Day 2 & 3 - Answers

To find out more about the retreat please click here

First may I say - our single came out yesterday with some special new tracks on it - please click here and download. Thank you and I really hope you enjoy this EP - we put a lot of care into it. The tracks I wrote for the Albatross film are on iTunes too. Now on to the health farm...

A friend sent me some questions about my health farm week and I thought it a good way to write this blog so here goes...

How are you? I'm utterly confused. In the way that children can be. You know how kids go through emotions one after another sometimes seconds only between them and then they totally drop the emotion and pick up another? That's what's happening to me. I can be absolutely over the moon with joy one minute and then a few minutes later totally confused about everything, then sitting on a window sill teary immediately followed by wandering outside to stare at a horse and questioning reality. Pretty crazy. Yesterday I was soooooooo sick and ill and drained, depleted, exhausted, weak and feeling empty then today I woke up feeling like a truck had smashed into the back of my head. This afternoon I began to feel light.

How is the detox going? Its wild!! So, there are a few of us here all strangers yet we are spending such intimate conversations and time together - that's pretty mad for one. Then the treatments are a roller coaster of emotional and physical detox then the colonics and supplements make it all go away.

Not hard to live on liquid? No, it really isn't. Its takes very little time to forget when you realise what amazing benefits you are getting just by giving the body a chance to stop and process and clear and clean. Today, though, I saw a lemon slice thought it was a crisp and felt overwhelmed with guilt and happiness! Crazy. I considered building an alter around it and inviting the others to see what I'd made for a laugh but then I saw that it was only a lemon slice and outside I went again to stare at the horse and question reality.

Is it really relaxing? Yes, when I manage to get the voice in my head to shut up and when I let go of my day. The day begins with oil mouth swishing (yuk but oh my word it makes incredible changes happen!) meditation at 8 in front of a beautiful Welsh rolling view usually iced with frost then juice at 9, colonic, rest, skin brushing, sauna, swim hot tub, juice at 12, lesson at 12.30 on nutrition (which has been blowing my mind!) then group walk at 2, juice at 3, treatment in the afternoon, yoga at 4, juice at 6, hot broth and social at 8, colonic then hot tub or epsom salt bath, bed. You don't have to do any of the above if you don't want to of course.

How do you feel? Like I should have done this a long time ago just for my body's sake. Today I'm detoxing my emotions too so a wee bit fragile but I feel like my centre is really strengthening.

Does it feel like a break or still working? Definitely feels like a break but I have been working which I am stopping tonight and will stop checking emails too. Will keep this going because its nice to write.

Do you enjoy your time meditating? My meditation usually goes a little something like this in my head,

"Breathe in...breathe out...breathe in...there you go just concentrating on the breath...no you're not you just thought that...yeah so? I was just commenting on it that's all, wasn't thinking about other stuff...like the fact that you've still got some lyrics to finish by the time you get back...SHUT UP! Breathe in...Breathe out...

Not too lonely? Actually I feel horrendously lonely at times. Really crazily insecure and then like a toddler its gone and I'm staring at autumn. The people here are all so lovely so that helps and everyones in a similar boat - all here for different reasons so the support is there. I've been listening to the Findhorn retreat that Eckhart Tolle gave which has been making me giggle too.

Have you time or inspiration to do some art work? I got a very strong visual today in my head that I will paint. I''ve never done a proper self portrait but I think I have to do this one. I'll tell you about it tomorrow.

So intriguing, I look forward to hearing your experience - thank you my friend xxxx

Viewtiful

For more info on the detox retreat please click here

So i've booked into a health farm in beautiful wales. Why? Cause I haven't stopped since last January! I get the feeling everything is about to go crazy so I thought best to ready this body to deal with the things I would like to create.

