My best and most loyal friend Bass!

I'm not feeling too great today. No energy,stress of various things and being too busy this week. So still lying in bed after midday I find solace in writing about my wonderful and really special companion,my beloved black labrador Bass who turned 10 on 17th May and I realise with May being so busy for me I forgot to post about the very special celebration we had for this special day.

I never had a dog growing up. We had cats and then only after my sister's nagging my mum and finally wearing her down! I know that my sister was very keen to have a dog and even bought a couple of dog collars - I remember when I was very young - but as mum and dad both worked fulltime and dad wasn't so fond of dogs it wasn't to be. I loved our cat Octavia we had when I was growing up who was affectionate but also independent and aloof as cats can be. I apparently loved our cat Fluffy, who was around when I was born, so much that I was caught trying to stuff her in my mouth when I was a baby!!

When my ex-partner and I were planning a great new life in Wales after 10 years of busy,gruelling London life had taken its toll a dog was high on our list - in fact it was a certainty. My ex had grown up with labradors and we both felt having a dog would really enhance our life and epitomize the more gentle idyllic countrylife we were envisaging for ourselves as we made the move in December 2002.

Sadly I was diagnosed with breast cancer the day I made the move - my ex had already been working in Cardiff for 6 months so life revolved round hospital and illness over the next few months.
However, we were both desperate to still get a puppy and felt that it would be a wonderful distraction from the cancer which was dominating our lives. We did our research and found a lovely family who were experienced breeders but a lovely home set-up in Gloucestershire. The litter of labradors was due in May and would be ready to pick up in early July which would coincide with the end of my chemotherapy treatment. We had requested a boy and really lucky to get Bass as when the litter was born 2 days early on 17th May 2003 there were 5 girls and 3 boys - we were 3rd in line for a boy - but sadly one of the boys died after a few days so we would have missed the boat but another family who had requested a boy dropped out!
When we arrived on a glorious day in July to pick our puppy we had the choice from the 2 boys. I chose Bass as he was the most curious and adventurous and so sweet!!
I remember that first day so well - he screamed like a young monkey nearly all the way back in the car and was promptly sick as soon as we arrived at my ex's mum's home. He then had a wondeful afternoon outside exploring her garden and curious at everything. He didn't understand that the water bowl wasn't for him to walk in an play in and was just so full of fun and playfulness and so small!
I chose his name to be Bass. We wanted a short - easy to shout name - his kennel name was Knocklee Acer and we wondered about Ace and then I came up with Bass (rhymes with Ace!)as a musical name and my ex played the double bass.
The first week we had him and my ex went off to work leaving me with this delightful but mischievous and highly curious puppy I thought we'd made a terrible mistake. There was I,pretty battered(mentally)and exhausted from 6 months of chemotherapy with this little ball of energy who was running me ragged as I was kept on my toes constantly removing anything dangerous or not his out of his sight. I had to physically hold him still on my lap to get him to nap which he needed but was so curious!! My husband would then come home from work and Bass would promptly fall asleep at his feet and he'd wonder what I was going on about!!!

The now 10 year old Bass has just come up and given me a big lick and prompts me to get going and take him on a walk as it's a beautfiul day today. I will come back another time and write more about this wonderful dog who really has saved me from the brink of really awful depression at times and feeling of hopelessness and inability to go on but I'm finding even the reminiscing about the blissful early days emotional.

Bass - you're amazing and more special to me than you'll ever know. I love you more than anything in the world. 

A joyous day at Hay!

On 2nd June I made my 3rd successive annual visit to the wonderful literary festival at Hay-on-Wye.
Although it took me 3 hours door-to door by public transport - driving would take just under 90 mins but can't manage that distance there and back these days - it was completely worthwhile and was a really memorable day!
The sun was shining all day which is a rarity at Hay and made the atmosphere all the more pleasant. This small market town full of second-hand bookshops is visited by thousands of people during the fortnight of the literary festival and yet the asmosphere is tranquil,calm but exciting with famous faces mixing with more ordinary folk! Locals throw open their gardens and homes serving tea and coffee more cheaply than inside the festival. There's a very friendly all-inclusive atmosphere at Hay and is just wonderful to see people lounging in garden chairs reading, adults reading to children and vice-verca,all sorts of talks,music and crafts going on and of course books everywhere!

