NINE ITEMS OF FOLK MUSIC NEWS FROM LEWES FOR FEBRUARY

NINE ITEMS OF FOLK MUSIC NEWS FROM LEWES FOR FEBRUARY

1] FOLK AT THE ROYAL OAK
Station Street, Lewes
Enquiries: - (01273) 478124 or 881316
Email tinvic@globalnet.co.uk.

Every Thursday 8.pm PROMPT START
Here is our programme for the coming months:-

Feb 4th * £6.00 * MARTYN WYNDHAM READ & IRIS BISHOP

One of the finest voices on the folk scene in the company of one of
the most talented and sensitive accompanists.

Feb 11th * £6.00 * JEZ LOWE

'One of the best writers to come out of England' Richard Thompson.
'One of our best songwriters' Mike Harding, BBC Radio 2

Feb 18th * £6.00 * CHRIS BARTRAM, NEIL BROOKES & TONY WEATHERALL

A new trio from Shropshire that combines the excellent singing of
Chris with the a pair of the finest exponents of English dance music
on fiddle and melodeon

February 25th * £6.00 * PETA WEBB & KEN HALL

Two great singers whose voices combine wonderfully well. Their
repertoire of songs come from England, Ireland and

America and they are noted experts on traditional singing.

March 4th * £6.00 * ANDY TURNER & MAT GREEN

A welcome return for this talented pair. Andy sings and plays melodeon
and anglo-concertina. Mat dances morris jigs and plays fiddle. Their
playing really creates sparks of excitement.

March 11th * £7.00 * TIM VAN EYKEN

Following his great success at the National Theatre and the West End
in "War Horse", Tim returns to solo performing and this will be one of
his first gigs since doing so. Ex-Waterson:Carthy

March 18th * £10.00 * MARTIN CARTHY, NORMA WATERSON & CHRIS PARKINSON

>>>ADVANCE TICKET ONLY

March 25th * £6.00 * JIM McFARLAND

One of Ireland's top singers of traditional songs is making a short
English tour from his home in Derry. Jim has a great voice, many
excellent songs and he decorates his singing in a beautiful way

Later in 2010, our guests will include:-

* ROSIE DAVIS, JOE LOCKER & BOB WINQUIST (replacing the band weather
cancellation evening) * CHRIS COE & JOHN ADAMS * JOHN KIRKPATRICK *
JEFF WARNER * BAYOU SECO * DEBBIE McCLATCHY

Our websites are at   and

http://www.myspace.com/royaloakfolklewes

Those of you who arrange listings are politely requested to include
all of the above.

***********

2] LEWES FOLK FESTIVAL 7 -10th OCTOBER 2010.
The two Lewes folk clubs are combining their efforts to promote this
festival, largely based in their own clubrooms and other venues in the
town.  At the moment this is still in the early planning stages but
watch this circular and elsewhere for updates on the guests/programme
etc. At the moment the following artists have agreed to appear: -
SHIRLEY COLLINS, JOHN KIRKPATRICK, CHRIS COE, JOHN ADAMS, PETE COE.
SUE COE, CHRIS PARTINGTON, THE COPPER FAMILY, BOB LEWIS, PEPPERS’
GHOST and a notable number of display dance teams have also indicated
their willingness to participate. The website at
http://www.lewesfolkfest.org/LFFindex.php will gradually be developed
as plans become finalised.

***********

3] FOLK AT THE ROYAL OAK ON "MYSPACE"
Our MYSPACE profile enables us to provide sample tracks of coming
guests as well as show photos and biographies of coming guests. It is
at http://www.myspace.com/royaloakfolklewes
Currently on our MYSPACE we have the following tracks by coming guests:-

Martyn Wyndham Read & Iris Bishop - "The Foggy Dew" - (February 4th)
Chris Bartram, Neil Brookes & Tony Weatherall - "Barleycorn" - (February 18th)
Tony Weatherall [as part of Bartram. Brookes & Weatherall]- "The
Woolsack - Oh What A Row - Reel" - (February 18th)
Mat Green & Andy Turner - "Quicksteps" - (March 4th)
Tim Van Eyken - "Barleycorn" - (March 11th)
Chris Parkinson [with Martin Carthy & Norma Waterson] - "Scotch
Measure/Mount Hills" - (March 18th)
Norma Waterson [with Martin Carthy & Chris Parkinson] - "Sheepcrook &
Black Dog" - (March 18th)
Martin Carthy [with Norma Waterson & Chris Parkinson] - "Georgie" - (March 18th)
Jim MacFarland - "Reynardine" - (March 25th)
Rosie Davis [with Joe Locker & Bob Winquist] - "My Blue Heart" - (April 15th)

After each gig the songs will drop off to be replaced with another by
an upcoming guest.
In addition there are videos by each of the following coming guest artists:-

