Everyone loves a bit of Disney surely? My son does so off we went to see the movie Coco today. I wasn't keen at first as I didn't think I was going to like this but oh wow I did love it.

Miguel is passionate about becoming a musician, music is his life and he wants to be a big star like his hero, Ernesto de la Cruz but after a trip to the Land of the Dead he finds out his idol isn't who he thought and his mission is to hopefully lift an old family ban on music and sort his family tree along the way.

It is that kind of film you can lose yourself in, it's funny, colourful, the music is great and it has that classic Disney Pixar suspense that gets you on the edge of your seat. I would call it modern day pantomime as there is always a baddy you just want to shout at and hope that they get booted into oblivion. 

Crikey Sue from the Brew it's only a children's Disney film, don't get carried away, but you do don't you? That's what the Disney people do, they create an atmosphere that you get drawn into and can't help but want these little animated characters to sort the baddies out and live happily ever after. Ahhhhhhhhh.

I can definitely recommend it if you haven't seen it and you'll be singing along to the main song when the credits roll. Oh was that just me? Any excuse to sing. The lady who sold us popcorn suggested I may shed a few tears, well I nearly did popcorn lady, it was very close but decided to sing with joy instead.

Another beautiful film about being what you what to be and following those dreams. It was another feature in which Miguel was prepared to put his family first but maybe just maybe he could play his music. Who knows? You need to go and find out! Go now.

If you do I hope you enjoy it as much as we did, tell me what you thought if you have seen it. For now though I thank you for reading my post today.  Come back tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday.

​Take care.

It's back to rock Choir for a new term and it couldn't have come quick enough. I was so ready to get back to the fun, laughter and of course the singing.

Our first song for the new year is California Dreamin' made famous initially by The Mamas and The Papas in 1965 and which would go on to be covered by so many artists in the decades to follow.

It was written by John Phillips and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas and is the 89th song in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, the lyrics portray a longing for the warmth of the West Coast of the US during a cold winter in New York. I think I may drift of and do a bit of California Dreamin', I crave the warm sunshine so I get this though I've never been to California, I guess Newquay, Blackpool or Skegness would just not be the same.

We are only in the first part of the the song and it's already sounding fabulous. When it comes together it will be lovely to listen to and for us all  to perform with all it's harmonies and some great moves to accompany it too so look out for those. 

It's good to be back and for our Mickleover choir in Derby we started the new term in a new venue, you see there are so many of us now we have outgrown our other place. It was a bit weird at first but hey we will settle in soon. It's my two year anniversary with Rock Choir this month and I've loved every minute so far so maybe I can keep going for many more years. I love it as it's my 'me time' and I get to share it with some great people.

If you have always fancied singing and would like to join Rock Choir just go to the website at www.rockchoir.com and search for your nearest session to arrange your free taster session. It's that easy! No audition, just come along and have a go. We'll all make you feel welcome and give you any reassurance if you need it. 

Thank you for reading today, join me again tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday but for now - take care.

It's not very often I will rave about a film, most are watchable and pretty good, I enjoy watching most films but this one just blew me away. I'm very hard to please when watching tv and films, it has to grab me in the first five or ten minutes otherwise it's lost me. I also get a bit restless when watching something, my attention can drift off and I just don't give it 100%. I do try to think that someone went to an awful lot of trouble to produce what I'm watching - pay attention Sue from the Brew, but it's tricky, until now.

Well I had no trouble with this movie musical. I was hooked straight away. I'd heard people say it was good but I had no idea it was THAT good. The story just grabs you as soon as you take one mouthful of popcorn (in my case a Slimming World cereal bar - woo). The music was fantastic and I believe the soundtrack is number one at this very moment. I loved all the cast, Hugh Jackman is such a lovely man, I really don't think anyone could have fitted perfectly into this role other than him. Zac Efron with his cheeky smile also stole the show, we all love a romance blossoming and the ups and down (quite literally) of life but a happy ending. 

The Greatest Showman is inspired by the story of P.T Barnum which sees him go from nothing, to discovering show business and for founding what would become the world famous Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Oh I was in a musical bubble which I don't tend to get in very often unless watching the Sound of Music oh and Miss Saigon it happened with that too. I was completely glued to this, so glued that if my bladder called that it was full I would have had to let it burst......well no I wouldn't go to that extreme but I did feel as though my eyes were completely pinned open to this and were not moving onto anything else very soon.

I wanted to clap after every song and cheer at the good bits. I was that emotional I could have burst into tears at the end. So if you haven't seen this yet you really have to, if you need anyone to go with you I know someone that may go again. I'm definitely downloading it when it's released or will buy the dvd, whatever people do nowadays. I have already downloaded the soundtrack and play it continuously - singing like a proper diva as well.

I think it's the message within this film that got to me the most. The fact that it really doesn't matter what we look like, whether we are big, small, short, tall, black white, gay or straight we are all individuals and have the ability to shine in whatever way we can. We can all have dreams too and if you truly believe in something and have a passion to succeed - just GO FOR IT, don't let anyone tell you can't do it.

      'No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else'
                                                          P.T Barnum


Thank you for reading, join me tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday but for now, 

Take care.

It was good to see The Beatles film '8 Days a Week' on Channel 4 last week. I went to see this when it was released at the cinema and can't actually believe it was 2016, I was convinced I only saw it last year. Time goes so quick, it doesn't seem five minutes since my son and I took our seats in the cinema for an evening of great music and nostalgia.

The film was accompanied by the red carpet event in the cinema so we were watching it across the UK the same time as the celebrities watched it on premier night. How exciting to watch everyone arriving and being interviewed, it felt as though we were really there, I felt slightly underdressed but never mind. In reality I think the rest of the audience at the Odeon in Derby may have looked a bit bemused if I had turned up in my sparkly dress.

My son did so well to sit through that live event and through the whole of the film too. The Beatles seemed to win over Autism, I didn't think the whole thing would extend the evening by so much. Our lad is a big Beatles fan though, literally weaned on the Fab Four at an early age oh and he does have Lennon as his middle name.  In fact my youngest son has John as his middle name so coincidentally, if you pop them together their middles names are 'John Lennon'. Good planning eh? My youngest was nearly named George as George Harrison died while I was pregnant with him but I thought it may get a bit ridiculous if we have anymore children and they all turn out male, there would be this obsession to name them all after the Beatles. I didn't want to start something so we called him a non Beatley first name.

So the film is a documentary spanning the touring years from 1962 to 1966, from The Cavern Club in Liverpool and finishing with their final concert in San Francisco. It is really good if you are a fan as there is some unseen footage and also includes half an hour of digitally restored footage of the famous concert in 1965 at The Shea Stadium. The film is directed by the great Ron Howard and produced with the cooperation of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison so if you didn't get chance to see this try and catch it as it really is worth watching. 

You can get the film on DVD and it is available at Amazon so I will include a link (affiliated) at the end of this post.

Thank you for reading today, please join me again tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday but for now........

Take care.

​

Well are we? how's the hangovers? I hope you had a great New Year's celebration whether you partied all night or stayed in with your pyjamas on. I personally stayed in by the tv and watched the fireworks in London at midnight. I'm not a big New Year fan but I was happy and love the display they put on down there. I joined in with Auld Lang Syne which is the first song I sang in 2018, it was probably most peoples first song of the year.

In the morning I didn't wake with a massive headache just the next song running around my head which funnily enough and as corny as it sounds was U2's 'New Years Day'. I made my morning brew singing 'all is quiet on New Years Day' because it was actually quiet at that time so Bono was right really.

My U2 moment wore off and then I began to think about the year ahead, feeling quite positive about the plans I have and just generally feeling good. I then started to sing another song in my head, Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good'. What a song, so sassy and empowering, it was the perfect song for starting a new year. I love Nina Simone, her voice is just amazing, she gives me goosebumps when I listen to her. I played the song while taking the decorations down, I always take them all down on New Years Day it's my little ritual, out with Christmas and start a fresh. I played different versions of the song too. Michael Buble's version is fabulous and I do love the arrangement on that, I also listened to the cover by Muse and like that too but I always come back to Nina. 

I think I might make this my anthem for the year, I might play it when I'm feeling good and play it when I need reminding to feel good. I want 2018 to be a feel good year so this song fits the bill. 

I am singing yet another song now in my head and that is 'Happy Birthday'. It is 'Make a Brew Sue's' first birthday today so sing loud and raise a brew in celebration. Lots to see and do this year and no doubt I will write about it. I will continue to tell you about the songs that inspire me, my Rock Choir experiences and I'm hoping to try and get to a few live gigs this year and guess what? All this while...........

FEELING GOOD!! 

Thanks for reading - join me tomorrow for Teapot Tuesday.

Take care.