Summer shennanigans! A late blog of sorts …

I wrote this Blog in September in the vain hope I'd have something online before I went on tour with Rob Cross ... obviously the phrase to emphasise here is "in vain"! So these musings on my summer sojourn in sunny California lay dormant in my virtual draft drawer. Not wanting to waste my efforts and to give me a little breathing time before organising my flip and thoughts on our recent Caribbean Christmas cruise, I thought I'd publish what I have here and add a few extra bits to keep you satisfied. I can dream can't I?

Here's what I wrote way back then - hope you enjoy:

Before I set off for all things of a touring nature, I thought it prudent to put a short summer blog together and to perhaps whet your appetitie for what's to come over the next few months? I will of course be blogging the length and breadth of the tour with footage of our stange and wonderful travels as well as documenting each gig. If you manage to make it to a show (Oct 13^th – Nov 21st) – and I sincerely hope you do! - I may ask you to be a cameraman/woman for the duration of at least one song … it's an idea I'm working on! (All published now and here for your perusal below this Blog).

Anyway … this summer … August 1st 2010 to be precise … I landed in Los Angeles once again and was met by my fabulous friend and co-writer Mike Slamer. I stayed with him and Susan – his equally fabulous wife - for the first few nights of my 7 week stay, ostensibly getting over the long-haul flight and readying myself for a week of relaxation with them and several other mutual friends, at Lake Mead near Las Vegas!

It's Ok … I know I'm ridiculously lucky … really I do! They and another family: Jeff and Nelly Neben and their 3 gorgeous children – Jake, Hannah and Danni … had invited me on one of their annual summer jaunts … they took pity on me knowing I'd be on my own for a couple of weeks before Bob turned up in California. Bless! They're all deligthful human beings and I love everyone of them!

Unfortunately for Sue, due to some silly work shennanigans … she had to forgoe the first couple of days of her vacation, which meant Mike and I had to drive from their home in Santa Clartia to the Lake shore in Nevada … just less than 300 miles! … without her … :-(

The trip itself was relatively easy … for me ... Mike however drove the whole way … towing a 30 foot boat! Didn't seem to bother him … until maybe 20 miles short of our destination when he realised he'd left the boat keys back in Santa Clarita! Doh! We drove up to the lake – which is stunning btw … and went in search of possible spare key options, which turned out to be quite simple and easy to recitfy. Hurrah.

The next part of the plan was going great too … Mike positioned the trailer, truck and boat in alignment and asked me to back everything into the water … while he got onto the boat, ready to ride her round to the slip. I managed to back into the water no problem but … Mike couldn't turn the engine over … the battery, much to his surprise, was absolutely flat. So he gesticulated for me to pull forward … which I did … eventually.

Turns out that … when I kindly offered to clean the boat, before we left … in my eagerness to do a good job ... I'd managed to push EVERY switch possible to the ON position and drained the whole system! OMG! I felt such an idiot. Mike, bless him, was a complete gentleman about it and simply drove out to buy a new (expensive!) battery and … an hour later … we were back in the same position but this time everything went as it should and we were out on the lake in no time at all heading to meet our friends who'd arrived the day before.

This was my first time in this stunning location and I was blown away by the stark beauty of the landscape and the incredible heat – it was 107F when we turned up! Jeff and Nelly along with their great friends and neighbours, Marcello and Lola … had found a beach to anchor for the evening and were intent on having a barbque when we rolled up to join them. I was quite speechless … the light, warmth, deligthful company and delicious food were all amazing … and I so wanted to share it all … with Bob – ah. Maybe next time?

The next few days rolled by with lightening speed. Sue flew into Las vegas a couple of nights later and joined us for the weekend which was just wonderful.

They've all been here before and had perfect weather for boating … flat calm, glass-like waters … but this time, there were some mighty blustery winds which made for some bumpy rides. This only added to the excitement for me but I neither had to steer a boat nor keep children happy and content. It was also blisteringly hot on a couple of days; I loved being able to just drop into the cool waters of the lake. We even swam near the great Hoover Dam!

One particularly blustery day we decided to give the lake a miss and drove nto the local town – Boulder City, to check out other boats and keep out of the wind for a few hours but once we'd seen all there was to see and figured the worst was over, we thought we'd all go out together on Mike and Sue's boat for a little ride. On our way back from said ride, Mike noticed a funny noise coming from his engine, so he steered towards the nearest marina and just as we nudged inside the tyre barrier, the engine conked out completely! There was a moment of silence followed by a few minutes of hilarious laughter … followed by many more minutes of trying to call for help via the radio set onboard … but no one would answer us!

Lake Mead I from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Eventually a lovely couple on their way back from a day on the lake, sailed up to help us and towed the boat – with us all still onboard - to the petrol pump which by this time was closed! What followed was a 4 hour farce of great fun and frollicks which left myself, Sue, Nelly and her 2 delightful daughters, Hanah and Danni, playing silly games on board our stranded boat, while Mike and Jeff endeavoured to get back to a car, drive to the marina we were starnded at and bring us all back to the hotel! Turned out we'd simply run out of petrol and Mike and Jeff returned to get Mike's boat very early the following morning … filled up and came back to home port so-to-speak ready for our last day of fun on the lake. Never a dull moment!

Lake Mead II from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

And that was only the beginning of my trip! We drove back to Santa Clarita on Aug 9^th and on August 10^th Sue dropped me off at the apartment Bob and I had rented for the summer, in Santa Monica. I loved this little flat in it's perfect location.

