Newcastle City Hall - 30 Oct 2008

[roger]

I have booked E17 and will be staying in the same hotel as Grant and Gordon!

Roger

[Paddy]

Got a message from Ticketmaster this morning.

Tickets for Newcastle officially for sale tomorrow at 9.00 am.

In fact they're on sale now.

They offerred me E21 but I'm not sure if I can go yet.

Paddy

[gra7890]

Jul 1, 2008 9:25:35 GMT @roger said:

I have booked E17 and will be staying in the same hotel as Grant and Gordon!

Roger

Hi Roger,
The hotel does not know what it has let itself in for
I hope you are not sharing E17 as well

Looking forward to it already, at least that is one near enough on my doorstep i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best Wishes,

Graham

[grant]

Jul 1, 2008 17:54:28 GMT gra7890 said:

I hope you are not sharing E17 as well

Luckily I'm in E14! It's an isle seat so every chance for a quick exit if one is needed.

Best wishes
Grant

[gra7890]

Hi Roger, Gordon, Grant and SteveH,
We have to drive back from Oxford on the morning of the 30th. We are staying at my sons after returning from our holiday. If all goes according to plan I will then drive up to the outskirts of Newcastle and get the Metro in, but I am not sure about the time
I will have a quick look at this thread before setting off to see your likely movements i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Graham

[grant]

Hi Graham

I've not even considered arrangements for this one yet!!! Not sure about Steve, but Roger, Gordon and I are staying at the Travelodge and we can check in from 3pm. I guess then we'll go grab something to eat before the concert.

Anyone any suggestions as to where we can go for food? I know there is a Weatherspoons quite close to the railway staition as I ate there with a friend last Christmas.

Best wishes
Grant

[roger]

Hi Graham,

Gordon and I will be coming from Barrow-in-Furness (via Lancaster and Carlisle!). We are due to arrive in Newcastle at around 2 o'clock. We will then have to kill time before checking in to the hotel at 3pm or so. We hadn't discussed what we would do from then on but Grants suggestion to invade Weatherspoons sounds good to me.

Not sure what we will do in the evening. I have a feeling we might be going to a concert or something!

Will we be able to find one another if Lindisfarne were right and there's Fog on the Tyne?

Roger

[grant]

Oct 12, 2008 21:24:17 GMT @roger said:

Will we be able to find one another if Lindisfarne were right and there's Fog on the Tyne?

Ahh but Roger, The Fog On The Tyne "is all mine, all mine" I'll let you know what I decide later on!

Best wishes
Grant

[grant]

Hi Roger and Gordon

I suppose we should think about arrangements for meeting up for this concert.

Your travel options from Barrow are limited. You have a train at 9.58am via Carlisle that gets you into Newcastle at 13.59. I have a train from Derby that arrives 10 minutes later at 14.09.

We could either meet up at the station or at the Travelodge. Technically we can't check in until 3pm but we may manage a bit earlier if we're already there

Let me know what you think.

Best wishes
Grant

[roger]

Oct 21, 2008 23:31:11 GMT grant said:

Your travel options from Barrow are limited. You have a train at 9.58am via Carlisle that gets you into Newcastle at 13.59.

Hi Grant,

That's a bit of luck because that is the train we have booked! The simplest way is for Gordon and I to wait ten minutes for your arrival. We can decide what to do once we meet but I have already agreed with Gordon that we will check into the hotel as soon as we can and then time will be our own.

See you there!

Roger

[grant]

Hi Roger

Oct 22, 2008 9:55:05 GMT @roger said:

That's a bit of luck because that is the train we have booked!

Yes, I noticed your post stating that after I'd posted mine!

The simplest way is for Gordon and I to wait ten minutes for your arrival. We can decide what to do once we meet but I have already agreed with Gordon that we will check into the hotel as soon as we can and then time will be our own.

Excellent! I Just hope my train isn't late!

I certainly agree that we check in before we do anything else.

Best wishes
Grant

[drew]

From Newcastle Chronicle

End of an era at only 21

Oct 24 2008 by Gordon Barr, Evening Chronicle

Singing sensation Hayley Westenra is at Newcastle City Hall next week. Entertainment Editor GORDON BARR chats to her

THERE can be few singers who are able to release a greatest hits album at the age of 21.

But New Zealander Hayley Westenra is not your average singer. Last year she was declared the biggest selling classical artist of the 21st century – but she does not see herself as a ‘classical’ act, more of a singer, full-stop.

That is evident on her new album, River if Dreams, The Very Best of Hayley Westenra, which is in shops this Monday, to coincide with her biggest headlining tour of the UK to date, including a show at Newcastle City Hall next Thursday.

When we chat, she is full of cold. “It’s not great, but it’s great to hear you are well,” she laughs. “There is never an ideal time to get ill and when you do you just try all the things other people try. Lemon and honey drinks, ginger. I have an arsenal of supplements.

