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Category Archives: Events and Performances

Avoncroft Museum 1940’s Weekend 2023

Posted on October 21, 2023 by Kitten von Mew
Avoncroft Museum 1940’s Weekend 2023

Gossiping with with girls

Avoncroft is an open air museum in Bromsgrove that hosts several events throughout the year AND has a little light railway to boot!

One of the most popular events is their 1940’s weekend and time there were a few changes. We were treated to vintage stalls (huzzah!) and a fashion show, that I was proud to be part of.

1940’s Post Woman Uniform

I was incredibly nervous on the Saturday as it was the first time singing since Severn Valley Railway and only my second singing event since my operation! I have to be so careful with my voice now and can only do short sets or I could permanently destroy my singing voice. Luckily Guy Roles (Avoncroft entertainment organiser and UK 1940s Radio Station presenter) completely understood. He did all he could to make sure I did everything right! Last time I sang I lost my singing voice for 4 months, so I’m following my surgeon’s strict advice from now on.

I managed to look around a few of the displays on Sunday, but vintage heels and boggy grass don’t mix! The buildings make a fantastic backdrop for the troops though and some groups even stay in the barns overnight! Remember how chilly it gets in October?

American troops in the Tudor barn

So keep your eye out for events at this lovely museum. They have a fabulous windmill, a 1940’s prefab (my favourite), a cafe selling gorgeous handmade cakes (the lime and passion fruit was amazing!) and so much more to wander round and see.

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Miniatura Show – March 2023

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Kitten von Mew
Miniatura Show – March 2023

This weekend I had a wonderful time, exhibiting my dollshouse, steampunk diorama and hats at the Miniatura Show! Nestled between artisan sellers of furniture, teddy bears and food, I really didn’t think that my eccentric house would get so much interest and positive feedback! I was rather overwhelmed by everyone’s comments and reactions. It’s a very strange feeling when you create something that just stays in your house, doesn’t get seen by more than a handful of people…and then you present it to the world in a large hall.

The same goes for my steampunk diorama! I created it for the Hornby & Bassett-Lowe competition in 2021, but this is the first time that I have shown it to the public. Just hearing the giggles and gasps coming from the front of my stand was music to my ears.

I would like to say thank you to EVERYONE who came by and to the sellers that were so lovely and welcoming. A huge shout out to the 2 ladies who made me cry because of their kind words, not only to me but to the organiser. A complete confidence boost and they appreciated all the tips on using EVA foam! I even had a lady stallholder come up to me today and say “We’ve decided that this isn’t the Miniatura Show anymore, it’s the ‘What has Kitten got on her head today’ Show!”

It’s an absolute honour to say that I have been invited back to the show on 30th September/ 1st October 2023! I’m hoping that I can do a free workshop, where you can try out some of the techniques I use to add a personal touch to your projects. Stay tuned! If you would like to see more of my creations or even order your own bespoke headwear, then please visit my Facebook page Cogsmith’s Curious Creations.

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Avoncroft WW2 Weekend 2022

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Kitten von Mew
Avoncroft WW2 Weekend 2022

This weekend I sang at Avoncroft Museum’s WW2 Weekend! The event had only been organised in 6 weeks, so I knew it wouldn’t be as rammed with reenactors and stalls as it would’ve been. The open air museum is vast and has a large range of buildings from 1800’s to a 40’s prefab! They even have a vintage showman’s carriage (my favourite).

There were some allies forces (Brits and Yanks), with a spattering of military vehicles. The setup looked great against the old buildings and you just couldn’t take a bad photos!

Mr Mew
Kitten Von Mew taken by MJ Wartog!

Remember folks… please don’t clamber on/ in or touch people’s vehicles without their permission! It’s very bad form! ALWAYS ask permission and they are allowed to say ‘no’ as it is their pride and joy. I asked obviously!!!

It was wonderful to catch up with my good friend Mark and see his new (to him) Willy’s Jeep name Bouncin’ Babe! Mark also overseas my official Facebook page when I’m too busy, so he is ace.

Mark and Kitten
Bouncin’ Babe! This set was taken by Mr Mew.

I managed to do a bit of modelling for Heyday Vintage at the same time, which was swell! This is the new Josephine dress I have teamed with Lulu Hun shoes, a gorgeous crocheted bag by Doodlebug Bags and a vintage hat.

