A slight shift of direction for my blog today as we were informed yesterday that there will be a second Lockdown in England commencing on the 5th of November. So I wanted to take a moment to reach out to you, my friends, and send a message of support and love.
I want to firstly share a little bit of music to lift spirits. Here is a recording of Glitter and Be Gay from the final of the Pendine International Voice of the Future competition that I entered and won in 2018. I am really excited and thankful to the Llangollen International Eisteddfod and Rondo Media for providing me with access to the video so that I can share this special memory with you. I would also like to thank Nico de Villiers for his outstanding playing and effervescent energy on stage.
To boost your mood, I recommend putting on an uplifting song, then dance and jiggle around for the three minutes. My personal go-to is “Send me on my Way” by Rusted Root.
Or if you choose to play one of my recorded songs, I’d love to know which is your favourite mood booster!
If you’d like to enhance your mood through exercise I recommend checking out Chiara Favaretti‘s online community classes. Chiara is a wonderful Pilates teacher, who offers fantastic zoom classes, which started as a result of the first lock-down in March. They are suitable for all ages and different ability levels. The schedule for November will be:
Monday 4pm – Gentle Pilates
Monday 5.30pm – Pilates in Italian
Wednesday 7.15pm – meditation and meridians’ stretches
Thursday 4pm – Dynamic pilates
You can sign-up for more information click here:
If you want to remember, when lock-down was warmer, you can re-watch my balcony concerts on this playlist:
I enjoyed a recent trip to the National Gallery in London, and found out that you can have a virtual experience thanks to the collaboration with Google! Thanks to this creation you can immerse yourself in Renaissance art – if you fancy.
Or if you prefer learning something new, why not listen to Sir David Attenborough provide a guided audio tour for the National History Museum whilst you virtually walk around on this app:
Or you can attend one of the National History Museum’s online events. A great chance to keep the brain stimulated.
If you’d like to try something musical yourself, or possibly a Christmas Gift with a difference for a loved one, you could have a singing lesson or a piano lesson, and if you like them even a block booking 🙂 . George and I are offering these virtually from our home you can reach out here on my blog or email me at enquiries@charlotte-hoather.com for more information.
Thanks for the suggestions, it is indeed a very gloomy time we live in. I’m keeping up with my dog walks, and secretly looking forward to putting up my Christmas lights in December. Hope you and George are doing ok? xx
George has a concert next week so he’s been busy preparing for that and I’m keeping busy learning some new songs and I’m helping to train a new member of customer relations staff next week. I haven’t thought about Christmas yet thanks for the reminder.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Love the “Glitter and Be Gay from the final of the Pendine International Voice of the Future competition”. It is impossible to listen and not smile ear to ear 🙂 You are super expressive. Only listen to little bit of the balcony concert, but it was great as well, and more grins: Cuckoo… 🙂
I love the song Glitter and be Gay too Trent. I love performing to big audiences it was fantastic.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Wonderful!!! Enjoyed that! Good luck with lockdown2 – ours started here on Friday :-
At least the children can still have some normality this time around. Stay safe.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Yes, that’s true! Best to focus on the positives!! Stay Safe!
Hello, we’ve been there since Friday.
Very good blog and I hope you and George will have lots of lessons to teach !!! Take care of you both, best thoughts!
My mum sent me the new face masks you made they’re super, I opened them early whoops. We’re keeping busy I hope you are coping well.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I’m glad you like them.
Yes, it’s okay, lots of things to do here too in this strange period where we have to “reinvent ourselves” and reinvent our profession.
For all artists, I think it’s both scary and very stimulating.
A great challenge.
Best thoughts for You, George and familly my dear rainbow voice xx
Thank you, Charlotte for there spirting lifters. Who is lifting yours?
Thanks John, George, my parents, my brothers and a lovely group of friends all keep in touch and I contact people to check they’re ok or if they need anything in case they’re having to isolate and don’t want to ask for help.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Lockdown 2 must be a nightmare for you both. My thoughts are with you. 👍👍👍
I was sad when a couple of Christmas concerts cancelled because I love Christmas celebrations. Thanks for you kind thoughts I hope you keep well too.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Believe me when I say tour Glitter and Be Gay lifted my spirits, Charlotte.
That makes me very happy Don. I like her attitude trying to look on the bright side of life.
Best wishes
Charlotte
That is a beautiful video. No wonder you won.
The camera work was great wasn’t it. Such a beautiful stage, the flowers are amazing and the people at the festival most importantly are wonderful.
Best wishes
Charlotte
It is wonderful and as you say the best bit is to have good people around you. Best wishes to you too xxx
Dear me, you are as delightful to watch perform as you are to hear! Terrific choice to boost the morale. Thank you so much, so very much. Carry on! Or perhaps, boogie on!
