Half way through half term now, and we've had a lot of fun so far!
Monday, the kids got
married, and then we took them bowling ...
Dylan bowling with the ramp
He likes to find
alternative ways to bowl
Seren started off using the ramp
Before switching to bowling by hand (well, chucking it down the aisle, pirouetting, and hoping for the best!)
Dylan imitating his new Spongebob top while waiting for his turn
Seren and ... look! No pins left standing, which must mean ...
STRIIIIIIIIKE!!!
Chuffed!
Final scores for Game 1 (Dylan kept pushing the ramp over the line and getting faults without realising)
Dylan and Daddy playing air hockey
As you can see from that photo, Dylan got distracted by all the other fun-looking things to do at the bowling alley, and so he elected to have me bowl in his place for the second game. I can't remember now if I got a strike or a spare, but whatever I got, Seren still managed to beat me! :o)
We got the kids something to eat, and then we went home and I grabbed something quick to eat before walking to Suzy's house for my first rehearsal with her and M! They recorded the whole rehearsal, which lasted about 3 1/2 hours, and I played them one of the tunes I've been learning on my tin whistle - The Harvest Home. M had found a tin whistle and guitar version on YouTube, and so when I started playing, he started playing along with me!
We had a go at some songs together, with me singing either the choruses or with Suzy in the verses, and we discovered that Suzy and I are both mezzo sopranos, with pretty similar voices, so I'm told. And then things got
really mad when we decided to try a new song M had been wanting Suzy to try. I had said how much I loved the song, '
Breathless', by The Corrs, and so when Suzy had trouble remembering the tune (still not sure whether that was a set up!) I sang it, and they promptly decided that
I should sing it solo! Lead vocals! Me!
I laughed.
They persisted.
I buckled under two-fold pressure.
So I rehearsed, and they insisted it sounded good!
Then they threw me again by telling me they want me to sing it on Friday! This Friday! Although, I have to say, that sounds more appealing than trying to play The Harvest Home on the tin whistle this Friday, which is what I think they were going to ask me to do otherwise, because I don't feel it's ready yet. Not that I feel ready to sing lead vocals on a song yet either, lol!
And then, having not scared me enough for one night, they suggested me making my folk band debut the following night at a folk club in Yarmouth!
WHAT??!!!?? With
microphones! At this point I was starting to wonder if Suzy's homemade lemon vodka was going to their heads!
But I said I'd think about it, and M walked me home at around midnight. When I got in, it felt incredibly odd to be telling Adrian that M and Suzy not only definitely wanted me to join their band, but that they wanted me to sing backing vocals at a club the following night, and lead vocals in a new song on Friday! Adrian was amazed!
I did have to ask him a very serious question though. If I was to join M and Suzy's band, and commit to them properly, going to all rehearsals and as many gigs as possible, then I would be regularly out of the house on an average of four nights a week, every week, which would mean Adrian having to be willing to take over all the kids' evening CF treatments on those days. Thankfully, the fabulous Adrian said that he was happy to do that,
WOO HOO!!! What a star!
Tuesday, we had a quiet morning at home while I caught up on some chores, and then during the afternoon, the kids played nicely while I sang along with a CD of M and Suzy's songs, so that I could get some more rehearsing in ready for the folk club that night. Suzy had been telling me the night before about breathing with my diaphragm, and 'locking' my diaphragm to get much more singing out of each breath I take, and I found I was starting to get the hang of that too! I didn't half have sore stomach muscles after though!
After that, the kids and I got a taxi to the local music shop for me to buy a few more tin whistles (I bought my D tin whistle in a souvenir shop in Ireland in 2000), one in C, one in Eflat, and one in G, so that I have more chance of fitting a tin whistle with Suzy's vocals and M's guitar. I also bought myself a recorder, which I'm much more familiar with playing, which may be more suitable for playing in certain songs. I also enquired about getting my clarinet serviced, which is long overdue.
Adrian picked us up from outside the music shop, and we popped to Asda to get a few odds and ends, and the kids were allowed one small toy each. When we got home, I tried out my new instruments, and then it was time for pancakes!
I had a wheat-free pancake mix for me, and normal ones for Adrian and the kids, and Seren ate and enjoyed her pancake with some chocolate sauce, but Dylan, who will happily eat dirt or sticks or LEGO wheels, pronounced the pancake 'disgusting', lol. I ate mine though!