As ever, I was super-nervous about my voice coping! Last weekend I lost my voice and last year, at a different Avoncroft event, I lost my singing voice and couldn’t do the second day! So all week I was inwardly panicking, drinking my weight in hot ginger and trying not to raise my voice too much.

Huzzah! My voice held up beautifully and I made sure to take care of it between sets too. I had great feedback both days and met some absolutely wonderful people. it was super to see Guy Roles once more and to meet The Vintage Class Singers for the first time.

Lindy Lou Shelby and Kitten Von Mew in the Guesten Hall on Saturday.

As well as the buildings, Avoncroft also has a mini railway; much to the joy of children and land girls alike!

Betsy and I had a go and it was lovely! Only 50p a ride and a nice little bit of fun to end the day.

Although a very much scaled down event, it was superb and everyone I spoke to has a brilliant time. Thank you to all the organisers and volunteers who pulled off the event in such a short amount of time!

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Purple Eyebrows at Bletchley Park

Posted on September 25, 2022 by Kitten von Mew
Purple Eyebrows at Bletchley Park

Things have gone a bit pear shaped recently. This week for instance; I had been desperately getting a steampunk outfit ready for next weekend. As they were planning a 1000 Leagues Under the Sea Dance, I thought I would create mermaid-y hair and tried a temporary purple with green hair wax. The same evening I got a message stating that the event had been cancelled and I was devastated. So much so that I didn’t wash out the colour. The next day I was playing badminton with some chums, so had a shower and…it wouldn’t wash out. Well, the green came off my hair, but stayed on my scalp and the purple had actually turned dark blue, that had now gone blue and grey.

Betsy getting her ID card stamped

I got some extra strength colour stripper for my hair and some of my favourite orangey-red hair dye, ready to go back to my normal vivacious tangerine! Sooooooo, the hair stripper didn’t work particularly well and neither did the hair colourant.

Kitten Von Mew entertaining one of the stallholders!

Skip forward to today and there I was, going to Bletchley Park, with grey-blue, browny-orange hair that I tried desperately to camouflage in victory rolls and a hat. This was bad enough, but I also had a wardrobe malfunction before leaving. I had wanted to wear my original 1940’s green suit and the metal zipper broke when I was doing the skirt up. So I quickly put on a dress that was too big (but didn’t need ironing) and some 40’s style platform shoes…nope, the platform soles decided that now was a great time to disintegrate. I swapped to my Miss L Fire’s and we hot-stepped it out of the door.

Alan Turing’s Office

Cut to the car journey, where I was FaceTiming the folks and I caught a glimpse of myself in the sun visor mirror.

“Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me I had purple eyebrows?!”

Children’s ‘Mickey Mouse’ Gas mask. they were blue and red with a nose flap that made a silly noise when you breathed out.
Hurricane flypast

I was in such a panic to get ready and makeup on that I hadn’t been paying attention to the brush I used to apply the brown tint to my brows. It has obviously been used for pink or red lipstick beforehand and I hadn’t realised.

Cut back to the car journey and scrubbing with a wet wipe only seemed to create a brighter purple and a lilac haze on the skin around my brows.

Karen, The Heritage Milliner and Shona of Heyday Vintage!

So I went to the Bletchley Park 1940’s Weekend with bluey-grey, orangey-brown hair and purple eyebrows in an oversized dress and still had a wonderful time. Sometimes you just need to suck up the stress, see the funny side and enjoy each splendid, silly, memorable moment.

And hey, I can always desaturate the photos!

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Ironbridge 1940’s Day at The Boat Inn

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Kitten von Mew

We are just in the car, heading back from a wonderful day in picturesque Ironbridge.

The 1940’s Day was hosted by the team behind the annual WW2 Weekend and was another great way to raise money for COMBAT STRESS.

There were vintage military vehicles, information stands, reenactors with American, British, German and French Resistance setups and myself and Ava Evergreen entertaining!

I have, as yet, not been able to sing at the full weekend event because of other bookings, but it was a wonderful little setup and certainly attracted a good amount of people.

Just a 5 minute walk away was an amazing craft centre (squeal!!!!!) that I didn’t have time to explore, but the coffee shop did a lovely breakfast to fuel our day and prepare me for my first set.

