I've started drinking coffee.
I'm not sure how it happened, and I'm definitely in the early, insecure, not knowing the status of our relationship phase, but there you have it. Milk and 2 sugars please. (all the proper coffee drinkers can now slag away).
Well, it's Friday and that can only mean one thing. Work is the last place I want to be. Not because I don't love my job...I do. I really do. In fact, it has been really fulfilling this week. Training, interviews, events for mentors, events for young people...all good.
In other news, this weekend I'm heading to my very first Hindu wedding! I've got my sari all ready and I'm off to get some henna done tonight at the brides house. So by all accounts, come Sunday morning, I should basically blend in with the other 600 asian friends and family attending? Regardless, I'm excited for my friend, and I'm excited to see how this culture does things...
Also, my darling mother and auntie moe arrive on Sunday! I haven't seen my mum in 7 whole months, so I plan on smothering her for a few days and doing some fun Londoney things.
All in all, my body is weary but my spirit is happy.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Voting/Responsibilities/Celebrity
It's heating up here in the capital! Both outside and in the political arena.
Tonight is the big old, all singing, all dancing, first ever prime minister debate. How very western of us.
Do you care? Will you watch?
I've been keeping a bit of an eye on the campaigns this time round...trying to get some perspective etc., but it's all much of a muchness surely?
David Cameron has the charisma, modern man, heart on sleeve factor. But is there any substance?
Gordon Brown is so boring, that people will probably see him as a safe, easy voting option - not very controversial.
...and Nick Clegg is a bit wet behind the ears - and very defensive.
I watched the interview piece on Gordon Brown last night, and was pretty unenthused.
When asked what he gets most stressed out or worried about in his personal life, his answer alluded to the fact that he doesn't worry about his personal life because his priority is the British public, and the bigger issues...
I don't know about you, but that wasn't what I wanted to hear. It would've been nice to see him be a bit more real and have at least a minor concern or worry about his personal life...
After the interview I skeptically switched over to Lindsay Lohans Journey to India...
I have to say, I was really moved. She went to visit lots of refuge/safe houses for young boys and girls rescued from trafficking, and heard their stories. She seemed genuinely really effected by the experience.
In these situations, with celebrities adopting left and right, visiting war-torn, earth-quake ravaged places, and making these documentaries on really hard hitting relevant issues, it is easy to look at it and give it a great big eye roll.
Is it all about the publicity? Who knows... Would they be interested if they didn't have a persona to keep up? Who knows...
I'm pretty sure Lindsay Lohan is generally a hot mess, but I couldn't help but give her the benefit of the doubt last night.
Tonight is the big old, all singing, all dancing, first ever prime minister debate. How very western of us.
Do you care? Will you watch?
I've been keeping a bit of an eye on the campaigns this time round...trying to get some perspective etc., but it's all much of a muchness surely?
David Cameron has the charisma, modern man, heart on sleeve factor. But is there any substance?
Gordon Brown is so boring, that people will probably see him as a safe, easy voting option - not very controversial.
...and Nick Clegg is a bit wet behind the ears - and very defensive.
I watched the interview piece on Gordon Brown last night, and was pretty unenthused.
When asked what he gets most stressed out or worried about in his personal life, his answer alluded to the fact that he doesn't worry about his personal life because his priority is the British public, and the bigger issues...
I don't know about you, but that wasn't what I wanted to hear. It would've been nice to see him be a bit more real and have at least a minor concern or worry about his personal life...
After the interview I skeptically switched over to Lindsay Lohans Journey to India...
I have to say, I was really moved. She went to visit lots of refuge/safe houses for young boys and girls rescued from trafficking, and heard their stories. She seemed genuinely really effected by the experience.
In these situations, with celebrities adopting left and right, visiting war-torn, earth-quake ravaged places, and making these documentaries on really hard hitting relevant issues, it is easy to look at it and give it a great big eye roll.
Is it all about the publicity? Who knows... Would they be interested if they didn't have a persona to keep up? Who knows...
I'm pretty sure Lindsay Lohan is generally a hot mess, but I couldn't help but give her the benefit of the doubt last night.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
New Music & Hop Farm Festival
The best thing about living in London (even as I type that it doesn't seem real still) - is having the option of seeing great live music at any given time of the week.
The worst things about living in London is that I would need to sell my car in order to afford to go to the big ones. I far prefer a nice intimate gig. The difference between seeing John Mayer play Shepherds Bush Empire in 2004, and seeing him play the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan in 2007 was incredible. The first was like a lovely hidden secret. He talked to the crowd, he hadn't yet crossed the line into mega-idiot-star. It was bliss. I even sqeezed up to the front and stood with my arms propped and folded on the stage. The second was so huge, I couldn't even see him. There were so many pre-teen girls screaming because they 'so related' to his music, and he had no rapport with the audience at all. He had turned into a mainstream monster and worst of all - Jessica Simpson was there. That's $60 i'll never bloody see again.