MARTYN WYNDHAM READ & IRIS BISHOP February 4th

JEZ LOWE February 11th
TIM VAN EYKEN March 11th
MARTIN CARTHY March 18th
NORMA WATERSON March 18th
JIM MacFARLAND March 25th
ROSIE DAVIS JOE LOCKER & BOB WINQUIST April 15th
JEFF WARNER May 20th
CHRIS FOSTER June 17th
***********
4] SUSSEX FOLK GUIDE WEBSITE - UPDATED
For all the listings of folk music, song club, dances, festivals in
and around Sussex, have a look at http://whatson.brighton.co.uk/folk
This site all always kept updated with the latest events and those
currently listed cover all the dates up until the end of February 2010
.
***********
5] THE FOLK DIARY
Most of the listings on the Sussex Folk Guide website are taken from
the paper magazine, THE FOLK DIARY. Issue no 241 covers the months of
February and March. They are packed with adverts for various folk
festivals, folk music record companies, specialist shops, instrument
makers and other services as well as details of all the folk song and
dance events in our area. To obtain copies of this free magazine as it
is published, please send SAE's to Vic Smith at the address below.
It is also the address to send album review copies to.  Potential
advertisers are also asked to contact Vic for a statement of our
advertising rates.

The copy date for the April/May issue is February 26th. However, it
should be mentioned for future issues that once the available space
has been filled, no more adverts can be accepted even if they are
received BEFORE the copy date. With this in mind, it is worth
contacting the editors before the copy date to state your intentions
and reserve advertising space even if you have not got final details
or you copy prepared.

Please contact

JIM MARSHALL 01273 559750 jimars@globalnet.co.uk

Or

VIC SMITH 01273 478124 tinvic@globalnet.co.uk

The next issue will be number 242 and will cover the months of April
and May and will be available from Mid-March.
**********
6] THE FOLK DIARY ON LINE
THE FOLK DIARY is available on-line at
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~tinvic/fd.htm You will need Adobe ACROBAT
READER to read the pages. The size of each page is given by each page
link and the content of each page is indicated. The following issue is now
on-line and are listed here with the content of each page:-

ISSUE No. 241 FEBRUARY - MARCH 2010

Page 1(640kb) Beacon Tonbridge Wells (Mons), Vinces Fiddles, Six Bells
Chiddingly (Tues), Nanci Griffiths at De La Warr Pavilion Bexhill.
Page 2 (938kb) Pokey Lefarge at the Blue Coconut Pulborough, Grub's
Music Bar East Grinstead, White Horse Bodle St. Green (Mons), GBH
Ceilidhs Godalming (Sats), Elsie's (Sats), Folk On The Coast Bognor
(Fris).
Page 3 (861kb) Lewes Saturday folk club, Folk at the Royal Oak, Lewes
(Thurs), Copy dates and contact details.
Page 4 (1601kb) Amberley Folk Club (Tues), Brighton Acoustic sessions
at The Nelson (Mons), Kate's Kitchen Band, Brighton Cellarfolk (Tues),
Piggie's Open Mic sessions Uckfield (Tues).
Page 5 (1688kb) Hobgoblin Music, The Hawth Crawley, Gary's Live Music
Club Coolham (Sats).
Page 6 (449kb) The Blue Coconut Pulborough, Mid-Sussex Folk Singers
Ashurst (Weds) Rude Mechanicals Shoreham (Weds), Fee Calls Ceilidhs,
Lamb folk club Eastbourne (Weds), Brighton Folk & Blues Club Open
House (Fris).
Page 7 (1667kb) Meltdown Ceilidhs Haywards Heath (Sats), Sussex Folk
Association, Acoustic Sussex.
Page 8 (474kb) Seaford Folk Club (Fris), Brighton Singers Club The
Pond (Weds), Tonbridge Folk Club (Mons), The Sussex Song & Ale,
Croydon Folk Club (Mons), Barry Murphy's banjos.
Page 9 (1339kb) (385kb) Blue Coconut Pulborough, Horsham Folk Club
(Suns), Jolly Brewer Brighton (Suns), Electric Voices Guildford area.
Page 10 (1241kb) Willows Arundel (Weds), CD reviews by Jim Marshall
and Vic Smith
Page 11 (938kb) Folk Music in Tenterden (Fris), CD reviews by Jim
Marshall and Vic Smith
Page 12 (942 kb) Spyboy Presentations

**********

7] LEWES WORKSHOPS AT THE ELEPHANT & CASTLE
The workshops last a full Saturday or Sunday and the tutor performs at the
club in the evening. The programme for 2010 will be:-

20 Feb STEVE TURNER Concertinas for song accompaniment
27 Feb COOPE BOYES & SIMPSON Vocal harmony
27 Feb GEORGINA BOYES Folklore seminar (pm)
27 March BEN PALEY Fiddle
17 April SHIRLEY COLLINS Trad song masterclass
18 April SHIRLEY COLLINS Trad song masterclass
24 April ISSEY EMENEY Melodeon
22 May JOE PENLAND North Carolina song & society
5 June MIKE O'CONNOR & BARBARA GRIGGS Cornish tunes from source manuscripts
6 June MIKE O'CONNOR Songwriting in the tradition
10 July KAREN TWEED O'Carolan's music (any instrument)
18 Sept MOOR MUSIC Dartmoor music (any instrument)
9 Oct JOHN ADAMS Village Music Project (any instrument)
10 Oct CHRIS COE Ballad forum
31 Oct MARTIN CARTHY Guitar
13 Nov FRANKIE ARMSTRONG Singing & vocal techniques
20 Nov TIM LAYCOCK Concertina (all systems)
The website for more details is
http://www.lewesarmsfolkclub.org/LAFC/workshps.html or contact Valmai
Goodyear on (01273) 476757 or email ValmaiGoodyear@aol.com

The Lewes Saturday Folk Club has a new domain name -
http://www.lewessaturdayfolkclub.org/. This will work in parallel with
the old name http://www.lewesarmsfolkclub.org/ for the time being but
they hope to phase it out so please change your bookmarks.

