A special night in Southport

 Hello dear readers!

 I want to tell you about the brilliant concert I went to in Southport on 22nd September. It formed part of Southport's From A Distance Americana Festival and was a tribute to Nanci Griffith, a folk artist whose music I love. The gig featured The Kennedys, The Carrivick Sisters and Edwina Hayes.

 I had been looking forward to this gig since I first heard about it. After having seen The Kennedys live in June this year, I had resigned myself to not seeing them until they would return to the UK in June 2014. Then I found out they were coming to Southport in September!

 As well as the chance to see The Kennedys again, it was a chance to celebrate Nanci's music, support the Mines Advisory Group, be introduced to the Carrivick Sisters' music and finally see Edwina Hayes, of whom I had heard great things but who I had never seen live.

 The timing was also pretty good as it was at the end of the first week of my second year at University. I have some extra responsibilities at Uni this year so the first week was very busy for me. This gig would be a nice treat at the end of the busy first week.

 Another useful thing about the show was that it was fairly local - just an hour's drive for me. So all in all, this gig could not have suited me better.

 I arrived with my Mam in Southport on the Sunday evening, and we found the venue: the lovely new Atkinson centre. Well, an old building but newly done-up. It was gorgeous. With live music in the foyer and a fountain bubbling outside, as well as fairy lights on the trees, it was just an amazing atmosphere.

 We went to the studio where the performance would be and I was glad that it was a fairly small, intimate space - and my Mam and I managed to get the best table, in the middle at the front. The lovely Maura Kennedy appeared and we chatted, she took some requests and then the show began.

 It opened with a Kennedys set. It included some songs I hadn't heard before, such as Didn't It Rain and Jasmine. The latter was a request and I am so grateful to the couple who asked for it, as I had never before heard the Kennedys' version of this John Stewart song and it is absolutely beautiful.

 After The Kennedys' set, they were joined by the Carrivick Sisters; Laura and Charlotte, who play a huge range of instruments between them. During this show Laura played the fiddle and steel guitar and Charlotte played the mandolin. Both sang backing vocals for some songs, while Maura sang lead vocals - beautifully, as always.

 Pete and Maura Kennedy have played with Nanci Griffith on and off for twenty years and know her stuff better than pretty much anybody. I adored their renditions of her songs. Maura had said they were planning to do some of her lesser known material, so I had expected not to know some of the songs - but I was very familiar with all of them. I must know Nanci's back catalogue better than I had realised!

 Among the most memorable performances was Love Wore a Halo, which they entered into with such gusto, it was brilliant. You just wanted to sing along! They also did I Wish It Would Rain, which I love - if I remember correctly it was the first Nanci song I learned by heart, when I was about six.

 They did Love at the Five and Dime - I had been half-hoping for the whole anecdote ("One of my greatest fascinations in life...") but they plunged straight into the song and did a lovely job. I was also glad to hear Lone Star State of Mind and There's a Light Beyond These Woods, both Nanci classics in my view.

 Certainly the highlight of the set for me was Gulf Coast Highway, which Maura and Pete did as a duet. It has always been a Nanci favourite for me; I think its simplicity made it easy for my childhood self to understand and sing along to. Maura and Pete's version has to be one of the nicest I have ever heard, if not THE nicest - maybe even better, dare I say it, than the original.

 Edwina arrived and performed It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go - not my favourite Nanci song, but Edwina's voice is gorgeous and I was inspired to listen to more of her music.

 Finally, all five performers sang Ford Econoline with all the energy and passion it deserves. Ah, the memories! I used to love this song! This evening really was a trip down memory lane for me.

 The encore was Speed of the Sound of Loneliness, and I was so glad they did it - and that they'd done Across the Great Divide earlier in the set. Why? These two songs were performed by The Kennedys with Nanci Griffith and Frank Christian on Jools Holland twenty years ago and the videos are available on YouTube.

 Seeing Nanci's one-time backing band do these songs themselves was, for me, something really special - the whole thing has come full-circle. I told Maura as much after the show and I also bought their album Get It Right.

 I will do a proper write-up of the album when I have time, but for now I'll just content myself with saying that the song Get It Right is mesmerising, and for a while after first hearing it I just sat and played it again and again and again. Amazing.