Give me the first any day.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to see Ellie Goulding play at Dingwalls in Camden. Great little venue, and perfect for her. Everyone there was there because they knew they were onto something good. She belted it out with her Bjork/Julia Stone-esque pipes and made the crowd feel like they had got their money's worth. Her album is on constant reply on my iphone at the mo. Boootiful tunes.
My favourite thing is to find out about something good before the masses - which is why I am SO excited about getting some weekend tickets to the Hop Farm Festival!
It seems to be a new-ish festival in Kent, with massive potential to be the 'go-to' festival in the coming years. It's the same feeling I get about the Forfey Festival in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It seems more organic, creative and without all the crazy trimmings of the bigger festivals. This years line up (so far) proves they are onto a good thing:
Bob Dylan
Mumford and Sons
Seasick Steve
Laura Marling
Peter Doherty (bah)
The Magic Numbers
& Foy Vance
FABULOUS!
Get on it, the tickets are gonna go fast...
The worst things about living in London is that I would need to sell my car in order to afford to go to the big ones. I far prefer a nice intimate gig. The difference between seeing John Mayer play Shepherds Bush Empire in 2004, and seeing him play the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan in 2007 was incredible. The first was like a lovely hidden secret. He talked to the crowd, he hadn't yet crossed the line into mega-idiot-star. It was bliss. I even sqeezed up to the front and stood with my arms propped and folded on the stage. The second was so huge, I couldn't even see him. There were so many pre-teen girls screaming because they 'so related' to his music, and he had no rapport with the audience at all. He had turned into a mainstream monster and worst of all - Jessica Simpson was there. That's $60 i'll never bloody see again.
Give me the first any day.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to see Ellie Goulding play at Dingwalls in Camden. Great little venue, and perfect for her. Everyone there was there because they knew they were onto something good. She belted it out with her Bjork/Julia Stone-esque pipes and made the crowd feel like they had got their money's worth. Her album is on constant reply on my iphone at the mo. Boootiful tunes.
My favourite thing is to find out about something good before the masses - which is why I am SO excited about getting some weekend tickets to the Hop Farm Festival!
It seems to be a new-ish festival in Kent, with massive potential to be the 'go-to' festival in the coming years. It's the same feeling I get about the Forfey Festival in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It seems more organic, creative and without all the crazy trimmings of the bigger festivals. This years line up (so far) proves they are onto a good thing:
Bob Dylan
Mumford and Sons
Seasick Steve
Laura Marling
Peter Doherty (bah)
The Magic Numbers
& Foy Vance
FABULOUS!
Get on it, the tickets are gonna go fast...
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
New Starts
Hello peeps,
I know it's been a while - but a lot has happened! With the fabulous trends of twitter and fb taking over our networking time, I realised that good old blogs have been a bit neglected - and that makes me sad. I have had a personal blog for about 6 years, and I can't bring myself to delete it. It would be like chucking my diary in the fire. But, I need a fresh focus.
I also know that stuff on the music front has been really quiet recently, and that's because my husband and I have recently moved to London. This means lots of new things for us: New home, new jobs, new friends, new pace of life. It's taken a good few months to really adjust our lifestyles to the hustle and bustle of the big smoke, but we are loving it.
Now that a routine has clicked in, I've started to feel the pang for that creative outlet again - so here we are! This is my attempt to get back on the music/creative train and throw my thoughts, inspirations and aspirations out there again.
I intend to make this blog a bit more generic, about life in London at the minute, as I collect my ambition and retrack where life is taking me - rather than solely focusing on the music stuff. It will eventually all blend together...
Thank you for sticking with me - for supporting us through this big move - for asking me when I'm coming back with more music, when I'll be gigging in London etc. It means a lot.
FYI - the 'My Brother's Keeper' EP is still available on itunes and CD Baby. If you haven't yet got yourself a copy...
Big London Lovin,
Mx
I know it's been a while - but a lot has happened! With the fabulous trends of twitter and fb taking over our networking time, I realised that good old blogs have been a bit neglected - and that makes me sad. I have had a personal blog for about 6 years, and I can't bring myself to delete it. It would be like chucking my diary in the fire. But, I need a fresh focus.
I also know that stuff on the music front has been really quiet recently, and that's because my husband and I have recently moved to London. This means lots of new things for us: New home, new jobs, new friends, new pace of life. It's taken a good few months to really adjust our lifestyles to the hustle and bustle of the big smoke, but we are loving it.
Now that a routine has clicked in, I've started to feel the pang for that creative outlet again - so here we are! This is my attempt to get back on the music/creative train and throw my thoughts, inspirations and aspirations out there again.
I intend to make this blog a bit more generic, about life in London at the minute, as I collect my ambition and retrack where life is taking me - rather than solely focusing on the music stuff. It will eventually all blend together...
Thank you for sticking with me - for supporting us through this big move - for asking me when I'm coming back with more music, when I'll be gigging in London etc. It means a lot.
FYI - the 'My Brother's Keeper' EP is still available on itunes and CD Baby. If you haven't yet got yourself a copy...
