tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13434695779660700922024-02-22T08:17:25.160+02:00In The Key MagazineChrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-7758835678763640622022-01-27T13:27:00.004+02:002022-01-27T13:27:34.116+02:00The World Knows by Emma Thacker<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpA1LnEn_X22AZ_pfdIaCOs_0SKOx33vnac-swg6mJzkSqm39ixmHjQgJqAT9uaw0atdief-VEs0Uy_eSkUE2sUaZzRgHaW7r1iyRICEZiLuXI4ryiGtgZFAFT10P0MNFovDxfBaBILDmwTHU4N3AN8GkKsTxcpH_QG541mGpv0GMOJZkS8fNod2R7=s400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpA1LnEn_X22AZ_pfdIaCOs_0SKOx33vnac-swg6mJzkSqm39ixmHjQgJqAT9uaw0atdief-VEs0Uy_eSkUE2sUaZzRgHaW7r1iyRICEZiLuXI4ryiGtgZFAFT10P0MNFovDxfBaBILDmwTHU4N3AN8GkKsTxcpH_QG541mGpv0GMOJZkS8fNod2R7=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><u style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The World Knows</span></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The sinking summer sun shone on our love</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It sparkled like crystals</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Light reflecting and refracting</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Touching every corner of the known universe.</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The world knows I love you...</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I wrote of you on a thousand balloons</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And set them free.</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They set off to the skies and over seas</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And landed like seeds from a tree.</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The world knows I love you...</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And as our marriage vows caught upon the breeze</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To touch each passer-by with ease</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And spread true love wherever it blows,</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It confirmed a fact that everyone knows.</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The world knows...</span></p><p class="v1MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I love you.</span></p></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-64364413925538549172021-11-18T18:14:00.003+02:002021-11-18T18:14:20.200+02:00DON’T JUST DREAM ABOUT IT – DO IT by Rosie Hamilton McGinty<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxUiiTwgqkfzxnk70wMBYSq6U0x93AiEMudM4iKXaAR1xtgcMTZFObeGWVRq6WsJLuHPKF1TkQNkYITaH-Cflei4SOZmZ5XdVnedwk4lXDITTk6WOxAtWPjAeLCu-qLXTJR3cgbe7SvE/s270/A+Winning+Attitude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="114" data-original-width="270" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxUiiTwgqkfzxnk70wMBYSq6U0x93AiEMudM4iKXaAR1xtgcMTZFObeGWVRq6WsJLuHPKF1TkQNkYITaH-Cflei4SOZmZ5XdVnedwk4lXDITTk6WOxAtWPjAeLCu-qLXTJR3cgbe7SvE/s0/A+Winning+Attitude.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">DON’T
JUST DREAM ABOUT IT – DO IT by Rosie Hamilton McGinty<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>(This is an excerpt from the Audio & eBook)<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Everyone wants success. We all
live in a get rich quick society and are absorbed with keeping up with the
‘Jones’, designer clothes, private schools for our children, fancy cars and
luxury holidays. These, all spell success for most people but are sadly
supported by several credit cards, personal loans and fixed interest free
mortgages.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">You will at some stage in your
life reach the conclusion that this kind of survival and ego based behaviour
only leads to unhappiness. True wealth is about something different not one’s
lifestyle or possessions but loving yourself, honouring who you are and your
purpose in life from qualities such as good character, integrity, honesty,
righteousness and a sense of justice and fair play. The character of a person
is the foundation of their life, successes and home life.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Once your personal character
is set and your dreams put into reality then success is sure to follow. Life is
basically very simple or it’s supposed to be, it is sadly people that make it
difficult. We all want to be happy, creative, successful and contented in our
lives. Unfortunately, insecurity, negative thinking, opposition from others,
fear of change and habitual thinking patterns keep us very stuck and unable to
make the necessary changes towards fulfilling our dreams.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">I hope this excerpt from my
book allows you the opportunity to change your attitude towards yourself and
your life. Your family will be amazed at the new confident person that has
emerged and they will also change they behaviour patterns to fit in with the
new lifestyle you are aiming for. Continually stay focused on your dream, set
realistic goals and stages for development. Allow yourself time to develop the
foundation for your dream through dedication and hard work.</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">Understand that there will be
problems, but with every problem there will be a solution. Work hard to find
the solutions to overcome any difficulties.<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">Until next time</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;">Rosie<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.attitudepress.com/">www.attitudepress.com</a>
<o:p></o:p></p></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-64214268796576700092021-11-16T10:42:00.002+02:002021-11-16T10:42:36.804+02:00White Light Holiday by Emma Thacker<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXhg9m32TAsXhUgTeU37Jn18hkRNw1tAxL3uo-fEfyLfcsQKNPSE7CpEkoM72j4sEiejeTWj9htwodAoyt_OilNE_E0avNQG18YLo_GHwpPQwrJHnM6u5JUUHCGfU6Mtt5QPxJbzVOLo/s455/White+Light+Healing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="455" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXhg9m32TAsXhUgTeU37Jn18hkRNw1tAxL3uo-fEfyLfcsQKNPSE7CpEkoM72j4sEiejeTWj9htwodAoyt_OilNE_E0avNQG18YLo_GHwpPQwrJHnM6u5JUUHCGfU6Mtt5QPxJbzVOLo/s320/White+Light+Healing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p align="center" class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">White Light Holiday</span></u><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p align="center" class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important;">
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">White
light, shining, warm,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Encompassing
the now and the before.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Colours
behind my eyes form orbs,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As I
heal from the hidden thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Hands of
kindness<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Energy
flows,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Healing
music,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">White
light grows,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Like a
beam lighting a crown upon my head<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As I lay
upon this peaceful bed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Shades
of violet, sapphire and sea,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Swirl
about to comfort me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
earthly scent of sage creeps in,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Then all
is green.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I soak
it in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">My heart
so full<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Yet
light and free.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
energy flows,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Connecting
me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As the
music plays time stands still.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I could
stay in here,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Not just
for today,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As I
feel my troubles melt away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Golden
swirls,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Yellow
warmth,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Hands of
healing<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Bringing
forth,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Joining
the circle, bringing red<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">As I
lay, so peaceful, on this bed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Rooted
like a tree,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">To this
energy inside of me.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">This
white light shining from within,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Keep it,
share it, hold it in.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">I feel
its warmth as I go on my way<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Until
next time, or,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="v1msonormal" style="background: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Just for
today.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p></span></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-54518719038197050672021-11-12T09:55:00.002+02:002021-11-12T09:55:53.236+02:00Music and Disability By Kerry Barnes<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Music and Disability<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerry Barnes<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 36.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yes
this did, and does exist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Most
of us know about Beethoven and deafness in his early thirties, and writing some
of his best music during this time, some would say. The Scottish percussionist
Dame Evelyn Glennie is also profoundly deaf and feels the music through her
feet, remarkably so!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">But
I’d like to talk about a more physical disability within the playing apparatus,
namely the fingers, hands and arms. It is called ‘Focal Dystonia’ and has the
power to end a musician’s career!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In
this article I will be talking about musicians, techniques, disabilities,
teachers, therapies and more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>What
is Focal Dystonia?</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Well
it’s a neurological condition that may result from overuse or misuse of the
playing apparatus namely the arms, hands and fingers, in conjunction with the
ergonomics of the instruments and sitting positions etc. It’s fairly rare,
although growing I believe. It’s usually brought on by a fatal cocktail of too
much practice for too long, and with a technique that may be questionable,
along with the wrong sitting position at the instrument, perfectionist
personality type, and the list goes on. So what started as pain that is ignored
by the musician who keeps going and going, actually develops into the wrong
messages being sent by the brain to the fingers and becomes neurological. Once
that happens, there’s no turning back and there is no cure.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It
is manifested by two symptoms, firstly the fingers start to curl into the palm
and the poor musician can’t get those fingers uncurled and placed on the
keyboard as they would like, and secondly it can present as a general but
complete incoordination of the fingers when the musician tries to play a
certain pattern of notes that the brain won’t let it do … your fingers won’t do
what you want them to do!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">There
have been four pianists I know of who have been afflicted by Focal Dystonia.
The first is Leon Fleisher. A real virtuoso who gradually stopped performing
and did things like masterclasses and teaching etc. In the picture below, look
closely at his 4<sup>th</sup> and 5<sup>th</sup> fingers in the right hand
holding on to the piano, they are fixed and pointing down like they don’t
belong to the rest of the hand.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">Leon
Fleisher</b></div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZO0MhSdieadTS2-Kmk2eL7kYKGQMnMS0geprasXBXDEuFsxAhuT82s4Rp7EBFq3phbq68abvxdyJzUSEhMvC7_IRosRevLXx873aUu_GV4X9ZMeLa1rbsG2TC9RTLdsPUtfRLSw8R8Y/s272/Image+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="185" data-original-width="272" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRZO0MhSdieadTS2-Kmk2eL7kYKGQMnMS0geprasXBXDEuFsxAhuT82s4Rp7EBFq3phbq68abvxdyJzUSEhMvC7_IRosRevLXx873aUu_GV4X9ZMeLa1rbsG2TC9RTLdsPUtfRLSw8R8Y/s0/Image+1.jpg" width="272" /></a></div></b></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">These
two fingers would have also worked a lot harder as they would have played the
main melody most of the time, and in general the right hand does that a lot,
obviously there are always exceptions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
2<sup>nd</sup> pianist is one that I have been suspicious about before. Glenn
Gould. Now it is not documented anywhere, but why at the age of approximately
mid-thirties would you suddenly stop performing? Have a look at the pictures
below, he sits on a very low chair, (not a usual piano stool) and is very
hunched over with his chin almost touching the keyboard sometimes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b style="font-size: 14pt;">Glenn Gould</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_87c2OxrVaLy_aaZ2d5v2PPKSpXNQU0wLoNVr4YSE8pS3uvNX0HOIjpb2CAlvK7QW0yAsPCemsY_XY4h2rTLUA0NdQRI_DUasf8bPuGU99skIIHK6ITxWRLdSuDnuee27l9vkFbscg-0/s254/Image+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="254" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_87c2OxrVaLy_aaZ2d5v2PPKSpXNQU0wLoNVr4YSE8pS3uvNX0HOIjpb2CAlvK7QW0yAsPCemsY_XY4h2rTLUA0NdQRI_DUasf8bPuGU99skIIHK6ITxWRLdSuDnuee27l9vkFbscg-0/s0/Image+2.jpg" width="254" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHd8OJbEfGsxSQvlpmXX0V_-mS8rAxnzPG_8ZaE2e5sW3kz53lMXRYaYWYz0vDIkglia8FvXvAFTEEzow4F7ojs4gACjall72lgQTI-SKCJ3U7ZbCphNpFyxNMaHtyX-sGGBY6Ajdoo8/s300/Image+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHd8OJbEfGsxSQvlpmXX0V_-mS8rAxnzPG_8ZaE2e5sW3kz53lMXRYaYWYz0vDIkglia8FvXvAFTEEzow4F7ojs4gACjall72lgQTI-SKCJ3U7ZbCphNpFyxNMaHtyX-sGGBY6Ajdoo8/s0/Image+3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For
the rest of his career, he made recordings only, where it is possible to ‘patch
up’ any ‘not so good’ parts if you like, and he was always concerned about
‘uneven tone, or bulges of tone’ and this is also a symptom of FD.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The
3</span><sup>rd</sup><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> pianist and keyboardist is Keith Emerson, from the famous trio
ELP.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3osUnf2iMMphvD1pHDzzpyo7kncMdCn1TIPRfrTWtf9YBWChMYuVg8PLV1iqbAvzpQKrjg4-QhMm2noGEhRBRvs_oMhTgwl89XVZdcjxFDUDEhkvaiZfFG6yVhAq2Pt5dLL6mwLGWVw/s276/Image+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="276" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW3osUnf2iMMphvD1pHDzzpyo7kncMdCn1TIPRfrTWtf9YBWChMYuVg8PLV1iqbAvzpQKrjg4-QhMm2noGEhRBRvs_oMhTgwl89XVZdcjxFDUDEhkvaiZfFG6yVhAq2Pt5dLL6mwLGWVw/s0/Image+4.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Keith
Emerson</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Take
a good look at this picture. As you can see in his right hand, the 4<sup>th</sup>
and 5<sup>th</sup> fingers are literally curled into the palm of his hand, and
he cannot get them up on to the keyboard. This is truly horrific and completely
debilitating for an artist of his calibre. I saw him on Chinese TV, he was a
musical guest for a daytime show. It was awful to see him struggling and I
remember thinking how brave he was to continue the performance, but only
playing with 3 fingers of the right hand. So brave. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He
came to London to study with Carola Grindea, a Romanian Piano Professor at the
Guildhall School of Music who had studied Focal Dystonia and developed a new
technique that completely bypasses the ‘finger problem.’ <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-TMSAq1mbona_T36_tkbgitB8Vszu5TPyU-xj2kNxTJ8b8XOlhvjz0jVCkKH66b4P48Wl5PrwgupmJfPhQPVHnHsPpD1G1ncAkTNia9sdgZcvUEi1MZ5LVWamZOUBBxRaJcA0ix7qMo/s284/Image+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="284" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-TMSAq1mbona_T36_tkbgitB8Vszu5TPyU-xj2kNxTJ8b8XOlhvjz0jVCkKH66b4P48Wl5PrwgupmJfPhQPVHnHsPpD1G1ncAkTNia9sdgZcvUEi1MZ5LVWamZOUBBxRaJcA0ix7qMo/s0/Image+5.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgVXRSBGuh6XumLLLpiZhOH6kh9NGXvIXtlVFkGGTIFsAbpfSec4V4-7s4iyf7kCj83vU6hdrMxajzB8rn4PFe7RBWaeOSQaMqv9_4auxKNHrBvh8Zf7phZ6p5NK8yR8LW_PWe1JbOTk/s290/Image+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="290" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdgVXRSBGuh6XumLLLpiZhOH6kh9NGXvIXtlVFkGGTIFsAbpfSec4V4-7s4iyf7kCj83vU6hdrMxajzB8rn4PFe7RBWaeOSQaMqv9_4auxKNHrBvh8Zf7phZ6p5NK8yR8LW_PWe1JbOTk/s0/Image+6.jpg" width="290" /></a></div><b style="font-size: 14pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: 14pt;">Carola
Grindea</b></div></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i>Take a look
at the highest picture, where she has ‘put’ her student in a perfect playing
position.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Anyhow,
Carola’s method was to ‘not to think ‘finger action’ and bring in a ‘wrist
action’ as the new tool. So rather than lifting the finger before pressing the
key, she endorsed that the finger should already be touching the surface of the
key, and depressed the key with an up-down movement of the wrist therefore
bypassing the neurological problem of trying to control the fingers, and turned
it into a wrist technique instead which is not affected by the neuro-problem. Brilliant!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the musician would also have to
adjust repertoire to a less demanding programme, at least for a while in some
cases. But for a very physical and energetic performer like Keith, this may not
be enough and I think he ended up shooting himself, (according to a Daily Mail
article) because he knew that he would never be able to perform at the
extremely high level he was used to. That’s what Focal Dystonia can do to a
person.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkahNHh9BikjBcqmowBjN8G2_K_j1um00iJfz4rOTfPfoshW8q74YyfgdJzR45be6iFLeJZuHappxa59daB0EpdwudFz4APTF5f0XDLvZpIpLkLRJS3rszj3DYr6K4nYlCOHAGMMz3lU/s251/Image+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="201" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkahNHh9BikjBcqmowBjN8G2_K_j1um00iJfz4rOTfPfoshW8q74YyfgdJzR45be6iFLeJZuHappxa59daB0EpdwudFz4APTF5f0XDLvZpIpLkLRJS3rszj3DYr6K4nYlCOHAGMMz3lU/s0/Image+7.jpg" width="201" /></a></div><i style="font-size: 14pt;">Carola
Grindea’s book on forming a Healthy Piano Technique, and endorsed by Yehudi
Menuhin.</i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Coming
now, another artist, therapies, my advice on how to warm up, and a
‘conclusion’ that some of you may be surprised about.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The
last artist is pianist and former harpsichordist Virginia Black. In my view one
of the greatest performers and teacher of all time!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlLsJhXP9jHt07bueYf-7BQH6L3YVWavTKNyVunl6goiDz_Q5hMkpozvWxE8x_ZK1k-Fsp4mQeqKpQ7TCH72_ErGV_cOgrhuR0_EN3Biz5EUkMOoY1cKfaSqZi-V1s6cF9Nch_iTTups/s512/Image+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="254" data-original-width="512" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlLsJhXP9jHt07bueYf-7BQH6L3YVWavTKNyVunl6goiDz_Q5hMkpozvWxE8x_ZK1k-Fsp4mQeqKpQ7TCH72_ErGV_cOgrhuR0_EN3Biz5EUkMOoY1cKfaSqZi-V1s6cF9Nch_iTTups/s320/Image+8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When
she was around the age of 50ish and at the height of her career, she was struck
down with this condition and I saw it for myself, in action, the curling under
of the 4</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> and 5</span><sup>th</sup><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> fingers.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Many
therapies were followed but I think it came to nothing and for 19 years she
could not play her beloved instrument.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Virginia
always gave 110% in everything she did whether it be performing, teaching,
masterclasses and much more. She would practice for up to 6 hours a day for
concerts, recordings etc. But I think this artist gave too much, and maybe it
did not pay off in the end. Also, the harpsichord (which is what she played
when having the condition) takes no prisoners as there are no foot pedals to
enhance the sound, and the fingers have to fill in all the gaps, much harder
work I would say.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOOpuZyCRTGep3j8XZIb8y9dI3OCQwPQ3zLEwvBWdrMyNQNHMcX_1PA0bdqUKzLIvKolvimGanPpQ8pH0egprRE9Jd-e4JPvN6OrXAknTH7XdKj94Orpi7TOHYZT3y6qFq2XArBctQj6Y/s1379/image+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="919" data-original-width="1379" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOOpuZyCRTGep3j8XZIb8y9dI3OCQwPQ3zLEwvBWdrMyNQNHMcX_1PA0bdqUKzLIvKolvimGanPpQ8pH0egprRE9Jd-e4JPvN6OrXAknTH7XdKj94Orpi7TOHYZT3y6qFq2XArBctQj6Y/s320/image+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Virginia
Black</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><i>(she
looks so good, you would never think that in a couple of years she’ll be 80
years old!)</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">HOWEVER... something
incredible happened in 2010, Virginia started to perform again!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She ditched the harpsichord, got the piano
out and hey presto no curling-under fingers. I went to her 2010 concert and
there was no problem at all! So really I can come to only one conclusion... a
miracle happened, brain surgery or something I know nothing about! Anyhow it’s
so wonderful that she is enjoying global success yet again!!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>T
H E R A P I E S</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>Botox
injections</b> to the afflicted area that paralyse the muscles and temporarily
release the ‘curling’, but does not last forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>The
Alexander Technique</b> that promotes ‘no tension’ and can be a great preventer of
getting injured in the first place. The only thing is, you have to be thinking
about it all the time.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>The
Grindea Technique </b></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As
I mentioned earlier, a healthy piano technique using the ‘wrist’ as the new
tool. And a fantastic 5 minute ‘release’ method that must be done before you
start practising.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><b>KERRY
BARNES ON WARMING UP</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Before
you even walk towards the piano, drink something hot, like tea, coffee etc.