********

8] MONTHLY SESSION IN LEWES

There are very enjoyable Sunday afternoon sessions in the bar of the
Royal Oak in Station Street in Lewes. These will be on the last Sunday
of the month from 3.30 – 5.30pm. Dates for the next sessions are

~~~~~        February 28th – March 28th ~~~~~

They will be run by Vic & Tina Smith.

 ********
9] OTHER REGULAR SESSIONS IN THE LEWES/BRIGHTON AREA
Bryan Creer has taken on the task of detailing these, and they are posted at
http://www.lewesarmsfolkclub.org/LAFC/Sessions.php
Have a look and if there are any you think that Bryan has missed - contact
him on Bryancreer@aol.com

>
 ...And  if you are ever looking for a good barn dance band, look no
further than THE SUSSEX PISTOLS - though you should get in quickly -
available dates for 2010 are being snapped up quickly. They performed
once again for the largest and most prestigious dance in our area, the
BRIGHTON MIDWINTER CEILIDH at the Corn Exchange in Brighton on
December 20th. As usual, the 500 plus tickets sold out very quickly.
Contact Tina on 01273 478124 or email her at tinasmith226@yahoo.co.uk  to
book the band. The band's website is at
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~tinvic/pistols.htm and they have a
MYSPACE profile as well at http://www.myspace.com/thesussexpistols

__________________________________________

VIC & TINA SMITH
26 Ferrers Road
LEWES
East Sussex
BN7 1PZ
England

Tel & Fax:- 01273 478124
Email:-
tinvic@globalnet.co.uk
folk@brighton.co.uk

ROYAL OAK WEBSITES:-
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~tinvic

http://www.myspace.com/royaloakfolklewes

SUSSEX FOLK GUIDE WEBSITE:-
http://whatson.brighton.co.uk/folk

LEWES FOLK FESTIVAL WEBSITE:-

http://lewesfolkfest.org/

SUSSEX PISTOLS BARN DANCE BAND WEBSITE:-
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~tinvic/pistols.htm

COMPOUND SOUNDS WEBSITE
http://www.compoundsounds.com

http://www.myspace.com/jalisherrifokonteh

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DARTFORD FOLK CLUB

DARTFORD FOLK CLUB UPDATE

BBC Radio 2 Folk Club of the Year 2008 – check out the following link:

http://www.dartfordfolk.org.uk/dfc_award08.htm

Dartford Folk Club meets on Tuesday from 8.30 to 11.00 p.m. at
Dartford Working Men’s Club in Essex Road, Dartford.

*  Floor Singers Welcome – ring Pam or Alan on 01322 222553.

*  Drinks at club prices, including up to 15 real ales!  Coffee & tea
also available.

FORTHCOMING GUESTS:

FEBRUARY 2ND – DAVE SWARBRICK

http://www.folkicons.co.uk/swarb.htm

Dave Swarbrick first picked up a fiddle at the age of 6 and turned
professional with the Ian Campbell Folk Group.  Heavily involved in
the 60’s folk revival, firstly with Martin Carthy and then Fairport
Convention, he has been called “the most influential fiddle player bar
none”.  Famously ‘killed off’ by the Telegraph in 1999, Swarb had a
double lung transplant in 2004.  He has now regained much of his old
zest, touring in duos with Martin Carthy and Alistair Hulett and,
recently, returning to solo work.

FEBRUARY 9TH – MARTYN WYNDHAM-READ

http://www.martynwyndhamread.com/

Martyn, who will be performing with Iris Bishop (Concertinas,
Accordion) and Gary Holder (Bass), has been a stalwart of the folk
scene since the 1970’s.  Most of his music comes from Australia, where
he lived in the 1960’s (working on a South Australian sheep station)
and has since re-visited many times.  He is an engaging performer,
combining songs, recitations, stories and anecdotes of outback life.

FEBRUARY 16TH – TOM MCCONVILLE TRIO

http://www.tommcconville.co.uk/

The Newcastle Fiddle Player, Tom McConville, is a fine player and
singer who performs both traditional and contemporary music.  A
professional musician since 1971, he is the leading exponent of the
compositions of James Hill, the 19th Century Newcastle fiddler.  Tom
has worked with many leading musicians over the years, including Bob
Fox, Kieron Halpin, Chris Newman and Pauline Cato.  Tonight he is
joined by David Newey (Guitar, Vocals) and Phil Murray (Acoustic Bass
Guitar).

FEBRUARY 23RD – WIZZ JONES

http://www.wizzjones.com/wizzandsim.html

Wizz Jones is a bit of an enigma.  He has busked with Rod Stewart and
Alex Campbell.  Eric Clapton, John Renbourn and Ralph McTell call him
an important influence.  He enjoyed great success in the 1970's.  Yet
in the 80’s he almost disappeared from view.  However, he has long
been a favourite at Dartford and we are delighted that there has been
renewed interest in his music during the last few years.

COMING UP IN MARCH

March 2nd – Mad Agnes (USA) (http://www.madagnes.com/)

March 9th – Tom Lewis (http://www.tomlewis.net/)

March 16th – Keith Pearson’s Coup de Grass
(http://www.keithpearson.co.uk/CDG5.htm)

March 23rd – Allan Taylor (http://www.allantaylor.com/)

March 30th – Tom Kitching & Gren Bartley (http://www.tomandgren.co.uk/)

For more information on the club (including directions on how to get
there), listings of guest performers past, present and future and a
tribute to Paul Homer, our late editor, please visit our website at
http://www.DartfordFolk.org.uk/.

http://www.DartfordFolk.org.uk/

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Forest Roots this friday

Dear Forest Folk

we haven't seen you all for such a long time so we hope you can make
it to Forest Roots this friday at the FGH function room, Godwin Road,
Forest Gate starts 8.30pm. We have two great acts; The Bonfire Band
www.myspace.com/thebonfireband and TenStringFever
www.tenstringfever.com. Also we will be celebrating Burns Night and
David, our resident Scot, will be making the address to the haggis.
Don't forget our 'take your pick' raffle  where , just for a change,
we will be raffling a pink ukulele! Oh yes, and the haggis. 'SPECIAL
OFFER'........We will be giving a free wee dram to anyone who turns up
in a kilt

stay forever young

see you friday

yours aye

Jenny and Caroline

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Chicken Salad Recipe

Download now or preview on posterous

CHICKEN SALAD recipe.doc (23 KB)

Thought you might like to try this recipe sometime.