 I had my photo taken with Pete and Maura - I'm building up quite an archive of them - and with Edwina Hayes who turned out to be as lovely as her voice. She's certainly someone I'll keep an eye out for in the future.

 Overall, a fantastic night out that was even better than I had imagined it would be. The Kennedys are wonderful musicians and such sweet, friendly people. It's safe to say I will be coming to every Kennedys UK gig that I possibly can for a very long time.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

 PS: If you are a Kennedys fan or want to learn more about them, you may enjoy my 2013 interview with them and my write-up of their album Closer Than You Know.

Songs: Jasmine - The Kennedys - 2006
Across the Great Divide - Nanci Griffith - 1993
Speed of the Sound of Loneliness - Nanci Griffith - 1993

The days of our lives: The songs from my first French trip film

 Bonjour!

 In my first year of sixth-form college - I was seventeen - I went to the south of France for nine days.

 It was a trip arranged by the French department at my college and by Ecole Klesse, a French language school in Montpellier. During the week we stayed with French families in Montpellier and attended the Ecole, and during the weekend we explored Carcassonne, Arles and Saintes Maries de la Mer.

 For me it was a formative experience which I feel improved my French, made me fall in love with the south of France and - cliché coming - helped me grow as a person.

 I was a volunteer for my college's TV station and I really wanted to make a film of the trip. So I did, and it can be found below.

 I want to tell you about the five songs I used in this video, and why I used them.

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 Firstly, Vélomoteur by Les Calamités, which is the first song playing and covers the Carcassonne part of the trip.

 Like many of my favourite French songs, I first heard Vélomoteur on the brilliant Platine 45 compilation album that my brother and I have. It was one of the last songs I discovered on it, having simply never got around to listening to it before. When I did hear it, it was shortly before the trip, and I just knew I had to use it.

 I decided to use it as my opening song as it is so upbeat and I feel it puts the viewer in a positive mood from the start.

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 The second song is Joyride, by Roxette.

 It covers our exploration of the city of Montpellier. 

 I chose this song whilst on the trip, as I could see ways in which I could tie the footage I already had to the song. For example, the mention of "going downtown" while my friends descended an elevator, "following the stars" for a night-time shot, and "book of wisdom" as my friends read the Montpellier newspaper.

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  The third song is Toi et Moi by Guillaume Grand, which I used for the segment about Arles and Saintes Maries de la Mer.

 If you can speak French then it's fairly self-explanatory: it's a song about going to the seaside and having a good time.

 It was one of the songs featured at our college's French Music Club not long before the trip, and if I remember correctly we also sang it on one of the coach journeys during the trip itself - so it was reasonably well known to the group, which is another reason why I used it.

 Finally, it's from 2010 - the film was made in 2011 - and I thought at least one song should be fairly current. So Toi et Moi it was.

☀☁♥✭✈

 Fourthly, we have Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon, which I used for the aquarium section.

 This had been a favourite song of mine for a couple of years before the trip; it featured in my first ever post on this blog and I wrote more about it in my special fiftieth blog post.

 Around the time of the trip the song had featured on a TV ad, and as a result was fresh in people's minds; I seem to remember at least one member of the trip singing it to themself in France.

 Another reason why I thought of this song for my soundtrack is the mention of the ship and the way I could tie that in nicely with the footage of the group in a ship simulator.

 The music went with the footage even better than I had imagined, and those few seconds make up one of my favourite moments in the whole film.

☀☁♥✭✈

  The final song is These Are the Days of Our Lives by Queen, which covers the crêpe party, the zoo, salsa dancing, bowling, trams, LazerQuest, the crêpe parlour and then a general overview of the trip.

 I had heard this song a few times and quite liked it, but I only really sat down and listened to it just before making the film - maybe it was serendipity.

 I was looking idly through songs I had on my computer, shortlisting ones for the film, and saw this one and thought it might be suitable. I listened to it through and knew then it was perfect for the film - and that it was more beautiful a song than I had ever realised.

 Looking back at that final montage always makes me so happy that I had the opportunity to go on that amazing trip - and makes me want to go back to Montpellier!

☀☁♥✭✈

 
 Go back I did, the next year - and of course, I made another film, which you can watch here:

 I'm working on a blog post about the songs in this second film, so watch this space!

