Northern Quarter Love

I was wandering around in Manchester's Northern Quarter today, firstly getting my lip ring and stud replaced with much more comfortable jewellery. I go to a place called "Holier than Thou", which I reccommend to anyone interested in body modification in the Manchester area. Their set up is reassuringly hospital-like, and you walk into the procedure rooms knowing that you are in very safe hands. Their eclectic collection of body jewellery is like no other. The shop is a fantastic little find, in my opinion.

My cousin was with me, getting a microdermal implant, which looked like a rather painful procedure, but at the same time fascinating watching how they attach the jewellery to the skin.

After the pain, I took my cousin to the Cocoa Emporium in Afflecks palace - a stunning cake and chocolate shop and cafe, this is a relatively new addition to Manchester's landmark attraction, Afflecks palace. They sell the most exquisite vegan cupcakes - the kind that you are too scared to eat for fear of ruining them. But my god do they taste good!

The Northern Quarter seems such an appropriate location to showcase Manchester's eclectic notions of culture. It's vibrant scene is inspired by the new generations in Manchester, and it's long been the home of burgeoning arts companies. In fact, I know that my former employers at the 24:7 Theatre Festival are looking into finding a base in that area, because it is so perfect for such revolutionary activity.

Much love.
CC.





Holier than Thou - www.thirteentwelve.com/holier/
Cocoa Emporium - www.cocoaemporium.co.uk
24:7 Theatre Festival - www.247theatrefestival.co.uk

A Lesson from the Ancients

Whilst I was planning on taking my Grandmother to see the Tutankahmun exhibition which is coming to the Trafford Centre in Manchester in the next month, I stumbled across the BBC's pages on the Ancient Egyptians - http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/

I've been obsessed with Ancient Egypt since I was 9 years old. My class in primary school studied them as part of a history project and, although it was more of a "Horrible Histories" approach back then, I was instantly fascinated. My fandom of them has grown to the extent that I now have an Egyptian ankh incorporated into the tattoo on my back. The Ankh's meaning is not yet completely clear to Egyptologists; it could mean "life" or "death" and it is the current ambiguity of this symbol that really intrigues me, hence my permanent tribute to it.

I feel that the Egyptians have such a wealth of stories that they add to our world history. For example, the story of Hapshetsut, a queen who ruled as pharoh, and who's nephew destroyed her monuments because he wanted the thrown. Add to this the famous story of Cleopatra - the ancient world's first Celebrity, who's love life and suicide where talked about as if in one of today's tabloid newspapers.

Another thing which greatly interests me about the Ancient Egyptians is there belief in the afterlife, which was not just a belief but a detailed description of how to get there.

Their many rituals and poly-theistic beliefs may seem silly and unneccessary to today's secular society, but the fact that they once had 400 years of peace suggests that maybe we should take a leaf from their book. If spirituality has something to do with that, we should look into it. And that's coming from an atheist.

Oodles of Ancient love.
CC.



N.B: This Tattoo has since been touched up and looks a lot less red! I just haven't got a final photo of it yet =)

"Manchester's got everything - except a beach"

The above quote comes from Ian Brown, and appears too have been the inspiration for a fantastic event which took place in Castlefield yesterday.

"Scruff of the Neck" are known for running music events around Manchester and Poynton, but this festival of theirs really stood out for me. The area next to the Manchester canal had been covered in sand and converted into a beach for the day, complete with deck chairs and buckets and spades. As some of Manchester's most talented musicians played on the stage at the edge of the venue, the afternoon saw children making sand castles and adults attempting the same, but using plastic pint glasses instead. Certainly a throwback to the summer festivals around the country, but it also had a huge Manchester feel to it - looking up from the sand and brightly coloured benches, you could see the northern trains and the Manchester metro switching back and forth above us. I wondered what the people on those trains could possibly thinking, seeing such a commotion going on below them...