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Solar eclipse of January 15, 2010

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Solar eclipse of January 15, 2010

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Wicked Welcomes Rachel Tucker

Wicked Welcomes Rachel Tucker

Posted by Linda on 15/1/10 • Categorized as Wicked

Wicked is continuing to build after its most successful year ever and is bringing in not one but two new witches! Current witches Alexia Khadime (Elphaba) and Dianne Pilkington (Glinda) leave the show on a record breaking high note and will play their final performances on Saturday 27 March 2010. Bound to be a very emotional evening!
(If you want tickets for this one you must act fast – Click through to see if there are Wicked theatre breaks available for Alexia and Diane’s final performance. By the way there’s a Free Hotel Offer on weekday Wicked Theatre Breaks until the end of March)

Wicked

Rachel Tucker as Elphaba

I’m a big fan of Rachel Tucker. I thought she had a great voice when she was in I’d Do Anything and I absolutely loved her in We Will Rock You. She was playing Meat the night I saw her but I believe she made a great success of the lead role, Scaramouche, on the few occasions she got to play it. Rachel will join Wicked as the new Elphaba and I can’t wait to hear her sing “Defying Gravity”. The voice and the song should combine beautifully and give us yet another interpretation of a great standard. So as one Nancy (Jodie) bows out the West End will see another graduate of the I’d Do Anything programme take centre stage. Perhaps this will convince the critics that reality casting shows do actually uncover worthwhile talent. Don’t hold your breath!

Like Kerry Ellis, a previous much loved Elphaba, Rachel will bring her own loyal fan base to the show and no doubt to this post. Hi all

Oz Trivia – Rachel is no stranger to Oz having played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at Belfast’s Lyric Theatre.

Louise Dearman as Glinda

Louise joins the cast of Wicked as Glinda. She’s been widely acclaimed in her lead role in the touring production of Evita. It will be interesting to see what she makes of the role of Glinda and how she stamps her own personality on it. Louise’s voice is described by her agents as: pure, melting soprano voice, with a surprisingly strong belt.
Having listened to a sample I have to agree, lovely! But don’t just rely on my judgment have a listen for yourself:

Book Wicked Theatre Breaks

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Tagged as: Alexia Khadime, Elphaba, free hotel, Glinda, I'd do anything, Kerry Ellis, lyric theatre, Nancy, Rachel Tucker, The Wizard, Theatre breaks, We Will Rock You, west End, Wicked, wicked theatre breaks

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London Weekend Breaks

London Weekend Breaks

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By aroberts

London Weekend Breaks with double theatre

London Weekend Breaks can be organised in the same way as midweek theatre breaks with just one night in a central London hotel, the big evening at the show and then return home the next day, whether it's a Friday night out or a Saturday, but it's also possible to go the whole hog and spend the whole weekend in London right through from Friday afternoon until sometime on Sunday. Those in the know will manage to fit in more than one trip to the theatre during their away break as well, by booking two night London weekend breaks with one set of theatre tickets included, and then sorting out additional theatre only tickets for themselves by buying day seats from one of the theatres or else same day tickets from the half price tkts booth in Leicester Square.

London Weekend Breaks

Weekend Breaks in London for more than just sight seeing

5 Other things to do on London Weekend Breaks

London weekend breaks are not just about the theatre. Here are five other suggestions for things to do in London.

1. Visit the Natural History and Science museums in Kensington
2. Shopping in Covent Garden Market
3. A Thames river trip
4. London Eye
5. Walk in the royal parks
   

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Theatre Breaks: Cheap Breaks

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What do you like to do on London Weekend breaks?

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London Shows and Hotel Deals

London Shows and Hotel Deals

Posted by Linda on 13/1/10 • Categorized as Hotel and Theatre deals, London Shows

About London shows and hotel deals

London shows and hotel deals are usually offered as a package by the theatre break agencies, some of them will let you add in train tickets (usually at a considerable discount). You can also add a variety of extras including pre-theatre meals, sight seeing trips and entrance to many of the major London tourist attractions.

London Shows

You can choose from a huge number of London shows including first class musicals, serious plays, side-splitting comedies. If none of these take your fancy you can opt for ballets, operas and even concerts. Three of the most consistently popular London shows in the last year have all been musicals.

Wicked (London) has had a spectacular year with record box office takings. The story of what happened before Dorothy got to Oz goes from strength to strength and looks set to continue its run at the Apollo indefinitely.

Oliver has had an amazing first year and continues to be popular. If you want to see Jodie Prenger (I’d Do anything winner) as Nancy you need to go before the end of March. Those of you who wait for the summer will also get a treat as ex-Wicked star Kerry Ellis moves into the role of Nancy. Fagin is currently being played by Griff Rhys Jones.

We Will Rock You is a great show for rockers of all ages. The show is full of energy and the music of Queen meshes beautifully with Ben Elton’s witty plot line. I just loved We Will Rock you. It is a wonderful ‘feel good’ evening and a perfect and popular choice of show.

Hotel Deals

Show and Stay have a great hotel deal on at the moment. They are offering a free one night hotel stay in selected 3* hotels when you buy your tickets for a choice of 13 shows. The deal is available for Mondays to Thursdays only and runs until March 31st.