Thank you Annette I’m glad you enjoyed the video. I’m carrying on :).
Best wishes
Charlotte
Fabulous song! So glad I could be there watching you live at the time. So so proud of you.
We won’t always be locked down, next year you will both be able to spread your wings and joy further. Stay positive, stay happy, stay safe. 🥰😘😘
I was so happy that you and Terry were there Gill. Thank you for your positivity, I hope you’re right.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Charlotte, we love that song, it is certainly very uplifting..we were fortunate to be there
You were absolutely amazing, and so deserved to win.
Keep yourselves busy as you always do.
Good luck to you both keep busy and stay safe,.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😘😘
I am so happy you got to be there, it was a great stage and audience wasn’t it. Llangollen was so beautiful too, sunny and such a happy festival. Don’t worry about us we’re managing.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Staying true to your standard of excellence, Charlotte.
I’m sorry about the new lockdown, but if that’s what it takes to keep you and your family safe and healthy…..
It’s a bit of a lighter lockdown this time, schools, colleges and Universities are still open and people can work other than those in restaurants, bars, shops and entertainment.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Stay safe!
Thank you for another wonderful concert, Charlotte and George! Wishing you fortitude and safe passage through the next lockdown. Stay safe and healthy. These are strange new times and uncharted waters for all of us.
Thank you Lavinia, we thank you for your good wishes.
All our best wishes
Charlotte & George
Hello Charlotte,
Hope you and George are doing well. I’ve enjoyed your balcony concerts very much. If you have a chance to do more, or moving them indoors with the change of season, I would certainly watch. My daughter, Elizabeth, still has that post-COVID gig still on her books. It seemed it was going to be a go over our Labor Day weekend, but was pulled at the last-minute. The restaurant’s performance stage and the seating were unable to meet the physical distancing requirement. It’ll just have to wait until the virus is clearly behind us. I tried uploading one of Elizabeth’s music videos to YouTube. For some reason, YouTube is blocking the upload.
Wish you and George all the best through the coming lockdown.
Stay well, stay safe.
David
Thank you David, people don’t have much choice over pulling late gigs sadly. Try Vimeo I have found them very good.
Wishing you and your family all the very best too.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Thank you for sharing. Be safe.
Thank you very much Jovina you stay safe and well too.
Best wishes
Charlotte
Wishing you all the best with the new lockdown! Stay positive, happy, inspired and safe 💕
Thank you Elisabeth, some days just nothing seems to go right but the next day is a new day and I dust myself off and try over. Keep safe and well.
Best wishes
Charlotte
I’m writing this as you will be sleeping, and when you wake, it will be to once again enter lockdown. I feel for you, and hope this latest venture into online lessons will be successful. You both keep coming up with new things, so good on you.
The quality of the video, playing on my big monitor, was top-class, really vibrant and clear – and you’re singing was amazing. A win well deserved.
I’ve just read a book called The Sisters’ Song by Louise Allan. It included scenes in the 1930s at an eisteddfod in Tasmania, novelised, but based on the real thing. Watching you in that setting brought the book back to mind. And the adjudicator’s speech took a swipe at Governments who do not fund the arts well enough. – Again, based on a real speech. Some things never change.
I was really happy with the quality of the video, lovely colours and flowers, its a great stage. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I really miss performing. George has a concert that he is streaming on Tuesday that he has been preparing for.
Gosh a similar theme from a speech nearly 100 years ago, sad ☹️. The government has put a lot of funding into the core arts venues and museums to be fair but that doesn’t filter down to our level to keep performances alive for us but at least some help is getting through and I do see people performing even now.
Oh I am so pleased you have posted a song from your Pendine prize entry. I tried hard to find this back when you won the prize. It is great fun, as well as cleverly sung – a complicated song! Seeing this took me back to your lovely concert there in 2019 – gosh that seems a long time ago now.
Be still my shivering self!
Dry up my eyes! Still my heart!
What a treat!
Charlotte, you are “The Voice”.
I listen to everything you put out here. I love it all. I would have lived my life in disdain & ignorance of classic forms of music, if not for you.
Just listened to Chopin, while reading your last post.
Thank you! Not only is this a brilliant performance, but the staging is rich!
Resa – ❦❦❦
Fabulous ‘Glitter and be Gay’, Charlotte! You are a star! <3 <3
Such a beautiful and amazing video, Charlotte ~ the talent you have is inspiring, truly spirit lifting. Wishing you and your family the best this somewhat restricted holiday season. Take care ~
What a great song and music.
Rumi: “I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.”
Thank you.