something has to give

I am in the later stages of preparing my PhD thesis for submission and am under quite a lot of pressure so something has to give. I am having a little sabbatical from my re:jesus blogging and unfortunately dear reader I also feel that I need to take a little break here too. I am still twittering and using facebook - there are links to those updates on here. I hope to be back blogging by the middle of October (after submission). In the meantime I would appreciate your prayers, positive vibes, cake and love. The final push in on...

draft thesis to the proof reader

I have deposited a copy of the latest draft of my thesis with the proof reader today...and feel quite pleased with myself. I celebrated with a little visit to Waitrose and the hardware store in Formby and am considering a drink of nice white wine. But, just so you can enjoy the music hall moment with me I will post (again) this little film of Gus Elen singing 'It's a Great Big Shame'...enjoy (and don't forget to join in the chorus).

a week

It has been a whole week since I last blogged and so much has happened...I can't even begin to start on the mad business of the week, the juggling I have done is week is exemplary and the mere fact that I have managed to get through without decking someone should been seen as a feat in itself.

Probably the main reason I have survived is that Becky has been here looking after Eva and keeping an eye on me - PhD fever has been quite bad and having someone to remind me that I am fine has been very useful. Also, Becky being about has helped me to keep up my parish commitments...of which there have been a few this week.

Anyway, I wish I could write more but I really must get on with preparing my latest thesis draft which is going to my favourite proof reader tomorrow...

stress and stuff

The stress of producing drafts of chapters and updating stuff is getting to me. I have taken to cake and other stress relievers. This week has been a mad time as it seems just as I get into writing I have another project on the go as well. Poor old Eva has had to go to our trusty childminders Heather and Eric for this week and next as both Mark and I are working. She is loving it though...it's just the having to get up for me to get her to south Liverpool by 9am that is hard (on both of us).

Monday was a PhD day that started wit an Every Child Matters group meeting to plan the playday event (which took place on Wednesday). So after and hour of sorting that out I came back to my office to crack on. I achieved quite a lot I think. Though I did have to do quite a lot of Greenbelt planning and got distracted by a few parish duties.

Tuesday was the day I shall refer to as Burger Day! I spent the morning with Henry and Mark (the reader at St Peter's church) planning the sermons and services for St Peters for Autumn and Winter. It was a great morning of sharing and panning. I had to then fix a puncture (we keep getting nails in the passenger tyre - not by accident I am afraid). Thankfully it just needed patching up and only cost £6 but I think I may have to deal with 'those that nail' because it is on its last patch. I then popped in to see the youth club and discovered that the BBQ for the playday hadn't been sorted so had to go to ASDA to get 200 burgers and then cook them. It took me 6 hours to pre-cook the burgers. The house stank of burgers, I stank of burgers and Joe managed to block the drain with the burger fat...so I had to get a plunger and industrial unblocker to free the yack. But it was all soothed by the lovely 3 course dinner Eva and Joe cooked Mark and I (and 2 guests). A lovely lovely treat.

Wednesday was the playday...we were opening a new playspace that has been created on derelict land near us. It is a nature play garden and has the potential to be fantastic. It all came together in the end - someone else took over the BBQ which meant I didn't have to stick of burger grease for 2 day running. The fire- engine turned up, the community police officers were positive, the housing associations were supporting and turned up with freebies and balloons, the street-dance group were great and the games (skipping workshop, drumming workshops, facepainting, flower arranging) that were organised for the kids went down well. The weather was great as well. I was very impressed by the whole event. But, I was cream crackered...and it was another day of low achievement on the PhD front.

Thursday I cleaned the church - the theatre company have vacated and it needed a good clean. Then cracked on with some work in the afternoon. Mainly prep for the 2 services I am leading and preaching for on Sunday.

Today is my day off... Eva has a friend over, I have just been to the shops and dropped off my sewing machine at the menders...now I am going to eat cake and read a book...Mark is off to set up the show for tonight at the old police station on Lark Lane. Joe is off out into town later and the girls are on a sleep over so it won't be a quiet night for me. Hey ho.

Just had a bit of time to look over my supervisors corrections of my latest chapter...it wasn't ALL bad. But there is a long way to go. Hey ho.