London shows and hotel deals are available all year round but special offers like this one are limited and tend to get snapped up fairly quickly. If you want to be sure of getting the show and dates you want you will need to act fast. With prices starting from only £45 per person and limited availability this offer will not hang around. Check now to see if your dates and show are available.

** Free Hotel Offer with London Shows and Hotel Deals **

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New Employment Rules - Jan 2010

New Employment Rules   SICKDAYS We will no longer accept a doctor's certificate as proof of sickness. If you are able to get to the doctor, you are able to come into work.   MARTENITY LEAVE Kort Kort pregnant is banned. You must first apply to your superiors and with their approval you’ll then be allowed to do pregnancy. It will only be allowed once in 10yrs and you only get 1 month maternity leave. No male shall get leave related to her wife’s pregnancy, sickness or even death (he is not a midwife, a doctor nor an undertaker).   SURGERY Operations are now banned. As long as you are an employee here, you need all your organs. You should not consider having anything removed. We hired you intact. To have something removed constitutes a breach of employment.   HOLIDAYS Each employee will receive 104 holidays per year. They are called Saturday and Sunday.   BEREAVEMENT LEAVE This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends or relatives. Every effort should be made to have non-employees to attend to the arrangements. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled for the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch-hour and subsequently leave one hour early, provided your share of the work is done.   ABSENT FOR YOUR OWN DEATH This will be accepted as an excuse. However, we require at least two weeks’ notice to allow time for you to train your own replacement.   TOILET USE Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilets. In the future, we will follow the practice of going in alphabetical order. For instance: All employees whose names begin with 'A' will go from 8.00 to 8.20, employees whose names begin with 'B' will go from 8.20 to 8.40 and so on. If you are unable to go at your allotted time, it will be necessary to wait until the next day when your turn comes again. In extreme emergencies employees may swap their time with a co-worker. Both workers' supervisors must approve this exchange in writing. In addition, there is now a strict 3-minute time limit in the toilets. At the end of 3 minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper will retract, and the door will open..   LUNCH BREAK Skinny people get an hour for lunch as they need to eat more so they can look healthy, normal size people get 30 minutes for lunch to maintain their average figure. Fat people get 5 minutes for lunch because that's all the time needed to drink a Slimfast and take a diet pill.   DRESS CODE It is advised that you must come to work dressed according to your salary. If we see you wearing designer clothing we will assume that you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a pay rise. Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternations or input should be directed elsewhere. Have a nice day HR PS – please charge the time spent reading this email to ANNUAL LEAVE

********************************************************************** --------- **********************************************************************

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From the Love Never Dies blog

Niamh Perry’s blog

I’m back again to fill you all in on the past few days of rehearsals. Most of the cast began on Monday [4th January] morning but by next Monday [11th] the whole company from every department will come together for an eagerly anticipated “Meet and Greet”. Rumour has it that the design team have put together a powerpoint presentation… I can’t wait! We have already started to set a few dance numbers (which are looking fabulous) and you can sense the excitement in the air.

For me, finally starting to put this masterpiece into action has been pretty overwhelming. As I said in my last blog, I have been lucky enough to have been involved in Love Never Dies from the very first workshop over 18 months ago.

I have also been asked to fill you in on my back story. Many of you won’t know this, but I first met Andrew (The Lord) when I became a finalist for the BBC show “I’d Do Anything” which was the TV search for a new talent to play ‘Nancy’ in Oliver!, in which Andrew was the judge. And although I didn’t win (which I think is lucky, as I wouldn’t be involved in Love Never Dies!), I gained so much priceless support from the legend himself, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.

It is because of his support and encouragement that I am blessed with the chance to create the role of “Fleck.”

I had my wig fitting yesterday with an awesome man named Campbell who covered my head in cling film, sticky-tape and red marker- I looked hot- NOT. I’ve never worn a wig before so this is a new experience all together!

I must dash here, I have a costume fitting in a few hours. It feels like I’ve been waiting for this for months! The excitement is taking over. Maybe they will let me fill you in on a few secrets…

Till then, much love and too much excitement…

Niamh xx

via loveneverdies.com

London Theatre breaks to Love Never Dies are already on sale and teh expectation is mounting week by week, especially now that the proper rehearsals are underway.

See also Love Never Dies

Posted via web from London Theatre Breaks

Coming in from the cold at Forest Roots on January 29th

Dear Forest Folk

Brrrrrrrrrrr! The weather outside is frightful but Forest Roots is so
delightful and on friday, 29th January, we've got two hot acts. The
Bonfire Band will warm you up with their self-penned songs with a
country feel www.myspace.com and TenStringFever will push up the