 I hope you enjoyed this post,

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs: Vélomoteur - Les Calamités - 1987
Joyride - Roxette - 1991
Toi et Moi - Guillaume Grand - 2010
Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon - 1984/5
These Are the Days of Our Lives - Queen - 1991

Still following...

 Hello, my dear readers!

 I'm sorry that I haven't been able to post much recently, but I've had a very busy summer with various projects to complete and two wonderful holidays in Wales and Germany.

 I'm looking forward to the start of the new academic year - my second year at Uni! I remember my first post on this blog after I started Uni last year. How time flies! It really doesn't feel like a year ago.

 I wanted to share with you a song that has sort of defined this summer for me - I discovered it in May or June and have been listening to it since.

 It is... Follow You Follow Me by Genesis.

 It stirs up such emotion in me... It's so beautiful. The words, the singing, the music and the production are all brilliant.

 Listening to it now, I've realised just how many memories are now attached to it for me. I think it will always make me happy and remind me of the summer of 2013.

 I hope you enjoyed this post; you can look forward to me posting much more often in the weeks to come.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Song: Follow You Follow Me - Genesis - 1978

Musical royalty

 Hello!

 This is a special post to celebrate the birth of Prince George of Cambridge, in which I am going to discuss musical royalty. 

 I don't mean amazing musicians who may be described as musical royalty; no, I mean royals who exist within songs. Perhaps they exist in real life, too, but a song was where I first met each of them. 

 An example is the the Queen of the Slipstream, in the song by Van Morrison, which is the first song I am going to share with you.

 From when I first heard this song I have regarded it as one of the most beautiful love songs ever written. The album it features on, Poetic Champions Compose, is also an exceptionally great album in my opinion; other well-written songs on it include I Forgot That Love Existed and Did Ye Get Healed?.

 This song is important to me as a memory holder, as listening to it invariably brings back very clear memories of listening to it in our car on the way to badminton practice when I was about sixteen. 

 We would drive past Trencherfield Mill, Wigan's big old cotton mill, with the sky beautiful; sunset or dusk or just turning to night time. I love badminton but have recently been too busy to play; hopefully I can find the time to play again some day soon.

♪♥♫

 The second royal song I want to highlight is King of Wishful Thinking by Go West.

 I had heard and liked this song without knowing what it was called or who sang it. Quite recently my father played this song and I heard it and thought, "Finally! I can find out what it's called." 

 I was pleasantly surprised at it being Go West; I was always underwhelmed by We Close Our Eyes, which is probably their biggest hit. I think King of Wishful Thinking is a lot better, just pure eighties - even though it was released in 1990 - and something you can really dance to.

♫♥♪

 The third royal song is The King of Rock 'n' Roll by Prefab Sprout.

 My mother for some reason always pairs this song in her head with Somewhere in My Heart by Aztec Camera, and one time I was listening to the latter and she said, "What's that other song, the one about Albequerque?" So we looked it up and found The King of Rock 'n' Roll, and I like it. 

 It's one of those songs I often forget about, then when I remember and listen to it, I think, "How could I forget this?" I really need to listen to it more often; it can put you in a good mood. 

 Listening to good music is always a mood-lifter, and the madness of the video really helps: a lot of songs try to do the "completely mad video" thing and it fails because they're making too much of an effort. 

 While I acknowledge that a lot of effort probably went into this video, it just emits such a chilled vibe; like the madness was accidental. Maybe it was. Either way, it's one of the most iconic and well-done videos I've seen.

♪♥♫

 The fourth song I want to share is Dancing Queen by ABBA. 

 When planning this post I'd been intending to leave Dancing Queen out on grounds of cheesiness, but then it came on one of the music channels on telly and I realise it's a lot less cheesy than I'd remembered; in fact, it's actually very sophisticated for a seventies song.

 Something else that struck me when watching the video was how the two women carry themselves: they seem completely confident and in control and enjoying performing the song, and they both seem so happy in their own skin. 

 Compare this to a lot of female artists today who seem so insecure and seem to think the only way to sell records is to submit to men - either with skimpy outfits, or provocative dance moves, or by having some male artist say degrading things while they dance devotedly around them, or saying degrading things themselves. 

 A lot of these women are essentially selling their bodies when they sell records - whereas Frida and Agnetha clearly had no time for that sort of rubbish and just sold songs, songs they sung brilliantly. I think modern female artists should aim to be more like Frida and Agnetha.

