Salt and Light #25
Happy St David’s Day!
Under the Glitter Ball
Wherever I went last month, I seemed to be underneath a rotating disco ball. I‘ve been in the studio. working on a disco track, so perhaps in my magnetic field I had an aura of Saturday Night Fever or I was simply channelling my inner Kylie. It started with lunch at The Elms with my Mum and Aunty from Wales (Happy St David’s Day!), greeted by a large outdoor mirror ball. When I got home I was given a ticket last minute to attend a masquerade ball in my local town with some friends. We relived our clubbing days, this time without the sparkly bras, hot pants and amphetamines. With my new neighbour who is a dance teacher, we danced underneath a glitter ball to the uplifting music of Tom Lokia’s decks until the early hours, and drank tap water. Best night in ages. The following weekend I was again invited, last minute, to a high society ball at Ludlow Race Course, all paid for 3 course meal, chariots included. There was a huge spinning disco ball in the marquee and in pink sequins I took to the floor with my friend Mel whose birthday it is today!
On the same day my friend Christina, who compiles these newsletters was working on Broadway in New York on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical ‘Bad Cinderella’. I listened to this music as I got ready for the ball, feeling like a modern day Cinderella, invited due to a Covid drop out! I came home after midnight with aching feet, both of my Jimmy Choo shoes, and a raffle prize voucher for Botox.
My friend, Mel, and I at the ball!
At The Elms with Mum
Concert at Yarpole Church
Tickets are selling very well for this event on April 22nd, thanks to promoter and resident artist Jeanette Kinsey. See the link below to book! At the ball by chance I sat next to the chief councillor of Yarpole Church, who for a living develops prototypes for all things inflatable. He wasn’t my Prince, however a very charming man, and I realised that I can converse on just about any subject when prompted.
Singing Disney with Children’s Choir on March 17th!
I’ve been busy preparing to sing with a school choir at Shrewsbury Abbey on March 17th, in aid of Crane children’s counselling service. The concert is Disney themed, so I’ve been listening to Frozen 1 and 2 and picking out a few songs, I may even choose a song from ‘Bad Cinderella’!
Marianne and Ministry
Big News ! Author, activist and inspirational speaker Marianne Williamson is announcing this Saturday, she is running for president again, as democratic candidate. Despite the gruelling battle she undertook in the last elections she isn’t giving up. I believe she will bring light to American politics, and as a courageous, highly intelligent woman of faith she is much needed in this conversation. I sang at her last campaign speech in a bookstore in Warner, New Hampshire, and met her a few months ago in London outside the Moulin Rouge. She hinted this was her plan. I’m excited to see it come to fruition. Read her announcement here.
In my own Ministry journey this month I did my first exam by conversation – an exegesis on the Book of Daniel. First off this was a difficult word to pronounce! I hope I pass!
Deborah Rose, with Marianne Williamson at New York Collegiate Church, 2018
REFLECTIONS
I was honoured to be part of an annual educational and health care meeting for my singing student Suki-Marie who has Down’s syndrome. After the three hour meeting she laid out a word puzzle on the floor and wrote ‘I Love Ludlow Church’. I found this very moving as she saw me sing there, and she isn’t always able to express her thoughts and feelings verbally. She also wrote ‘House of the Rising Sun’ in large letters – just as my parents were arriving in New Orleans to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Not only can she play 300 songs on the piano, she has a remarkable gift of the sixth sense.
Photo by Richard Bailey
RECOMMENDATION
Debut Album: Ruth Angell – Hlywing
I looked forward to receiving this CD in the post, like I would an Eva Cassidy or Jewel Kilcher album. The beautiful opening track ‘Castle on the Hill’ is most representative of the sound of the album as a whole. Ruth’s soaring, ethereal vocals are soothing for the soul and her phrasing has a unique elegance and grace that sets her apart from most modern singer-songwriters. Ruth’s songwriting is tender, and thoughtful with ‘Little Boy Blue’ a moving lament about a young Syrian boy who lost his life trying to cross the sea to safety. The title of the album ‘Hlywing’ means safety and shelter.
Ruth’s husband, Sid Peacock of Surge Orchestra has produced and arranged the album beautifully, ensuring Ruth’s voice is the centrepiece. Steve Tromans’ piano playing is equally beautiful and sensitive. I first met Ruth at Tennyson’s house on the Isle of Wight over a decade ago, and her setting of Christina Rossetti’s ‘No Roses’ moved me to tears.
While writing this review strangely my phone kept wanting to write the word ‘Deirdre’ and it wasn’t until I looked more closely at the sleeve notes that I read this is the name of Ruth’s grandmother who she dedicates the album to. She passed away while she was recording the album, and Ruth sang ‘No Roses’ at her funeral. When I read this I had goosebumps all over! Listening to this timeless album, so full of depth, heart and spirit, I guarantee, you will too. You can buy Ruth’s album here:
‘Castle on the Hill’ by Ruth Angell
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Wishing everyone a Happy St David’s Day. I’m thinking of the word hiraeth today, a Welsh word for longing for the homeland. ‘Song be My Soul’ is the title track of my first album which is a song about missing the valleys, and I sing the chorus in Welsh.
Llawer o Gariad,
