Open for week of the 27th September 2021

Booking is now open for the week beginning Monday 27th September.
Booking for this Wednesday and Thursday’s sessions is still open. Mondays are getting pretty full – best to get in early, but it’s always worth enquiring at any point but if you want a place – you never know your luck! Wednesdays and Thursday are fine but still have space to grow.
You can make block bookings for the remainder of the half term if you want to guarantee your place. For either a single session or to enquire about a block booking, please email me on owenlittle9 AT gmail.com (All bookings are done via email – thanks).
Session days times and venues:
Mondays 9.30 to 10.30, and 10.45 to 11.45, both in Studio 2 at The Edge
Wednesdays 9.30 to 10.30, and 10.45 to 11.45, both in Studio 2 at The Edge
Thursdays 9.30 to 10.30, and 10.45 to 11.45, both in the Lower Hall of the main church, at St Clement’s.

The Edge = Manchester Road, Chorlton. M21 9JG (In the grounds of the Methodist Church)
St Clement’s = Edge Lane, Chorlton, M21 9AE (access via main church doors. Car park behind the church)

Christmas Spectaculars!

I’m very happy to announce that we’re on for two Christmas Spectaculars next weekend.
Times:

  • Saturday 12th December 2020 at 4.00pm
  • Sunday 13th December 2020 at 11.00am

These will be live Zoom shows, available at the times stated above. We are not able to offer recordings of these shows. We’ll be doing loads of our usual stuff plus our standard Christmas Songs. There may or may not be silly jumpers involved.

Requests:

You can email us, or send a message in advance for Birthday shout outs, animals in Old Mac, or particular songs. If you’re sending in a request please make it clear which show it is for, either Saturday or Sunday.
We’re very grateful that my wife Rachel has agreed to co-host these shows. She’ll be running admissions and trying to keep across the live chat feature whilst Katy and I deliver the show.

Payment details will be sent out with the access codes. Use the contact form or email us on owenlittle9 AT gmail.com

What’s going on? (November 2020)

 A number of people have been in touch asking what’s going on, so I thought I’d post an update. I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in thinking that the rules, guidelines and application of the tier system are at best arbitrary. I am very clear that I do believe that Covid remains a serious problem and threat. However, I also feel that the manner in which we were conducting our live “Covid Sessions” was safe (and definitely presented far less of a threat than a bunch of people in a pub eating burgers and downing some pints!!).
Having said all that …
As things stand at present we can’t put on any live sessions. In Tier 3 there’s no way to do anything, and even if we get out of that, unless there’s a drastic sea change in guidelines relating to singing, we remain without options.
I really do feel for the very young people – and their parents, who are missing out on the type of contact that used to be the norm. This is a source of great sadness to me and I wish there was something we could do about it. The news from the freelance arts community is also bleak as we all feel the increased pinch from being unable to earn our livings.

YouTube Shows:

Many of you will be aware that in the first lockdown, my daughter and I made a load of Music Makers YouTube shows. I’ve re-published a selection below and also left the three ‘summer specials’ up. (The summer specials are one Music Makers show split into three parts so that we could add some pop ups and animations. The file was getting too big when I tried to do it as one normal show!).
You can use the links below to get to the shows but you don’t need to. If you open up YouTube on any smart TV, and search for Owen’s Little Music Makers, you’ll find them all on our channel. If you do watch, please do consider paying us something! Payment links are listed and mentioned within the videos. I’ve also put them at the bottom of this email/post.
And watch this space for news of a planned Christmas Special!
Yours,
Owen

Payment Options – Suggested minimum payment £3 per child:

Or Bacs to:
Natwest
Mr O J Little
Sort code 56 00 23
Account no. 46974156
Account Type: Personal

Still going live!