temperature with some hot fiddle and guitar, www.tenstringfever.com.
So if you've no place to go  come and warm up at Forest Roots, The
Forest Gate Hotel, Godwin Road, Forest Gate. Starts at 8.30pm

 Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

stay forever young

Jenny and Caroline

Posted via email from Andy Roberts email podcast photo music and video blog on Posterous

Big Garden Birdwatch and RSPB Membership

Happy New Year!

Big Garden Birdwatch.

The next big Weekend birdwatch is on 30th and 31st January 2010.

The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch encourages people all over the country
to count the birds in their garden for just an hour over this one
weekend. It’s very simple to take part and provides the RSPB with
information and patterns in bird numbers that help prioritise
conservation work. More details about the event and how people can
join in can be found at www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

An adult RSPB membership now costs £36 a year and joint membership is
£46. Family membership remains at £51 and kids’ memberships are
unchanged at just £15 a year for one child and £25 for two or more
children at the same address.

http://distributedresearch.net/blog/2009/03/25/big-garden-bird-watch-results-are-out

Posted via email from Andy Roberts email podcast photo music and video blog on Posterous

Snow in London : Show goes on

Latest News: Weather update: Show goes on in London

First published: 06 Jan 2010

Despite the adverse weather conditions, as yet none of London’s theatres have reported performance cancellations today.

Theatregoers with tickets for matinee or evening performances today, 6 January, are advised to check with the theatre box office or their point of sale for the latest information.

Official London Theatre will endeavour to keep you updated throughout the day, so please check back regularly.

via officiallondontheatre.co.uk

Latest Weather News: Snow in London : Show goes on

Despite the adverse weather conditions, with yet more snow predicted, as yet none of London’s West End theatres have reported any performance cancellations for today, January 6th.

Theatregoers with tickets for matinee or evening performances today, 6 January, are advised to check with the theatre box office or their point of sale for the latest information.

London Theatre Breaks will endeavour to keep you updated throughout the day, so please check back regularly.

Posted via web from London Theatre Breaks

Pictures of my farm/land

Sent from my iPhone

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Andy Roberts email podcast photo music and video blog on Posterous

Theatre Breaks Agents Compared | London Theatre Breaks

Theatre Breaks Agents Compared

Theatre Breaks Agents

Theatre breaks agencies come in many shapes but here at the London Theatre Breaks blog we like to work with three in particular. We get a small commission from each reader who books a theatre break through our links and that helps to fund our blog. The theatre breaks agents offer somewhat differing services and the best one for you depends on what you are looking for when you start searching for a theatre break package.

You need to decide what your priorities are first before you look at the various deals on offer because you are not really comparing like with like. (If you need help with this have a look at this post on our sister site Theatre Breaks Magazine.) The agencies specialise and offer various options, they often work with particular hotels or a particular level of ticket. Some agencies have offers on rail fares which you can bundle in with the cost of your tickets, other optional extras like meals can also be added. Often agencies offer discounts on London attractions when they are booked with your theatre break.

We only work with reputable agencies where we can be sure that not only will you get a good deal but that your tickets and hotel room will be honoured. Some of the other theatre breaks companies add lots of hidden extras, like booking fees, on to your final bill. We think this is not acceptable so we only recommend the following package deals:

Show and Stay Theatre Breaks

Show and Stay is a long-established theatre package company. They are part of the larger Holiday Extras group and we have been working with them for the last 2-3 years. Feedback from customers has been very positive and we continue to recommend them. Show and Stay really specialise in getting you top quality tickets at a good price and combining them with a good choice of 3 or 4* hotels. They also offer a very good deal on rail tickets, with up to 40% discount as standard. Show and Stay often has the hot tickets that no one else has. For example when Jodie first appeared and Oliver! London was the hottest ticket in town, Show and Stay was able to offer Saturday night, best seats, when there was no other way to get them and everyone else said the show was sold out.

Now despite what I’ve said about them offering top quality tickets don’t assume that Show and Stay only do expensive theatre breaks. Their breaks are very competitive. For example someone just booked a midweek evening at Oliver! and 1 night in a 3* hotel for 2 people for only £213.96.

Superbreak Theatre Breaks

Superbreak is where you go for bargains. They offer a range of ticket prices so if you don’t mind being in the Upper Circle you can get a very good price indeed. They have more limited availability sometimes, than Show and Stay but if you are looking for particular dates rather than a specific show they can be very good value. The hotels they work with are just as good as Show and Stay and are usually 3 or 4*.

Superbreak are a large company and they do all sorts of London breaks and breaks to other cities too. They are less specialised than Show and Stay but they still offer a good service. Their web site can be a bit harder to find your way around, as it is so large, but if you persevere you can definitely get some great deals.

TheatreBreaks.com

