2011 was quite a busy year for me. Highlights included:
- My first UK tour (from Cornwall to Northumberland) with new Celebrating the Divas project with my band in February was a great success with several sold-out dates and quite a few radio and newspaper interviews
- In March I performed at a charity event attended by Prince Charles
- In March I also gave a speech (sharing the stage with MPs and the actress Maggie Steed!) for the Lost Arts initiative - extremely scary but a very worthwhile event
- Four sell-out dates in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were the highlights in April
- Two licensing deals for music from my album Licorice Kiss - the first for Spain/Portugal and the second for Singapore/China
- Four festival appearances for a Greek Islands tour with Dimitri Vassilakis Qt in July and August made for a blissfully sunny and beautiful summer
- Five wonderful gigs with Kate Williams at village halls in the rural north of the UK also saw some beautiful hot weather at the end of September
- My debut performance at an historic venue in Moscow in October
- Two gigs at the London Jazz Festival with a new European Journey project with Jonny Phillips
- My debut performance in Hong Kong and a return to Moscow in November
- Finally December saw me return to Greece with two gigs in Athens over Christmas where I also managed to finish 8 new songs!
- A return to Russia for 3 performances in February
- Another rural tour with pianist Kate Williams in March
- A new duo project with pianist Kit Downes
- Recording one (or maybe even two!) albums
Phew! After all that I think I deserve a quiet, relaxed January... and that's exactly what I have planned.
Here's hoping 2012 brings us all lots of love, luck, laughter and lolly!