The festival saw performances from "The Missing link, a young band whos hard riffs and impressive ballad "Now it's over" showcased their versitilty and "Silverclub" who offered an electronic alternative at this largely rock event.

I was glad to see a female guitaris in "The Tapestry", a rarity in this industry, which is something that I hope the likes of the "Jesse Rose Trip" can change. "Still City Sound's" lively riffs matched their rather lively guitarist, who managed to blow his own amp. Great to see them soldiering on regardless, the guitarist still getting into it, vigorously clapping to get the audience going. Great show guys!

Highlights of the festival included "Loaded Message" who's songs really lived up to the band's name. They teamed fantastic musical ability with great lyricisim; my personal favourite being "I'd rather be a dreamer than have now dreams". The effortless John Ainsworth filled his very short set with a celestical acoustic to sound. Absolutely stunning. Kudos also goes out "Green Vigo", a proper Manchester band. Fantastic music, which I can only describe as 'like Oasis, but happier!' Loved them!

The Quangos brought back memories of the Leeds Carling Weekend for me, being the first band to play in the dark. Definitely a festival feel. Their Noisettes cover was amazing. You can catch it in the vlog below.

Small festivals such as this are what makes Manchester such a great city. I just wish that more people would pay attention to them.

Much Love.
CC.



Disclaimer: Apologies, the band named "Bright Kicks" in the video, are in fact called "The Missing Link". Sorry guys! Confusing running order!



Above: John Ainsworth



Above: Loaded Message



Above: Green Vigo

Photos by Francesca Hughes of Original Fuse - www.originalfuse.co.uk

Not Stationary, but Shooting.

I feel good. I feel like I'm back writing again, but properly this time. During my three years at university, I never really got the chance to write much more than the odd poem; I was far to busy with essays and dance societies and performances.

But now, I seem to have a lot more time on my hands. I've been faffing around with my two new scripts on Final Draft 8 for the past couple of days (excellent programme, I reccommend it to anyone writing a play or screenplay) but it hasn't really felt like I've been writing. Tonight, I opened the novel I had begun working on a few years ago, "Gemini". Then I really got back into the swing of things.

The reason I've been working on the same novel for years is because I changed so much whilst I was writing it, as a writer and a person. The plot has undergone many changes and the characters even more... Just like life, I suppose. I'm determined to get stuck into it. So, after furnishing you guys with a blog about the Scruff of the Neck festival in Deansgate, Manchester tomorrow, all day Sunday I plan to spend on the novel and on finishing the first full drafts of the plays "Bitten" and "Cobwebs."

I'm so excited to finish them. All my life I've never properly finished a writing project, unless it was a university project, in which case, if I didn't I'd have been screwed! Instead, I've always managed to fill notebook after notebook full of ideas and my hard drive is currently overflowing with excerpts from novels, plays and screenplays I will one day write. I can't wait to see the final products now.

I'm also working on putting together an anthology of my poetry - I've written so much of it over the past few years that it shouldn't be too long before I get enough words together to make a book. Now, as I have accumulated some extremely dedicated fans of this blog over the past couple of weeks, I'm gonna reward you with a little taster of my poetry.

Much Love.
CC.


"The Price of Fame"

His mother had always told him
He had bedroom eyes
And when he walked in
With his piercing gaze and feathery locks
Leda could see what she had meant

I’ll make you a star

Not stationary, but shooting
I’ll make your limbs sparkle through the sky
But first let me sculpt my scene around you

She didn’t know what he meant
But she let him move closer
Longing for the devotion he had promised

And when the pain kicked in
And her eyes flushed with tears

She persevered

Such a Nerd.

I embraced the geek within me tonight and watched both "The Lost Land of the Tiger" on BBC1 and the Time Team Special "Britain's Drowned World" on More4.

Firstly, and I've said this on twitter, but I feel it needs to be said again, it was so inspiring in the first programme to watch a guy who had been diagnosed with lukemia 9 years ago dedicate the rest of his time on this planet to ensure the survival of tigers in the wild. Tomorrow's episode is set to be even better - a teaser at the end of today's programme promises a discovery which one of the researchers was brought to tears over.