♫♥♪

 The final song I want to celebrate is Queen of the New Year by Deacon Blue, which of all these songs is probably the first I discovered, when I was young and we had a mix tape made for car journeys that featured a lot of Deacon Blue.

 I always heard this song as a country music, barn-dance type thing to be performed in cowboy get-up with a dance routine and spectators standing around in the barn and cheering and joining in.

 Having seen the video and learnt more about Deacon Blue, it's more Scottish folk than barn-dance, but other than that my mind's eye view of it performed seems accurate enough; they have a dance routine of sorts and a delighted and dynamic crowd.... They're just missing the cowboy get-up.

 I always liked the line, "All the stars in Heaven go dim," although I did used to hear it as "All the stars in Heaven go down," which left me with images of lots of stars falling beautifully to earth and sparkling around the lovers in the song. I still find that this song conjures up that image even now I know what the actual lyric is.

 While I love music videos and seeing live performances, I think it's nice with some songs to hear them for a while before you see them, if you know what I mean, so that you can create your own music video in your head; come up with your own interpretation of what the song means without a video telling you.

♪♥♫

 Well, I hope you liked this post about royal songs and the kings and queens in them. I like how apart from possibly Dancing Queen, which may have been written for the Queen of Sweden at the time, none of the songs refer to actual kings or queens - as far as I know - nor do they use "king" or "queen" in the literal sense, meaning monarch. 

 They mean them figuratively, and are used to describe a lover (Slipstream and New Year), or someone who's the best at something (Dancing Queen, Rock 'n' Roll, Wishful Thinking) or who epitomises something (New Year). It shows how words can evolve; that they can be used to mean so many different things, and also how important kings and queens can be in culture.

 I wish the British Royal Family, and especially Prince George, the very best for the future.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs:

Queen of the Slipstream - Van Morrison - 1988

King of Wishful Thinking - Go West - 1990

The King of Rock 'n' Roll - Prefab Sprout - 1988

Dancing Queen - ABBA - 1976

Queen of the New Year - Deacon Blue - 1989

JSC: Happiness is...

 Hello!

 You are maybe wondering what JSC stands for. It stands for July Song Challenge, and is a challenge I have invented for myself using the daily prompts of the Fat Mum Slim July Photo Challenge.

 Basically the original challenge is to take a photo each day of the month on a specific theme. I decided to twist it to pick a song that I feel suits each theme and share it with you, my readers, along with the story of why this song is important to me, and why it fits the theme if it isn't obvious.

 The story of my challenge is that I decided I wanted to choose a song a day for all of July, and that each song must have a theme. I wanted the themes to come from an external source rather than me making them up as I wanted a real challenge where I may have to really think to find a song that fits.

 My friend Kylie (click green link for her blog) had done the FMS photo challenge a previous month which was how I had heard of the monthly challenges and I decided it would be a good source of a daily theme. So, please note: I don't have any links or endorsement with Fat Mum Slim or the photo challenge; I'm simply using it as a source of daily themes.

 Day 1's theme is "Happiness is..." I had to think for a bit, as there are many songs that make me happy but in the end I settled for Love Changes (Everything) by Climie Fisher.

 This was my second-favourite song for a bit - my favourite being Is This Love? by Alison Moyet. The reason why the latter is not my happiness song is that I just feel Love Changes (Everything) is more upbeat and therefore better fits the theme.

 It a song that makes you happy and hopeful and you just want to get up and dance to it! Well, I do; who knows, I may be in a minority, but you cannot deny that it is a song that fills you with hope - even if things are going badly, love can change everything.

 Plus it is a beautiful and well-produced song that is simply nice on the ears and I think would make enjoyable listening - and make you happy - even if you couldn't understand English, because the tone of the song is just so positive.

 I wrote a post about this song when I first started this blog two years ago, at which time I was obsessed with the song; feel free to check it out.

 So, I intend to pick a song a day. I probably won't post daily, as I once did that for a bit and I saw these posts got less views than others on the blog, which suggests that people maybe don't have time to see each daily post before the next one arrives. So I'll probably be posting three or four days worth of songs at a time.

 I hope you enjoy them! Also, watch out for none-song-challenge-related posts as there will be some of them as well. I have a post linking royalty and music planned to celebrate the birth of the royal baby, who is due some time this month, so watch this space!