This warms the body from the inside out and will keep your hands and fingers
warm, and carry on drinking throughout the session.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Start
your scales etc at ‘pianissimo’ only, and very slowly at first. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Start
with Chromatic scales first as these involve the smallest movements. Then
gradually open the hands out a bit more with the usual major scales etc.
Arpeggios should be practised right at the end because they involve the largest
movements of the fingers, hands, arms and indeed the ‘pivoting from the hip’
because they cover a large area of the keyboard and much more quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Treat
yourself like an athlete, you would not see Ussain Bolt running at top speed
without a warm up first!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Well,
you may be thinking, how come Kerry knows so much about all this? Well,
yes I have the disability in</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">both hands,
yes I studied with Carola Grindea and even had a lesson the day after Keith
Emerson was at her house. Just missed him!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Everything
I compose and play, is the direct result of what I call ‘possible-patterns’.
Patterns that my brain will let me play, and I have been doing that since I was
33 years old and now I’m nearly 60!! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I
must make an album called </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Possible
Patterns”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">T
H E</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">E N D</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-37958521465970216352021-11-10T15:17:00.000+02:002021-11-10T15:17:16.638+02:00How to choose the right piano?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOrZY3wgy8waM93VWp6NMcbXM81oQHtbuaCy0TvZUibbwgk4oSrZnq4u5yjabKSqS5Rr1VAucSEOfOeSb1zRn3rX6XGGmcES0dTo6RuM2FiqmoHprqIB5kde8QBV896QYCp2W1i58I0I/s600/Choosing+the+right+piano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="600" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGOrZY3wgy8waM93VWp6NMcbXM81oQHtbuaCy0TvZUibbwgk4oSrZnq4u5yjabKSqS5Rr1VAucSEOfOeSb1zRn3rX6XGGmcES0dTo6RuM2FiqmoHprqIB5kde8QBV896QYCp2W1i58I0I/s320/Choosing+the+right+piano.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">How to Choose the Right Piano<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When deciding
to purchase a piano, there are a number of aspects to consider in order to
ensure that you acquire the greatest piano that is appropriate for your
requirements.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In this post,
we will go through the most crucial considerations that you need to make when
selecting a piano.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Size<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">We spoke to a
representative from broughton pianos, a company that sells <a href="https://www.broughtonpianos.co.uk/kawai-grand-pianos"><span style="color: #1155cc;">grand piano kawai</span></a>, they said, “When selecting
a piano, it is important to consider the size that you need. The size of a
piano has an impact on the sound it produces. This implies that if you want a
piano that sounds much better, you must choose one that is larger in size. This
is because larger pianos have more area for the chords to properly vibrate than
smaller pianos, which do not have enough space for the chords to freely
vibrate.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The amount of available space<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Apart from
taking into consideration the size of the piano that you would want to
purchase, it is also vital to evaluate the amount of available space in your
home and if it will be sufficient to fit your piano.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Alternatively,
you will need to consider the many kinds of pianos and which ones would work
best in your environment. Consider the upright piano if you are looking to save
a lot of space, which is a good choice for anybody who would want their piano
to take up the least amount of room possible. Grand pianos, on the other hand,
will take up a lot of floor area.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Recognize the differences between a digital keyboard and a
traditional piano.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Because a
digital keyboard may produce sounds that are similar to those of a piano, it is
quite simple to get confused and pick the wrong one. As a consequence,
understand the differences between the two so that you don't make the mistake
of choosing the wrong one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Use piano of piano<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Another
factor to take into consideration when it comes to choosing a piano is the
actual person that will be using the piano. For example, is the person who is
going to use a piano a professional or a beginner. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">You might
want to consider purchasing a beginner piano and upgrade it as time goes by.
Beginner pianos are cheap and save so much space. They are a very good option
for anyone who isn't a professional at playing the piano.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What kind of finish do you want?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">When you
think about buying a piano, another important thing to look at is the kind of
finish that you would like your piano to have. Although this is not a factor to
determine how good a piano is, sometimes you want your piano to match with the
furnishings in your house. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Brand<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">There are so
many brands that make pianos out there. Each piano has a different design and
features. You may find some pianos are classy while others are not. You would
also want to try comparing the features of the pianos from different brands
before you choose your piano.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What's your Budget?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">If you are
planning to purchase a piano. You obviously have a budget that you would like
to follow. It's a very important factor because it determines what range of
pianos you should have a look at.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">If you want
an upright piano, they have an average cost that ranges from £5000 to £15000.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Grand pianos
range from £10000 to £50000. However,
not that the prices also differ depending on several factors. In addition to
the initial costs, you also need to take into consideration maintenance costs
that you will need to repair your piano at least every year after you buy it in
order to make sure that they do not depreciate in value.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Steps to follow when buying a piano<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Start by
making sure that you contact a dealer around your region. Make sure that these
dealers are registered. If you do not know, contacting them and finding out is
a great idea. Here, you should start looking for deals as well as what
warranties and guarantees they have. A reputable manufacturer offers a
warranty. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Next, make
sure you get assistance from someone that is an expert in the field. This
person will greatly help you in selecting a piano that has good sound quality.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The expert
will be able to look at the quality of the piano and actually determine whether
or not they are in a good condition. They will also help you in making
suggestions on durability of the materials used to make your piano. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Once you have
decided on buying your piano as well as the kind of piano that you are getting.
It's time to ensure that the dealer you are buying from is trustworthy and
reputable. There are several things that could help you in determining the
trustworthiness of a dealer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">For example,
how long they have been in the business, if their business offers any warrants,
if they are able to provide you with any testimonials when you ask and so on. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">When you are
buying, make sure you are buying because you want to and not because you have
been bullied for making such a decision. Most of the time, salespersons may
convince people to make purchases that are highly expensive. Therefore, what
you need to keep in mind is that no matter the size or price, a piano is a very
big investment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Buying a
piano does not mean that you don't have to have it inspected. That is why after
making your purchase, you must call a piano restoration company so that they
examine your piano and determine if it's in good working condition or not.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif"; font-size: 14pt;">This is because the piano may have certain
problems that you would not have noticed but a specialist will be able to
notice them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Finding the right piano is never easy. That is
why there are several things you need to carry out before you buy a piano. For
example, you need to consider the type of piano, size, your budget, and so on.
We hope the factors explained in this post will help you on how you can choose
the best piano for yourself. </span></div></span></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-89477428928685030142021-10-31T12:49:00.004+02:002021-10-31T13:07:39.057+02:00The Thing on the Stairs By Steve Sheppard<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEKsXTCANTJ3E2lh4Qw4nhx-ynQoMc3sTxC-d0cbSTwYT7xKtv_x-2RrgV9gXVdwWWaXjXugMGsVsIEoYAJ68XQKFIXmimkDPkioDs_2BihDoX85eLK7tReo8ctCqcDvgz7K4kfhM714/s1007/The+Thing+on+the+Stairs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="675" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkEKsXTCANTJ3E2lh4Qw4nhx-ynQoMc3sTxC-d0cbSTwYT7xKtv_x-2RrgV9gXVdwWWaXjXugMGsVsIEoYAJ68XQKFIXmimkDPkioDs_2BihDoX85eLK7tReo8ctCqcDvgz7K4kfhM714/s320/The+Thing+on+the+Stairs.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><b>The Thing
on the Stairs<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><b>By<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 18.0pt;"><b>Steve
Sheppard</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I can feel the room growing darker as I write, a storm is
gathering in the distance, rumbling low and ominous in a twilight that has
become somewhat premature, and here I sit, I know not how long I may have
before the thing on the stairs becomes, the thing in my room, but I will
continue to breathe, write and explain for as long as I possibly can.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">It started on my way home from a much needed holiday, I
pushed the door open to find the stairs to my upper chamber completely covered
with every single pair of shoes I had, including an old pair of tired worn out
slippers, and a pair of wellington boots used for memorable fishing trips. Some
of these items I hadn’t seen for years, some I thought I had thrown away, but
here they were, all cast asunder upon my stairs from first step to last;
needless to say my first thought was a burglary, but my first instincts were
not to call the local constabulary, but to pick up the nearest heavy object and
go a hunting for interlopers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course none were to be found and the next two hours were
spent tidying up this sea of errant footwear from my stairway, only then to fall
into a soft arm chair, exhausted and holding tightly a very large whiskey. Glancing
outside I could see the texture of the light of this late October day change
palpably, what was once bright and sunny, happy and soothing, now began to take
on a more oppressive and sombre mood, a storm was coming, however I had no idea
at that point the severity and intensity of that on coming rage.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I reached for my remote thinking that some music may lift my
mood and raise my spirits, with a sip of my single malt I pressed a playlist,
magical new age tunes volume one, however to my surprise Billy Joel and Storm
Front blared from the speakers, which was particularly strange as I did not
have a digital copy of that album yet, but here it was.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">In the distance I thought I saw a flash streak across the
violently waving corn field, a distant rumble signified the storm front that Mr
Joel purported to earlier sing about, was indeed a comin’! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I took both my beverage and my laptop upstairs to my bed
room, a place where I was more than used to spending time with myself, through
the window the sound of the wind rattled, just gently at first, just enough to
whisper the portent of impending doom into my mind.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Opening the lid of the laptop I sat in my soft and malleable
chair, I pressed a key that dismissed the Stonehenge wallpaper on my desktop,
and sought solace in my music once more, I actioned playlist 2 and again to my
confusion this time, I heard Andy Rogers and Halloween, a very intense dramatic
offering that set the scene redolent of the subject matter with consummate
ease, and then the electronic refrains of David Wright and Walking With Ghosts,
which was quickly followed by non-other than Medwyn Goodall and Demons, quickly
I pulled the plug from its socket, drained my glass, and reached for solace
from mister <i>Glenfiddich</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">I had never been one to have ever thought of anything about
Halloween other than it being a childish waste of time, based merely on
superstition and tall tales, but here was I literally living inside one. It was
at this point that I heard the first full crash of thunder, it rattled like a
thousand sabres before battle commenced, the vibration shook my very soul, and
the static in the air crackled like a hundred frying eggs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Then time seemed to stop, each breath I inhaled felt cold,
each one exhaled drifted across the room like fog on a November afternoon in
eighteen century London, and then the first step on the bottom of the stairs. I
discounted it to begin with, thinking that It was nothing more than my over
active imagination, I laughed expecting to see either Kings Clown wanting some
Candy, or Barkers Pinhead wanting something more than my dead lights!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">However the second, third and fourth steps changed this
cavalier attitude, each step was so heavy, so intense, so very vast, and if a step
can be, so dark. The whiskey no longer held any false sanctuary for me, and as
I sit, unable to move, I can sense the thing on the stairs behind me now, its
black eyes burying into my still beating heart. Its grin, an ear to ear macabre
sight that would be impossible to achieve with any normal human mouth, but its
stench, oh it’s disgusting violent repulsive stench was just too much to bear,
it hovered behind me now like a thousand dead bodies riddled with a multitude
of eager, hungry maggots, and like Stephen Kings Langoliers, I swear I can hear
them saying “We’re coming to eat you all up, because you’ve been a bad, bad,
boy”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">As the last clap of thunder raged across this pitch black
landscape, my laptop started playing with only the power of the storm as its
source, and the very last song I heard from its speakers would be more
terrifying than anything I was about to face, more evil than Black Sabbath, far
more scary that any song by Iron Maiden and Metallica would never be able to
reach the sheer depths of fear created by my last listen ever on planet Earth,
and now as my hands slip from the keyboard, and I can feel my eyes close, and my heart
slowly ceases to beat, that last demonic devilish song, the last utterance of
humanity I would ever hear, would be my own pit and pendulum, those two last
words, sung with such an evil intent……………………..Baby Shark!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-5642607940370398052021-10-14T18:38:00.003+03:002021-10-14T18:38:43.301+03:00Break in the Clouds by Emma Thacker<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoqmEHccGueQ5u7yU45uCFuT03Gzx3zRVvNukpbOTn7v50Ngms3S4U0RM9tWxlZEINhvgYMZXJuYptwACdKYMht1McUDcMv5hrHNNzBdWgXxO-Sal4sbHwW7bRWOSSL6u4oQOOcgyGSc/s400/Break+in+the+Clouds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoqmEHccGueQ5u7yU45uCFuT03Gzx3zRVvNukpbOTn7v50Ngms3S4U0RM9tWxlZEINhvgYMZXJuYptwACdKYMht1McUDcMv5hrHNNzBdWgXxO-Sal4sbHwW7bRWOSSL6u4oQOOcgyGSc/s320/Break+in+the+Clouds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 18.6667px; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Break in the Clouds</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 18.6667px; text-align: center; text-shadow: none !important;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; text-shadow: none !important;" /></span></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="font-size: 18.6667px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">For three days hence</span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">October darkened the skies,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Drawing in chilled whisps of grey,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Covering nature's bounty in harsh disguise.</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Rain slid like giant's tears</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">To mulch the rotting leaves,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Curtains closed,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Harsh electric sun,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Replacement in the gloom.</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Prelude to winter had begun.</div></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Upon the fourth autumnal day</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">I was taken by surprise,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Woken by the streaming sun</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Burning red behind my eyes.</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Once more the curtains opened,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Yet the chill still hung in the air,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Ocean sky,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Fluffs of cloud,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Dancing colours in the breeze,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">The day had begun!</div></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">This spark of hope</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">In an ocean of despair</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Crunched auburn leaves beneath my boots</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">And blew poetry through my hair.</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Birdsong, blackberries, diamonds on the lake,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Sunlight shining gently, so very awake.</div></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">And as the night came early</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">To welcome me to sleep,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">To dream of autumn days like these</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">And memories to keep,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">I know the darkness will return</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">With icy claws to lure me in,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">But if I listen carefully</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">And keep the vision in my mind,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">Spring will not be far away,</div></span><span style="border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; font-size: 16px; text-shadow: none !important;"><div style="text-align: center;">And winter will be kind.</div></span></span></div></div>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-30349234514157111522021-09-09T12:53:00.001+03:002021-09-09T12:53:51.355+03:00Autumn Sunset By Emma Thacker<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtksDnty0GqDXi172S4kiBfQmG6ykaIryH-V249cM-AzA5BJ9VMr4XxyycxWbdzF_AstPwmZDHFqY2dXZZ9Av6PIOcrgSFz6Ma6niHyrkwgv6NffPU62D6VT5rrQ3ziQ_Xt096x5zDmkc/s500/Autumn+Sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtksDnty0GqDXi172S4kiBfQmG6ykaIryH-V249cM-AzA5BJ9VMr4XxyycxWbdzF_AstPwmZDHFqY2dXZZ9Av6PIOcrgSFz6Ma6niHyrkwgv6NffPU62D6VT5rrQ3ziQ_Xt096x5zDmkc/s320/Autumn+Sunset.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Autumn Sunset</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Red sky at night</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Shepherd's delight,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As I cross the fields of gold.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The sun falling through</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Memories true</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As the autumnal breeze grows cold.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The sky is aflame</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And the clouds call my name,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">With glimpses of its kingdom within,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But on I must go,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For as we all know</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Those lands are for immortal kin.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Red sky at night</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Poet's delight</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As I watch the clouds paint a scene.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The skeletal trees</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Shift in the breeze</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As a tear falls for everything I've seen.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Yet the sky is aflame</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As my tears fall again</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At the beauty that must now sleep.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But on I must go</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As the sun sinks so low</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And the clouds into darkness seep.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And although I leave this place</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And clouds clothe the starlit space,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I have been.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I have seen.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And, when I dream</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I shall fly with the immortals</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The clouds at my feet.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">I shall fly 'till it's light</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Into poet's delight.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-89775454533274303542021-08-23T13:25:00.001+03:002021-08-23T13:25:17.066+03:00Art and the Eventual Journey of Life By Steve Sheppard<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Art and the Eventual
Journey of Life<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Steve Sheppard<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNXdYbbmb4d8XlQOpE-zmkwT5hHq_KSDAxnuCyOeTpD9qrzdbPxu_OT8f-aM1cJbBkkSq06HjzPWnM7beXIv0rIdg1przOm8bPgOzrMR9_xFVo8ZyjgPqWCZwYLaqSzEw6hsD4tr3Gik/s319/The+Arts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="319" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUNXdYbbmb4d8XlQOpE-zmkwT5hHq_KSDAxnuCyOeTpD9qrzdbPxu_OT8f-aM1cJbBkkSq06HjzPWnM7beXIv0rIdg1przOm8bPgOzrMR9_xFVo8ZyjgPqWCZwYLaqSzEw6hsD4tr3Gik/s0/The+Arts.jpg" width="319" /></a></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You often hear many people denying their own artistic
abilities, “oh I can’t sing”, “I could never learn to play the guitar”, “I
could never write like you”, “I am useless at drawing or painting”. Let’s just
look at that, someone has told you that you cannot sing, everyone can to some
extent or another, with application and a little training and a desire, you
could play an instrument, no, you will never write like me, but try writing
like you, again someone, more than likely a bad teacher or a negative friend
has told you, that your art work was rubbish, more than likely because it was
actually better than they could do, and they were jealous.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So when it comes to testing this, I am reminded of a story my
father told me many years back, he was travelling home from work with
passengers, and suddenly pulled over to look at the sunset, his work colleges
made fun of him saying it was just a sunset, I mean you see them every day, my
dad turned and replied “See them, do you <b><i>really</i></b> see them”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Think on that for a while, but my father was a good artist,
he enjoyed his oil and water colour artistry, and that’s the main thing, for me
I have had several instances like that throughout my life, and fortunately for
me I was keen to never let them go. You see I came from a working class
background in England, I loved my parents, but they did try and steer me in the
only direction they knew worked, it was the mid 70’s and the open factory gates
beckoned to me, like some monolith, a vampire of time, its doors opened wide
and tried to swallow me up, in a bid to lead a similar existence to my father,
of a 40+ years of servitude and little else..<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The main problem that I had, was I had one thing that was a
danger to all that was regarded to be normal at that time, I had an amazing
imagination and a powerful urge to create something artistic from a very early
age, sadly for me my parents sent me to a Catholic school where they literally
tried to beat it out of me. Then I encountered my first angel, I felt it
appropriate there to use a semi-religious term to emphasize this next statement.