There were many more adventures over the summer but briefly here's what it consisted of: meeting friends from far off times, going to Yogaworks on Main Street to get thoroughly immersed in Kundalni Yoga with Kia Miller (she's simply amazing!), meeting up with new babys who are now my surrogate nephews – well only one baby and his name is Avery Richmond Pleeter and he is absolutely gorgeous! Having various repastes with such luminaries as: Tracy Strann, Sam Epstein, Gary stewart, Helene Muddiman, Kelly Ann Ford, Richard Thompson and Nigel Rush … walking along the beach between Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach and … driving back up to Las vegas to be with Bob and to catch a couple of CBR shows this time in a double bill with Nora Jones no less. Experiencing the absolutely amazing Cirque De Soleil Beatles show “Love” wow … and erm ... writing several songs along the way … mostly on my own but on occasion in the company of Mike Slamer or Helen Muddiman this time round ... plus a couple of days out in the desert at Palm Springs with Bob for a little R&R after the CBR tour ... Phew! I feel quite dizzy just thinking about it.

Palm Springs and things to celebrate from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

At the very end of our trip we drove up to the Sonoma Valley wine region to be with our lovely friends Jon and Diane who had THE most gorgeous wedding at the prestious BR Cohn Vineyard. It was a truly inspiring event and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. We stayed at a wonderfully eccentric B&B –Relais Du Soleil - complete with fabulous wild artwork by sort after artist Bryan Tedrick. We made fast friends with our delightful host Tim who was endlessly kind and generous and made us several delicious breakfasts … we'll definitely be back in fact I want to do a gig there … it's a magical place!

This is where my original Blog attempt ended but there's one other little event I'd like to share with you here and that's Dave Armstrong's 50th birthday celebrations. Lucky for us it all took place a week after the tour and so we were on the Island to make the most of the weekend. Dave - bless him, hadn't a clue! Christy D did an absolutely brilliant job of organising it all and amazingly kept it from Dave ... her advice to anyone thinking of having a surprise party for someone? DON'T DO IT! It was a weekend of wonderful friendship, frivolity and fun ... when can we do it again?!

Dave's BIG day! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

My Caribbean adventures will be Blogged over the next few weeks/months ... I'll try to keep them to bite-sized, easily digestible and tasty morsels. I can but try.

Take care and thanks as ever for stopping by to peruse my musings.

Much love

Christine XX ;-)

Autumnal tour Blog III ...

A trio Before the last three...

When last we met Bob and I were just leaving Welsh Wales ... we called in to see Diane and Bryan Ansell once more and then had a few delightful days with Jo and Mike before picking back up with the tour and our only house concert this tour. I knew it would be fabulous, as Helen Watson had raved about the place and the people and how much she enjoyed playing at Vanya and Graham’s wonderful home on the Staffordshire moors. She wasn’t wrong. They made us feel not just at home but as if we were part of their family - a truly delightful experience. Graham is the cook of the house and provided us with a scrumptious fish pie after sound check ... oh yes I think we’ll be back!

Beautiful Biddulph from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

The following morning Vanya gave us the tour of the “Reindeer Hut” ... wow!

Staffordshire Moors Reindeer Hut! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Bob took our car and drove off to Heathrow where he’d be flying to Dubai the next day - ah bless. Rob and I left in Rob’s thankfully fixed Kia and made our way to New Cut Arts in Halesworth Suffolk - twas a very long way!

I’ve played here once before ... a few years ago now and remembered the place well. We had a delightful crowd attend and enjoyed fabulous food before the show - hurrah. Rob wooed the audience with a short set before our first half. The whole evening was a joy! Thanks Halesworth.

New Cut Arts Halesworth from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

We’d arranged to stay at Martin and Pam Dury’s once more which meant a rather long drive after the show ... we expected it to take 2 and half to three hours. It actually took 3 hours 40 minutes! The junction with the A12 and the M25 was closed - with no forewarning . After following diversion signs, 20 minutes later we ended up back at the same junction! Argh! Not much fun when you’re already tired. C’est la vie.

We had a good, long, lie-in and headed for Marlborough mid afternoon arriving with plenty of time to roam the very Christmassy streets and enjoy the lovely atmosphere of the town. It was the first time we felt truly cold ... breath misty in the chilled air.

I was convinced I knew where the venue was but found out otherwise when the place I thought it was at, was firmly and clearly closed. So from being early, we fast approached being very late - eek! Eventually, after several panicked phone calls and asking a number of unsuspecting passersby ... we found it! Phew.

Andrew Bumphrey is a very successful Architect in the area and also happens to be a delightful promoter of, mostly acoustic music. He also doubles as sound man and artist liaison. All of which he does brilliantly. His lovely wife provided us all with delicious food before the show: nourishing beef stew and the crispiest baked spuds ever! Yum.

We were supported this evening by singer songwriter Steve Skaithe who worked with a fabulous female multi instrumentalist ... they worked beautifully together and went down well with the sell-out crowd! Yay. It’s always a thrill to play to a packed house. there were a number of friendly faces in the audience again which added to the excitement: Rob and Jo Selbourne from Prebendal, Phil and Pat Chappell, as well as Martin and Pam Dury. Bless them all! I hope it’s not too long before we can come back and do it again!

Marvelous Marlborough from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Rob drove off back to Cardiff while I got a lift back to Martin and Pam’s where we enjoyed yet more party food and another late, late night. We were all invited back to Phil and Pat’s for brunch on Sunday ... gorgeous ... followed by a wonderful walk in the woods nearby where we spied a fair few possible lovely homes for Rob for when he’s rich and famous!

A walk on the wildside from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Later on Martin and Pam dropped me off near Heathrow to pick up the car where Bob had left it a few days previously ... complicated? Too much information? Ho-hum. I got back to their lovely home one last time and enjoyed a delicious Sunday roast, complete with their gorgeous company - I am blessed! They have been without doubt, the most accommodating and generous hosts - to say I am grateful just doesn’t cover it. Thanks guys you’re the best!

I’ll be back with the final 3 shows in a week or 2 and to wish you all a happy Christmas xx

Take care till then ... try and keep wrapped up warm against this freezing weather and thanks as ever for dropping by.

Much love

Christine xx

Petersfield to Putney with a few either side.