Then I had to go get ready to go to the folk club, by which time my nerves were building. Everyone on Facebook had been encouraging me to sing that night, but I was scared of messing up and letting M and Suzy down, because I'd only rehearsed with them once, and
never with a microphone. Once I was ready, I started Seren's physio, and when M called at the door to walk me to Suzy's, Adrian took over and I said goodbye to everyone.
On the drive to Yarmouth, Suzy played the CD of our rehearsal the night before, which was very weird to hear! Suzy and I sure do sound alike, and I was really pleased with how good the tin whistle and guitar sounded together. I still need to practise more though, as it's a really
really fast tune, and I keep flubbing the odd note, which I would rather not do when I perform it!
When we got to Yarmouth, I still had no idea whether I was brave enough to sing, and although there were some fabulous singers at the club, I couldn't relax and enjoy them, as my nerves were going nuts! And then when the organiser came over to say that we were up next, oh, I was terrified!!! I willed the couple in front of us, a woman playing a harp with a man playing the low whistle, to go slow. But the songs had to finish (you get 3 songs each) and then they called us up.
I had to literally force my legs to get me up off the chair, across the room, and into the spotlights, and I stared out at the room which suddenly seemed much bigger and very dark. Suzy explained that this was my first performance with them, and first performance on a microphone, and that I was a little (!) nervous, and so they should go easy on me, and then ... M started playing, and we were straight into 'Grey Funnel Line'.
I had fallen in love with that beautiful song while practising with the CD that afternoon, and all I had to sing was the chorus line, so it was a good introduction into using the microphone and singing with them. But because when we were singing I couldn't hear myself, or hear Suzy next to me, all I could hear was the speakers, I had no idea whether I was doing okay. So I'd asked one of the ladies from the folk club to let me know if I was coming across okay, with hand signals (finger across the neck meant "
Step away from the mic! You're terrible!"), and when I looked across at her halfway through the song, she gave me a thumbs up! :o) Woo hoo!!!
We then went straight into our second song, 'The Water is Wide', and for this, I had to sing three full verses with Suzy, after only one rehearsal! I knew the song anyway, but of course, every singer sings it differently, and so it was hard to match my phrasing to Suzy's in order to sing in unison when I couldn't hear her or myself! I had no idea how it was going, so I just had to try and do my best.
And when it finished, I was VERY glad to be able to sit down while Suzy and M did a song on their own, 'What's Up' by 4 Non Blondes. As I sat back down, legs shaking, heart pounding, half-relieved that I'd been brave enough to sing, and half-scared to find out what people had thought, I was really chuffed when the people at the next table told me I'd done well!
I had various people come up to me and say well done, and Suzy and M seemed pleased with how it has gone, so now I guess it's official! I'm a member of their folk band! I can't believe it!!!
Of course, once I'd got my singing out of the way, I was able to relax and really enjoy listening to all the other singers, who were absolutely great. The last singer sang his last note at around 11.30 pm, and then I went back to Suzy's for a coffee before getting home at around 1 am to tell Adrian all about my singing debut! :o)
Yesterday morning, Wednesday, I woke up
sooooo tired, but thankfully the kids were behaving really well and playing very nicely together, so I was able to get some chores done before they got too impatient to go out. And go out we did, to a nearby park ...
En route to the park, we found the oldest house in the town, built in the 1400s!
Seren walking down the veeerrrry steep slope to the park
The park
Seren standing on the bowling green, Dylan looking down on her from the path
Heading for the play area
Posing by the fountain
Wibble-wobbling
See-sawing
Sliding
Squishing
And then, when Daddy arrived after work ...
They had a family pile up!
When it got too cold, we piled back in the car, grabbed something to eat, and came home again, and Seren and I played on SingStar for aaaaaaaaaaaaaages! Dylan came downstairs just as we were finishing up, and so they decided to use the microphones to sing a song they know from Spongebob, about him ripping his pants. When they both started singing so enthusiastically, I grabbed the camera, and asked them to sing again from the beginning. I got it on film, and was going to add it to this post, but it took AGES to upload, and so I'll add it separately in a minute.
Once all the hilarity was done, we got the kids treatments out of the way, and Dylan went off to bed, Seren chilled out in front of the tv, and I tackled my ginormous ironing pile. I made a good dent in it over the course of a few hours, and spent the time practising with my CD of songs from Suzy and M, ready for our rehearsal tonight. :o)
Today is going to be a busy one, as we're off to a soft play place with Suzy and her kids this afternoon, and then after the kids tea, we have to dash to Tesco and Slimming World, before I go to my rehearsal with Suzy and M.
