Back Again

A stressful couple of months here, and two weeks off work as a result. Doctor willing to give me another couple of weeks, but really, it's time to go back. Things have been bad at home, as those who know us will attest, and it has not been a good year. Good things came of it though. Dad is being properly looked after, our house is beautiful (apart from the kitchen floor, GRRRRR), the teenager is sorting himself out, adult child is being wonderful, and we have found deep and supportive friendships amongst our acquiantances and neighbours. 

Back to work tomorrow, then. Had to happen one day. Was going to practice the violin, go to daytime dance classes in Pitshanger Lane and write my blog every day, but did I?

Off to Hastings tomorrow for a three day break with Phil. Somewhere to get away. We ought to have been in Whitby this week, but the teenager wasn't well enough. Positive outcome again, though in that we have swapped our week in Whitby now, for one in November, which I imagine will be very beautiful, and we will all be healthy. We have only been in August, to date. Of course we'll be going before November, for folk week and the week after to recover. This year, Phil will be driving there...he is fortunate, having passed his test umpteen years ago and not having to take another one. He's had a few brush-up lessons with the wonderful Laura, and has practiced getting on and off the M1. We are going to share my daughter's car, and I'll be able to drive a little bit, too but not on the motorway of course.

So a lot going on, but for now, I'm back.

dancing in ealing

All returning to normal, went to tap on Friday, to be greeted by Rose in a t-shirt bearing the legend 'Rock'n Tinkabell', you may remember I called her a Rock 'n' Roll Tinkerbell in a previous post. Tap was great, so good to get back into it - the grown-ups might also be putting on a show, and I might take part...more nights to find time for though.
Decided a good thing, before Whitby next summer, might be to go to some folk/country damceclasses, or join a group ro something, so have discovered Ealing Country Dance Club. Wierdly this is also in Pitshanger LAne. Phil and I went last night, it was brilliant. Everyone was superfriendly, and tolerant and patient with us, there were no sour faces when we didn't do things properly, and we are learning to refine some of our moves. We knew it would be fun, but we had an even better time than we thought we would. One lovely moment was when we saw someone who had been at Whitby Folk Week; that was really special, seeing someone who had only caught glimpses of in the massive ceilidhs there, just locally in Pitshanger Lane. He is great and we had a lovely time talking to him. He goes to Pete Cooper's classes at Cecil Sharpe House sometimes. Our bus came just as we were really getting into our chat. Sadly these dances are on Monday night, clashing with the tap show rehearsals. Wow, I love dancing, it is so all encompassing and joyous. Particularly in a way when folk dancing is going well, and you are really with other people enjoying the music.

Darren and the Yummy Mummies (and Daddies)

My friend Darren; has become the darling of the yummy mummies and daddies of Brentford. He has also unified two more or less discrete clans of friends in the area. How has he done this? .
Starting at the beginning- I have known Darren for a very long time, since back in the psychedelic 80s of the Chiswick Village era. He went out with Ali-la Peche, and they had a baby together and even after all the ups and downs, everybody is still friends.

When we moved from Chiswick Village down to Airedale Avenue, Darren joined us as our lodger and we got to know him much better

Darren is a very interesting, intelligent and capable person; he learned to ride at reform school, he learned carpentry and cabinet making as a teenager, and is generally very artistic. He got a degree in electronics and knows about plumbing! A true polymath and all round renaissance man. So when we moved into our little house, our tiny house with all our boxes full of clutter, of course we asked him- if this was your house, and your clutter, how would you arrange things. So he spent several months working in each room in turn, to create storage masterpieces; our downstairs toilet is truly delightful! Over time, my other friends in Brentford, the Green Dragon Group came over and admired Darren's work, and began to ask for Darren's number; Darren's network of admirers grew and he is never out of work. He has also become a great friend to one and all; you don't get just a brilliant design, but insight and entertainment too. The Green Dragon Group and The Chiswick Village Collective are now all at each other's parties, and now, joy of joy for many, Darren is now moving to the heartland of Brentford. Funnily enough, he is moving away from tap dance land, Pitshanger Lane, which he also was able to appreciate the charms of!
His many fans will be able to bang on his door and plead to be next in line for Darren designs, and the love will flow.

tipetty tap

Tonight is Friday night...Friday night is tap dancing night. Fantastic in every way, if you disregard my efforts.
Starting tap dancing was particularly exciting as I have wanted to do this since my teens. I can't remember why I didn't do it then, I wish I had, when I had a fresh young brain, as it's hard to get one's head round the moves and routines now; what the brain wants to do does not seem to communicate effectively to the feet.