Before I tell the tales of this portion of the tour I wanted to share a rather lovely video of Rob and I performing our version of the classic song “Summertime”, filmed at the Peel Centenary Hall on the Isle of Man by Dave (why I) Armstrong and Christy (stunningly gorgeous!) DeHaven from Running Media. Thanks to Christy for the edit... if only she could make me look 20 years younger:

Summertime? But it's winter! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

It’s been a particularly adventuresome couple of weeks with many highlights and a few testing low points ... especially for Rob. We began on a low point which actually had some highlights within it ... not least the resilience Rob managed to muster during a very trying journey. But first ...

I left the Isle of Man on Wednesday morning on the 8.45 Heysham boat. I had a fairly long drive ahead of me once we’d reached the adjacent Isle - as we Islanders like to call the UK - and at one point I felt I might actually fall asleep! So I pulled off at a service station on the M6 and had a sweet fruity drink and my first coffee in over 4 months. I only drank half of it but the combination seemed to do the trick and I made it safely to Pam and Martin Dury’s lovely home in Sandhurst by 6pm.

We had a particularly lovely evening with Phil and Pat Chappell and included a fabulous form of dining that neither Phil, Pat nor myself had experienced before. It’s a Swiss style of cuisine called Racklet ... named after the type of cheese involved - it’s Swiss ... cheese is obligatory. Whatever it was it was delicious and great fun too.

Anyone for Racklet? from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

And so to the beginning of our next run of shows and Rob’s first vehicular challenge. After his dice with Friday traffic-jam hell en route to Bury during our first flurry of shows, he was becoming adept at timing his travels to and from Cardiff but there are some things you just can’t control.

He called on Thursday morning to let me know he was leaving Cardiff and would be able to pick me up to take us both to Petersfield and the rather late addition to the tour at the Square Brewery Pub.

An hour later he called again. “this is my calm voice ...” he calmly told me. Mm ... never a good sign. First of all he explained that he’d had to come off the M4 at Bristol due to a car on fire and then his own car promptly broke down! “Just call the AA” I said in a mild aunty-ish manner. “I’m not in the AA ...” he sheepishly replied ... doh!

Anyway, to cut a very long and anxious making story short ... he joined the AA; the AA man turned up and the car started first time! He said it was an electrical fault and he couldn’t fix it on the roadside but it might not happen again so Rob soldiered on. The car broke down 4 more times. He eventually left his car at a service station near Warminster and got on a train. His train was due to arrive in Fareham - 30 mins drive from the gig - at 8pm which meant I’d have to start without him - eek! His train was 40 minutes late.

He finally arrived as I was finishing the first half - I cheered! Pam and Martin Dury were absolute Angels driving to Fareham, waiting for Rob to arrive and ferrying him to the venue - bless you both. Turned out to be an exciting night. All’s well that ends well. Not a show I’ll forget in a hurry. Poor Rob ... bless him too. Petersfield were very understanding and enthusiastic ... a delightful and much appreciated combination. Thanks.

Patient Petersfield from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

The saga continued the following day. We had to leave earlier than either of us would have liked - a long-lie in would have been lovely, however we had to go back to Warminster and get Rob’s poor old car to a garage in Mere - the closest Kia dealership - drop it off, which we managed to do easily enough and then drive on to Brighton for that night’s show ... just a minor detour.

We accomplished it all but not without a little more stress. It was Bonfire night ... Lewes, very close to Brighton don’t-you-know, has the UK’s largest Fireworks display and the entire world descended on the Brighton/Hove/Lewes environs and so our 2 hour journey turned into a 4 and a half hour drive from Hell! Argh!

Luckily we both have a fair amount of patience and arrived only slightly ruffled but ready for one of the quickest sound checks yet. The Brighton Folk and Blues club were very accommodating. We did our best, tired though we were and managed a reasonable level of energy and focus, all-things-considered. Phew.

Brilliant Brighton from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Lucky for us we were staying with Martin and Pam after each of these shows and it made everything much more palatable. They always waited up for us and had food and drink at the ready whatever time of the night/early morning we arrived on their doorstep. They are without fail, always delightful and generous ... Rob and I felt very blessed in deed.

Our next port of call was the fabulous Acoustic Routes club in Cambridge run by lovely Bernard ... scene of our final show last tour - ah. Chris Howarth and his lovely lady friend Vanessa, graced us with their presence - Chris’s 5th gig of the tour! And Rob did a wonderful set before our first half - all was right in the world.

There were many friendly faces in the audience, in fact it was a sell out crowd -
hurrah! Everyone was fantastically enthusiastic and loved the show and weren’t afraid to let us know. One minor occurrence means I won’t be able to use the audience flip footage I took that night, as someone objected to the experience very much ... I promised I wouldn’t use it ... it’s really just a bit of fun but if anyone feels that badly about anything then I have to respect those feelings. My apologies to anyone who would have liked to have seen the fun and frolics. Rob and I both loved the experience.

Acoustic Routes Cambridge from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Back to Martin and Pam’s once more ... our home from home on the road. Sweet dreams all round.

Our next show was in London, the last of 4 in a row. I’ve not played the Half Moon Putney for 4 or 5 years and it’s been a favourite venue since 1985! Gulp. There were a fair few Facebook friends who turned up to this gig ... lovely to see them all ... and one in particular took some very lovely photos. Thanks to Pete for these great shots.

Half Moon Putney from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Pam and Martin came along - their 4th gig - and very kindly drove Rob back to their place afterwards and took him to a train station the following morning very early ... still in limbo with his car saga ... in order for him to get back to Cardiff in time to start rehearsals with Jonathan Powell. Rob’s now in this very talented Welsh singer songwriter’s band. We’re all very excited for him and this great opportunity. I’m fair bristling with pride for my favourite surrogate nephew. You’ll all definitely hear a great deal more about Jonathan’s new cd: The Flight and Other Stories, due for release in the new year.