I was lucky enough to be taught English by a certain Mr’s Robbins, now anyone
my age from England may remember the second name, if I tell you that she was the
sister of <i>Michael Robbins </i>the actor
from On the Buses, a classic TV situation comedy from the 1970’s, they were
both truly wonderful people, and though she will never know this, she was the
first person whom I’d met that would change the course of my destiny for good,
because she, unlike the nuns who enjoyed telling me I was a waste of skin, she
encouraged me to write, to use my imagination, to engage with the little artist
inside me, I think I understood that, I must have done, hey, hey look at me now
standing ten feet tall.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOB5PHHNk-Hwe94DwzaJfaZ6VNdiWe3EKkLfrCXGUjrqDN-XInXabUJuKab6fEs1aF21j5-50Qlg3ZkXPR68rqAmQYX8vNCztlJirCFfwrGSY92Ix4rc0bftjW_5JxXRwBsodjkfpx0fU/s400/HalcyonDays2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="400" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOB5PHHNk-Hwe94DwzaJfaZ6VNdiWe3EKkLfrCXGUjrqDN-XInXabUJuKab6fEs1aF21j5-50Qlg3ZkXPR68rqAmQYX8vNCztlJirCFfwrGSY92Ix4rc0bftjW_5JxXRwBsodjkfpx0fU/s320/HalcyonDays2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>I never let those words go, now how interesting is it that
when I first encountered what I now call ‘halcyon moments’, those segments in
life that appear to be utter perfection in every way, I used to hurry home with
an insatiable desire to write poetry, to create something that would be so good
it would make someone else cry because of the emotion contained within, because
of the descriptive abilities and mental perambulations I had manifested. Sadly
for me, I would generally get home from a nature sojourn, with a fist full of
words, and get from my then wife the two words a man, or an artist would just
hated to hear, after reading with such passion, excitedly I would ask with hope
“How was that”? The two words, would usually be the two words you would least
want to hear, a sterile and unfeeling “It’s ok” when it would have been better
to have heard, that was utter garbage, or oh my that’s so beautiful, but no I
got “It’s ok”</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Many a time I would take myself away into another room and
simply cry, but then came 1999 and things changed faster and more quickly than
even I had anticipated, as I found New Age music, interestingly enough Clouds
by Kevin Kendle was my first album, and from that day onward I was entranced by
an artist like Kendle, who could take a subject so close to my heart in nature,
and manifest from his mind music about Spring, Autumn and life in the wilds of
nature, that could have easily come from my own tormented brain, that day, the
moment when I listened to Cumulus from the Clouds album, was the day the artist
in me jumped out of the box, and made a run for it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHoqNgG2IHowgbrCB53SuLUwCqlXV6Bz5y5Hd-sku3VE9-iUfF83ojYz3Vz_XeBxI2-mJXQ1jjcUgSHgbixwF4lDjSzKT6BYp33oJA-bKpGnRVDT1jXT538WCu2pVaKjshefcoeI5ve4/s400/Clouds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguHoqNgG2IHowgbrCB53SuLUwCqlXV6Bz5y5Hd-sku3VE9-iUfF83ojYz3Vz_XeBxI2-mJXQ1jjcUgSHgbixwF4lDjSzKT6BYp33oJA-bKpGnRVDT1jXT538WCu2pVaKjshefcoeI5ve4/s320/Clouds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Never would I be caged into a life-style that wasn’t really
me ever again. A couple of months on, I had duties as a Postman to perform, I
liked that job, as it got me out on the road and sometimes into nature, it was
late September, the leaves were beginning to turn and summers grip had started
to loosen on the countryside, I stopped my bike and watched shards of sunlight
drift down from a pastiche of fair weather clouds, and create a stunning moment
of peace, beauty and calmness, something rare in my life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I stood and watched the moment slowly unfurl, birds flapped
into a dappled skyline, the sounds of the day floated around me, I now
understand that for a short period of time I was completely in the moment, I
had unknowingly accessed the power of now, and within my mind I could hear
music, the music of Brian Eno and Harold Budd, specifically the track, an Arc
Of Doves, and although I felt a familiar wetness on my cheeks, I was more happy
in that moment than in many others in my life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqvcnhvKgblGDOltGLFPLxCecNdRt9u7nP86v7BYyyUHGhpc60tZrzfXfskZjhiyK1Trm1hM5RrL3h1Msu_YyELdzcmuhvmiUPYzLwehozg9zVBoYBnOPZckVEmDtw5yysixaoZ5rIDo/s400/Ambient+2+-+An+Arc+of+Doves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqvcnhvKgblGDOltGLFPLxCecNdRt9u7nP86v7BYyyUHGhpc60tZrzfXfskZjhiyK1Trm1hM5RrL3h1Msu_YyELdzcmuhvmiUPYzLwehozg9zVBoYBnOPZckVEmDtw5yysixaoZ5rIDo/s320/Ambient+2+-+An+Arc+of+Doves.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This happens constantly now; I stood by a pond and heard
Kevin Kendle’s First Light, then on top of a hill on the Isle of Wight and his
Gliders track played over and onwards, I used Eno’s Music for Airports when
flying, all of these tracks have one thing in common, they kept me rooted in
the now, the only real place any of us will ever be, and created a sanctuary
for me away from the chaos of life’s turbulent roller coaster ride.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2da2Q-SmXz1VxwHdBNw1PvHft-rvg2oR22GBzD-6bfCvt9yZgQhewPWhgr2Ce0oOzQbiT87A6Hk0TRLMtdrT9wmSbwXO0gLbaduJIENmiLNa3GIyIGgMutFhakFmvhe3VBjP4HX1HENQ/s400/kkfl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2da2Q-SmXz1VxwHdBNw1PvHft-rvg2oR22GBzD-6bfCvt9yZgQhewPWhgr2Ce0oOzQbiT87A6Hk0TRLMtdrT9wmSbwXO0gLbaduJIENmiLNa3GIyIGgMutFhakFmvhe3VBjP4HX1HENQ/s320/kkfl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So knowledge gained and experienced, now some 20 years on
from my postal experience I followed my own path, my true artistic path, away
from the control and manipulation of others, and running hand in hand with my
true spirit freely, so for my parents who wanted me to work in a factory, you
had a son who is a writer, who owns a much loved online radio station, who had
a successful career in media and broadcasting before that, and now a musician, who
has now just recently just had his second number 1 hit single.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Life is something to be experienced; playing it safe doesn’t
work as your always playing to someone else’s agenda, feel the spirit of
artistic endeavour within if you if you wish to do so, and never, ever, let
anyone tell you that you are not worthy, and you will never amount to anything,
you are all sparks of a potential, that need to be turned into flames of
undeniable desire. Go for it, you really have nothing to lose, and you will
make the artist that hides inside of you so very happy. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-87179416744418984272021-07-27T10:40:00.009+03:002021-07-27T17:25:43.251+03:00The Prescription is Music: Entrain Your Brain<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="text-align: center;">The
Prescription is Music: Entrain Your Brain</span></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">By
Darlene Koldenhoven, </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: medium;">M.M.V., B.M.Ed., iLs-APP, NLP, GRAMMY®, Indie Music
Hall of Fame</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvMpMse-8IHoNBCPiITwYdfYr___OS2zGj8gJCIpgiX_EM5fBWM6gVM3WTNTKQ1HbdMU6jiOjQLkdldHWbtJnvJQXUfjLi-VIDVfwOwB5hN-x8zcaOO7UMd4FpP1mBS_DwvsQv-Pr86w/s600/Entrain+Your+Brain.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvMpMse-8IHoNBCPiITwYdfYr___OS2zGj8gJCIpgiX_EM5fBWM6gVM3WTNTKQ1HbdMU6jiOjQLkdldHWbtJnvJQXUfjLi-VIDVfwOwB5hN-x8zcaOO7UMd4FpP1mBS_DwvsQv-Pr86w/s320/Entrain+Your+Brain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">Entrainment is
basically how music works as medicine. Our brains are neuroplastic, meaning,
they have the capacity to change no matter our age. Neurons can be entrained by
a variety of nonelectrical stimuli such as light and sound and this sensory
stimulation can radically alter the frequency of our brain waves, to the extent
that strobe lights and some music can cause seizures in persons with a
hyperexcitable brain. Entrainment can clearly be measured on an EEG graph but I
hope we all have personally experienced entrainment by moving to a beat of a
song, for example. Indeed, when musicians/singers make music together, the
brain waves of the participants begin to entrain with one another. We know that
singing can rest the mind and singers entrain together to make beautiful music
when singing in a group. Musicans’ and singers’ dominant neuronal firing rates
synchronize. We musicians may call this, “getting into the groove.” So not only
were the musicians in the experiment run by psychologist Ulman Lindenberger in
2009 playing together in an ensemble, the coordinated ensembles of the neurons
within each player’s brain were playing together with the ensembles of neurons
in their fellow musicians’ brains! I personally have experienced this
entrainment many times, especially singing in several <i>a capella </i>vocal groups with no conductor. After a short while,
everyone knows when and where to breathe and how to phrase together without one
conscious effort to explain it to each other, in a rehearsal for example. We
just know! We keep ourselves “open” to each other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">Rhythms of
neuronal activity correspond to mental states. When asleep, the brain fires at
1-3 Hz. Awake and calm focus is about 12-15 Hz, worry and anxiety increases to
20Hz. Within the brain are multiple “conductors” generating the timing of these
rhythms. Neurofeedback devices can train the brain’s off-rhythms how to control
them. This is not sound therapy but training the brain’s clock by learning to
listen to and react to sounds so that a person is on-beat can be
transformative.<sup>1</sup></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">The <a href="http://heartmath.org/">HeartMath Institute</a> has a very effective type
of biofeedback device called Inner Balance, along with certain tools and
techniques such as timing the breath while taping into positive thoughts and
emotions that can help calm a person, increase resilience and experience more
heart coherence. It also can be used to open the gates to intense levels of
musical entrainment, allowing musicians to perform with each other at a much
deeper level; so much so that audiences can easily perceive the difference in
research done by Pianist <a href="http://drkathleenriley.com/">Dr. Kathleen
Riley</a>, Ph.D. who calls it musical coherence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZ8MCfwQrzctunetKRvP_APJOJWUUkpo6CMOghaMofFYG8AAIKAsDbkRuku3Gj8VUwv01rWaVhSBGF_06yAQKz1pisvSOHOvxrPWxHnhYaqyaQ4EhD8LKA_XeQBP6_ROqvp_Fds4olxM/s598/coherence-incoherence-blue-cs-v4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="456" data-original-width="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZ8MCfwQrzctunetKRvP_APJOJWUUkpo6CMOghaMofFYG8AAIKAsDbkRuku3Gj8VUwv01rWaVhSBGF_06yAQKz1pisvSOHOvxrPWxHnhYaqyaQ4EhD8LKA_XeQBP6_ROqvp_Fds4olxM/s320/coherence-incoherence-blue-cs-v4.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">Many brain
disorders are caused when the brain loses its rhythm and fires in an offbeat
way. This is where music therapy is promising for these conditions. In the July
25, 2021 episode of American television’s “CBS Sunday Morning” a young man,
with severe brain damage due to toxic heroin use, could hear (and feel) everything!
While everyone thought he was in comatose state, in reality he just couldn’t
respond to the sound. As part of his recovery, to assist with learning how to
walk again, a music therapist walked backwards in front of him, playing her
guitar with punctuated rhythmical beats to prompt moving of each foot. This is
a type of entrainment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">In his book “The
Brain’s Way of Healing,” Psychiatrist <a href="https://www.normandoidge.com/">Dr.
Norman Doidge</a>, M.D. devotes an entire Chapter to discuss Dr. Alfred
Tomatis’s research and methods of a type of sonic therapy Tomatis called
audio-psycho-phonology (APP) or ear-brain-voice. Due to limited space here, I
highly recommend reading Chapter 8 for a very inclusive overview of how the
Tomatis methods work and can help with brain, body, and vocal function. I would
say this is a similar but much more intense type of musical entrainment to
train the brain, than general music therapy. In describing Tomatis’s work, Dr. Doidge
says, “This was music medicine: using sound energy to form a bridge into the
brain, to speak its language.”<sup>2</sup> Dyslexia, autism, slow learning,
ADD, ADHD, PTSD, sensory processing disorders and much more are helped through
this pleasant type of sonic therapy. Tomatis’s methods are like going to the
gym for the two muscles of the middle ear which regulate the timing of the
impulses going into the brain. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">In the July 4,<sup>
</sup>2021 issue of the <i>Los Angeles Times</i>
I read a tragic article about Afgan <i>rubab</i>
makers and musicians. In a stark contrast to variety of ways we use music, personally
I have a deep compassion for musicians who are stifled, such as what is
happening right now in Afganistan where the Taliban is taking over and banning
ALL music, even classical Afgan music and musical instruments like they did in
1996. It is hard to understand why the Taliban would consider any and all music
<i>haram</i>, or forbidden. I can’t imagine
what it must be like to live in a world without music when one is capable of
hearing it and knowing what we know now about the healing music can bring. The
Taliban says music is like drinking alcohol. But I say music is the medicine we
all need to bring us together and heal the human existence.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><sup><span lang="EN-US">1,2</span></sup><span lang="EN-US"> “The Brain’s Way of Healing,” Norman Doidge, M.D., ©2015 Viking
Penguin (USA)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MbOG4izT9uSTQ2ezJEjZFyejLsLUDu2ky4PBUHLfH6yc9bLL750hCW-fzslsrTkf9gD8g_IqpwQsiD1C-h1AyOV1qYsZbRkSRMkqYa9VPu-WhQxCLdQMuutRqF1FXIanx-lGDQqPIHo/s512/music.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MbOG4izT9uSTQ2ezJEjZFyejLsLUDu2ky4PBUHLfH6yc9bLL750hCW-fzslsrTkf9gD8g_IqpwQsiD1C-h1AyOV1qYsZbRkSRMkqYa9VPu-WhQxCLdQMuutRqF1FXIanx-lGDQqPIHo/s320/music.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Darlene
Koldenhoven, M.M.V, B.M.Ed, NLP, iLs-APP certifications, Grammy Winner &
3-time nominee, Indie Music Hall of Fame Inductee, #4 Billboard charting artist.