Tomorrow, Seren has a dance workshop to go to during the day, so it'll be some Mummy and Dylan time for me and Dylsie-boy, and then I have the folk club to go to in the evening. I can't believe I'm going to sing
lead vocals on a song! Two weeks ago I hadn't even visited their club! :o)
Monday, the kids got married, and then we took them bowling ...
As you can see from that photo, Dylan got distracted by all the other fun-looking things to do at the bowling alley, and so he elected to have me bowl in his place for the second game. I can't remember now if I got a strike or a spare, but whatever I got, Seren still managed to beat me! :o)
We got the kids something to eat, and then we went home and I grabbed something quick to eat before walking to Suzy's house for my first rehearsal with her and M! They recorded the whole rehearsal, which lasted about 3 1/2 hours, and I played them one of the tunes I've been learning on my tin whistle - The Harvest Home. M had found a tin whistle and guitar version on YouTube, and so when I started playing, he started playing along with me!
We had a go at some songs together, with me singing either the choruses or with Suzy in the verses, and we discovered that Suzy and I are both mezzo sopranos, with pretty similar voices, so I'm told. And then things got really mad when we decided to try a new song M had been wanting Suzy to try. I had said how much I loved the song, 'Breathless', by The Corrs, and so when Suzy had trouble remembering the tune (still not sure whether that was a set up!) I sang it, and they promptly decided that I should sing it solo! Lead vocals! Me!
I laughed.
They persisted.
I buckled under two-fold pressure.
So I rehearsed, and they insisted it sounded good!
Then they threw me again by telling me they want me to sing it on Friday! This Friday! Although, I have to say, that sounds more appealing than trying to play The Harvest Home on the tin whistle this Friday, which is what I think they were going to ask me to do otherwise, because I don't feel it's ready yet. Not that I feel ready to sing lead vocals on a song yet either, lol!
And then, having not scared me enough for one night, they suggested me making my folk band debut the following night at a folk club in Yarmouth! WHAT??!!!?? With microphones! At this point I was starting to wonder if Suzy's homemade lemon vodka was going to their heads!
But I said I'd think about it, and M walked me home at around midnight. When I got in, it felt incredibly odd to be telling Adrian that M and Suzy not only definitely wanted me to join their band, but that they wanted me to sing backing vocals at a club the following night, and lead vocals in a new song on Friday! Adrian was amazed!
I did have to ask him a very serious question though. If I was to join M and Suzy's band, and commit to them properly, going to all rehearsals and as many gigs as possible, then I would be regularly out of the house on an average of four nights a week, every week, which would mean Adrian having to be willing to take over all the kids' evening CF treatments on those days. Thankfully, the fabulous Adrian said that he was happy to do that, WOO HOO!!! What a star!
Tuesday, we had a quiet morning at home while I caught up on some chores, and then during the afternoon, the kids played nicely while I sang along with a CD of M and Suzy's songs, so that I could get some more rehearsing in ready for the folk club that night. Suzy had been telling me the night before about breathing with my diaphragm, and 'locking' my diaphragm to get much more singing out of each breath I take, and I found I was starting to get the hang of that too! I didn't half have sore stomach muscles after though!
After that, the kids and I got a taxi to the local music shop for me to buy a few more tin whistles (I bought my D tin whistle in a souvenir shop in Ireland in 2000), one in C, one in Eflat, and one in G, so that I have more chance of fitting a tin whistle with Suzy's vocals and M's guitar. I also bought myself a recorder, which I'm much more familiar with playing, which may be more suitable for playing in certain songs. I also enquired about getting my clarinet serviced, which is long overdue.
Adrian picked us up from outside the music shop, and we popped to Asda to get a few odds and ends, and the kids were allowed one small toy each. When we got home, I tried out my new instruments, and then it was time for pancakes!
I had a wheat-free pancake mix for me, and normal ones for Adrian and the kids, and Seren ate and enjoyed her pancake with some chocolate sauce, but Dylan, who will happily eat dirt or sticks or LEGO wheels, pronounced the pancake 'disgusting', lol. I ate mine though!