The Naval Officer’s car (or command car?) was certainly my favourite there and I could have quite happily trundled home in that beauty!

Everyone had very good, informative dioramas and we chatted to the French Resistance people for quite a while. Each group were very approachable and eager to answer question or show you interesting artifacts.

The chap smiling above was amazingly knowledgeable about British kit and we had a great chat about hand grenades. I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t know anything about the Bakelite ones. Now, my reenactor friends will be rolling their eyes at me right now, but I’ve only ever seen the pineapples and the sticks. I may have just not realised until now what they were!

The idea was to unscrew the cap, throw the grenade and then a cotton tape would unwind. The weight of the lead tab at the end pulled out the pin to detonate the grenade.

So I hope you’ve enjoyed this little post. Thank you to everyone who came, Dave Adams for booking me and Rosie and everyone at COMBAT STRESS. I hope you raised lovely amount of money!

The dress I was wearing today is by Heyday Online and is a BRAND NEW Mary dress, with long sleeves! I’m wearing a size 14, with a corset underneath to accentuate my curves. Because of the cut, it frames my cinched waist as well as fitting beautifully at my natural waist size too!

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24th June Stratford upon Avon Performance!

Posted on June 16, 2022 by Kitten von Mew

I will be singing at The Officer’s Mess, The Fourteas, Sheep Street from 8.30pm on 24th June!

Join me for a night of vintage music, cocktails and fun! It will be the day after my Birthday, so I may make you all sing to me instead…

Book your table by emailing bookings@thefourteas.co.uk or phone 01789 293 908.

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The Severn Valley Railway Jubilee Weekend 2022

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Kitten von Mew
The Severn Valley Railway Jubilee Weekend 2022

I had a wonderful morning, entertaining everyone at Kidderminster Station, The Severn Valley Railway today! I felt like I should be singing a slightly puntastic rendition of Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ (🎼purple train, purple traaaaaaaain…).

Kitten Von Mew singing at Kidderminster Station, SVR

The Taw Valley was in desperate need of a repaint, so SVR decided to temporarily paint her purple for the Platinum Jubilee and Commonwealth Games. Along with this colourful transformation, the loco has been renamed Elizabeth II.

No.70 Elizabeth II

Although the unique engine was unfortunately quite a way from the platform edge, I was lucky enough to be able to have a few snaps taken on the track itself! I’m sure many puffer nutters and chuff chuff buffs will be shaking their heads in dismay at the non-traditional shade of the Elizabeth II locomotive, but I thought it was a jolly tribute and a splash of well needed colour after the last couple of years of Covid AND the recent cancellations of many wartime railway events due to the Ukrainian war.

As well as the No.70 Elizabeth the stunning Lady of Legend is also working at the Platinum Jubilee event! Parts of a Hall class loco were used to create the magnificent Saint class at Didcot and the works were completed in 2019. She is an absolute beauty as you can see!

Lady of Legend

Be sure to join me again tomorrow at 10am and 11am for more rock n roll on the concourse!

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Saltburn Steampunk Weekend 2021

Posted on September 25, 2021 by Kitten von Mew
Saltburn Steampunk Weekend 2021

Don’t look at me like that! I know I haven’t posted anything for a while and I’m so sorry.

Last weekend we travelled up to Yorkshire to a BRAND NEW steampunk event in the Victorian seaside town of Saltburn by the Sea.

What a hidden gem this place is! The buildings are beautiful and wait until you see the beach! It looks nothing from the cliff top, but once you have descended the many steps (the tram is not working unfortunately), you are met with a fabulous view of the pier and Victorian seaside buildings in red and cream.

There are wonderfully colourful beach huts to bring cheer to even the gloomiest day, mini golf and THE BEST FISH AND CHIPS I’VE EVER HAD!

At the top of the hill is a pretty walkway with flowerbeds called Marine Parade Gardens, which features a ‘grotto’ called Jack’s Castle.

Jack’s Castle, Marine Parade Gardens

There is also a metal statue of Henry Pease, who founded the resort. From the railway station to the pier, this entrepreneur has an amazing vision and not only succeeded in creating it, but wanted to make sure that lower-paid workers of the nearby mines could afford to holiday there. You can find out all about Henry Pease and his family here.

