The life of Sandra Marriott

Singing for your supper!

Dec05
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Sandra

Well yesterday was the culmination of 6 months of rehearsing…yesterday being the performance we were rehearsing for!

Yesterday, Sam, Terysa and myself sang our Christmas set a total of 4 times throughout the 6 hour Christmas Fair at Hylands House in Chelmsford. The set we had rehearsed was an hour and fifteen minutes long and we had to cut a few sets short as my voice was starting to feel the strain.

We did two sets outside in the Stables visitor centre, and two sets in the entrance hall of the house.
We had a bit of trouble with feedback when were in side due to people moving around and affecting where the sound waves were being deflected – it’s not something I’ve ever really thought about as I’ve never been miked up to sing before!

Because of the feedback issues, we also didn’t have our own sound monitor set up while we were inside which made it really quite hard to hear what we were supposed to be singing!

Interestingly, Sam and I had a chat and decided we probably sounded better outside – we preferred singing outside anyway. But the comments we got about our performance in the house was that it was so much better! The sound radiated around the house and there were people stopping to listen to us on the stairs and balcony – all rather gratifying to hear!

At the end of the day someone approached one of our friends and asked if he was our agent! Us? Agent?!
Anyway, we have been asked if we would consider doing after dinner singing – how amazing is that?!

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Today was a good day…

Oct12
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Sandra

First off, please let me start by saying I am NO sysadmin. I do not like dealing with servers other than for basic web stuff.
I have gone as far as installing XAMPP on my work PC so I have a local version of a LAMP server to emulate the server conditions for our various websites.

I have been worrying a lot recently about the level of programming that was going to be required of me for a forthcoming project that will connect our websites at work which are hosted out there on various servers in cyberspace, with our own database server held locally here at work behind a firewall, all via a SOAP interface. Our local database will have to be updated in real time from each of our websites (we have a few…).

I installed a copy of our chosen CMS on my local machine. It all works fine – except that my XAMPP installation doesn’t have a configured SMTP server. Unfortunately, I need the SMTP server to work as due to the fact that there will be various SOAP calls made from links sent in emails from the CMS (such as email validation), so I need to be able to send mail on my own PC. FUN!!

XAMPP comes with MercuryMail but it is not configured – why would it be? Every server setup will be different. After spending an entire day trawling countless web pages to find a way to configure MercuryMail, I stumbled upon this gem http://www.zoe.vc/2008/mercury-mail-transport-system-fur-externe-mail-konfigurieren/?lan=english and hey presto, I now have a working SMTP server on my PC! The thing to understand here is that not every email host will allow relaying through any port. Luckily, anyone can sign up for a Gmail account, and so far, as long as you use port 587 and NOT 25, all seems to be good!

I am actually quite proud of myself for setting up MercuryMail as this kind of thing is not my forte!

Once this was setup, I was able to test the first part of the extension I had written for the CMS in readiness for adding my first SOAP call. And hey presto! The basic form of my extension worked!

So, today was a good day…and long may it last!

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Posted in Technology

Fascinating Aida

Sep30
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Sandra

I have been meaning to write this post for the last week and have finally gotten around to doing it.

A week ago I went to the Civic Theatre in Chelmsford to see Fascinating Aida, a singing comedy act made famous on YouTube because of their song Cheap Flights, all about budget airlines (although probably more so RyanAir).

The evening didn’t start well. The police had shut the main road through Boreham which meant I had to go via Little Baddow and had to run the gauntlet of the Army and Navy roundabout which I really didn’t want to do. I hate being late and so started to panic that I wouldn’t be there on time. Got there about 10 mins before curtain up – not enough time for that leisurely drink I was planning.

I was going to the show with some in trepidation.  Although I love the 2 songs I know of, Cheap Flights and Dogging, I was wondering if they would be the highlight and the rest of the show would be below that standard.
I needn’t have worried!

The show used topical news and general life stories, the first song being about Companies Utilising Nifty Transaction Systems (I think) – work that acronym out for yourselves!

I spent the whole evening laughing with tears rolling down my face. I would happily go and see them again. Very clever songwriting, very funny, and you should all go and see Fascinating Aida. They are touring now!

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A Week Away…well, a week off work

Sep20
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Sandra

Last week was a nice relaxing time without the worry of getting up for work. Bliss!

The first weekend was pretty chilled out and I didn’t do too much – which in itself was lovely! I had dinner with Keith and we had a good old catch up! The following day I did a bit of tidying up (almost negligable) but was mainly spend watching the rugby and F1, followed by a quick visit to Hyland Park. I wanted to check out one of the places I will be singing with Sam and her sister in December.