I firstly went to visit my former head of music from secondary school in Grimsby,Mr Babb who is now 86 and retired to Hay 10 years ago. Mr Babb has been a huge inspiration in my life. To say he's quite a character is very much an understatement! He's always been quite a tour de force! In fact when I first met him aged 9 and still at primary school when he accompanied me for my Grade 1 piano I burst into tears as I found him rather intimidating!! He was and is hugely enthusiastic at fostering and encouraging musical talent in the young. Mr Babb always used to choose very ambitious pieces for both our school and youth orchestras. He was always very eccentric and fiery but we all adored him in spite of this! He believed in us and always inspired us on to make the very best of our talents even though we didn't always appreciate it or agree with him at the time! It was Mr Babb who suggested that I should swap from violin to viola after I'd passed my Grade 6 exam as he wanted to form a string quartet along with my 2 best friends J&C who also played the violin and E on the cello who was in the year below us. It was a good choice for me - I felt more an affinity with the lower sonoroties of the viola and playing in our Dolce Quartet was really great fun. Most of our rehearsals involved a great deal of laughter! I remember one rehearsal when I arrived drunk for the first time in my life at about 15!!!I'd been at my piano teacher's pupils concert and her husband had rather unwisely sent a crate of wine upstairs for the older pupils away from the parents downstairs so I was more than a little merry and had to go straight to our quartet rehearsal (luckily we were just doing it ourselves and no teacher was present!!)and I don't think we got a lot of work done that evening!!
Mr Babb was not great at keeping discipline in lessons but then could really explode when he wanted to! He introduced me to very mature repertoire from a young age for which I'm so grateful as I've just felt classical music was just normal and has always been part of my life. I remember the first time he played us Shostakovich's 8th String Quartet in our O level class which is extremely dissonant and quite raucous and warlike and we all just hated it and couldn't bear to listen to it but it eventually grew on me and I love it now.
I have many great memories of Youth Orchestra with Mr Babb and especially our tour to Germany in 1988 which was great fun.
After having a nostalgic couple of hours with Mr. Babb I went to the first event I'd booked at Hay which was an hour of First World War poetry beautifully and movingly read by Jeremy Irons,Sinead Cusack and a younger actor who wasn't billed in the programme and I couldn't catch his name but he was extremely convincing.These poems of Sassoon,Wilfred Owen,Rubert Brooke and many other poets I hadn't heard of are so poignant and evocative. It called to mind my father reading poetry to me when I was a child and I had a few tears!
As soon as I came out I was in the very long queue for the same theatre for the event I'd booked led by Cerys Matthews which was totally sold out and proved to be extremely inspiring and really joyous for me. She has brought out a new book which is a compilation of well-known songs from childhood and beyond and through the years encouraging the old fashioned singalong which we seem to have lost. She held the whole audience in the palm of her hands for the whole hour getting eveybody singing along enthusiastically to songs such as Oh my Darling Clenmentine,Let's go fly a Kite,Eviva Espana etc. It really took me back to my childhood and reminded me of the joy music has always brought to my life. There's something addictive and really joyful about singing in a big crowd - as if you're all speaking with one voice and all instantly connected whatever your age,nationality or background. I loved it and it made me feel really exhilirated.
I came home totally inspired and immediately made plans to host my own "Singalong" Event to further raise money for the Tenovus Cancer Charity as I suddenly remembered that their special project to celebrate this their 70th birthday year with the theme of "The Big Singalong" to encourage people to get together with friends or colleagues to sing together while raising money for this fantastic course.
My Summer Singalong is next Sunday and I'm already making plans and have several great raffle prizes and have chosen the songs from my treasured signed copy of Cerys's new book Hook,Line and Singer.
Exciting times!

To my Dad!

Mea Culpa and a thousand apologies as I failed to get 4 posts in May! Ultra busy and I was away for quite a bit of it but I will make up for it I promise!!

Today's been a day of tears and sadness partly due to over-tiredness and a throat infection and partly due to thinking of my wonderful Dad who is not here in person for me to wish a very Happy Father's Day so I'm giving him my personal tribute here.

