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Post by SuzieQ on Jun 13, 2013 14:51:17 GMT -5
Oh Chris, I am so sorry to hear of your friend Don's health problems, life can be so unfair at times. I will be keeping him, you, Annie and his family in my prayers. I know how hard this must be for you all.
If there is anything I can help with, then please don't hesitate to ask. Thinking of you all
Sue xx
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Post by SuzieQ on Nov 10, 2012 13:10:23 GMT -5
I was watching this video and realized it was shot nearby in East London. The Market Coffee House is now The English Restaruant. Here's a pic of the interior from the restaurant's website, www.theenglishrestaurant.com/Hello Joyati, Welcome to Majicat! The Coffee House, was a meeting place for a few of us here on Majicat, back in 2009 If you click HERE You can see pictures of us and reviews of the Shepards Bush Concert. Also our meet up the next day at the Shaftesbury. The old Moulin Rouge - Yusuf's Parents old restaurant.
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Post by SuzieQ on Oct 22, 2012 9:52:33 GMT -5
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DORIS. Hope you enjoyed your special day!
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Post by SuzieQ on Oct 12, 2012 12:05:23 GMT -5
[shadow=white,left,300]Happy Birthday, Jo. I hope you have a Wonderful Day ♥[/shadow]
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Post by SuzieQ on Sept 10, 2012 18:14:44 GMT -5
Sorry it's late, Blossom. Hope you had a fab time! Sue
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Post by SuzieQ on May 29, 2012 4:56:51 GMT -5
Great pictures, Gizem, Thanks for sharing I have just altered the layout a little, so it is easier for everyone to view them Sue
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Post by SuzieQ on Apr 15, 2012 6:58:25 GMT -5
Click Here for an up to date list of people who are going...
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Post by SuzieQ on Mar 5, 2012 5:30:24 GMT -5
Happy Birthday Mike, I hope you and Vivian, enjoy your special day! [shadow=red,left,300] [/shadow]
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Post by SuzieQ on Mar 5, 2012 5:21:09 GMT -5
Don't worry, I am sure it will be available again soon.
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Post by SuzieQ on Feb 28, 2012 15:30:49 GMT -5
thx, Jane and gzm So we have to put it on our "where to go" list for the next trip to London and test the delicious food :-) What is he doing in London? Maybe, Yusuf, was in London, looking for a venue to hold the Moonshadow Musical We can but hope! Here is a link to the Restaurant
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Post by SuzieQ on Feb 21, 2012 12:27:23 GMT -5
50 recent posts, sounds good to me. There are times when some of us can't always get here for a day or two, so miss some of the posts. This will be a great help ♥ You are doing a great job, Chris and Jane, I know it will all take time, there is a lot to learn.
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Post by SuzieQ on Jan 10, 2012 16:03:49 GMT -5
New topics, then the last 25 recent posts for me.
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Post by SuzieQ on Dec 14, 2011 16:52:20 GMT -5
[shadow=red,left,300]CONGRATULATIONS TO JANE ON BEING MADE MODERATOR[/shadow]Great news, Jane. Chris, Annie and George, could not have made a better choice. Well done xx
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Post by SuzieQ on Jul 21, 2011 5:23:42 GMT -5
I found this today! The Telegraph An antiques dealer's painted home An antiques dealer was wedded to the pale tones of Scandinavian decor – until his wife got busy with her paintbrush. The china-blue on the chimneybreast is a bold contrast to the chartreuse-green walls in the living-room. The chairs are from Texas. The china-blue on the chimneybreast is a bold contrast to the chartreuse-green walls in the living-room. The chairs are from Texas. Photo: RACHAEL SMITH By Rachel Leedham When he left school Robert Gordon had dreams of being a poet, but he knew he would have to pay the bills somehow. 'My neighbour had an antiques auction and he asked me if I wanted a job. I started off holding up lots for the bidders to see, but after a year I was running the whole thing. I seemed to have a feel for antiques and what they were worth.’ Thirty years on, the poetry is still on the back-burner and Gordon is one of Britain’s biggest importers of Swedish antiques, about to move to a larger warehouse across the road from his current premises in Kentish Town, north London. Before this, he had an antiques shop in Church Street, Marylebone, and it was there, in 1997, that he met his wife, Lucie Allison. A graduate in embroidery, Allison was working two doors down from Gordon as a buyer at the now-defunct Gallery of Antique Costume and Textiles. 