The Ladies Who Lunch

No! not me!  Well not usually anyway, although tomorrow I'm meeting some friends and having a leisurely lunch catch up before the summer is over and we all get bogged down in routine again.   Looking forward to it.

No!  This Ladies Who Lunch is by Steven Sondheim and is sung here by a very young Elaine Stritch.
The woman who posted this on You Tube called her "my favourite spirit animal"!!
What an apt description of such a powerful performer.



This came up cause I'm starting work with my adult singers on choosing songs for Grades in Music Theatre to do this term.  I love working with adults who want to get back to singing  they're not looking for a career change, although sometimes that happens, and they're burying old demons about their voices, their performances, their expectations.   We have great fun and I learn something new in every class.   So I'm looking forward to exploring a lot of new material that I've never looked at with students before.

It also comes on the day after hearing about Robin Williams' passing and on the day of Lauren Bacall's death.  Two more sensational performers - one who has lived their life well, the other who had so much more to give.   I read one comment on Facebook from a friend who said that they've never experienced a sense of intimate loss when a celebrity died before hearing about Robin.    And I have to echo the sentiment ....  I feel so so sad for the poor man - after all the joy he has given, to feel such despair is beyond my understanding - I've certainly felt depression, but never to that degree.  Thank you Robin for all the wonderfulness that you have given us over the years.  You will be missed.

We're getting ready now for a tour / busman's holiday over in France and Spain.   My mother and most people who aren't musicians think that we're always on holiday when we go away :)   I didn't want to disappoint them - so we're doing it for real this time :)   First stop Spain - a few gigs, then a few free days with friends, then up into the south (isn) part of France for another week with more friends, and also including 2 gigs, and then the last 5-6 days in the north of France - again staying with more friends and with one more gig on the night before we come home.    Like last year, we're taking the ferry from the south East of Ireland to Cherbourg in France.   I can't believe how reasonably priced it is.   Normally we're taking ferries from here to Scotland or England - a 2 hour crossing.   This trip to France is 18 hours - and, including a cabin both ways, and in peak season, it is less than £100 dearer than the Irish Sea crossing.

I've not been a regular poster over the summer months and am not promising to maintain a regime yet for a while, but it's lovely to put fingers to keyboard again :)

How's your summer going?   Or is it winter time with you?  I'd love to hear.