Gratitude aplenty!

Blogpost No8 August 2022

Where to start? It’s been a full and sometimes dramatic month. The first drama happened a few weeks ago one early Friday morning when walking Sweep up Peel Hill. We were joined by my delightful friend Izzy and her mum’s long-haired Jack Russel, Rufus. So far so good. It was a beautiful morning. The idea was to meet our lovely mermaid pal Christy at 7am for a dip at Fenella Beach.

At 6.50am I text Christy we were on our way down. Sweep and Rufus were getting on great guns chasing one another around and about … over the first brow of the undulating hill … they ran on to the second and final undulation before the last slope down to Fenella. As Izzy and I crested the hump there was no sign of either of them. No problem … we started to call out their names. Rufus appeared from the bracken on the left a few seconds later. No sign of Sweep.

What happened next was an hour and three quarters of frantic calling … walking up and down the hillside, me traipsing along the coastal path ( I stole myself to look over the steep sided quarry … no Sign. Thank goodness!) Izzy going all the way to Corrin’s Folly! Christy joined the search. Our good friend Avril Muller created a FB call-to-arms on the “Lost and found pets on the Isle of Man” page. People were very kind. Izzy had to bring Rufus home. En route we stopped at the Harbour Master’s office and asked if he could let the Coast Guard know in case they were out and about and they spotted Sweep stranded on a ledge somewhere. He was also very kind.

I dropped Izzy home and headed back to Fenella car park to wait for my sister Diane and brother-in-law David … they drove in from Onchan to swell the naturally depleted search party ranks. I was sat in the car talking to Bob: “I don’t know what else to do ...” I glanced out the window and lo-and-behold there was Sweep! I can’t tell you the wave of sheer relief. As I put him in the car Diane and David arrived. Smiles all round. We celebrated with a dip in the sea! Well David got in … Diane videoed the occasion for posterity which I won't be sharing!

We’ve been back to Peel Hill a number of times since … the usual 6.15 walk with a dip at 7am. Sweep is kept safely on the lead.

In news about The Children Of The Sea: I have written the last song on the album - hurrah! There is still a song lurking in the back of my mind but is eluding me. In keeping with my snippets to be shared, here’s this month’s: A Mermaid’s Song. This is inspired by my imagining the back story of “No One Knows His Name” which in turn was inspired by a story about “ … a mysterious man in a curious boat” which features on Daphne’s Flight’s “Knows Time, Knows Change”. So here we have our mysterious man as a young solo fisherman who meets and falls in love with a beautiful Mermaid. I'm hoping it sheds light on the mysteriousness of his much talked about haunting melody ... you'll need to hear the whole song for that revelation. I’ll be writing the story in full to be shared nearer the time but for now here’s a slice of that song:

I promised to share some footage from the second half of the show on July 2nd this Blogpost. Here it is:

I’m delighted to say that CC&Friends have another gig this time at The Centenary Centre in Peel on Saturday November 12th.

This week I started the exciting process of mixing some of the new songs. We have 8 finished tracks to bring up to their sparkling best with the ninth song in Michael Fix’s expert hands. Dave Armstrong (DAM Productions) and I go back a fair few years. He produced several songs on “Into The Light” and also produced “Home” and the DVD CC XX. He knows his stuff! I shared a wee bit of video on FB to mark the occasion:

I’ve harvested all my potatoes and planted a second lot which are already looking fecund (though not in the pic below ... that's immediately after planting). Peppers and chillies are now showing themselves off and the tomatoes are ripening up a treat and totally gorgeous. We’ve had lots of weird and wonderfully shaped cucumbers - each one crisp and delicious. The peas are still producing and the courgettes are out-doing themselves. It really is a time of plenty … and we are totally grateful for it all!

Here's a random selection of images that fill in the gaps of strange happenings this last month: Mum all dolled up ready to have afternoon tea with the Governor at his residence; a dead squid on Fenella Beach (there was a dolphin washed up on the shore too a few days later, very sad to see - no pics of that); an 8 week old Goshawk at Glen Wyllin this week who'd just had a bath in the river; mum mid eye test looking very Steampunk; mum again looking very cool in her sunglasses and finally a courgette that went rogue and turned into a marrow!

