tilleyanddel-blog

[tilleyanddel-blog]

Hey, it's May and I'm Fundraising for "HEART 'n' SOUL's~ BIG 30 PROJECT"! X

'Del' (THE PATCHWORK PIGGIE!) and I are doing a 9 MILE WALK together in just two weeks time, on Sunday 14TH May, to raise much needed Funds for an EXTRAORDINARY SMALL CHARITY by the name of "HEART 'n' SOUL"! If YOU would like to help by SPONSORING US then please click on this Link:~ http://www.justgiving.com/tilley-milburn , and give whatever you possibly can, EVERY PENNY WILL HELP US SMASH OUR £600 TARGET (we're almost there!)! I'll let my knowledgeable Swine Friend tell you more.......................... Me and my Owner ave been at “HEART 'n’ SOUL” quite some time, since 2010, I’ve been living wiver even longer, since 2004, it’s not been easy, I can tell you! I never new I’d end up in London, in Malta, Glasgow, Edinburgh, IT’s CRAZY REALLY! Now I think I’m so much betta than 'Peppa’ an 'Miss Piggy’, I mean, look at my Eyelashes and Patches, I sing much betta too! I used to ave a curly tail an then it went floppy an straight, wiv bells on thee end! EVERYONE LOVES ME! I MAKE PEOPLE FEEL GOOD! I’ve helped my Owner overcome so much! They’ve got nothin on me! 'Del' the Piggie’s gonna tell you a lil bout “Heart 'n’ Soul”, bout da “BIG 30”, wiv an EXTRA SPECIAL ARCHIVE FEATURING ME of course! First of all, if you’ve not heard of “Heart 'n’ Soul” den poor you, where’ve you been all this time, d'you know dat they’ve been goin for over 30 YEARS?!?! Honestly, it’s been DAT LONG! They don’t see what’s wrong in people, they don’t think it’s strange dat my Owner needs me an carries me around everywhere! I LOVE MY OWNER (although she drives me mad!) AN I LOVE THEM, THEY LOVE ME, THEY LOVE MY OWNER! THEY’VE GIVEN HER DA CONFIDENCE TO TRY NEW TINGS AN SOMETIMES I GET A DAY OFF AS SHE DOES NOT NEED ME QUITE SO MUCH! My Owner’s ASPERGERS is understood as an ACCESS NEED, nuttin more or less, it’s NEVER BEEN A BARRIER TO PERFORMING! SHE CAN GET EVER SO ANXIOUS, USUALLY, BUT WIV PERFORMING SHE’s DOING WHAT SHE LOVES, an what SHE’s BEST AT! FORGET TRUFFLING, PERFORMING IS MY FIRST LOVE TOO, END OF! Gettin back to “BIG 30”, we ave been planning, in an out of Meetings, Training, Interviewing (an we ave been Interviewed!), Recording, posing for Photographs on an old Red 'RT’ Bus in Purfleet, “PUFFING & WOOLING”, playing wiv Bubbles an Dancing wiv Maracas, so many things we’ve done since before Christmas ~ ALL FOR DA “BIG 30”! AS A MASSIVE CELEBRATION OF WORKING SUCCESSFULLY, NURTURING TALENTS (LIKE MY OWNER’s!) AN BROADENING HORIZONS, THE WHOLE “BIG 30” PROJECT IS LIKE A MIX OF “DIS IS YOUR LIFE”, ALL DAT’s GREAT ABOUT DA “BOC” (A FREE AN INCLUSIVE CLUB NIGHT AT DA 'ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL’!) AND DA “ROYAL VARIETY” SHOW ~ YOU NEED TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT, TRUST ME I’M A PIG TELLER! "Right, that’s quite enough from you now 'Del’, THANK YOU FOR THAT er BRIEF INTRODUCTION, that’s not really told anyone anything! Ah Yes!” You see, the “BIG 30” incorporates, amongst other things, A "BIG 30 ARCHIVE” (“HEART 'n’ SOUL’s” VERY OWN!) which will not be too dissimilar to what I have been doing with my dear old 'NANNY HIPPO’ (I shall talk about this next time!), but on a very much larger scale. A Team of six Trained Interviewers (including 'Del’ & I!) have been making (mainly) Audio Recordings of over thirty individuals/groups (with/without Disabilities!) who have been involved with the Charity in some capacity, since it first began in 1986. From Artists to Volunteers and Trustees to Parent/Carers, EVERYONE’s EXPRESSED THEMSELVES IN THEIR OWN UNIQUE WAYS, sharing stories of annoying “Eastenders” Stars and Filming “ROAD TRIP”, to feeling safe and included at “DYOT” (an accessible place for 10-25yr olds to come and explore their creativity!). To say that this has been a fascinating, humbling and memorable experience is the understatement of the millennium, being on both sides we could really understand what it meant to be given THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A VOICE AND BE TRUE TO ONESELF! Coupled with STUNNING PROFESSIONAL PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHS, this Archive will eventually have a PERMANENT RESIDENCE AT THE 'LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES’, but not before parts of it have been displayed at 'GOLDSMITHS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON’, 'LEWISHAM LIBRARY’ and various places around DEPTFORD (including 'THE ALBANY’, where "Heart 'n’ Soul” are based!)! The “BIG 30 SUMMER TAKEOVER (FESTIVAL)” will kick-off with “THE SQUIDZ CLUB” (a vibrant and inclusive Club Night for young people aged 10-25yrs & their Parents/Carers!) on Friday 16TH June and close with the “HEART 'n’ SOUL DJ’s” spinning (& mixing!) their Tracks at the 'SOUTH BANK CENTRE’ on Sunday 6TH, 13TH & 20TH August! In between those Dates, there is a whole lot more happening throughout the month of JULY, with the “BIG 30 (ART) INSTALLATION” inspired by and containing sections of the “BIG 30 ARCHIVE”, to DJ’s and LIVE MUSIC/ENTERTAINMENT! To find out more, follow this Link to the EXTRA SPECIAL "BIG 30" WEBSITE:~ https://www.thebig30.com , and ENJOY A FEAST OF COLOUR, HERITAGE AND FUN! Please save Thursday 13TH July in your Calendars/Diaries (unless you’re anything like me and hate using them!), if you possibly can, and get in the mood for “GOOD TIMES”, a Concert Produced/Presented by “HEART 'n’ SOUL” in order to CELEBRATE THIRTY YEARS OF CULTURE, DIVERSITY, CREATIVITY, PASSION, MUSIC AND THE INCREDIBLE LIVES OF EVERYONE INVOLVED! 'DEL’ (THE PIGGIE) AND I WILL BE PERFORMING A FEW CLASSIC “HEART 'n’ SOUL” SONGS (AS A MEDLEY!), PLUS A NEW SONG OR TWO, THROWN IN FOR GOOD MEASURE! There will be many POPULAR “HEART 'n’ SOUL” ARTISTS/MUSICIANS on the Bill, with Balladeer-Extraordinaire 'PINO FRUMIENTO’ (HE FOUNDED THE ORGANISATION IN 1986, WITH 'MARK WILLIAMS’!), Experienced Soul Diva Supreme 'LIZZIE EMMEH’ and a selection of TOTALLY FAB BANDS from the Lively, Young & Digital “ELECTRIC FIRE” to those who are far “TOO HOT FOR CANDY”, and there’s nothing Fishy at all about “THE FISH POLICE”, who are amongst “HEART 'n’ SOUL’s” MOST ORIGINAL AND SUCCESSFUL OF ARTISTS/BANDS! TO MISS IT WILL BE A CRYING SHAME, IT’s GONNA BE THE COOLEST NIGHT OF 2017!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REMEMBER, here's the Link to OUR "JUST GIVING" FUNDRAISING PAGE:~ https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tilley-milburn, if you are still interested in SPONSORING A CRAZY PIG (& HER SLIGHTLY LESS CRAZY OWNER?!) FOR THE "BIG 30" PROJECT, CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF "HEART 'n' SOUL" AND LEARNING DISABILITY (ARTS) CULTURE!.......................................... XxXx XxXx XxXx XxXx XxXx XxXx XxXx XxXx X

