Madwoman that I am I have signed up to do a 350 mile sponsored cycle ride in India for the charity Lepra who do lots of valuable work helping people who suffer diseases of poverty. And yes, Leprosy DOES still exist! The cycle ride happens next January and I am organising a concert at York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham on 10th October 2009 starting at 8pm. This is to raise sponsorship funds and guess who are appearing as part of the programme? Right first time. Helen and Nikhil have kindly agreed to take part and we will be joined by talented friends and colleagues in what we hope will be a fun-packed evening. Do come along! There will also be an auction. Such things as Royal Albert Hall tickets, an hour of storytelling and a facilitated FIREWALK are among the items you can bid for! Please email for more details.

oh yes, Hil & i are about to embark on the new term; the ever so slightly more grown up equivalent of trying on the new school uniform, polishing our shoes & chucking out the stale remnants of last years sandwiches from our satchels. Refreshed from hols in many far away corners of the globe such as Isle of Wight, Scotland, Wales & The Hague we are now ready to tackle the new curriculum which this season includes some intellectually stimulating (btw thats French for slick & sparkly) gigs with Live and Local & Creative Arts East. We are also quite excited to be appearing at Pizza on the Park in December. Actually i think Hil blew that trumpet before in these postings. Well what of it – lets dine out on that titbit. We also took possesion of our first 2011 gig! yes thats right – 2 years hence! what sort of people accept bookings 2 years in advance ? major international opera stars perhaps? Michael Jackson ?. hmm enough said! I’ve no idea what might have happened to the Universe by that time, and more particularly what the constituent parts of your site hostesses, namely daming flames might be doing then. Hilary may have had THE CALL from La Scala by then. I might be studying circular breathing in India. Gawd knows what…but of course we said yes because its a request from Horsham Music Circle no less. My home town & all that.
So theres lots to do for our new season – contracts to sign, posters to print (actually thats done) old arias to dust, new ones to get the tonsils round, sequins to sew etc etc. you get the gist. Before you ask, of course we love it. could you call it a proper job? erm hardly. It is hard work sometimes -not all glitz & diva tantrums don’t you know. But at least its not double maths. So watch this space; Flamin’ Dames showtime wagon could just be rolling into a town near you sometime soon.