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Cleo Laine – Jazz Singer

Cleo Laine, brilliant documentary

I strongly recommend you to see the Cleo Laine documentary on BBC iPlayer.

I bought the All About Me Cleo Laine LP well over 50 years ago, and I once saw her with the Johnny Dankworth band in Worthing.

So I knew she was a wonderful singer with a great voice and a three octave range. But when I saw the BBC documentary, which included many of her performances, shown in full, to celebrate he 95th birthday on 28th October 2022, I was astonished by her brilliance as a performer and musician.

Available on iPlayer – really something very special.

Here’s a sample of her amazing ability. The BBC documenatary has better quality and a lot of interesting info.

Available only till 27th November 2022  –  iplayer link https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001dhjg/cleo-laine-at-the-bbc

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Tragically closed again by another lock-down

Cafe Rouge, Brighton Marina,
4 November 2020

This excellent restaurant has tragically been closed again by another lock-down.

Several weeks ago Julie and I booked for lunch here on Wednesday 4th of November without having the slightest idea that this would be the last opportunity to eat here for a month. We booked because I had an appointment with the pacemaker clinic in the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton in the morning and we would need lunch not too long after my appointment.

I feel sorry for the staff, the management,  and the owners of this and all other restaurants in England whose livelihoods are at risk and whose lives are blighted by the lockdown restrictions. 

I am not convinced that closing well-run restaurants such as this will be of the slightest help in reducing the spread of the virus. The restaurant is spacious. The tables are distanced. The staff wear face masks. And some diners eat outside in the fresh air as we did on that Wednesday. 

Stress and financial hardship or even ruin is the price being paid for this draconian lockdown policy. And it is repeated thousands of times across the country.

We have dined at this restaurant many times over the years and the food has never been less than excellent. The staff are courteous and efficient. The ambience inside the restaurant is elegant and I like all the black and white photographs of  mainly French film stars of the early movies. When the weather is good,  eating outside is always very pleasant as the area is quiet and right by the  raised walkway. The outside  dining area overlooks the  hundreds of yachts in the marina.

We look forward to the reopening and wish the staff well. 

David Roberts

davidrobertsblog.com

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