I drove to Heathrow after the Half Moon and checked in to a rather lovely hotel to sleep and await Bob’s return from South America (!) very early the following morning. Bless. He crept into the room around 7am and promptly fell asleep - ah. We woke several hours later and drove off to Cardigan Bay to meet with Rob and Jo Selbourne, our lovely friends from Prebendal Farm, who were enjoying a well earned rest in the Welsh countryside.

We got lost several times but finally found their wonderful hide away retreat, literally built into the cliffside over-looking Cardigan Bay and the Irish Sea! We arrived as it was getting dark and didn’t really appreciate the location at that time but were, of course delighted to see our friends. A delicious meal and great company lulled us into a wonderful sense of peace and relaxation. We slept soundly.





The following morning when I walked into the kitchen my breath was taken away by the amazing panoramic view that met me! The front half of the house is basically open-plan with 4 huge picture windows giving the most stunning views. I’ll let the little video and a spattering of photos tell the tale:

Wild Welsh wanderings and a mad yet perfectly formed dwelling from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

The tour is now over and it’s time to write the rest of our adventures for you. I’ll end this piece here and catch up with you all again in a couple of weeks with the final part. It’s been absolutely amazing and I’ve just loved being back on the road again. Thanks to all who came to a show and for you dear Blogger reader for stopping by.

See you in a few weeks.

Much love

Christine XX

The tour continues ... with a little R’n’R in between xx

We last left you as our 6th gig of the tour finished and I drove off into the night with the delightful Ms Watson. I spent a wonderful few days in her and Clea’s company in their tiny wee cottage in Burnham-on-Crouch. There was sunshine, showers, blustery winds and so much more ... with oodles of scrumptious food, wine, deep restorative sleep and a great deal of laughter ... the perfect combination in fact. One day, Helen and I went off to Maldon in search of garlic bulbs for planting - though we came back empty handed, a jolly good time was had none the less.

A Jolly Day out with Helen Watson from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

On my way back up the country I stopped off at East Stoke to stay with the Ansell family and met up with Bob along the way! Yay. After a wonderful evening in Diane and Bryan’s beautiful home, Bob and I drove further up the country to my next gig at the Bury Met, a fabulous venue I’ve played in many and various guises, including: Gregson/Collister, Daphne’s Flight, Hell Bent Heaven Bound, solo and with Howard Lees and Rory McFarlane as well as Dave Kelly and the Travelling Gentlemen ... so I knew what I was coming to. However ... I’ve never quite experienced the place with the same level of excitement (anxiety!) as this night.

For starters we ‘d been bumped up to the big room from the cozier basement space - in and of itself something to celebrate - plus there would be a number of lovely friends and family attending ... some from as far off as Los Angeles and some long lost family from my dad’s side as well as my dear and very wonderful friend Lynda Turner ... so I was PRIMED! Bob and I arrived at the venue at 5pm as arranged. As we turned into the parking space Rob called to say he was stuck in traffic and would be with us around 6.15pm ... no problem at all ... doors were at 7.40, plenty of time.

I got set up and sound checked and sorted Mr Ben’s patch for the evening and greeted several of my guests as the clock ticked merrily away. At 7.15pm ... Rob called to say ... you might have to start without me!! Eek! Bless him ... he was trying not to panic ... as was I! We had several contingency plans up our sleeves and I was about to hit the stage on my own at 8.10pm when he called to say he’d be there in 5 minutes! So we held off until he arrived ... looking pale and wan ... we plied him with hot tea and the promise of food at half time. He basically plugged in and we played! He’d left Cardiff at 12.30!! Oh bless his large cotton socks!

We had to shuffle a few songs around so that we ended up not using the loop station at all in the first half ... Mary was without the layered vocals at the end but was just fine for all that. It turned out to be a great gig ... the audience had been kept up to date with what was going on and were patience personified. My friends from LA were mightily impressed and my cousins, uncle and their partners were lovely and delighted to be reunited. All is well all shall be well.

Bury well Met from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Bob and I had the luxury of staying in a Spa Hotel for the next 2 nights ... close to my lovely friend Lynda, who came by on Saturday to have dinner with us. The food was excellent and the company even more so. It’s one of the delightful off shoots of being on the road ... catching up with the ones we love. xx

Sunday was Hitchin Folk club ... another favourite venue full of favourite people too. The club’s been going for 40 plus years and run for the most part by Maureen Jones and her lovely husband Keiron. Maureen has been under some serious health issues over the past year and is now on a waiting list for a liver transplant ... I know she would have loved to be there for our show but was in hospital having some essential tlc ... we send her much love on a regular basis! You could add yours too ... it all helps!

Keiron, bless him had been into London to see Maureen and was a tad later than normal setting up the PA but very happy that Maureen was perkier than she had been for some weeks, if not months - brilliant! We shared in his positivity!

More dear old friends turned up to this gig: Paul Leitch came all the way down from Scotland, Julie, Chris Howarth - who notched up his 3rd show this tour - and Steve Lima - hurrah! A fun filled and smooth running show with ecstatic responses was just what the doctor ordered!

Happily in Hitchn from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

I dropped Bob off at Luton airport on Monday morning - he caught a bus to Heathrow and flew off to LA on Tuesday ... ah bless. And I headed back to Burnham-on-Crouch and the delectable company of Helen and Clea once more. Helen and I had threatened to write together but found the allotment much more enticing! We did actually finish a song we started way back in February - when I was still a single girl ;-) ... there’s hope for us yet.

Helen's alottment heaven I from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Helen's heavenly alottment II from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Several days, a chicken and leek pie and hot chili later ... and it was time for gig number 9 at Great Bardfield and the fabulous High Barn. Though the audience were small in number they more than made up for it in enthusiasm and banter. The space itself is so wonderful it wouldn’t matter if it were empty ... I’d still have enjoyed it. Chris Howarth ... bless his great big generous heart ... made it gig number 4 in one tour! I really must have a T shirt made for him.

