Meghan's sparkle is already starting to disappear

I'm a Royalist. I like the Royal Family. Okay, truthfully, I got interested a few years ago when Prince Harry became super hot. I mean he is extremely hot. I have also paid attention to other members of the family for their fashion and body language in images.

Most recently, I've been completely consumed with Prince Harry and his now wife, Meghan Markle, who together are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. As anyone who knows what the Royal Family is about, with those titles come responsibilities.

One such responsibility is upholding an image. Before I go into details, I want to show you a visual representation of who Meghan was prior to marrying Prince Harry.

Source: http://hollywoodlife.com/pics/meghan-markle-fashion-evolution-style-guide-best-outfits/

 

Source: https://www.thebudgetfashionista.com/archive/meghan-markle-style/

 

In just a few days since she has been married to Prince Harry, her style has dramatically changed and now falls in line with the Royal Family's expectations. 

Source: https://www.usmagazine.com/stylish/pictures/meghan-markles-personal-style-secrets-shop/

 

Source: http://fashionbombdaily.com/meghan-markle-made-her-first-public-appearance-as-the-duchess-of-sussex-wearing-british-designer-goat/

 

Now, a lot of people wouldn't really care that they'd have to change their personal style after getting married, but I don't know about you, but I would have huge issue with that. I'm the type of person who will mentally judge people's outfits on trains or in the street, and one thing I'm always noticing is people's lack of passion for their clothes, so I guess, it would be their lack of passion for fashion, but I see fashion as being an extension of your personality. I always wear mini skirts becuse I like to push boundaries and don't like how jeans or pants look (even in situations where I have to dress more formal, I still wear minis but they're a little bit longer, still above the knee though). I also wear bright colours and prints. I love unique fashion that can be an extension of your personality and convey a message. It's much like make up. It's art. Some would disagree, but in my view, fashion is art.

And that actually brings me to Meghan Markle. In stories by the mainstream media she's been referred to as having a sparkle, and you know what? Up until a few days ago she did, but now, well, now I think that sparkle is starting to go.

In previous images her body language was open and fun loving. It was confident and laid back. She showed her personality and maintained a balance between stylish and conservative. The two were able to merge because of the cuts she wore.

Well, if you compare that with now, she's lost her spark and her body language appears to be closed off. The colours have gone and the hemlines have become longer. She has to wear hats and use clutches now. Forget about the practicality of using a tote or a shoulder bag. Royals aren't allowed to hold handbags. According to a lot of reports and articles, the Royal Family's female members must hold clutches because it helps them avoid awkward situations where a member of the public wants to shake their hand. Of course, this ignores the fact that the Royal Family members could simply politely say no to shaking someone's hand. 

Outside of the Royal Family, organisations have dress codes that their staff members must abide by. Some companies are more laid back about what they allow their staff to wear, or they'll have the opportunity to make the company's dress code work for them, for example, if you have to dress in corporate attire, you could wear bright clothes or make up. I assume though that in the case of the Royal Family, members aren't allowed to wear bright colours because the Queen does so that she can easily be seen in crowds.

That's not the major issue with Meghan Markle's fashion transition since marrying Prince Harry. The issue is that it's just one way that she is being stifled and can't be herself. Of course, given her acting background she is used to playing a part, but the major difference is that she got to choose when she played the part and she also could stop playing when she went home at night and be herself. It wasn't a 24/7 role like being a member of the Royal Family is.

Being a member of the Royal Family almost destroyed Princess Diana, although she did break a few rules such as not always wearing long sleeved dresses or coats, and still showing cleavage at times.

It's not just her fashion that the Queen wants to change. She also wants Meghan to have Royalty training. This training will be conducted over the next six months by none other than the Queen's assistant, Samantha Cohen. Samantha is known for being ruthless and taking no prisoners, so it's likely that the Queen has chosen her because she wants Meghan to be whipped into line.

Everyone is different and Meghan may well love Harry. There's no doubt that she does based on her facial expressions, but love can only go so far when you're being forced what to wear and what to say, although maybe she'll be fine given her acting background. But again, given she's been acting since she was a kid, how will she handle not being able to do what she loves? Wouldn't that just depress her? Even when Australian singer, Delta Goodrem was in hospital getting treatment for Cancer, she would still write and she would still perform when she could. She didn't let the illness stop her.