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Song: Love Changes (Everything) - Climie Fisher - 1987

Songs from D of E

 Hello!

 I will start this post by explaining what D of E is, as readers outside the UK may not have heard of it. D of E stands for Duke of Edinburgh's Award. It is a programme available to 14-25 year olds in the UK, which involves volunteering, learning new skills, doing a physical activity on a regular basis and the expedition. 

 The expedition involves spending one to four days walking eight hours a day in a scenic part of the UK - with me it was the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales - and spending the nights camping.

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 There are three levels of D of E; Bronze, Silver and Gold. I did Silver between the ages of fifteen and sixteen, and Gold between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. Each level involves different lengths of expeditions. For my Silver I did two practices of one and two days and an assessed expedition of three days. 

  For Gold I undertook three practices of between one and three days, one assessed that ended prematurely due to bad weather, and finally the assessed that I saw through to the end.

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 The reason that I am doing this post isn't to promote D of E, although I would recommend doing it if you live in the UK as I found it to be a great experience. 

 No, the reason I am writing this post is because there are various songs that remind me of my D of E expeditions for various reasons, and I wanted to share with you these songs and the stories behind them, and to demonstrate how powerful music can be in bringing back memories.

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 My first ever experience with D of E expeditions was my one-day practice walk for Silver, which took place in the Yorkshire Dales, near Malham to be precise. As we travelled there by minibus I was nervous about the day ahead; I didn't know what to expect or whether I would be able to keep up with the others, navigate well enough, etc. 

 This song came on the radio, and I think I had heard it before but I had never realised how much I liked it.

 Now this song reminds me of that first journey to the Yorkshire Dales for D of E.

 That day turned out to be really enjoyable; we saw lots of sheep and some really nice views from the top of hills. It was good to get to know the group with whom I'd be doing the rest of my Silver expeditions.

♥

 Next came our two day practice in the Lake District. We saw some cows this time, which made a nice change to sheep, and some more lovely scenery. 

 This had been playing on the radio on the way there and it stayed with me throughout the weekend.

 Somehow it turned into "I walked all night" in my head, what with all the walking we did!

 We spent the night camping at Gibraltar Farm, one of the best campsites I have ever been to. It was big and spacious, with amazing stars due to lack of light pollution, and a view of the sea. The sunset was sensational.

 At night I had to find my way to the toilet block by torchlight - and it was quite a long way from where we had pitched our tent. I was slightly scared of falling over or walking into something, when I heard someone playing "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and Beyonce in their caravan. 

 I won't post the video as I know people who don't like it, and I find parts of it questionable. But it was kind of reassuring to me to hear a familiar song in such an unfamiliar place, and I stopped feeling scared and realised how wonderful the stars were, and altogether felt much better.

 I survived that trip to the toilets and back, and in the morning I was sad to leave Gibraltar Farm. I'd love to go back there some day.

♥

 My next adventure was our final and assessed Silver expedition in the Yorkshire Dales. We saw some beautiful places - including Malham Cove, which I was pleased to later see feature in one of the last two Harry Potter films - but I was very homesick and felt ill during the weekend.

 I got through it, and got my Silver Award. But during that expedition I couldn't help playing this over and over in my head.

 I had got into a tradition of having my mam's homemade pizza and listening to Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac on Radio 1 the Sundays I returned from a D of E expedition. When I got back from my Silver assessed, this was on the radio and, bizarrely, will always reminds me of D of E:

♥

 The next year I started my Gold expeditions. The first was a day's practice near where I live, and it was an enjoyable day. 

 We then had a two-day practice in Yorkshire and that was also nice - I had a new team this time, different to my group for Silver, and we played cards and word games (I went to the moon and I brought...). 

 This song by Jean-Jacques Goldman really reminds me of that weekend; it's a song about setting out on an adventure and leaving all the baggage behind.

 We then had our assessed expedition in the Lakes which went pear-shaped due to bad weather but while it lasted, Losing My Religion by R.E.M. - again, it had played on the minibus radio on the way to our starting point - was its soundtrack for me. 

 As I plodded on through the rain I played it over and over again in my head, even though my grasp of the lyrics was shaky and I only knew parts of it. What I did know, I held onto. It kept me going through what was for me a very challenging couple of days.