'It was one of the first places to sell exquisite 1920s and 1930s dresses and textiles,’ Allison says. 'Kate Moss and Stella McCartney were regular visitors.’ While the couple shared a passion for vintage things, their styles when they met differed wildly: Gordon, whose mother is Swedish, favoured pale Gustavian-style pieces, while Allison craved colour. So when she moved into Gordon’s garden flat in Belsize Village, north London, Allison was somewhat stumped by its pallor. 'There were lots of pale greys and whites,’ she recalls. Mercifully for her, Gordon was game for a change. 'Lucie opened me up to a completely different approach to interiors,’ he says. Allison has slowly worked through the rooms with a paintbrush, and they have gradually swapped classic Swedish pieces for more colourful finds, from pillarbox-red dining chairs to bold 1960s fabrics. The layout of the flat has changed very little since the time when the Victorian building was converted into flats; the only major work the couple undertook was to have the area at the front of the house excavated to provide an outdoor seating space off the living-room. The entrance hall features a chequerboard floor that Allison painted freehand when the couple’s first daughter, Mabel, was a month old. She worked on it for weeks every evening while the baby was asleep. The walls are dark mushroom-grey, a brave choice considering that this room gets little light. 'Sometimes if a room is dark you should embrace it,’ Allison says. The kitchen, the most Scandinavian in style of the rooms, has recently been clad with tongue-and-groove panelling, and was designed as what Allison calls a 'working kitchen’, with everything on show, from laundry drying rack to crockery. The latter, like most things in the house, is predominantly antique, and the family breezily eats spaghetti off 19th-century delftware. 'But I wish Robert had told me how much it was worth before I put a bowl in the dishwasher and cracked it,’ Allison says. Off the kitchen is the living-room, whose walls have changed colour a number of times – ochre and pinkish white didn’t pass muster – and are now chartreuse-green contrasted with a china-blue chimneybreast. 'Lucie did the blue while I was out,’ Gordon says. 'It’s such a terrible colour in the tin but it somehow works.’ Textiles remain Allison’s passion – she now makes children’s accessories out of 1930s scarves – and this is evident in the two bedrooms, where curtains and cushions have been fashioned out of vintage finds. The children’s room (Mabel is eight, Cicely five) is remarkably plastic-free and has rows of handmade clothes on display. The cabin-style bunk beds are reached by an antique ladder. 'Too many places are incredibly bland nowadays,’ Gordon says. 'My uncle Yusuf Islam [the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens] had an extraordinary house in Fulham in the 1970s and
I have vivid memories of visiting him. He had installed a huge fake tree that ran through the middle of the house. It went up through all five floors and had a dumb waiter inside. He used to sit in it and pull himself up to the different floors.’
Gordon says both his uncle and his father, a writer and philosopher, have influenced him 'philosophically and lyrically’, and that he still writes poetry in his spare time. 'But the antiques business is such good fun,’ he says. 'In the trade we call it an illness – we can’t stop looking for the next piece.’ Lucie Allison’s accessories are available at bonnylass.carbonmade.com Robert Gordon’s home truths We’re not precious about our possessions. We let the girls eat breakfast off an 18th-century polychrome Italian table. We use the flat differently depending on the seasons. In summer, the garden is like another room. The moment it is a bit cooler, we tend to be in the living-room, where we light a fire. We love the ritualistic aspect, as well as the smell and the atmosphere. Our flat is constantly changing. Since these pictures were taken, the end walls in the kitchen have been painted a bright, 1970s orange. People are sometimes scared of revealing themselves in their homes. Our neighbours used to be a Bauhaus artist and an opera singer and their garden was like visiting a fairyland of European history. Now it’s all concreted over, which is such a shame. We are both massively inspired by Antwerp, it is so vibrant and people there aren’t afraid of doing something different. Antiques dealers are conservationists. I’ve brought thousands of pieces of furniture back to life through restoration, and that’s ecological.
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Post by SuzieQ on Jun 18, 2011 12:31:32 GMT -5
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Post by SuzieQ on Jun 8, 2011 3:05:59 GMT -5
"Viva La Tin-Tin" Or "Rin Tin Tin" as Yusuf, said at the concert! Ya gotta love him!