Recording artist with several multi-award winning, #1 New Age albums, some
played in hospitals and hospices worldwide. Author, “Tune Your Voice: Singing
and Your Mind’s Musical Ear.” International speaker and workshop facilitator on
music education and sonic therapy. Private practice in voice and sonic therapy;
in person or remotely. More info at DarleneKoldenhoven.com,
ListeningMatrix.com, TuneYourVoice.net, WellnessVoiceWorkshop.com.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">©2021 Darlene Koldenhoven.
All rights reserved.</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-87446294031571847132021-07-09T11:37:00.001+03:002021-07-09T11:37:27.579+03:00Respect by Rosie Hamilton McGinty<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Respect by Rosie Hamilton McGinty</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8TuKIFq_I5JvSCaTq0pOD_kmqFGfhUtHVgRDdnPuwBZ86VhxMaVnP37SOa-NxxlUBp5E43vQD5x45EY43_twtYnUS5gH-6PqtvV2U1zkSuCvXG4u-0Gf23JIPL4OEduvStrnj3jlDmg/s600/Respect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha8TuKIFq_I5JvSCaTq0pOD_kmqFGfhUtHVgRDdnPuwBZ86VhxMaVnP37SOa-NxxlUBp5E43vQD5x45EY43_twtYnUS5gH-6PqtvV2U1zkSuCvXG4u-0Gf23JIPL4OEduvStrnj3jlDmg/s320/Respect.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">How to Earn Respect of Others<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">We all want respect in our personal lives and in our
professional lives as well. We want to be appreciated for the work we do and to
get proper recognition for our contributions. When our colleagues respect us,
they take us more seriously and view us as professionals who get things done in
the right way while applying professional standards and ethics. If you want to
be respected by everyone you come into contact with at home or in the workplace
you must learn to do these things listed below consistently. These qualities
show who you are and the values you uphold as an individual.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Be Independent</span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> and don't always wait for direction from others. You are capable
of<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">doing things for yourself. It starts with confidence and just one bold
step. Do it and believe in yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Always keep the promises you
make</span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">. There is nothing worse in life than
a person who promises to do something and then doesn’t keep their promise. You
become labelled as ‘unreliable’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Stop apologising. </span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Be proud of who you are as an individual, your specific talents and
skills, and don’t feel inferior to anyone. Yes, do apologise for being late for
a meeting that’s shows respect for yourself and the other person.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Don't
waste other people's time</span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">. With our
very busy lifestyles and schedules, no one likes people who complain all the
time. Unless you have something constructive to offer someone try and not waste
people’s valuable time. If you can do this it says a lot about you and the
respect you have for yourself and others and their time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Stop gossiping</span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">. </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">People
who enjoy gossiping about others shows a lot more about them than the people
they are gossiping about. </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Research shows that </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">people who gossip</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> the most have very high
levels of anxiety. They are generally not particularly popular because they
cannot be trusted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Stop being too nice</span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">. People who are too nice can become ‘door mats’, allowing people to
walk all over them and even take advantage of their good nature. Start setting
boundaries for what is and what is not acceptable to you in all your
relationships.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="trt0xe" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 3.0pt; margin-left: 18.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 18.0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family: Verdana;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Cultivate Humility. </span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Spend time listening to others and show you genuinely care about
them, their life and their concerns.<span style="background: white;"> Humility is
the quality of having a modest or low view of one's importance.</span></span></p>
<p style="background: #FCFCFC; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Respect
for others</span><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal;"> also involves asking more questions and
remain open to new ideas. People really do not like ‘know it alls’. People will
respect you less because they feel you don’t value them, their ideas or input.
It’s best to show people that you are open to learn and are prepared to change
and think differently. In today’s society your ability to ask questions is
truly valued, and this will ensure greater respect from others which we all desire.<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background: #FCFCFC; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Until next time,<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background: #FCFCFC; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal;">Rosie<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background: #FCFCFC; text-align: justify;"><a href="mailto:rosie@awinningattitude.com"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">rosie@awinningattitude.com</span></a><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p>
<p style="background: #FCFCFC; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal;">www.awinningattitude.com<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p><p style="background: #FCFCFC; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; font-weight: normal;"></span></strong></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6UkfqwcyPnME123lUEoqE13q7pwHfibZgUkp7QrCwg4ZkkYHDXrXnoe4d4CP5CphzX3lI16psqpqYSbjdE8mkw3gN6Ekt9gJH_Garnc9xdDis-N9yBGsgK2lylFAPjDaaWL-Hy27cks/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="105" data-original-width="267" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6UkfqwcyPnME123lUEoqE13q7pwHfibZgUkp7QrCwg4ZkkYHDXrXnoe4d4CP5CphzX3lI16psqpqYSbjdE8mkw3gN6Ekt9gJH_Garnc9xdDis-N9yBGsgK2lylFAPjDaaWL-Hy27cks/" width="320" /></a></strong></div><strong><br /><br /></strong><p></p><br /></div><p></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-53304222468276308382021-07-04T21:15:00.005+03:002021-07-04T21:15:55.299+03:00Summer Haze by Emma Thacker<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13iGpHXBV_j1jG_uqQpgYYqpKzlf8u-JZY_Ky6pJlPf7y4wjFlXvzZn-DnwmLWAu0d0g5lIoq8iVY6wFG_FJQC1QK1HRK9SPB9-fqJDw-QmavjWrqv8m45PMFfxKGg1cYqFLj5fCkMXk/s414/Summer+Haze.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj13iGpHXBV_j1jG_uqQpgYYqpKzlf8u-JZY_Ky6pJlPf7y4wjFlXvzZn-DnwmLWAu0d0g5lIoq8iVY6wFG_FJQC1QK1HRK9SPB9-fqJDw-QmavjWrqv8m45PMFfxKGg1cYqFLj5fCkMXk/s320/Summer+Haze.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;"><b>Summer Haze</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"></span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">The summer sun brings its warming smiles.</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Scented Rose petal love and walks for miles.</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">A summer garden's sensual gifts,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Sees bees hop from flower to flower,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Working in shifts.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"></span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Fuchsias dance in the breeze,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Like tiny delicate ballerina girls,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">As beautiful as diamonds,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">As precious as pearls.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"></span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Even the buttercups and daisies,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Sprout through the forest of grass,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Watching every moment pass,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">With smiles on their determined faces,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">For they appear in many places.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"></span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">And while I sit here in this garden in July,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Watching as the world goes by,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">The birds my orchestra,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">The flowers my show,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">I wish all days could pass so beautifully slow.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"></span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">I breathe in lavender scented air.</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">I sit and dream without a care,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">For while I am here nothing gets in the way.</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Nothing can ruin this summer day.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"></span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">For now it is just the birds and the trees,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">The scented air,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">The caring breeze.</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">For now it is just the flowers and me,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">On this summer day,</span><br style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;" /><span style="background-color: white; border-radius: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: #333333; font-family: NotoSans, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start; text-shadow: none !important;">Sat under my tree.</span></div><br /><p></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-71735231195127937182021-05-30T12:34:00.001+03:002021-05-30T12:34:35.905+03:00Stonehenge a poem by Emma Thacker<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF506suca7u2Er3MgF7EJjqihqDz5iI-1Zf7mNWxWWePQfo3MiO42fePYv7WhL2L10P738c3gAgEFAeq8s06PNi3E_rqzvxdZNGGi-k12yae3OYtPxR6mvGjj84hFUOGV_N1zaVWail3I/s533/Stonehenge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="533" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF506suca7u2Er3MgF7EJjqihqDz5iI-1Zf7mNWxWWePQfo3MiO42fePYv7WhL2L10P738c3gAgEFAeq8s06PNi3E_rqzvxdZNGGi-k12yae3OYtPxR6mvGjj84hFUOGV_N1zaVWail3I/s320/Stonehenge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Stonehenge<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Rays of
golden sunlight,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Burn the
memory of rain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Merlin’s
breath creeps forward,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Across the
Salisbury Plain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The warming
light grows stronger,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On this
magical summer morn,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To brush the
long-gone footsteps,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Druid born.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The land it
drinks the silence,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Before the
crowds amass.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One halcyon
moment beckons,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Future?
Present? Past?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">All as one
in this tribal beat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As the sun
cuts through the bluestone,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Shadows
dancing silently,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the
growing morning heat.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sarsen and
shadow,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Secrets to
bestow,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Myth and
magic,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Poetic,
enigmatic.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The only
living witness,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Rises higher
in the sky,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Unable to
speak her tale,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To agree or
to deny.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Still, she
shines on regardless,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Peering
through the sandstone door,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As the
footsteps of long-gone magic,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Echo to the
grassy floor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">So as the
golden sunlight,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Welcomes the
hanging stones again,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And Merlin’s
breath has vanished,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Across the
Salisbury Plain,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The day
begins anew,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As it did
five thousand years hence,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">With the
sun.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Witness,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And shadows,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">That lay
history to rest.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> written by Emma Thacker, hear Emma reading the poem to music here: <a href="https://youtu.be/j2UPwqRCQRA">https://youtu.be/j2UPwqRCQRA</a></span></p></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-88733356315040363892021-05-13T11:53:00.001+03:002021-05-13T11:53:27.883+03:00Is Music Worth Anything Now? by Andy Rogers<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5clqYwJlQMgz-sgxCsPNPM8w9sc5w-ElCYva67REpCwLZa93RlpsAuOjlWFeWQdxkHtNg04ef823Lex_ZW-vtQKPVxWrJoHTfdhNdLty-JQDiSn5UeepW2BO1UIsFPeep9KiTf7EAeBI/s400/Is+Music+Worth+Anything+Now.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5clqYwJlQMgz-sgxCsPNPM8w9sc5w-ElCYva67REpCwLZa93RlpsAuOjlWFeWQdxkHtNg04ef823Lex_ZW-vtQKPVxWrJoHTfdhNdLty-JQDiSn5UeepW2BO1UIsFPeep9KiTf7EAeBI/s320/Is+Music+Worth+Anything+Now.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I love music
– I always have. Remember that old song by John Miles? “Music was my first
love”… “To live without my music would
be impossible to do”… that could have been written by me. From the time when my dad gave me a copy of
“With the Beatles” back in 1963 right up to the present day I love having a new
album .. A whole new batch of songs to explore. Maybe it will be fantastic,
maybe not (!) but that moment where you hold the artwork in your hand just before
that first play is still addictive. <o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But the sad
thing is this. At the age of 65 I seem to have become a musical dinosaur. Part
of a dying breed of people who a) listen to albums all through and b) are
actually willing to PAY for the music they listen to. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s the
Spotify effect. You can get as much music as you want for nothing. No need to
buy any albums or singles any more, just log on, type the artist name and there
you are. Great. Unless you are the artist of course! If you’re lucky you might
eventually get some miniscule amount in royalties dribble into your account but
don’t hold your breath and certainly don’t rely on it to make a living. If you
actually DO want a personal copy well just get yourself one of the many mp3
converter programs and steal the track from You-tube. Pay 99p for a track? Are
you mad? The sound quality will be rubbish but you’re only playing it through a
tinny speaker on your phone anyway!!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All very sad.
And while I’m stood on this soapbox think about this: When this generation gets
a little bit older what music will they remember and cherish with those special
memories? Where is their “Sergeant Pepper”? Their “Dark Side of the moon”?
Their “Rumours”? The sad truth is this. Kids now just do not buy music. They
don’t buy singles (oh, they listen to them as I say, but they don’t BUY them)
and they most definitely do NOT buy albums. My lads (both in their 30s now)
couldn’t tell me the last time they bought an album. They don’t even want them
for birthday or Christmas presents. They just wouldn’t play them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Try going
into an “entertainment” shop like The HMV Store that sells CDs, DVDs, games etc
and by the time you’d got past the racks of games for X-box, PlayStation etc and
discovered the last few racks of CDs that are lurking in the darkest corner of
the shop you will find that, apart from one or two other sad looking people in
their 50s or older, you’ll be pretty much on your own. Anyone younger than that
will be back at the front of the store having gone into the store for some game
or other, a Star Wars Plushie or a new pair of Bluetooth headphones. What they
are not there to do is buy music. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Unbelievably
(and this is a true story) during the run-up to the last pre-Covid Christmas I
was browsing the CDs in the HMV store in Solihull (now closed down of course)
when two teenage girls came up to me, looking lost. “Excuse me” one said,
“Sorry to be a nuisance but how do you do this?” “How do you do what?” I asked...
“How do you buy a CD?” they asked(!)... The concept of finding the artist by
looking alphabetically then paying for it at the till was an alien concept. I
knew then the days of the record store were numbered.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So that, I
think, sadly is that. Music as hard copies... from cylinders to 78 records then
through Vinyl onto CD is as good as dead. Personally I will be very sad when it
finally happens. I love browsing in HMV or whatever CD shop is left (there
aren’t many now are there?). I like to see the new releases... or survey the
digital remasters of old favourites. I’ve always been able to spend too much
time (and money!) in Music stores … but not, it seems, for very much longer.
I’m going to miss that. A lot.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I'm a fan of
the little details… where and when was it recorded? Who produced it? Who
exactly is on vocals and who’s that playing that fantastic guitar solo? Oh and
while I’m at it, it’s good to have the lyrics too! Try finding that on Spotify!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">So to sum up
– and to return to the heading - IS music worth anything now? Well of course it
is, it can soothe, calm, energize, and take you up (or down) and above all it
is a source of all your greatest memories.
The trouble is, unless you are a very big name artist you are never
going to make a living with making music. We live in an era of disposable
music, people don’t buy it so it has no real value. Tunes come and go so
quickly that nobody has time to associate them with any special memories.
