Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! BACK ON JUNE 15.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sat 10: Miners' Picnic @ Woodhorn, Ashington. Music inc. Northern Monkey Brass Band (3:00-3:50pm); New York Brass Band (4:00-4:55pm).
Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Jeremy McMurray's Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Ropner Park, Stockton TS18 4EF. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Tue 13: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 13: Infusion Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 13: Alice Grace & Pawel Jedrzejewski @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv.).
Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 14: NUJO Final Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcastle. 6:30pm. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra's final jam session of the academic year. All welcome.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
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Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
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.
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