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Post by SuzieQ on Jun 8, 2011 3:00:14 GMT -5
Hi Majicats. thanks for an awesome night. it was great not to be alone for this concert. had a blast. until next time. take care kel Hi Kelly, Welcome to Magicat, It was great to meet you in Brussels, hope to see you at the next one Take care, Sue
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Post by SuzieQ on Jun 5, 2011 4:40:31 GMT -5
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Post by SuzieQ on Jun 4, 2011 12:50:15 GMT -5
Wow, I was tired, I didn't get home until, midnight Friday, have done nothing but sleep since! Well, what a great time we had in Brussels, meeting friends old and new. Regii, is such a wonderful hostess, I can't thank her enough for putting up with me for 2 days! Meg, also stayed at Regii's, for the first night we had a wonderful breakfast together, then Meg and I made a banner for the concert. We originally were going to put" MAJICATERS R HERE" but we ran out of marker ink, so it just said MAJICATTER'S . I could see that Yusuf, was straining to see what it said, The security man was pulling at my arm for me to lower it so we couldn't hold it up for long, unfortunately, Yusuf, didn't comment on it, we were hoping he would just mention that his Majicatter's (from all over the world) were clearly there. The concert was fabulous, as previously said, Meg's, dream came true, Yusuf, sang Rubylove, He did mention that because they were running out of songs, he would sing one from Harold and Maude, so I shouted "TWO FINE PEOPLE", but there was no reaction, LOL I was also hoping that he would "song Tuesday's Dead, but sadly it was not to be. Secretly hoping that he would be so into it, that his glasses would fly off again Even though we had four encore songs, the concert, seemed to be over in a flash. During the last song, Regii, made her way to the front and as Yusuf, was turning to leave, Regii, managed to get by the security and offered Yusuf, her gift of Belgian chocolates, Yusuf, came back to take them from her. It was a special moment for her After the concert, we "MAJICATTER'S" spent some time together, at a cafe, chatting away, it was so good to meet a recently new Yusuf, admirer, Kelly, (Avidfan) from the south of UK and Martina, who gave me some great tips on taking pictures. Thanks Marky49 to name a few. Of course the usual suspects were there too! Here are a few of the pictures I took. ... to follow...(waiting for them to load into photobucket)
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Post by SuzieQ on May 26, 2011 18:11:02 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300][shadow=black,left,300]Brussels Get Together![/shadow][/glow] So far, I see, that we have these people attending the Brussels Concert, June 2nd
Regii Meg Marilou Kaatje Peter (Yunus) Martina (marky49 Doreen (Cristalina) and me, (Sue)
Are there any more Majicatters coming? Please, add yourself to the list.
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Post by SuzieQ on May 24, 2011 17:18:05 GMT -5
I recorded King of trees but have no idea as to how to put it on here it is on you tube if any one knows how to place it here Michele x Here is Michele's video of King Of Trees - BERLIN
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Post by SuzieQ on May 21, 2011 8:37:19 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300][shadow=black,left,300]Brussels Get Together![/shadow][/glow] So far, I see, that we have these people attending the Brussels Concert, June 2nd
Regii Meg Marilou Kaatje Peter (Yunus) Martina (marky49 and me (Sue)
Are there any more Majicatters coming?
Please, add yourself to the list.
Maybe, Regii, could suggest a good place near to Vorst Nationaal to have a drink/food before the concert?