PhD - update

I am now on the home stretch...well, almost. I have to submit on the 6th October so, having completed a second draft and had it commented on by both internal examiners, I am now working on the final draft with my supervisor - chapter by chapter. We are having weekly meetings and I am workign to quite strict deadlines. It seems my content is 'very well researched' and I don't need to add anything to my argument. The outstanding issues are structural. Also, it seems I need to 'be a bit more boring'! So, I am working on that...stating arguments, flagging up methodologies, being more obvious about my questions and using some less racey terminology.

The current title is:
Performing The Popular: The Context, Composition and Creation of Liverpool Music Hall.

So, that's the update. I am struggling to keep my dyslexic symptoms under control (my brain is under strict instructions to 'just keep going for 2 more months). But, this is of particular concern so please do continue to pray, send chocolate, pass on special good writing vibes, etc.

Britains got talent

This was my favourite act from this year - they didn't win but they were fab


George was the winner


obviously it was a dancing year this year!

If you didn't see the moment that George won - here it is!

Luis Hardt

A while ago I mentioned a woman called Ann who got in touch with me about Luis Hardt (one of the acts I am researching as part of my PhD) and she sent me a fantastic picture of him sitting ponderously on a chair. I have had another picture (this one) sent to me by a man called Ed. I missed out on bidding for the picture on ebay (which is a shame) but it is nice to have got this copy of him in a romantic mythical stance. Thanks Ed.

back in Bristol

Having had a very good few days in Liverpool we are now back in Bristol...and it is raining (again). Well, while we were in Liverpool we got a lot done. We went to our new house and had a useful meeting with the diocesan housing officer and I think things are now in hand - hopefully all the jobs that need doing will be done by the time we move in. Mark and I also had a good meeting with a friend of ours who is doing a big local history arts project from the Park Palace music hall/cinema building on Mill Street, Liverpool 8. I have been asked to be part of the project - running a week long music hall workshop from the building. I am very excited about the project and it will be a useful addition to my performance as research work in relation to my PhD. Even though this is a different music hall it is a contemporary of the Pavilion. I am hoping that the project will take place in June just after I get back but before I start my curacy. If not I will have to do the research, set up the project and then hand it over to someone else. Just have to hope it all comes together...

In keeping with the music hall theme I have chosen a clip of Count Arthur Strong doing a little act at the Music Hall Meltdown which happened last year. Enjoy.

Luis Hardt

I have met some fantastic people via this blog and the latest person to contact me is a woman called Ann who, having read my post about my PhD and the music hall bill I am working on, got in touch with me about a relative of hers who appeared on that bill in 1908. His name was Luis Hardt - the Mighty Atom. She has been kind enough to send me this photo of Luis and some very interesting information about him. She enclosed a contemporary description of his act, which reads:

"Mr Luis Hardt is one of the number of "good little 'uns" who have taken to the boards as professional men. His development, as can be seen from the accompanying photo..., is very handsome and well balanced. He is known to fame as "the Mighty Attom" because of his immense strength in comparison with his bulk and stature. Mr Hardt is a conscientious worker, and exercises daily. He does not believe in alcoholic liquors, but enjoys a good smoke when indulged in, of course, in due moderation"

If anyone else out there has any more information abut Luis Hardt or any other acts on the bill below then please do make a comment here and I will get back to you. Please leave your email address. Thanks



This is the programme for the week commencing Monday afternoon (Monday being the day that the weekly programme changed), April 20th, 1908. Doors opened at 2.30pm and twice nightly 6.50pm and 9pm during the week. On the bill that week were:

