BIRDLAND

 

Well dear reader, I know you’re waiting for my blog about my New York Debut at Feinstein’s/54Below and I promise it will be published soon…but I am still in NYC until tomorrow and something rather wonderful happened last night.

I was just going to put it as a Facebook post, but then decided to blog about it instead.

Right.
Last night.
I went to the world-famous jazz club BIRDLAND (named after Charlie Parker, whose nickname was ‘Bird’)

Very similar to 54 Below and a real throwback to the 70’s cabaret clubs we used to have all over the UK. Oh, how I miss those.

On Monday nights at 9.30pm, Jim Caruso hosts the Cast Party (it’s been going for over 16 years and is hugely popular). Entertainers from All genres come along….Variety (last night we had a magician and a singing tap-dancer with one leg!! (he was incredible)…..

Broadway ….

Jazz…every type of performer, they can all come along and do one performance-IF they make ‘the list’. It’s been going for over 16 years and is hugely popular.

My lovely friend Jaci had put me on the list, lol!

I got there just after 9pm and many singers/acts took their turns of varying standards. The house trio were sublime. Just sublime.

I waited and waited….thinking at this point, that Jim Caruso, the famous host, had forgotten me.
At this point, the effervescent Jaci Stephen rocked up with her cousin Sharon……and Jaci was sporting a brand-new nose-stud and tattoo!!!!
Seriously!!
I leave her alone for 5 minutes!!! 😉
Much smacking of gobs ensued!!
But they looked fantastic!!
The story though, is so hilarious, you can’t make it up and she’s going to blog about what happened to the tattooist’s stolen phone!!!
Anyhoo….we laughed then waited and waited.

By now, it was nearly 1am and I wanted my bed!

And pizza.

An Australian woman came on to sing a Joni Mitchell song and as Jim interviewed her, we found out that not only is she the original SIRI, but the voice on 100’s of different GPS apps being used by over a billion people! I was suitably impressed.
Sharon more so-she got her autograph.
I got a selfie with her 🙂

Then, with a flourish, Jim announced that there were only 2 people left to perform, one of whom was going to be doing the Grand Finalé.
So at this point, I genuinely gave up any hope of getting on that stage, thinking the Grand Finalé wouldn’t be trusted to an unknown.
A jazz pianist then came on.
I paid my bill and started to think about Pizza again….as I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
Then it happened.
Jaci grabbed my arm with her mouth open and I focussed again…to hear Jim introducing me to the crowd as their Grand Finalé artiste of the night!!
No pressure then, Jim!!
As the crowd applauded, I made my way to the stage.
In those 10 steps, I was frantically searching my memory-bank for ‘the’ song.
It had to be right. The one I’d pre-decided to do was wrong.
It had to be perfect.
It had to be….me.

Then it hit me….and I knew exactly what song to sing to make full use of the fantastic double-bass player and drummer.

Ella + Gershwin = ‘Someone to Watch Over Me.’

Perfect.

And it was.

There was laughter over the banter between myself and Jim about Wales, Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey. The crowd were suitably impressed that I’d flown over from the UK to play Feinstein’s/54Below…it drew good applause.

Then I sang.

The piano felt lovely, the sound-system was great…I felt I sounded good…and the boys played out of their skins for me. Jaci told me after that they didn’t take their eyes off me, that they seemed mesmerised….but they were probably wondering what in the hell this mad Welshwoman was going to do next!!

I savoured every single second.

I relished the absolute silence.

I loved it.

So did the crowd.

They went crazy at the end and Jim came bouncing back on to the stage to congratulate me and give me a hug-what a lovely human being he is. One of those guys you know you could be really good friends with the instant you meet him.

The applause felt like it wasn’t going to stop.

I made my way back to our table but before I could sit down, I was stopped by several people all coming across to congratulate me and say how much they’d enjoyed it, give me hugs and kisses and take my business cards. It was magic. It was the only time all night I’d seen that happen, which made it even more special.

To say I was buzzing, would be an understatement. Before you ask, no, there’s not a single photograph or video of my performance, so you’ll have to take my word for it…and Jaci’s…..and Sharon’s…..and Jim’s 😉 (Jim has already tweeted his congratulations!!)