Of course, time will tell whether or not Meghan is cut out for Royalty but she doesn't exactly seem to have a tame and timid personality like Kate does. It's entirely possible that Meghan will get sick of it and divorce Prince Harry, OR that they'll both end up leaving the Royal Family and moving to America. It wouldn't be the first time a Royal Family member has abdicated their post for love. Prince Edward the VIII who was in line for the throne abdicated when he fell in love with American, Wallis Simpson. Instead he was made a Duke of Windsor. Prince Harry may also find Meghan's change difficult. He's always been the "normal" Royal Family member, which is not surprising given he's the youngest, and he may find that HE falls out of love with Meghan because she's now having to become someone she just isn't (which is much bigger than any acting role).

Prince Harry may find he doesn't want to stay with Meghan given she's losing her sparkle, and Meghan may find that being married to Prince Harry isn't worth the restrictions that go with being a member of the Royal Family.

Only time will tell, but there is a strong possibility that one, or both of them will find the restrictions and constant monitoring difficult.

 

Review: Radnor and Lee at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne

I don't really know where to begin this blog so I guess I'll start by asking the question, have you met Radnor and Lee? No? Okay, well basically, Australia's singing sensation, Ben Lee, who has been around since the 90s started a band with his mate Josh Radnor, who played Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother for nine years, and who also starred in the now cancelled, musical drama, Rise.

You're probably wondering what type of music Radnor and Lee would play, well to answer that question, it's mostly folksy accoustic music and it's actually really good.

So the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne holds 1000 people. It's a traditional theatre with stalls at the front, two balcony levels and then private boxes on the side. It's really quite a beautiful theatre.

Anyway, getting back to Radnor and Lee, Australian singer, Sally Seltmann opened for them and performed a set of six songs. I'd never heard of her which is odd given she and Ben Lee actually go way back as friends (they share the same birthday - the 11th of September, except there's a few years difference between them, so they had a shared birthday when they were 18).

Sally has a very similar style to Radnor and Lee in that she focuses on a minimalistic set. It's all about the guitars and keyboard. I wish I knew the name of the first song she sung but I honestly don't remember and I haven't been able to find out. All I remember is that it was a keyboard based song and that it was very singer songwriter style, the type of music you'd expect from someone singing in their bedroom.

And that's actually the type of thing that you got at the Radnor and Lee concert on Saturday the 19th of May. When Sally made a mistake, instead of trying to cover it up, she completely owned it and acknowledged it. As a fellow singer myself, I loved that moment. It was real, raw and not perfect. That's the way music should be.

After Sally's set, there was a gap of about 15 minutes before Josh and Ben took to the stage. Now I was seated in the third row so I was extremely close to the stage and honestly, if the seats had been any closer then we would have been on the stage.

The other event that was on, on Saturday night was of course Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding and the people in front of me were talking about the wedding so naturally I started talking to them and one of them was dressed in a tiara, and I was wearing a sparkly dress. Hey! If you can't be at the wedding yourself, you might as well have fun, so we high fived over that. It was pretty cool, and then throughout the night discussed the dresses, but only briefly because we were there to see Radnor and Lee.

So Radnor and Lee had a basic set with just their guitars. It really felt like it was you watching your mates sing. There were of course moments when Josh and Ben talked to the crowd about various things including how Josh had only been playing guitar for a year because he was in a band (it's cool because that's actually why I'm taking up keyboard, not to be in a band, but because I'm a singer, I could never be in a band, I like the limelight too much) and about how it takes him ages to tune his guitar and when he's doing it on stage he feels pressured to hurry up. The audience didn't care though. It's really cool when you see a musician that's just honest and open.

As mentioned, the wedding was on Saturday night and you bet Radnor and Lee were going to talk about it, but it was only to introduce their latest single, Here, and they thanked fans for coming to the gig and not watching the wedding.

There were a few other songs they sung in between, including Be Like The Being, which Josh has lead vocals on, and another recent song, Ohio, which Ben leads on. They joked about Josh leading on an upcoming song called Sydney. Whether or not that's written is another thing. I may write a song about Sydney myself, which they're welcome to (so long as I get a writing credit and to actually meet them).

Later on in the set they sung a few songs that aren't on their debut album including Green Street, which Josh wrote when he was living on Green Street in New York, and You can't fire me, I Quit (which is actually about a relationship ending).

One of the best moments was when they sung Still Though We Should Dance. Anyone who has the album knows that a female singer sings most of the song, so to fill that role, Sally Seltmann returned to the stage. It wasn't perfect but that's what made it great. It sounded like a few mates just jamming.

