Sing Live!

Blog posts have been a bit thin on the ground recently. A busy work schedule will do that to you because there's nothing worse than coming home after ten hours at a computer to sit in front of another computer! So, here I am, wondering what to write about. There's a few things in the news right now that interest me - or irriatate me - but nothing seemed to flow right. Then it occurred to me that I've done some pretty cool stuff recently and not mentioned any of it!

Think back seven weeks (has it really been that long?!?!) what were you doing? I was busy making final preparations to perform at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester: hair, make-up, dress, shoes, hair again, organising water bottles and snacks, more hair faffing... The day mostly involved a lot of hanging around and waiting. Mostly due to the fact that half the band got 'lost' on their way to the Hall. Eventually, however, we had enough brass to get started on the technical call - our first rehearsal with the incredible National Festival Orchestra Big Band. I have been to 'The Bridge' a couple of times with my folks. We heard the BBC Phil performing Beethoven's choral symphony in December last year and then Greig's piano concert and Fingal's Cave (one of my most favourite pieces of orchestral music) earlier this year. But I was totally unprepared to step out onto the choir circle for the first time. Looking out over the empty auditorium from the 'other side' was amazing, nevermind when the band struck up and everyone started to sing. That single moment was almost better than the performance itself. Especially since the second time I stepped out on the choir circle I felt my stomach physically lurch as the empty seats were suddenly filled with bums and eager faces were staring back at us all. Not to mention my looney mates in the back row waving like nutters! Fortunately, any nervousness was relatively short lived. In fact most of the show is a bit of a blur. I remember it being very hot - this was right in the middle of the heat wave - and I remember my feet hurting... a lot! But the whole experience was awesome.

So awesome, in fact, that on July 26th I did it all again on the Bandstand in Kensington Gardens!

We did a selection of music from the Bridgewater Hall and this time around it wasn't just people from Greater Manchester, but we were joined by fellow choir members from Merseyside and the North East. It was a long day and we spent most of it on a very uncomfortable coach, interspersed with walking. We had a bit of time in London before the performance so Steve and I went for a wander around Harrods, which is only a 20 minute walk to Kensington Gardens. Needless to say, we didn't buy anything, but if it was possible to get a mortgage on a £135,000 set of speakers we would have! Steinway apear to make some stunning audio systems as well as stunning pianos! If anything, I enjoyed the performance at Kensington Gardens even more than the Bridgewater hall, simply because I was much more relaxed and we could see the enjoyment on the faces of our audience. But this show was special to me as well, because the 26th of July would have been my brother's birthday. He brought music to my life as I was growing up because he had an infectious passion for it. Plus his stereo, TV and keyboard were always turned up full blast so the house constantly shook. When he died our house became oddly silent. This concert on his birthday was a great way for me to celebrate and remember his life.

One other cool thing about the trip to London was seeing the Royal Albert Hall in the 'flesh'. The R.A.H. looks out over Kensington Gardens and it's the venue for my next performance, which will be on September 27th, and will be hosted by Judith Chalmers. The choir will consist of around 800 people from the UK and America and we'll be performing songs from the musicals of the stage and silver screen. I can't wait! Tomorrow we're having a big rehearsal in Halifax, so it will be an early start for me.

So as you can see, I have been bitten by some sort of crazy singing bug. But what makes all this possible is the fantastic group of people behind Sing Live. The company motto is "Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things In Exciting Places". I am just about as ordinary as anyone else and I'll soon be singing at the Royal Albert Hall. If that doesn't fulfill their motto I'm not sure what will... maybe St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican next year!

Swine Flu

As I sit here watching I Am Legend, the story of a lone survivor of an infection that decimates the human population, it is, perhaps fitting that I should blog about Swine Flu.

Swine Flu, even at the worst projected mortality rate, is not going to kill to the extremes of the aforementioned movie. However, it seems that some people seem to think this is an end-of-life-as-we-know-it scenario. On Friday morning I was driving to work with the radio on (taking a well deserved break from singing practice) and heard someone being interviewed on the morning news criticising what was being done. Although I can't remember it verbatim, the person said something along the lines of "If one person has it on a plane, 100 people have it". This assertion gave me a right chuckle since that kind of infection rate would already mean many hundreds of cases in the UK. The "Catch It, Bin It, Kill It" leaflet that I found had been circulated at work on email. I particularly liked the advice about setting up a network of 'Flu-Friends': Not, as you might imagine a group of friends and relatives that you can infect, but instead, a group of minions that you can train to do your bidding should you fall ill (the leaflet suggests that you can ask them to run errands for shopping and medication for you but surely there's more fun to be had than this?)

This is a serious situation, but I really think some people need to get a bit of perspective. Firstly, you're extremely unlikely to catch it passing someone in the street - even sitting next to an infected person on a plane or train is no guarantee of contracting the illness. Furthermore, the UK is fortunate that we have a good stock of antiviral drugs available and with sensible precautions the virus can be contained so that they should not be needed.

I'm not sure that 'Flu-Friends' classes as a precaution, sensible or otherwise.

Speed Kills....

The news media is rife, today, with reports that the government is to enter into a consultation to reduce national speed limits on trunk roads (A-roads) from 60 mph to 50 mph, as well as making it easier for councils to reduce local level speed limits to 20 mph. It has been reported that "road safety researchers say people hit at 20 mph have a much better chance of survival than those struck at 30 mph" (Sky News). I'm sure, in a few months, the same road safety researchers will add to this blindingly obvious statement by telling us that those who are not struck in an accident have a much better chance of survival than those hit at 20 mph! At what point will they advocate that we all get out and push?

