Dialling Up from Jordan!

Hi Guys!

As most of you know I've moved to Jordan to teach English for two years, and of course I've been doing everything I can to bring The Dial up spirit out with me! I haven't been able to set up a proper Dial Up yet, but I have entered a local talent competition and thought, as a bit of festive fun, I'd share the video with you. I hope you enjoy it, and if you're on Facebook, follow the second link and vote for me! Top prize is a holiday in Athens ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UexhYnXa11w

https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloJordan/app_629521610438565utm_content=buffer6ef17&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

I hope you're all well, and remember we have two Dial Up Specials this Christmas:

Sunday 22nd December 5pm at the Watford Palace Theatre

Wednesday 1st January 1pm at Coco Cafe Croxley

Hope to see you there! Much love and Merry Christmas! Alex xx

www.thedialup.co.uk

www.facebook.com/thedialup

Two Christmas Dial Ups Confirmed!

If, like me, you've been missing our inimitable Dial Up celebration of community and creativity then fret no more as the Dial Up offers two wonderful Seasonal Specials this winter to warm your cockles!

Watford Christmas Dial Up

Sunday 22nd December, 5pm at the Watford Palace Theatre

Join us for a festive celebration of live music, performance and open mike with the marvelous Karen Bell and London Dial Up regular Tracy Holtham making her Watford debut!

Coco New Year Dial Up

Wednesday 1st January, 1pm at the Coco Cafe, Croxley

Start the New Year with a song and a smile as we gather at the beautiful Coco Cafe for a late brunch accompanied with music, performance and our favourite open mike!

Unfortunately there will be no London Dial Up this season as the Seven Dials Club is closed for Christmas, but I do hope some of our London regulars will be able to join us in Watford or Croxley for their dose of Dial Up! I'll be back in the UK from December 22nd to January 1st, so if you're not able to make either of the Dial Ups do get in touch and hopefully we can find another time to meet for tea and cakes, it'd be lovely to catch up. Till then here's a video from last year's Christmas Dial Up to enjoy :-) Much love, Alex xx

Watford Christmas Dial Up Sunday 22nd Dec 2013

Hi Guys,

I'm delighted to announce that the Watford Christmas Dial Up has been confirmed for 5pm at the Watford Palace Theatre on Sunday 22nd December! We will as ever enjoy our inimitable mix of community and creativity with a healthy dollop of festive cheer and a chance to catch up with dear friends.

More details to come, hopefully including announcements about events in Coco Cafe Croxley and our original home, The Seven Dials Club in Covent Garden. Until then stay well, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all! Much love, Alex xx

The Dial Up hits the Middle East!

Firstly can I say a huge thank you to every single member of the Dial up family for making the last three years such an amazing ride! The Dial up has become an essential part of many people's month, not least because our unique brand of creativity and community has given so much to all of us in terms of friendship, humour, growth, well being and good old fashioned fun!

It's been a magical journey, and by no means is it over! I know the impulse to continue is strong in London, Watford and Croxley, and I really hope those projects succeed. Do keep me in the loop as I'll be thinking of you! And of course, we have our Christmas Specials in December 2013 to look forward to also (details tbc so watch this space!).

On a more personal note the adventure continues for me as I settle into my new life in the Middle East and begin looking for Dial up opportunities here. I've already started a Glee Club at my new school and it has proved to be one of the most popular clubs the school has ever seen with 31 kids in the first week and counting! It's truly tremendous the power singing has to build confidence and friendships when the emphasis is on fun, not perfection. There are no auditions for my Glee Club, just gentle reminders that Glee means Happiness so always bring a smile!

I'll look forward to seeing you all again very soon, and sharing smiles (and hugs!) with you once again. I promise to post occasional updates on Facebook, and in the meantime always feel free to send me an email. Stay in touch!

As always, until December, much love, Alex xx

August at The Dial Up!

It's finally here, our last month before I head off to the Middle East! Thank you to everyone who came and made our final Watford Dial Up such a heart-stirring success, and also to the wonderful Coco crowd for singing along at our Disney Songbook Special. Please do come and join us for our final two events, the theme for both is Anything Goes. They promise to be amazing evenings and it will be wonderful to have the chance to wish you a proper farewell in person!

Don't forget, we'll also be back in December with our Christmas Specials!

Much love, Alex xx

London Dial Up

8pm on Friday 2nd August at the 7 Dials Club, Covent Garden

Coco Dial Up

7pm on Thursday 15th August at Coco Cafe, Watford Road, Croxley

July at The Dial Up!

This July is a month of mixed emotions for The Dial Up! Not only are we excited as ever to be sharing our unique brand of community and creativity with old friends and new, but we're also sad as we start counting down to our penultimate and final events!

As a consequence, there are two themes this month. The first is our traditional Disney Songbook theme, so dust off your favourite songs from the House of Mouse! The second is Anything Goes, which we usually reserve for the New Year, but if there are any favourite songs or poems that you'd like to bring to the Dial Up, please feel free to ignore the Disney theme and take this opportunity to share your creativity!

