A SPEAKER FOR YOUR MEETING!
Entertaining
Original
Inspirational
A light-hearted mix of words and music.
I am on the Speakers Lists for both the Dorset and Wiltshire Federations of Women's Institutes. Perfect for social clubs, U3A, Probus, etc.
This is a recording I made for the WI Summertime tWIst festival in June 2020:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m8mq6zN4wQ
Obviously all my dates for the next few months have been cancelled, but I'm looking forward to picking up the pieces and seeing you all again in due course.
In the meantime, I am more than happy to give a talk via Zoom - please get in touch if you would like to explore this option.
Three talks to choose from:
LATE-FLOWERING LYRICIST
How I overcame a life-threatening illness to reinvent myself as a singer/songwriter.
I was quite an ordinary woman in my fifties. I enjoyed listening to music, but it never occurred to me that I might be able to sing, and I certainly didn’t envisage myself performing solo with a guitar, and playing songs that I’d written! Not only that, but that I’d go on to record my own albums, the first one of which was produced by my teenage hero, the musician and entertainer Richard Digance, who became my mentor.
Raunchy, romantic, heartbreaking, humorous, my subjects range from pretentious garden designers to a 16-year-old boy killed at the Battle of the Somme; from the hero on a cereal packet to that awkward situation where you discover your lover's name sewn into the back of his underpants.....
This is a story of how it may never be too late to change direction in life; how I learned the importance of ‘seizing the moment’; and how, with a bit of determination, you might be able to achieve things you never dreamed of!
LIFTING THE LID
The darkly comic aspects of researching family history – stories and songs of love, loss, jealousy, betrayal, revenge…..often funny, sometimes poignant, occasionally shocking.
A forebear deported to Australia for sheep-stealing can, after a couple of hundred years, acquire a certain raffish glamour, but how do you feel if the uncomfortable truth you discover is closer to the present day?
Woven around some of the more bizarre stories unearthed from my family history, this set of songs is illustrated by a slideshow, for which I will need a screen or suitable blank wall.
MUSICAL MUSINGS
If you have enjoyed my first two talks and would like to hear more, my latest presentation continues the format of stories and songs.
Shipwrecks, graffiti, slogans on camper vans, healthy eating dilemmas, the perils of punting, and the problem of an elderly person whose relatives have decided he's become a nuisance.........
A SPEAKER FOR YOUR MEETING!
Entertaining
Original
Inspirational
A light-hearted mix of words and music.
I am on the Speakers Lists for both the Dorset and Wiltshire Federations of Women's Institutes. Perfect for social clubs, U3A, Probus, etc.
This is a recording I made for the WI Summertime tWIst festival in June 2020:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m8mq6zN4wQ
Obviously all my dates for the next few months have been cancelled, but I'm looking forward to picking up the pieces and seeing you all again in due course.
In the meantime, I am more than happy to give a talk via Zoom - please get in touch if you would like to explore this option.
Three talks to choose from:
LATE-FLOWERING LYRICIST
How I overcame a life-threatening illness to reinvent myself as a singer/songwriter.
I was quite an ordinary woman in my fifties. I enjoyed listening to music, but it never occurred to me that I might be able to sing, and I certainly didn’t envisage myself performing solo with a guitar, and playing songs that I’d written! Not only that, but that I’d go on to record my own albums, the first one of which was produced by my teenage hero, the musician and entertainer Richard Digance, who became my mentor.
Raunchy, romantic, heartbreaking, humorous, my subjects range from pretentious garden designers to a 16-year-old boy killed at the Battle of the Somme; from the hero on a cereal packet to that awkward situation where you discover your lover's name sewn into the back of his underpants.....
This is a story of how it may never be too late to change direction in life; how I learned the importance of ‘seizing the moment’; and how, with a bit of determination, you might be able to achieve things you never dreamed of!
LIFTING THE LID
The darkly comic aspects of researching family history – stories and songs of love, loss, jealousy, betrayal, revenge…..often funny, sometimes poignant, occasionally shocking.
A forebear deported to Australia for sheep-stealing can, after a couple of hundred years, acquire a certain raffish glamour, but how do you feel if the uncomfortable truth you discover is closer to the present day?
Woven around some of the more bizarre stories unearthed from my family history, this set of songs is illustrated by a slideshow, for which I will need a screen or suitable blank wall.
MUSICAL MUSINGS
If you have enjoyed my first two talks and would like to hear more, my latest presentation continues the format of stories and songs.
Shipwrecks, graffiti, slogans on camper vans, healthy eating dilemmas, the perils of punting, and the problem of an elderly person whose relatives have decided he's become a nuisance.........
The standard talks are 45 minutes plus time for questions at the end, but I can adjust the timing to suit your requirements.
Typical comments include: “It was so nice to be able to hear all the words you were singing”, and “We really enjoyed something that was a little bit different”.
Typical comments include: “It was so nice to be able to hear all the words you were singing”, and “We really enjoyed something that was a little bit different”.
My fee for community groups of up to about 40 people is £50 + 25p per mile travelling expenses. For larger audiences and commercial organisations, please contact me to discuss.
Zoom talks = no travel expenses!
I live in Sherborne, Dorset, having moved here from Essex in 2017, and am normally prepared to travel throughout Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. Please contact me to discuss the options for bookings further afield.
From March to October I am available mornings, afternoons and evenings; November to February, afternoons only. I would always consider a short-notice booking to cover a cancellation.
I play an acoustic guitar, unplugged in small venues, or through an amplifier and with a microphone for larger ones. I can supply all the equipment, which is PAT tested, and I hold Public Liability Insurance.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss any of the above, on 07896 354616, 01935 815497, or email info@mirandapender.com
Zoom talks = no travel expenses!
I live in Sherborne, Dorset, having moved here from Essex in 2017, and am normally prepared to travel throughout Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. Please contact me to discuss the options for bookings further afield.
From March to October I am available mornings, afternoons and evenings; November to February, afternoons only. I would always consider a short-notice booking to cover a cancellation.
I play an acoustic guitar, unplugged in small venues, or through an amplifier and with a microphone for larger ones. I can supply all the equipment, which is PAT tested, and I hold Public Liability Insurance.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss any of the above, on 07896 354616, 01935 815497, or email info@mirandapender.com
"Everyone enjoyed it so much because it was very different from our usual talks" |
"Wow did my ladies enjoy your performance today, you were absolutely great. If only all my speakers could be half as good!" |