Next month we have more mixing and possibly mastering to look forward to and I will reveal my extra special guest vocalist on “Dear Sister” the song cowritten with Michael Fix. Who knows what adventures I’ll get up to with Sweep between now and then?

And finally, I received the very sad news that my dear friend John “Lovely” Martin, died peacefully in the early hours of August 2nd. His sweet, kind, loving partner Liz, reached out to let me know that he spoke of me with love. She and his 3 beautiful daughters and their extended families will be heart broken. John was Gregson&Collister’s manager all those years ago. He was a rock for me. His smile was bright as the sun. His quiet, steadiness a balm. Our friendship, rekindled a few short years ago, remains precious. He will be missed by many. Know you are loved beyond measure sweet man.

As always, thanks for stopping by, it really matters.

Take care and keep rising above the turbulence!

Much love and endless blessings!

Christine x

Jiminy Crickets it's July!

Blogpost No7 July 2022

Where to begin? I had a gig … that's a good place to start. On Saturday July 2nd Christine Collister & Friends took to the Erin Arts Centre stage. We were given the honour of closing The Manannan Festival which ran for a whole week. What a fabulous occasion it was. We set up at midday and before the PA was ready, myself, Christy DeHaven and Jo Callister took the opportunity to dip in Port Erin’s gorgeous bay. It was glorious. I then did the sound check in my dad’s Terry towelling robe! There’s pictorial evidence somewhere on FB if you know where to look.

The show itself was a delight. My first in person live performance … in a year! We may do another before too long … fingers crossed but there are a lot of diaries to co-ordinate for that to happen.

Mum was sat on the front row with my brother Colin and his wife Rachel and Aaron (my favourite nephew! I’m allowed to stay that:-). When Pip the promoter (great title for a kids tv show;) was introducing me, mum piped up: “That’s my daughter!” … ripple of laughter from appreciative audience and then … “Is she here?” … made me laugh out loud. She was very much a part of the show and when thanking everyone at the end of the night she said … “What about me?” … to which I replied:”Without you there’d be nothing!” It’s true too.

In other musical news I still haven’t written my last song for “Children Of The Sea” though there are a few ideas bubbling away in the background however song number 7, a collaboration with Michael Fix in Australia, is developing nicely and song No 8 was played on Manx Radio 3 times on the run up to the gig! In keeping with my “sharing songs in development” with you, here’s a snippet of song No5: “One Way Back”. I decided to give you the middle of the song so you get the second verse, a chorus and the middle 8 … no particular reason. The song tells the tale of Timmy who was the smallest moonbeam polisher that ever was … who, in his excitement to try his brother’s much larger moon beam … fell off and found himself on the Isle of Man. I won’t give the whole tale away but I think it’s a sweet and delightful story and I love the way the song’s turned out. Have a listen:

My endeavours with growing veg are really paying off now. Potatoes are ready and absolutely delicious and we’ve enjoyed courgettes, carrots (not a one of them straight!) salad leaves and even a few French beans. The most exciting pick so far was my first cucumber … what a delight that was and totally unexpected. One day there were sweet little yellow flowers and almost overnight a fabulous ridged cucumber which had a wonderful crunch to it and there are plenty more where that came from. There’s still a ways to go before the tomatoes are ready to eat but there are many of them hiding behind a plethora of fabulous smelling greenery. The flowers are also outdoing themselves at the moment and even the calendulas, which I planted ages ago, have finally decided to show themselves. Patience has its visual rewards.

My walks with Sweep continue to amuse me. Recently we’ve been walking half way up Peel Hill at 6.15am and then I dip with friends at Fenella. This morning, after coming out of the sea we spotted this huge Jelly Fish! Note to self … be extra vigilant this month while the Jellies are out in force!

I’ll sign off for this month and hope to have more musical news to share in August, and of course … regale you with the continuing delights of the veg patch.

Till then take very good care of yourselves and remember … keep rising above the turbulence!

Much love

Christine x

June is busting out all over ...

