Leadenhall Market is a beautiful 14th century covered market in the City of London. The distictinve red, cream, gold and green decor was designed all the way back in 1881. Though the colour scheme is the same all year round, it’s one of my favourite places to visit at Christmas because it lends itself so well to the festive colour scheme! I’ve been coming since I was 16 and I haven’t tired of it yet. The market is quite small and tucked away in the middle of the City, so it’s the kind of place that often gets held up as a “hidden gem” – these days it’s not so much of a fruit and veg market as it is a row of luxury shops and eateries.
I dragged along with me my most recent companion of choice; with him being a Harry Potter fan I was so excited to tell him that the market was the location for the Diagon Alley scenes in the first two films. Production moved to Borough Market after that but it’s still a must-see for any fan. Although to be honest, I’m not a massive fan and the giant Christmas tree, mulled wine sellers and gorgeous fairy lights make it such a perfect place to go anyway!
I am very fond of Kingston-Upon-Thames. It’s essentially where I grew up, so I have memories from my earliest years of wandering around the Bentalls Centre (essentially a shopping mall) listening to the animatronic bears singing christmas music, to me during school years spending pocket money on absolute crap to give my friends, to me in recent years doing a speedy dash around on Christmas Eve with James.
This year Kingston at Christmas has a pop-up vintage market in the town hall which is a nice addition to the (in no way) German Christmas Market outside. I’ve been a few times running errands with new companions, it’s always lovely to re-discover somewhere you know very well through somebody else’s perspective.
Here’s a few snaps from my recent trip to Oxford! Christmastime is one of my favourite seasons to visit new places. I feel like people try harder to be friendly, everything is decorated to look a bit nicer and you appreciate a warm and friendly shop or cafe that bit more. It’s no wonder most of my travelling happens during the colder months!
I have to say, the Oxford buildings remind me a little of the Cotswolds; fat yellow bricks and purple slate roofs, with windy cobbled streets running between everything. It’s all very “quaint British” to my eyes which a lot of people consider people to be a hallmark of this country. It’s funny, a huge portion of my American family are obsessed with the UK’s streets and buildings: I’m hardly the biggest fan in the world and yet I’m the one surrounded by it!
These photos were taken in a few different areas; some in various shops around Oxford, the covered market and of course a couple of the beautiful buildings. It was really magical to be able to see the Christmas lights and festive displays in the shops. Even without decorations the old buildings with their decorative lattice work looked pretty special anyway!
I know that “spring clean” is the phrase that has entered the lexicon, but really Christmas is the time of cleaning. Unearthing boxes of clothes for the silver sequinned skirt you KNOW you own, dusting off the top shelf before place a fake snow blanket over it, replacing batteries in fairy lights which have hung unlit on your wall for the last 4 months because tis the season to be sparkly.
This week has been CRAZY busy so far. I’m grateful for all the good things that are happening: new dates, bandmates, late-night takeaways, ticket e-mails and the presence of twinkly lights everywhere. But I’m also SO ready for next week and the start of the holidays. COME ON DECEMBER!!
If I was a full-time blogger I would have photographed my record player covered in tinsel (it’s red and white anyway), but I’m not, so you’ll have to trust me. This is kind of a weird title for a blog post but hear me out! We’re all very familiar with Christmas music as it’s been blaring out of most shops since August, but there are some absolutely cracking tunes out there that don’t get enough airplay and I’d like to introduce them to you.
Seeing as my job for about 3 months has been curating the best Christmas songs for this event I thought I’d share some of the underrated festive (and suggestive) hits. I’ve also made a playlist featuring these songs as well as youtube links for individual songs in this post, so if you have Spotify you can listen and save along. So here we go with the top bangers for banging! (Sorry)
The Man With The Bag – Jane Monheit
This isn’t the original version, but it’s certainly my favourite. Jane has quite a soft voice and her cool delivery on a relatively fussy tune makes for a song full of anticipation. Perfect for a cheeky party peck.