On the Monday I got up and packed for my few days away in the New Forest. I don’t really like going on holiday on my own, but why should being single be a reason to sit on your arse at home? I had a clear trip to Lyndhurst and did it in about 2 and half hours, so by mid afternoon on Monday I was ooohh-ing and aahhh-ing at all the new forest ponies down there at Bolton’s Bench :0)

The main reason for going to the New Forest was to practice photography. I got some great shots (although I still don’t necessarily understand how…). I spent a day in Rhinefield Ornamental Drive – not least because of the ponies who insisted on crossing a wide stream by using the bridge! And stopping for a while in the middle of the bridge to admire the view!

I went down to the Solent and saw remnants of the D-Day launches as well as taking some really cool arty photos – at Lepe. And then went and walked around the largest lake in the New Forest – Hatchett Pond.

I had to come home on the Thursday, and was at mum’s for lunch!

But despite having a nice time away, the best day was definitely last Saturday. Sam had previously asked if I would be OK with her sister coming and doing the Christmas set with us, so we do it in 3 part rather than 2 part harmony, and Saturday morning was out first rehearsal with all 3 of us. Fantastic – I do feel like a bit of a fraud seeing as the other 2 have been in a band and are both fantastic singers. But hey, I’m enjoying myself!
After 4 hours of singing/laughing/chatting, I thought I’d best go home and get ready for the girls night. In the end, it was just me and Sam, but I cooked (properly) for the first time in ages and didn’t give anyone food poisoning, which is always a bonus!

All in all a good week, and I really didn’t want to go back to work yesterday – but then, how’s that different to any Monday?

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Zumba Class

Sep06
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Sandra

Last night I went along to my very first zumba class! Since moving back to Boreham in March, I have done little to no exercise, so thought I should do something about that!
I don’t really know what I was expecting but it was a good workout – felt dead halfway through, but I know that’s because of how unfit I am! I have been to aerobics classes that have worked me much harder!

Now, everyone says to me that as I can sing and play musical instruments, I must be able to dance. Well I have a whole amateur dramatics group who can confirm that that is not so :0)

Luckily the class is based on aerobics but with dance type moves added in so it’s a bit less intimidating for someone like me.
I got a bit mixed up at times where my co-ordination failed me epically, but all in all, I think I did pretty well!

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Bed and Breakfasts

Sep05
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Sandra

Over the weekend I launched a new website Global Bed and Breakfasts which is a replacement for my old bed and breakfast website. No I’m not running a bed and breakfast…don’t think my flat would be big enough really… It’s a site listing bed and breakfasts so you can all find somewhere to stay!

At present it is still very much a basic site, but I decided to launch with some content now to get the domain noticed by Google, while I am still working on the feature rich side I will be implementing.
I may even launch in stages to gradually improve the site, or I may wait until all the features are complete and launch with a big hurrah!

If you know of someone who owns a B&B, or is looking for bed and breakfasts to stay in, please direct them to my new website!

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Much Ado About Nothing

Sep05
2011 2 Comments Written by Sandra

On saturday I had the pleasure of going to watch Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing being performed at the Globe Theatre in London.

It probably helped that I know the play pretty well, having played Hero in The Blackmore Players’ version in 2007, so I could enjoy the acting without wondering what the shakespearian words were all about!
Eve Best as Beatrice, and Charles Edwards as Benedick were both immense. Their ability to show the comedy of the play was a joy to behold and easily makes them the best two leads in this play that I have ever witnessed.
Matthew Pidgeon as Don John was also very good, as was Paul Hunter as the odd Dogberry…but you know what, everyone was great and I enjoyed the show immensely!

The staging at the Globe allows for natural movement instead of having to work to a rectangular format like most theatres. And on a bright sunny day as it was on Saturday, it is an amazing experience.

If you haven’t experienced the Globe theatre, you should!

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Time After Time

Aug21
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Sandra

I have finally got round to uploading one of the songs I recorded at Meadow Farm Studios in Derby back in 2004! This is my cover of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time!

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Nike Air Pegasus

Aug20
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Sandra

When I was a teenager, I was quite into sport (although I hid it well!) and I had the BEST pair of trainers – Nike Air Pegasus. They were absolutely the most comfortable all round trainer for sport, and back then they came with optional arch supports!

Today at Freeport, I ventured into the huge Nike store and asked if they still made Air Pegasus, or indeed any other Air brands…OMG yes they do! They make one pair, which means I was a bit limited on colour choice, and to be honest, the colour scheme is not one I would have chosen. I tried on the newer technology trainers which use an advanced rubber compound to emulate the air cushion but are ligher, but you know what? You can’t beat Air Pegasus!

I now own a brand spanking new pair of the best trainer ever made! Now I need to do some sport/excercise…bugger!

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Music month Aug11

Aug17
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Sandra

Just a quick post to update you on the music that’s getting me through my tough times.

A great song I loved when it was released back in 2009, and yes next time I will be bulletproof!
La Roux – Bulletproof (can’t embed the video, so off you go to youtube :o ) )

This is a beautiful song I’ve only just recently heard on the radio (sometimes I turn off the Christmas songs I’m practising!).

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