FordFest

In a few short weeks, my daughter Taylor will be heading back to University to begin the final year of her degree. Given how fast the last two years have have become discarded calendar pages, I am well aware that in no time at all she will find herself balancing on the precipice of the world of work about to throw herself into whatever career she intends to pursue.

There lies a problem. She has very little idea of what she might want to do career wise.

This summer, at the risk of unsettling her and possibly damaging the family harmony, I strongly encouraged her to get her ostrich head well and truly out of the sand (by sand I mean her laptop and her head is nothing at all like that of the large flightless bird) and face the problem now.

Taylor wasn't happy about it but she did see the sense in it.

She started investigating work experience placements and planning things to do that would help build her confidence, get her out meeting new people, experience new things and hopefully create more opportunities. She also got a book from the library about careers in accountancy because it seemed an obvious career choice for a mathematician with a methodical, logical approach to life (maybe too obvious).

When a too good to be true offer from her father for an extended work experience placement in his company in Portugal turned out to be exactly that - too good to be true - she had to deal with her disappointment and start again looking for an alternative. I was so delighted when she was offered a volunteer position in the office of a local organic farm owned by the Fordhall Community Land Initiative. 

As a family, we are familiar with Fordhall Farm. We support the Spring Event that they hold each year and despite a commitment to a vegetarian diet, my husband and I do occasionally lapse and enjoy the wonderful Gloucester Old Spot pork sausages sold in their farm shop. This summer, we took our two little ones on one of the farm trails around the fields. It was muddy but wonderful. I love to see my kids encountering the simple pleasures of the countryside, even if they do come home with soggy socks and cow poo on their wellies.

Taylor dealt with her first day nerves and began to enjoy her sessions working at the farm. For me it was wonderful to see her driving off independently (once my husband insured her on his car). She is only a little thing and it is easy to forget that she is actually twenty years old. Having her take the driver's seat was a good reminder!

Fordhall Farm held a Beer and Music Festival this weekend. During the week leading up to it, Taylor was helping out every day. Proving the point that taking one opportunity often leads to others, she was offered the chance to sing on a small acoustic stage in between the acts on the main stage.

In turn, this created an unmissable opportunity for me to attend the 'FordFest' and see my daughter perform. I hadn't planned on going on account of already being signed up for a rather punishing 7 mile multi terrain race organised by the army the following day. I put the thought of trying to run after a day of sampling real ales from eight different breweries as far out of my head as I could, and put myself at the mercy of FordFest!

I couldn't have been prouder of Taylor when she played the guitar and sang, with big sister Liberty providing vocal harmonies.

A highlight of the day was when one of main stage acts failed to turn up on time and Taylor was asked to take his place. It is one thing to play a few acoustic songs inside a small tent - quite another to stand in the main focal point, unforgivingly amplified, apologise for not being who everyone was expecting and then launch into an unrehearsed set. I think Taylor was relieved when the missing artist finally turned up but I thought they did a fantastic job of filling in.

I thoroughly enjoyed sampling some of the selection of ales on offer. Despite the fact that I chose my ales on the same principle I use for selecting the shade of emulsion paint when I decorate and when backing a horse for the Grand National ie I like the name, I didn't have one dud. Shropshire Lad and Lass from the Woods brewery had to be on my list to try in honour of the county I am proud to call home. Calcutta 1757, a new brew from our local Joules Brewery, is one I hope to have a pint or two more of in the not too distant future. I had to try Hobsons Old Prickly just because a 5p donation was made to a hedgehog charity for each half pint sold. There was definitely an inverse correlation between the amount of half pints I drank and how much I cared about the possible consequences for my run the next day. I added Three Tuns Solstice, Titanic Iceberg and Lymestone Seven Stone Weakling to my list of conquests.

As well as the beer and the music, family fun with Jester Jack, sack racing, welly wanging and barrel rolling  competitions were offered as entertainments. Jester Jack provided the opportunity to try out 'circus' skills such as juggling, stilt walking, devil sticks, plate spinning etc. It was great fun AND I learned how to hula hoop.

Taylor's boyfriend won the barrel rolling competition and was presented with a bespoke trophy (much to our great amusement).

It was a wonderful day. It may not have been quite what Taylor imagined when she first started looking for work experience, but for me it was perfect.

Eminent Solina F225

When I received a text from my daughter Taylor's boyfriend to say that there was an organ for sale in the charity shop that he volunteers at,  I admit I was tempted.

Daughter Charis has been playing piano for Sunday services at our local church for nearly a year now and has been given all sorts of opportunities as a result. One such opportunity was to learn the organ. The synchronicity of organ tuition and a serviceable second hand organ available with a modest price tag made the purchase seem almost inevitable. Only 'almost' because I was worried that we would struggle to find a place to house it.

Saturday morning, I set off with my husband and little ones for a walk through town to the canal for some duck feeding. I found myself thinking about the organ - wondering if it would be available still or if some other enthusiast would have snapped up the bargain.  As we looked through the charity shop window, there it was. No SOLD sign in sight. Enthusiasts are maybe in short supply. We went in to have a look. It was an Eminent Solina F225 - bigger than I imagined but my husband was not deterred. He was ready to buy it there and then but I suggested we think about it and bring Charis back later that day to see if her enthusiasm would offset the the hassle of having to rearrange our home to accommodate it.

We had a lovely walk by the canal. Two beautiful swans and more ducks than we could count delighted the children with their antics as my husband and I acknowledged the start of December with a celebratory mince pie (or two!)