Henry Pease

So back to the main event! The entertainment, stalls and other steampunk delights took place at Saltburn House. The hotel was originally built in the late 1800’s by the Pease family as a convalescent home for their workers. It was later used to house a local school that had burned down and then used as a working men’s club for affordable 2 week breaks for its members. it now remains a working men’s club and and was a great base for the Steampunk weekend. With the main town, station, gardens and beach just a walk away, it was the perfect location.

Kitten Von Mew having a giggle with Sandie Burland and Bumblebee!
Kitten Von Mew singing at Saltburn by the Sea Steampunk Weekend

We met some wonderful people at the event and the locals that came to watch the entertainment we’re friendly, enthusiastic and welcoming! There were a fantastic selection of stall at the event, but annoyingly I didn’t take pictures of them!!!

I do have some other photos I need to go through on my camera, which also include other entertainers, so I will post them up ASAP.

An early Christmas present from Mr Mew!
Betsy’s stained glass rocket pack she wore on Saturday evening gained her a Cogling’s medal!
Mr Mew wore his much loved top hat, but finally had the excuse to turn it on!

Thank you so much to everyone who watched me perform and were so understanding about my poorly throat. We didn’t want to leave! I have been booked again for next year’s show, so I hope to see even more of you there. Much love xxx

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Cocktail Evening at The Fourteas

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Kitten von Mew

Last night marked the very first cocktail evening at The Fourteas in Stratford upon Avon!

I was incredibly nervous and excited as I had been asked to alter my repertoire to focus on less wartime patriotic and more blues and swing. That meant learning some more songs and performing them confidently on the night!

As some of you know, I have an issue with my memory and in times of stress and fluster it is even worse! My head is constantly full of whizzing and bouncing ideas, thoughts, worries, reminders, ideas, daydreams and all manner of ridiculousness. Then I have to somehow squeeze lyrics to songs in between, like packing peanuts. In times of trauma or extreme upset my brain says “No thank you” and pretty much shuts down to defend itself. So I have to try and keep calm and collected as much as possible (at least outwardly!). Memorising the lyrics and timing to 24 songs can be either a walk in the park or swimming through treacle. Luckily last night I swallowed my pride and brought some lyric sheets with me for the new songs. With a quick glance at the start of odd verses I was able to jog my memory and move smoothly through the latest editions! Phew!

The evening was fantastic. The Fourteas’ new owner Zenios was a wonderful host and greeted each guest, chatted and made sure everything went like clockwork. The staff were attentive and brought around fabulous cocktails and mocktails to each table, never leaving people waiting for too long. I enjoyed a virgin pina colada and strawberry daiquiri!

Zenios (owner) and Kitten Von Mew (1940’s singer) taken by Sean BE

At 7.30pm I started singing and was greeted to wonderful applause, smiles and toe tapping throughout. Us singers feed off of audience reactions, so I was on cloud nine for the entire evening!

Seeing a couple of familiar faces really helped me feel at ease and it was great to get back to a sense of normality again.

Zenios, Suzie, Sean and their lovely friend.

The Fourteas is a 1940’s tearoom situated in Sheep Street, Stratford upon Avon. It features indoor and outdoor seating and a wonderful vintage atmosphere. These new cocktail evenings will certainly add a classy and decadent evening venue to the town! If last night was anything to go by, this is going to be an incredibly successful venture for them! I hope to be a regular face (and voice) on Friday evenings!

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Step Back to the 1940’s

Posted on April 24, 2021 by Kitten von Mew
Step Back to the 1940’s

You may have started to see The Severn Valley Railway’s new promo videos popping up on TikTok and Instagram recently.

I had super fun being part of these hammy shorts and it was wonderful being at the beautiful Kidderminster Station once more!

I cannot wait to sing to you all at The Engine Shed at Highley for Step Back to the 1940’s this summer, so keep your eyes peeled for more little videos popping up throughout May and June!

You can see the first two promotional videos for SVR’s WW2 event HERE and HERE!

Corsage and hair flower made by Kitten Von Mew. Dress by Micheline Pitt.

The underpinnings! 1950’s open bottom girdle and vintage fully fashion stockings.

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