The Christmas Song – Chicago
Lay those funk grooves down, boys!! This is such an overproduced arrangement of this song but I LOVE it! It’s so different from the original and there are some banging horn lines on this track. A good one for all those festive lounge parties you’ll be hosting in your penthouse flat. (?)
Back Door Santa – Clarence Carter
I don’t know if it’s the overly suggestive lyrics (“I ain’t like the Old Saint Nick… he don’t come but once a year”), the sleazy horns, the fat funk guitar in the background or the honky-tonk keyboard… but this song is SO hot. It’s just an absolute banger of a song. I’ll actually be singing this on Sunday (for Quizmas) in full bed voice, so wish me luck with those frustrated growl sounds! *gulp*
I’ll Be Home For Christmas – The Carpenters
It basically invites you under the mistletoe, it’s that sweet and coy. Believe me, as somebody who has studied Disney music to academic level over the last 7 years, the production on this value of the popular festive ballad is PURE 50s Disney. The choir, the high winds and strings, the percussion. It sounds like it’s from a vintage Disney Christmas film that never got made. Add in Karen’s super-sultry voice and it’s a Christmas winner.
This Christmas – Donny Hathaway
I love this song. Donny has the best voice ever, or at least one of the sexiest voices ever. It’s so warm! His voice is like a brandy for the soul: add in how desperately he wants to have a good christmas with you and his talk of “carolling” through the night and it’s just a deeply sensual christmas tune. Cracking horn line too. This is another one I’ve been learning for Sunday so let’s REALLY cross our fingers I can channel my inner goddess for the whole set!
Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Pearl Bailey & Hot Lips Page
Before you skip over this really overplayed/over-covered song, give this 1949 recording a go. It is HILARIOUS, I absolutely love it. There’s just so much character and atmosphere in the song! The ad-libs from both performers are hilarious, and Pearl is just such a sassy broad (there’s no other word for it) that it really makes the song. There are several times they almost miss the cue to sing because of the crazy improv over the top. I think my favourite bit is right at the end where she says “I don’t got no fur coat or nothing, I really can’t”, and then about 10 seconds later “I’ll tell her to go about her business” with a clear smirk. Brilliant.
Ole Santa – Dinah Washington
Dinah can’t help but sound sultry, and though this song is ostensibly about waiting for Santa to arrive, it doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to imagine Dinah, dressed in feathered gown, sat at the dressing table and gazing longingly out of the window waiting for her guy to arrive.
Let’s Make Christmas Merry Baby – Amos Milburn
The gentle piano suggest a late-night home alone, the slightly fuzzy production suggest a couple of egg-nogs, and the lyrics suggest… well, what don’t they suggest? He wants to slide our chimney and fill our stockings full of toys! Oh Amos. There’s even a sultry sax solo. It’s all very, very mistletoe.
Dear Mrs Claus – The Barr Brothers
What girl doesn’t want to be wooed at Christmas time? Promises of gifts, holding our hands and distracting the elves for the night, it’s all very sweet and coy. 6/8 is by far the sexiest time signature and the innocent vocal delivery coupled with the humming harmonies in the back, leading into a well-placed guitar solo make this perfect mistletoe fodder. Probably in front of a log fire. Maybe even in matching Christmas pjs. Adultery never seemed so sweet.
I’d Like You For Christmas – Julie London
Julie London has such a soft and sultry voice anyway that she could probably sing the phonebook and it would sound perfect under the mistletoe. But this sweet ballad has some well placed syncopated backing vocals (god knows I love a thought-out backing vocal) and coupled with the high melodies it’s all very intimate and delicate. More of a prolonged smooch than a quick peck under the mistletoe.
Trim Your Tree – Jimmy Butler
This is so, so, so deeply unromantic. But it’s just so hilarious I had to include it in case you hadn’t heard it. The lyrics are ridiculous, the musicians sound like they’re having a ball – the keys player is loving it – and Jimmy is just absolutely going for it on the vocals. Have a sleazy Christmas!
So there you go. A very brief guide to some of my favourite christmas tunes! I haven’t done many music-based posts but this could have been a LOT longer, so let me know if you’d like to hear more.