♥

 Happily I got the chance to finish my Gold D of E expedition the next summer. We would be in the Lake District again, which suited me as I love that part of the world.

 I have written a blog post describing the practice expedition and the two songs I associate with it in more detail, which you can reach via the green link above.

 I will recap here though: the two songs were We Don't Need Another Hero by Tina Turner, which stuck in my head at a particular point - it was the third and last day and we were gradually ascending a mountain and it was drizzling rain and it generally wasn't very nice, and I used this song to spur me on.

 The other song was in my head more generally over the three days, and was These Days in an Open Book by Nanci Griffith. As this song has other significances for me, it is weaker as a D of E memory song than others such as Losing My Religion which I associate more with D of E than with anything else. 

 It's not the song's fault, it's just that I happen to have other memories linked with it. Still, it certainly played a part in motivating me during that Gold practice expedition.

♥

The day arrived of my Gold assessed expedition. It's strange, I had to hope this would be my last one as that would mean I had passed Gold D of E, as opposed to having to redo it. Yet in another way I wished it wasn't my last, as D of E had been such a big part of my life and the expeditions had been so special and I would be sad when they were over.

 I felt really comfortable with my group after the practice, and really enjoyed travelling with them through the Lakes. The first night we camped on a farm by Lake Ullswater, and across the lake was what I think must have been either a hotel or some kind of party boat, and it played 80s music so we could hear it clearly all the way across the lake - either sound carries really easily or they were just playing it really loud!

 Among the songs were Livin' on a Prayer and Sweet Child of Mine, and it was nice drifting to sleep in our tents with these old, familiar songs playing in the background.

 We walked around Ullswater, we saw Aira Force, we followed the old coach road and felt like we were walking on the top of the world.

 Overall it was a really brilliant weekend, we passed, and I'm so glad that my last D of E expedition was probably the best I've ever been on.

♥

 Music for me played a huge part in the D of E expedition experience, as it has in all aspects of my life. I can hear a song and I'm back there, in the hills or the forest or the meadow or at camp. I'm glad I have this musical memory, as it means I can bring back magical moments in seconds just by listening to a song. Never underestimate the power of music!

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs:

Gravity - Pixie Lott - 2010

I Drove All Night - Roy Orbison - 1992

Home - Michael Bublé - 2005

Rock That Body - Black Eyed Peas - 2010

On Ira - Jean-Jacques Goldman - 1999

Losing My Religion - R.E.M.- 1991

We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) - Tina Turner - 1985

Good news!

 Hello!

 I have had a poem about music published in Miracle e-zine! If you click on the green link it will take you to the website; then click on the magazine under "Issue 6" and go to page 77!

 Here is a direct link to my poem.

 I am very chuffed - I dream of being a professional writer and this is definitely a step in that direction!

 Thanks for reading

 Liz x

Beaches and broken hearts

 Dear readers,

 I hope you are all well. I have finished all of my university exams so now I can relax for the summer - although I am still busy with writing and poetry. One of my poems - a poem about music, actually - is going to be published in an online magazine soon! So I am very happy about that.

 I was recently listening to Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler and remembering how much I love the film Beaches - I really must watch it again soon.

 I also never knew the girl who played Bette Midler's character at eleven in the film is now Sheldon's girlfriend (or sort-of girlfriend or whatever; I don't watch it so don't know the ins and outs of it) in the Big Bang Theory.

♪♥♫

 Recently I heard this song in the car, on the radio, and remembered how much I like it: I'll Stand by You by the Pretenders.

 When I was younger I heard the Girls Aloud version a lot and discovered far too late that there was a brilliant 90s song behind the awful over-the-topness GA made it into. When I found the original I was amazed by Chrissie Hynde's sumptuous vocals. This is one song I would love to be able to sing really well.

♫♥♪

 You know when you keep hearing a song and you don't know what it is, and you'd love to hear it again? Well, once on a car journey I heard a song on the radio that I accepted was clichéd but which I really liked, and all I could remember was a lyric about open arms.

 I then heard it again very recently in a café and listened as hard as I could to try to hold onto something I could look up and hopefully find the song. This time I caught enough lyrics to find it, and it turned out to be... drumroll... Where Do Broken Hearts Go by Whitney Houston.

