All 3 entries tagged Arts

Hopes for 2007

Ok, so it’s a week late…

I shan’t call these my new year’s resolutions because to be fair, I don’t resolve to keep them all – they are more like hopes and intentions… I am so non-committal.

So in 2007, I hope/plan to…

Take advantage of the fact that the ‘Best Midlands’ is currently a great place for live music and new/unsigned bands. I plan to see more live music (at the end of 2006 I saw The Twang, The Gravity Crisis, The Ripps, Untitled Musical Project, Murdoch, Deluka) and I reckon if you haven’t heard of any of these bands yet – you might in 2007. The Twang were recently named one of the sounds of 2007 in a poll published on the BBC website.

I also plan to improve my knowledge of the arts (and also theatre). When I was younger, I considered myself to be fairly artistic. I wasn’t bad at art and I enjoyed taking trips to galleries in Birmingham but recently I have stopped doing these things so I need to start again… As a first step towards improving my knowledge of the arts, I have enrolled in an history of art module with the Centre for Lifelong Learning ‘Artists in context’ which starts tomorrow evening.

Along a similar line to above – I intend to watch more documentaries and less reality TV. I watched a great programme the other night about the drug/gang culture in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro which was fascniating. Also, I saw a great programme advertised that is on tonight about the California music scene during the 60s and 70s so I will be tuning in to that. And I hardly watched any of the mind-numbingly rubbish Soapstar Superstar or Just the Two of Us.

I also intend to make better use of this blog. I have trained as a journalist and I work in Communications so I hope that I can produce more interesting reading matter on here instead of just general chit-chat about my flat and stuff! Expect more reviews…

I should probably make note of a resoultion suggested by my Mom. She told me I should ‘make a concerted effort to find a boyfriend’. Now, I am not sure exactly how you are meant to ‘make a concerted effort’. It’s not like I’m not keeping my eyes/options open – the right one just isn’t coming my way… plus the fact that I am committment-phobic is a slight hindrance here. Which brings me to my next resolution…

‘Say yes and worry less’. By say ‘yes’ – I just mean, take advantage of the opportunities that come my way instead of fretting about them and worrying ‘what if?’ all the time. I think I will go and buy ‘Yes Man’ by Danny Wallace and see if that helps… although I am not going to say ‘yes’ to everything – so don’t ask!

Another thing I need to remember this year is that I am only 24 years old – not 44!! Since I got my flat and my mortgage I have been staying in more (which is fine since it will help me to fulfill the aims above) but to fulfill my other aims such as find a boyfriend and enjoy the Birmingham music-scene a bit more, I need to remember that it is ok to go out on a work night, a large proportion of my weekend should not be taken up with hoovering and tidying up, and I have the rest of my life to save money. But then when you have a nice cosy flat to go home to it is tempting to become a hermit!

So there we go – my ‘hopes’ for 2007 – we’ll see how it goes…

Eleanor Lovell : 08 Jan 2007 13:28 |  Tags: Arts Flat Gigs Hopes Music Plans Relationships TV Writing |  Comments (8) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Kenilworth Festival starts tonight…

Follow-up to Kenilworth Festival from For blog's sake

The Kenilworth Festival starts tonight! Get down to Talisman Square at 6pm to enjoy Celtic folk group, Rack and Ruin and a nice glass of wine!

Events are happening all weekend – and the weather forecast has finally cleared up so we won't be soaked on Abbey Fields on Sunday!

Eleanor Lovell : 26 May 2006 14:49 |  Tags: Arts Music Theatre |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Kenilworth Festival

For about 8 months now, I have been a member of the Kenilworth Festival Committee, helping to organise this years event! Kenilworth has a festival I hear you cry?!

Last year was the first Festival in Kenilworth for 66 years so it was quite an achievement for the small committee who organised it! I get the impression that the committee has grown even smaller since last year and now consists of about 7 or 8 people – I joined the troup last August. You may have seen the coverage in the local press about this years event…

It is going to be on the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May – Friday 26th – Monday 29th.

Events during the weekend include:

• Rack and Ruin – celtic folk group – link
• A talk by local television and film writer Andrew Davies
• A Barn Dance and pig roast
• A craft market
• Circus Skills show
• A musical evening with the Warwickshire Symphony Ensemble
• Battle of the Bands
• A Tea Dance(!)
• Lament – link
• Local musician Marie Batchelder – link

On the Sunday, the Festival will take over Abbey Fields all day, starting at 10:30am with a Songs of Praise style morning service. Other events on Abbey Fields will include:

• Fire Box Dance Group
• Local musicians Tim Spencer and Steve Vent
• CBeebies presenter Justin Fletcher
• Hal Roberts Big Band
• and for the Main Event – Dave Willetts in Concert!!

I must admit my ignorance when Dave Willetts was first suggested at the Committee…. I did have to ask who he was – turns out he is a massive star of the musicals – and we all know that everyone loves a good musical! Dave Willetts has played the leading role in Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar. You can find out more about Dave Willetts at his official website - link

Finally, I admit this is a shameless plug for the Kenilworth Festival, but when the sun is shining on Abbey Fields on Bank Holiday Sunday and there are loads of people chilling out with picnics and enjoying the music and entertainment – it will be great! Many of the events are free but there is a charge for some of the larger events. You can buy tickets online – link

More information about all of the events is available on the Kenilworth Tourism website

Eleanor Lovell : 21 Apr 2006 10:28 |  Tags: Arts Music Theatre |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem