First of all a belated Happy New year greeting to you all and a wish that everyone has a happy, healthy and prosperous 2007! I only have 2 concerts to report on but a fair few travel jaunts you might like to hear about? I had the most fantastic Christmas, birthday and New year I can remember but maybe you’d rather not hear about that … what the heck?! I flew out to Cancun MEXICO on December 19 th where I met up with BTBF (Bob the Boyfriend!) who flew in from L.A.! Aren’t we the jet setters!
	I’d booked (via the internet!) what looked like a quiet but funky little beach resort an hour and a half south of the hustle and bustle of Cancun, in a tiny little place near Tulum. The resort is called Copal Cabanas and consists of 40 or so various little huts, all with palm roofs and no electricity but each with a double bed and bathroom … I did tell Bob this several times before we arrived but I don’t think the “no electricity” sank in. The candlelight each night in and around the cabanas was absolutely exquisite.
The cabanas are situated in jungle and some are overlooking a beautiful white sandy beach, it's a little piece of heaven and to make up for the lack of electricity the first cabana we stayed in was close to the resort’s wi-fi connection and Bob was able to email to his heart’s content! It also enabled us to skype family and friends on Christmas day … a great treat! Basically we unwound and relaxed very quickly and remained in a state-of -near-bliss for 2 whole weeks, enjoying numerous massages and fresh fruit cocktails. An absolute joy! Through several quirks of fate and a lovely connection with the resort’s hard working manager Rafael, we spent the last 4 nights of our stay in the more exclusive and gorgeous sister-resort Azulik. Here we had our own private wooden apartment looking out over the sparkling Caribbean Sea. The bath was made from a huge tree trunk and there was a double sized swing –bed inside and outside the deluxe Cabana! Deeee-lightful.

Ahhh breakfast! Happy Birthday Girl!   Mayan Ruins   'Our' beach   View from our Cabana

We came back to England on Jan 4th and spent a few days acclimatising before going on to the Isle of Man to see family and friends. We made the momentous decision to move there during our weeks stay and have done just that this week! It’s all go I can tell you …
	Bob flew out to Japan with Corinne and the band towards the end of January. They had several promotional TV shows and more concerts to perform … all went – as we’ve come to expect – exceedingly well. Hurrah. I flew out to L.A. at the beginning of February, to meet up with Bob and Corinne who were there to take part in the Grammy Awards ceremony … wow! I had a couple of days on my own before Bob arrived and made good use of my time. I met up with Bill and Lois Straw who run and own Blix Street records. We’ve been talking about making a classic pop/soul album together for several months now and wanted to get a little closer to making it all work. We spent an evening listening to songs and me (fully jet-lagged!) trying to sing along to some very dodgy Karaoke-type backing tracks – just to get a feel for which songs might suit my voice etc. It was great fun and gave us a better idea of how it will work. Fingers crossed! The weather was gorgeous … very spring-like, with trees blossoming everywhere and warm hazy sunshine most days; a real treat in the middle of an English winter for sure. During the rest of the week I met up with several friends and met new ones through Bob. I introduced Bob to my great friend Gary Stewart, who I met many years ago during the Gregson/Collister days. Gary worked for Rhino Records then and now works for iTunes! He runs the iTunes “essentials” feature and is incredibly enthusiastic and passionate about music. He and Bob got on ridiculously well! Hurrah.
At Blix Street!

Bob introduced me to a wonderful husband and wife team in the form of Nelly and Jeff Neben, who manage numerous artists between them. They came into town and took us to a fantastic Italian restaurant called the “Stinking Rose” whose main ingredient in everything is garlic! Oh yes! We spent a delightful evening in their vibrant company and hope have many more.

My next exciting event was Sunday February 18 th when I sang at St Paul’s Cathedral. Our fab friends Dave Armstrong and Christy DeHaven, who came over to video the event, arrived on Friday and stayed with us in Newark where we had a small gathering with good food and company, including Diane and Bryan Ansell and Bob’s delightful daughter and son-in-law, Jo and Mike.

St Paul's - the Whispering Gallery		CC looking to the Saints!

On Saturday Dave, Christy, Bob and myself drove down to London meeting up at St Paul’s around 7.30pm where Canon Ed Newall showed us into the Cathedral through the crypt! It was an amazing experience. The only light coming through the dome windows shed an eerie presence into the dark recesses of the main hall. We were the only people there! Ed wanted me to try singing in different places to see where was best for the service the following day. One of the suggestions was to start from the high alter and walk down towards the centre under the dome, which I tried. I sang Motherless Child, walking slowly and reverently … whilst it was a lovely thing to do we all decided it wouldn’t work on the night. The best place seemed to be on the dais on the perimeter of the dome floor.