1. Overture: ‘Francis the Radical’
2. Ida Katherina: ‘The Dolly Girl’
3. Austins: Comedy Juggling and Dancing
4. Blanche & Powel: In their High Class Drawing Room Entertainment
5. John G. Brandon & Co. In the Famous American Dramatic Sketch – The Girl & the Tough
6. Steel & Laing (Dora & Dulcie): The Meddling Tramp and the Dancing Maid
7. Kenneth & Kane (Sid & Maud) Comedy Duo: ‘Just a Few Words’
8. Capt. Devereaux: Canine Streets of London. A Drama Illustrated by Dogs Only
9. Luis Hardt ‘The Mighty Atom’ and Original Boy Samson in Flights of Imagination – A New and Original Way of Introducing Feats of Strength
10. Neilson Troupe: of Boys and Girls in a Comedy and Dancing Scena entitled ‘An Improvised Rehearsal’
11. Will Walton: Comedian
12. Sarnthaler Troupe: Lady singers and Dancers, in their Mountain Scena ‘ Ten Minutes in the Tyrol
13. ‘Crazy Quilt’ on the Bioscope
14. Tarro Miyake. The Champion Ju Jitsu Wrestler of Japan

phd

I got a letter today from Liverpool University letting me know that my last submission date for my PhD will be March 2009. It seems so odd that having spent all summer writing a draft I now have to wait so long to get it in to them. A twinge of disappointment but to be honest I feel quite relieved as well. Over Christmas I realised that I had taken on to much and it was possible that my brain was going to explode if I kept on trying to put so much in and expect so much to come out in an ordered way. So, I will do a bit at my own pace for a while - just to keep it ticking over - then crack on when I am able to once I am ordained in June. hey ho.

new day

I am burning a draft of my PhD for my supervisor! I can't actually believe that I have done this - the summer project was to write my PhD and I have done it! I know I have been a bit moany about it and even if this draft needs to be changed (which I am fully expecting) I have actually done what I set out to do.

Despite the slog and being trapped in a small room with a laptop the summer hasn't been without its adventures, in fact I think I have had a great time:
- There was the yurting adventure
- Getting a curacy adventure to Liverpool
- The Greenbelt Adventure
and lots of mini adventures:
- Phil J coming to stay
- The Norfolk's visit
- Elise's birthday
- BBQ's
- days out
- visiting Eleanor and Matthew

But, all good things must come to an end and it feels liek the holidays are coming to an end.

Anyway, I must go and post the PhD draft to my supervisor and have my hair cut!

i want my family back

This picture of Mark and I was taken by Colette Cuddihy whilst on the yurt trip. Ah!


I have finally written something for every chapter - which means I have a draft (not daft) PhD. So, I have met my target. The best thing about getting to this point is that I can have my family back together. I really miss Eva - I haven't seen her for 10 days and I just want to get back to normal.

I realise that I still have a long way to go. Only half of what I have produced this summer has been read by my supervisor and I am sure much of it will have to be reworked. I have no idea how many words I have written - but I am guessing at about 75.000 and I have to include appendices and footnotes which would add about 12,000. So, I think I have enough...

anyway, the next couple of days will be spent checking the draft and trying to get it all to look, read and feel like one document. Ready for inspection.

i fought the law

I can't believe how things turn on a pin. Particularly feelings. I came back from my holidays, had a great time in Liverpool, was feeling really optimistic. Then last night I read through the days 3,000 words and felt truly wrung out. I feel like I am not winning the fight to write this phd. I have worked so hard all summer and I feel like it is never going to get done.

I had a wave of freedom the other day. I was putting Eva to bed and I thought 'when this phd is done I will just be able to get on with my life, it will be over and I won't have it hanging over me any more. It won't steal any more of my time, my thinking or my feelings.' But, I can't see the end at the moment.

When all else fails listen to the Clash...

barry maguire

Barry is in Columbia and I have just caught up with his adventures via facebook. What a wonderful thing facebook can be. You get to see people's photos before they even come home. The one featured here is of Barry with a sloth. I have to say this is such a great photo of both Barry and sloth. They look so relaxed in each others company.

I am at the laptop keys again trying to write a tricky chapter about the emergence of music hall in the mid 19th century. Got to go out soon - meeting John Bimson and going to college for a short while. I am sitting here waiting for the red dye to take on my hair. It is a beautiful sunny day (there have been so few) so I need to get the washing out. See ya.