Magical.

When I left to zero in on one of the myriad pizza places, a young Italian couple stopped me who’d been there. They’d stumbled across the place by accident and were so complimentary. Then they told me that they were on their honeymoon and when I sang the song it felt like I was singing it just for them! How lovely is that?!

I went and got a pizza slice.

And a vanilla cannoli.

And a hot chocolate lol!

I was going to use the video of  Ella’s version at this point to wrap the blog up, but then remembered that there was a video somewhere, of me doing that very song at Swansea Grand Theatre years and years ago, with my very good friend Andy George on trumpet….and I’ve found it for you.

Enjoy x

SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME-LYN LAWRENCE

Well, well, well!

 

Hello my lovelies.

Well a lot changed since I last wrote to you.

I had to leave Ruby Princess early as for the 2nd time since I’d been away,my lovely Mum was very poorly in hospital.

So I had no option but to get home fast.

Princess Cruises were faultless in they care and compassion in order to get me home as soon as possible as every hour counted.

Mam is like a tiger and has fought back again…to everyone’s astonishment!

She’s doing great but still in hospital.

I made the decision to keep my NY gig at 54Below….you all know how much it means to me….

So I flew today from Heathrow with my lovely friend Denise and we’re in New York!

Meeting up with Phillip later if time allows, then being picked up by 2 lovely pax I met on the ship to go out for dinner in the West Village.

Friday night is the big night!

I’ve added a song for Mam to my show….a song for Aretha and a Billy Joel song-as he’s in Madison Square Garden this week.

More later!!

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND-BILLY JOEL

NOT SO GRUMPY AFTER ALL!

Well, dear reader, it’s hard to believe, but today is the first day of the last cruise on this ship before my contract ends and I fly home next weekend.

I can’t wait now.

I’m impatient to see my family and friends and yearn for the familiarity of home.

It’s been a great contract on a professional level, with lovely audiences, people and standing ovations.

But it’s been a tough contract on a personal level.

As you already know, I had to deal with the 3^rd anniversary of Ross’ death and it hit me hard.

The whole contract has been tough and I’ve retreated back into my dark shell for most of it.

Oh yes, I’ve been out and about and seen some of the absolutely incredible sights that Alaska has to offer, but…in all this wilderness and space, it has only served to make my self-isolation easier…and worse.

In the seven weeks I’ve been on here, I haven’t eaten on the dining-room once. I’ve avoided it like the plague.

Why?
Because if I go to the dining-room, I’ll be seated with strangers and this past few weeks, I know that I wouldn’t have been able to handle the small-talk and chat that happens as strangers get to know each other and possibly become friends.

Similarly, I haven’t been to the crew-bar except to buy water and diet coke-I buy it and scuttle out as fast as possible, avoiding eye-contact with everyone.

Pathetic isn’t it?

Yeah. I know.

I know why though.

It’s conversation that I’m afraid of, whether it’s in the dining room or the bar.

The conversation that with strangers starts off with impersonal small-talk like the weather or the ships or the ports we’ve been too.

But the whole time, I’m a step-ahead….dreading the time when I know the question will come…

Do you have any children?

Because, dear reader, as I’ve told you before, I still don’t know how to answer….I don’t.

I struggle to put words into some semblance of order so that they make sense to the listener and I’m also afraid of transferring my melancholy to them-which I really don’t want to do.

So instead, I wander around the ship, looking for quiet corners in which to secure my isolation and sit alone, my body displaying the ‘don’t bother me’ position.

Or I go ashore…alone.

My isolation was so bad initially that I was really afraid that I was going to just stay in my cabin all the time.

Again.

Sigh.

The first stop after leaving Seattle on this cruise is Juneau.

The first time we got there, I didn’t even bother getting off the ship.

I just looked out of the cabin window with impassive, disinterested eyes.

I wasn’t eating properly either.

As you know, dear reader, I’d lost a load of weight before coming away, using the Slimfast system-it really worked for me-in fact it did me good, because it forced me to eat 3 meals a day-something I hadn’t done since losing Ross, as you know.