High Barn Great Bradfield from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Rob and I drove off into the night and 2 hours later walked back into the Ansell household ... it was very late and we were very grateful that Bryan stayed up to let us in ... we slept soundly! Diane and Bryan are so easy to be around and offer such warmth and sustenance that it was hard to get back in our cars and drive off the following day!

We made our separate ways to Liverpool docks and to us, the familiar sight, sound and motion of an Isle of Man Seacat Ferry, which eventually took us to Douglas. There had been serious storms all day and though the wind had died down considerably by the time we got onboard ... the captain decided to leave an hour later than scheduled ... just in case!

The first hour or so were easy peasy lemon squeasy but once out in the open Irish sea, we really started to rock! So I put my coat over my head and my ipod on loud to drown out any ho heaving ... if you know what I mean? It did the trick. We were an hour and 20 minutes late arriving but still intact ... always a good thing I find. Phew.

I actually had a lie-in the following day and woke almost refreshed and ready for our big gig at the Centenary Centre in Peel - yippee! We found out only a couple of days before that we’d be able to attempt a livestream broadcast of the entire show!

The Centenary Centreis a very special place run with volunteer help and generous donations to improve it constantly. This time round there was a theatre style bar and raked seating plus a roomier dressing room ... all brilliant!

After sound check Rob and I treated ourselves to a truly scrumptious dinner at Tyni ... a wonderful new bistro down by the marina - DELICIOUS!

The show got off to a shaky start as our special guests “Strengyn” were unable to perform due to the fact that Paul - one half of the genius duo - met with a very strange accident between a motorbike and a football! Luckily all were relatively well but not well enough to play that night. Get well soon and definitely see you both next time! We did however have the delightful presence of 19 year old Alanna Mclean, daughter of Dave and Lizzie - 2 gorgeous people I adore - who sang 3 blues songs brilliantly! Thanks Alanna ... and Dave for stonking piano accompaniment!

Rob and I were both a bit nervous knowing there would be cameras on us - Dave and Christy filmed the whole event as well as having a static camera broadcasting our every move out onto the ethereal airwaves of the interweb! Eek!

Peel Centenary Centre Isle of Man from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Regardless of our anxieties we threw ourselves into the night and basked in the warmth of the tumultuous applause of a standing ovation at the end of the performance ... wow ... thanks Peel! And the world ... there were only a few technical difficulties during the first half which were all sorted by the second set and we had people watching in Los Angeles, the UK and other parts of the Island -amazing!

I love a rainy day ;-) from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

With only a few days of leisure before the next run of dates I somehow managed to fit in a 7 year old’s birthday party, lunch with mum and dad, an osteopath session and a hairdresser’s appointment for a hair colour top-up plus a vibrant girlie dinner with chili, wine and a weepy film! Phew ... I’ll be glad to get out on the road again for a bit of a rest!

Jamie's birthday fireworks! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Hope to see you at a gig or 3 in the next few weeks and I’ll try to keep you up to date with all that’s going on!

Thanks as ever for dropping by ... see you again soon.

Much love

Christine XX ;-)

A life on the gigging road

Autumnal touring Adventures part I

Bob and I flew back from our summer sojourn in LA on September 28th and on the 29th Rob Cross and I started our final flurry of rehearsals on the Isle of Man ... me fully jet-lagged and not much use to anyone! Our starting date - October 13th - loomed large and I was soon hurtling down the M5 towards Cardiff to have our very last rehearsal near Rob’s home in Canton on the 12th. All went as well as it could, given the absence of the energetic push and excitement of a real live audience - our fingers were still very firmly crossed all the same!

Though Bob was already on the road with CBR, he managed to wangle it so that he could come to the first show at the The West End Centre in Aldershot - yay! There were many dear friends at that first gig, including some of the staff, in particular Barney and Julie, who have been there since I first started playing this fabulous gig, 10 years or more and it made us feel so much less up-tight than we might have been. I’m always worried I haven’t got enough songs to fill both 45 minute slots and so waffled a great deal desperately trying to remember all the daft stories I wanted to share ... the first set apparently stretched to an hour! Oops.

Aldershot West End Centre - numero uno! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

All in all we were both relieved to have the first show under our belts, with a seemingly ecstatic crowd cheering us along all the way. Phew ... think we got away with that one!?

We stayed with our dear friends Pam and Martin Dury, who of course came along to the show and had a fabulous party-spread laid out on their dining table when we got back to their delightful abode. The clink of champagne flutes could be heard ricocheting around Sandhurst - which might have had the men in the Officers club worried for a short while ... ? OK maybe not. We were celebrating not only the success of our first night, but also to Bob and I having had our nuptial adventures in February - ah. Such sweet, sweet people! We all slept soundly!

Bob had to train it back to Londinium the following morning, while Rob and I checked and re-checked our packing before heading towards Devon and Otterton Mill. This would be Rob’s first time ever in Devon ... or Deverrn ... as he insisted upon calling it! Bless.

Caroline ad Simon Spiller took over Otterton Mill and all it’s wonderful attachments: bakery, cafe, restaurant, art gallery and shop ... a few short years ago and in the first 6 months had to deal with a devastating flood which had the whole place closed for a month! According to the insurance loss adjusters it should have been 3 months! To say they worked very hard to get the place up and running again, is a ridiculous understatement! The place is now back to it’s enchanting best, if you ever get the chance to visit you must; it’s a truly wonderful experience! the food is EXCELLENT!

Otterton Mill devon aka gig number 2! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Apart from a few little technical difficulties, the show went pretty smoothly. I even had stories specifically connected to the venue which I generously “shared” ... much to the hilarity of the “sold-out” crowd! Did I tell you it was a sold out show?! It was a fairly lengthy drive back to Cardiff and the “Manx Embassy” ... where we were to sleep the next couple of nights - bless Rob’s stamina (or should that be youth?)for driving the whole way!

