Six the Musical (Live - film)

 I haven't been living under a rock, so I have heard about SIX the musical, a modern reimagining about the wives of Henry VIII, but I hadn't actually been to see it. Travel to London and then the cost of tickets etc. means it would be a considered purchase.  I also wasn't sure that I would necessarily enjoy it.  However, I caught some of the songs on a TV programme and was intrigued, so started looking on Youtube and liked what I saw and heard.  The wikipedia entry is here and gives a good overview of the show and its creation.

image from Wikipedia

I noticed the show is touring the UK and although is coming relatively near us, again the cost would be a considered one. 

The original West End cast of Six, © photo by Idil Sukan/DrawHQ 

from What's on Stage 

When I saw there was a film of the show with the original London cast coming to the cinema, I thought that would be the best of all worlds.  Serendipitously, it was this week, so I booked up and we went last Saturday.

I have to say, we thoroughly enjoyed it! The cast were so good, with fantastic singing voices and the choreography was slick and impressive.  The four piece female band, the 'Ladies in Waiting' were also at the top of their game. 

My favourite songs?  Haus of Holbein and for a fabulous jazz version here and Don't Lose your Head, probably, but there is something in all of them to enjoy.

I would happily go again!

Wanderlust 2025

I am well into Wanderlust 2025, the year-long mixed media art journaling course which I have been doing since 2021.  This year, they have changed the format to 12 week blocks.  I have decide to choose my highlights to share, rather than each and every week, so here they are. Above was a lovely watercolour week, creating a sunset.  I really enjoyed using the big flat brushes to try to get a smooth gradation of colours.

This one took a while as we had to go through our stash finding all the collage pieces to add to the circles.  I love the happy colour-filled result though.

The final few weeks of this first section was all about books.  We had to make a journal ready to fill with whatever we wanted.  I wanted to have my journal in a pocket on the page, so made a smaller and thinner one.  As Kate Crane was the teacher for this lesson, I made my journal using my Kate Crane designed stamps and stencils and using some of the skills I have got from her other lessons and courses.

The left page was revisiting a previous Wanderlust lesson of hers. The page on the right was a repeated stamp of hers with dots of colour.

Her stamps and stencils also feature on these pages.

The mandala design on the left was inspired from one of her courses, while on the right is a gel print using her stencils and then one of her stamps.

The penultimate week of this first block was making an accordion journal and then doing some contour sketches.  I really enjoyed doing both of these and the journal I made above is again small enough to sit in a pocket inside my main journal.

The final week was making an altered book journal, which I have done, but it won't fit into the main journal, so I created a page about books instead.  I found some great quotes and again, this is a happy page.

Spring colour

Spring has sprung, so let's celebrate!  The camellias in the garden are in full bloom.  Above is an unnamed one I bought as a stick and it is doing really well and flowering profusely.

This unnamed double was a present from my Mum and has enjoyed being potted on.

Camellia St Ewe with its egg yolk yellow stamens.

Camellia Yoimachi which has had flowers through the winter.

Other flowers in bloom are Cardamine Quinquefolia which is certainly spreading through the border, but so far, hasn't proved to be a nuisance.

Prunus incisa Kojo-no-mai with its pretty white flowers.

When the sun shines, just look at the beautiful blue sky.  A lovely Spring colour.

Echoing the blue sky, I recently potted these scillas on into a bigger pot and they have rewarded me with a mass of flowers.  Such a pretty plant. I need some more of these, I think! I also have my first tulips flowering in the border.  No doubt they will get a post in the weeks to come.

Do I Love You - play by John Godber

We went to see 'Do I Love You?' at the Theatre last Friday.  It's by John Godber and is a wonderful play, a rollercoaster of emotions,  interspersed with Northern Soul music and a slick, excellently choreographed group of three terrific actors, who bring their characters' various stories and their love of Northern Soul to life.

Chris and I are fans of John Godber's work and Chris has directed and starred in 'Bouncers', about a group of bouncers at a nightclub, and about group of boys and girls going out to the nightclub, by turns funny, sad, and definitely thought-provoking, all set to music of the time, which is probably John Godber's best known work.

 

Photo above and info below from the website here.