TheatreBreaks.com is a smaller company established thirty years ago. They’ve been online for over ten years. They have pretty good availability, work with good 3 and 4* hotels but where they really excel is in their personal touch. They are they people to go to if your needs are at all outside the ordinary. Maybe you want to do a large group with an odd number to see Dirty Dancing on a specific weekend. Perhaps you have limited mobility and need to know that your hotel, and your theatre seats, are fully accessible. They are the best people to help you. You just phone them up quoting your reference number from the website and they will go out of their way to make sure your problems are sorted out.

Related posts:

1. Friday Theatre Breaks with Dinner and Hotel Fridays are a good choice for Theatre Breaks with Dinner...
2. Hotel and theatre deals Hotel Reservation Going up to London for a couple of...
3. Hairspray Theatre Breaks ** book London Hairspray Theatre Breaks** Planning Hairspray Theatre Breaks...
4. Theatre Breaks – The Movie In our first Theatre Breaks video story production two theatre...
5. Free Hotel Offer with London Theatre Breaks London Theatre Breaks Bargains London Theatre Breaks just got a...

Tagged as: Dirty Dancing, holiday extras, hotel deals, Hotels, London Attractions, London Breaks, London theatre, London Theatre Breaks, Oliver, package deals, Rail, rail fares, reputable agencies, superbreak, theatre, Theatre breaks, theatre breaks blog, theatre package

This post looks at three of the main Theatre Breaks Agents, namely Superbreak, Show And Stay and Theatrebreaks.com looking at the different specialities and strengths.

DARnet Andy Roberts - Seashore Image Editing Tutorial 5 - Tinting

 

DARnet Andy Roberts Seashore Image Editing Tutorial 5 – Tinting This is the last in my series of five image editing tutorials using Seashore for Mac. Previous video tutorials have covered: Layers The Clone Tool Colour Select How to Photograph a Ghost The topic for this latest video (5)  is “tinting”, a technique for adding or changing colour tones for discrete areas within an image. The screencast video itself was a little too long to upload to youTube in one piece, so I’ve spit it into two parts, part 1 and part 2. Image Editing Video Tutorial – Tinting Part 1 Image Editing Video Tutorial – Tinting Part 2 The picture used to illustrate the selective tinting technique is available for practice and has a creative commons license which means that it can be reproduced should you wish to do so, with proper linked attribution. image editing picture : Houseboat before image editing picture : Houseboat after Thanks for subscribing to Andy Roberts blog Seashore Image Editing Tutorial 5 – Tinting Related posts: Image Editing 3 : Colour Select with Seashore for Mac Image Editing Lesson 1 : Layers Image Editing lesson 2 : The Clone Tool More Recent Articles Winter Solstice The Shortest Day Redpoll West End Shows London Free Seats At The Free Shop St Andrews Day

Posted via email from Andy Roberts email podcast photo music and video blog on Posterous

MyBlogLog? (Yahoo! Developer Network Blog)

MyBlogLog?

Yesterday, rumors surfaced around Yahoo!’s imminent shutdown of its MyBlogLog service. Frankly, it’s no secret within Yahoo! that we’re actively discussing the future of MyBlogLog. However, it’s also true that we have not made any final decisions at this point. Is a shutdown on the table? Sure, that’s an option. But there are other options as well. We know this creates some uncertainty for current MyBlogLog users. While we aren't quite ready to share more details, we promise to keep you posted.

Chris Yeh, Head of YDN

Posted at December 23, 2009 11:47 AM | Permalink

via developer.yahoo.net

Well this is a terrible shame indeed if mybloglog is to be closed down. The system still has loads of potential as a nifty networking platform and I partocularly like the pro version of the stats package for giving realtime updates of any developing traffic situations. Admittedly I don't use the widget which displays the faces of blog visitors anymore, since some visitors apparently find it slightly disconcerting to see the echo of their own visit displayed for all to see.

If yahoo! don't know how to develop mybloglog and reget buying it in the first place then why not sell it on so that somebody else can do something with it?

Posted via web from Andy Roberts email podcast photo music and video blog on Posterous

O Gauge Trains – 7 Mistakes to Avoid | O Gauge Trains

Just in time for making up the O gauge trains set

O Gauge Trains – 7 Mistakes to Avoid | O Gauge Trains

Best Broadband Deals in the Countryside | Best Broadband Deals

Best Broadband Deals if you live in the countryside

Which are the best broadband deals if you live in the countryside or want to move to a remote part of the country?

It’s a problem that has no easy answer but it well worth researching if having a good fast broadband internet connection is important to you, but you also want to be able to live somewhere where the quality of life is different to that in the cities. If you already live somewhere that doesn’t have the best broadband deals that many city dwellers enjoy available to you then you you’ll still want to get the best internet service you can, possibly regardless of the price really. Working with a slow internet is both inefficient and also unpleasant and frustrating so paying a bit more just to get the kind of service that others would take for granted is still worthwhile.

The key factor is coverage.

So how do you find out if your area or intended area is covered by the better broadband internet service suppliers? Well one way to find out is to go to the various broadband ISPs websites and find the part which deals with enquiries about coverage. There you will be asked for a postcode, landline telephone number, or both. From this you’ll get an answer which tells you whether it will be possible to order a broadband package deal from that supplier, but it won’t really tell you how fast the eventual internet connection is likely to run at. That’s because the ultimate connection speed is going to depend on a number of factors including the quality of the wiring into your house and the distance from the telephone exchange. The state of the specific telephone exchange local to the house is important too. If it’s an old one that hasn’t be upgraded to work with modern fast broadband, then you could be stuck for a long time without a slow internet connection until BT finally decide to get around to upgrading that exchange.