Blogpost No 6 2022 June 12th

Sitting down to write this month’s Blogpost it’s my mum’s 84th birthday - June 11th 2022. The last of the TT races are happening as I type - an extra day needed to fit them in due to our mercurial weather. I can hear them screaming through our usually peaceful village. It meant I was at M&S by 8am buying up snacks and deliciousness for tomorrow’s belated birthday celebrations. Hopefully the wild wind will blow itself out and we’ll have a perfect, still, early summer day to eat, drink and be merry. I may hold off posting this to include photos :-) x or more likely that will be my opening gambit for next month.

The last few weeks haven’t been as productive as I’d hoped but I’m still incredibly excited by the fact I now have 8 songs more-or-less completed. No one’s more amazed than me. Truly. Who knew? So in keeping with these Blogpost shares I’m delivering a slice of song No4 Which will be the first track on the CD when everything’s done and dusted. I had an idea to create a kind of invitation … an enticement into the magical, curious world these songs inhabit. It’s called “Lift The Veil” and is meant to pique your interest to move closer to the every day magic that’s everywhere all the time - honest! Anyway here’s your sneaky peek … see what you think:

In other news the greenhouse is now fully blooming with groaning grow-bags of tomatoes, cucumbers, peas and (my favourites from last years experiments) dwarf French beans, now well on their way to becoming edible goodness. A modicum of patience is yet required but the signs are good. I can’t tell you just how exciting it is for me to tend to these wondrous things. I mean, yes there’s an element of work involved but basically nature’s in the driving seat. I mean … seeds! They’re little miracles … even if you scientifically explain what they’re designed to do (whose design?!) … it’s a jaw-dropping miracle to me. I am blessed, and I deeply appreciate it.

I know there’s a lot of excitement about the TT but for those of us living “inside the course” it’s a fairly disruptive experience. Mum’s Day Care Centre closes down for 10 days which makes life … even more weird and wonderful than it can otherwise be. Mum usually has 3 days a week when she’s picked up around 10.30am, then it’s onto Peel where the fun begins, plus a lovely 2 course lunch, with more fun after that. Then she’s brought back after 3pm. We are hugely grateful for these services; no more so than when we don’t have them. Slips into other worlds for mum, are more or less constant when there’s nothing to break up the unremembered repetition of each day. We do our best to find entertaining things to do: watch movies; walk Sweep; paint ornamental garden objects etc but there’s only so much 2 people can bring to another’s attention when their perception seamlessly merges experiences we can’t be a part of. Yes I’m being cryptic! But that’s what it feels like all the time … like one giant cryptic crossword puzzle with no reference resources to help.

All things considered we do remarkably well. And I absolutely include mum in that. Life is never less than interesting … n’est pas?

One little thing I did at the beginning of June was plant up a lovely large, old, blue pot that had been home to some pretty weeds this last year or so. I picked up a number of beautiful flowering plants to adorn the pot and lo and behold it looks gorgeous. We now have a lovely, colourful thing to focus on when washing the dishes :-) x

I confess it was a challenge for me mid month when Daphne’s Flight took off on their much awaited twice-cancelled tour and of course they absolutely stormed it. I’m so happy for them, they’ve worked their socks off to make this happen and formed new and lasting bonds in the process. These things are hard-won and I whole-heartedly applaud it all.

When all’s said and done it’s just life. And for some mysterious, unfathomable reason it all matters. Every thing feeds everything else, good, bad or indifferent and while we are given the chance to keep breathing, we have the opportunity to experience whatever life has to show us.

I love it all!

This coming month could bring the writing process to a close. Well that’s my hope. I’m co-writing a beautiful song with Michael Fix which is progressing nicely and then, as far as I can tell there’s only one more song to do … you’ll have to wait to find out if I reach my target.

And on a truly positive and exciting note, I have a fabulous opportunity to tread the boards once more with my lovely talented musical “Friends”- Lindsay, Steve and Callum Rowe and Christy DeHaven and Jo&Juan Callister - at the Manannin Festival on Saturday July 2nd at the glorious Erin Arts Centre. Rehearsals begin the week after next and tickets are on sale HERE!

Thanks as always for dropping by. Till next time stay well and keep rising above the turbulence!

Much love and endless blessings.

Christine x