May beauty, love and peace abound!

Blogpost No 12 December 2024

Before I attempt to do some sort of round-up for 2024, I’d like to share the love we encountered on the rest of the tour in November, which right now feels like a lifetime ago! Blogpost No 11 ended with driving from Osmington to somewhere near Avebury and the -3C open sunroof incident. (A full account is in the previous blogpost.)

The following day was spent in the gorgeous company of our dear friends Rob and Jo Selbourne. As forecast, the heavens opened, and it rained, and rained, and then rained some more. We got to Corsham Pound Arts Centre in plenty of time and set up super quickly. The Screen was massive! It’s such a thrill to see my little videos in such fabulous, sharp, crisp focus. When I started editing and trying to make some visual sense of the songs, I had no idea how LARGE (on occasion) they would loom behind me.

So many friends came to Corsham, and it was a joy to finally hug everyone. One of our special guests was Paul Dodgson and his lovely wife Sarah. His request for the second half, of course,  was for the song we wrote together back in the early noughties, Ashlands,the only time I performed it on this tour. Another request at Corsham, was from my gorgeous pal Phil Chappell (aka Squidney:), his request was for The Whole Night Sky from The Dark Gift Of Time. I think I managed to do them both justice.

Needless to say, it was a wonderful night. I’m always grateful to people who brave the vagaries of English autumnal weather! Thank you, Corsham - I’ll be back!

After a much-needed day off with Rob and Jo, Bob and I headed to Birmingham and the wonderful Kitchen Garden Cafe. Another new-to-me venue. I loved it here! Everyone was so helpful and kind, and they really packed people in, which made for a fab-u-lous night. Again, I was delighted to hug people I had not seen in a long time. Another late-night drive after the show, this time to Newark, to stay with our lovely friend Diane Ansell for the last time this trip. Always our home-from-home. Thanks Diane!

The last four gigs came up fast. Sheffield was amazing with some friends turning up from the distant past, Gary and Debbie Bridge; it was so good to see them. Gary was instrumental in my coming to the UK in 1983 - he was an engineer at Piccadilly Radio, and persuaded the powers-that-were at the time, to give me a shot at being a “Night-Beat-Muso”. You have my thanks always Gary. Plus, David Suff, Mr Fled’gling Records himself, made a rare and welcome appearance. Without David, there would be no book of Children Of The Sea! It was a joy to be back at The Greystones.

The Black Swan Folk Club in York is an old favourite, and it didn’t disappoint! Another sold-out sign on the door made me very happy. More lovely pals to hug too. What’s not to love.

Kirkby Stephen has long been a favourite of ours, not least because Penny and Paul Milligan know how to run a great show and look after their artists (like no others!)! I was thrilled to find out that Penny had come out of “retirement” and was once again doing what she does best. Another fabulous night with gorgeous people who showed their appreciation with abandon! Thank you Kirk Stephen … we’ll be back.

And so we arrived at Otley Courthouse for the final show of the tour. Another new venue to me and one I hope we’ll be invited back to. We ended on a high for sure. Another MASSIVE screen to show off the delights of the Isle of Man … and not forgetting Mum’s smiley appearance. I have to say that wearing Mum’s “Liberace” jacket was a wonderful twist of fortune. It made her feel closer than expected, and I just know she’d be delighted to be on stage and celebrated like she should be. There was another group of lovely souls to hug after a long absence and they couldn’t have been more positive about the show. Thanks, Andrew, Victoria and family. I was deeply touched by your amazing reaction.

And that was it! After months of preparation and years of creative furore, the gigs were over. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel after five years of not touring. I mean, so much has happened between then and now. I was prepared to find that I wasn’t at all bothered about performing again. I might, understandably, decide that this was no longer what I wanted to do. But I couldn’t have been more delighted, fired up, passionate and in love with the whole process. From travelling with Bob, who is my absolute ROCK, to setting up the PA and technical necessities for the audio/visual feast each night, to getting ready for each performance, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!

And here's Mum wearing the Liberace jacket, to show you how it should be worn, She taught me everything I know about sparkly things! Thanks Mum!

Thank you to everyone who came to a show or who, unable to get to a gig, engaged with the online content necessary to touring these days, I so appreciate you all. I’ve waited with uncertainty all these years and been absolutely blown away by the love and support you’ve showered upon me. I am, and will always be, deeply grateful. Thank you.

Looking back over this year is a tumultuous experience. So much has happened. As many of you know, my Mum, Maggie, passed away in May after a very long and hard-fought battle with Dementia. Bob and I supported her much of the way and will be forever grateful for the opportunity to love her through it all. When I say love her through it all, I don’t mean it was all hearts and flowers. Far from it! But, we were able to move through most of the difficulties and challenges with relative ease and grace. We were reliably informed that the rule is a ratio of 80 (good/fair) to 20 (bad/horrid) … and we managed that admirably.

Talking of Admirably … I’d like to take this opportunity to praise the Admiral Nurse Society, a charity-funded service that helps those with Dementia and their carers. Our nurse was Jeanette Hogg, who walked us through the last three years of Mum’s journey, and was a key component to our being able to trust the process and be there for Mum when she most needed support. Even if/when she thought she didn’t. We were able to hold a safety net of love and compassion for her and to hold each other in the process, too. My heart goes out to those of you who have suffered or who are still in the throes of that experience. Many of you have reached out to say how much you appreciate my sharing our journey through the blog post, and, more recently, through the song Dear Sister on Children Of The Sea. I had no idea when I wrote the lyrics how profoundly it would match our shared experiences.

There is so much more that 2024 showed me, much of it expressed through this format. The loss of Sweep, Mum’s (and before that Dad’s) rescue border collie, who Bob and I came to love. He, too, was a ballast for our emotional rollercoaster ride. And more recently the clearing of Mum and Dad’s home since 1997. It’s been a full-on year! And now, ensconced with my younger brother Paul in Perth Australia, it all seems dream-like and very far away. And yet, my heart knows. My soul knows. I know. It’s all good. It’s all part of life’s “rich pageant”! And I’m grateful for it all.

2025 looks positively bursting to the seams with all manner of musical madness. Between March 20th and April 27th, I will, once again, be performing with thye marvellous Michael Fix here in Australia! All dates and venue info will be posted in the Live Events page once we have everything confirmed - fingers crossed, in the next few weeks. Then towards the end of June, I have a handful of dates with Dave Kelly in the UK. In September, I'll be doing more solo shows in the UK. Because it worked so well recently, I'll keep the format of visual/audio goodness and stripped back to acoustic basics but probably mixed in each half. Exciting times! And who knows what else will come my way? Whatever happens, I'll let you know within the monthly blog posts..

There are still a few physical copies of Children Of The Sea available via Fledgling Records or, if you're on the Isle of Man, Waterstones, The Museum, The Manannan Centre and via Nicola Dixon at Pinewood Studios near Bishopscourt Glen, most Saturdays. This was a limited print run, so once they're gone, they're gone! However, there will be the opportunity for digital downloads, including a PDF of the book, in the next few weeks - I'll let you know once it's ready.

I wish you and your loved ones endless waves of love, light, peace and joy for the coming year. I will keep in mind, and heart, that it’s not what happens to us, but how we choose to respond that matters most. Not always an easy task, but it helps me keep a balance of sorts. And not forgetting the 80/20 rule :-) x

Till next year my dearest readers, stay well and keep rising above the turbulence.

Know you are loved beyond measure!

Endless blessings.

Christine x