First things first, we had a great opening session last Thursday, it was fab to be back live with you lot! It’s obvious from feedback that we got that these live Thursday sessions are going to be a goer, so we will definitely be running two sessions next week. If you want to book for the 2nd session, it will definitely be on.
Clarification on the how the new Guidelines coming into force on 14 September affect us:
We are continuing to run under the new Covid Guidelines that come into force on Monday. How are we legally able to do this? Here are the couple of relevant parts from the new guidelines;
“Community facilities following COVID-19 secure guidelines can host more than 6 people in total, but no one should visit or socialise in a group of greater than 6.”
And that;
“Community Venues following COVID-19 secure guidelines will be able to continue to host more people in total”.
So in a nutshell, St Clement’s is a Community Facility that complies with Covid-19 secure guidelines, so we’ve still got the green light to hold Music Makers sessions. The only rider on this is that you can’t come along if you’re in a group of more than 6 people, but as long as your family group that’s attending has less than 6 people, we’re fine. Part of the Covid Secure status of St Clement’s relies on you maintaining social distancing from other family groups as far as is practicable.
(We all owe a big vote of thanks to Ken Flood – the Vicar at St Clement’s, for keeping abreast of the guidelines and enabling us to meet).
Please ensure that all adults wear facemasks when attending sessions.

Times of this week’s sessions:

Thursday 17th September 1st session 9.30 to 10.30, 2nd session 10.45 to 11.45, both sessions in the Lower Hall and main church, at St Clement’s, Edge Lane, Chorlton, M21 9AE (access via main church doors).
Car Parking behind main church, access from St Clement’s Rd.

Cost:
(Please note; the pricing structure has changed owing to social distancing requirements and subsequent space issues).
£5 for first child, £3.00 for each additional sibling.
1st Adult free. Each additional adult £3.00 (Additional adults; there is an upper limit of 30 adults at each session.

It is extremely unlikely that this upper limit will cause issues, but … If more than one adult is attending with your family group, there is a remote possibility that I may have to get back to you and ask that only one adult attends. There are 19 family group places per session and everything is done on a first come first served basis. As such, there are assumed to be 20 adults at each session, 19 you of lot and me. If extra adult places are requested, once we reach the upper limit of 30, I will be getting back to people in strict order to request that only one adult attends).

These Sessions are pre-booked and prepaid sessions:

We cannot offer a drop in, pay on the door option in the present circumstances. Please do not attend these sessions unless you have a confirmed, pre-booked and pre-paid space allocated.
We will be working on a strict week by week basis. Attendance at sessions in a previous week is not a guarantee of a place at future sessions, you must re-book each week as set out below.

Booking for each Thursdays’ sessions will open at 4.00pm on Saturday afternoons.

All bookings must be made via email, owenlittle9@gmail.com All requests will be dealt with on a strictly first come first served basis. (Please don’t email before 4pm on Saturdays, as we’ll be unable to accept your request).
Please wait for me to confirm your place before pre-paying for your session. Payment details at the end of this email/post.
(Sorry to have to be so regimented about this. We only have 38 places to offer each week – two sessions with 19 places up for grabs per session.
Given this, I’ve decided that the only fair and equitable way to run things is on a strictly first come first served basis, with no exceptions. I have explained to many people already, that whilst things are far from ideal, it’s better to have something going on than nothing at all, and this is the most equitable way of doing things).

Your email must contain all the following information:

• 1) The names of everyone attending in your party, including information regarding number of adults and children (so that the space can be set up for the sessions).
• 2) Full contact details for one adult from within your party. (These contact details will be for “the lead adult” of your party, to be passed on to Track and Trace, should the need arise).
• 3) Very important: Please be very clear about which session, either 1st session 9.30 to 10.30, or 2nd session 10.45 to 11.45, you wish to book for. (If you don’t include details of the session you want to attend, I will not be able to process your request until I’ve found the time to ask you for this information).
• 4) Important: Please make sure when you email to book, that you’re very clear about what the payment name/reference details are that go with your booking. I’ve got to keep track of all this! Thanks in advance.
• 5) When booking a place at a Music Makers session, you agree to notify me immediately if you, or anyone in your close family group tests positive for, or contracts Covid 19.
By emailing to book a place, you consent to me holding the information from your email and sharing it with the relevant authorities, as appropriate, in the event of us being notified of a confirmed Covid 19 case. (If the sessions are full when I receive your mail, I will let you know this, then delete your email).
Each set of two morning sessions will be taken as one “bubble”, i.e. if we are notified of an infectious source that occurred in the first session, the details of everyone who attended for the whole morning will be passed on. If we are notified of an infectious source that occurred in the second session, only details of people at the second session will be passed on.
Please note; emailing me to request a space is not a guarantee that you have been successful. Please wait for confirmation of your place from me before paying. (Please bear in mind that this is still just me running Music Makers, so you may not get an immediate response. Please be patient with this process. Thanks in advance). All bookings will be dealt with on a strict first come, first served basis, assuming that all details requested above have been given. When the sessions are full, they are full.

