A small tourette ... no swearing please!

We continue our musical adventures at the Stamford Arts Centre in Lincolnshire on Wednesday 21st September. We played here one time before with all the traveling Gentlemen. Bob and I called in to see our lovely friend David Suff en route from Jo and the girls. He provided, as usual, deeply interesting conversation and most importantly ... fabulous cake and tea!

Pete was already setting up when Bob and I arrived but it took a little longer for Dave and Homer to get there ... M1 shenanigans as ever. There was a healthy, well turned out crowd for the show ... we care how well our audiences are fairing. A fun night was had, followed by a lovely sleep at our friend’s Diane and Bryan Ansell in East Stoke ... always a joy.



I’ve often wondered what a ride on the Settle to Carlisle train would be like ... and though I still have to wonder, I now know at least, that Settle is a delightful and music loving place ... our next show was at the marvelous Victoria Hall, Settle; a wonderful, old Methodist’s Citadel turned, delightful Arts Centre. It’s now a fab venue in a pretty well loved town in North Yorkshire. The staff were incredibly helpful and friendly and looked after us brilliantly. It was a joy to play there. Fingers crossed they’ll invite us back.





The following day had us driving back down the country to the Cinnamon Club, Altrincham in Cheshire. Bob and I managed to find a fabulous Gastro pub en route and enjoyed a leisurely, delicious lunch. Unfortunately, Dave and Homer faired far worse ... their car broke down 5 minutes from the hotel in Burnley, where we stayed the night before.They had to wait to be towed to the nearest garage and then again for a replacement vehicle to be delivered. It wasn’t a very promising appraisal of the broken down car either. Ouch! Still it was all sorted out and they made it to the gig with time to spare. We played upstairs in the club room - a great atmosphere and a fabulous gig. There were 2 people though, sat right at the front ... who apparently didn’t enjoy the evening at all. What little applause they were able to muster, was sparse, to say the least and they were up and out of the room before the rest of the crowd - including their enthusiastic friend who obviously dragged them along - had finished clapping at the end of the night. Why do they always sit at the front?! We, and the rest of the audience, had fun none the less.



Our last show, in a row of four, had us traveling north again; this time heading for Barton-on- Humber and a new venue to me: The Ropewalk. Bob and Peter and I were booked into a B&B on the outskirts of town, which unfortunately had many cats - Bob’s allergic! Oops. Should have asked beforehand and forgot - bad wifey! Sorry Bob! Our landlady was very pleasant and our rooms clean and well appointed, if a little on the small side however the animal smell (there were many small, yapping dogs too) that pervaded the downstairs dining room, was overwhelming! I brought Bob’s breakfast up on a tray to spare him the experience and the awful coughing and sneezing that’s brought on by the close proximity of cat ... stuff. Too much information? Hey-ho. The gig was fine and dandy and the venue very interesting ... apparently it’s a quarter of a mile from one end of the building to the other!

Bob and I stayed with Jo, Mike and the girls for a few days making up for lost ag-ooing and cuddles. We love being grandparents ... sorry ... have I mentioned that already!

We traveled south again on Sunday afternoon and headed for a wonderfully sociable evening with Peter Filleul and his lovely wife Sian Wynne. There was a time, many years ago now, when I used to frequent their delightful home but it’s been ages since that treat was possible. It took 2 hours to reach the centre of London and another hour to finally arrive in Sydenham - c’est la vie n’est pas? Mais oui! Pete is an exceptional cook! We loved the delicious food and drink Pete served up and the wonderful company too.



Bob had meetings in London the following day and decided to meet us in Putney later. I whiled away the day with a late entrance and a frenzy of writing before setting off to brave the south circular. Which, miraculously, was empty! Who knew? The Half Moon Putney is a legendary gig and one we’ve all played many times over a large expanse of time - eek! Joining us tonight with his unique electric guitar flare, was gorgeous Peter Emery - another Traveling Gent if ever there was one. It was delightful to share the stage with him again. Much to our surprise the gig was very well attended and the super cool London crowd were incredibly warm and enthusiastic - hurrah! A very, very late night ensued.



With not nearly enough sleep between us, it was a later than usual start to the day. Bob, bless him, had more meetings in town and trained it out to Aldershot where we were playing that night, at the West End Centre - one of my faves. Our delightful friends Martin, Pam, Phil, Pat and Wendy all sat close to the stage and cheered loudly - hurrah for fab friends. I sang Who Knows Where the Time Goes as a birthday pressie for Phil ... I made him blush! We enjoyed Peter Emery’s playing and presence so much the night before, we invited him back for this show too - what a joy!



