Frump to Fab 2018 - Fabulous Dahhhhlings

littlegreenparrot

candygirl wrote: »

Still feeling poop.I think it's a virus now, n I've lost my voice which is an international crisis:eek::rotfl: Am drinking copious amounts of Yorkshire tea to soothe my throat, n getting get well snuggles from the Furnutters:D x

If you can get to the chemist look for Vocalzone throat sweets.
They are in a red box, designed for singers and help to look after the voice.
Sometimes with the cough sweets, sometimes behind the counter.

They are very strong licorice flavour, and I think they taste revolting! They do work like magic though. First recommended to me by a pharmacist during teacher training, after I had woken up with no voice at all. Have had a box in the drawer ever since.

Hope you feel better, the tea and cuddles will of course also help

candygirl

littlegreenparrot wrote: »

If you can get to the chemist look for Vocalzone throat sweets.
They are in a red box, designed for singers and help to look after the voice.
Sometimes with the cough sweets, sometimes behind the counter.

They are very strong licorice flavour, and I think they taste revolting! They do work like magic though. First recommended to me by a pharmacist during teacher training, after I had woken up with no voice at all. Have had a box in the drawer ever since.

Hope you feel better, the tea and cuddles will of course also help

Oooh I remember those now. Weirdly from when I was also training as a teacher.I think until we learn to project, it's a common problem :rotfl:

humptydumptybits

Well the morphine didn't do the trick so no going out tonight. Sitting watching the news from Westminster which is a poor consolation. I might go and raid the Christmas chocolate stash to cheer myself up.

lessonlearned

candygirl wrote: »

Oooh I remember those now. Weirdly from when I was also training as a teacher.I think until we learn to project, it's a common problem :rotfl:

Being in sales also puts a great strain on the the throat. I used to be quite hoarse some days. Even now I keep my neck warm in winter.

When I was a child I developed a bad stutter. My English teacher took me under her wing and gave me private elocution lessons. It helped me overcome my stutter but also taught me about deep breathing, voice protection etc as well as opening the door to a world of theatre and great literature.

I was only thinking recently I might start voice and breathing exercises again. They strengthen the lungs and the diaphragm, which in turn helps the core muscles and of course less strain on the throat.

Many old people have thin frail reedy voices and get breathless very easily but you'll notice that old thespians never have that problem. I watched a film with Samuel L Jackson last night. - Kingsmen, he's the arch villain. Despite knocking on he still has a very deep mellifluous and powerful voice. People like Judi Dench (70s) , Maggie Smith and Jane Fonda (80s) all still have good strong clear voices.

As we age the vocal chords shorten so our voices get deeper and they can get weaker, lung capacity can diminish. Breathing and voice exercises can really help keep the voice strong and protect the throat. Avoid smokey atmospheres too, although thankfully the smoking ban helps keep public spaces smoke free. Singing also helps.

I used to niotice how much stronger my lungs felt when I sang in the choir. Maybe I should rejoin. I stopped shortly before my husband died because I didn't feel much like singing, but I think I would enjoy it again now.

Cold and crisp today, nice to get out and about later. But first a mini home spa morning.

pollypenny

candygirl wrote: »

Oooh I remember those now. Weirdly from when I was also training as a teacher.I think until we learn to project, it's a common problem :rotfl:

Candy, I could not have done my job as a teacher without Fisherman's Friends. They were a big joke with kids.

OH and I still have a stock and I took them to the Carol concert where I was reading a poem on Tuesday.

Hope you feel better soon.

