BestTellers Copenhagen…. What a fabulous place to perform. It has long been one of my favourite spaces. It’s such an intimate space, and the audience listens so intently. I was there for one night only recently, telling BLUEBEARD and a selection of shorter stories from my repertoire. Amazingly, I had never told signature stories like The Old Woman in the White House on the BT stage – I am usually booked to perform the ‘big’ shows there. It was wonderful to share them. And I got a standing ovation at the end!! I was chuffed to bits.
I began my professional career as a singer, working with guitarist Ian Cooke. And now – decades later – we have a new show together. How wonderful is that?!
The show is a celebration of Simon and Garfunkel. It’s not a tribute act… Ian is too tall to be Paul and I am clearly nothing like Art! It’s actually a storytelling + music show. We perform twenty S & G songs, but in-between each song I tell the story of Kathy Chitty. She was Paul’s girlfriend when he lived in London in the 60s and was touring the UK, suitcase and guitar in hand, doing the folk clubs.
Kathy inspired some of his best-loved songs, notably Kathy’s Song and Homeward Bound. She famously gets a namecheck in America too (“‘Kathy, I’m lost,’ I said, though I knew she was sleeping'”) though they never did a road trip together in real life. She also appears on the cover of the album The Paul Simon Songbook, sitting on a cobbled street with Paul, the pair of them dressed in brown sweaters and jeans.
It is fabulous to be singing again, and it’s all live. We’re not using backing tapes, just two voices + guitar. Just like Paul & Art.
If you had told me, ten years ago, that I would be the author of two books about motorcycling, I would NOT have believed you! Back then I was riding pillion round India on the back of a classic Royal Enfield Bullet 500 with my buddy Frank. It seemed like a beast of machine. I never dreamed I would ride one myself one day.
Yet here I am: all-year round rider and the owner of a glorious Triumph. And I am passionate about helping other women overcome their anxiety and find their wild freedom as I did.
My first book, Motorcycle Confidence For Women, became a #1 best seller on Amazon, and this week a second in the series was launched: Extra Motorcycle Confidence For Short Women. Yes – funny though it sounds, being short really can be a problem when it comes to riding a motorbike, especially at the beginning of the learning journey. So I have written this book to help with the extra challenges short riders face. It’s had a very warm reception so far, I am delighted (and relieved!) to say.
The new edition of ‘Zac and the Zombies’ has landed. The old yellow cover has gone. Now the book has illustrations – and a creepy new cover. I asked 200 junior-aged children what they wanted to see on the cover – Zac or a Zombie? The answer was unanimous: ‘A ZOMBIE!!’
Take a sixteenth century castle in Flanders… surround it with the biggest pear & apple orchard in western Europe… bring in a dazzling array of storytellers from France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany and the UK… fill the seats with thousands of spellbound listeners, from teens to adult… and let the story magic begin.
What a glorious week. I last performed at Alden Biesen nine years ago, and I had never forgotten the experience. During the week, the tellers perform in an assortment of spaces, from a stone-vaulted cellar to a former riding school. Every space has a different atmosphere, so it is fascinating to perform in each. The company is inspirational. This year, the other UK tells were Emily Hennessey, Ben Haggarty and Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, so I enjoyed evening shows of Finnish tales, Coyote stories and a thundering Baba Yaga tale from Ben. I loved it all.
Hopefully it will not be another nine years before I tell there again!
Oh, the energy of Lagos! You feel it the moment you step out out of the airport. It was hot, and it was a full-on programme, but I had a fabulous visit to the American International School and the Children’s International School, thanks to Authors Abroad.
