February
Sat 04: Alligator Gumbo @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: John Pope - Up Your Rhythm Game. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 04: King Bees @ Grainger Market, Newcastle. 6:30pm (doors). Live music, comedy, DJs, food stalls. £10.00. advance, £15.00. on the door. Blues band King Bees on stage 9:45-11:15pm. A Great Market Caper event.
Sat 04: Jives Aces @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm.
Sat 04: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sun 05 Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon.
Sun 05: Rivkala @ Cumberland Arms, Newcastle. 6:00pm.
Sun 05: Jive Aces @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 05: Dale Storr @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jam No.13 @ Fabio's, Saddler St., Durham. Free. Durham University Jazz Society jam session. All welcome (students & non-students alike).
Mon 06: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Tue 07: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Rob Walker (drums). Jam session reverts to a first & third Tuesday in the month schedule.
Wed 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 08: Jam session @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free. TBC.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00pm (this week only). Free.
Thu 09: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.
Fri 10: Alan Barnes w Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. £7.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 10: Alan Barnes w Dean Stockdale Trio @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £12.00.
Vera Lynn seemed timeless, almost immortal, wars and pandemics may come and go but "Our Vera" would always be there to remind us that we'll meet again. Well we may or may not meet again, certainly not in the way the song she was so associated with would have wanted us to do, but her passing earlier today served as a reminder of the rich legacy she left behind. Not just as a singer but as a person.
9 comments :
We really don't make enough of these people, and not just people like Dame Vera and Churchill, who were never really in harm's way, but people like the FEW, without who most of us wouldn't exist, yet I don't even know how many are still alive, but I think you can count them on one hand. I sometimes imagine what it would be like if you were working a door somewhere and one of them turned up and you were expected to ask them for money.
I'm embarrassed when when people of my generation and older claim they worked hard for their retirement, unlike our parents swanning around the airfields waiting for the Luftwaffe or sunbathing on the Normandy beaches; or their parents partying in the trenches.
We all could do with a little humility.
I was born in 1946. I think our generation have been so very fortunate, in so many ways.
Roly
That must be a mistake Roly; surely it was 1956.
Ah very kind Steve. Next time take a closer look!
R
I don't think Vera was out of harm's way performing in India and North Africa - she didn't get there by tube - and I certainly wasn't out of harm's way as two streets near where I lived were bombed and over thirty were killed. This was in 1941 and, even though I was 3 year old I don't remember it. Jarrow bus station now occupies the site and there is a commemorative plaque on the wall of the nearby Home Bargains.
I agree Lance, she went to Burma to entertain the troops, when very few others did that. She was an ordinary East End girl who was just at the right age to fill in that "Forces Sweetheart " role. I was born in East Ham as was she. I also have been in her company some years ago, and am in possession of a lovely letter from her. I am familiar with Ditchling where she has lived for many years. She was a familiar face to the village, and contributed to charities there. I also once stayed in her former home in Clayton which, at the time I stayed there, had become a Guest House. RIP
Well said Liz, her passing obviously meant a lot to you as it has done to so many. Although vocally Anne Shelton was my favourite back then I've always loved how Vera kept in the limelight over the years without really trying to.
Can anyone think of another singer who made it to 103?
I don't think we should compare civilians - including politicians - with soldiers, sailors and airmen. I've no doubt Vera didn't get many home comforts in Burma, but doubt she saw much action in the jungle, which isn't to minimise her contribution, but I get sick of hearing about Churchill being the greatest Briton ever for delivering speeches.
Well I saw a programme yesterday by one of the Burma soldiers who got home, and he said she was right in the danger zone, sorry I cannot be more explicit. She simply went there because no other entertainers wanted to. She asked the authorities which was the least visited , and Burma was the answer, so off she went. As regards Churchill , in my opinion he was great orator. However, to each his own.
Post a Comment