With Ben away on a school trip, Julie and I had the chance for a night on the town and I booked a table at the Sky Garden, the Fenchurch Street rooftop restaurant in the City.
Category:News & events
Breaking the ceiling
The Performers’ Alliance All-Party Parliamentary Group has proposed an inquiry into the decline of social mobility in the creative sector entitled ‘Breaking the Class Ceiling in the Arts.’
BBC Introducing Live
It has been a busy but compelling three days at Tobacco Dock in east London representing the MU at ‘BBC Introducing Live.’ The event – now in its second year following its launch in 2017 as ‘Amplify’ – is hosted and administered by Get On Music Media, who I understand have licensed the BBC name for up to five years.
Variety is the Spice
I began an interesting working day at the MU’s HQ in Clapham Road, alongside my colleague Maddy Radcliff, presenting to the Union’s Executive Committee video snapshots of the PR coverage we had secured in partnership with our agency Kindred in the last 24 hours.
Music in education
In partnership with the team at PR agency Kindred, the MU launched a campaign today to bring attention to the decline in music tuition in recent years, especially for those families on lower incomes who cannot afford private tuition.
Martyn Joseph
I drove down to St Edith’s Hall in Kemsing near Sevenoaks this evening at the invitation of the superb singer/writer/guitarist Martin Joseph as he kicked-off his 33 date tour of the UK.
Westminster action
My colleagues Maddy Radcliff and John Shortell joined me outside Parliament this morning as we met highly-respected sound engineer Olga FitzRoy and many other names from the entertainment world in supporting the second reading of the “Shared Parental Leave and Pay (Extension)” bill.
MP4 v Homelessness
I was invited by Kevin Brennan, MP for Cardiff West, to the launch this evening of MP4’s new EP at the State Rooms of the Speaker of the House in the Houses of Parliament.
Venues Day
Music Venue Trust held their 5th national networking event today in the Islington Assembly Hall and MU Live Performance Official Kelly Wood and I ran a stand in the Main Hall throughout the day.
Young driver
Following a morning training with The Warren football club in West Wickham Common, and a fry-up at T’s Cafe in Eden Park, my son Ben was on his way with Julie, Lisa and I to Bluewater Shopping Centre near Dartford for a late birthday treat.
UK Music Album Quiz
To mark National Album Day, UK Music held a quiz this evening in the Silver Cross pub in Whitehall and fifteen teams gathered at 7pm in the basement ready to meet the challenge of the organisation’s quiz masters.
Debut with the Blues
With the completion of the Labour Conference in Liverpool, I travelled down to Birmingham by train on Thursday 27th to work, for the first time, at the Conservative Party Conference.
Labour Conference
I travelled by train to Liverpool on Friday 21 September, to attend and work at this year’s Labour Party Conference taking place at the Arena and Convention Centre in the Royal Albert Docks.
The Musician (Sept)
The autumn 2018 issue of The Musician, featuring a wraparound cover photograph of percussionist and West End stalwart Matthew West, is being dispatched solely to MU members this week.
Music Council
I attended the launch of the Council of Music Makers (CMM) at the Strongroom, Shoreditch this afternoon alongside my colleague Naomi Pohl, Assistant General Secretary of the MU.
Night of the Proms
Courtesy of my booking an advertisement for the MU in the Proms programme (140,000 copies on sale throughout the eighth weeks of concerts and events), I was offered two complimentary tickets to the Last Night concert at the Royal Albert Hall this evening.
Night on the town
Following a few productive hours at MU HQ in Clapham Road, including a catch-up with former industry manager Pete Jenner (Pink Floyd, The Clash, Billy Bragg), I drove into the West End in the early evening and secured a table outside Bar Italia in Frith Street, Soho.
Langley Park GC
As I am looking to join a local golf club, I arranged to spent the morning playing a trial round with the weekly ‘newbie’ group at Langley Park Golf Club in Beckenham.
The Warren JFC
Ben was kindly recommended to The Warren Junior Football Club by Alan Duncan, a coach at Beckenham Town JFC, and after a first turnout at training last Saturday, today he signed up for the season with the Club and is looking forward to the upcoming competitive matches.
Parliamentary Jazz
I caught the tube from the MU offices in the Oval and travelled on the Northern Line into the West End at lunchtime today to attend the voting panel for this year’s Parliamentary Jazz Awards at Pizza Express in Dean Street, Soho.
In Ziggy’s footsteps
At lunchtime today, Julie, Lisa, Ben and I could be found at Beckenham Junction Station making up a group of 12 led by Kat Webb on her regular walk around the town, ‘In Ziggy’s footsteps.’
The Journalist
Following a feature entitled ‘Get even and get paid’ by Mick Sinclair in the July/August issue of The Journalist, the NUJ members’ magazine, on the subject of copyright protection, it was heartening to see an edited version of my letter published in the latest issue: “Joseph Williams was the founder of the Musicians’ Union and its General Secretary from its inception in 1893 until he retired in 1924.
Kent cricket and golf
I travelled down to Canterbury early this morning to take part in the autumn Kent Legends’ Golf Day. A healthy turnout of 22 teams took part and I lined up alongside Canterbury GC President Kerry, plus local members Neil and Richard.