Third up in our run of six shows (sack your agent I hear you cry ... that’ll be me then!), is delightfully quirky Prema Arts Centre in Uley Gloucester. I’ve played here once before ... none of us can remember exactly when ... 4/5/6 years ago? it was great to perform here again. I love this place. It has the feel of some eccentric’s batty home but also feels strangely modern with it’s vibrant artwork and vivid decor ... definitely up my straza!

This was also the first night Rob had chance to sing a few of his own songs as an opening set - he was delightful of course!

Our friendly sound man Mark, was also the barman ... actually he was the barman who’d been on a course to do sound - there is a difference you know - anyway he was very patient with us ... with me to be fair. The performance space is a hexagonal room with lots of hard surface areas and the sound kept befuddling me! Is there such a word? Obviously ... coz the spellcheck fairy hasn’t tapped me on the shoulder! It was all fine in the end though both Rob and I struggled to hear the all important loop shenannigans through a couple of the songs ... no one else noticed thankfully.

Prema Arts Centre Uley ... gig 3! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

A much shorter ride back to the embassy this night and time for a little night cap too ... ah.

And onto gig number 4! I’d been mildly worried about my throat holding out over a run of 6 nights after an absence of 18 months but so far ... no signs of fatigue at all - amazing! All that yoga and hot water drinking have done me the world of good! Hurrah.

I love The Mill in Banbury and have played here countless times over the 20 odd years I’ve been gigging there! The staff here are particularly wonderful and always happy to help make everything just right - which it was! Life is good. Roblet did another gorgeous opening set much to the delight of the well turned out audience. It was lovely to see a number of great friends at half time too. Chris Howarth notched up his second gig so far this tour and my lovely friends Ann and Brian James were there with a number of CC virgins! yay. One guy brought along 12 CC virgins for musical sacrifice! Wow.

The Mill Banbury ... number 4 from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

This night we drove back to be with Pam and Martin near Sandhurst again and though we insisted they NOT feed us when we turned up at 1am ... the cheese, pate and biscuits found themselves on the table amongst the rare old Scottish Whiskeys that dotted the tablecloth. They’re very naughty people! That’s why we love them so.

The following morning was rather nerve wracking as I’d been asked to perform a very important ceremony at Mr and Mrs Squidney’s (aka Phil and Pat Chappell’s) adorable home in Crowthorne. As part of our enticement, Pat had promised us a delicious brunch ... which did not disappoint! Man that woman can cook!

Rather than try and explain this wonderfully surreal experience, I’ll let the short video do the explaining for me - enjoy! We certainly did.

A funny thing happened on the way to Bournemouth - a ceremonious experience from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Bournemouth Folk Club was one of the venues Rob and I played last time round and we both looked forward to performing there again. We arrived early in order for Rob to get some contact lens stuff only to find he’d left his all-important prescription back in Cardiff - doh!

Roblet once again did a beautiful set before the first half and had the crowd eating out of his hand by the end of the first song. Bless! It was a scatty night of remembered and not remembered anecdotes and songs but all in all it was a wonderful experience and we left happy and ready for our, by now expected, scotch night cap! We love Pam and Martin!

The Stage Bournemouth - gig 5 of 6! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

And so to the last of our first run of 6 exciting shows. But before we got toColchester Folk Club at the wonderful Arts Centre, I had a songwriting workshop to attend to! Gulp! I never do these things but it seemed churlish not to accept the invitation when it came from Tim Pells at the Colchester Institute. I would be staying with Helen Watson for the next few days so I sneakily asked her to come along for support - which thankfully she did!

Standing in front of a class of 18 and 20 year olds is a very daunting thing, especially when you’re not used to it! I had an hour and a half to talk about my process of writing ... without performing anything, as I opted to “save” my voice for the show. I did have my trusty Apple Mac with me to play a number of choice songs as examples of what I was talking about. Helen interjected several times at very appropriate times getting me out of a couple of verbal cul-de-sacs! Phew! She had some fabulous observations to share. I think the budding songwriters of Colchester were truly inspired! Thanks Tim for the opportunity!

And so onto the Arts Centre which is cleverly tucked inside an old church. Rob was already set up and ready to go when Helen and I turned up and once sound check was done - very quickly - we all traipsed off in search of “proper” food. Which we found in a smart but reasonably priced Italian Restaurant on the high street. Delicious.

Feeling satisfied and nourished we were both ready, willing and able to get on with the last of our run of 6. Rob once more set the scene for a great night and we took the fabulously responsive crowd by storm! Phew ... thank you Colchester ... you were great!

Colchester - gig 6 of 6!! whoop whoop ;-) from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

I’ll be back with the next batch of show blogs in a week or so ... it’s all going brilliantly so far ... Friday traffic jams on the M6 not withstanding ... you’ll definitely hear about that in the next installment!

Thanks for dropping by as ever ... hope to see you out there very soon!

Much love

Christine XX

The final harmonious trio of gorgeous gigs:

After Marlborough and my lazy Sunday with the Dury’s I revved myself up again to meet Bob at Heathrow. He’d been on a whistle-stop tour of Abu Dhabi with CBR which would be the last of his exhausting travels this year - bless. We enjoyed a couple of days unwinding with Jo and Mike near Worksop ... always a delight.

The Black Swan in York is yet another BBC radio 2 Folk Club of the year winner and rightly so. The club has been successfully run for many years by Roland Walls who has a bevvy of wonderful helpers who keep the club running smoothly. Due to health challenges - now thankfully overcome - Roland wasn’t able to make our show but his presence was very much felt.

Bob and I decided to drive to York early and have a wander round it’s gorgeous streets. It was a particularly cold day and not a lot of wandering was done but we still appreciated the brilliant atmosphere.

