with a contemporary beat and feel. I hope her new album will return to this genre.
Yes, she has drug problems but she is getting help and has put on weight recently which is excellent news for her fans and the music world.
I downloaded Frank from iTunes for a very reasonable price.
For some relaxing music and an interesting website, please go to www.mywoollyhat.com .
This is a loooong post...
I love St. Ives in Cornwall. Beautiful beaches, art galleries, cornish pasties and ice creams. However what a lot of people don't know about St. Ives is its excellent music culture. It has a very big blues scene. My favourite St. Ives band for the past donkeys' years has been Dirty Livin' Rhythm Band which can be found at http://www.myspace.com/dlrb .
They are looking for a lead singer if anyone is interested!
By the way...
LISTEN TO REAL MUSIC! Don't listen to X-Factor rubbish. I've had my ears tortured for the past four days at work having to listen to Burke murdering "Hallelujah" on GWR fm twice a day. Come on, this cannot happen again! Stop the awful covers!
Kiss FM is utter rubbish, while we're on the subject of bad radio. Listen to Radio 1. They always showcase new bands and DJ Colin Murray really helped the Christmas Jeff Buckley campaign by publicising it at the beginning of one of his shows and playing the definitive version of "Hallelujah"
Just think, "what if I were in a band, trying to earn a crust"?
Sunday 11 January 2009
Mixed bag
I saw a band at The Golden Lion in Bristol with my boyfriend a couple of months ago called the Manfredi Funk Initiative which totally blew me away. They're a funk/jazz band with a very talented saxophonist.
I really like to see a good saxophonist because I play the clarinet and it inspires me. I enjoyed them so much that I booked tickets to see them again on New Year's Eve!
Have a little listen here:
www.myspace.com/mfiquartet
Now, here is a lady with a lovely singing voice, Adrianne Sebastian Scott. She is also a Jeff Buckley fan, which gives her extra brownie points in my eyes!
http://www.myspace.com/adriannesebastianscott
Aaaand to close, I'll leave you with a little bit of light-hearted poetry from myself...
Poem about Fruit
I bought a bag full of fruit today
It cost me under a pound
An orange, some grapes, a banana
And the ripest plum I found
It was something that would be good for me
And help me lose some weight
'Cause fruit has a low G.I.
Or something I was told by a mate
So I made my way through the bag
Boring though it was for me
'Til all I had left was the orange
Which I looked at thoughtfully
As I peeled I noticed it
Was mostly made of water and air
And as I took a bite
I tasted bitterness there
But it was not as bad
As at first it did seem
'Cause I smothered all over it
A big dollop of cream!
I really like to see a good saxophonist because I play the clarinet and it inspires me. I enjoyed them so much that I booked tickets to see them again on New Year's Eve!
Have a little listen here:
www.myspace.com/mfiquartet
Now, here is a lady with a lovely singing voice, Adrianne Sebastian Scott. She is also a Jeff Buckley fan, which gives her extra brownie points in my eyes!
http://www.myspace.com/adriannesebastianscott
Aaaand to close, I'll leave you with a little bit of light-hearted poetry from myself...
Poem about Fruit
I bought a bag full of fruit today
It cost me under a pound
An orange, some grapes, a banana
And the ripest plum I found
It was something that would be good for me
And help me lose some weight
'Cause fruit has a low G.I.
Or something I was told by a mate
So I made my way through the bag
Boring though it was for me
'Til all I had left was the orange
Which I looked at thoughtfully
As I peeled I noticed it
Was mostly made of water and air
And as I took a bite
I tasted bitterness there
But it was not as bad
As at first it did seem
'Cause I smothered all over it
A big dollop of cream!
Guns N' Roses
I start my course tomorrow evening! I shall be studying a course called PTTLS which is Preparing To Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector. I'm very excited and very nervous!
Of course before I go to do that I have to endure a day at my full-time job as an administrator which I do not enjoy at all.
