Spent a relaxing couple of hours on the beach at ‘Durdle Door’ on the Dorset coast…not that warm but incredibly pretty. The steep stairway climb down the cliff to the cove was definitely worthwhile. xx
Blog
Corpse Bride
I am Tim Burton’s ‘Corpse Bride’! At least I feel like her this morning – couldn’t sleep last night so sat up through most of it at the piano…not quite playing to the standard she does in this link – slightly more mellow at 3 a.m. Dashing out soon, so caffeine to go this morning. Hope you slept better.
Much love. xx
Trip to Scotland!
Just been chatting to Stuart at the studio to confirm my trip up to Scotland at the end of the month (June 28th – 3/4th July). Going to be doing some recording with Stuart and Gordon, catching up with family and hopefully taking in a gig by Rab H – a guitarist I used to work with a while back in Edinburgh. Will be driving up again this time, so fingers crossed for no delays and a good 8 hr trip! Who knows, perhaps Summer will have arrived by then… xx
Nostalgic London
Spent a hot and sticky weekend in London… 29 degrees!! So busy in town – the pre-Jubilee buzz beginning to descend on a very busy Capital…
Caught up with a couple of friends in Camden, close by the well known London Jazz Cafe. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and pretty relaxed and mellow as we had a drink in a nearby bar and watched the world go by. Catching a tube train to Covent Garden a couple of hours later was a whole other experience though – it was packed on the underground and served as a reminder of why I don’t think I could ever live in this City again. London for me was a great experience when I lived there, but I think for most people, it’s one of those things that you do, usually in your youth, and somehow ‘get out of your system’. Never to repeat.
It did somehow turn into a bit of a nostalgic experience though, as I later wandered down Dover Street in the central district of the city (opposite the world famous Ritz Hotel). It was here in the Dover Street Wine Bar – now a very much respected Jazz Venue, that I thought back to all those late nights I spent gigging in this very Bar when I sang with a blues/soul band in London a few years back. I remembered one particular night when footballer George Best turned up to see our band play…apparently he loved Blues and Soul and we all had a drink with him… and how our sax player was so star struck he was almost unable to play that night!
Later, I took a walk down a Union Flag covered ‘Mall’, to see the how things were shaping up for the Jubilee Concert taking place in front of Buckingham Palace next weekend. The circular stage looked really impressive as a group of technicians continued to work rigging the lighting, whilst Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortably Numb’ blasted out through an awesome PA system. I’m sure many of you will no doubt get a chance to watch some of the concert footage next weekend as it is beamed around the world.
By this time it was almost dusk and time to head back to North London to pick up my car and head to Kent where I was staying the night. It had been a lovely day, as the sun finally dipped in the sky, and I wandered back to Leicester Square, and once again, a very busy Underground.
Julienne x
R.I.P. Robin Gibb
Woke this morning to hear the sad news of Robin Gibb’s passing, after a brave and lengthy battle with illness. His legacy will be the memorable and beautiful music he leaves behind, both as a performer and song writer.
Julienne X
Throwback: Live At Lyric
Been looking through some live footage from the final edits of the gig in Hong Kong (Lyric Theatre Sept 2011). Amazing the things you notice when you watch it back, that you are oblivious to when you are in the middle of it! Some nice sounds on there. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to see some of it soon.
Big thanks to everyone involved.
Much Love. x
Gary Numan
Good to hear Gary Numan on BBC TV this morning – about to start another tour. He is a lovely guy and I really enjoyed the time we spent working together a few years back. I know everyone’s pretty familiar with the major hits like “Cars” and “Are Friends Electric ?”
So I thought I’d post a link to one of Gary’s more gentle tracks which you may not have heard…”Don’t Call My Name”. It features a beautiful sax solo by British Jazz saxophonist Dick Morrissey – who I was also privileged to work with…an amazing player who would walk straight in to the studio and blow you away, playing the most sublime parts as soon as the tape started to roll. Best wishes to Gary for the tour.
