HELLO THERE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!
HELLO THERE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!I feel in my bones, 2022 is going to be a great year! The numerology of the year adds up to a six, one of my favourite numbers, here is a small description of the power of 6:
“Many flowers have 6 petals; bell peppers and tomatoes often have 6 seed chambers and the honeycomb made by bees are 6-sided or hexagonal in shape. When water freezes, it often forms six-pointed crystals.”
6 can be about harmony, home and the world…… I like to think that this year we will give harmony to the world, harmony on stage and also there will be precious days at home.
Christmas was a divine step away from the hustle and bustle. I remain eternally grateful that I am still working at 63yrs of age, but when those quiet days arrive, I rebalance very quickly, and ideas start to flow.
My hubby arrived home from Japan on the 14 December and ironically as his plane came into land at Heathrow at 15.15 I was driving past in the opposite direction on the M4, on my way to Proud Cabaret, watching his plane make its descent. It broke my heart I couldn’t be there to meet him, he and his team have a driver, but I was aching to see and hold him as walked out of immigration.
By 15.40 his phone was on and I was able to tell him I saw his plane arrive, that night after PC I drove straight home and by 2am we were sitting in the lounge having a Margarita cocktail!
When Robert has been away, we become like twins, inseparable, moving around the house together, shopping together, sitting side by side when we eat as if we fear being separated again.
On Christmas Day Frippy opened his pressies and he was like a little boy, overexcited and trying to guess what was in each parcel.
The one present I was excited for him to open was a box I compiled over the months he was away touring of 36 semi-precious gemstone divining pendulums. As Robert unwrapped it, I kept reminding him to hold the box upright as he was tempted to turn it over and examine it, which would have led to the contents crashing to the floor.
He had no idea what was in it, my clues baffled him, to me it was pretty obvious when I told him “These are a collection of items you have all over the house…. but very different!”
His face as the lid opened. It was a perfect moment. He stared and stared, then started touching each pendulum……HE WAS SO CUTE!
We have many pendulums all over the house, made of rose wood, cedar wood, olive, oak, willow but not many that are actual cut stones. We use them to clarify answers to hard conundrums. Pendulums cannot lie when asked the right binary question.
He also received many cufflinks, ties, crazy socks, stunning sets of tarot cards and crystallised whole fruits……. a speciality of Menton in France, which he wasn’t expecting at all.
What did he give me? 5 wonderful dresses, I love him choosing these. I only started wearing dresses about 6 years ago, now it’s all I wear.
There was also a very large present that Robert handed to me last of all and I was thrilled. It was a YAMAHA Sig200 GUITAR WITH A HELIX PEDAL BOARD PROGRAMMED WITH ALL KING CRIMSONS GUITAR EFFECTS……. BLOODY BRILLIANT!
We immediately set it up and sent a film of me playing to the band to which they replied…. “Live on stage next!”
I take the guitar down to the river, with headphones and rock out in my own private world with only the swans, the seaulls and the kingfisher for an audience.
——-
December was fantastic, getting to develop my role in PROUD CABARET with a fabulous team of performers who became family to me. I am going to miss them terribly but there are talks of my returning once my touring schedule eases.
There are so many things I love about this show and the other performers love about it too. The main one is everyone at Proud Cabaret LOVE the audience I bring into the venue. We have played to so many fun party-people who completely let loose and enjoy the night and the majority are my age.
Also I’ve loved seeing young women in the audience who obviously come to study the Burlesque. It never occurred to me how empowering it is to young women to watch a confident, strong women perform in a highly glamorous and erotic way. I had one young friend see the show and she decided that was what she wanted to do in future. Perhaps it’s because I never ever had that kind of confidence it didn’t occur to me how empowering sexuality can be.
Yep, I am 63yrs old and still learning what to most people has been obvious since they were in their early teens. I am a slow learner but as one amazing gender-neutral person in the show said to me “at least you learn!” It was a compliment that thrilled me.
The year is already breaking my back……. you know the type of days when you get 500 e-mail that could easily be condensed into one comprehensive update? We must all be having the same experience these days. We are all so accessible.
I start the live shows in a matter of days, with the fabulous Posh Pop band.
We must live with the threat of Covid in our lives for quite a while, in the past month about 80% of friends, neighbours had it! But they only suffered mild symptoms. All are OK now.
Unsurprisingly there is no such thing as “Covid insurance”, this is stressful. All I can say is we will do everything possible to stay safe and keep others safe so the tour can continue uninterrupted. This means all of the band will have to maintain a certain level of Covid distancing. We will become a pod on the road.
Robert mentioned in Burning Questions that if one person in King Crimson developed Covid while away in Japan last year, it would have bankrupted his company, well I am in the same position, but if we don’t venture out and perform “live music” and venues will suffer so badly they may never be saved.
There are some amazing things happening this year, lots and lots of live shows.
Simon Darlow and I have two album projects with Fripp. Yes, we are aiming to deliver the Posh Pop follow up by Christmas. Someone asked me yesterday is it written…er no…. but it’s in its vital embryonic beginnings.
I cannot wait to fulfil the shows that were moved due to Covid, Huntington Hall, The Robin and all the other shows. Check the dates on the GIGS page.
It’s going to be a great year, SEE YOU OUT THERE!
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND
BE LOUD, BE PROUD, BE HEARD!
LOVE TOYAH
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Click gallery images to enlarge