Then I had to go get ready to go to the folk club, by which time my nerves were building. Everyone on Facebook had been encouraging me to sing that night, but I was scared of messing up and letting M and Suzy down, because I'd only rehearsed with them once, and never with a microphone. Once I was ready, I started Seren's physio, and when M called at the door to walk me to Suzy's, Adrian took over and I said goodbye to everyone.
On the drive to Yarmouth, Suzy played the CD of our rehearsal the night before, which was very weird to hear! Suzy and I sure do sound alike, and I was really pleased with how good the tin whistle and guitar sounded together. I still need to practise more though, as it's a really really fast tune, and I keep flubbing the odd note, which I would rather not do when I perform it!
When we got to Yarmouth, I still had no idea whether I was brave enough to sing, and although there were some fabulous singers at the club, I couldn't relax and enjoy them, as my nerves were going nuts! And then when the organiser came over to say that we were up next, oh, I was terrified!!! I willed the couple in front of us, a woman playing a harp with a man playing the low whistle, to go slow. But the songs had to finish (you get 3 songs each) and then they called us up.
I had to literally force my legs to get me up off the chair, across the room, and into the spotlights, and I stared out at the room which suddenly seemed much bigger and very dark. Suzy explained that this was my first performance with them, and first performance on a microphone, and that I was a little (!) nervous, and so they should go easy on me, and then ... M started playing, and we were straight into 'Grey Funnel Line'.
I had fallen in love with that beautiful song while practising with the CD that afternoon, and all I had to sing was the chorus line, so it was a good introduction into using the microphone and singing with them. But because when we were singing I couldn't hear myself, or hear Suzy next to me, all I could hear was the speakers, I had no idea whether I was doing okay. So I'd asked one of the ladies from the folk club to let me know if I was coming across okay, with hand signals (finger across the neck meant "Step away from the mic! You're terrible!"), and when I looked across at her halfway through the song, she gave me a thumbs up! :o) Woo hoo!!!
We then went straight into our second song, 'The Water is Wide', and for this, I had to sing three full verses with Suzy, after only one rehearsal! I knew the song anyway, but of course, every singer sings it differently, and so it was hard to match my phrasing to Suzy's in order to sing in unison when I couldn't hear her or myself! I had no idea how it was going, so I just had to try and do my best.
And when it finished, I was VERY glad to be able to sit down while Suzy and M did a song on their own, 'What's Up' by 4 Non Blondes. As I sat back down, legs shaking, heart pounding, half-relieved that I'd been brave enough to sing, and half-scared to find out what people had thought, I was really chuffed when the people at the next table told me I'd done well!
I had various people come up to me and say well done, and Suzy and M seemed pleased with how it has gone, so now I guess it's official! I'm a member of their folk band! I can't believe it!!!
Of course, once I'd got my singing out of the way, I was able to relax and really enjoy listening to all the other singers, who were absolutely great. The last singer sang his last note at around 11.30 pm, and then I went back to Suzy's for a coffee before getting home at around 1 am to tell Adrian all about my singing debut! :o)
Yesterday morning, Wednesday, I woke up sooooo tired, but thankfully the kids were behaving really well and playing very nicely together, so I was able to get some chores done before they got too impatient to go out. And go out we did, to a nearby park ...
And then, when Daddy arrived after work ...
When it got too cold, we piled back in the car, grabbed something to eat, and came home again, and Seren and I played on SingStar for aaaaaaaaaaaaaages! Dylan came downstairs just as we were finishing up, and so they decided to use the microphones to sing a song they know from Spongebob, about him ripping his pants. When they both started singing so enthusiastically, I grabbed the camera, and asked them to sing again from the beginning. I got it on film, and was going to add it to this post, but it took AGES to upload, and so I'll add it separately in a minute.
Once all the hilarity was done, we got the kids treatments out of the way, and Dylan went off to bed, Seren chilled out in front of the tv, and I tackled my ginormous ironing pile. I made a good dent in it over the course of a few hours, and spent the time practising with my CD of songs from Suzy and M, ready for our rehearsal tonight. :o)
Today is going to be a busy one, as we're off to a soft play place with Suzy and her kids this afternoon, and then after the kids tea, we have to dash to Tesco and Slimming World, before I go to my rehearsal with Suzy and M.
Tomorrow, Seren has a dance workshop to go to during the day, so it'll be some Mummy and Dylan time for me and Dylsie-boy, and then I have the folk club to go to in the evening. I can't believe I'm going to sing lead vocals on a song! Two weeks ago I hadn't even visited their club! :o)