Nobody over 20 will be able tell you who is in the singles chart this week,
that’s a fact. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No-one of
this generation is going to have the chance to look back in twenty years time
and say “Ah yes! I remember buying this album – what a great year that was”. And that’s a shame, don’t you think? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjScFdrBE6pmEpEfdks1q6KA-8IAkGVQaW_9WgkLJIR275XAfaCPy1sSoA0izT9w0-ysAjexdj44no10W6QpSKqqeEtlQsiIYgQrH2JOfee2XYWz8Lw59T09SPJYKTEQEKY4g6J2jcyGRI/s539/Going+out+of+business.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="539" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjScFdrBE6pmEpEfdks1q6KA-8IAkGVQaW_9WgkLJIR275XAfaCPy1sSoA0izT9w0-ysAjexdj44no10W6QpSKqqeEtlQsiIYgQrH2JOfee2XYWz8Lw59T09SPJYKTEQEKY4g6J2jcyGRI/s320/Going+out+of+business.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span><p></p></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-33821277569481610372021-05-06T18:15:00.002+03:002021-05-06T18:18:52.833+03:00The Moonlight Adventure by Emma Thacker<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkt9kBzJ8OSXopKmjszIHEBtLvU35s2ZuXtQ09r4bIQ6_yRbQti1yJGiVxAJU9gbmTkkUgP2UbIbDW809G5L8C6vViMychKehJ05KeBnF_yQu4KvgxAY-H2YmI2_BTmP_UZ-t8mZMqkhM/s400/dali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkt9kBzJ8OSXopKmjszIHEBtLvU35s2ZuXtQ09r4bIQ6_yRbQti1yJGiVxAJU9gbmTkkUgP2UbIbDW809G5L8C6vViMychKehJ05KeBnF_yQu4KvgxAY-H2YmI2_BTmP_UZ-t8mZMqkhM/s320/dali.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;">The clock struck three,<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p>As the moon shone down.</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p>Drifting
colours,</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p>Blinking in
and out of existence.</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle"><o:p> </o:p>Swirls of darkness,</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Pushing me further
down the rabbit hole…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">And nothing…nothing
at all!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">So long, yet no time
at all,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">As I fall.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">One breath so fast,
and here,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Here I lay,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">But where is HERE?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Is it night or day?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">The past, the present
all combined,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Leaves questions
floating in my mind,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Yet soon they vanish
like bubbles in the breeze.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Where am I going?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Tell me please.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">I find a door, I must
go through,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Drawn inside,
floating along as if my feet had no meaning or existence in this realm.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Drawn into a familiar
place.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Before me waits a
familiar face.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">How long has it been
since I have seen you?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Since I have felt
your warmth?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Yet here you are!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Here you stand.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">I don’t understand…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">How can this be?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">What more can I see?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">As I reach for you
and envelop myself in your loving arms,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">All of time and space
becomes meaningless.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">The room fades into
the emerald emptiness of a field in summer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Sunflowers tower
above me,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">The yellow sea,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Stretching into
infinity.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Marshmallow clouds
toasted by the grapefruit sun,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Bring a smile to my
face as I wander on.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">I wonder…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">The madness so
ordinary,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">So seemingly clear,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">I leap and bound into
next year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">See the world as it
should really be,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">I feel it looking
back at me,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Yet it all falls away
again,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Time, memories,
images, pain.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Things that once
were,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Things that will
never be,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Things that make no
sense,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Things I try not to
see,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Things right now
confronting me.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">As I fall.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Into nowhere and
nothing at all,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Like Alice by the
riverbank with tales so tall.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Drifting colours,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Swirls of darkness,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">Pulling me back to
reality for evermore,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">As the moon shone
down,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal">And the clock struck
four…<o:p></o:p></p></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-70869336413254586512021-04-15T21:03:00.001+03:002021-04-15T21:03:33.611+03:00The Life and Legacy of Duke Ellington by Alice Ayvazian<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1I_um7zhPt05PHaE1-zQCgZO77ItW7ES5PtcbGXHnnvFKgUOF6PxvTRWNbxsoZzWkRhMM1Q3bqnVIoGDsLsMMntOQNDMCYQApbG2jQmHpawa-4XubtiK2Ovwsx3lzDJPuaXl5KTeGGfE/s411/Duke+Ellington+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="411" data-original-width="319" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1I_um7zhPt05PHaE1-zQCgZO77ItW7ES5PtcbGXHnnvFKgUOF6PxvTRWNbxsoZzWkRhMM1Q3bqnVIoGDsLsMMntOQNDMCYQApbG2jQmHpawa-4XubtiK2Ovwsx3lzDJPuaXl5KTeGGfE/s320/Duke+Ellington+1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Life and
Legacy of Duke Ellington<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;">by </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Alice Ayvazian</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Edward Kennedy</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> "Duke" Ellington is considered as one of the key
figures in Jazz history whose band and compositions shaped and influenced the
musical genre in a profound manner, producing a huge body of work which includes
original compositions within popular culture, as well as film scores, musicals,
sacred music and suites.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Born in April 29 1899 in Washington D.C.,
Ellington grew up quite comfortably since his father, <span style="background: white; color: #1f2024;">James Edward Ellington, was employed as a butler at the White
House. At the tender age of seven, he gained access to musical instruments
which intrigued him towards his early musical steps. Piano lessons followed </span><span style="background: white; color: #202122;">from Marietta Clinkscales</span><span style="background: white; color: #1f2024;">, which led to even a greater desire to
dedicate and pursue a future and a career in music. His friends started calling
him ‘Duke’, a nickname which would become his staple, due to his well manners
and sense of style, virtues which were instilled to him mainly by his mother, </span><span style="background: white; color: #202122;">Daisy (Kennedy) Ellington. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvgEMNHYFCYmUd9sH0e2x_vf8Z4OL_ugS1UX5MZftA0PfvD7P-YbL-B2-5KFgvPUXX9O6OAd-Osl9QelTNrVvOnTQ3akD-KGLpHQ6KDmlnsmYeRvZRzIYgxaEV2VUlLXMpGfpWjQFs0U/s490/Duke+Ellington+band.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvgEMNHYFCYmUd9sH0e2x_vf8Z4OL_ugS1UX5MZftA0PfvD7P-YbL-B2-5KFgvPUXX9O6OAd-Osl9QelTNrVvOnTQ3akD-KGLpHQ6KDmlnsmYeRvZRzIYgxaEV2VUlLXMpGfpWjQFs0U/s320/Duke+Ellington+band.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Young Duke
started listening to ragtime and was greatly influenced by that style of music
at first before entering the swing era. He attentively started to imitate other
piano players, especially </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202124; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Willie “the Lion” Smith and James P. Johnson,</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> thus slowly
crafting his skills. From 1917 and onwards, he started performing around cafes
and bars in Washington D.C. As time went by, he fully immersed himself in
performing and established his own group ‘The Duke’s Serenaders’ and later on
‘The Washingtonians’. He later moved to Harlem, New York to be part of the
Harlem Renaissance; a period of revival within the African American community
concerning the arts and overall culture during the 1920s and ‘30s. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6jeFrdpcEqKS9MXLpZqGmZgOyCfpdgTqTySUfUNkzao0LhyphenhyphenRI9nToEhiZkciuWDj0mRx4rF6c1x3hCaUJLqezMwCcvlroBmfy5c1jBYlgTRzw9qUyDLsAjjAwTWUz8SP_UWg5xsF6Mz0/s445/Duke+Ellington+band+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="445" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6jeFrdpcEqKS9MXLpZqGmZgOyCfpdgTqTySUfUNkzao0LhyphenhyphenRI9nToEhiZkciuWDj0mRx4rF6c1x3hCaUJLqezMwCcvlroBmfy5c1jBYlgTRzw9qUyDLsAjjAwTWUz8SP_UWg5xsF6Mz0/s320/Duke+Ellington+band+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In 1927 a great
opportunity appeared for Ellington and his group to start performing at the famed
Cotton Club, since King Oliver, a well-known jazz cornet player, bandleader and
Louis Armstrong’s mentor, had denied the offer of booking his own group. Thus,
Ellington took on the engagement for the following three years with a series of
very successful shows which mixed music with vaudeville, comedy and other dance
numbers. Through the course of those years, he became very well known
throughout the country, partly due to radio broadcasts recorded directly from
the bandstand. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSicku5hIs2jJGaUhHs_NV29Fa0BZ_sLYqweXN5r7cHKi0RVF05dC6lfe-1JrIDus89KFCRJ714g4BOHy_dg2YHub4i9GZC_ji56kG461v4FFJVLcUnhtYKCjDM1DHfjLXNUxWHMSjhM/s401/Cotton+Club+Stomp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSicku5hIs2jJGaUhHs_NV29Fa0BZ_sLYqweXN5r7cHKi0RVF05dC6lfe-1JrIDus89KFCRJ714g4BOHy_dg2YHub4i9GZC_ji56kG461v4FFJVLcUnhtYKCjDM1DHfjLXNUxWHMSjhM/s320/Cotton+Club+Stomp.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">By 1933 the
Great Depression had caused major damage within the music industry in the
United States. Therefore, Ellington took his orchestra overseas since they had
a major following in many other countries as well. Some of his well-known
players were trumpeter Cootie Williams, cornetist Rex Steward, and saxophonist
Johnny Hodges. Some years later saxophonist Ben Webster would join as well. The
band’s tours would continue for more than 4 decades where they would perform all
around the world. He first started working with Billy Strayhorn, a young arranger
and composer, in 1939 and started a joint collaboration which yielded many
hits. Out of the many now-regarded standards that were composed throughout the
years of touring, are ‘Mood Indigo’, ‘</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing’,
‘Sophisticated Lady’, ‘I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart’, ‘Caravan’, ‘Take The A
Train’, ‘Satin Doll’, ‘Cotton Tail’, ‘Solitude’ and many more. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKHOxHydLqtIhLZN9W9SCysFka1iSEUic1ZoogHndkAP3iwbSj0jhmvzuBZLXWorNNuqKxCM46EvA2amu4wwJk66Qdg4I8yMfnMfullV7fWRWERM1NyWjcLmWub_txaujJJlX4gXFshI/s466/Duke+Ellington+at+piano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="373" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKHOxHydLqtIhLZN9W9SCysFka1iSEUic1ZoogHndkAP3iwbSj0jhmvzuBZLXWorNNuqKxCM46EvA2amu4wwJk66Qdg4I8yMfnMfullV7fWRWERM1NyWjcLmWub_txaujJJlX4gXFshI/s320/Duke+Ellington+at+piano.jpg" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">In the 1940s and
50s he started composing a series of suites, through an idea he had of creating
Jazz pieces within classical forms. That body of work yielded, ‘Black, Brown
and Beige’ (1943), ‘Liberian Suite’ (1947), ‘ Drum Is A Woman’ (1956), ‘Far
East Suite’ (1964) and ‘Togo Brava Suite’ (1971). He continued creating his
compositions and participating in performances for as long as he could, until
he succumbed to illness in 1974 and died from pneumonia and lung cancer.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ellington’s </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">musical
legacy as a pianist, composer and Jazz orchestra leader, is a timeless
contribution to American music, which has transcended to various audiences
around the world. His love for his craft of composition and performing made him
into a legend within the Jazz world <span style="background: white; color: #1a1a1a;">with
a career that spanned more than half a century.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><i>“If jazz means
anything, it is freedom of expression”. – Duke Ellington </i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; color: #1f2024; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36.0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9h2DDp22er6yj14D9brGyGooV4AxuWwoYb64gYLvaO8-secdAo0OjhSdxzv40u6TvC8DJfOsDXM6XTUMjotNYFwScW7XkqcyVePgyE4w93zi4rZ6YUwLyuv7TFcd5fv9hUxxqQtHKa8/s464/Duke+Ellington+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9h2DDp22er6yj14D9brGyGooV4AxuWwoYb64gYLvaO8-secdAo0OjhSdxzv40u6TvC8DJfOsDXM6XTUMjotNYFwScW7XkqcyVePgyE4w93zi4rZ6YUwLyuv7TFcd5fv9hUxxqQtHKa8/s320/Duke+Ellington+2.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;"><br /></p></div>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-3056341104950171272021-04-11T19:27:00.000+03:002021-04-11T19:27:17.920+03:00The changing face of internet radio and the death of the chat room! By Steve Sheppard<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The changing face of
internet radio and the death of the chat room!<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Steve Sheppard<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What was once seen as a gimmick, perhaps in the same way as
CB radio, Internet Radio has now gone from a train spotter’s paradise, to a
multi-platformed broadcast service worldwide, what was once seen as a little
fun, a chance to be a pirate radio station, or an opportunity to invent the
most crass and vulgar shows, has now developed into a truly serious business
that unless you know your stuff, you will be gone in less than 60 seconds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVx4jbMgeCwL8okZlzwaIYCuQyAaTQeWd7Kfla0-jLYfdqJZvmBpIQr7GGQ3Q5fbPDTRf9gD8X1xGYLUk1Ys_6m02TZ7-UpqHzfEUUS_NggFiix9F3SylIUXYl9M3nnhW8q0-sChRiD0/s400/Steve+BBC+Sport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVx4jbMgeCwL8okZlzwaIYCuQyAaTQeWd7Kfla0-jLYfdqJZvmBpIQr7GGQ3Q5fbPDTRf9gD8X1xGYLUk1Ys_6m02TZ7-UpqHzfEUUS_NggFiix9F3SylIUXYl9M3nnhW8q0-sChRiD0/s320/Steve+BBC+Sport.jpg" /></a></i></div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br />BBC Sport Steve<o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However back in the day internet radio was at times a lot of
fun, but until 2004 I’d never heard of it, during the 90’s I spent most of my
time on sports reporting live at events with the B.B.C., we were still not
using the internet much at all in the late 90s either, and by the time we have
all got past the rather uneventful millennium bug, I was then working for
commercial radio on FM an experience that has nothing to do with music, but
where cash is king!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I must be one of the few presenters who also had a show on
the old AM wave band, which was to the say interesting, but the inevitable
happened, one of the fellow DJ’s at the station mentioned to me that at night
he lurked in the dark shadows of the evening, creeping through dank alleyways
and for 90 minutes became a pirate radio DJ! I asked for more details, and I
blame him for this whole internet radio journey, which started for me in 2004
and on to this day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It all seemed rather nerdish when I arrived at this station,
it was owned by two very odd individuals and housed in an industrial estate for
small businesses, which I guess gave it a strange form of credibility; later I
would go onto find out that they had none at all, oh and no license, not a
single legit thing that would make them legal in any aspect.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was that time that I became infected with the technology
called a chat room, a place where people could come into at any time it was
open, to leave your messages and suggestions for tracks to be played, and if
you could get passed the perverts, the spam links to grow your penis to a mile
long, and copious amounts of porn sites, it strangely worked.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtTF9ojNmd4TJyowGD43ZCAGD9j7cDouB4syeT72TjgEdhC_uPx8ROetH0XnZ9gbQeTbyaMLWUInNaQNfUDhrZAbj9ksVyyVm_b6O7VEjnEzDFi_8vsAUGsFWGDZxyNoZ7YoYfclwr5w/s650/Chat+room+pervs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtTF9ojNmd4TJyowGD43ZCAGD9j7cDouB4syeT72TjgEdhC_uPx8ROetH0XnZ9gbQeTbyaMLWUInNaQNfUDhrZAbj9ksVyyVm_b6O7VEjnEzDFi_8vsAUGsFWGDZxyNoZ7YoYfclwr5w/s320/Chat+room+pervs.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By 2005 I worked by day as a postman, at weekends for the BBC, during the afternoons as the weather and travel presenter for a commercial radio station, and at night, </span><span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">I would slip into my anorak and become, internet radio man, this was exciting, I could e-mail all of my 11 friends and 7 of them would turn up in the chat room for 90 minutes of music I wanted to play, which was amazing as on commercial radio at that time the computer choose for you and Motorhead back to back with the Spice girls never worked.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There were some fun times it has to be said, but as it was
largely unregulated, those who would never get a job on local or national radio,
now had a voice and the vulgarity and vile language was so bad, that at times,
the radio authority would phone the studio to complain, which I found strange
as this station was illegal, but never once did they ever turn up to check them
out, but here I was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>playing the music I
wanted to get heard, and I was getting a large following even back then, but
let’s get back to the seedy world of chat rooms and the internet stations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apart from my own, QBR as they were (they now no longer exist,
which is no surprise as they were run so badly that at times, they wouldn’t
even bother to turn up to the studio to open it), I have never graced another
internet based station. I have broadcast via the net for various BBC stations
but that is under the regulation of the same body for the main stations output.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So the chat room and emails were at that time, they way of
generating listeners, word of mouth and the occasionally lucky listener who had
been surfing the internet would be your audience. I stuck it for some 3 years
or so until I was asked to open up my first spiritual radio station, at that
time called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Southern Spiritual Radio</i>,
with reflection that was a huge mistake, as listeners expected to tune into
pastor Steve from the deep south, laying his healing hands of his brothers and
sisters from his shack in Alabama, not hear some British guy talking about
Reiki, Shamanism and healing Crystals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzs6JjxtywDopr7Ym_q-8Kcav8bErIsMdp1k55Sw5C7veGwcLmMnAzqg05gSX3e9_GJEz5ce4iPA0K_82mbazliV7v2cWoVDuShb8jXHvHzO9VmJnn67EMW9moQ9ykjG7OAs0PW3SWHQ4/s448/Spiritual.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzs6JjxtywDopr7Ym_q-8Kcav8bErIsMdp1k55Sw5C7veGwcLmMnAzqg05gSX3e9_GJEz5ce4iPA0K_82mbazliV7v2cWoVDuShb8jXHvHzO9VmJnn67EMW9moQ9ykjG7OAs0PW3SWHQ4/s320/Spiritual.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A salutary lesson in getting your brand right, this was now
2008 and the internet was the place to be, lot of stations were springing up,
but most others were amateurs and lacked the professional training of myself,
but the chat room was now at its height, although this station was not mine, I
