Hi Cm
Brimful of asha 
I think for those of us about to or already have lost hair we should avoid that Willow Smith song “I whip my hair back & forth” a bit too in your face for our party 
Am fine with Red & Purple.
Am also more of an ale than kidney girl.
Sarah.xx
I am Woman, hear me roar
Anything by a sassy, stomping female* who isn’t whining for some man. (*That’s meant to be a generic description, though I can see it as an album title.)
Annie Lennox
Annie’s Tune (You are beautiful) by John Denver for cooling down and getting sentimental
California Dreamin’ for when I get sentimental (showing my age here)
Jane, what’s the ballad about the woman who tricks the outlandish knight? (A metaphor for BC, surely.) Is there a tune for that? I only know it as a lyric–one of the border ballads. Can we organise a trio/quartet?
Cheryl (humming happily)
Morning All,
Blimey - you’ve been busy!
Welcome to Shar and Jane, so pleased you’ve found us, if we have to do this we may as well try and have a laugh about it! (??!)
I love the pub, particularly the purple and red colours and i will be constantly in the corner complete with chips, fish, cake, bottles of wine, Gin, packets of contraceptive pill and HRT pills, my theory being ‘as i already have cancer why the f**k not!’
I’ve invited Olivia Newton John, being as she has done BC and she’s going to sing ‘Let’s Get Physical’.
Kylie: ‘I should be so lucky’
… and Jennifer Saunders has agreed to do a turn.
Obviously only admitted with the Sacred Merkin firmly attached.
CM - I’m having a mx and recon and rads after chemo. I asked for this as i felt that i would cope that way better. I think the norm is mx first, possibly because many want to ‘GET IT OUT OF ME’ asap, which is perfectly understandable but not how i felt. Least things seem to be moving now, albeit not as quickly as you’d like. Really frustratingly i can’t get the iplayer to hear you, the show only seems to have 3 mins on it. Will keep trying.
I know it’s hijacking the gay anthem, but ‘I am what I am’ has got to be on the playlist (I don’t want praise, I don’t want pity), and possibly Shania Twain ‘Man (I feel like a woman)’ would be suitable too… agree that Willow Smith should be barred, but she’s too young to drink anyhow. For me, headliner should be Annie Lennox, without a doubt, just because she’s fantastic.
Sophie xx
Sarah, that Willow Smith song is perfect for us long-haired beauties who’ve chopped the hair prior to chemo, as I have my hair in a plastic bag waiting to be sent off to Little Princess Trust so I actually have much longer reach with my hair to whip it! Same as Alto, we could have a plait fight at dawn (except I didn’t put mine in a plait, just a ponytail.) (littleprincesses.org.uk in case anyone’s wondering.)
SCACO, thank you for reminding me of the attitude, it’s been guilted out of me in the last day or so. And don’t worry about the iplayer thing, that last piece was just a bit of a whinge, really.
Trip, that’s a PERFECT song for the gig, and I have to say I didn’t realise it was a gay anthem, but that’s started me thinking. “Relax (don’t do it)” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood would be a PERFECT instruction to the chemo staff before they poison us! And the lovely Annie - top of the bill. I love her stuff.
Morning all! You lot have been busy organising. I had better find some energy and keep up. Fantastic line up. I think the song with bosoms for a pillow starts with “I get knocked down, but I get up again…” Very appropriate. Well done CM for giving us a voice on radio yesterday!! In my school christmas craft box I have a large box of sleigh bell type jingles. I’ll leave them in the bar area so help yourself and sew them on your merkins for that real party feel. A good party is what we need on a wild, wet, windy weekend in the woods. Bring it on. x
Hi Cheryl,
Yes, I know Th’Outlandish Knight - great song! A folkie friend of ours, Bill Prince, sings a version of it - it’s on his album (it’s called Six Pretty Maids on there) He also sang it in a production of Keith Dewhurst’s Lark Rise and Candleford that DH directed in our village hall in November (the week before I found my effing lump) as it’s sung in the pub in Candleford.
I’ll bring the CD along to the Jingling Merkin if you like. I’m going to have to learn to knit myself now because I’ve started to moult. Is anyone giving lessons?
Does the pub stock that Crabbies alcoholic ginger beer? I’m a bit partial to that and we all know how much ginger is good for us (anything with “gin” in it has got to be good for you, hasn’t it?) Got to have something to lubricate the old tonsils for all that singing we’ll be doing.
