A Wonderful Weekend To Celebrate Family

This weekend has been really lovely.  Megan came home so Ian could fix her car using precision instruments a big hammer to knock the front of the car back into alignment and replace the broken headlights and re-attach the bumper.  It may not look pretty but she is now safely back on the road after her accident.  I was really shocked by the state of her legs following her crash.  They were purple-blue from above the knee down to her ankles, literally covered with big bruises.  Her back has been twisted and jarred and is painful but she is a tough cookie and being so positive. I am so proud of her handling this ordeal in such a mature manner.

Megan has also just been accepted to be a member of Radio Lollipop, the radio station that operates in Manchester Hospital.  She will be part of a volunteer team who works on the long stay children's wards with the kids, planning activities and chatting to parents.  She will also be presenting on the radio doing her bit as a DJ!  I'm sure it will be immensely rewarding, sometimes heartbreaking and ultimately life changing for my daughter.  She is also volunteering as an usher at the local theatre.  Her job with the charity Hand on Heart is taking her to great places, meeting famous and inspirational people and helping raise money to purchase defibrillators for schools in the UK to help prevent the deaths of young people from sudden cardiac arrest.  I am really proud of the contribution she is making to the community and know she will go on to great things.

At The Salford Business Expo With The Aptly
 Named Manchester Giants Basketball Team.

Meanwhile, Ella is flourishing at her new college, doing well in her subjects and coping with all the recent changes she has had.  On Sunday, she played at the Bandstand at The Quarry Park in Shrewsbury.  It was a very chilly but beautiful autumnal day.  Ella performed beautifully even though she was going blue with cold!  After her performance we were approached by the Principal of the college inviting Ella to perform at some future events.  He said he loved the tone of her voice and that she was very talented, which is lovely to hear!  One of the events is being held at the prestigious Severn Theatre which will be an amazing opportunity for her and a wonderfully proud moment for me and her dad.

Ella performing her songs.

After her performance we had a walk in the park and Freddy played in the play area.  It was such a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  We followed this by a well deserved lunch out before heading home.

Catch Me Daddy!

My Girls x

Here is Ella performing a cover of Read All About It:

I love weekends with the family.  I have a lot more family events to look forward to too.  I am taking Meg on a much deserved two day break to Champney's Spa later this week (thanks Parentdish!) Then we have Megan's 21st birthday family meal to celebrate which we'll be sharing with our close family.  It'll be wonderful having my loved ones all under the same roof again.

You Me At Six Guitar Tutorial

You Me At Six's 'Time is Money' Guitar Tutorial

One of the things I love about being a mum to a teenager is that I get to know a whole load of bands that may otherwise have passed me by. You Me At Six is one such band. In this tutorial video made for the O2 Academy TV, Chris demonstrates how to play "Time is Money". As both Ella and my husband Ian are guitarists I am sharing this tutorial video. I hope to soon hear them performing this You Me At Six track! They can consider themselves challenged!!

An Evening Of Music and A Proud Mum Moment!

On Saturday night I went to a concert showcasing local musical talent.  My daughter Ella had been invited to play, along with her friend and duet partner Jake.  They have performed together for a few years, both playing guitar, and I am so proud of them.

The concert was held in a local hall in support of an educational fund that supports young people in the area.  Kids aged between 12 and 16 from some local schools came together for the three hour musical showcase that included vocalists, pianists, guitarists, saxophonists and an instrumental band.  It is such a positive experience to listen to such talented teenagers performing musical numbers from a diverse range of genres such as musical theatre from Phantom of the Opera, Wicked and Evita to pop hits from Adele and Katy Perry.  The band did an awesome rendition of Michael Jackson's Thriller which was a huge crowd pleaser.  Their female drummer was absolutely incredible.  Such was her enthusiasm, she broke her drum!

It is so wonderful to see teenagers breaking the negative stereotype that society places on them.  Everyone was so professional, talented and committed.  It was such a feel good evening of entertainment!  A real inspiration.

But my proudest and favourite moment was of course when my own little star performed her three songs with Jake:  Naive by the Kooks, You Know My Name by Chris Cornell and Apologize by One Republic.  They were fantastic!  Here are the videos.  One of them rehearsing at my house and two of them on the  night that I managed to sneakily record on my Flip!

                            

Nothing beats seeing your child doing something that they truly love.  Ella is so confident when she performs.  Having the guitar in her hands brings her to life.  It gives her the confidence that she sometimes lacks in everyday situations.  She lights up the stage with her smile and enthusiasm.  It was wonderful to see her doing what she loves.  I am so very proud of her.

Silent Sunday

Flashback Friday...Rock Star

My little guitar was a favourite toy...but my musicality never went any further than this.  But I struck a pretty good rock star pose!

My Teenaged Songstress

I'm the sort of person who loves to jump up on the Karaoke at family parties!  That's not to say I'm a good singer...I'm just keen!!  OK, sometimes it falls into place and I'll rock out a not too shabby version of Total Eclipse of the Heart or Bat out of Hell.  I did a pretty mean rendition of Fame complete with a Flash Mob of dancers for my sister's wedding reception.  (How I wish I could have taken advantage of the open bar before hand to give myself a bit of Dutch courage...but alas I'm tee total and had to do it stone cold sober.  I swear to you I peed a little with the terror of the situation!)  But generally, I'm the one that people laugh at.  I'm the one who cannot hold the notes during harmonies, which is a real problem in my incredibly musical extended family!  My version of Skimbleshanks from the musical Cats has gone down in family folklore as one of my more hilarious attempts at performing.  My niece Liberty who is a Grade 7 pianist could barely contain herself as I sang along to her accompaniment whilst wearing an ELC cat dressing up outfit.  To say it was poor would be a compliment...I was more strangled cat than Andrew Lloyd Webber Cats!  However, laughter is a joyous gift and if my lack of talent delivers this most treasured prize to my loved ones I will continue to sing my heart out whenever and wherever I can!!

With this musically challenged background, one would assume that my children wouldn't stand a chance.  Yet by the wonders of genetics and its wondrous complexity, I have the most talented little songstress for a daughter!  To be fair, my husband is a bit of a guitarist.  He has six guitars upon which he can strum and pluck various pieces including Stairway to Heaven (which never fails to impress me!) but sadly the singing never quite matched up to the finger action. 

So my little Ella, aged just 9 decided to tinker with Daddy's guitars and using a Three Chord Trick book taught herself to play Jolene.  It was pretty good although her little fingers struggled to hold down the strings and chord changes were a little tricky.  By 12, she had taken possession of my husband's guitars and declared them as her own.  She googled chords from songs and learned to play a huge repetoire by heart.  Before long she was cracking chord patterns by ear and correcting tablature.  Then came the songwriting.  Simple little songs at first that made me beam with pride whenever she performed for me.  Quickly they evolved into more complex pieces with a maturity that belied her age.  She can knock up a song in a day and post it on Youtube via webcam.  She is so quiet and shy when introducing her songs but comes alive as soon as the guitar comes into play.  I don't know where this songwriting will take her, but at just 14 years old she is creating her own music.  It brings her such joy and gives her an outlet for her creativity, her emotions and her angst.  I am very proud of my daughter and am so glad she does not take after her mother!!!

My Teenaged Songstress