Back home we told Charis about the organ and she was in her shoes and ready to go before we had even finished describing it. I stayed home with the little ones while she and dad went back to the charity shop.  Although the organ was tucked behind a rather large wardrobe and getting to it meant clambering over piles of assorted occasional furniture,  nothing was going to stop Charis from treating the charity shop volunteers and customers to a good attempt at a tune! Money exchanged hands and the organ was ours.

The whole rest of Saturday was spent moving furniture, clearing out clutter and reorganising. Miraculously we created an organ sized space. On Monday, the organ was delivered. Three volunteers manhandled it into position. I plugged it in to make sure it still worked and spent much longer than I needed to 'make sure it worked' fiddling with knobs, sliders, switches, pedal and keys to make some very satisfying noises.

When Charis got home from school she could not resist the lure of her new toy. I was impressed with how well she adapted to playing the unfamiliar instrument making recognisable renditions of some popular tunes that she was sight reading from the yellowed pages of an organ music book that came with our purchase.

This is a 30 second video of her first attempt at Greensleeves.

With a little more practice and some tuition, I think she could quickly become an accomplished organist. I look forward to the house being filled with hauntingly beautiful Christmas music and the Gothic classic toccata and fugue. I would be disappointed if she didn't throw in a few cheesy uptempo pop songs and the odd waltz. It would transport me back to the opulent splendour of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. Time to push the furniture out of the way, put on my sequins and dance!

I love that a charity shop and a talented daughter can bring so much richness into my life. 

V Festival 2012

I have had a weekend that was even better than it was tiring - and trust me it was VERY tiring.

It has become something of an annual tradition for me to attend the V Music Festival at Stafford with my daughters and Kirk, who is such an incredible friend that I often wonder what I have done to deserve someone like him in my life. I have missed a couple of years previously on account of having given birth to my two little ones but this year saw me once again dressed in my age inappropriate festival clothes and wellies with rucksack containing toilet roll, suntan lotion, raincoat, bin bag, emergency money and snacks.

Setting off for day one of the V Weekend

We had glorious sunshine and we had downpours. It really was the complete festival experience!

Tom Jones was incredible on the Saturday. I particularly loved his performances of Delilah and It's Not Unusual. Scary to think that those songs are nearly as old as me.

My Sunday Highlight was watching the Proclaimers perform their feel good songs whilst it rained so hard that we were soaked through to our skins. Luckily the sun came out and dried us off so we were in good shape to enjoy the rest of the acts.

I was far too excited by the inclusion of Aiden Grimshaw in the line up. You would be forgiven for not recognising that name. Aiden Grimshaw was an X Factor contestant a couple of years ago. I had a special fondness for him because he reminded me so much of my daughter's boyfriend. This was not just me. He was stopped in the street and asked why he wasn't at rehearsals! My daughter absolutely refused to acknowledge any resemblance until she saw him perform. She reluctantly agreed that he had similar ears and side of the head and yes, he could be mistaken for a relative, maybe. I have to admit that the songs he sung weren't that great but he has a fragile kind of beauty and mannerisms that are at odds with his deep, angsty vocal. I find him quite compelling. I wonder if my daughter's boyfriend doing karaoke would have the same effect on me!

One of my the best moments of the weekend was seeing musical comedian Tim Minchin perform. His skill as a pianist was impressive enough on its own but add to that his brilliantly witty lyrics and larger than life eccentricities and he was an absolute joy to watch.

On the down side was the stench of the portaloos, the people who use festivals as an excuse to drink far too much, the litter, the aching body parts from being on your feet too long or trying to find a comfortable position sitting on the ground (thank goodness for the binbag), and call me old fashioned, but I will never get used to the sight of ladies squatting to pee against a tree/perimeter fence in full view of everyone.

I was concerned to hear that there had been a fatality. I was even more concerned to find out that the deceased was from the small town that I call home. As further details emerged, it turned out that a young man that I had known when he was at primary school had been found unresponsive in his tent during the early hours of the morning. I probably would not even have recognised him if he'd been right next to me in the crowd but his name was very familiar and it was sobering to think that he was now dead.

We live close enough to the Festival  that we come home and sleep in our own beds on the Saturday night rather than braving the campsite. For some reason this year, the organisers had decided to not allow us to turn left out of the exit which would have seen us on our way and home in half an hour or so. We were made to turn right and follow an outrageously long detour which more than doubled our journey time. I am not usually one for deviating from the rules but in order to avoid a second night of the seemingly pointless detour, we took a 'forbidden' cross country route. By some coincidence, the random lane we took bore the same name as the surname of the unfortunate young man who I hope is now partying in some great music festival in the sky.

Not Quite a Music Video

It started with an idea and some charity shopping and a jumble sale.

The idea took shape during my birthday celebrations on the Shropshire Union Canal.

Video footage was shot on location and back home in my garden.

After much editing and the addition of a spinning golden light, the Not Quite Music Video for Moving the Castles was finally completed.

I love it.

Joiners Gig

My daughters Taylor and Ivy are fairly regular contributors at the Open Mic Night at our local, the Joiners Arms.

Yesterday, they took their performance to the next level by doing a six song set as their band 'Not Quite' with sisters Liberty and Charis. For Liberty it was her 'Joiners debut' and it was endearing to see the nerves showing just a little through her normal enviable composure.

There were plenty of little mistakes and things they could have done better but the set was well received and I could not have been more proud.

They performed three original songs and covers of Grenade by Bruno Mars, Writer by Ellie Goulding and Walk You Home by Passenger.

Landlord, Brian, told me I had four beautiful and talented daughters, which of course I already know - but it is always nice to hear someone else say it.