This was Christy’s very first experience of St Paul’s! What an introduction. The five of us then walked across the Millenium Bridge in search of dinner and enjoyed a delicious noodle feast at Wagamama’s. I mentioned climbing to the top of St Paul’s on Sunday afternoon before the service and Christy was thrilled with the idea; Ed piped up “ I think I can get the keys?” … having done this with Bob before I hadn’t realised we’d need an escort otherwise I wouldn’t have suggested it but apparently there are repairs and alterations in progress and so the climb is out of bounds to the general public … but we were offered our very own personal guided tour!
CC with Canon Ed Newell		The Rooftop Crew!
BTBF and CC admiring the view -		- and the view to be much admired.
Don't stand so close to...the edge!		"You Lookin' At Me?"
Dave Armstrong hovers over London Town		Christy D gets to see ALL of London!
Wow.The view from the top of St Paul’s is spectacular and well worth the physical exertion required … I certainly felt unfit and promised myself to make more of an effort in future and I’m happy to report, I’ve managed to do just that! Hurrah.

The service was set for 6pm and as the time drew nearer I felt a growing excitement (also called fear!) as the congregation gathered. Before I knew it, Ed was at the podium and the service was under way. All the songs I performed were chosen by Ed and complemented the story he told of the strange and dramatic life of John Newton, once a slave ship owner turned abolitionist and writer of such wonderful hymns as “Amazing Grace”. It was a joy and an honour to sing these sacred songs in such a sacred place … the natural reverb of St Paul’s is marvellous and made the songs themselves ring loud and clear and the singing of them a moving experience, for me at least.

As the service ended Ed and I walked through the audience and then stood at the back of the auditorium to greet people as they left. We shook hands with most of them as they left and the feeling of gratitude and connection from them was humbling. There were many friends and fans who stayed to chat but all-too-soon we were outside and it was all over. There was one last thing to do before leaving though; a reservation for 20 had been made at the local Café Rouge around the corner from the Cathedral and Bob, Dave, Christy, Ed and myself met up with a number of friends from the discussion group and others for dinner; wonderful way to complete a truly wonderful day. Thanks everyone! Dave and Christy drove half way up towards the Manx ferry that night and Bob and I got home on Monday evening. We had all of 2 days together before Bob was once more on the road with Corinne. This time they were off on a European jaunt that would take them to 11 different Cities in 8 different countries! I had a date to keep the following Sunday with Maureen Jones at Hitchen folk Club, who was celebrating her 40 th anniversary as organiser of this wonderful club! I wasn’t the only artist to be invited … Helen Watson, Chris and Kellie While and Julie Matthews were also guests and we’d arranged to do a special ‘round robin’ type of concert. As you might imagine, if you weren’t lucky enough to actually be in the audience, a great deal of interplay and collaboration took place!

We all arrived early to at least go through a few of the songs we wanted to try together and that in itself was great fun. The concert had sold out well in advance and we knew we were in for a great atmospheric evening; we weren’t disappointed.

	We kicked off with a version of” father A’dieu’ a la Daphne’s Flight style and the proceeded in turn to sing with joy and abandon knowing each time there would be a chorus of Angelic voices supporting each performance. It was wonderful and the audience showed their appreciation in no uncertain terms. Congratulations Maureen you deserve all the love and support showered upon you; we all think you’re amazing! There'll be some photos of the night appearing here soon, so keep checking back.
Click the pic for video of CC et al at Hitchen				Helen Watson and Christine

I also had a very exciting thing to look forward to the next day even though it entailed my getting up at 4.15am! Bob had arranged for me to meet up with him in Barcelona and spend 3 whole days there together! Wow. Not only did I get up at such an unsociable hour but my lovely friend Paul Leitch, now manager of the Sun Inn in Hitchen where Maureen’s club is run, also dragged himself out of bed in order to drive me to Luton Airport! What a pal. It made the whole trip even more delightful, as he and Julie, his lovely partner, also picked me up again on the way back making the journey a lot less frazzled. Thanks guys!

I arrived in Barcelona around 10am and met Bob at the 5 star hotel near the marina we were staying at by 11am! Hurrah. We were on the 21 st floor! The views were spectacular. The sun was shining and all was well. The next few days were a whirlwind of walking the beautiful streets of Barcelona, getting acquainted with the marvellous work of Gaudi and eating gorgeous food; we had a ball. On Wednesday evening Corinne played at a local new venue to a packed house. The gig was fantastic and filled with new songs I’d not heard before each one more exciting than the last. It bodes well for the next album … the arrangements are punchy and dynamic and her voice has grown and strengthened and become even more expressive. Way to go Corinne!