To pre-pay for your allocated place:

Please do not pay until you receive an email reply from me stating that you have got a place.
• Once I’ve confirmed your place, please pay in advance for your Music Makers session. (Payment methods detailed below).
• Following on from my confirmation of your place, you must please prepay for your session in good time before the session occurs. (As a very small business, we won’t be able to sustain these new sessions if we try to cope within a 25/30% “no show/no pay” scenario).
• Important: Please make sure when you email to book, that you’re very clear about what the payment name/reference details are that go with your booking. I’ve got to keep track of all this! Thanks in advance.
• If you have remaining Block Booked sessions, you can use these for payment. Please let me know clearly if this is what you are doing. (Once Block Bookings are used up, they will not be renewed under the present circumstances).

Cost:

(Please note; the pricing structure has changed owing to social distancing requirements and subsequent space issues).
£5 for first child, £3.00 for each additional sibling.
1st Adult free. Each additional adult £3.00
Payment Methods:
Paypal.me/OwenLittle
(N.B. if using Paypal, please DO NOT tick the box “paying for goods or a service”. This is in effect an insurance when you’re buying something to be delivered and PayPal take a cut of the money you pay me for this).

 Alternatively please pay via Bacs into my account:
 Mr O J Little
 Sort Code 56 00 23
 Account no. 46974156
 Natwest
 Account type: Personal

I’m sorry for the length of this communication. It’s necessary, given the present circumstances, to be clear of the terms on which these sessions are being offered. I’m sure this will all become familiar with time.
It felt great to be interacting with real people last week, rather than making videos! Live performance is the life blood of musicians and I’ve really missed it.
Yours
Owen Little

Little Music Makers going live in 2020

I am delighted to be able to announce that live Music Makers sessions will recommence this Thursday. Following on from initial discussions with Ken Flood, the vicar at St Clement’s Church, we’ve got the green light to resume work.

Long post alert! Please read the following carefully. These sessions cannot currently be run on the same basis as Music Makers sessions in the past. It’s really important that you take on board everything set out below so that we get the opportunity to make live music once again. Thanks in advance.

Times of first sessions:

  • Thursday 10th September, 1st session 9.30 to 10.30,
  • Thursday 10th September, 2nd session 10.45 to 11.45,
    both sessions in the Lower Hall and main church, at St Clement’s Church, Edge Lane, Chorlton, M21 9AE (access via main church doors; car parking behind main church, access from St Clement’s Rd).

Cost:

The pricing structure has changed owing to social distancing requirements and subsequent space issues.

  • £5 for first child, £3.00 for each additional sibling
  • First adult free. Each additional adult £3.00

Sorry, we cannot offer a ‘drop in, pay on the door’ option in the present circumstances. Please do not attend these sessions unless you have a confirmed, pre-booked and pre-paid space allocated.

Guidelines to be adhered to at these Music Makers sessions:

For these sessions to take place at all, we have to do everything we can to adhere to good social distancing protocols as far as is possible, given the age range of our clientele.

  • We ask that each individual family group maintain social distancing when arriving for and leaving these sessions whilst within the grounds of St Clement’s.
  • We ask that all adults attending these sessions observe social distancing of at least 1 metre from all adults in other family groups.
  • We ask that each individual family group maintain social distancing from other family groups whilst in the sessions.
  • We ask that as sessions are finishing, and (socially distanced) playing of individual tunes is taking place, individual family groups maintain social distancing from each other.
  • We ask for your patience and forbearance if you are reminded of these guidelines or asked to adhere to them by any member of the St Clement’s staff whilst on church premises.

