Dust on my shoes

Here is the video to my new single ! Hope you enjoy ! lotsoflove tt

New York

I was in New York last week - I'm such a sleepy person that I'm always dazed by the fast & frenetic energy of New York. I mostly spend my time in restaurants & coffee shops when I travel - even if I visit museums or galleries it's really an activity to fit around good coffee :) but somehow I did manage to visit Grand Central Station, awe inspiring, walk the High Line [link] a genius idea and spend my Sunday listening to beautiful gospel music in a church in Harlem. The Pastor's sermon wasn't too hail & brimstone either - she talked mostly about The Ugly Duckling & becoming a beautiful swan, even I can deal with that level of religious instruction :) Here are some photos, love tt

Photos Natacha Horn

Django Django/ Default

I'm addicted to this week's wake up song 'Default' by Django Django. It's familiar without being a pastiche and makes me dance ! Nerdy & hip, a bit like Peter & Gordon flirting with electronica, I hope you enjoy it as much as me :) love tt

Whitney Houston

So sad to hear about Whitney Houston, such a great voice. love tt


Whitney Houston - My Love Is Your Love par hushhush112

Masterclass

I was lucky enough to attend two masterclasses recently. The first was the Terence McNally play starring Tyne Daly as Maria Callas [link] (that's like two legends for the price of one !!). It is a very enjoyable production, and even if you are not an opera fan, the interaction between a flawed but charismatic master and her students is always a fascinating one. I saw the play on a Monday night when you would expect an audience to be quite subdued but Daly received a standing ovation - so you can imagine how impressive her performance is. The second masterclass was a real one - mezzo soprano Anne Sofie Von Otter and students from the Guildhall School of music. She is quite different to Callas -in fact in her trainers & casual clothing she doesn't really correspond to the idea of an opera diva at all ! Funny & inspiring - it was a real privilege to watch her. I noticed that Von Otter is a much more physical singer than the the young students - I wonder if that is something that a singer acquires with confidence & experience or is it an actual 'approach' to singing ? Obviously, in a masterclass the singer can't really talk much about technique - the focus seems to be on the interpretation of an aria - but I was curious to ask about this as I'm sure the physicality of a singer completely changes the sound. Anyway, there is one thing of which I'm sure - standing up & singing in front of your peer group &  being critiqued must be completely terrifying !! lots of love tt

Mike Stocksdale / Love Song

This week's wake up song is from American singer-songwriter Mike Stocksdale [link]. 'Love Song' is one of those sweet songs that you want to hum along to as soon as you hear it. It's light and lovely and the video might make you a bit dizzy :) hope you enjoy, love tt

Sophie Ward / Actress, writer

This week's TT Test is taken by the lovely Sophie Ward. In her long career as an actress she has appeared in many films including 'Young Sherlock Holmes' & 'Jane Ayre'. Her most recent role has been as Lady Helen Hoxley in the BBC drama series 'Land Girls'. She was also a top model & has recently completed her first novel. Clearly she is multi-talented & has some fascinating answers ! What is your wake up song at the moment ? If I want to really wake up, probably after midnight, then 'Mr Brightside' by The Killers. The lyrics are pretty dark, but all the best songs are dark. Which work of art or single event has most influenced you in your chosen profession ? I didn't go to school much but I did read and I was obsessed with Victorian novels like 'Jane Eyre'. It was all about stories, and I did all I could to be part of the world of my books. I wrote plays and directed them and made everyone act in them. If you could travel back in time, which period would you most like to visit and why ? I would not want to spend much time in the past, especially as a woman. But there are occasions I would like to be part of; lunch at the Algonquin with Dorothy Parker, a summer at Charleston House, a night at the Rue de Fleurus. That is probably cheating but if I have time travel at my fingertips then I would want to be quite specific. Get me into Apollo 11 on July 20th 1969. I love eating out & discovering new restaurants, can you please recommend one to me ? Food and restaurants are only as good as the occasion to me; who you are with, what you are doing. For that reason, I love Roganos [link] in Glasgow. It has the feel of the 1930s and a small menu with a good wine list. But most importantly it is near the theatre in which I was happiest, the Glasgow Citizens, and all my memories are of eating with friends after the show and being miserable or delirious depending on the night but always glad to be there. What is the best advice you have ever been given relating to your professional / creative life ? I went to a kid's drama group in the 1970s run by an extraordinary woman, Anna Scher. We worked in a community hall on an estate off the Essex Road and the classes were big, about 70 of us. It could have been chaos but Anna commanded a great authority. She focused on improvisation which was amazing for me because I was living in my imagination all the time anyway. Her tenets were based on Professionalism and she was right. BONUS QUESTION I understand that you have nearly completed your first novel 'The Schoolhouse' can you tell us a little bit about it ? How does writing fiction compare to acting ? Thanks for asking about my book! It's about an experimental school in the 1970s and what happens when the experiment goes wrong. I'm interested in who we are as children, is that a fixed place or can we change? How you behave in one important moment at ten years old, is that the definition of you? As for acting and writing the best of it is about what you make up, a lot of acting is believing that you are standing in a palace or a cave, not a room in the back of Elstree studios. What would happen when you first go into the cave? What do you feel when you see the monster for the first time? How would you react? Writing is like that only you express it in words not actions. Hopefully, you can make the actions be as eloquent as words and the words be as visceral as actions. 

Etta James

Etta James has passed away - I loved her voice & her spirit. I'm posting the classic clip of Etta singing 'I'd rather Go Blind' with Dr. John - there won't be a dry eye in the house, love tt

The Ladykillers / Crazy for you

If you want to have a real fun, old fashioned evening at the theatre I can recommend two shows that I've recently seen in the West End. 'Crazy for You' [link] has great Gershwin songs, the silliest plot and fabulous tap dancing. That sums up a perfect evening to me - and I  loved this show. 'The Ladykillers' [link] has beenadapted for the stage by Graham Linehan (whose writing credits include Father Ted, Black Books and the It Crowd ) and easily fulfils his desire to create something 'messier, something more like a Marx Brothers production' which is  relaxed with the source material  & finds another way of telling screenwriter BillRose's original story. The set is amazing & Marcia Warren as Mrs Wilberforce is perfect. If you enjoyed the recent stage production of 'The 39 Steps' you will also thoroughly enjoy the 'Ladykillers'! Love tt

Peggy lee, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Franklin / Duke Ellington Medley

This performance is the best wake up song I could think of to start the new year !! Peggy lee, Sarah Vaughan, Aretha Franklin & Roberta Flack together singing Duke Ellington - it is the stuff of dreams and I'm always humbled when I watch this clip. I know the picture quality is not great but the music is magical. I hope you enjoy, love tt

Happy New Year !!

Wishing everyone a fulfilling and peaceful new year. Let's hope it is a vintage one! love tt

Photo (c) Sylvie Bardet