was appointed station manager, we now had a radio station with a working
website and an abundant chat room. Unlike today, then you could judge your
shows listeners by how many people were in the chat room, one I may add that
was purpose built and on the front of the website.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By 2010 the owners closed the station and I opened up my
first business online which would at that time be called One World Radio, due
to my contacts over the years it didn’t take us long to establish the following
again, and soon I was hitting 5000 listeners a month, now note, even in this short
time of 2 years, chat rooms were on the wobble, MSN had closed their groups and
the Behemoth of what was now known as social media, and Facebook was on the
rise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzTfE94X9_pHVw9aW7Eur9QsIRlfi8ztioL9t8mRG0fyp-wQWhBtO85xtG3kHRT42imwZBeCRPZbawR5cBlyDYeo19RPDSVkwRcI0ORh3v3RQdjCEaTPmsoR-cYISqvyKo7fuW4Y-Aek/s1200/myspace.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzTfE94X9_pHVw9aW7Eur9QsIRlfi8ztioL9t8mRG0fyp-wQWhBtO85xtG3kHRT42imwZBeCRPZbawR5cBlyDYeo19RPDSVkwRcI0ORh3v3RQdjCEaTPmsoR-cYISqvyKo7fuW4Y-Aek/s320/myspace.gif" width="320" /></a></i></div><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /><o:p></o:p></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But, let’s just give a fading tip of the hat to MySpace which
was huge back then. Chat rooms, were a way of meeting up with your friends,
listeners and even the musicians all in one place, and apart from those wishing
to indulge in cybersex and other such bizarre dirty rain-coat menageries, were
now largely on the wane, so much so, that the website company we use, and still
do, Moonfruit, really couldn’t be bothered to compete anymore and simply stopped
the function themselves, and farmed it out to other companies if you wished to
have one, so communicating with your listeners was fast becoming a changing
operation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Interestingly enough, one has to stand back when talking
about chat and chat rooms; I remember working for BBC Surrey once and asked how
the listener figures were for last week’s show, and he said something that made
me think to this day, “Last week it was a bit quiet Steve, we only had 25
thousand listening” for him that was light, for me, for a 30 minute show, 25
thousand was beyond huge, so that many people wanted to listen to me for half
an hour and not turn off, wow, so it indeed it is all a matter of perspective,
and what you want to get out of the experience of being a radio presenter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One World Music started in 2013, we had developed away from
the static servers like Ice Cast etc. and chose Mixlr, a service you could
literally transport anywhere, and we trialled this before moving to Cyprus. During
one whole month in 2014, we broadcasted using Mixlr from our new home, easy. By
now social media had pretty much removed the need for a chat room, so much so
that we tried to invent one on Facebook, which for a while was pretty
successful, but internet radio had changed so much by then, that swimming in
the small pond was no longer an option, and the best way to communicate with
your audience was your output. A good example with my falling out of love with
chat rooms was that I found myself conducting one a few years back for one of
my shows, and found myself virtually typing my entire broadcasted audio onto a
Facebook chat room, a complete waste of time and frustrating as well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8uj_mfLyJ2jisbLH-jC2oJwu1Z-zjHFV1jQjG_isf_fmcFycsdv9Q8-QKw0Y2BJ-LUVbpnToGqxmQD3Dynqtu16VumLAWdWMMLHeo_2544wedVat_tXTr0ybM4h41pMOzENdZbuU4Cc/s900/mixcloud-vector-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="900" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8uj_mfLyJ2jisbLH-jC2oJwu1Z-zjHFV1jQjG_isf_fmcFycsdv9Q8-QKw0Y2BJ-LUVbpnToGqxmQD3Dynqtu16VumLAWdWMMLHeo_2544wedVat_tXTr0ybM4h41pMOzENdZbuU4Cc/s320/mixcloud-vector-logo.png" width="320" /></a></i></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So now we see the arrival of podcasts, thanks to PRS our
licensing company, they called me one day to ask me about my stations license
and to see if I had the correct one, during the conversation they informed me
about this sparkling new world of keeping everything on a cloud, now this
actually started for us back in 2013, and as a company Mixcloud did me a big
favour, as until then I would be only able to keep 10 podcasts up on my
website, now thanks to this cloud kingdom it was virtually limitless, and sure
enough it has worked brilliantly for years now. I have a feeling we have
somewhere in the region of 4000 shows you can access on our podcast service as
of today, and it is constantly growing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDy_G106U_3peZeAN90IcBLwiS-vjqYHlxNVN3PEAZTTPb4SpugpIt9dVL5lYWL02snTQerB5yMxYzHHAO7fREkNTJz9Av3t0jPOiZ6Y-AtV7wntvwCaPc3Gh_6x6Nyk01a3-qj4N1_w/s500/Mixlr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsDy_G106U_3peZeAN90IcBLwiS-vjqYHlxNVN3PEAZTTPb4SpugpIt9dVL5lYWL02snTQerB5yMxYzHHAO7fREkNTJz9Av3t0jPOiZ6Y-AtV7wntvwCaPc3Gh_6x6Nyk01a3-qj4N1_w/s320/Mixlr.jpg" width="320" /></a></i></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So we now had Mixlr as our portable server to the world, if
we wished to use it they also had their own purpose built chat room, and
Mixcloud had its own purpose built forum for every show uploaded, social media
had exploded, but so had the APP world of the internet, this was now the latest
big thing, what was once thought of as a hard thing to communicate with your end
listener, is now a virtual impossibility not to do so, which is a nice thing
for us at OWMR as 98% of them are lovely people.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So we stand above the coffin now, and look at the casket
marked chat room, I do think we banged the last nail into the most eager of
woods, by changing to our all singing and dancing responsive website, and
inventing the 6 hour constant live play of all shows on OWMR, listeners now can
now not only choose how to listen, but where and when they wish as well, for example,
those who wish to find me online during the week, can do so by logging onto and
listening to the shows on the first of our of 6 daily broadcasts on Cyprus
time, you will find me there listening, but now we have arrived at a very
interesting juncture in intent radio and chat, as most stations in 2020 just
stream endless ice cold streams of music, with no real soul.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The personality has gone out of radio, I’m now also a
musician and I adore it when I get one of my tracks played and they mention my
name on LIVE RADIO, oh yeah baby, massage my ego, there, you missed a spot, ah
yes, that’s better, but seriously we broadcast live warm content and include
real people to do it. I once listened to a station locally who tried to
broadcast a show with chat, and playing his music from Spotify, let’s just say
it was a little embarrassing. Imagine “So let’s go to our next track, this is Queen
and We Will Rock You” big build up and big silence as we hear “And we will be
with Freddie and the boys as soon as my Spotify stops spinning in circles,
wait, oh, almost there” You get my point, though things have changed, the skill
set of being organized and professional hasn’t.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So internet radio is now a technologically driven industry,
which at our age how we keep up with it is a miracle all of its own, but we
love what we do and I hope it shows. Gone are the days of emailing your mates
and basing your shows popularity on how many people roll up in a chat room;
only recently in fact last week this happened, Tuesdays is our main stream rock
and pop day, and let’s say that we were just short of 1000 listeners for 3 live
shows that evening, but with hardly anyone chatting in our Facebook group, and
this is where we enter the last phase of this never ending story, as there are now
so many platforms out there now on social media, allowing us to all pick and
choose our favourites, the biggest growth I have seen for us is Instagram,
Facebook is now just another fish in an already overcrowded pool, and perhaps
one day someone will go the same way as MySpace again, into the void of
irrelevance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The one thing that is certain in life is change, we can all
testify to that; while Chrissie and I are not getting any younger, I have a
feeling we will still be around in the once murky old world of the internet for
a few years yet, and instead of sitting up till the wee small hours talking in
a chat room, I now enjoy waking up each morning and answering all the messages and
e-mails I have got from listeners regarding my show, so the moral of the story
is, make technology work for you, never become a slave to it!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_FBmLNWXdWcQQtBAJ-g58gt66FW7QykqB-jnLzQKqYWbBgQdmAWE9ZmBcnIcjP5idA96axnvaAx2nSGDvlt4cAuYH1ldbfFHkGerrz7OBtWxLpqqddhUGqI5Q2ffDiaEMyejR89UP9I/s150/Steve+s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="115" data-original-width="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR_FBmLNWXdWcQQtBAJ-g58gt66FW7QykqB-jnLzQKqYWbBgQdmAWE9ZmBcnIcjP5idA96axnvaAx2nSGDvlt4cAuYH1ldbfFHkGerrz7OBtWxLpqqddhUGqI5Q2ffDiaEMyejR89UP9I/s0/Steve+s.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-47946037863920948582021-04-06T15:18:00.004+03:002021-04-06T15:18:38.721+03:00Through the Trees by Emma Thacker<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tqWVrI4aXacyXBeQowW9Xw0C_Ovb2wWXiQwJQjhyphenhyphenxtW9BUUgxmrxfGd8e-scMOvrLtiRUYVEegd4uJTciZhSg0pkKQGBgTe8v3mQIAcJKbirw5MPYn5cWrZ4HvK_-rvGLNIcWLBqE-A/s615/through-the-trees-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="615" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2tqWVrI4aXacyXBeQowW9Xw0C_Ovb2wWXiQwJQjhyphenhyphenxtW9BUUgxmrxfGd8e-scMOvrLtiRUYVEegd4uJTciZhSg0pkKQGBgTe8v3mQIAcJKbirw5MPYn5cWrZ4HvK_-rvGLNIcWLBqE-A/s320/through-the-trees-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><b>Through the Trees by Emma Thacker</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The warmth of sunlight<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Melting like butter on my winter worn skin,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">New yet comfortably familiar<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Like a glow from within.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Blossom by blue,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">All so new,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Branches waving,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Buds bursting through.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A call to awaken from tree to tree,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As the birds look around and feel what I see<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As I walk on my way <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Through the trees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Before long the spaces between skeletal branches<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Will be filled with green upon green,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The arc of those budding fingers <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Reaching for the blue,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Reaching out to the warmth and hope <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Of life itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Leaving behind the darkened crisp shades <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Of all their yesterdays.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I crunch them beneath my feet.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The past feeding the new, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Green on blue,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Sounds unseen,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">So pristine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As I wind my way<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Through the trees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">I breathe in to fill my soul <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">With the newness, the hope.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Memories of woodland dreams<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Dance playfully through my very consciousness. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Scents remembered as dreams become reality,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The slumber of winter soul's shut down<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Finally ceasing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Smiles and music,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Droning planes, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Insence and wine,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Time repeating time,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As I sit on a fallen tree,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">On my way <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Through the trees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The golden glow of sun on outstretched fingers<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Reaching for life in the cloudless sky,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Striped white by the trails of journeys above<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As life outside just passes on by.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The breeze intensifies like a warming hug,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Washing away the clouds of yesterday,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Washing away the tears,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Hope for the futre<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Understanding the past, the fears,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Reaching for the cloudless sky<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Green all around as birds fly on by.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Smiles and music,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Blue upon green,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Memories of all the happiness I have ever seen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Nature's power blown on the breeze,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">As I finish my walk,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">My walk through the trees.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-79854639820219545822021-03-26T20:35:00.000+02:002021-03-26T20:35:20.376+02:00Where Do We Go from Here? The new normal is a painful reminder of yesterday By Natalie Jean<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpChjnD-AQZLSJnVwAwrXQQhR5yx92W9YHDoeRU5KQF77IBUj38tAhce489Liu9whtBJ8jWakSxmrcUvv4bm7it_UB5ptrTSWZ3cWvyTjiFqThKl9XSrmU6vavD5HXwcMsciAUBy-3mSY/s600/new+normal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpChjnD-AQZLSJnVwAwrXQQhR5yx92W9YHDoeRU5KQF77IBUj38tAhce489Liu9whtBJ8jWakSxmrcUvv4bm7it_UB5ptrTSWZ3cWvyTjiFqThKl9XSrmU6vavD5HXwcMsciAUBy-3mSY/s320/new+normal.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Where Do We Go from Here? <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US">The new normal is a painful reminder of yesterday<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span lang="EN-US">By Natalie Jean<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">As I lay awake
at night, something that has become the new normal, I pinch myself to see if
this is all real. Staring at the ceiling, I ponder whether we will ever be
normal again. How did we get here, a pandemic, no real leadership, systemic
racism, police brutality, rioting, looting, lynching, marching, protesting,
masks, and no human touch? Am I to never walk alone, because someone will
attack me, because of the color of my skin? I wish it were all a bad dream, but
apparently it is not. These thoughts plague my mind. At one point, I was told
to see a therapist, that I shouldn’t internalize these atrocities. This is
true, but how can I not internalize things? I am black and living in America.
What effects one, affects me as well. But I am OK with me. I love me. A
therapist cannot answer the question, “Why do people hate me, because of the
color of my skin?” What have I done to people that have never met me? How do I
deal with someone wanting me dead? I do know that it is deeper than the skin,
but I would like that question answered. I do believe in the notion that
everything happens for a reason. Are we supposed to learn something from all of
this? If you believe in God, how do you keep your faith? How do we keep a
loving heart, and not wander down the road of darkness? I look at music and
think this is the one place where we can’t and should not be divided. It should
be a place where we can come together as one, enjoying a moment. Unfortunately
for some music genres this is not the case. Country and Americana say they
except all people, but is this truly the case? It’s interesting that it is
alright for Country/Americana artists to cross-over into other genres. But when
a person of color decides to create Country/Americana music, there is outrage.
It seems as though the doors are shut. You have to be extra special to be seen
and heard. I remember when Beyonce performed with the Dixie Chicks (now The
Chicks) at the CMA’s one year. There was such an uproar for one little
performance. How dare someone black try to crossover! But Beyonce wasn’t even
trying to crossover. It was merely a collaboration. Could you imagine what
would happen, if she wanted to become a Country Artist? Race has no place in
music, in my opinion. If you like what you hear, why should it matter? It
always seems as though, black people always have to fight for something. We
always have to prove our worth. Well, I Am Americana. I am here to break down
barriers. I am making my mark in the Americana genre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">I am an award
winning multi-nominated independent artist. The music world can be very tough.
Always trying to compete with mainstream artists. Always trying to be heard and
be seen. Last year, I decided how I really wanted to be perceived as an artist.
I want to be an effective player in life. So, I decided to create a social
message impact album. But what would I call it? What would it be about? I often
attend music seminars. They say the same thing over and over. Artists are not
writing or singing about the times, like they did a long time ago. So, I
decided to create a 15 song Americana Social Impact album. I must have had a
premonition, because all of the songs, deal with everything that we are all
dealing with today. Rape, racism, homelessness, gun violence, police brutality,
female empowerment, the environment, self-love, and immigration, etc.. I
decided to call it, “Where Do We Go from Here? It was released on February 14,
2020. I don’t know if I had a premonition of what was to come, but after all of
this, I believe that it was meant to be. So, the question is “Where Do We Go
from Here? How do we (all of America) rise from the ashes and create a better
world for today and tomorrow? Can someone tell me? “I refuse to give into your
fears, nor will I give you any of my tears” – I Am<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIhCmrH89N6Gmk74BlXLCyTLGNNFJ7D_JOUfD4yyWf2ZK-1z2by9atiZ4CjOaSlmOelOMRDLKMy40wvAFo_1VJxYcYlMkiNh40aeVtJnEMyvHuuDz3gDlvgbxKVkZgW-_pQarl-AegZI/s400/Where+do+we+go+from+here.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIhCmrH89N6Gmk74BlXLCyTLGNNFJ7D_JOUfD4yyWf2ZK-1z2by9atiZ4CjOaSlmOelOMRDLKMy40wvAFo_1VJxYcYlMkiNh40aeVtJnEMyvHuuDz3gDlvgbxKVkZgW-_pQarl-AegZI/s320/Where+do+we+go+from+here.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><p></p></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-85018260116312577822021-03-11T18:33:00.003+02:002021-03-11T18:35:20.389+02:00New Habits for Success by Rosie Hamilton McGinty<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismXJRiYo72eRipDxmM99XGneu1d7SJajWNMakmeyx_82RJ7r1_U1cpjeGylgdAsG_nnfZ8mFfCllu-REiyX2E2nrbs3A73Jmw83ktjbly3OwVtIdsFtwYFwDp6aq9qnPYJ8IrO5gP2dc/s200/Rosie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismXJRiYo72eRipDxmM99XGneu1d7SJajWNMakmeyx_82RJ7r1_U1cpjeGylgdAsG_nnfZ8mFfCllu-REiyX2E2nrbs3A73Jmw83ktjbly3OwVtIdsFtwYFwDp6aq9qnPYJ8IrO5gP2dc/s0/Rosie.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>New Habits for Success</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Sometimes the only difference between being successful
and being average is having successful habits. Some examples of successful
habits could be getting up earlier, doing things when they need to be done,
being prepared, or good effective time management.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>So how do you start to build these success habits in your
life? Here are some A Winning Attitude tips on creating successful habits.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>1. Identify - Find the areas in your life that need
changing, and be honest. Write down these new habits that need to be formed.