Jane xxx
Hi Jane,
have erected a craft/merkin making tent.
crabbies ginger beer, lovely stuff & have plenty in stock.
Sarah.xx
Jane, I’m a bit anxious about you having to knit yourself because you’re starting to moult… it is only hair that falls out, you don’t need to be making spare arms and legs, though if you fancy knitting a spare boob, I’m only a B cup so it won’t take you long.
Sophie xx
Jane, you might find crochet easier to learn in terms of making hats–learn one simple stitch and how to go round in a spiral by adding a few each turn, then go round without adding any to get a simple hat shape. Big wool (smooth & non-itchy) and a big crochet hook, and you would soon learn to turn one out pretty quickly. My mom was never any good at knitting, but found crochet was easy to carry along and work on when she had to wait somewhere. I still have a baby’s afghan she crocheted long ago. If you enjoy it, there are loads of stitches and patterns. One great advantage of the internet is that you can find graphic and video lessons in knitting and crochet. Of course if a local wool shop does lessons, or if you still have any adult education left in your area with this kind of lesson, you get the added benefit of the socialising and hands-on help if you get stuck.
Now that I seem to be recovering a bit, I need to sort out my unfinished bits of wool that I haven’t touched for a few years and see what I can do with them.
Cheryl
Crabbies…I will be there!!! YUM!
I have lots of wool, I actually supply knitting wool and can teach knitting if pushed! I also teach felt making and have lots of curly wensleydale wool so can applique real curls…
Itchy wool…is because the wrong sort of wool has been spun…carpet wool sheep produce carpet wool…not good near skin!
Beware of acrylic yarns…will catch fire if you get too near the fire!
Morning campers! Think I’ll go back to teenage years and start getting myself dolled up for tonights party now. Haven’t made any effort on appearance for twenty odd years but this merits full attention to which merkin, how many tassels and which boots (biker or cowboy) will be best for linedancing.
Suggest Labi Siffre (no idea if that’s spelled right) Something inside so strong (worth a listen on iTunes, words just right for overcoming this cr*p disease.
Also listened to words of Take That’s Flood whilst driving into hospital and thought the beginning was just right (can’t now remember what it was at all but that’s probably because I’ve spent too long drinking gin with SCACO)
Don’t worry folks the media will all be pointing their fingers at me I’m 8/8 e+ (!!). (repeat after me the chorus but I don’t care because it can be prevented with tamoxifen). So maybe I should just head off to the supermarket and see if I can find really cheap deals on a load of booze for tonights party then the media can tell me its my own fault I got bc.
Lif I can knit and I used to be able to crochet (yes honestly my Granny had me making doily things as a kid) so a quick refresher and I can work in the merkin production department!! X
Ps: lmao lovely image of Jane spinning up all hair as it falls out and knitting it up into merkin. I was thinking about using wool but it’s very green to recycle
I can knit a scarf, given enough incentive. My crocheting is appalling and my needlework reduced teachers to tears. I think I’d better be in charge of drinks supplies for those more able with a needle than me
MaryGrace,
I love FLOOD so apt, 1st lines are “standing on the edge of forever at the start of whatever, shouting love at the world” everytime it comes on the radio my kids shout “mummy its your song”
Sarah.xx
As long as no-one puts Mike & The Mechanics “Living Years”. I’m totally Pavlov’s Dog with that one and am 100% guaranteed to be in tears before the first chorus. Quite embarrassing if it happens to be played as background music in a shop!
Oh I love both of those songs…
At some stage, those of us who are a bit more vintage will go off in a corner for some REAL songs: Those were the days my friends (Mary Hopkins) When I’m 64 & I get by with a little help from my friends (Beatles), everything by the Mamas and the Papas, the Beach Boys and Dick Dale (surf’s up!), the Carpenters, Bridge over troubled water and Scarborough Fair (Simon & Garfunkle), Peter Paul & Mary, Joan Baez and more 60s folk than I can fit in here and some proper hard rock.
What’dya mean, that’s a festival, not a party?
Cheryl
You must be very similar age to me Cheryl - I like all of those plus plenty of Tamla Motown. We have mamas and papas in the car when we go on long journeys - we love all their songs.
Stella
Cheryl, I don’t think I could listen to Simon and Garfunkel without blubbing …lol… but if you throw in some Rolling Stones I’ll jagger-strut over and join you!!! No such thing as ‘old’ music… good music just hits the spot and rocks, whether it’s from fifty years ago, or last week
Sophie xx