Here is the Blog for Sept.
Hi all.
How was your Summer?
Truly awful weather eh, and very limiting when one has picnics scheduled with a bored 5 year old on school holidays, although we have managed to grab a few days out between the downpours - all very disappointing, especially as due to work commitments we decided to stay in the UK and enjoy some days out this year rather than going away.
At least the garden is looking lovely and green.......but I wouldn't mind a bit or scorched lawn in return for some sunshine!
We did consider building an Ark at one point, but didn't have enough empty boxes and sticky backed plastic to complete the task in true Valerie Singleton style (for those of you who are not English and have never seen "Blue Peter".....dont even try to understand that!) Talking of television, I hear I had another mention on Eastenders from my "biggest fan" Heather? I think its about time Ronnie and Roxy invited me to their club, don't you?
Back to the our Summer break....we had a few days with a friend in Hastings doing the whole seaside thing, followed by some time with my family in Essex.
My mum isn't very well at the moment, so its nice to spend some time with her, plus I think seeing her youngest grandchild is always a bit of a tonic and gives her a boost.
I think I could, or maybe should, write a "Hazell Highy Recommends section." with my first two recommendations being -
1. "Tropical Wings" in Essex - if you fancy feeding a walabee (or is that walabie? Walaby? Im dyslexic - so go figure!) AKA small kangaroo type thing, and having a lovely family day out, I highly recommend it.
Another recommendation being -
2. "The London Wetlands Centre " in Barnes, just outside London - I performed there on the 28th August at a Civil Partnership (Jamie and Paul - CONGRATULATIONS!!!) and considering it is so close to London, its an amazing place to go with the family or for a romantic stroll, or if you are looking for a venue for a party or civil partnership.....or if you are a serious birdwatcher, its a winner.
Speaking of serious birdwatchers - whilst doing a sound check for Jamie and Paul's party, I was approached by an irate "twitcher" (I believe that is the correct title?) resplendent in waders and full twitching gear who accused me of disturbing the wildlife!!???
Well, I have been accused of many things in the past, but disturbing the wildlife has to be a first even for me!!!
Regardless of my wildlife bothering activities, the groom & groom had a lovely time (I hope) and even grandma had a dance, and as I didn't get attacked by any angry ducks or badgers on my way out, I can only assume the wildlife survived the experience unharmed.
I shall be returning to do some pond dipping or bat walking with my little girl very soon....and if I do get attacked by the wild things, I shall know they hold a grudge!
From there I headed over to Vauxhall for my third recommendation of this blog -
3. The Eagle at Vauxhall, or more specifically, "Carpet Burn" at The Eagle, what a fantastic crowd and a real eclectic blast from the past from the DJs!!!
I haven't been out and about in London for quite a while, and didn't know that the Vauxhall area had turned into such a busy Gay Village.
A big thank you to Mark, Martyn, Simon and the DJ;s for looking after me and for the cups of tea (Lovely!) but the biggest thank you has to go to the crowd - you were great!!!! I have to admit, after singing "Love Pains" I felt a little emotional, its been such a long time since I sang that song in its original format, and to have you guys singing along with me (to every track) was fantastic.
Plus the added bonus of being surprised by a friend I haven seen for a very long time, it all made for a very memorable night.
So guys (sorry, no girls allowed), if you are up for a great night out "Hazell Highly Recommends" The Eagle in Vauxhall.........although I do have one burning question - on the nights when its a "jocks & boots" - where do you keep your money boys???? Answers on a postcard please!!! LOL.
So after those 2 shows, I think I deserved a long lie in, and didn't get up till after midday. Obviously a child free weekend for me, so I wasn't woken at 7am by a certain young lady wanting to watch "Ben 10" & "Horrid Henry" or other such loud and lairy viewing fo a Sunday morning - Phew!
Thus after a full English brekkie, my Sunday afternoon was spent catching up on emails and admin stuff. Take a look at the replies to emails page, you may find a reply from me, if you have sent a message to the guest book over the past few months. I love getting your emails and messages, so keep em coming.
I then crashed out on the sofa to indulge in a bit of Cliff Richard and "Summer Holiday" I LOVE THIS MOVIE, although it did remind me that the Summer of 1963 started off in pretty diabolical style : ) even in technicolour and cinemascope!!!!
Bank Holiday Monday 30th August, and we loaded the car and headed off to Manchester to complete the Pride weekend at Cruz 101......
and a VERY late night for me - on stage at 2am!!
Good grief, Im not very good with these late nights anymore, but have to say had another great show and a crowd of 1300, which is pretty good for a club that opens at 1am!!!
There were a couple of boys in the audience dancing in just their undies, which once again begs the question asked earlier....where do you keep your money, phone, & keys?????
It was nice to see a few familiar faces in the audience, but coming back to the hotel at 4am was a bit of a shock to the system LOL.
I didn't get chance to walk around the village this year but we heard the closing fireworks and they sounded pretty impressive (shame I couldn't see them!) the noise nearly made my little girl fall out of bed in shock.
Im sure everyone who attended this years Pride event had a great time, its a shame the weather wasn't warmer for you all.
On my drive home on 31st Aug it was glorious sunshine and very hot.....Typical!
So for my final "Hazell Highly Recommends" for this months blog.......
4. Have a Disco Nap before heading out to Cruz 101 to shake your thang, you party boys!!!
Im still waiting to hear the mixes of "They say its Gonna Rain" from Energise, which i'm quite excited about. I believe the release is still scheduled for September and I hear there are 3 mixes on the go.
Did you know that this track was a No 1 hit in South Africa, where it looks likely that I will be heading for three shows in November - so to my fans in S.A, keep an eye on the show dates page for confirmation of the dates and venues in Jo'Burg and Pretoria, the last weekend in Nov.
Keep watching out for the latest download for Sept - this is the original demo of "Judgement Day" - Let me know if you like a bit of Miss Dean and a gospel choir.
You may want to listen extra hard for the fantastic ad libs by Earlene Bentley, although my daughter did a rather impressive vocal in the car when the track blasted out from the iPod on shuffle on the long drive back from Manchester, although she still prefers singing "So Macho" or "Its Raining Men" in preference to any of my songs. I do however try to convince myself that being able to sing "YMCA" fluently aged 5 is good for her spelling development and not just camp, I hope her headmistress understands!!!!
So, thats me up to date for a while...........I'm heading off out for a steaming bowl of pasta at my local Italian eatery and an early night : )
Always
Hazell
xxx