Rob drove up to meet us exactly on time! Hurrah for small mercies. We sound checked quickly and ate heartily in the pub downstairs and were well and truly ready for our performance. When it was time to step up and do our thing, we had to squeeze ourselves into the fabulously full upstairs room where it all takes place. Rob was pleasantly surprised to see his music teacher from the Isle of Man in the crowd! It didn’t put him off his stride at all. I thoroughly enjoyed this show which was full of wit and sparkling banter ... the audience not me! It was a great show and I know the feeling was mutual. Thank you York.

Yummy York! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

We drove back to Jo and Mike’s and somehow managed to get into the house without waking them - phew! The Rock is one of my favourite shows, run by some of my favourite organisers: Rob and Jan Shaw. I was truly thrilled by the large crowd that turned up and enthused excitedly all night! Hurrah. One of my favourite moments from the whole tour happened at the end of “We Spoke Today” ... captured for all to hear by Bob ... hurrah!

Rocking at the ROCK I from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Rocking at the Rock II from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

The following day should have been a truly epic drive up to St Andrews in Scotland and a gig at Inn at Lathones, run by David Mundell, who used to run the fabulous Beinn Inn for many fruitful years. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our collective control, the show was postponed and we’re now looking to try again in May next year - I have my fingers firmly crossed this will definitely happen. My humble apologies to anyone who bought a ticket and my thanks for their understanding when we weren’t able to deliver.

Feeling fairly refreshed after an unexpected day off we were more than ready for our final show of this tour - ah. We enjoyed a delicious, late Sunday lunch with Jo and Mike at a restaurant en route to Halifax and not too far from their lovely home. It felt like a party in many ways ... a celebration! Hurrah.

The Square Chapel Arts Centre is a wonderful venue I’ve only played once before. Our sound man for the night was a delightful - very young - man of 17, Jo who did a truly wonderful job. Chris Howarth made it his 6th gig of the tour and winner of (as yet to be ordered!) tour T shirt! He’s such a sweetheart and it’s always a joy to hear his infectious guffaw radiating out from the audience. Bless you darlin’.

A Fond farewell from Halifax from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

It was a great show to go out on. It just went far too quickly! The whole tour did really. Rob Cross was a wonderful accompanist in so very many ways not least musically of course. We’re hoping to put a run of shows together for May next year, including a week in Scotland towards the end of the month. If any of you have ideas for venues/clubs to approach please feel free to email me with suggestions: ccollisterATmac.com.

Thank you, as ever, for taking the time to view my Blog and thanks to anyone who managed to get to a gig ... I can’t do any of this without your support ... I truly appreciate it.

BTW ... Bob and I are finally going on our Honeymoon next week. Our criterion were: absolutely no cruises (me) and definitely no longer than 14 days (Bob). So that’ll be a 28 day Caribbean Cruise then! OMG! Given neither of us wanted this type of holiday we’re both ridiculously excited about it. Rest assured I will Blog about our experiences when we reluctantly return in January. HURRAH!

Have a fabulous Christmas and a happy and healthy new year and hope to see you all again in 2011.

Take care.

Much love

Christine Collister Miller XX ;-)

High lights of spring in Santa Monica, the Isle of Man and Meltdown!

As promised I'm back with a few more memories from our spring trip, though I've decided to cut back on the enormous amount of information I gathered at that time as … quite frankly … you really don't need to know it all! So here are a few more high-lights and anecdotes:


Our first week or so in the States were taken up traveling to Vancouver, Portland and Seattle as we followed Corinne and the band on their first flurry of shows supporting The Sea. For those first handful of dates, she had a young all male acappella band from South Africa opening each show – Overtone. Their enthusiasm and openness, not to mention their raw talent … made them many new friends and converts. The story of how they came to be in America in the first place is an interesting one: Overtone were first noticed by Dina Eastwood, none other than Clint Eastwood's gorgeous wife. Mr Eastwood was so impressed that he decided to use them on the sound track to his wonderfully inspirational movie, Invictus which he filmed in South Africa last year. Dina was so enthused by the boys that she offered to help manage the band to get a foothold into the North American market.


Dina and Bob got along like a house on fire – of course! When we returned to LA and Corinne and the band carried on touring further afield, Overtone had their own gig at the Hotel Cafe in West Hollywood. Bob and I and several of our friends went along to show our support. Little did we know at the time that Dina's other half would also be attending! Eek! Not only that but sat in the dark recesses of the dimly lit venue sat Mr Morgen Freeman!! Though I managed a little Flip footage of the boys strutting their musical stuff, it was far too dark to capture Mr Freeman or Mr Eastwood – I tried! In the throng of excitement at the end of Overtone's wonderful performance, Helene Muddiman (an extremely talented - and recently nominated for an Ivor Novello award! - film composer and also I'm delighted to say, new bosom buddy) and I, literally bumped into Morgan Freeman as he was leaving – honest guv! Helene, being much more up front and unfazed by this exciting experience, immediately shook his hand, thrust a copy of her film score "Skin" into his outstretched palm and introduced us both! My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth and I'm sorry to say all I could get out was a very girly giggle! He was amazingly calm and collected and genuinely happy to meet us – no really! I think playing God and Nelson Mandela has had a very positive effect on him!

Overtone rock the Hotel Cafe LA! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

As we moved ever closer to the exit, the seething mass of humanity that is a gig-going audience, swept us along, right into the path of Clint Eastwood's smiling face … and just at that,moment as-if-by-magic, Dina turned up … and introduced us – just like that! Wow. He too was all twinkly-eyed smiles and understanding and I was quite over-awed. I did have the foresight to give Dina several of my cds as we were leaving, with no real thought to the notion that Clint himself might actually hear them! And in my utter excitement to tell Bob who we'd just met, I called Mr Freeman ... Norman! Then several days after these momentous meetings, Bob and I received emails from Dina saying that they were both listening to one of my cds and that Clint was soaking it all up! OMG! They both like my voice – I'm stunned into humble silence … ;-)

At the first CBR show in LA hosted by KCRW (as blogged in my last installment - see below) I met some rather wonderful women who produce shows themselves on KCRW: Ariana Morgenstern – a passionate, musical mover and shaker and long term broadcaster/producer of Morning becomes Eclectic and Liz MacDonald one of the regular producers who contributes enormously to the general running of this highly successful college radio station. Both extended an invitation to witness a live broadcast of Morning Becomes Eclectic – one of their long standing and most influential shows. I looked at their list of up and coming performers and picked out what looked like the most interesting to me while I was there.