Bob and I stayed with Martin and Pam and tired though we most certainly were, enjoyed a gorgeous midnight feast back at their place after the show - Phil, Pat and Wendy came too ... so lovely to find great friends around and about a touring route :-)

Getting close to the end of the tour now. The drive down to Torrington in Devon was absolutely wonderful ... it was a perfect day ... warm, bright sunlight and undulating, lush, green, landscapes with just a hint of Autumn in the turning leaves - stunning. When we turned up outside the Plough Arts Centre, I was sure I saw an old friend just walking in but it couldn’t have been. Once inside I realised it really was John Eels! I’ve not seen him for far too long and it was an absolute delight to see him again - he was our soundman for the show! All is well all shall be well. We didn’t have what you could call great ticket sales for this show but we did have a fabulous reaction from the quality crowd who came. It was a great show. We’ll be back ...

And so we reach our last show of the tour. Another breath taking drive through Devon’s wonderful coast roads on an unseasonably, warm, September day. Bob and I ended up in Lyme Regis for lunch and were amazed how many people were sunbathing on the sweeping, stony beach. How fab! Our final show was at The New Forest Arts Centre in New Milton. I’ve played here once before and remembered how well run it was. The technical staff were, to a man ... very young, and very good. All in all, the tour was a great success and we’re already thinking about doing something next year. I’ll keep you posted about our plans, as and when they become more solidified.






Thanks to all of you who managed to come to a show we truly appreciate it!

I started with a stinky head-cold the following day - my timing’s impeccable! I had 10 days off before a couple of rogue solo shows with Rob Cross in October and filled that time in between sneezing and sleeping, adoring our gorgeous, growing, grand daughters ... I’m getting pretty good at it now. We actually had an entire day when we were in charge! Hurrah!
After a day’s rehearsal with gorgeous Roblet Crossington - I love calling him that! - in Cardiff, we made our way to Jagz, a well established music venue, next to the train station in Ascot. I’ve known about this place for a number of years but this is the first time I’ve actually got to perform here. The place has been around for decades but for the past 2 years has been run by a lovely man by the name of Graham Steel, who used to run another wonderful venue in Windsor for many, many years.

It was great to play a different set of songs hot on the heels of another show and reminded me just how much I love variety. Rob played a few of his great songs from the first Snow in June album,(now available for download!) before the first set and warmed our small but fabulous crowd to a delightful, pliable, heat. It was a wonderful night and we can’t thank Graham nearly enough for his warmth, support and enthusiasm. There’s a very good chance we’ll play there again next year. Hurrah.

Pam, Martin, Pat and Phil came to this show also - hurrah! Bob, Rob and I are always keen to stay at Martin and Pam’s delightful home, as there’s always a warm welcome and a fine, party atmosphere. It was a relatively early night - for us. Rob, bless him had to drive back to Cardiff the following day. Bob and I stayed on at Martin and Pam’s for 2 days and indulged in several wonderful Gastro Pub lunches, followed by beautiful, nature walks in late autumnal sunshine - delicious on all counts.







On Saturday night we all went to see Show of Hands! Wow ... they were fab-u-lous, as Craig Revel Horwood might say.

And so we reach Hitchin Folk club on Sunday October 16th. This was always going to be a special show as Maureen Jones, the long running club’s wonderful organiser had only recently come through serious health issues and it was a complete joy to see her looking so radiantly healthy again. Bless you darlin’. It was a lovely show and great to end this latest outing on such a high.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us ... in either combination ... and hope to see even more of you next year.

As a heads up: I’ve been invited to sing a song from Oliver! on a Radio 3 show, The Verb being recorded live in London and broadcast on December 9th. The show’s based around the wonderful works of Dickens and marks the beginning of a year of celebrating his work - it will be the 200th anniversary of his birth next February. I’m thrilled to be asked and working on a version of Pick a Pocket for the show.

I’ll be back with further adventures as I go. Thanks as ever for stopping by to read my musical meanderings and hope to see you out there again soon.

Much love

Christine xx

A Spring in my step - touring part II

A Spring Blog to raise the spirits cont ...


Now where did we leave off? Oh that’s right ... I had a couple of days with the girls! I love being grandma :-) but then I had to get serious again and travel down to Cardiff Wednesday May 9th. The trip was fairly easy though the heavens opened just as I arrived - I got thoroughly soaked walking through town to meet Rob, who was playing one of his regular gigs at the Live Lounge. I just caught the last few songs - hurrah!