Don’t become overwhelmed at trying to figure out how you are going to form all
of these habits at once. One step at a time is my motto.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>2. Pick 2 - Most people sabotage themselves by trying to
change everything at once. Instead, pick one major and one minor habit that you
want to form. For the next 30-90 days these will be the success habits that you
will create.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>3. Start small - Now that you have your two new success
habits, create a daily or weekly routine that is easy to follow. For instance,
let’s say that you want to wake up an hour earlier so that you can get more
successful things done. Instead of setting your alarm an hour earlier right at
the beginning, only set it 5 to 10 minutes earlier every morning until you
reach your goal. This way it would take you 30 days or 12 days respectively to
create your success habit.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>4. Repeat - Once you have created your new habits move on
to the next two success habits that you want to create. Before you know it you
will have created a whole new life full of success filled habits.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Note: Take a look at a successful person in your life and
look at their habits; they will have a strict routine of when they go to bed,
when they awake, and a planned day ahead of what they wish to achieve before
the end of the day. Anything that isn’t accomplished would be carried over to
the next day as a priority.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Just imagine where you will be in one year if you follow
these A Winning Attitude keys to creating successful habits. If it takes you up
to 30 days to create 2 habits, you will have created 12 success habits in just
one year.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>With a positive attitude to create new successful habits
into your life you will find both your energy levels and well-being will
improve enormously. A definite win-win situation for everyone who steps out of
their comfort zone and into a new life and new way of thinking.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Until next time.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Rosie<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.awinningattitude.com/"><b>www.awinningattitude.com</b></a><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu21ObiN9I28iUkQjDkX13hocuZHfjmOgCpP-Ba-IanB3vJdy7u1RA5iRbplhKnv555qUPw7jFcBEiyOhEOidE5wKrYcBJZRczIOkXffG2IWrQWGtjhi6gRx3c3q_QKdXpGwe__i5gIeQ/s315/A+Winning+Attitude.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="118" data-original-width="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu21ObiN9I28iUkQjDkX13hocuZHfjmOgCpP-Ba-IanB3vJdy7u1RA5iRbplhKnv555qUPw7jFcBEiyOhEOidE5wKrYcBJZRczIOkXffG2IWrQWGtjhi6gRx3c3q_QKdXpGwe__i5gIeQ/s0/A+Winning+Attitude.png" /></a></div><p></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-34574396324461163852021-03-10T18:51:00.006+02:002021-03-10T18:51:40.937+02:00Kerry's Corner #9 The Rise of New Age Music<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kerrys Corner – The Rise
of New Age<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Hello Music Lovers it’s “Kerry’s Corner” time again, this is
my 9<sup>th</sup> article, where I delve into the lives and works of the GREAT
COMPOSERS!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohtQAMRdd25DtYIxDUSl8fZAbNIJ19ItQdtlOZixVhzm5FzIiJdRQWDTomoJjpbqzUnsjFkxNZyCHPJSFl_tPrJkCHpbNEHfvgTLyF8GZldAIeX05yIG2lVtocQ6O1RFwFYnX2gD-pDw/s248/Debussy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohtQAMRdd25DtYIxDUSl8fZAbNIJ19ItQdtlOZixVhzm5FzIiJdRQWDTomoJjpbqzUnsjFkxNZyCHPJSFl_tPrJkCHpbNEHfvgTLyF8GZldAIeX05yIG2lVtocQ6O1RFwFYnX2gD-pDw/s0/Debussy.png" /></a></div><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Claude Debussy<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Rise Of A New Age</span></b></p><o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The harmonic tonal framework of the Baroque and Classical
eras remained common currency until the turn of the 20<sup>th</sup> century,
when the magic of impressionism came to the fore. Of course we all know of
Debussy, and how he loosened the hold of tonality.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And…….at the same time in Germany, the Expressionist Arnold
Schoenberg was working on a completely new harmonic system, based on the principle
of the ‘equality’ of the 12 notes of the Western scale.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFGzA4UMumeXTIvywUDbBKSsRXEG2IL4BEAGS1LpEOA17_Xf2OrmMnadq34O0N1G_Edm2YkY9NmxGZSLh6tC7LI_Cmb3ZQzbVJ_pOLVobi47viSEjYvJYKetZnokrK_uaK2444ewW-9I/s259/Arnold+Schoenberg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="259" data-original-width="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFGzA4UMumeXTIvywUDbBKSsRXEG2IL4BEAGS1LpEOA17_Xf2OrmMnadq34O0N1G_Edm2YkY9NmxGZSLh6tC7LI_Cmb3ZQzbVJ_pOLVobi47viSEjYvJYKetZnokrK_uaK2444ewW-9I/s0/Arnold+Schoenberg.png" /></a></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Arnold Schoenberg</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Schoenberg’s 12-note system destroyed common harmony as we
know it, and a lot of people didn’t like it, even to this day he is considered
a ‘difficult’ composer, however he had a lot of influence on future composers
such as Berg, Webern and Messiaen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The innovations of Debussy and Schoenberg, coupled with raw
and exotic harmonies and rhythms of Russian folk music, went on to massively
influence Stravinsky, and especially his works entitled The Firebird and The
Rite Of Spring.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOf0yMgt8MfXKb6lrwwxUZdIauUAjla2aB80fmZQovHbp-buNPL1xToESkqct1gAkgQ5bLjPqWrIabTGPz7972t9IjJf7iDgy5TfbTllfHFkNB1HWxYJn2FEnuVnkz02mXRTW8PxBpF4A/s224/Stravinsky.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOf0yMgt8MfXKb6lrwwxUZdIauUAjla2aB80fmZQovHbp-buNPL1xToESkqct1gAkgQ5bLjPqWrIabTGPz7972t9IjJf7iDgy5TfbTllfHFkNB1HWxYJn2FEnuVnkz02mXRTW8PxBpF4A/s0/Stravinsky.png" /></a></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Stravinsky<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Stravinsky always tried to keep in fashion with his music,
and near the end of his life produced a string of original masterpieces and
constantly reinventing his style, to accommodate changing tastes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwJpcKpuE0nTzwTIX8DNqihvhwhdo2ovXoZsFRlhVzXtdxf38zPSnlvvWf8POfSObjqkEuV08YBod1jfqk_8hgD1Qu7Tkrn_9y90jckzC1JhogMj8sOs2I80bjb6XMkqCppq424KbRU0/s287/Prokofiev.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwJpcKpuE0nTzwTIX8DNqihvhwhdo2ovXoZsFRlhVzXtdxf38zPSnlvvWf8POfSObjqkEuV08YBod1jfqk_8hgD1Qu7Tkrn_9y90jckzC1JhogMj8sOs2I80bjb6XMkqCppq424KbRU0/s0/Prokofiev.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">Prokofiev</span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;"><br /></span></b></div><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">His compatriots Prokofiev and Shostakovich made great strides
and offerings to music of the 20<sup>th</sup> century…..Prokofiev-ballets,
operas and concertos, and Shostakovich-symphonies and string quartets.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZp3FNhMFauR40IYKrwB75rx9yCkiqklpGAUq1qXchKMLJlXNxeZZftxqQuskSYQ0NeMQB0DE39osZ4QOXJBgxQ_QkReTQhvoKfUaZwRqCJkP_wEBOezFs-Jbf2HWGFXb6ZpQmbpxGt9A/s247/Shostakovich.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZp3FNhMFauR40IYKrwB75rx9yCkiqklpGAUq1qXchKMLJlXNxeZZftxqQuskSYQ0NeMQB0DE39osZ4QOXJBgxQ_QkReTQhvoKfUaZwRqCJkP_wEBOezFs-Jbf2HWGFXb6ZpQmbpxGt9A/s0/Shostakovich.png" /></a></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19.9733px;">Shostakovich</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Moving into Central Europe now with two others, namely Bela
Bartok and Janacek, Bartok was a maniacal collector of Folk Songs, and Mr. J’s
operas are now very famous masterpieces.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ioTIcAYzzbHTxGGOI-tgUKZhzQe-B19xu7554uub4uiurlK6BOf3m9Pk7L0hyqjPZAlLaqkMXcJnjugvWix3a18i3kbD_p2PGrGExEFuBoqEEnZxLjVnOJPK8JWRzvXNDPx_7ZkStKM/s290/Bartok.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="174" data-original-width="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ioTIcAYzzbHTxGGOI-tgUKZhzQe-B19xu7554uub4uiurlK6BOf3m9Pk7L0hyqjPZAlLaqkMXcJnjugvWix3a18i3kbD_p2PGrGExEFuBoqEEnZxLjVnOJPK8JWRzvXNDPx_7ZkStKM/s0/Bartok.png" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bartok</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYIjje3zwQF8DutvXZwikoN3_6JSJVNyy26Gb9SuJ8lycCoQZdEGXCMDSo-Bm1tOamY2EROhLYySInKoaOQfB0ZCVdbwfnLRA-C1oxvk950mEKuyY04y7hI9kmfx6osjiczrOH-DnTDo/s274/Janacek.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYIjje3zwQF8DutvXZwikoN3_6JSJVNyy26Gb9SuJ8lycCoQZdEGXCMDSo-Bm1tOamY2EROhLYySInKoaOQfB0ZCVdbwfnLRA-C1oxvk950mEKuyY04y7hI9kmfx6osjiczrOH-DnTDo/s0/Janacek.png" /></a></b></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Janacek<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The political scene in Europe in the mid-20<sup>th</sup>
century, drove many fine composers into exile to America, including Schoenberg
and Bartok, (must interject here with a little memory I have of Mr B ……as part
of my studies many years ago now, I had to study the score of Bartok’s
“Concerto for Orchestra’, on the face of it that doesn’t seem so bad, but
unfortunately Bartok never used ‘key-signatures’ in his work, one of the first
to do so, consequently then virtually every other note had a sharp or flat sign
in front of it which meant the score looked like a million baby spiders
crawling all over it! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly
concentrated my mind), but the USA had its own home-grown composers such as
Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Ives and John Cage. The latter
experimented with new composing techniques like the ‘Prepared-Piano’ where he
attached many bizarre objects like laundry pegs to the piano strings to see
what that sounded like … and of course his ‘silent’ composition’ where nobody
plays anything for over 4 minutes!<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_ivBXoAM9KfdNpdvBszME7qOibiBusQuRKMrr6GBLaqRk1Jmi66WRSlppTJ0MEzMjdsCv1sVNEvY7IT7VukstWioSMGu5Nw3EEdK1R0GpwYn700-mQD6ladNJvrn9qgkDipQw4JmYms/s246/John+Cage.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq_ivBXoAM9KfdNpdvBszME7qOibiBusQuRKMrr6GBLaqRk1Jmi66WRSlppTJ0MEzMjdsCv1sVNEvY7IT7VukstWioSMGu5Nw3EEdK1R0GpwYn700-mQD6ladNJvrn9qgkDipQw4JmYms/s0/John+Cage.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">John Cage above, ‘preparing’
a piano!</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And then there was Aleatory music (music by chance) and
Polytonality (music played in different keys at the same time), blimey what a
cacophony!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed my rather ‘alternative’ article,
and I’m off to compose some silence at the piano … brilliant, just finished it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Enjoy this marvellous video below of part of Stravinsky’s
“Rite Of Spring”<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkwqPJZe8ms" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jy-4WM1NBfBLFMP00mWxQHN9t7FiEok2T2zyPuYphPvnt4dskqvO47tC1IX0JyaTz6fzH1pqdg4C8h95B3CnHmwchj8eZC0LRh0rl-gJib7_0YOjxY9l2DXYXXzD5igCfi9kcIpFy8o/w629-h472/Rite+of+Spring.png" width="629" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-22704953770909826512021-02-19T17:47:00.002+02:002021-02-19T17:47:32.733+02:00The Prescription is Music: Piano – the Grand Emotional Equalizer<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>The
Prescription is Music: Piano – the Grand Emotional Equalizer<o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">
</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>By
Darlene Koldenhoven, </b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>M.M.V., B.M.Ed., iLs-APP, NLP, GRAMMY®, Indie Music
Hall of Fame</b><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1mLyA4WpCTdux0q-XMreYVc7iCIbK2nkWtUMwzdt1wRtjJ_nsaTAvo_-OABGojmWcifgtyAdvVZxOn1A4BYJKtcZaEJ7g-1F6VVLwP4b0-yzj5Gsapwrhicm2hKtpV11dtcDivWqe7k/s800/Piano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1mLyA4WpCTdux0q-XMreYVc7iCIbK2nkWtUMwzdt1wRtjJ_nsaTAvo_-OABGojmWcifgtyAdvVZxOn1A4BYJKtcZaEJ7g-1F6VVLwP4b0-yzj5Gsapwrhicm2hKtpV11dtcDivWqe7k/s320/Piano.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">The Piano is the
orchestra of the soul. It has the frequency range, the dynamic depth, the
rhythmic pulse, the expressivity of an orchestra although it cannot “sing” like
a violin even though it has strings. It is considered to be in the percussion
family because the strings are struck with its hammers. Its limitation is that
it can only sustain a tone for only several seconds even with the use of its
sustain pedal. But if played with the intention of singing, an excellent
pianist can make that piano “sing.” The human voice, whether singing or
speaking, expresses and evokes emotion. The human pianist best evokes emotion
when the thread of his/her preparation is in alignment with his/her intention
and feeling, whether improvising a piece or having learned one from memory,
whether played by ear or learned from notes on a musical staff. The author
Malcom Gladwell in his book <i>Outliers</i>
tells us that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master at one’s instrument or
skill of any kind; but, even at 2,000 hours, one can begin to enjoy their
efforts. The more one became skillful at the instrument, the more it allowed the
facilitation of the freedom of expression to thrive musically. Although
sometimes just banging on the piano, like a toddler, has its place in the
spectrum of emotional release.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">My relationship
to the piano began at age 7 when my parents brought a lovely upright piano into
our home. I was not allowed to touch it all and never did; but my mother would
have me lie down under the piano bench with coloring book and crayons while she
practiced her beginning lessons. One day, out of exasperation, I got up and
told her she kept playing the wrong note and I showed her what note she should
be playing. She looked at the music, looked at my finger on the correct note
(an E above middle C instead of her F, as I will never forget), freaked out,
banged the lid down on the keys and never played the piano again! The local
piano teacher unfortunately told her not to start me on lessons until I was 9. My
curiosity and frustration began, yet, I never touched that piano. When I
finally began lessons, I hated that she made me practice diligently everyday,
but only my lesson, and never just to improvise or play to have fun. That was a
big mistake on her part. Never-the-less, later in life she told me that when I
was having a bad day at school or I was frustrated about something, I would
“take it out on the piano.” I would play my lesson pieces extra loudly, for
example. As the minutes elapsed, my emotion would subside as it transferred out
of me and into the musical vibration of the piano and life would be better. Not
realizing what was happening until I was much older, I had innately figured out
that the release of one’s emotions in a good way, enhances physical and mental
health.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">Now as I prepare
for the release of my first solo piano album, <i>The Grand Piano Spa</i> and upcoming concerts, all the practicing I
hated as a child, I now selfishly enjoy immensely, because I am aware of how
much joy, release, grounding, and connection, it brings to me. As a sound
healer, my intention is to transfer that pleasure to my listeners. Playing the
piano has become my emotional equalizer, my daily dose of good medicine to get
me through the isolation of this pandemic and all the baggage that comes with
it. As a listener, perhaps the solo piano is good medicine for you too, like
having a good friend with whom to make a healing connection.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">There is
something about listening to a solo pianist that is almost voyeuristic, as if
peering into the soul of that person. Even more so if listening from another
room of the house or with your eyes closed in an auditorium. The privacy is
enthralling. A unique place of audience is lying down under a grand piano while
the player plays. It can be a most relaxing, even meditative, experience,
almost other worldly, as one can be totally immersed in the vibration of the
instrument. I’ve invited many a friend to undergo (as it were) that sensation
to their utter delight. Sometimes, I will use it as a gateway to using
vibration for healing purposes with my clients. If you can’t find your way
underneath a grand piano being played, there are many solo piano albums by a
variety of artist from Classical to New Age to help you achieve balance and
connection in life. Just put on the headphones if you have them, lie down,
listen and imagine you are under that grand instrument, that grand emotional
equalizer, that carries away all the stress and cares of the day . . . almost like
being at a spa, enjoying a lovely, restorative bath of sound.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span lang="EN-US">###</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Darlene
Koldenhoven, M.M.V, B.M.Ed, NLP, iLs-APP certifications, Grammy Winner &
3-time nominee, Indie Music Hall of Fame Inductee. Recording artist with several
multi-award winning, #1 New Age albums, some played in hospitals and hospices worldwide.
Author, “Tune Your Voice: Singing and Your Mind’s Musical Ear.” International
speaker and workshop facilitator on music education and sonic therapy. Private
practice in voice and sonic therapy; in person or remotely. More info at <a href="http://DarleneKoldenhoven.com">DarleneKoldenhoven.com</a>, <a href="http://ListeningMatrix.com">ListeningMatrix.com</a>, <a href="http://TuneYourVoice.net">TuneYourVoice.net</a>,
<a href="http://WellnessVoiceWorkshop.com">WellnessVoiceWorkshop.com</a>.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">©2021 Darlene Koldenhoven.