One of the worst moments though was when someone in the crowd shouted out, "We love you Teddy Westside", to which Josh replied, "I know not what you're referring". For those who've followed Josh's career, you'd know that he wants to leave HIMYM behind and focus on his other projects; and yes, Josh and Ben, as Radnor and Lee are recording their second album next month.

Finally, the night ended with Josh and Ben going right to the front of the stage and singing, It's Yours Once You Give It Away. It was completely accoustic and they revved up the crowd.

They returned for an encore after a very short break and closed with their uplifting track, Falling Upward.

My favourite parts of the show were the banter between Josh and Ben, where they showed genuine affection for eachother. I also love that they made constant reference to the fact that this was a new venture for them. Normally people are so busy trying to be perfect. It was excellent that they weren't trying to be perfect.

Overall, I would give them a 4/5. It was a truly intimate show and given how close I was to the stage was just incredible. You don't often get that, least of all with massive stars like Josh Radnor and Ben Lee and the even better part is how truly down to earth and normal they seem. Having been a performer since I was a kid, I always tell myself that famous performers are just regular people who had a dream and made it big, while others, such as myself, are still working on it.

The only reason I don't give them a 5/5 is because they didn't do a meet and greet and outside of Prince Harry, Josh Radnor is one celeb I really really want to meet. Okay, so at the show I did make eye contact with him twice. It was pretty cool.

I highly suggest people purchase their album and I can't wait to see them when they're next in Australia. I did have a ticket to the Sydney show as well but haven't quite mastered the art of being in two places at once so I couldn't attend the show as I was still travelling back from Melbourne.

Here's a couple of snaps I took from the gig.

 Australian singer, Sally Seltmann

Josh Radnor and Ben Lee as Radnor and Lee

The madness of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's nuptials continues

Now I'm not one for tradition. I don't even believe in marriage myself. In my view marriage is an antiquated tradition that belongs back in the stone ages. Why have a big show and why do you need a contract to prove your love for someone?

Well, of course, it's not up to me. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided that they wanted to get married and their wedding is tomorrow.

This week there have been a number of weird things happening. One minute Meghan's father will attend and the next he won't, then he will and now he won't. Yesterday, the Royal Family issued a statement in the media wishing him the best for his health.

With him not attending, there was a lot of speculation of who would walk Meghan down the aisle with some media commentators assuming it would be her mother, Doria Ragland.

Tonight another statement came from the Royal Family saying that Meghan Markle had asked Prince Charles, Harry's father to walk her down the aisle. Forget the rest of the odd behaviour from Meghan's family this week. This has to be the weirdest thing related to the wedding.

Traditionally, the father of the bride walked his daughter down the aisle because he was giving her away. This is back in the times when women were considered the property of their father and when they were handed over from one man to another.

I'm really struggling to understand why Prince Charles is walking her down the aisle. Prince Charles is going to soon be her father in law, and will be welcoming her into his family, so how can he possibly give her away? It just doesn't make sense.

Again, I'm not a traditionalist, but in a wedding ceremony, the idea behind a bride being walked down the aisle by her father is that she's given away. I could understand a grandfather giving her away in place of her father, or a very good friend (like Joey gave Phoebe away to Mike in Friends in place of her father), but to be given away by the father of the groom seems really concerning to me.

This isn't just a break with tradition. This is a break with logic and just doesn't make sense.

If you've been following my tweets and Facebook comments the last week or so you'd know that I don't support this wedding at all, and wish that Queen Elizabeth had said no to this engagement. It just makes a mockery of the entire Royal Family, and Meghan is not suitable to join their ranks.

I don't think this marriage will last. There are way too many strange moments and illogical behaviours for it to stand the test of time. Prince Harry is making a big mistake and the world can see it, if only he could....

Review: Hillary Clinton in Sydney 11th May 2018

Sydney is a city that tends to get loads of shows and other events and Friday night was no different. A very controversial American lady came and spoke to an audience of 8,000 people. This lady was of course, none other than the former 2016 American presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, former Secretary of State and former First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mrs Clinton was joined by the first and only female Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard.

There's no doubt that you would have read a lot of reviews by now and seen what the media was saying about the speaking event, but there are a few things that were missed out of those reviews, so I thought I would take you on a little journey and give you another perspective of what actually went down when she spoke at the International Convention Centre in Sydney.