These Sessions are pre-booked and pre-paid sessions

How the booking/payment process will work:

There will be a strictly limited number of family group places available at each session. Assuming we are able to run these sessions for the foreseeable future, each session, each week must be booked separately. All details must be re-entered for each booking.

To book a place:

All bookings must be done via email. Emails to be sent to: owenlittle9 at gmail.com (Messaging me via Facebook will not work. Thanks for your understanding).
Please note, emailing me to request a space is not a guarantee that you have been successful. Please wait for confirmation of your place from me before paying.

Your email must contain all the following information:

  1. The names of everyone attending in your party, including information regarding number of adults and children (so that the space can be set up for the sessions).
  2. Full contact details for one adult from within your party. (These contact details will be for “the lead adult” of your party, to be passed on to Track and Trace, should the need arise).
  3. Please specify which session, either 1st session 9.30 to 10.30, or 2nd session 10.45 to 11.45, you wish to book for. (If you don’t include details of the session you want to attend, I will not be able to process your request until I’ve found the time to ask you for this information).
  4. Important: Please make sure when you email to book, that you’re very clear about which payment name/reference details will go with your booking. I’ve got to keep track of all this! Thanks in advance.

Legal bit: by emailing to book a place, you consent to me holding the information from your email and sharing it with the relevant authorities, as appropriate, in the event of us being notified of a confirmed Covid-19 case. (If the sessions are full when I receive your mail, I will let you know this, then delete your email).
The set of two morning sessions will be taken as one “bubble”, i.e. if we are notified of an infectious source that occurred in the first session, the details of everyone who attended for the whole morning will be passed on. If we are notified of an infectious source that occurred in the second session, only details of people at the second session will be passed on.

Please remember, emailing me to request a space is not a guarantee that you have been successful. Please wait for confirmation of your place from me before paying. (Do bear in mind that this is still just me running Music Makers, so you may not get an immediate response. Please be patient with this process – thank you). All bookings will be dealt with on a strict first come, first served basis, assuming that all details requested above have been given. When the sessions are full, they are full.

Pre-pay for your place once allocated :

Please do not pay until you receive an email reply from me stating that you have got a place. Once I’ve confirmed your place, please pay in advance for your Music Makers session – payment methods detailed below. Following on from my confirmation of your place, you must please prepay for your session in good time before the session occurs. (As a very small business, we won’t be able to sustain these new sessions if we try to cope within a 25/30% “no show/no pay” scenario).
Important: Please make sure when you email to book, that you’re very clear about what payment name/reference details I can expect to see with your booking.
(If you have remaining Block Booked sessions, you can use these for payment. Please let me know clearly if this is what you are doing. Once Block Bookings are used up, they will not be renewed under the present circumstances).

Cost:

(Please note changed pricing structure).
£5 for first child, £3.00 for each additional sibling.
First Adult free. Each additional adult £3.00

Payment Methods:

Paypal.me/OwenLittle

(N.B. if using Paypal, please DO NOT tick the box “paying for goods or a service”. This is in effect an insurance when you’re buying something to be delivered and PayPal take a cut of the money you pay me for this).

Alternatively please pay via BACS into my account:

Mr O J Little
 Sort Code 56 00 23 (Natwest)
 Account no. 46974156
 Account type: Personal

I’m sorry for the length of this communication. It’s necessary, given the present circumstances, to be clear of the terms on which these sessions are being offered. I’m sure this will all become familiar with time.
I really hope this works out and that I will actually get to see lots of you once again. Live performance is the life blood of musicians and I’ve really missed it.

Owen

Some great parties last week!

