Category Archives: Music

Every teenage boy needs a guitar…

Posted by Wendy on January 19, 2012 No comments

My son had been wanting a guitar for several years and my being a musician meant I have been keen to encourage him in this. I always had the dream that out of my kids one of them would be a concert pianist, or a principal violinist with the Berlin Philharmonic someday…but of course only dreams as kids always have ideas of their own and I don’t believe in pushing them in directions they don’t wish to take.

So I bought him a guitar and have been searching for somewhere for him to take a course in acoustic guitar lessons so he can get a good grounding in the basics – theory is important. The cost of these lessons can be prohibitive but the benefits are many, I am a great believer in children having music lessons. So now I dream about having spawned the next John Williams, or Segovia…but he’s a long way from that right now!

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.

Amy Winehouse dead at 27 – it was just a matter of time until this final tragedy

Posted by Wendy on July 23, 2011 No comments

It was just a week ago that we were reading about yet another performance fiasco where Amy Winehouse slurred and pitched around the stage in a drunken, confused state. After all those pictures of her in the Caribbean last year looking so relaxed and well seemed to give hope to her fans that maybe, just maybe, this wonderfully talented young woman was finally on the straight and narrow – that she had beaten her chemical demons and was ready to start living again. Did any of us though really have the feeling she had done it…? I think we wanted to believe it – but it was not to last.

Sadly Amy Winehouse is dead at the young age of 27 – found beyond help this afternoon in her home from what appears to be a drug overdose. The devastating journey of self-destruction finally completed and what a loss she is the world of popular music. What a loss it is for her parents to lose their daughter in such a tragic, though not unpredictable way. Maybe now it is time to identify and go after those cretins who corrupted this young woman at a time when she had the world at her feet – those who sold her the drugs which reduced her little body to that of a wasted skeleton and ate away at her talent turning her into almost a caricature of her former self. They are out there, somewhere, and they must be known. I hope they pay for their part in this young woman’s tragic departure from this world.

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.

Alex Stobbs: how to make each and every day count

Posted by Wendy on March 10, 2011 2 comments

Alex Stobbs truly inspires me and I know he has countless admirers around the world who are keen to keep up to date with what he is doing. Despite his desperate state of health – Alex has Cystic Fibrosis – he is defying the odds, and just about everything else that stands in his way. Alex took part in the annual Christmas carol concerts last December held by the historic Kings College Choir.

Supported, encouraged – and constantly worried about – by his wonderful mother Suzanne and the rest of his family, Alex was determined to complete the full cycle of performances as a member of the choir for 2010 was the final year in which he was eligible to participate as a student. The struggle against time and the disease that is destroying his lungs is ever present however the inner strength and sheer determination of this young man is simply remarkable. I would like to see him recognised not only for his amazing musical talent, but for his courage as well. He is an inspiration to everyone; in this age of pointless celebrity worship, questionable ‘role models’ and the untalented getting more than their fifteen minutes, Alex Stobbs is a true hero in my eyes and shows just how important it is to make each and every day count.

Copyright © 2007-2012 Cultured Views. All rights reserved.