Anyway, I'd like to talk a band that I have loved for a very long time - Guns N' Roses. They might have had more changes to their line-up than I've had hot dinners but they have been my undefeated all-time favourite band for the past six years and I really think they are amazing.
I find their songs help me when I am angry, frustrated, stressed out or generally feeling negative. They help me to just say "sod it!"
The lead singer, songwriter and pianist W. Axl Rose is possibly one of the most talented living men in music and to me he is certainly a living legend. His voice is totally distinctive too.
The band itself has been around since the early eighties!
It's difficult to choose my favourite Guns N' Roses song but it has to be November Rain. At over 9 minutes long, with touching lyrics and with some brilliant guitar solos from the marvellous Slash, this song is beautiful.
They have also just released their new album - Chinese Democracy which I highly recommend.
Check them out at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=12994546 you won't find their old classics here I'm afraid but it has previews of Chinese Democracy.
Of course before I go to do that I have to endure a day at my full-time job as an administrator which I do not enjoy at all.
Anyway, I'd like to talk a band that I have loved for a very long time - Guns N' Roses. They might have had more changes to their line-up than I've had hot dinners but they have been my undefeated all-time favourite band for the past six years and I really think they are amazing.
I find their songs help me when I am angry, frustrated, stressed out or generally feeling negative. They help me to just say "sod it!"
The lead singer, songwriter and pianist W. Axl Rose is possibly one of the most talented living men in music and to me he is certainly a living legend. His voice is totally distinctive too.
The band itself has been around since the early eighties!
It's difficult to choose my favourite Guns N' Roses song but it has to be November Rain. At over 9 minutes long, with touching lyrics and with some brilliant guitar solos from the marvellous Slash, this song is beautiful.
They have also just released their new album - Chinese Democracy which I highly recommend.
Check them out at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=12994546 you won't find their old classics here I'm afraid but it has previews of Chinese Democracy.
Saturday 10 January 2009
Expanding...
Okay, sorry to be posting again but I didn't fully explain what I want to do with this blog in the first entry and I am aiming not to go back and edit entries.
I want to also use this space to talk about music that I love, and to talk about artists I respect, and bands that I have only just heard about - because they are unsigned or don't have a big record company promoting them or whatever.
At the moment I am loving Fleet Foxes. I bought their album in Zavvi a few weeks ago for only £5 and it rocks. I had heard about them prior to this as Uncut magazine had given them an award.
I would describe their music as folky chillout rock but that's just me. I don't have a degree in music.
Have a listen at http://www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes
They seem hardworking and genuine. Their album cover is also brilliant.
I find their music very peaceful and inspiring.
It reminds me very much of late 60s early 70s folk rock.
I want to also use this space to talk about music that I love, and to talk about artists I respect, and bands that I have only just heard about - because they are unsigned or don't have a big record company promoting them or whatever.
At the moment I am loving Fleet Foxes. I bought their album in Zavvi a few weeks ago for only £5 and it rocks. I had heard about them prior to this as Uncut magazine had given them an award.
I would describe their music as folky chillout rock but that's just me. I don't have a degree in music.
Have a listen at http://www.myspace.com/fleetfoxes
They seem hardworking and genuine. Their album cover is also brilliant.
I find their music very peaceful and inspiring.
It reminds me very much of late 60s early 70s folk rock.
First Entry!
Hello, this is the first entry in the Cherub Tattoo blog (duh!).
This is where I shall write about current events in the world of music and my take on them.
I shall also use this space to inform readers of the latest goings on with regards to my writing, work with music and any additions/alterations I make to this website.
I want it to be as interactive as humanly possible. I strongly welcome comments from readers and I shall try my best to read and respond to each one.
Thanks,
CTVicky
This is where I shall write about current events in the world of music and my take on them.
I shall also use this space to inform readers of the latest goings on with regards to my writing, work with music and any additions/alterations I make to this website.
I want it to be as interactive as humanly possible. I strongly welcome comments from readers and I shall try my best to read and respond to each one.
Thanks,
CTVicky
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