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Post by SuzieQ on May 10, 2011 14:26:06 GMT -5
Sorry if this has been posted already Stockholm, Concert Review 7th May 2011 The Local Swedish News in EnglishYusuf Islam, perhaps better known as Cat Stevens, opened his new European tour in Stockholm at the weekend. Contributor Oliver Gee was there to see whether or not fans felt the artist lived up to their expectations. Yusuf set to give Sweden a Cat Stevens 'homecoming' (5 May 11) After suffering through 36 year hiatus from having Cat Stevens out on tour in Europe, his fans could be forgiven for being a little sceptical about his return. With a new name and religion, who could be sure what to expect from Yusuf Islam this time around? But Saturday night's performance at the Hovet in Stockholm was certainly worth the wait. Yusuf played a magnificent and captivating three hour set, featuring some 35 different songs from every stage of his long and varied career. The 62-year-old showed no sign of slowing down, and was talkative and playful throughout, delighting the crowd with Swedish phrases and anecdotes. “Did anybody here go to the same school as me in Gävle?” he asked the crowd, referring to his 6 month schooling stint in his mother's home town, 150 km north of Stockholm. He continued: “Sweden is where it all started for me. Here is where I saw Elvis for the first time in Jailhouse Rock. It began from there.” “I had an uncle here, an artist, his name was Hugo Wickman. He was my first encouragement in the arts. I started my little career in music when I decided that a guitar is a quicker way to make money than a paintbrush.” And the guitar made more than just money for the singer. His string of hits from the 1970s was certainly enough to attract a capacity crowd of Cat Stevens fans to Stockholm's Hovet in hopes that Yusuf could recall some of the magic that had attracted them to his music so many decades ago. The evening began with a solo acoustic set, including a slow version of Where Do the Children Play which he dedicated to the memory of his Swedish mother. He was soon joined by his original back-up guitarist, Alun Davies, to rapturous applause. It was clear from the outset that Yusuf had not left Cat Stevens behind in the waters of Malibu beach, where a near drowning started him down the path to conversion to Islam. He glided through the hits, sometimes blending multiple songs into new medleys (I Love My Dog/Here Comes my Baby/The First Cut is The Deepest). He dedicated a portion of the evening to his current project, 'Moonshadow The Musical', which features many of his 1970s classics in a one story. Perhaps this idea owes something to Sweden too – it had traces of the hugely successful musical adaptation of Abba hits, 'Mamma Mia'. Between songs, Yusuf was playful and in good humour, at one point spontaneously singing lyrics from a traditonal Swedish folk song (Kom lilla flicka valsa med mig) explaining that it was the first song he had ever learned. The evening built in tempo as the night wore on, with Yusuf fusing more old hits with his recent releases, with a few stints on the keyboard thrown in. But he was saving the best last. The concert ended with a build-up of the old favourites, Morning Has Broken, Wild World and Father and Son, the latter complete with photographs projected on the big screen of the audience's own fathers and sons. He returned for an encore after a thunderous standing ovation. “Have pity on an old man,” he pleaded, then finished with Moonshadow, his latest release My People, and Peace Train to a standing audience. Yusuf had lost nothing during his long absence from the stage, and despite all the changes, the only thing different about Cat was his hair colour and the expanded setlist. The night was still all about the music. “Hej då, Stockholm. I hope it won't be another 36 years,” he said, leaving the stage. And judging from the response of the capacity crowd, it's safe to say they shared the same wish.
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Post by SuzieQ on May 8, 2011 4:41:53 GMT -5
Wonderful, I have tears in my eyes! Can't wait for Berlin. Thanks to everyone for posting these videos Just for the record, I would LLLove to see him sing Two Fine People, but I doubt it will ever happen now.
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Post by SuzieQ on Apr 17, 2011 15:58:38 GMT -5
Apologies, if this has already been posted.
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Post by SuzieQ on Apr 11, 2011 14:49:50 GMT -5
Thanks so much, Littleone, for posting this Such a great interview. Love your signs ... ♥ ☮
I think I will have to pinch them!
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Post by SuzieQ on Apr 10, 2011 13:33:27 GMT -5
Yusuf Islam Praises Peaceful Egyptian Protesters With 'My People'Picture by Peter Sanders Four decades after recording his emblematic song 'Peace Train,' Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) has released a new inspirational single, 'My People,' which is available as a free download from his official website and digital platforms worldwide. The song features a unique chorus quilted together from the hundreds of voices sent in from across the globe by fans who participated through an open invitation on the artist's Facebook page. Islam, who initially stopped performing after his conversion to Islam in the late 1970s, has taken to the stage in recent years to perform new songs inspired by his faith alongside his greatest hits from the '60s and '70s. He's touring Europe this summer and a video for 'My People' will be released soon. In a recent conversation with Spinner, Islam discussed his newest creative effort and reflected on his career and faith. Good-natured, funny and self-effacing, he's fully comfortable once more with his career, which continues to touch millions of people around the world. What prompted you to record 'My People'? Most of the things in my career have happened spontaneously, and this is just another one of those things. I had no big plans, but as we were