 I was surprised, I had expected it to be from before her time. I am also not generally a big Houston fan; however I do really like this song.

                                                                               ♪♥♫

 I have been watching bits and pieces of The Voice UK and my favourites out of the four finalists have to be Matt and Mike, with Mike being my winner (though I don't think he will actually win, sadly. Ah well, I can hope).

♫♥♪

 I've been learning Cantonese for a month or so (I already speak some Mandarin) and I wanted to share this song by Faye Wong: versions exist in both Mandarin and Cantonese. Here is the Cantonese one.

 I would recommend learning a Chinese dialect to anybody: there is so much fascinating culture attached to the language and idioms.

 In addition, I imagine learning a language made of characters instead of letters (assuming your first language is one that has letters) probably improves lateral thinking too. I feel that it's had that affect on me, anyway.

♪♥♫

 I think that's it for now; thanks again to all my wonderful Uni friends for a great first year; thanks as well to all my non-Uni friends for some amazing times together.

 Just after starting Uni I shared this song and described how it captured my feelings about the new friendships I was making; it still does now.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs:
Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler - 1989
I'll Stand By You - The Pretenders - 1994
Where Do Broken Hearts Go - Whitney Houston - 1988
Don't Close Your Eyes - Mike Ward - 2013
No Regrets - Faye Wong - 1993
We Are One - Cam Clarke and Charity Sanoy - 1998

A night with The Kennedys

 Hello dear readers!

 You may have read my interview a couple of months ago with folk-rock duo The Kennedys; well, on Sunday 2nd June I was lucky enough to attend their concert in Saltaire, Yorkshire.

 It was a gorgeous summer's evening as my dad and I arrived in Saltaire and found Caroline Social Club.

 Inside the club I was surprised: the live room was smaller than I had expected, and candles sat on all the tables. It created a lovely ambience and we were just a few metres away from the performers which made the show feel much more intimate.

 Maura and Pete Kennedy very kindly spoke to me before the show and asked if I had any requests and I put one in for Listen, a song I love.

 One thing I regret is not requesting another song or two - partly because I was somewhat starstruck and my mind went blank, and partly because the other few songs I might have asked for were ones I thought there was a chance they might do anyway.

 Some they did, some they didn't, but they performed two fantastic sets that contained many of my favourites as well as some songs I hadn't heard before and fell in love with.

 Before The Kennedys came on stage we were treated to an opening set by Pip Mountjoy, an up-and-coming English folk singer, which I really enjoyed. She mentioned that she sews her EP covers - I was intrigued by this so looked them up; they are truly beautiful and I applaud her for such an original idea.

 The Kennedys then came on stage and went straight into what is in my humble opinion their masterwork: Life is Large; an incredible, uplifting song. They then performed a first set made up of classics, songs from their latest album, Closer Than You Know, and requests, including mine, Listen. 

 I had never heard Listen performed live so I hadn't heard the story behind it; that Maura wrote it as a metaphor for life and living in the moment. Knowing the story behind the song makes it mean even more to me now, and overall it was an incredibly special few minutes for me.

 Another song whose inclusion made me very happy was When I Go by Dave Carter; I found out that in fact they like to perform a Dave Carter song at every show to allow more people to hear and appreciate his music. 

 I listen to the recorded version of this a lot, but seeing it live was something very rare and almost magical; as Maura sang she seemed to be so in tune to the song, the lyrics; almost devoted - not in a religious way; more simply at one with the song and its depiction of life, nature, death and spirituality. 

 After the last strum from Pete I think everyone held their breath for a moment, afraid to clap too soon and break the beauty and magic of this moment. It was something I feel honoured to have been a part of.

 The second set seemed to me to be slightly more experimental, with songs I hadn't heard them perform before - covers of Bob Dylan, The Byrds and Buddy Holly (their first date was at Buddy Holly's grave).

 Pete also played some stunning guitar and ukulele solos; he is a brilliant guitarist and it was really something to see such a master at work, doing what he loves. Like Maura singing When I Go, he seemed completely tuned in to something powerful, lost to everything but the beautiful sounds he was creating. It was another very special part of the evening.

 The Kennedys ended the show with Not Fade Away by Buddy Holly. I hadn't heard the original at the time and having listened to it since, I much prefer The Kennedys' version. It was electric, dynamic - simple bursting with energy and passion. It was the perfect end to the show, and stayed in my head for days afterwards.