All rights reserved.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-71934447185413993322021-02-17T18:03:00.000+02:002021-02-17T18:03:02.377+02:00Art for Art’s Sake By Steve Sheppard<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3piEGdzJv2sAdBaLuLkd05DFDA_8UN-o3PyVqkjVMowLHdqSPasrqynDjOJ3OkyDgdzc-nIDP7L9uwafsFDkqyQxSXTJ3u5Bf3L_ZRc5Kmob5ovjAcuw9yJjABbUkl0gNrl88gzi7b-Q/s450/Art+for+Arts+Sake.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3piEGdzJv2sAdBaLuLkd05DFDA_8UN-o3PyVqkjVMowLHdqSPasrqynDjOJ3OkyDgdzc-nIDP7L9uwafsFDkqyQxSXTJ3u5Bf3L_ZRc5Kmob5ovjAcuw9yJjABbUkl0gNrl88gzi7b-Q/s320/Art+for+Arts+Sake.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Art for Art’s Sake<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Steve Sheppard<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can remember the days when album or single art was as
important as the music itself, the cover art spoke volumes on what was going to
be found deep inside by the buyer, and I can also remember even buying an album
or two based solely on the art work, I would bet that never happens now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whilst some are producing some amazing graphics to represent
their musical collections, others can simply, or so it seems, not be bothered,
this lackadaisical and indifferent attitude to music needs to be reversed, and
quickly, as art surely goes hand in hand with art doesn’t it?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can remember the good old days of the 70’s with artists
like Roger Dean, a man who created many a masterpiece, think of the band Yes
and you will surely be in agreement, or maybe the sometimes surreal works of
Hipgnosis with his sublime creations for Led Zeppelin, Sabbath, AC/DC and many
more.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJXduwq9SlnALkhbcuWP65hyphenhyphenOriPTynf3Nr9A0GTC_nwRjYBGRf8mxiyMIqY46ROgARCnJDE8GD2WchitkkUrGOxYsjp-QGm9O5Bec4EYe7uRFw2_jpRjBIhkxq9MQCvsKdzbY-62II0/s600/Yes+and+Led+Zeplin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJXduwq9SlnALkhbcuWP65hyphenhyphenOriPTynf3Nr9A0GTC_nwRjYBGRf8mxiyMIqY46ROgARCnJDE8GD2WchitkkUrGOxYsjp-QGm9O5Bec4EYe7uRFw2_jpRjBIhkxq9MQCvsKdzbY-62II0/s320/Yes+and+Led+Zeplin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Whilst thankfully to many, those days have evolved,
especially in the New Age music market where I can point to several album
covers that are quite expressive in their intentions, like Carl Weingarten’s
Ember Days or Andy Rogers album from last year with Where The Land Meets The
Sea, a manifestation where it does what it says on the can, and sets the
listener up for a perfect experience. After all, is it not what as musicians, we’re
striving to get over, we want our listeners to feel and be completely connected
with what we have produced musically, and album art is the creational panacea
to cure all artistic ills, but however the tower is burned to the ground when
it comes to the new and ever expanding new age and instrumental singles market,
it is like art work is an alien concept, if indeed there is anything included
at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zbMGcGgOuZiIU2y_wP8qW2g5unjqGv34CCkstK1moiStOVC1TMYmxpEx0Y3s5FD0RreZENPL3i_U_6q89xI9ceUDUs1YfJhbQL4X0Rrem5KM_kzgznL6QkR67J-6TM-4HEI8VuT70Tk/s603/Carl+and+Andy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="603" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9zbMGcGgOuZiIU2y_wP8qW2g5unjqGv34CCkstK1moiStOVC1TMYmxpEx0Y3s5FD0RreZENPL3i_U_6q89xI9ceUDUs1YfJhbQL4X0Rrem5KM_kzgznL6QkR67J-6TM-4HEI8VuT70Tk/s320/Carl+and+Andy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I cannot express my disappointment strongly enough, when as a
radio host I am given a single composition only to find zero art work, when I
listen to the music, I want something to gaze at, that is the foundation for
your musical processes, but it’s a very rare thing indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In fact in many cases we have contacted an artist who we
assume has forgotten to put any art work into the media pack, let alone a
description on a sheet as to what the song is about, and the answer we get is
sometimes stunning, with responses like, “Art work, why, it’s only a single” My
thoughts, so your happy to allow one of your children to walk out in the street
naked? Or the ever popular, “Ok here you go, this will do”, as they send me a
picture taken from a google search of fluffy clouds. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The sad but ever growing indifference to single art is
shocking at times and this is even worse, we get a picture with no artist name
or title of the composition, nothing, to me that seems to be the lazy direction
were going now, same as social media, everyone is so hooked up on their smart
phones, they cannot be bothered to take some time over creating something
meaningful, that reflects them and their musical narrative they want us to buy
into.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fortunately this lethargic languor is not shared by everyone
creating singles, for example there have been some truly artistic masterpieces
created last year, like Chrissie Sheppard’s Raven Cove, art work that takes you
to the hub of the content, or Annie Locke’s A Gentle Day, a picture that is
idyllic and who wouldn’t want to be sitting on that bench by the lake?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbH6WQS_ZPu75h29pEA015Fvgz0A4krmPHQAFgkFsHFjGEhUskEOv0iXuG98sfuQtUAO_giyoSDwZ7Sk0oL_Bu9m-tJaTbcS-k-XanAjXQL6g8cvscSa9bo040p5viGESep9OElJ6_sfM/s601/Chrissie+and+Annie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="601" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbH6WQS_ZPu75h29pEA015Fvgz0A4krmPHQAFgkFsHFjGEhUskEOv0iXuG98sfuQtUAO_giyoSDwZ7Sk0oL_Bu9m-tJaTbcS-k-XanAjXQL6g8cvscSa9bo040p5viGESep9OElJ6_sfM/s320/Chrissie+and+Annie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I always have and always will be a believer that art work is
a vital ingredient to the manifestation of a musical creation, it is the
artistic clothing you wrap your musical child in, it is the tableau that
describes your song, it is the tapestry of time and experience that is the tale
of your arrangement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So please, before pressing send for your next single to be
uploaded to multiple platforms, give a careful thought, does the art work
contained within best reflect my personality and my desire for you to fall in
love with my creation, please show us your love, not your laziness, after all
it shouldn’t just be art for art’s sake!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></p></div><p><br /></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-83371956162782277652021-01-18T20:33:00.001+02:002021-01-18T20:34:37.287+02:00Kerrys Corner #8 with Kerry Barnes: Prokofiev<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">Hello Music Lovers Kerry Barnes here with a new edition of “Kerry’s
Corner” 8</span><sup style="text-align: justify;">th</sup><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"> Edition, where I delve into the lives and works of the
Great Composers. I know you’ll be reading this in 2021, so happy New Year to
you all xxx</span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">PROKOFIEV<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1891 - 1953<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">(Sergei)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This edition is all about Prokofiev!!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, I’m not gonna ramble on with this one because you really
need to listen/watch the music at the end. Promise me you will.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">Below, the great
man himself!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfn3ZnTaPSfcRiRSMVrkkou0zcbtb-skQq73ecfiYdnv68lyb-Rq4IJUBt3i5MRf7FsmXP3d2KfZ2OYfcFH80IvqIBZFt_bU9YFlLD2qSCLOsnLrcnsgc4pbUxHXwOcm96QkyayZn_D-Y/s275/Prokofiev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfn3ZnTaPSfcRiRSMVrkkou0zcbtb-skQq73ecfiYdnv68lyb-Rq4IJUBt3i5MRf7FsmXP3d2KfZ2OYfcFH80IvqIBZFt_bU9YFlLD2qSCLOsnLrcnsgc4pbUxHXwOcm96QkyayZn_D-Y/s0/Prokofiev.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Believe it or not, Prokofiev was and is, the most important
man in my life!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Let me explain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If it wasn’t for Prokofiev I could have ended up walking a
very different path, than music. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When I was about 9 years old my primary school decided to put
on a production of Prokofiev’s children’s masterpiece “Peter and the
Wolf”…….mainly a musical story about a poor duck who got eaten alive!! ….(I’ve
always felt slightly frightened of this work, and to this day, can’t work out
if it has a happy ending or not!!.....ask the duck).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Anyhow, for some reason I got chosen to play the duck. I
actually don’t remember much about it other than BEING COMPLETELY TRANSFIXED BY
THE MUSIC... it had angular rhythms, ascerbic harmonies and unexpected
modulations. I felt this music enter my body, send me to heaven and gently
lower me back down again. I don’t remember the other children taking much
notice of it really; I just thought there was something wrong with me. And so it
was set, a love for Ukrainian classical arts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-4P77Z2Uj7rVY172OMWdP8XCpTt0q3C632cQr-4zmC9yNi8dwpdFyDq-LcMxCKRYq4ffHeRQDW5CHt7Fd4I7JcTlGPKs3NPb-ekQrLpfQskWlEZ_cp3sUDprFhhjVHol8kH5KluI0uU/s225/Classical+art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA-4P77Z2Uj7rVY172OMWdP8XCpTt0q3C632cQr-4zmC9yNi8dwpdFyDq-LcMxCKRYq4ffHeRQDW5CHt7Fd4I7JcTlGPKs3NPb-ekQrLpfQskWlEZ_cp3sUDprFhhjVHol8kH5KluI0uU/s0/Classical+art.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Also known, was the fact that I would be involved in a
musical existence of some kind, (incidentally, my mum stayed up all night
sewing feathers to my costume…..forever grateful mum!).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Peter and the Wolf” is a great way to introduce children
(and adults) to the instruments of a symphony orchestra, as each character is
assigned one. Peter the strings, Duck the oboe, Grandad the bassoon, The Birds the
flute, the Cat the clarinet and the Hunters the drums. But Prokofiev set out to
do much more than this. He was to take all children on an uncertain journey,
feeling slightly apprehensive about things, not knowing what comes next. Surely
the poor duck gets to live. In the story, Peter, the little boy is a bit of a
mischief, grandad is always in a bit of a mood, the birds are incessantly noisy
and skittish, the duck trembles with fear, the cat creeps about, the wolf who
eats the duck is shrouded in a dark cloud, and finally the hunters stalking the
very air we breathe. The story is in complete symbiosis with the fantastic
music, beautifully orchestrated.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyn87QnIF3POZSfxwjii5MmXx3AI2KukcLTeslnUWgbNa5jrmzUiTFGVItVgMVyNbqa4HirAyRLx_HSuEH0jUF8IR6E9c_JmW0Ueb7yqbEParPHlC-iKi4DXS784maPQdhx6pv7SoS1M/s300/Peter+and+the+Wolf+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyn87QnIF3POZSfxwjii5MmXx3AI2KukcLTeslnUWgbNa5jrmzUiTFGVItVgMVyNbqa4HirAyRLx_HSuEH0jUF8IR6E9c_JmW0Ueb7yqbEParPHlC-iKi4DXS784maPQdhx6pv7SoS1M/s0/Peter+and+the+Wolf+pic.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I won’t attempt to tell you the
story, because you simply must listen to it!!!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7f9OxyQ5PQ" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQNiWQm8Fgm4wh_9sy74T9YDbtJgLJI14KIC0kcFypl1lgRyGaM2GdC4vmRKQ-S-shV8qBdKBjX6heHohG-ufhF15vz_6dJ9MlOiFwrZVN81Ynk564nifD15JzRKoDBGWDzM6nT90v2M4/s320/Video.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">THE END<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1343469577966070092.post-27477253352437300092021-01-04T13:08:00.005+02:002021-01-04T13:08:41.541+02:00The Prescription is Music: Interview with Soundworker & Sonic Activist Joshua Leeds By Darlene Koldenhoven<p><b style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">The Prescription is Music: Interview with Soundworker
& Sonic Activist Joshua Leeds</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">By Darlene Koldenhoven, </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">M.M.V., B.M.Ed., iLs-APP, NLP, GRAMMY®, Indie Music
Hall of Fame<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpPrh-WK8C1gj5fyvn2tnbA8TN_uCJI3HkhtWm4siqbBrjHANctjvoVuQxlxAt6VWLMYAOWI5E7pTHcegyz59DigTP9hZYlK8v7mDHGYOk3Z7cwwZa22QeacV5xwG84cTvcmEiQW7iYI/s345/Joshua+Le.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpPrh-WK8C1gj5fyvn2tnbA8TN_uCJI3HkhtWm4siqbBrjHANctjvoVuQxlxAt6VWLMYAOWI5E7pTHcegyz59DigTP9hZYlK8v7mDHGYOk3Z7cwwZa22QeacV5xwG84cTvcmEiQW7iYI/s320/Joshua+Le.jpg" /></a></b></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">Although I’ve
known Joshua Leeds since 2007 when we met at a conference for music therapists
in Boulder, Colorado, I recently enjoyed interviewing Joshua this week via
Zoom. We also were both individually interviewed as a part of The Shift
Network’s Sound Healing Summit this past summer and after listening to his
interview, where he is appropriately known as a psychoacoustician, I’d also
like to add the moniker sound philosopher. Joshua asks a lot of questions and
like any great philosopher, he ponders, chooses his words slowly and carefully,
and finds his resolve in searching everyone, everything and every part of his
brain for his answers as to how sound affects humans and animals. Joshua’s
career from producing commercial music sharply changed in 1986 when he turned
his attention solely to therapeutic sound, enjoying a fulfilling career making
people aware of how to improve their lives with sound, including writing three
books published in multiple languages: <i>Sonic
Alchemy</i> (1997), <i>Through a Dog’s Ear</i>
(2008) and <i>The Power of Sound</i> (2010/2000).
He’s produced 50+ of his psychoacoustic specialized tracks for calming,
relaxation, sleep, focus that are used in homes, clinics, and classrooms around
the world. Mr. Leeds continues to have incredible success with several CDs and
streams of his bioacoustics music for pets used in animal care facilities!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">Currently, his
primary focus is on writing his upcoming book: <i>Soundwork on a Hot Rock</i> (2021) where he’ll be discussing among
other things, what he calls “social cohesion” where he states, “Everywhere,
people are in multi-layered epidemics and music has always served as a primary
antidote for social cohesion. As soundworkers, our music, rhythms, frequencies
and heartspace are called for and needed. This is a new time for shedding old
identities, learning new skillsets, seeking silver linings, being alert and of
service . . .during the age of coronavirus, climate change, systemic racism,
income inequity, amoral politicians and unbridled technology, seven billion
sisters and brothers are looking and listening for a new wholeness.” Joshua
calls us to return to the roots of music when it was a nutrient for our nervous
system and says that history shows us that music has both opportunity and
connection to bring us back to community. He asks us to reposition music so as
not to just entertain us but to take us through a garden that grows sound food,
as he so aptly put it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US">A few weeks ago
I participated in Joshua’s second Soundwork21 zoom meeting. (He invited me to
the first, but I was preoccupied with some urgent sound healing of my own that
day.) By his own words, Joshua is not a one-on-one sound healer practitioner. But
those who know him find he has a very keen knack for putting great people
together, not to mention he is an erudite facilitator. What I found was an
enthusiastic group of about 30 soundworkers, musicians of all kinds and levels,
from around the globe, all eager to contribute their music and their concepts
about how sound can help the world and how we can help ourselves using sound in
this covid-consumed place we now live in. Of note were vocal chanter Heather
Houston from Santa Cruz, CA, who led us in a relaxing multi-part group chant;
Karen Olson, Ph.D. from New York, author of <i>Soundpath</i>
and a violist who improvised a beautiful piece she created for healing; Ruth
Cunningham, formerly of the women’s a capella group Anonymous 4, who played
harp and improvised a lovely vocal derived from Latin Chant that she calls
Fresh Chant; and Thomas Shivanand Amilio from India & New York who led us
in an awesome vedic mantra meditation chant ending with the all-powerful OM.
Then Joshua continued with one of my tracks “Emmanuel,” a vocalise I recorded
in one take, after opening myself to the heavenly channel. Many of my sonic
therapy clients and students use it as tool for great emotional release and healing.
I was followed by David Key’s improvisation on his beautiful redwood native
flute using Elk energy for stamina and strength; Susan Carol with her harp
ministry aligning with the Christ body-mind-spirit; Amy Canie, harpist, who
talked about conscious self-care and how important the space between the notes
is; Stephan Hein in London who combines elements of Hindu with rock; and many
more interesting, dedicated soundworkers. Join us on Joshua’s Facebook page, Soundwork
21 to find out about his next inspiring meeting for people involved with
intentional applications of music and sound. Learn more about Mr. Leeds at <a href="http://www.joshualeeds.com/">JoshuaLeeds.com</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyU8vfw5XkbSFVI1NZOkyP5FSVd-OtGjSuMj1bcWzUjQhA-jSyGXQhC412Hdwzno_fLPhWaBygfsNxwFBo2kRcCcH6-gM3cFAG0R31Nb6OxEk7csH9t6GvejppYdRT9FUo04meYJ2qZw/s449/Darlene+Koldenhoven+Grey+Dress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyU8vfw5XkbSFVI1NZOkyP5FSVd-OtGjSuMj1bcWzUjQhA-jSyGXQhC412Hdwzno_fLPhWaBygfsNxwFBo2kRcCcH6-gM3cFAG0R31Nb6OxEk7csH9t6GvejppYdRT9FUo04meYJ2qZw/s320/Darlene+Koldenhoven+Grey+Dress.jpg" /></a></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Darlene
Koldenhoven, M.M.V, B.M.Ed, NLP, iLs-APP certifications, Grammy Winner &
3-time nominee, Indie Music Hall of Fame Inductee. Recording artist with several
multi-award winning, #1 New Age albums, some played in hospitals and hospices worldwide.
Author, “Tune Your Voice: Singing and Your Mind’s Musical Ear.” International
speaker and workshop facilitator on music education and sonic therapy. Private
practice in voice and sonic therapy; in person or remotely. More info at <a href="http://www.darlenekoldenhoven.com/">DarleneKoldenhoven.com</a>, <a href="http://www.listeningmatrix.com/">ListeningMatrix.com</a>, <a href="http://www.tuneyourvoice.net/">TuneYourVoice.net</a>, <a href="http://www.wellnessvoiceworkshop.com/">WellnessVoiceWorkshop.com</a>.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">©2020 Darlene Koldenhoven.
All rights reserved.<o:p></o:p></span></p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b><p></p>Chrissie Sheppardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17892872759013421154noreply@blogger.com2