 Our drive down to Otterton Mill the following day was uneventful ... not even a drop of rain though it definitely threatened - ominous, dark clouds gathering all the way. We love this place! We knew several weeks beforehand that the show was sold out - yay! And Caroline - our delightful hostess for tonight’s proceedings, was thrilled. As were we. We were, once again, treated royally and fed the most delicious food so far. All was well in our touring world. Sigh.



Otterton Mill from Christine Collister on Vimeo.


After a great gig Rob drove us back to Cardiff where a good night’s sleep was ordered and gratefully received. Back up north on Firday to Maltby and the ever rocking, Rock. We had hoped to see several friends at this show but some were unexpectedly ... thwarted. Diane and Bryan Ansell, for one reason or another, have not been able to get to a gig for a number of years, so we were thrilled to learn they were going to break that trend tonight! We’d arranged to stay with them after the show so we could celebrate in style their return to the gigging experience. Half an hour before showtime Diane called to say their car had broken down! After several phone calls and head scratching they limped back home and awaited our, late, arrival after the gig. Ah bless!

It was another great show and even had a delightful opening set from Rob - hurrah! We still enjoyed Diane and Bryan’s generous and enlivening hospitality afterwards but felt less joyous than we might have done had they actually managed to get to the show. Hey-ho.


Maltby Magic from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

I trained it down to Pam and Martin Dury’s the next day and enjoyed their wonderful company along with our mutual friends Phil and Pat Chappell - much laughter ensued. I’m a very lucky grandma! Sunday night saw us return to the infamous Half Moon Putney with a newly refurbished gigging space. It looks fabulous! They’ve somehow managed to update the place without taking any of the accumulated atmosphere the old place was drenched in ... and talking of drenched - the new (easy to clean!) black and white floor tiles really add a certain something to the overall feel.

It was a great gig with a number of lovely friends come down just for us - we felt very special in deed! Dave Kelly, Gilly Tarrant, Lily Kelly-Tarrant, Pete Filleul and Sian Wynne ... joined us for a little repast beforehand and we were treated to Evie Kelly’s scrumptious tenny-weeny freshly baked mini meringues ... which magically disappeared before the show even began! Thanks Evie!


Morning Light Half Moon from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

I was also thrilled to see my great friend Abi Grant in the audience too. It was a super show. My thanks to Martin Dury for his footage - my little Flip flapped out this night and refused to work - doh!


The Big Screen Half Moon from Christine Collister on Vimeo.


Bob came down to join us on Monday and enjoyed a rather delicious Indian take away with everyone that night. Oh yeh ... Martin, Rob and I went to see The Avengers in 3D that afternoon! A guilty and much appreciated pleasure.

Bob joined Rob and I on our next outing this time to Northampton and a brand new club and venue for everyone. It was a thankfully uneventful ride up; the PA was just being set up as we arrived. A quick and painless sound check ensued followed by surprisingly lovely food in the dining area downstairs. Chris Howarth arrived as we were preparing ourselves - he’s so lovely! And a great night was had by all. The club was run efficiently and with great love and we felt very much appreciated. Thanks Northampton.


Northampton from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

The drive back was more like a game out of “It’s a Knock-out”! I’ve never seen so many cones before and they were laid out in such an imaginative, slalom-like way - for no apparent reason! Bob had to leave on Friday so he missed out on one of our favourite gigs: The West End Centre Aldershot. We always love playing here; the staff and technical facilities are never less than perfect.

There were many friendly faces in the crowd - including Chris Howarth (again! :-), Pam, Martin, Phil, Pat and Claire and there was even a birthday song sung before the end of the show. All was well. I even received an Isle of Man pen from someone fresh back from a trip :-) people are so lovely!

Another gorgeous gathering at the Dury’s after the show had us going to bed fairly late but we all had a day off on Thursday so all was well. In fact we arranged with Phil and Pat to join them for a spot of luncheon at a wonderfully old Inn: The Crown Inn at Pishill. http://thecrowninnpishill.co.uk/. Foloowed by a saunter round Grey's Court' in Henley! It was a particularly delightful day out with wonderful friends in two fabulous locations. I left my camera with Bob inadvertently so couldn’t take any pics which I would have loved to do, but Phil took some great shots: take a look here It was a perfect way to say thank you and fare well. Till next time!

Rob and I drove up to Southport Friday afternoon and headed for the local golf club - not to play golf you understand - but to perform at one the UK’s longest running folk clubs: The Bothy Club. I haven’t played for Clive Pownceby’s delightful club for decades! I don’t know why it took so long for us to reconnect but now we have I think we’ll be making it a regular occurrence. It was an exciting and raucous event with much laughter in between bits.