 They came back out to do an encore, and performed Stand, another of their songs that I like and might have requested. 

 Again, the anecdote attached - that they wanted to create a non-exclusive gospel song - really added to the experience of hearing and seeing the song performed. After the wonderful delirium of Not Fade Away, Stand was a calmer, more spiritual note to end on.

 At the end of the evening I got their album Stand; I hope to listen to it through soon and post a review on this blog, so watch this space. Its opening track, Dharma Cafe, is one of the songs they performed tonight that I hadn't heard before but that I really liked and kept singing to myself afterwards.

 I also had to have a quick photo with Pete and Maura - I would have liked to stay and chat a bit more with them and with other Kennedys fans at the venue but sadly I had an exam the next morning and had to dash off.

 However, I had an amazing evening and I must stress how kind and down-to-earth Pete and Maura are at concerts: you can go to a great show and really enjoy it and leave afterwards without having seen the performer and it still be a great night out, so imagine all that but with performers who are willing to mingle with their guests, take requests, chat about the show... 

 Seeing the Kennedys live is more an experience than merely a show, and I am very grateful to have had that experience. I hope they retain their down-to-earthness - I have no reason to believe they won't - and that I can see them live many more times in the future.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs: 

Listen - The Kennedys - 2005

When I Go - The Kennedys - 2003

Eurovision 2013: My overall verdict

 Hello! Hallå!

 On Saturday 18th May 2013, the Eurovision final came to us from Malmo, Sweden, following the two semi-finals earlier in the week. As someone who'd had exams and various duties that week and the weekend before, Eurovision was something relaxing to look forward to.

 And the show itself didn't disappoint. Petra Mede was a brilliant and funny host - she coped absolutely fine with hosting the contest alone, something that I had anticipated being a challenge for anyone. But she turned out to be just the woman for the job.

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 In the UK the semi-finals were commentated by DJ Scott Mills and Ana Matronic from the Scissor Sisters. I like the idea of getting an American in so we could see what someone from outside of Europe thinks of Eurovision. She seemed to enjoy it, as did Scott, and their commentary was quite listenable.

 I enjoyed the first semi-final more than the second one - I felt that the quality of the songs was higher. My favourites were Ukraine and Belgium.

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 I also liked Latvia's song in the second semi final and was surprised and disappointed that they didn't make it through to the final.

 I was also surprised Serbia didn't get to the final - I didn't really like the song but it was pure Eurovision!

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 Then the day of the final came! My family had a party, as always! We love Eurovision!

 Graham Norton did the commentary for the UK and did a good job at it.

 Petra was great again as host and I loved her short history of Sweden, even if it was a bit odd:

 I love the dancing meatballs!

 I didn't think a lot of the green room host, Eric Saade, and I wish we could have had Krisse again! But I did quite like Lynda Woodruff, who gave a comical view of Sweden. I think it's cool that she's known for being both a singer (as Sarah Dawn Finer) and a comedienne.

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 I also liked the butterfly theme; I had anticipated this being a bit boring and monotonous but the way they had the flag of each country on its butterfly was nice and looked really arty. 

 The sequence with the caterpillar travelling from Baku to Malmo where it became the Eurovision butterfly was sweet; I especially loved the bit where the caterpillar curled up to sleep like a cat on someone's dashboard.

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 I was sad that yet again, people generally seemed to be voting for their neighbours. However, Denmark still seemed to be the runaway favourite, getting lots of high numbers of points from countries that are geographically nowhere near it. 

 As I don't think a lot of the song, all I can assume is that its sound managed to appeal to a diverse range of people across Europe. You can't deny that it really was the generic Eurovision song. I just don't personally get why it was so popular; for me it was good but not mind-blowing by any standard.

 Still, congratulations to Emmelie de Forest and I look forward to another Scandinavian Eurovision!

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

Songs:

Gravity - Zlata Ognevich - 2013

Love Kills - Roberto Bellarosa -2013

Here We Go - PeR - 2013

Ljubav je svuda (Love is Everywhere) - Moje 3 - 2013

Swedish Smorgasbord - Petra Mede - 2013

Only Teardrops - Emmelie de Forest - 2013