Darling dad,
Although I had just 15 years with you they have filled me with enough happy memories,love and inspiration to last a lifetime and beyond. I have realised more in very recent years how alike you I feel I have become.
I have your ever-ready smile and zest for life,your love of young people and educating them and giving them experiences which will shape their futures.I have your love of planning and carrying out travel adventures and researching them to the enth degree!! I remember all the detail - in days before the household computer or internet - you put into planning our magical trip to Canada in 1981 - I smile as I remember during that trip  the day in New York when you came out of the hotel wearing a stetson and with your huge Minolta camera round your neck saying "I don't look like a tourist do I?"!!! As soon as we got to New York you took us on the Staten Island Ferry and took me on a huge rollercoaster on Coney Island which scared me half to death especially when about a second before the ride started a huge female staff member yelled at me "Missy,take off your glasses!!"
It was you I remember mostly reading my bedtime stories from being very tiny and the dffierent voices you'd put on for the different animals in the Just So Stories which was one of your favourites even though I found it a bit boyish at the time!You'd often make up your own stories which was my favourite thing. You'd sing me songs at bathtime like "Oh my Darling Clementine", "The Foggy,Foggy Dew" and "I am a Musicman!". You introduced me to poetry from an early age which I loved and continue to love. I assumed all fathers read poems to their children! We loved the funny ones especially of A.A Milne,Edward Lear,Spike Milligan and the cautionary tales of Hilaire Belloc. Jim was our top favourite and you were there for most of my recitation classes in competitive festivals from the age of 7 and always told me to speak clearly so that the deaf lady at the back could hear! I always looked for her but could never find her!!
It was good fun when you put me to bed for as well as the bathtime songs,bedtime poems and stories we'd often do the "Ministry of Funny Walks!" inspired by your and my brother's favourite tv programmes "Monty Python". You would have been to proud to hear many years after your death,your oldest grandson doing the famous "Dead Parrot" sketch brilliantly word for word at the age of 6!
It was you who actively encouraged my love of music and encouraged me to take piano lessons from the age of 8. I was very lucky that the piano was already in the household and both my brother and sister had also been taking lessons for several years. Dad never played an instrument or particularly sang(apart from singing to me at home!)but was a music afficianado and listened to a lot of classical music at home. I don't recall that you could read music but I do remember listening to  Beethoven's Seventh symphony with you whilst you were following the score. You also loved the music of Joan Baez,the New Seekers,Nana Mouskouri.
I remember early days of piano practice when I loved you to pretend to fall asleep if I played "Lullaby" softly enough and then to come alive with a bump when I played "Grandfathers Clock!" straight afterwards!
You had a full beard when I was about 4 and I used to love the feel of it and there was a bit that if I touched it made you hiccup and of course I'd keep doing it over and over - so whether it was just for my entertainment or not I'll never know!
When I went to France on my own at the tender age of 11 to stay in the huge chateau with my French penpal with her very scary mother it was you that wrote me several long letters in the fortnight I was there. You told me all about being in London for Prince Charles and Princess Diana's Wedding and what you had seen. You would have been amazed that I was later to be invited to walk behind Diana's coffin representing British Youth Opera along with other charities in 1997.
It was you who queued for over 2 hours for me to get me tickets to see Torvill and Dean skate in Grimsby. You came and joined the family skating club with me on a Sunday night in my early teens and we had great fun. It was you who queued with me for hours and hours to get standing tickets for the equivalent of £1 to see the ballet the Nutcracker on New Years Eve 1982 at Vienna State Opera House.
I had great fun acting alongside you in plays with CADs - Cleethorpes Amateur Dramatic Society and I always loved the aftershow parties you'd take me to from the age of about 12. You even laughed when some of the older teens had spiked my drink with cherry brandy! I remember at the same party spitting out what I'd thought was a grape which turned out to be an olive!! I avoided them for years after that only realising a few years ago that they're actually very tasty!! I loved the bubbly personalities and fun of the CADS members and from a very early age (6ish)remember being allowed downstairs for one of your Cinzano and lemonades at parties at our house. They probably had very little trace of Cinzano but I was none the wiser!
I remember you taking me and some friends to York for the day and having a great time. You were always there - always had time for all 3 of your children and other children as your days of Scout Leader and Youth club leaders showed. You very involved in the local church and helping publish the church Gazette and do the photography for it. Mum's local choir concerts were always a family affair - mum would be singing,you would be helping at front of house and I would be selling programmes and presenting bouquets at the end!

Lots of vivid memories of a very special father whom I remember every day.

Happy Fathers Day!
http://www.justgiving.com/Anne-Shingler2/eurl.axd/8f158799a6747e4fb082e6969278ffe8