HI Everyone. It’s a snowy Sunday and I’m sat in my apartment looking out of the windows at the snow coming down. Not often we can say that. It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas already. I’m not a huge Christmas fan to be honest. I like the getting together with people, but I’m not into the materialistic side of things. I’m not a ‘stuff’ person so there’s never really anything I want from people and I’m not a shopper, so I’ll do the singing instead.
I started at The Piece Hall in Halifax last weekend for the Christmas Market. Amazing vibes going on and lots of people. I always love singing there. I get a sound man and look out onto a beautiful place seeing people having fun and coming together, so what’s not to love really? I have a few people who always come to see me, and I’ve even got a Christmas present from one of them. My diary is pretty full now up until the 23rd. Happy de pappy. As a singer you never know how things will be, and I never know how work will come in, and if I will have enough, so to see my diary pretty full is good. January and February are always quiet, so I have no idea what next year holds, which doesn’t worry me anymore. I can’t really believe another year has gone. It feels like no time at all since I was posting my song advent calendar last year. Time really does fly. I will post it again, but I know I haven’t got the same energy to do a new set. Last year I was much more people pleasy than I am now. This year I have been finding a better balance for myself and taking more time for myself and my private life away from singing and I feel happier for it.
Singing has always been my one love and passion, and the time I have spent revolving everything around it has served me in the past, but now I need something for me too. More of a life. So I’ve not been working as hard and am learning to have more of a normal personal life. Yesterday I went dancing at a community centre I go to. I work there one day a week, and now they pay me too to make food for them. Proper homemade comfort food. Curries, chillis, shepherds pie etc…. The other passion of mine. Cooking. I can spend hours faffing in my kitchen.
Making bread, crumpets, biscotti, pies, chutneys etc……if I see someone with something they’ve bought ready made, I’ll go away and find a way to make it from scratch, using better ingredients. I’m making chocolate digestives later for a friend. He loves them so I said I would make him some. I just love being creative. I spend most of my life being creative, and I hardly spend anytime doing stuff I don’t want to do. Just how I like it.
I also love walking and love getting out in nature. The wind in my face. I look back on my time in New York and wonder how I would find it now. I was a proper city girl for years, and enjoyed everything happening on my doorstep and the bright lights and vibrancy of a city, and now I love cosy nights on my own, or with friends, and getting out in the countryside. When I’m not singing I don’t really want to be out and about around lots of people. I need to retreat and recharge myself.
So what singing have I done recently? I sang for a ladies night in Halifax; sang at the community centre I go to; opened the Halifax Festival of words, and was over in Lytham for two events. Helping people. In one place there, it was the first time that people in the warden controlled flats had come together since last March. They had afternoon tea and a raffle, and I was happy to be part of their first gathering. I am happy when I see others enjoying themselves and connecting with each other. I was also there too the other weekend singing for The Royal British Legion on Remembrance Sunday. I sang a remembrance service in Heaton Park too for a friend, and sang for a birthday celebration for a mother and daughter.
I was also outside the coop in Ripponden last weekend. Honestly, I don’t half do some stuff. Sometimes I think ‘what the hell am I doing? Then I do it anyway. Ha ha. They have been helping a lot of people these past two years and doing loads of local stuff for the community, and I’ve taken part in some of it, so I was there to set the tone and bring some music to people. Not what they were expecting when they were going to get their milk. Ha ha. Someone filmed me singing ‘perfect’…..over the years the Coop have raised 100 million to help others.
I also sang at someone’s funeral. He loved Liverpool football so I sang ‘You’ll never walk alone’. I watch people all the time. I’m always observing and thinking about things, and I sat and listened to what they said about the man who had passed away, and it was beautiful. A family of 11 brothers and sisters and this was the youngest brother. Totally loved and adored by his family, and they spoke of all the love he had given back to them, which helps me to connect more with my own heart. I’ve made a ‘thing’ with myself now too. No matter the occasion, I am there to lift the energy and bring some light, and I won’t stand looking sad singing at a funeral or anywhere else. I will smile my way through it. Same with the remembrance service too. My friend who asked me to sing there, got feedback back saying ‘it was a lovely service and not like others, and who was the singer?’ I know my job deep down. I am there to connect people and spread love. I just feel more and more no matter what our differences are we can all still connect. Find love and compassion for others and see that we are all connected anyway. I have definitely developed more of this this past year. I don’t focus my energy on things that pull me down now. I spent the past few months getting rid of anything that drains me or doesn’t serve my highest good. I had a right good clear out.
This coming month I go to London for a couple of days, and then it’s a mix of Christmas gigs. I have only a few outside on the streets like last year, and the rest inside. The joy of singing inside again. Makes all the difference. I also decided to stop busking too. I was in Huddersfield about a month ago doing it and at the end, in a pretty positive way I just said to myself ‘I’m done with this’. It’s just not what I want to do anymore, and it’s not making me happy now. It felt like a relief to take the burden from myself, and felt really freeing. I’ve done it since 2014 and it’s given me such a lot of happiness. Every penny people have put in my box has paid for me to live. I’ve been around the UK with it, sang in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Amsterdam, Calgary, New York. Basically put my box down and gone for it, and it’s led to so many things and I have sang at events all over Europe, in the UK and in New York and Philadelphia. All because I put a box out one day and started to sing for people on the streets.
What an absolute adventure it’s been. The people I’ve met, the things I’ve done have literally made my life so rich. It has been truly amazing, but I feel like I want different things now. I’ve no idea what is ahead but I know I’m ready for some change. I’m thinking about getting my Julie Andrews show up and running again. I have a couple of small venues in mind to start with and will just let it organically unfold, rather that working in the stressful way I used to. I’m getting proper obsessed by her again so I know that’s my gut saying ‘get your Julie Andrews show going again Nick’. Time to get my backside in gear for it again.
I worked with a director and dancer on it too for a day. Sponsored by ‘The Sage, Gateshead’, they paid for me to work with someone on it. I loved every minute of it. We worked on the first half, adding some movement and basic dance. My January work is to work on it so it feels really natural for me to do it, and then start working on the second half. It makes such a difference rather than me just standing there, and adds a lot more character to it. Just have to build my confidence up, as I have the ‘I can’t dance’ thing in my head like many have the ‘I can’t sing’ thing in their heads. I can do it and I will.
I’ve always been like that though. If something is not making me happy anymore I won’t do it. My brother died when I was 19 and it taught me not to spend time doing stuff I don’t want to do and to always choose happiness. Never let life get me down too much. I choose my heart and soul always. That leads the way. Music has led the way for me. I just want to sit down when I am older and say ‘I did everything I wanted to do’. No regrets ever really. Live and love big, and do my mission.
So this coming month here’s a low down of my public events (the rest are private):
Todmorden Social Club 4th December 8pm
The Barlow, Edgworth 12th December 2pm
Todmorden Town Hall 18th December 2pm
St. Martins Church, Brighouse 19th December 2.30pm
Todmorden Market 23rd December in the afternoon.
If you want me to sing anywhere for you at any point just get in touch. Keep supporting me where you can and helping me to keep going. It’s definitely a two way thing. I need YOU ‘the people’. Enjoy your Christmas preparations and lots of love to you all.
You’ve been great to listen too and we hope to see you again on the 19th at St. Martins.