A small Southport sampling from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

My great friend Lynda Turner came to this show and drove me back to her place to enjoy her wonderful company and a comfy bed for the night. It took us much longer than expected to get there due to some motorway exit shenanigans but we got there in the end. Phew! Bob collected me the following day and we enjoyed the next 5 days together in the company of friends and family - enjoying every precious minute.


Joy! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Friday May 25th was our return to The Met in Bury. A delightful and long time favourite venue. This time we were performing in the studio room in the basement. We all thought the sound at this show was the best we’d ever encountered! It made for a wonderful show - the best this tour? It’s a contender for sure. Rob left oodles of time to get here after the last escapade where he was half an hour late and basically arrived, plugged in and played! Believe it or not it was a close call again ... taking 7 hours for a 3 and a half hour journey! Gulp.


More West End - Love Again from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Rob and I headed for Heysham after the show and hopped on the 2.15am boat to Douglas, falling asleep in the cafe area almost as soon as the boat pulled out into the Irish sea. We were not a pretty sight when we docked at Douglas harbour around 5.45am. My mum - bless her - came and picked us up! After a few short hours kip, back at the ranch, I gathered what wits I had left and made my way to The centenary Centre in Peel.

I’d completely ignored the fact that it was the beginning of Practice week for the TT and that the roads would be closed between 6 and 9pm! Doh! There was a flurry of pleas via Facebook to encourage would-be spontaneous ticket buyers to get to Peel - EARLY! Whatever the result of our frenetic encouragement the house was packed! Well done Manxies you made me proud! It was a great even all round and exciting for several reasons:

a) Dawn Hamer and Gemma Wasley of Interior Rehab had offered to “dress” the stage with their glorious creations ... I was beside myself with glee at their wonderfully camp and ingenius display! Thank you gorgeous women! And:

b) Anna Goldsmith and Christy DeHaven had kindly consented to join me for a short but sweet, opening set using some of the songs we’d performed at our Live From The Living Room internet shows last year but we’d had absolutely no time to rehearse. So ... after a quick reminder of the songs we thought we knew at sound check, we walked down to the harbour and ate fish and chips; at the same time, we sang through the bits we discovered weren’t exactly in our collective memory banks. eating and singing at the same time is, in and of itself quite a talent! Do NOT try this at home kids - without supervision! It seemed to do the trick anyway ... we all love singing harmony together! The audience showed their appreciation in no uncertain terms. We had hoped that the gorgeous and gifted Katherine Crowe could join us for our set but her son was suffering with asthma and it wasn’t to be - next time Katherine! 

When Rob and I stepped onto the beautifully dressed stage we were welcomed by an already happy crowd. It was a lovely show and everyone was incredibly generous with their praise. we love playing to a home crowd! My mum and dad were ... very proud. Hurrah. Rob actually stayed for a few days family-and-friends time, before sailing back to Cardiff and his regular life/gigs.

But there was one more show before the tour was officially at an end. June 4th had us back together once more for our final gig this year. We’d been invited to play at Cambridge Folk club’s jubilee mini festival day and were honoured to be the headline act! It was a beautiful day and an easy drive for Bob and I who were staying in Kings Lynn for a week’s rest and recuperation. Rob, bless him, had to drive from Cardiff but he got there with time to spare. We were joined by Trevor and Maureen Dann for dinner and unexpectedly David and Jean Suff! I’m always delightful to see such lovely friends! Thanks guys. The show was up beat and fun and we were definitely what you might call ... a hit! A great way to round off what has to be our most successful tour to date.

It might be 18 months before we get going again but I’m hoping to have a studio album under my (ancient!) belt this time and would love to see you all then. Thanks as ever for dropping by to read my musical meanderings and if you came to a show, an extra special thanks! I can’t do any of this without you!

As a little extra thank you here’s a snippet from a short set Anna, Christy and I did at this years Garden Party in the Isle of Man.



Garden Party Girls from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Much love to you all and enjoy!

Christine xx :-)

A spring Blog to raise the spirits

I’m rather horrified to realise how long it is since I last tread the Blogging boards - October?! Eek. My apologies to those of you who actually wait for such things to appear ... my tardiness is at fault! I’m prompted to begin here again because of the latest in a long line of musical meanderings that make up my life. A fine Spring Tour that began in May but had us working a few months before that to get back in shape. Rob Cross was my musical cohort once more and this time round we gave ourselves ample time to rehearse and refine our enthusiasms, so that by the time we actually took to the road we were more than ready and hit the ground running with only a few minor adjustments necessary. We even improved along the way. There is no Flip footage of our hard work before shows were upon us you’ll just have to take my word for it. 