Dear all,
The shows are going well and we’re really on a roll now. Fab Mouse has been joined by his sister Oregano. Mike the Microphone continues to keep the show on the road. Our bunny, called Bunny, is very good at method acting and playing the role of Peter Rabbit! Mick Jaguar remains a source of constant mischief – I think we’re only scratching the surface of what he’s been up to!
So if you fancy a bit of a diversion – with great music thrown in, why not join us at some point this week:
Either use the links below for this week’s shows, or search for us direct on YouTube – Owen’s Little Music Makers Channel. If you search direct on YouTube you can watch the shows easily on most smart TVs. (We tend to leave the shows up for a while, so you can always watch at a later time if that suits you). Payment details are at the end of this email/post:

Monday 8th June at 10.00am

Wednesday 10th June at 10.00am

Friday 12th June at 10.00am

If you want a birthday celebrating, a general shout out, or specific song requests, please let us know by 9.00am on the day of a session. (owenlittle9@gmail.com 07970 956575)
I look forward to “seeing” you all at some point next week. I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
Cheers
Owen

Payment Details:

Block Bookings: If you think you’re using block bookings to take part in/pay for these sessions, please remember to let me know so that I can keep track of things. Thanks in advance.
We ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Payment details at the bottom of this email/post. Please don’t pay until after the session has streamed successfully, but please do remember to pay at some point. Thanks in advance.
Please wait until we’ve successfully completed the session before paying. I would ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Preferably via PayPal to the following account:
Paypal.me/OwenLittle
N.B. if using Paypal, please DO NOT tick the box “paying for goods or a service”. This is in effect an insurance when you’re buying something to be delivered and PayPal take a cut of the money you pay me for this.
Alternatively please pay via Bacs into my account:

Mr O J Little
Sort Code 56 00 23
Account no. 46974156
Natwest

Amusing feedback

Dear all,
A light hearted look at things this week. It seems that changing over to making the live streams public and searchable/findable on Owen’s Little Music Makers YouTube channel – without the need for links, has hit the spot. We received the following message this week: “I tried to show “x” the live stream on my Ipad – she took one look and said, “That’s not Owen” and wandered off. This week we found you direct via your YouTube Channel on the big TV and she said, “hey – that’s Owen” and watched the whole show”. Bit of sizeism going on here perhaps, but a happy result. On a different note, we keep mentioning the fact that Rachel – Katy’s mum, (my senior management), monitors the show from upstairs for us. She found out last week, (because of the transmission lag), that if you stand on the middle of our stairs you can hear me and Katy sing a four part round – weird in a good way!
Enough of all that. We’re ploughing on with things, so please either use the links below for this week’s shows, or search for us direct on YouTube. Payment details are at the end of this email/post:
Monday 25th May

Wednesday 27th May

Friday 29th May

If you want a birthday celebrating, a general shout out, or specific song requests, please let us know by 9.00am on the day of a session. (owenlittle9@gmail.com 07970 956575)
I look forward to “seeing” you all at some point next week. I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
Cheers
Owen
Payment Details:
Block Bookings: If you think you’re using block bookings to take part in/pay for these sessions, please remember to let me know so that I can keep track of things. Thanks in advance.
We ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Payment details at the bottom of this email/post. Please don’t pay until after the session has streamed successfully, but please do remember to pay at some point. Thanks in advance.
Please wait until we’ve successfully completed the session before paying. I would ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Preferably via PayPal to the following account:
Paypal.me/OwenLittle
N.B. if using Paypal, please DO NOT tick the box “paying for goods or a service”. This is in effect an insurance when you’re buying something to be delivered and PayPal take a cut of the money you pay me for this.
Alternatively please pay via Bacs into my account:

Mr O J Little
Sort Code 56 00 23
Account no. 46974156
Natwest

I mucked up last week!

Dear all,
If you were around last Monday you won’t be aware of this but I mucked up the link for Wednesday in the Facebook event. Sorry Wednesday people who couldn’t tune in! I’ve since taken actions to make sure this doesn’t happen again. I’ve reprimanded the secretary – that’d be me. I’ve issued a severe warning to head of quality control – that’d be me. And I’ve flagged up the appalling lack of ability shown to the MD – that’d be me. I called a board meeting with myself, (which was unfortunately attended by Katy, whose offer to replace me forthwith showed an astounding lack solidarity), and decided to issue the CEO, that’d be me – with a written warning outlining expectations relating to future performance. Apart from that it’s been a quiet week around here. (Safe to say the links are now being very carefully checked before anything goes out!)
Please find the links for the sessions this week below. If you want a birthday celebrating, a general shout out, or specific song requests, please let us know by 9.00am on the day of a session. (owenlittle9 AT gmail.com 07970 956575)