The first session I went to was for Pepi Ginsberg and her wonderfully eclectic and fabulously energetic band. Interesting heart-felt songs sung and played with real passion and fire. I loved her! And several weeks later Josh Rouse … subtle and sweet and utterly mesmerising, I could have watched and listen to him and his super talented band all day! It was a real privilege to be in such close quarters with both these connected and creative musicians. Thanks go out to both Ariana and Liz.

For some of the trip Bob flew off to the east coast to catch up with Corinne's tour which left me free to explore Santa Monica itself and do a little writing. I had several sessions with Mike Slamer, in which we wrote a couple of short songs for tv libraries he's involved with. I loved the experience and hope to do more before I leave this time as well. We also managed to finish a song we'd been working on over the past 18 months! It's called: "Edge of the World" and We both love it … I'm hoping to include it, along with 2 other songs we've written together on the next tour cd.Whenever Bob was back from his touring duties we'd stroll along Santa Monica promenade just to see what we could see and sometimes it was quite a lot!

It was a wild and windy day in Santa Monica ... from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Another highlight for me this time round was the discovery of Yogaworks – a fabulous yoga studio right round the corner from where we were staying. I went along to a Kundalini session one afternoon and came out a complete convert! It is truly amazing and I can't get enough of it. The fact that the teacher, Kia Miller, is stunningly gorgeous and radiates pure joy with her wonderful smiling presence … probably has something to do with it. I've spoken to a number of other yoga enthusiasts about my experiences and some of them really dislike the chanting, breath of fire and singing that are the backbone of a Kundalini practice but for me – obviously! - it's perfect.

I'd also learned about a gig Richard Thompson was doing at the Rhino Records pop-up store – a charity fund raising event run over a month long period, during which many notable artists were performing. I offered my oohing and aahing services and was taken up! Richard and Nancy – RT's lovely wife – also took Bob and I out for lunch at Shutters on the beach in Santa Monica as a celebration of our nuptials. It was a delightful and much appreciated gift.

After our little soiree at Rhino, RT asked if I was available to take part in one of the fabulous shows he'd put together for Meltdown at the South Bank in June … wow! Yes I am! And so I was invited to sing half a dozen songs on the Six Strings night, along side such guitar playing luminaries as: James Burton, Martin Simpson,Nokie Edwards, Dennis Coffey, John Etheridge and of course Richard Thompson himself! And the “house band” consisted of my pal and brilliant bass player, Rory McFarlane (standing in for Jerry Scheff who was ill – bless them both!), an amazing young drummer, Jay Bellerose, fabulous percussion from Debra Dobkin and the incomparable Danny Thompson on double bass! To say I was thrilled is a ridiculous understatement. I was, of course, very excited about the prospect and then … completely daunted when the song titles kept coming in … really you want me to sing that?! Wow.

Before the Queen Elizabeth Hall beckoned … back on the Isle of Man ... I was asked to take part in a strange but thoroughly enjoyable gig on a boat, destined to roll around Douglas bay for a few bouncy hours … anyone easily seasick look away now?! I joined Anna Goldsmith, Christy Dehaven, Simon Rae and Paul Teare – aka Truman Falls, plus Dave Armstrong (bass) and Mark Brabbs (cajon)- my Manx musical ship mates for the event. Here take a look:

Beginners to the Boat please! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Anna G Mark B Christy D

For Meltdown I was required to be ready for rehearsals the day before the show – Sunday June 13th – which meant leaving the Island towards the end of TT week! This proved a difficult task due to the enormous amount of bikers moving on and off the Island and meant that we had to leave later than we wanted and also required us to stay in Liverpool over night before taking a train on Sunday morning which landed us at the South Bank with rehearsals well under way! Regardless of the mess up in time, everything went really well and it was wonderful to witness great player after great player take to the stage! A privilege to say the least.

Six String meltdown! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

Ed Haber 'n' Rory McFarlane, John Etheridge and Debra Dobkin - yay!

Hello Mary Lou, I'm a Steam Roller baby! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

The day of the gig itself was incredibly long and stuffed full of great musical moments and a lot of laughter. It included a full day of rehearsals prior to the concert itself – for which I had to quickly learn 3 new songs! - which only added to the general state of energetic nervousness associated with being totally challenged! But the ultimate reward was being a part of the most amazing show I've experienced in a very long time. To start the event rolling,Albert White and Beverly "Guitar" Watkins took to the stage and proceeded to wow the capacity crowd with their utter charm and fabulous musicianship. After Albert's delightful opening 20 minute set, he introduced Ms Watkins as a “72 year old cancer survivor”! She was sassy, sexy, soulful and absolutely wonderful! We are not worthy!

Albert White and Beverly "guitar" Watkins - ROCK! from Christine Collister on Vimeo.

I have tried to capture the essence of the day with these few short videos and hope you get a taste of the wonderful experience. Enjoy!


Nokie me 'n'James! everyone! me, RT, Dennis Coffie 'n' Nokie

me and Simon Tassano sound man in so many ways! ;-)

I truly hope I get the chance to collaborate on many more such fabulous artists on other great musical extravaganzas. There's nothing quite like it!


Jesse Thompson BJ Cole Martin Simpson! ;-)
OK that's your lot for now. I still have loads of great moments to share with you before the tour starts in October so keep your eyes peeled for the next installment and make sure you check out the gig list and get your selves down to a show in the autumn! Hurrah.

Take care and hope to see you out there very soon.


With much love


Mrs Christine Collister Miller XX