Firstly, the MC of the event was ABC journalist, Leigh Sales, and it was televised for APAC, so even if people couldn't attend, they still could have caught it on TV, but there was nothing like being in the audience.

I was right near the back in the cheap seats. Now remember, the cheap seats were $195, with premium seats costing $295 and VIP seats which included a copy of Clinton's book, What Happened? being included in the cost. One thing I noticed early on was the number of women in the audience. There were men of course, but the majority of the audience was female, which was interesting to see. I'll come back to this later though.

The evening started with a few videos. The first video was one of these kids in a choir called the Moorambilla Voices. The majority of kids in the choir come from small regions and appear to be from less fortunate backgrounds. The video on its own was pretty powerful as it shared the journey of the kids, but what came next was truly brilliant. The Moorambilla Voices choir appeared on stage and sung a song for the audience, which was brilliant as the kids would never have dreamed of singing for thousands of people.

Up next was a video detailing Hillary Clinton's background from when she was a child and her mother taught her to be resilient right through to meeting Bill Clinton at university and eventually moving to Arkansas to be with him when he wanted to enter politics.

After the video, journalist, Leigh Sales took to the stage and introduced Hillary Clinton. She started by talking about how she'd been in a dark space after the election loss and that she'd only got through it thanks to her friends and family as well as Australian chardonnay. She briefly talked about how she was worried about the political situation in the United States following President Donald Trump's election to the Whitehouse.

Now, you would have read in the mainstream media about how she talked about Russia and China. Well to be honest. This only played a very small part of her talk.

When she was joined by former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, they talked about how Hillary met Bill at university and her eventual movement into politics. The ongoing theme through was actually about gender. Clinton said that she'd been subjected to vitriol during the presidential campaign that went beyond standard political opposition and that there was a huge element of misogyny that no male candidate would have been subjected to.

She expressed her concern about the lack of women in politics and said that sexism will only end when more women enter politics but that to do so is difficult because unlike men, who are more respected as they become more powerful, women are actually hated and despised. Basically the world doesn't like powerful women like it does men.

Former Prime Minister Julia Gillard was in a unique position when she asked the question of how Hillary Clinton dealt with the hate and she said that she needed to maintain a balance between caring and not caring. The big issue is that if you switch off completely you become robotic but at the same time you'd crawl under the covers if you let it get to you.

It was interesting to see Gillard in the position of interviewer and who knows if she may have a future in journalism? I wouldn't rule it out.

Now to carry on this theme of gender, which is what the speech was really about, if the audience was anything to go by then we certainly don't have a lack of women in politics because women aren't interested in politics. As I observed at the speaking event, the majority of the audience were women.

Hillary Clinton gave a brief comment on President Donald Trump saying that she thought he may be getting somewhere with North Korea through his brutality, but that it should be used sparingly and not as a sole method of engaging in politics.

Towards the end of the event, Gillard asked Hillary Clinton if she'd regretted running for the presidential post, to which she said no but that if she was to do it again she would do it differently and would watch more of The Apprentice.

In short, you didn't need to be a Democrat or left winger to appreciate Hillary Clinton and Julia Gillard. Anyone who is interested in politics or women's affairs would have found it a very insightful evening. The real take away from it was that we still have a long way to go in terms of getting women into powerful positions because there is still a preference for women to hold supporting, rather than main roles.

We see this outside of politics as well though. Australian superstar Delta Goodrem is experiencing this as well, with many people saying she's acting like a Diva on The Voice and that she's too egotistical. Part of this would be tall poppy syndrome and not liking successful women, but John Farnham and other successful Australian male singers haven't experienced the same level of vitriol.

Speaking of vitriol, Clinton talked about cyber bullying and that it can act as a deterrence for women getting into politics. She shared with the audience that she was aware that there were comments that women shouldn't be in politics, that women aren't capable, which she could accept as part of being in politics but that calling for her to be raped and sent to prison crossed a line. She mentioned that groups supporting her had to be shut down because although the hatred may just be online, in some cases it has the potential to go offline and there were safety concerns.

There were so many themes during her talk with Julia Gillard, and in reality, the presidential campaign was a very small part with the main part being about gender and women's rights. She also acknowledged that gender had been ignored by the media during the campaign.

As I've mentioned, this was a very insightful evening, and one that would be enjoyed by anyone who simply wants to hear a fresh perspective and hear what other people think about different things. The only thing I didn't like was at the beginning when there was a tribute to Aboriginals but that was no reflection on Hillary Clinton. That would have been influenced by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the ABC Network who were involved with the event.