I managed to find Slimfast shake-mix over here and bought 2 tubs of it and the milk to go with them, but there were none of the meal-replacement bars like we have in the UK….only much smaller and sweeter bars, so I had to compromise and bought breakfast bars that had the same slow-release energy and calorie-count….I think?!

But when I made the shakes, they tasted vile 😦

They are completely different to the ones I was used to.

They don’t thicken up but stay watery and there’s a nasty after-taste with them, so it’s not pleasant.

But I persevered, not knowing if I’d got the calorie count right or not.

I did the same for lunches as well (in my cabin of course).

I only ventured out for dinner each evening in the buffet…but it wasn’t very good, so I know that some nights I didn’t eat enough.

I felt I was stagnating and that my metabolic rate was at zero again.

It was so frustrating.

Anyway….

I didn’t get off the ship most of that week, but then I had a stern word with myself and the following week, I got off in Juneau.

I was wandering around, hating the incessant, irritating calls from the touts outside umpteen jewellers and feeling I’d like to punch them, when I stumbled across Grumpy’s.

I’d asked in the tourist information place where I could get wifi but the first place she directed me to didn’t have it.

She’d also mentioned Grumpy’s.

I went to the drugstore for some vitamins and metabolism-boosters, then started back to the ship, but then I walked right by Grumpy’s.

It was the A-board that did it.

It made me laugh out loud…..

So I went in.

Grump’s is a deli hidden inside a small ‘mall’. I’ve used inverted commas because it’s not what you’d expect from a mall…it’s just a small collection of independent shops on two floors.

And I’ll be completely honest, it was the offer of free wifi that took me in, so that I could catch up with emails/Facebook etc and see what friends/family had been up to.

But immediately I went in, I felt a peacefulness descend on me.

The food on display looked so unusual and so delicious-red wraps. RED wraps!!

The sights and smells of good food suddenly made me feel really hungry and before I could stop myself, I ordered way more than the black coffee I intended to.

Grumpy said hello and his wife took my order for a toasted ham/swiss cheese on rye sandwich, skinny latté, water and a real treat…a single, locally-made salted caramel chocolate.

I know I shouldn’t have, but I’d already decided that I would forgo dinner that night and have Slimfast instead,

The food which Grumpy brought out to me was beautifully presented and oh my goodness, it tasted SO good!

 

I felt real, proper hunger at the first mouthful and real, proper fullness at the last.

It was one of the best meals I’d ever had-enhanced by the fact that as I savoured each mouthful, I was connecting with people back home, courtesy of their free wifi.

I thanked them before leaving and thought to myself that they had absolutely no idea what they’d just done for me, on so many levels, you’d need an elevator!

I’ve been there every Monday since.

Why?

Because it gives me a reason to get up.

Because they don’t know. About Ross.

Because the food is good.

To get out.

To engage.

And I have…as exhausting as the effort to my still grief-stricken body and mind is, I have.

That lunch that they serve me, is probably my best meal of the week.

I may confuse them and order something different on my last visit next week…Lord knows, there’s enough to choose from!!…… 

I must confess, that on my last visit, I treated myself to a take-out tub iof mini cinnamon rolls for my cabin-they were so delicious and I had 2 every night after work with a cup of tea, until they’d all gone-I’m getting them again!

It’s a pity there’s not a Grumpy’s in every port we stop at in Alaska-they certainly need one.

I certainly need one, because Monday and my visits to Grumpy’s have been my saving Grace.

They know me now and say ‘hi Lyn-usual?’

And it’s lovely.

Their banana bread is gorgeous too 🙂

It’s my last visit on Monday and I’m buying myself one of their t-shirts.

If you find yourself in Juneau, you MUST go!!! Tell them “Lyn sent me and says hi”!!

I’ve posted on their Facebook page and have tried to persuade them to use twitter as well-which is the main site that passengers use for local recommendations.

I’ve got their stickers and I’m adding them to my personal souvenirs as a reminder of the kindness of strangers, who chat to you and make you feel welcome in a strange place where you know nobody….

So to Grumpy (I don’t think he really is!), his lovely wife and the friendly, knowledgeable, chatty staff there.

Thank you.

HI-HO, HI-HO-7 DWARVES (INCLUDING GRUMPY!)