LL, I found that I could sing the male part in the round far more easily than the female, which seemed sooooo high to me. I've always had a deep voice anyway. Can compete with OH and his deep voice.

silvasava

Polly - Aniseed Fisherman's Friends are our standby for sore and tickly throats. When my throat starts to tickle at night and starts me coughing I put one at the back of my throat and let it slowly dissolve. It usually works so I can get off to sleep.

moneyistooshorttomention

Hmmm....food for thought Pollypenny re you singing the male part and LL re singing. I shall have to give that some consideration after Christmas. I am wondering whether part of the reason I think I can't sing is because I'm trying to "sing like a woman" and I can't. My voice is quite obviously that of a woman okay (though not of the high girlish type) and is a nice speaking voice - but singing :eek::eek:

Wonder if I'd do a bit better looking at it as possibly a male singing voice....:cool:

A friend of mine here is in one of the choirs and she keeps telling me people don't actually need to be able to sing to be in it. I wonder about it - because I've found one of the ways I can relate to this part of the country is as "the land of song" and I get into the music side of it here. A thing that's putting me off a bit is she tells me this particular choir does sing a few songs in Welsh - and I suspect I'd struggle with that on a variety of levels. Perhaps I should ask her what percentage are - whether it's 50/50 or just the occasional one, as I think I could possibly cope with the very occasional one and basically "hum along" and disguise bad pronunciation and no idea what the song was about by singing those at minimum volume in the background. I'll ask her the percentage - I'm meeting her for coffee later...must remember to ask whether the songs are song from songsheets (manageable) or from memory (not a hope in heck unless they're in English).

Wednesday2000

I ordered the cough sweets someone mentioned as I had a sore throat for a couple of weeks last month.

I'm going to cleanse, exfoliate and use a face mask tonight. I am going to paint my nails for tomorrow as well. I will do that on the day or they will probably chip if I do them today.:D

I'm buying tickets for two concerts in London for 2019, Papa Roach and Good Charlotte. I haven't seen Papa Roach before.

humptydumptybits

pollypenny wrote: »

LL, I found that I could sing the male part in the round far more easily than the female, which seemed sooooo high to me. I've always had a deep voice anyway. Can compete which OH and his deep voice.

That reminds me of my voice being rather husky and several men telling me it was sexy. I started a new job, not far off 50 and we had relocated. I was talking to one of the young managers on the phone and he was flirting like mad. I knew he was 20 years younger than me but played along much to the amusement of my colleague sitting next to me. It was quite funny when he came into the office and realised I was old enough to be his mother. We actually became good friends.

maman

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

A friend of mine here is in one of the choirs and she keeps telling me people don't actually need to be able to sing to be in it. I wonder about it - because I've found one of the ways I can relate to this part of the country is as "the land of song" and I get into the music side of it here. A thing that's putting me off a bit is she tells me this particular choir does sing a few songs in Welsh - and I suspect I'd struggle with that on a variety of levels. Perhaps I should ask her what percentage are - whether it's 50/50 or just the occasional one, as I think I could possibly cope with the very occasional one and basically "hum along" and disguise bad pronunciation and no idea what the song was about by singing those at minimum volume in the background. I'll ask her the percentage - I'm meeting her for coffee later...must remember to ask whether the songs are song from songsheets (manageable) or from memory (not a hope in heck unless they're in English).

I'm volunteering to help you out if you join!:D I'm sure I could write you out a phonetic version of most of the old favourites. My actual knowledge of Welsh is quite rudimentary but I can read it no problem. This is in English (with an occasional Welsh word) to get you started:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98tM3ZGrAuc&list=RDl_zVFqKM6ZA&index=5


and when you're ready try this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAQzsT_wXVc&index=6&list=RDl_zVFqKM6ZA

I treated myself to some fun Christmas gloves yesterday, They're a bit like these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/372524319701?chn=ps


I bought mine in Sainsbury's. I don't do earrings or Christmas jumpers so I thought these would be a good substitute. I wore them today for my weekly walk with friends and then into the city centre. I lost count of how many people have commented on them. I love them!:xmassmile


I love the sound of your outfit silvasava. I agree with you about the tat in the shops and it's always good to know you look good without spending much. The Phase Eight dress I wore last Saturday is one of my favourites and that was from the CS.:D


Chilly here too today but the sun has been shining so it's been lovely, crisp and clear. I haven't felt cold all day as I've wrapped up warm with many layers. My best tip (which I used in Poland this time last year) is to wear leggings underneath your jeans/trousers to keep the draughts out.:D