The Voice: Episode 11 recap

Every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night I sit down to watch The Voice. Some of you will know that I don't watch much television. In fact, strictly speaking I don't actually own a TV. I watch The Voice on my lap top as it airs live on Channel 9. I watch it for a few reasons.

1. I love the judges. I'm a huge fan of Delta Goodrem and have been for the last 15 years since she released Born to Try. I've also seen her live in concert and think she's one of the most genuinely nice Australian stars. She is this generation's answer to Kylie Minogue.
2. I love singing. I'm a singer and writer myself so I like to see what I can learn from the contestants.
3. Outright entertainment and curiosity. I generally don't like reality TV but there's something about The Voice that has me captivated.

Now as some of you would be aware, the blind auditions ended last week, which meant that tonight was the first of the battle rounds.

Up first were a trio of guys including Jackson, Aydan and Josh (a little 15 year old). I've loved Josh since he stepped up onto the stage in the blind auditions. He has a great personality and there is just something about him that keeps you interested. Their coach, Joe chose Ariana Grande songs. Of the contestants though, Jackson won the round but luckily Jackson and Josh were saved by Kelly and Delta respectively.

Hopefully Josh will go far in the series and even if he doesn't, he's young enough at 15 that he could use this as a stepping stone to a music career, either on stage, or as a radio or TV presenter.

The next round was Delta's contestants singing Pink songs, and despite her insecurities, Jacinta won the round. Aimee was sent home but Mikayla who hadn't been comfortable singing a song she didn't know was saved. She'll need to be more open to singing songs she doesn't know if she's to progress much further in the competition.

George's contestants who were an eclectic bunch - Jackie the singing grannie, Joel the obese chef and Chang the man with only one eye took to the stage afterwards. All of them sung well but as we know with these shows, only one can progress to the next stage. The contestant that progressed was Chang. Joel is a great singer, but as I've said on Twitter, he needs to lose weight and try out again when he's a healthier size. He also needs to work on his confidence.

More of Joe's contestants performed; and Sally won the round. Neither Pete nor Anyerin were saved. Pete has a good personality but he doesn't have the best voice. He also needs to work on being less hesitant when he's asked to sing a song outside of his comfort zone. The arrangement didn't work and the artist didn't suit his voice. Anyerin was professional in how he dealt with it and had no issue with singing a song he didn't know by Demi Lovato. Unfortunately though he was sent home. It's a shame because he really is a talented singer and should definitely keep up with the gigging.

The final round of the night saw Brock Ashby, Hannah Pearce and Lacey "Lady boss" Madison sing Lady Gaga songs. Brock Ashby should need no introduction because he was in the band Moorehouse who came fourth on New Zealand's X Factor. He sung Million Reasons and was singing it for his late mother. He absolutely nailed it. Lacey was cocky behind the scenes but she delivered a sincere rendition of Joanne. Hannah performed The Cure wonderfully. Only one of them made it through though and that was Brock Ashby.

Lacey Madison needs to work on her arrogance if she's to have a lasting career in the music industry and that is what let her down. She can still be outgoing and bubbly but right now she comes across as conceited and it could be the reason she didn't progress to the next round. If she becomes more down to earth then the public will be more receptive to her next time around, if she tries out again. She has a great singing ability, but nobody likes arrogance or a show off One of the reasons Delta Goodrem has lasted 15 years in the music industry is because she is genuinely nice. Hannah just needs to keep performing and it will be her time eventually. She has the right look and personality. It just wasn't the right time for her.

Brock on the other hand won the round because he's there already. He's a performer and a writer. He's got the right look and has the voice to match it. He's previously released music in New Zealand but it hasn't really taken him to where he wants to go so potentially he could win this year's The Voice.

If I had to pick the top three performers from tonight's episode I would have to say the standouts were, in order of favourite:

1. Brock Ashby
2. Josh Richards
3. Jacinta Gulisano

I'm picking Brock to win the season though because he has a Stan Walker quality about him and is determined. He hasn't let knockbacks dictate how he approaches his music in the future. More importantly though, he's not arrogant and that makes a huge difference when you're starting out in the music industry. He also has the ability to write which gives him an advantage over other contestants who may not be able to write their own songs. Brock also connects with the songs and is very attractive and even though The Voice isn't supposed to be about anything other than singing, looks go a long way and can make a huge difference to how the public perceives you.