In between bouts of hard work we had breaks where I simply played Grandma to Isabella and Chiara - my favourite thing of all! Bob and I even had a glorious week in tenerife with Jo, Mike and the girls and we LOVED it - as you can see if you look here at our: Holiday Snaps :-) but here's just a few pics for the page:

 

Our first gig of the tour was at Biddulph Folk Club on May 2nd and greeting me as I walked up the fire escape with my guitar,was a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my girls! You could have knocked me down with a feather! They’re so clever to have worked out how to order flowers and write a message of love and support to their dear old Grandma - I was very excited as I’m sure you can imagine! Eric Cox who’s been organiser for the club for many years, surprised me with a couple of old photos of me with Howard Lees - from too many years ago to actually put in print but it was a fun reminder of just how long I’ve been doing this :-)

Biddulph beginnings from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Biddulph bits ... from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

The gig itself was also cause for excitement not least because Bob was able to join us. All our hard work paid off and each song took on a new lease of life and I remembered all the words! Nearly. A delightful young artist: Heidi Browne opened the show and captured the audiences heart’s easily making it even better for us to begin with. Thanks Heidi! The audience were - as always - fabulous! We stayed with Vanya and Graham in their delightful home that night and were treated with love and respect - a beautiful combination. They became the recipients of the girl’s gorgeous flowers - a fitting place for their loveliness - I kept the card though!

Second gig of five in a row was JAGZ in Ascot. We only played there for the first time in October last year and Graham Steel, our lovely promoter at this wonderful venue, insisted we come back as soon as possible to garner more fans. Which we did - double the audience from October! Yay. Our good friends Martin, Pam, Pat, Phil and Wendy brought a whole bunch of “Collister Virgins” for musical sacrifice - luckily they enjoyed the experience! So did we.Thanks to Phil Chappell for standing in for Bob this night and being Flip monitor. We stayed with Martin and Pam for the next 2 nights and enjoyed their fabulous generosity as always. It was good to be back in the bosom of their delightfulness - we came back for more ... and more, as you’ll see!

Jumpin' JAGZ from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Ashcroft Arts Centre in Fareham Hants is an old favourite of mine but a new place for Roblet. The tech guys were very efficient and made us feel welcome but during one of the first songs - Kinder Heart - I noticed my mic stand beginning to lower and by the end it was bent over double - in order to finnish the song so was I! Just call me trooper Collister. It was very funny but because Bob was elsewhere this night, there’s no Flip to show you ... ah. It was during the intermission at this show that someone reminded me of the cat joke ... for those of you fortunate enough to come to a show ... you know what I mean; and for those not so fortunate ... count yourselves lucky I’m not going to tell it here!

A brief glimpse of Ashcroft Arts Centre from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Gig number 4 was a long way away from Fareham - it was a five hour drive that became 6 through sluggish M1 shenanigans all the way to gorgeous Water Yeat on the edges of the Lake District - always worth the effort! We were treated, as ever, with generosity and great hospitality by the organiser’s of the Water Yeat Village Hall concerts: John and Maggie Willis.



Water Yeat what a treat from Christine Collister on Vimeo.
Water Yeat ... neat! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

It was another packed show and several unexpected delightful friends turned up: Mike and Bev Williams from the Isle of Man now living in the Lake District (Mike was one third of Shy Talk!) and the ever enthusiastic and thoroughly gorgeous Chris Howarth - all the way up from Harlow! Thanks guys - you made a great night even better with your presence!
Moon- Man- Mystery water Yeat from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

On to our fifth show in a row and this time we were in Halifax, scene of our last gig in an autumn tour 18 months ago now. Another great venue with lovely staff and a few more friends not seen for too long and ... Chris Howarth showed up for more - bless! Unfortunately we had some techy gremlins in the first half but they were sorted out at half time and everything went more smoothly from then on. The audience were very patient and - thankfully - generous with their praise.
Hello Halifax from Christine Collister on Vimeo.
Halifax II from Christine Collister on Vimeo.
 

Bob and I stayed with Dave and Clare Price in their delightful home in Leeds that night though our satnav decided to freeze a mile from their home (which we'd never been to before!) so close and yet ... a few phone calls later and we arrived in time for a lovely nightcap - phew! I enjoyed a long lie-in the next morning too! Thanks Dave and Clare it was lovely to spend a little time with you. We must do it again!

I’ll leave you here for now and get to work on the next phase of the tour right away! Thanks as always for dropping by and putting up with my sporadic Blogging tendancies. Hope to see you in a few days time!

Much love

Christine xx