“Sleep is the key really and hot drinks. And keep your fingers crossed. You just have to try and not get too wound up about it really.

“Stress can make it worse. Positive thinking!”

She has lots to be positive about, not least the new album. “I thought the idea was a little bit mad myself when it was first put to me. I was a little bit unsure if the record company was hinting at something. Mmm, OK! I do plan on continuing, you do realise that, I told them,” she giggles.

“I soon warmed to the idea. Now I think of it as the end of one era and the beginning of the next.

“It’s going to be nice to have an album that when people come up to me and say ‘I have a friend that I really want to buy one of your albums for, which one should I get?’, and I can recommend this one.

“It summarises all my work so far.”

My personal favourite, Who Painted The Moon Black, is not on the British release (but is on the New Zealand CD, she tells me), so I ask her how she chose what to include and what to leave out.

“I had my own favourites but I was aware other people had their favourites too,” says Hayley. “It’s difficult, though, as my albums were never singles-driven, so it’s not like I had obvious hit singles. There were a few, songs like Pokarekare Ana, which was the lead track on my first album Pure, that was a definite. Amazing Grace had to go on there, and River of Dreams, being the title of the album.

“It was quite an arduous process whittling the number down and getting the approval from the record company. We got there in the end and I hope people are pleased with my selection.”

Away from her singing, Hayley devotes much of her time as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef and has just returned from a field trip to Ghana. “I went out to Ghana three years ago on my first field trip with Unicef and after that trip I set up the Hayley’s Bikes for Ghana Project,” she explains.

“The goal was to raise money for 6,000 bicycles for girls to get them to school. We were just checking up on progress. This time around it was great because I was able to delve into issues a little bit more deeply. I learned a lot more. It was still just as harrowing as the first trip, but I now have a better and deeper understanding of some of the issues.

“People ‘go how do you have time for your charity work with your singing?’, but most of the time it doesn’t really interfere too much, it goes hand in hand. By putting on a few concerts for Unicef to try help raise funds, or by just mentioning them – raising awareness, talking about their work in interviews.

“Apart from the field trips and the time I spend researching the issues, it doesn’t take away too much of my time and it is so rewarding and nice to have the opportunity to give something back that is worthwhile.”

She is now focused on her tour and promotional activities for her album, but is also looking forward to a well-earned break in the new year.

“For my last album I did some songwriting and I really enjoyed it so I have kept that up,” says Hayley. “When recording the three extra tracks for my best of album, we also tried out a few more so I have an idea where I am headed for the next album. I’m not going to start work on it until the middle of next year. I still have a lot more time to gather my thoughts.

“I am back home (New Zealand) for Christmas. It’s a nice little tradition, going back home for my second summer. I have the whole of January off, which is going to be wonderful. I’m working right up to Christmas Day and it’s going to be a bit mad heading towards the new year, interview-mania has set in, but it is going to be wonderful to see my family and friends again. There is nothing like being able to see them in the flesh.”

Hayley’s fans are no doubt thinking the same of this coming Thursday at Newcastle City Hall.

[drew]

Oct 24, 2008 13:18:48 GMT drew said:

My personal favourite, Who Painted The Moon Black, is not on the British release (but is on the New Zealand CD, she tells me), so I ask her how she chose what to include and what to leave out.

“For my last album I did some songwriting and I really enjoyed it so I have kept that up,” says Hayley. “When recording the three extra tracks for my best of album, we also tried out a few more so I have an idea where I am headed for the next album. I’m not going to start work on it until the middle of next year. I still have a lot more time to gather my thoughts.

“I am back home (New Zealand) for Christmas. It’s a nice little tradition, going back home for my second summer. I have the whole of January off, which is going to be wonderful. I’m working right up to Christmas Day and it’s going to be a bit mad heading towards the new year, interview-mania has set in, but it is going to be wonderful to see my family and friends again. There is nothing like being able to see them in the flesh.”

So:
(1) Another version of River Of Dreams
(2) No new International Album for Mothers' Day 2009
(3) Working until Christmas Day - what hasn't Bedlam told us after the Barbican

[roger]

Oct 24, 2008 13:35:03 GMT drew said:

(3) Working until Christmas Day - what hasn't Bedlam told us after the Barbican

Hi Drew,

I have no reason to believe that Bedlam have failed to tell us anything. Just because Hayley is busy, doesn't necessarily mean further concerts. There is far more to her job than that. It is also possible that she is provisionally booked for something but, until the contract is signed, it should not and must not be made public.

Incidentally, as we are only an independant fansite, Bedlam Management are not obliged to tell us anything so let's not be too quick to imply criticism when, as far as we know, they have done nothing wrong.

Roger

[Andrew]

Hi Drew,

Many thanks for sharing the news article with us - it was a good read!

Andrew