This is a song I wrote in the summer. Like most of my songs, it’s about a situation I didn’t understand which I mentioned in passing at the time. There was a lot going on. I wrote the lyrics when I was still optimistic about the situation, but I wrote the music later when I knew where I stood.
I thought about typing the full lyrics out into this blog post but I think it’s better to just listen and interpret them yourself. Thank you if you do listen and please let me know what you think!
“Hey, I’ve got a Christmas Tree in my hair! Ho Ho Ho!!” – what a twat. So anyway, ICYMI I’m undertaking #Slogmas. I realise that for most people #Blogmas and #Vlogmas will be Christmas – themed and I can tell you right now the “content” I have pre-planned is not Christmassy. No sir. Crime, cakes, tinder dates, race, Steven Universe, homosexual animals, shrunken heads, television, burgers and cartoons, fine by me; Christmas… well there’s this and one other Christmas post, so, not that much.
That aside, I thought why not ease myself in with a simple Christmas list (there won’t be too many of these, don’t worry). By nature I’m a born Scrooge but in the last few years I’ve been trying to change that. I thought I’d tell you about the festivities I have planned for this year; I’m trying to avoid turning Christmas into some kind of task-based checklist, but these are the things I’d like to happen.
1. Buy a Christmas tree and invest in some decorations, then actually decorate my office with them.
2. Watch a lot of Christmas films (I’ve only seen two. Seriously)
3. Write Christmas cards and actually send them to my overseas family!
4. Go to my favourite London spots during weekdays (nobody wants to deal with those weekend shopping crowds) and try to appreciate the Winter weather.
5. Visit at least 3 Christmas attractions.
6. Have a really good night out!!!
7. Cook a special Christmas dinner for all of my closest friends.
8. Try to visit my family.
9. Record a Christmas cover with James.
10. Create a Christmas category on my blog. (DONE) (YEAH BEING PRODUCTIVE…ISH)
At present I have a few gigs planned, but almost no social events due to the huge workload I have over Christmas, but there are a few parties I’m hoping to make if I get the time! What are you guys hoping to do this Christmas? Also – I’ve only planned about 10 days of Slogmas! So if you a request, please make yourself known.
Welcome to the 1st December! The first day of advent calendars, the first day of winter, the first day of #Vlogmas, #Blogmas, and something I’m going to christen: #Slogmas. For #Slogmas, I intend to release one new piece of content per day. There are a few paths this content may take.
I’ve definitely (sort of) got the hang of blogging (sporadically), but really the number of posts I write bears no resemblance to the number of blogs I post. I have TONNES of half-written posts lying around; the few that have made it into actual posts have done quite well and it seems stupid to not have finalised more of them. So: sometimes the content will be blogs.
I’ve also made a few forays into videos over the course of this year which haven’t been massively well-received (or actually, received in any way) but I’m a stubborn creative, and I want to make more; it’s something I enjoy and I’d like to get better. So: some of the content will be videos.
And lastly, and most importantly to me, are my songs. I’ve spent this whole year supposedly trying to finish writing my first album, finish recording my EP and JUST GET STUFF OUT THERE. In the little time I have reserved for my own music I find just getting friends to turn up to a gig is a marathon race and leaves almost no spare time for recording. But I’ve been writing and writing and writing and I want to get these songs out there. It makes me want to cry when I think about how little I share.
Why the slog, I hear you ask? Well, I’m going to do this alongside running Quizcats, fielding four public gigs (one of which I’m directing) and my regular teaching and directing jobs. Through November I’ve managed an average of 1 post a week so increasing that by 700% is more than a little ambitious and I predict it will at times feel like a massive slog. Not even taking into account that it takes a lot longer to make a video or a song than it takes to make a blog.
So, this is completely a personal and creative challenge I’m setting myself, but I hope some of you will be interested in what I have to give! If you want to make sure you’re in touch for everything #Slogmas then you can join me on my blog page, my youtube page or my soundcloud page. Or sign up to my personal Facebook as I’ll make sure everything gets over to there. Alright, let’s do this!!!! #Slogmas #PuttingtheparadeintoTapeParade #ARGHHHHH
TAPE PARADE 