But you might not find out that the internet connection is impossibly slow at your new house in the countryside until after you’ve already moved in! How annoying is that?

Researching Best Broadband Deals

So my suggestion is that you do some research on the ground rather than from your computer. You’ll need to find out if any prospective neighbours have already grappled with the rural broadband problem and see which solutions they have come up with. Be careful though, because the potential service from just half a mile down the lane might be very different, so if you find a good result nearby then try to check that they are actually connected to the same telephone exchange as the house you are thinking of moving in to. You might be able to do this by looking at the telegraph poles and wire going from the road to the houses, or by enquiring at BT themselves.

It may sound extreme to base a decision on whether or not to buy or rent a particular property partly on the availability or otherwise of best broadband deals in the exact location, but if your work or other large part of life is dependent on using an acceptably fast broadband in the house then it’s going to have a big impact on everyday living and just getting by more easily.

Technorati Tags: best broadband deals, best internet service, broadband internet service, BT, connection speed, countryside, coverage, internet connection, landline, location, package, Phone, postcode, slow internet connection, speed, telephone, telephone exchange, WORK

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 8:24 am and is filed under best broadband deals. Follow the comments through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or leave a trackback. Edit this entry.

via bestbroadbanddeals.org.uk

Thinking of moving to your dream house in the country? Better make sure the broadband is usable first.

Posted via web from Best Broadband Deals

Best Broadband Deals in the Countryside | Best Broadband Deals

Best Broadband Deals if you live in the countryside

Which are the best broadband deals if you live in the countryside or want to move to a remote part of the country?

It’s a problem that has no easy answer but it well worth researching if having a good fast broadband internet connection is important to you, but you also want to be able to live somewhere where the quality of life is different to that in the cities. If you already live somewhere that doesn’t have the best broadband deals that many city dwellers enjoy available to you then you you’ll still want to get the best internet service you can, possibly regardless of the price really. Working with a slow internet is both inefficient and also unpleasant and frustrating so paying a bit more just to get the kind of service that others would take for granted is still worthwhile.

The key factor is coverage.

So how do you find out if your area or intended area is covered by the better broadband internet service suppliers? Well one way to find out is to go to the various broadband ISPs websites and find the part which deals with enquiries about coverage. There you will be asked for a postcode, landline telephone number, or both. From this you’ll get an answer which tells you whether it will be possible to order a broadband package deal from that supplier, but it won’t really tell you how fast the eventual internet connection is likely to run at. That’s because the ultimate connection speed is going to depend on a number of factors including the quality of the wiring into your house and the distance from the telephone exchange. The state of the specific telephone exchange local to the house is important too. If it’s an old one that hasn’t be upgraded to work with modern fast broadband, then you could be stuck for a long time without a slow internet connection until BT finally decide to get around to upgrading that exchange.

But you might not find out that the internet connection is impossibly slow at your new house in the countryside until after you’ve already moved in! How annoying is that?

Researching Best Broadband Deals

So my suggestion is that you do some research on the ground rather than from your computer. You’ll need to find out if any prospective neighbours have already grappled with the rural broadband problem and see which solutions they have come up with. Be careful though, because the potential service from just half a mile down the lane might be very different, so if you find a good result nearby then try to check that they are actually connected to the same telephone exchange as the house you are thinking of moving in to. You might be able to do this by looking at the telegraph poles and wire going from the road to the houses, or by enquiring at BT themselves.

It may sound extreme to base a decision on whether or not to buy or rent a particular property partly on the availability or otherwise of best broadband deals in the exact location, but if your work or other large part of life is dependent on using an acceptably fast broadband in the house then it’s going to have a big impact on everyday living and just getting by more easily.

Technorati Tags: best broadband deals, best internet service, broadband internet service, BT, connection speed, countryside, coverage, internet connection, landline, location, package, Phone, postcode, slow internet connection, speed, telephone, telephone exchange, WORK

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 8:24 am and is filed under best broadband deals. Follow the comments through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or leave a trackback. Edit this entry.

via bestbroadbanddeals.org.uk

Thinking of moving to your dream house in the country? Better make sure you can find out if the broadband is any use first.

Posted via web from Andy Roberts email podcast photo music and video blog on Posterous