music hall website # 1

One of things I am looking at with my PhD is the way in which emotional memory has affected the way we speak about popular performance. That is, how the way we feel (or think we feel) about the popular of the past impacts on the the popular present. I am spending time investigating how people write and talk about music hall - how this fits into their identity and the way they think about the world. So, I am taking into account the views of music hall fans and biographers,as well as incorporating anecdote and speculation into my academic thesis. So, here is an example of the sort of website I am looking at - it is The Music Hall and Theatre Site - Dedicated to Arthur Lloyd 1839 - 1904. kept by his Great Grandson Matthew Lloyd who has built up a fantastic archive of material about Arthur Lloyd, the theatres he worked in and the stories that surround his life and work. There are many sites that focus on this sort of family music hall history. They are concerned with keeping memories alive, dealing with nostalgia and myth making. It is great stuff and really exciting to explore. Anyway, if you get a moment do have a browse round the Arthur Lloyd site.

little tich

I am at home. Came home last night and all is well. If you want details you might have to ask me in person.

Anyway, the last of my music hall performances (for now). This is Little Tich. He features heavily in my phd. He is a favourite of mine.

lily morris # 2

I realised that I won't be able to post stuff for a few days because I am off into hospital tomorrow. So here is some background information on Lily Morris. Don't forget to watch the video as well. It is a cracker...


Lily Morris was born in London in 1884, her career began at the age of 10 when she appeared in Pantomime at Drury Lane, and she then went on to tour with Moss Empires as a ‘juvenile’. She is described in the British Music Hall: An Illustrated Who’s Who, 1850 – Present Day as ‘a chorus singer with a big voice and a personality to match’ . She had a number of hits with including In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree, Don’t Have any More Mrs Moore, and the one recorded here Why am I Always the Bridesmaid ‘which took her to the top of the bill and to the Royal Variety Performance in 1927’ . Lily Morris died in 1952.

Lily Morris

This is another one of the acts I am working on at the moment. I will give you some background information tomorrow...for now just sit back and enjoy the show.

the one that got away

John H commented on this playbill then I swapped it for the other one. So, here it is re-posted all on it's own.


IF YOU CLICK ON THE IMAGE (AND THE PREVIOUS ONE) THEY GET MAGICALLY BIGGER!!!!

a night at the Pavilion

I am starting to work on another phd chapter - one that I have already had a go a and needs some TLC to get it into order. One of the exciting bits of the phd is when I introduce the acts that performed on the Pavilion stage the week beginning 20th April 1908. It is at this point that the phd shifts from an investigation of music hall as a popular performance to how it was manifest in a specific place. My research then looks at music hall performance in the context of local everyday life.

I remember the day I found this music hall bill - I had spent four days trawling through acres of irrelevant primary source material in the Central Library in Liverpool, patiently hoping for a gem...and there it was, in fact this was one of 6 bills I found that day. These became the basis for my phd and have kept my interest for nearly 6years.

I will let the acts speak for themselves.

This is the programme for the week commencing Monday afternoon (Monday being the day that the weekly programme changed), April 20th, 1908. Doors opened at 2.30pm and twice nightly 6.50pm and 9pm during the week. On the bill that week were:

1. Overture: ‘Francis the Radical’
2. Ida Katherina: ‘The Dolly Girl’
3. Austins: Comedy Juggling and Dancing
4. Blanche & Powel: In their High Class Drawing Room Entertainment
5. John G. Brandon & Co. In the Famous American Dramatic Sketch – The Girl & the Tough
6. Steel & Laing (Dora & Dulcie): The Meddling Tramp and the Dancing Maid
7. Kenneth & Kane (Sid & Maud) Comedy Duo: ‘Just a Few Words’
8. Capt. Devereaux: Canine Streets of London. A Drama Illustrated by Dogs Only
9. Luis Hardt ‘The Mighty Atom’ and Original Boy Samson in Flights of Imagination – A New and Original Way of Introducing Feats of Strength
10. Neilson Troupe: of Boys and Girls in a Comedy and Dancing Scena entitled ‘An Improvised Rehearsal’
11. Will Walton: Comedian
12. Sarnthaler Troupe: Lady singers and Dancers, in their Mountain Scena ‘ Ten Minutes in the Tyrol
13. ‘Crazy Quilt’ on the Bioscope
14. Tarro Miyake. The Champion Ju Jitsu Wrestler of Japan

Here we see juggling, dancing, sketches, feats of strength, comedy, even a dog act, to top it all you have the interactive challenge of Tarro Miyake who was prepared to take on any member of the audience.