Big London Lovin,
Mx
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Viva La London!
Back to the grind after a fabulous long weekend away with the band in London. The sun shone strong and bright, and we were pure roastin the whole time, but it was a welcome change after a very rainy and depression non-summer here in Northern Ireland!
Each of the gigs were really different, all with a brilliant atmosphere and response from the crowds. Sutton was relaxing, a nice way for us to start off, Green Note was buzzing, electric and intimate, and The Prince Albert was really fun and a great way to wind down the weekend.
Big thank you goes out to Sam Thomas who supported us at Sutton, and Emma Pears who supported us at the Green Note in Camden on Sunday night. She powered through the pain of slicing her finger open just 15 mins before going on to play the keys. Big thank you's also go out to Estelle for housing us and being our tour bus driver, to-ing and fro-ing gear to venues, and generally putting up with our banter.
We loved being in London, and hopefully it won't be long before we are back again.
If you were there, I really appreciate you coming. If not, we hope to catch you at the next one.
Check back for pics of the tour on the myspace or facebook site.
Love xo
Each of the gigs were really different, all with a brilliant atmosphere and response from the crowds. Sutton was relaxing, a nice way for us to start off, Green Note was buzzing, electric and intimate, and The Prince Albert was really fun and a great way to wind down the weekend.
Big thank you goes out to Sam Thomas who supported us at Sutton, and Emma Pears who supported us at the Green Note in Camden on Sunday night. She powered through the pain of slicing her finger open just 15 mins before going on to play the keys. Big thank you's also go out to Estelle for housing us and being our tour bus driver, to-ing and fro-ing gear to venues, and generally putting up with our banter.
We loved being in London, and hopefully it won't be long before we are back again.
If you were there, I really appreciate you coming. If not, we hope to catch you at the next one.
Check back for pics of the tour on the myspace or facebook site.
Love xo
Monday, 17 August 2009
I'm terrible at this.
You'll have to forgive me. Time has trickled away and life has an agenda of it's own...to cut a long, excuse-filled story short - I'm forgetful.
Here's a briefing of some of the latest melwigginsmusic news:
* Lots of fun gigs over the summer - highlights include beautiful sing-alongs and good fun at Summer Madness Festival, the beautiful and quirky barnyard gig at The Forfey Festival.
* Gearing up for some banter on the mainland with a couple of gigs and radio interviews in London this coming weekend! Tickets still available (only just!) for the Green Note gig on the 23rd of August - click here to get em!
* Lovely cheeky times with Gerry Anderson, live session and interview at BBC Radio Ulster.
* Planning my first ever single release!!! - 'Heart As Your Home' - revamped and jigged up, coming to a wireless near you soon! Release date TBA.
* Having 'Simplified' included on the brand spankin' new EP for our new friends The Fifty Penny March! Their beautiful little compilation CD is available here!
There are a few more exciting tales to tell, but the powers at be have warned me to keep my lips sealed for the meantime...but I promise you, it'll be worth the wait.
Hope to see you London side, please keep checking the website or myspace for all the up-coming dates! And the EP is still available here, here and here!
Again, thank you for supporting me in this little adventure,
xo
Here's a briefing of some of the latest melwigginsmusic news:
* Lots of fun gigs over the summer - highlights include beautiful sing-alongs and good fun at Summer Madness Festival, the beautiful and quirky barnyard gig at The Forfey Festival.
* Gearing up for some banter on the mainland with a couple of gigs and radio interviews in London this coming weekend! Tickets still available (only just!) for the Green Note gig on the 23rd of August - click here to get em!
* Lovely cheeky times with Gerry Anderson, live session and interview at BBC Radio Ulster.
* Planning my first ever single release!!! - 'Heart As Your Home' - revamped and jigged up, coming to a wireless near you soon! Release date TBA.
* Having 'Simplified' included on the brand spankin' new EP for our new friends The Fifty Penny March! Their beautiful little compilation CD is available here!
There are a few more exciting tales to tell, but the powers at be have warned me to keep my lips sealed for the meantime...but I promise you, it'll be worth the wait.
Hope to see you London side, please keep checking the website or myspace for all the up-coming dates! And the EP is still available here, here and here!
Again, thank you for supporting me in this little adventure,
xo
Monday, 8 June 2009
AU Magazine Review!
The latest edition of AU (Alternative Ulster) Magazine has given a really beautiful review of the EP. In case you've not had your lazer eye surgery yet, here it is in a good big font:
"After 10 years in Canada and London, Mel Wiggins finally relocated to Northern Ireland to pursue her admirable pure goal - to sing songs about the things that matter. Through her lurics, she denounces injustice and seeks to nurture a sense of solidarity. Little surprise, then, that several charity organisations have asked her to write songs for them. But her poignant and stunning lyricism, close in the spirit to that of Foy Vance, is not only the appeal of My Brother's Keeper. Mel's sugar-spun voice kindly strolls you through these narratives and adds a delicious frisson to the stirring subject matter."
People are nice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)