Ideally doing tap would have meant just owning the shoes and being magically able to tapdance.
Anyway it was really exciting getting my first pair of tap shoes and made me feel like I could do it until I tried. It is really hard- harder than giggling at the back of the streetdance class and sort of getting by, a bit...very hard, nearly as hard as learning the violin.
Luckily I have a partner in crime, Sue- we've been doing tap for just over a year and are of a similar standard- we cry on each other's shoulders when it's all too much.

Anyway...the teacher, Rose, is brilliant- She's a rock 'n roll Tinkerbell; you would not mess with Rose, she looks like she hangs out with Lemmy & co...yet she is dainty and elegant; a rocker with bleach blonde hair, pink at the ends, tattoos, a leather jacket with cannabis leaf badges and appears to be completely scatty although this is deceptive- you have to be extremely sharp minded to be able to tap dance well, and to communicate to others of very mixed abilities from week to week how to do it...the class is different every week- some people just come for a week or two, and lose heart, some have been coming for years; the variety in age is even greater than in streetdance class where I am one of the oldest, if not the oldest there... I would say in tap that the youngest are in their teens, and I am possibly about two thirds of the way along to the eldest. The more experienced ones of course are excellent with rubber legs that know how to do everything. Again a camaraderie between all. We laugh and joke with each other and with Rose, and we dance to excellent music. I don't know if in your mind's eye you have an idea of the sort of music one tap dances to? maybe showtunes, maybe jazz...Well, recently we tried a dance to Walk This Way by Aerosmith/Run DMC, and one we've been working on for a few months is Good Golly Miss Molly by Little Richard! I can do nearly all of that one now....although completely falls apart when I try to demonstrate this at home- Phil says I look like I'm trying to put a cigarette out on the floor...The class can be a bit chaotic; the more experienced dancers arrive about half way through the beginners' class, some clutching mysterious looking cases which contain their shoes. Rose has it all under control- the small studio is packed by now, but we still work on stuff that beginners can manage - just! She can also do amazing balloon designs!- see link up to the right.

It is brilliant, especially at the end of the working week, I can stamp out all my frustrations with a satisfyingly loud clickety clack, laugh with friends and then go home again to my family, food, wine and comedy on the telly. Bliss.

two left feet

Yesterday I psyched myself up to go to my streetdance class after not going for a few weeks due to the dodgy hip; it's not what you might think, although who am I to assume. I do not spin on my head.
It's a lovely class with women of all ages, shapes and sizes, in fact sometimes a man or two as well- sometimes John, who works in the shop, sometimes Ken, whose shop it is, and sometimes one of the women's partners.
I started to go to this class, and the tapdancing class because I'd been looking for some jazz trainers for my son, and Ealing Dance Centre in Pitshanger Lane was the nearest place. now that the dance shop in Northfields had shut..what a happy day that was! Son tried on some of the jazz trainers, so did Phil and me- fantastic- made me feel lighter than air, a feat in itself-; I needed to go to a dance class asap. wonderful John, the huge (I mean tall!) hilarious Liverpudlian who works there told me about Nika's dance class on a Wednesday night - some excercise and a dance routine, just over an hour a week. Brilliant- I'd done a bit of dance in my early 20s and helped to run a disco dancing group at the Mayflower Family Centre, Canning Town when I lived there in 79/80. Enthusiasm is everything really, as I definitely had, and still have two left feet. I've been going since Feb '06 and there's been no real improvement, although I now now what certain terms mean which makes life easier, eg behind side front, and step ball change! It is such fun though, a real camaradierie between the people that go and Nika the teacher. I missed it so much when I wasn't able to go, as much for the friendship as the exilharation of the excercise and music. As for the music, who knows what we dance to week to week, I have never heard of most of it, or wouldn't choose to listen to it, although some of it I have downloaded onto i-tunes since I've danced to them, in the hope that I can remember the dances between classes. It's either a fast tune, or a slow tune! Another thing I like about it is the surprise value of telling people, what I did last night, yes, I was at my streetdance class dancing to 50 cent has good comedy value with the teenagers I work with!
Ealing Dance Centre is a wonderful place and so is Pishanger Lane; although I've lived just half an hour's bus ride from it for about 15 years now, I'd never been there; it is so village like and a great community, there always seems to be a community festival or event going on. Lovely restaurants and cafes too... there is also the Brentham Estate which I think was set up by an idealist early in the last century and probably as it's own website (will find out). The shop has everything, and the people that work there are so knowledgeable and helpful. At the moment there is a window display called 'Holy Communion' with lots of frilly white dresses for those making their first communion soon. They also have fancy dress costumes and a wide range of dance clothes and shoes. If they haven't got something they will get it- and you get a discount if you're a member of the local theatre group, Questors. What more could you ask. My son was horrified at the idea of me doing streetdancing, he was embarrassed - he said I should do something more suited to my age, like tapdancing - I agreed to do this if he came as well, which he did for a short while. WIll write about the tap after Friday - that's a whole story in itself...