all watching what as going on in Egypt there was this fantastic feeling of support and so we wanted to stretch out a hand to these people who were peacefully asking for change. I was on the guitar and then suddenly this song came out and 'My People' had arrived. The mood was simply one of intense admiration for the people who were standing up peacefully. Technology and social networking played an integral in the creation of the song. How did that happen? When I got back to making music again I was so delighted by having all this amazing technology at my fingertips. It was always tapes or these heavy, metal wheels that you carted around, and now it's all done on your laptop. It's amazing, and that one fact alone makes the making of music so much easier today. Now, something had flashed in my mind about Facebook, because I've got a Facebook page and I suddenly realized with all those people there, I bet they'd love to sing along to this because the chorus is so simple. We put that idea out there, posted it up with an invitation to anybody that wanted to just sing along. We gave them about four bars with about three different harmonies that they could sing. And we got all thee amazing voices from all over the world: Indonesia, China, Pakistan, India, the USA, Germany, South America. It was remarkable. Do you have a sense of just how embedded many of your songs are in the public consciousness? How exposed are you to feedback about your older music today? I get just amazing feedback all the time. I'm exposed to it a lot. We'll get these amazing stories from people who were perhaps so depressed that they'd actually started to become suicidal. And then, they fall upon, somehow, accidentally, my music, and that would change their life. Now, that is such an amazing thing and a lot of responsibility in a way. It's why, I think, many artists try to write with their consciences. Not everybody of course, sometimes there are commercial reasons, but more often artists are driven by their conscience and that resonates. When you write from the heart, it goes straight to the heart. There's no barrier. That' a beautiful thing, and rediscovering my music has been incredible. I mean, there's a whole new generation getting into Cat Stevens. I thank my son of course. He is the one who reawakened it in me again years ago when he put the guitar back in my hands. He's a musician as well and so it was important to him. Do you follow much modern music today? I don't listen to much but occasionally I like what I hear coming through. I like Tom Waits. I know he's been around a long time but I like his kind of groove. I'm also listening to Mumford and Sons as well. Some of your songs have interesting origins. Is the story about 'Matthew and Son' being inspired by a sign true? That you saw a sign? Sometimes you remember the stories and sometimes you don't. With 'Matthew and Son,' I do seem to remember sitting on op of a bus, going through London and stopping at a certain point where I saw a sign that said "Matthew and Son." That's definitely what I remember. I had a friend who was working in a factory and his story and what he was going through in his workday that really inspired me to write that kind of social message. There actually is a Matthew and Son at 99 Gower Street in London. I've passed it a few times, but that's not the one I saw originally. Is there any chance of you touring the United States soon? I'm sort of going around the world very slowly at the moment [laughs]. Give me time and we may get there. Lots of American fans would love to see you play live. I did feel that when we did the Rally to Restore Sanity. There was an amazing moment that was kind of the reconnect of feeling, it was definitely there. And then Ozzy comes on sort of spoils it all, which was a bit of an upset for many people [laughs]. Does it frustrate you that many things you say seem to get either exaggerated or misinterpreted? There's a great saying by Winston Churchill. He said, "So you have enemies? Good!" That means, at some point, you stood up for something. There was a point when I was totally aghast at people not understanding me. That's I another reason why I've sort of come back to writing songs again because it's such an easier way for me to communicate. I mean, as I've said before, you can argue with a philosopher but you can't argue with a good song. And I think I've got a few good songs. It's interesting that your music becomes a way to clarify and also defend yourself. If you listen to my last record you'll hear one line, "I'm being chased by a wild pack of lies." It's great being able to answer with a pen like that. What I go through is not that different from what John Lennon went through. He was also struggling and striving for that word, for that ideal, for peace. And some people, at that particular time, didn't like that message, particularly Nixon. John also went through his own, very strenuous challenges. Did you know John Lennon? I met him a few times but I think we were soul mates, I actually do. What has been the Muslim community's response since you've started playing and touring again? Incredibly positive. Some people stop me and say, "You represent what we want to say," and they really mean that from their heart. So many Muslims are happy with what I'm doing and supporting me.
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Post by SuzieQ on Apr 8, 2011 23:09:07 GMT -5
Thanks Regii, I too, am very happy to see the unseen footage ;D
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Post by SuzieQ on Apr 8, 2011 23:05:22 GMT -5
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Post by SuzieQ on Apr 8, 2011 22:56:12 GMT -5
Hi friends, after some sad and silent days of grieving for my mother, who died just 11 days after her 89th birthday I'm back to work and of course back to the board. I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your precious Mum, Gabi. My heart is with you and my prayers. May she rest in beautiful peace. Big Hugs, Sue xx
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