[tilleyanddel-blog]

Tilley & Del’s (ALTERNATIVE Queen’s CHRISTMAS) PIGMAS Declaration/Speech

Del and I gave a Speech, but two years ago..................... Who could have imagined how greatly life would change in that short time,

since that "Heart 'n' Soul" Christmas/Pigmas Party at 'The Big Red Pizza Bus'?!?!..........................................................

In some ways things feel familiar (I mean), we've had economic problems, Terrorism, Strikes, political unrest and certain Countries remaining in a state of "3RD WORLD" Poverty for decades, haven't we now?!?!?!?! Yet the kind of climate that we are almost leaving behind (in 2016), we feel like most of the population were left in disbelief, when we finally voted out of the EU. My Stepmother (Liz) felt genuinely disheartened and depressed for a few days, after that unexpected result! We ourselves were concerned as to whether we could still have a positive relationship with Europe, the kind that benefits us all and no one loses out, in terms of the economy and immigration, nor in issues such as political power, keeping the peace or international aid.

Del and I have first hand (trotter) experience in the importance of European Partnerships, and the role that they play within "The Arts"/Culture Sectors (amongst others), when we went to Malta as part of "ART-IS". For those of you who might not be so familiar with what we are talking about, it was a Project which lasted for two years, culminating in a Festival/Celebration of work created over that time especially over the two days in the 'St James Cavalier Theatre/Creative Centre' in Valetta. More importantly, it was about the merging (fusions) of a range of people both with and without Disabilities, who displayed Talents ranging from Dancing to Comedy, Acting and Singing to Improvisation. Meeting so many people from eight different Countries, WORKING/UNITING TOGETHER to devise a piece of Theatre, regardless of abilities, language barriers or religious beliefs. WE WERE SIMPLY MAKING ART AND DOING IT TOGETHER, mostly having a whole lot of FUN at the same time! I realise that there were, it's fair to say, issues with some aspects of the Project, but what it clearly demonstrated was that all of the Countries were quite different in their approaches to Disabilities. We found the U.K. to be the most outspoken and forward thinking, WHAT A SURPRISE WITH THE "HEAD HONCHO" MARK WILLIAMS AND THE "HEART 'n' SOUL"/"STAY UP LATE" CREW~ COMBINED-TURBO-POWER, yet we overcame those difficulties, stood up for what we believed in and had some fantastic outcomes! I mean, myself and Del got to give a Speech to the 'British High Commissioner of Malta' and his adorable Wife who happened to love 'CATHERINE KIDSTON' too, in fact she was rather impressed with my Circle Dress and matching "FARMYARD-PRINTED" Rucksack! What we are trying to say is that we hope that the people of the U.K. can still be civil towards the people of Europe (and vice versa), even Friends! We want to believe that although we understand (up to a point) why the U.K. needed to leave the E.U. (so that we could be more in control of our Borders~ who comes over, when and why?, as well as numerous other things that affect our every day lives?!) we can still enjoy all that Europe has to offer and that many people from all over Europe (and indeed THE WIDER WORLD!) will continue to UTILISE what is BRILLIANT, CREATIVE, TRADITIONAL and BEAUTIFUL about "THE U.K."! Also referencing "THE DEAN RODNEY SINGERS PROJECT" (of 2012!) as A PERFECT EXAMPLE of how INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS COUPLED WITH INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE IDEAS CAN MAKE WAY FOR THE MOST AMAZING AND BOUNDARY-PUSHING WORKS ONE COULD EVER IMAGINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    

At a time when we appear to be more unsettled, insecure, divided and economically unstable than ever before, what with the U.K. struggling to stay together!, Health & Social Care in CRISIS!, Benefit Sanctions and Food Banks RIFE!, Trump in POWER!, ongoing BATTLES in Syria, Post Office/Southern Railway/Plane STRIKES GALORE!~ let us FOCUS ON EACH OTHER, on WHO IS REALLY THERE FOR US, without forgetting or dismissing those that we may find harder to ACCEPT and UNDERSTAND!..................................................Please go forth into 2017 with OPTIMISM, who knows what will happen with Teresa May, "BREXIT" or anything for that matter?!?!?!?!                                                      

All we do know is that "HEART 'n' SOUL" IS FOR LIFE, NOT JUST FOR CHRISTMAS!    

If you need something solid and DEPENDABLE in your lives, people who feel as good as FAMILY~ just like the kind of Family who are REMINISCENT of "The Waltons"/"The Little House On The Prairie" in their COMPASSION and ENDURING LOVE for one another, remember that for 30 YEARS "HEART 'n' SOUL" has been that "ROCK" for people like us (with/without Disabilities)! WE WILL ALL BE CELEBRATING THIS LEGACY (and much more besides) well into 2017, with one of the most AMBITIOUS and CULTURALLY SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS yet, DEL AND I ARE READY FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"THE BIG 30" HERE WE COME, but ARE YOU READY TOO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?