Julienne x
Monday 14th May 2012
Just been reading a very upsetting magazine article “”Anorexia: The Epidemic Japan Refuses To Face Up To””, which features an interview with 25 year old Hachiko who lives in Tokyo and has been suffering from this condition for the past decade.
It makes for harrowing reading, as Hachiko (5ft 2 in and just over 75lb – five stone) recounts how her illness began and how lonely and frustrated she feels at the lack of understanding and help available to her and fellow anorexics in Japan – a country for whom this is a relatively new phenomenon.
This was an article which struck a very personal chord with me as I too suffered from this condition in my mid teens, losing two years of my life to anorexia and subsequently bulimia between the ages of 15 an 17. Luckily I managed to turn things around and have since then been free of this horrendous condition, but I can still vividly remember the feelings of fear and isolation associated with it and the mammoth effort it took to break free from it.
Reading about Hachiko’s story I wanted to reach out, put my arms around her tiny frame and reassure her that she could be well again…that she was not alone and that it is possible to overcome this illness and be strong again…. I, like so many others, am proof of that.
In some ways, thankfully at least, through Hachiko’s bravery in talking about this issue, together with fellow sufferer – Japanese popstar Cocco, admitting in interviews that she too is battling this condition, perhaps anorexics in Japan will soon have a voice and access to the relevant help and support they need….I very much hope so. Let’s not forget this is an illness that can kill….we only have to look back to the beautiful and talented musician and singer Karen Carpenter as a terrifying reminder of that…
To those of you who may know someone (male or female) suffering from this condition, please reach out and help them – it’s very difficult to bring yourself to ask for help whilst caught up in the anorexia trap – secrecy and denial play a major part in this condition.
To those of you suffering: don’t be embarrassed or ashamed, you are not alone and help is out there – please try to find a way to it now.
To Hachiko…Please don’t give up – you are a strong and beautiful woman… you just need to believe that and I know you’ll find the inner strength to turn this situation around…I for one… half a world away, believe in you.
Much Love
Julienne x
Anorexia
Just been reading a very upsetting magazine article “”Anorexia: The Epidemic Japan Refuses To Face Up To””, which features an interview with 25 year old Hachiko who lives in Tokyo and has been suffering from this condition for the past decade.
It makes for harrowing reading, as Hachiko (5ft 2 in and just over 75lb – five stone) recounts how her illness began and how lonely and frustrated she feels at the lack of understanding and help available to her and fellow anorexics in Japan – a country for whom this is a relatively new phenomenon.
This was an article which struck a very personal chord with me as I too suffered from this condition in my mid teens, losing two years of my life to anorexia and subsequently bulimia between the ages of 15 an 17. Luckily I managed to turn things around and have since then been free of this horrendous condition, but I can still vividly remember the feelings of fear and isolation associated with it and the mammoth effort it took to break free from it.
Reading about Hachiko’s story I wanted to reach out, put my arms around her tiny frame and reassure her that she could be well again…that she was not alone and that it is possible to overcome this illness and be strong again…. I, like so many others, am proof of that.
In some ways, thankfully at least, through Hachiko’s bravery in talking about this issue, together with fellow sufferer – Japanese popstar Cocco, admitting in interviews that she too is battling this condition, perhaps anorexics in Japan will soon have a voice and access to the relevant help and support they need….I very much hope so. Let’s not forget this is an illness that can kill….we only have to look back to the beautiful and talented musician and singer Karen Carpenter as a terrifying reminder of that…
To those of you who may know someone (male or female) suffering from this condition, please reach out and help them – it’s very difficult to bring yourself to ask for help whilst caught up in the anorexia trap – secrecy and denial play a major part in this condition.
To those of you suffering: don’t be embarrassed or ashamed, you are not alone and help is out there – please try to find a way to it now.
To Hachiko…Please don’t give up – you are a strong and beautiful woman… you just need to believe that and I know you’ll find the inner strength to turn this situation around…I for one… half a world away, believe in you.
Much Love …………………….. Julienne x
3K Run
Tuesday 1st May 2012…. Another 3km run around the lanes first thing this a.m. Trying to ward off the germs and bugs that everyone around me seems to have at the moment…. More Vit C and Echinacea please! xx