Time Team told the story of Boxgrove in Sussex, where prehistoric human remains have been found. It appears that there used to be land where the English Channel is, connecting our funny little island to the continent. The first human settlers in Britain made their way across this land, before it was submerged in water.

Apparently, our lot is the only "successful" settlement made in Britain. It's funny how their definition of "successful" was sketchy. We've been here for 12, 000 years apparently. Our time here will only be successful if we stick around for a lot longer. Well, if the human race really is destroying itself at the rate which has been recently reported, Britain may remain an island which has never been "successfully" settled upon.

On a lighter note... I discovered my childhood favourite band, a1, to be back in Norway! Ben Adams (the one who used to have the curtains) has his own YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/benadamsuk - get over there - it's hilarious!

Thanks for all the views that have been coming in their dozens over the past couple of weeks. I really apprieciate it guys!

Much Love.
CC.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

I'm sure you've all heard about Lady GaGa's address to the US Senate about the Don't Ask, Don't Tell issue. If you've been on the moon for the past week, basically she's fighting against a part of the American Constitution which states that homosexual members of the military should hide their sexuality whilst in service. I have to say, the woman makes a good point, and I'm glad that someone like her is standing for this issue.

It's a sad world that we live in when people only listen to what celebrities say, but if Lady GaGa uses that influence to bring about a good outcome, I'm behind her all the way.

All sounds good so far. But, what I find shocking is the coverage of these events in the UK. The presenters of the English programme "Live from Studio Five" commented on how they thought it was a surprise to see Lady GaGa 'doing politics', a statement which was a surprise to me - when does Lady GaGa NOT do politics? Always speaking out about homosexuality and injustice. Her music videos make a statement, and although I agree it's fun to shock people, Lord knows I done it before, but I truly believe that there's more to it than that. Take "Alejandro", for instance; religious and military imagery turned on it's head to make a statement about both areas.

Lady GaGa doesn't just DO politics. Lady GaGa IS politics. Get used to it.

Watch her address below. I only wish I lived in America already and was able to make a difference on this topic.

Much love.
CC.

Ready, Aim... Fire!

I'm so proud - my brother's got a job interview tomorrow. I really wish him all the best and pray (not in the religious sense) that he gets the job, but it is another reminder of my job search.

I spent hours per day (something which I have yet to see my little bro do) filling in application forms, emailing scores of performing arts companies with my CV, and sending even more to "back up" jobs, letting industry professionals know that I was searching for work, attending auditions and interviews. Because I was applying for positions in the performing industry, something which is not heard of in my family, and largely seen as far too ambitious, even for a trained dancer and Warwick University graduate with experience coming out of her ears, those jobs I was applying for tended to take a little longer to get back to me. My mother was convinced that I was just dreaming, that a job such as the one I now have (Trainee Producer at Manchester International Festival) was not possible for me, OR, as she told me more than once, that I simply wasn't trying hard enough.

Now that, I wasn't happy about. It's difficult to explain to a mother who's generation grew up leaving school at 14 and going out and getting any job to "earn your keep" that I had been preparing myself for such a job search for 5 years. All through sixth form and university, I filled my days with performing arts projects and events, many of which I was the sole producer, so that I could fill my CV and pretty much guaruntee huge chances of getting a good job in this industry at the end of my university career. Explaining this to my mother, didn't work.

I find it really difficult to understand people without ambition. I'm not saying that not having a huge ambition is a bad thing, it's just that my brain doesn't seem to work that way. I guess it must be the same when it's the other way around, and that's why my mum couldn't understand me. Everything I do is aimed towards California. It's not just to pay the bills...

...Which is why, when I heard my dad tell my mun to stop trying to change my mind about the move the other night, it made me smile sleepily.

Never give up my friends.
CC.