Great to attend the event in London tonight in which Sara Pascoe hosted a marvellous line-up of comedians on stage at the Bloomsbury.
Tag: Events
Foxgrove success
My son Ben stepped up for the Beckenham CC VIth team this afternoon, as his home team took on the Middlesex Strikers at Foxgrove Road. He delivered an outstanding bowling performance, taking 4 wickets for 40 runs in 6 overs with his medium pace, plus took a stunning catch on the boundary and removed the opposition’s top scorer. His efforts were recognised with the ‘Man of the Match’ award.
Bowie bandstand
I spent a rare afternoon in Croydon Rec in Beckenham earlier today, in the section of the park where the bandstand is sited, drawn by the structure’s association with one-time local resident, David Bowie.
MU Conference
The MU’s 39th biennial Delegate Conference, a key event in the Union’s calendar which was hosted by the Executive Committee on 20 and 21 July, took on a completely different look and feel this summer following the decision to hold the event online.
606 Club, Chelsea
A night in riverside Chelsea as Mark Batchelor and I took our table at the evergreen 606 Club. The evening’s line-up included guitarist Dave Ital (“Cool guitar-led funk, jazz and soul” Time Out) who has played alongside Chaka Khan, Tom Jones, Nile Rodgers, Incognito, Beyoncé, Level 42, Mica Paris, Take That, Lulu, Bobby Womack & many others.
West End Waiting
A West End flash mob took to Westminster today determined to make its mark.
Music and dance
Parliament Square was once again the centre for another demonstration calling for financial aid for performers today.
Parliament Square
I travelled to Parliament Square this morning and met up with my MU colleagues Dave Webster and Maddy Radcliff, plus hooked up once more with photographer Jonathan Stewart.
Education Expo
I visited Olympia this afternoon to oversee the installation and set up of the MU stand at this year’s Music & Drama Education Expo.
Michael Dugher
I attended a drinks reception this evening hosted by David Warburton MP, in the Jubilee Room at the House of Commons, to mark Michael Dugher’s leaving his role at the CEO of UK Music.
Brit Awards
Thanks once again to the marvellous Maggie Crowe OBE, Julie and I had tickets last night – on my birthday – to the Brit Awards being held at the 02 Arena. We arrived at 5pm and made our way to the Continental Hotel, where the pre-Show dinner awaited.
Americana Awards
I attended the UK Americana Awards this evening at the Troxy in Commercial Road in London’s East End. The venue is a wonder in itself, having been England’s largest cinema when opened in 1933 with a showing of King Kong.
Hackney gigs
This year’s UK Americana Conference was as engaging as ever with its in-depth series of seminars, workshops and interviews over three days. The showcase festival, meanwhile, offered its usual array of excellent acts in Hackney venues.
Joan Armatrading
Opening day of the UK Americana Conference in Hackney proved entertaining and informative once again, with the keynote speech on a theme of collaboration being presented by the legendary, ground-breaking Joan Armatrading.
Parliamentary jazz
Vocalist, pianist and MU Executive Committee member Andi Hopgood, Mark Batchelor and I attended the 2019 Parliamentary Jazz Awards tonight. The event, which was established in 2005, was once again organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group and staged downstairs at the PizzaExpress in Holborn.
Graham Parker
I met up with Nigel Kemp this evening in The Library pub in Islington, ahead of our crossing the road to see a solo performance by Graham Parker in the Union Chapel, an artist we saw play live many times in the early 1980s.
Jools Holland
My thanks to Chris Holland, keyboard player and songwriter, for guest tickets to his brother Jools’ big band concert at the Royal Albert Hall this evening.
AMA-UK launch
I visited the Old Queen’s Head in Essex Road, Islington, this evening for the launch of the 5th annual UK AmericanaFest, which will return to Hackney for three days at the end of January 2020.
BBC Introducing Live
This Year’s BBC Introducing Live event at Tobacco Dock built upon the foundations laid by last year’s successful expo, attracting an audience of around 18,000 rising artists and business representatives to the east London venue.
Addington Palace
I made the brief journey from Beckenham to Addington Palace Golf Club today to play in the autumn event in the Hayes’s Four Seasons competition.
The future of food
My thanks go to Sailesh Mehta of accountants HW Fisher, who very kindly invited me to their event at the Victoria & Albert Museum this evening dedicated to sustainability and the future of food.
Venues Day
I could be found at Islington Assembly Hall early this morning, setting up the MU mini-stand at the Music Venues Trust ‘Venues Day’, which is an annual event for several hundred managers and proprietors of grassroots venues across the UK.