As a consequence of our impending break there has been a flurry of filmmaking! Check out our youtube channel or www.facebook.com/thedialup to have a look. Above is our Watford Dial Up version of Brel's Carousel, thanks to Anthony Wilson on piano and Mel for filming!

We will of course be back for Christmas Specials in December, but please do come and join us in making these final Dial Ups extra special. Much love, Alex xx

Sunday 7th July: Final Watford Dial Up, 5pm at the Palace Theatre

Thursday 11th July: Penultimate Coco Dial Up, 7pm at Coco Cafe, Croxley

There is no London Dial Up this month. The final London Dial Up at the Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden, will take place at 8pm on Friday 2nd August.

Sing Along Specials this June!

The Dial Up is well known for its inimitable open mic sessions and regular audience participation, so for the first time this month we're making a whole theme out of it! This June we're all about Singing Along, so expect lots of lyric sheets, word boards and catchy choruses as we gather together to celebrate community and creativity as only The Dial Up can! 

As most of you now know, The Dial Up will be taking a short break from this summer onwards as I go galavanting round the Middle East, so please do come and join us throughout June and July before we pack up shop for a few months until our Christmas Specials in December!

Sunday 2nd: Watford Dial Up, 5pm at the Watford Palace Theatre

Saturday 8th: The Dial Up at Watford Live Festival, 5pm at Watford Central Library

Thursday 13th: Coco Dial Up, 7pm at Coco Cafe

Friday 21st: London Dial Up, 8pm at the Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden

Hope you can join us and much love! Alex xx

Cool Britannia was Smoking Hot!

Thanks so much to everyone who came along and made our Great British Songbook Dials Ups such a storming success! Special thanks to our first half performers including Jim Connor, Helen Green, Eclipse, David Silver, Skopje, GJ, Nicolette, Gilly Spencer and Kevin O'Brien. Thanks also to the inimitable David Forest (above) who had us laughing in the aisles at both Coco and Covent Garden this month! Thanks to Paddy Gormley for the photo!

The news is now out, as of this summer I'll be flying off to the Middle East and the Dial up will be taking a short break until I return for our Christmas Specials. So please do keep coming, bring your friends and family, and make our next three months of Dial Up fun as magical as they always are! Next month's theme is always a popular one: Movie and Musical Magic! Much love, Alex xx

5pm on Sunday May 5th at Watford Palace Theatre

7pm on Thursday May 9th at Coco Cafe Croxley

8pm on Friday May 17th at the Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden

April at the Dial Up: Cool Britannia!

With St George's day on the horizon, and Shakespeare's birthday too, April has become The Dial Up's traditional month for patriotism and home-grown pride as we dive into our theme COOL BRITANNIA: The Great British Songbook! Join us as we celebrate community, creativity and the poetry and music of our sceptre'd isle!

As ever the theme's just for fun, interpret or ignore it as you wish! The most important thing is that you join us for our inimitable evening of performance and open mike! Hope to see you there and much love, Alex xx

Join us at...

Watford Palace Theatre, 5pm on Sunday 7th April

Coco Cafe in Croxley, 7pm on Thursday 11th April

Seven Dials Club in Covent Garden, 8pm on Friday 19th April

March is often considered the month to put a spring in your step- our traditional theme to welcome in the new season. But this year we're shaking it up a bit, and adding a feather boa or two for good measure, as we shout: Viva La Diva! 

As ever you can interpret or ignore the theme as you wish (it's just for fun!) but expect a lot of songs associated with wonderful women performers and writers given a unique Dial Up flavour!

Join us at...

Watford Palace Theatre, 5pm on Sunday 3rd

Coco Cafe, 7pm on Thursday 14th

Seven Dials Club, Covent Garden, Friday 15th

Hope to see you there and much love! Alex xx

Love Songs for the Month of Romance!

Welcome to February at the Dial Up, when all month long, in honour of Saint Valentine's Day, we'll be celebrating the theme of love!

Join us at 5pm on Sunday 3rd Feb at the Watford Palace Theatre, 7pm on Thursday 14th Feb at the Coco Cafe in Croxley, or 8pm on Friday 15th Feb at the Seven Dials Club in Covent Garden for a performance and open mic evening of music, poetry and much more besides lol!

In capitals this month, MUCH LOVE! Alex xx xx xx (extra kisses too!)

Happy New Year!

And what a wonderful start to the year The Dial Up has planned!

Join us at 5pm on Sunday 6th January at the Watford Palace Theatre where we'll be ringing in the New Year in style with our family friendly celebration of community and creativity!

Then at 7pm on Thursday 10th January we'll be bringing our unique brand of open mic to the Coco Cafe in Croxley, with two special guests: poet Rache Stone and singer Jenny Gould!

 And finally join us at 8pm on Friday 18th at the Seven Dials Club Covent Garden for our big New Year's Party! The theme is Anything Goes, so expect a fantastic evening! Hope to see you at one or all events! Much love, Alex xx