My train down here left Manchester at 11.30 and I arrived at 7.30! Just one train. Crazily, my retreat seemed to begin right there as I my phone ran out of juice before I hit the train, then my computer did the same, no sockets on the train I decided to read my book - which I had left on my bed in Manchester. So, I had an 8 hour trip with nothing and noone but the millions of voices in my head. Luckily the views were outstanding and the train travelled right down the beautiful coastline and I am happy by the sea.

Its pretty incredible here though. Wood burning stove, beautiful wee cottage and a lovely house friend. Each year I go away for a while and take some sort of sabbatical type break - so a few years ago it was New York for a month, a month in Ireland, a few months in Sheffield to write an album and this year its this - 7 days of fresh juice, meditation, various different therapies, sauna, colonics, rest and nutrition classes (and a beautiful outdoor hot tub overlooking a wild rolling Welsh view).

I'm usually quite good at knowing what foods to eat and how to cook but some of the things I've learnt here are mind blowing. I live a hectic lifestyle and am constantly thinking Ill get round to meditating at some point in life and rarely give my body a good break and force it through one too many nights out when its tired. I survive on adrenaline and catch a breath when I can. I'm here at the health farm for 7 days on a juice diet with 12 other people (13 women and 1 man who coincidentally is also a Gibraltarian!!)

Today is actually day 2 for me but I couldn't work out if writing this blog was a good idea or not but today I feel I actually should. I'll keep a little diary here so you can read a teeny tiny bit about what this is like. I wish you well.

PS. Our single came out today with some special extras for you all - you can get it here

The Army of Butterflies

So, a lovely man in America has taken a small army of butterflies to share amongst the US industry and a lovely english man has taken a small army of creative light warriors over to Japan to the Japanese music conference. I have attached photos of the boxes. As you know we made 650 handmaids and they've all gone out with our two incredible radio pluggers and our press and media. so around 1000 light warrior flutterbys are flying across the Uk, the Us and Japan. Stay tuned to Crazy Fm and i'll let you know what comes out of all that.

The Bury Light was a fantastical success and I learnt a phenomenal amount about and will share that with you this week to as soon as I get the beautiful shots back. The single has been serviced so now we wait...

Albatross the film is out - we have 5 songs on it and its in the cinemas now.

"So, what next???!!!" I hear you scream, whilst jumping up and down on your tv set eating your own curtains and squeezing your waist in a little too tight for comfort? Well, I am finally designing a website and creating each of the limited edition handmades.

Stay near - lots of blogs in the next couple of weeks. x

If you can't make me 650 Handmades

The tea dances and the giant 6 foot silk flowers seem like years ago. It's all systems go at almeida's glitter head quarters. I mean ALL go. Everyone's helped me. Thank you to everyone who's helped. I'd list you all but it would take days! Instead, ill save each of you one of the limited editions to say thanks.

So we folded 1000 handmade covers and I had to buy Fred aldous the artshop out of black rolls of paper. £80 on black paper! I then designed a stamp as a logo for the single. I wanted this one to feel and look a little Mexican day of the dead as I think it suits the song and lyrics. Very kindly the rubber stamp company rushed through my designs and did them in a day! I also designed a stamp for the back cover and Matt picked them up and brought them back to glitter HQ.

For a few days different artists we know slotted themselves into the folding timetable and brought wine and food and fed me through the madness. To give you some perspective into how big this project is I've only ever managed to make 200 in a week working really hard. We're making 650 and I'm making 200 limited edition specials too!! Ha ha!

Matt and Alice have been helping me every step of the way and Lucy has been sending Cumbrian positive thoughts and my cousin Sarah has been sewing with us every day in-between wrestling matches against Hungarian female wrestlers!!!

We've all stamped, glittered, embossed, sewn, cut, trimmed and listened to Edith piaf. We are still going but here's a few pictures.

Will show you the final thing in the next week. I wish you well. X

You've been framed!

Bun-ting is a Fun-ting - he he

Photos!

To all the folk who came - thank you we had loverly time! Such fun. So enchanting and magical. A lovely time was had by all. Here are the first shots - I'll put some up every day this week. For those who would like you can get my new single here!!!