5 Star Splendour in Barcelona		Enjoying the luxury		Funky Barcelona Rooftop
Barcelonian Breakfast!		A view of the city		Famous Gaudi Parks
Cathedral Windows		More Gaudi..		..and more Gaudi..

Bob, Corinne and the rest of the 16 strong band and crew then boarded their gorgeous sleeper buses and trundled off to Milan … a 12 hour journey … where they performed the following night. I went back to my 5 star hotel alone … do you feel sorry for me? No of course not!

My body decided to have a horrid cold as soon as I got back and so the next week was a blur of hot water bottles and hankies. I was back on form just in time for Bob’s return. We met up in Manchester this time where Corinne played at the Apollo on March 13 th. I stayed with my great friend Lynda Turner that night while Bob et al drove up to Newcastle and the next gig. Sadly I had a funeral to attend in Liverpool on Wednesday. Russell Churney, a delightful and talented piano player, and wonderfully witty and charming man, tragically died on February 27 th at the age of 42 after a courageous battle with cancer. It was my pleasure to have met and known him through working with Barb Jungr many years ago. She and Russell had worked together on many projects over the years and he will be sorely missed by many … as his obituary in the Times clearly showed. I made my way to Newcastle in thoughtful mood later that evening. This concert was a sell out and the crowd were definitely up for the ‘crack’. Corinne definitely rose to their excitement and had a great show herself. Bob and I drove home together … ah … and had a whole day to ourselves on Thursday 15th. Friday 16 th was a big day as Corinne played her home town Leeds and so the sold out show was full of family and friends as well as the many fans she now has. It was a tremendous show and very moving at times.
		Russell Churney

Birmingham next on Saturday 17 th … another great gig … then aday off! Hurrah. Our lovely friend and car Angel, Chris Howarth graced us with his presence and gave our little car a big old service for which she and we are very grateful!

The only show I didn’t get to see was Glasgow on Monday. Bob got a train at lunchtime and after the gig that night, everyone got on board the super-bus and while they slept, were driven to Southampton. I drove to Southampton to be with BTBF and to watch the Southampton show on Wednesday night. Bob has a number of family and friends who live in and around the area so we were kept busy before the gig saying hello to them all … Susan-Jane, Chris, Tom, Ann-Marie, Laura, Lione, Amber, Andrew, Clyde, Jane … and so it goes. It was great to see everyone and we all enjoyed the show.

Bob and I drove to London after the show where the European and UK part of the tour came to an end the following night. The Hammersmith Apollo is a wonderful venue and the atmosphere on Thursday night was tremendous. I met up with my great friend Abi Grant earlier that evening to have dinner and a chance to catch up on each other’s news before finding ourselves a good spot to stand downstairs near the back of the auditorium where we proceeded to dance the night away. It was a fabulous show and a fantastic reception from the massive crowd. Well done Corinne … and the band … and of course Bob aka manager Boy! Hurrah.

There was an after show party which went on till 2am at which point Bob and I had to drive back to Newark in order to pack up house and home and move to the Isle of Man on Sunday! We never do anything by halves.

Needless to say we made it here unscathed, though I have to come back to Newark this week to pick up a few items that didn’t make it into our car this time round. We were sad to leave our wonderful home next to our equally wonderful friends Diane and Bryan and will miss their company but no doubt will keep in close contact for many years to come. They have been especially generous to us over the 4 or 5 years we’ve known them and feel exceptionally grateful for their friendship. My family, on-the-other-hand, are delighted to have me back in such close proximity … I feel an avalanche of missed aunty duties coming my way! Bring it on!

Bob’s off with the CBR entourage again Saturday, this time to the States and a special guest appearance on the John Legend tour which lasts 6 weeks. I’m planning to meet up with him towards the end of the tour and spend a few weeks after it swanning round Texas/Nevada and California on the trail of Back Door Slam … more of which later!

So for now, though there’s not much musical news from me exactly, thanks for dropping by. I’ll be writing and recording in the next few weeks and also starting to work on the afore-mentioned American pop/soul album. Hurrah. I’m very excited by just about everything right now.

Don’t forget to keep checking out the live videos each month … I’ll be in touch again soon with more travel and music news.

Take care. Much love

Christine xx

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