"Why not join twenty somethings Sally, Nat and Kyle in this hilarious comedy as they develop a love for, and the people involved with, Northern Soul. What started as a College project has grown into a passion, but the dance steps are exhausting. Far beyond their home city of Hull our trio find excitement, purpose and the tribe they’ve been looking for. Now they can’t get enough; from Brid Spa to Stoke, from Chesterfield to the Tower Ballroom our young soulies are determined to keep the faith! 

This is Northern Soul for a new generation, but with rising costs, unemployment, and small town blues, has anything really changed? Is this England 1975 or 2025? The pubs are closing, hospitality has gone, and strikes are everywhere; but when you’re out on the floor …

So spread the talc and grab your loafers, our trio are heading for a weekender! 

From the writer of the legendary Bouncers ...

It’ll never be over for us!" 

A link to the website is here and is you scroll down, there are the tour dates and a link to the programme. If is coming to a theatre near you, I thoroughly recommend it.  

Here's a link to Do I love you by Frank Wilson - enjoy!

Cards so far this year

Here's a round up of the cards I have made so far this year.  I like to post them on my blog as it gives me a reminder of what I have sent to whom and how my cards are developing.  Above is one for a January birthday and I have been enjoying playing with these stamps from Alison Bomber for PaperArtsy. Her Youtube channel (Words and Pictures) is really inspiring and I spend a lot of time watching her projects.  

This was for my brother-in-law.  Cards for men are always a bit trickier - florals, butterflies etc. may not be so appropriate!

This one was for a colleague who had been involved in an accident.

Sympathy cards are ones we don't enjoy making so much, but they are important. This one used the same stamps as the first card, but the mood is so different.

I always enjoy making thank you cards.

This was for a colleague's birthday. She enjoys entomology so the card needed to reflect that.

I also made her a little tag book with watercolour pages inside.  I thought she might enjoy using this on field trips.

A March birthday, celebrating the crocuses.  Another stamp set by Alison Bomber.

Finally, for now, a card for my sister-in-law which again celebrates seasonal flowers. She has a lovely display of 'tete a tete' daffodils in her garden so I think this will be perfect for her.

Hello Hellebores 2025!

The hellebores are putting on a lovely show at the moment and it is always a joy to see them. Most of them are in pots in shady areas and seem quite happy.  (I may have added three more to the collection this year, so let me show them to you first.) Above is a single white hellebore in the Credale series.

My most recent purchase was this beauty - double pink picotee in the Credale series.

Here is Ice and Roses in flower now and yes, as promised, it does have a red flower.

These are the hellebores I have had for a while.  This is Harvington Pink...

...and here is Winter Princess Victoria.

Hello Ruby has proved to be a great addition to the collection and is a reliable flowerer.

Helebore ericsmithii Winter Sunshine is still flowering and does provide sunshine on a dull winter day.

Hello White Pearl is also a reliable flowerer and has put on a wonderful show this year. I was pleased to see the little ladybird busily hoovering up some pesky aphids.

Harvington Pink spotted, I think.

Finally, Harvington Pink Picotee.  These last two are in the shady border, but don't seem to do quite as well as the ones in pots.  However, they are spreading around and I now have two speckled ones.  There is also a white one which is growing in amongst Hydrangea Annabelle, but isn't quite in flower yet. 

They are a good source of pollen and nectar for early bees, so are a great addition to the garden.

Inchie Challenge 2025

I enjoyed taking part in the Inchie Challenge again this year.  Run by Amy Maricle of Mindful Art Studio, it is a prompt a day for twelve days, working on small pieces of paper/card, in my case, 2 inches x 2 inches watercolour card.  I made them into an accordion book, but took some photos of some of the individual pieces.

'Lift' had to be a piece that could be lifted and the front of the lifted piece can be seen on the left of the photo above.

'Rebel' was lots of patterns all together.

'Shrouded' has a piece of decorated tracing paper over the top.

'Stamen' was a fun shape to make - I think I had a plantain flower in my head when I thought of this one.

Here are 'Under', 'Galactic' and 'Braided'.

This is the piece which is underneath all the other pieces for 'Under' - I really enjoyed creating that one.

'Braided' includes a plait of embroidery thread - that was Chris' idea.

'Dots'. 'Doorway' and 'Contrast'.

I made the door so that it could be opened and added a trailing vine behind.

'Contrast' is just that.

'Three' is on the left, with three flowers and 'Chequered' was another fun pattern.

The challenge is a good one to join in with, as it doesn't last too long and is easily manageable, working on such small pieces each day.  I have ended up with a really sweet little accordion journal.