I'm not against speed limits as long as they are sensible, but to me, this plan seems the height of mediocrity: It's an ill conceived, reactionary proposal designed to do nothing more than appeal to the very shallowest of voter sympathies... because who would rather see some poor kid run over at 30 mph instead of 20? Of course, some roads do warrant reduced speed limits - reducing the speed limits around schools has been proven to be very successful in reducing fatalities and there are plenty of twisty rural roads (mostly B-roads) that should generally be driven at only 40 to 50 mph - but that doesn't make a banket speed limit reduction right.

Lower speed limits entirely ignore the root of the issue. We are constantly being brainwashed with the message 'speed kills' but the fact is, it isn't the speed, or even the car, it's the driver (or sometimes even the pedestrian!) that's at fault. A gun is a dangerous weapon but it can't pull its own trigger. I believe that irresponsible and inconsiderate driving is far more dangerous than speed, not only causing accidents but also contributing to congestion (which is a contributing factor in numerous other accidents). Reducing speed limits is also likely to result in more convictions for speeding, while poor driving will continue to go unpunished, I might add. Surely, the police have better things to do with their time?

I am in favour of lowering speed limits where those limits are justified but I am unwilling to support these proposals. It's yet another example of the UK government punishing road users and it will no doubt cost millions to implement. It's about time people took responsibility for their own behaviour. We don't need the nanny state to wrap us up in yet another layer of cotton wool!

No Pain, No Lane Gain

It's not often that local interests cross over into my work but current plans to widen the M60 between Jct 15 and 12 seem to be doing just that. Over the last few days I've been following the local backlash against the Highways Agency scheme which will see an extra lane introduced on the anticlockwise carriageway through one of the busiest and most congested sections of motorway in the North West. The concerns of local residents are, quite rightly, air and noise pollution, with a secondary concern about the 'accident blackspot' between Jct 13 and 12.

Firstly, these are genuine concerns and I applaud those who are campaigning on behalf of the residents. It's important that the resident's views are aired and not allowed to be ignored by the H.A. and those responsible for this scheme. However, it's also important that those same concerns are addressed, not merely pandered to. There are a number of ways to improve air quality, including planting and fencing, and of course, faster moving traffic will help dissipate emissions, and smoother flowing traffic means less braking and accelaration, which also means less emissions, so these improvements should improve air quality in the area as a matter of course. There are also ways of reducing noise pollution, such as noise reduction fencing and special surfacing and the improved junction layout should also reduce lane switching, which is the cause of most of the accidents in this location.

Any such measures will likely have a relatively minimal effect on the impact of the scheme, especially for those residents living closest to the motorway, as I understand the plans will virtually put the road in people's back gardens. However, the proposed improvements are essential to local, North West and national transportation and the decisions that are made now will directly influence the local and national economy well into the future. This scheme will go ahead because it is vital. The best that the residents can hope for, and what their representatives should be pressing for, is concessions that will minimise the impact of the work on the local area.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

This weekend, Steve and I were up at my Mum and Dad's for a nice extended weekend break over Easter. We flew up on flybe who offer an excellent low cost service out of Manchester. Despite this being Easter weekend we managed to get return flights for two people for just over £200: Bargain!

Conversely, a friend of mine who recently moved to Belgium has invited us to visit in July for a bit of a get together with a couple of other friends. As a result I have spent some of this afternoon (in between working, while waiting for the slowest database in the universe to respond) looking at travel possibilities. I've looked at a number of different ferry routes, driving our own car, hiring a car and using the Eurotunnel as well as combinations of the above. I haven't yet looked at flights, but this has made me stop dead in my tracks....

I'm hoping that you can read the above price on from thetrainline.com, in case you can't, let me fill you in... £253.00!

"Ah, but surely that's first class or business class", I hear you cry. Nope... if I wanted business class it would be a whopping £404.00! Perhaps it's a flexible fare? Nope... flexible fares come in at £393.00! OK, so maybe that's for two of us? Nope... just little old me! And that's just the fare to St Pancras - it doesn't even include the Eurostar part of the journey!

Even more amusing, the thing is that the site cheerfully suggests that two single tickets may be cheaper, so I check, hopeful that's how you get these great deals for train trips to London. So I go and check and it is cheaper... by less than £15. The total cost if booked as two single journeys: £194.70. And that's just for one person!

Something is very wrong here. The distance to Inverness from Manchester is about 375 miles; the distance to St Pancras from Manchester is about 200 miles. How can it cost me more than double to go a shorter distance by train than it does to fly?

Furthermore, if I was to use a good, economical car (say, a Mini Cooper D, which does about 70 mpg with emissions of 104 g/km) to make each journey I would only spend around £48 return to Inverness and about £26 return to London! I could cover the return distance to St Pancras and back more than 7 times before I'd equal the cheapest possible train fare and could easily carry three further passengers for the same money. Even a gas-guzzler, which might have room for five or six people, or even a sports car, could do the return trip for less than the cost of the train!

We are always being told to use public transport and leave the car at home - save the environment, go green and all that jazz - we're even told that flying is an environmental evil, but where's the incentive? Why would I ever choose to make this trip by train, indeed, how could I afford to? This certainly brightened my day. I'm still laughing heartily at the absurdity of it all!