Monday 11th May at 10am

Wednesday 13th May at 10am

Friday 15th May at 10am

Block Bookings: If you think you’re using block bookings to take part in/pay for these sessions, please remember to let me know so that I can keep track of things. Thanks in advance.
We ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Payment details at the bottom of this email/post. Please don’t pay until after the session has streamed successfully, but please do remember to pay at some point. Thanks in advance.
I look forward to “seeing” you all at some point next week. I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
Cheers
Owen
Payment Details:
Please wait until we’ve successfully completed the session before paying. I would ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Preferably via PayPal to the following account:
Paypal.me/OwenLittle
N.B. if using Paypal, please DO NOT tick the box “paying for goods or a service”. This is in effect an insurance when you’re buying something to be delivered and PayPal take a cut of the money you pay me for this.
Alternatively please pay via Bacs into my account:

Mr O J Little
Sort Code 56 00 23
Account no. 46974156
Natwest

Mick Jaguar and Fab Mouse coming your way

Dear all,
Not only those two characters but also Mike the Microphone. If this all goes on much longer everything will have a name, my daughter will have taken over the show entirely and I’ll be in my dotage somewhere!
For the last three weeks we’ve managed to stream live sessions with good audio and visuals throughout. So if you were around for our first effort it’s worth giving us a look again. We’re aiming to put some energy and structure into lock down and give you three high-tempo sessions per week. If you’ve been watching and enjoying things please copy this email/post/FB event and send it to your friends – thanks in advance.
Please find the links for the sessions this week below. If you want a birthday celebrating, a general shout out, or specific song requests, please let us know by 9.00am on the day of a session. owenlittle9@gmail.com text: 07970 956575

Monday 4th May at 10am

Wednesday 6th May at 10am

Friday 8th May at 10am

Block Bookings: If you think you’re using block bookings to take part in/pay for these sessions, please remember to let me know so that I can keep track of things. Thanks in advance.
We ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Payment details at the bottom of this email/post. Please don’t pay until after the session has streamed successfully, but please do remember to pay at some point. Thanks in advance.
I look forward to “seeing” you all at some point next week. I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
Cheers
Owen
Payment Details:
Please wait until we’ve successfully completed the session before paying. I would ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Preferably via PayPal to the following account:
Paypal.me/OwenLittle
N.B. if using Paypal, please DO NOT tick the box “paying for goods or a service”. This is in effect an insurance when you’re buying something to be delivered and PayPal take a cut of the money you pay me for this.
Alternatively please pay via Bacs into my account:

Mr O J Little
Sort Code 56 00 23
Account no. 46974156
Natwest

Music Makers – KBO!!!

Dear all,
If you haven’t come across that acronym before it’s from Churchill. He used to suffer from depression, he called it “the Black Dog”. Whenever things got tough he used to say to himself, “KBO, KBO”. It means “Keep B*ggering On”. I don’t know about anyone else but the reality of this situation is beginning to hit home here. My response? Well if we’re in this mess then at least we can make the best of it. With that in mind …
Please find the links for the sessions this week below. If you want a birthday celebrating, a general shout out, or specific song requests, please let us know by 9.00am on the day of a session.
Monday 27th April at 10am

Wednesday 29th April at 10am

Friday 1st May at 10am

Block Bookings: If you think you’re using block bookings to take part in/pay for these sessions, please remember to let me know so that I can keep track of things. Thanks in advance.
We ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Payment details at the bottom of this email/post. Please don’t pay until after the session has streamed successfully, but please do remember to pay at some point. Thanks in advance.
I look forward to “seeing” you all at some point next week. I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
Cheers
Owen
Payment Details:
Please wait until we’ve successfully completed the session before paying. I would ask for a minimum contribution of £3 for these sessions. Preferably via PayPal to the following account:
Paypal.me/OwenLittle
N.B. if using Paypal, please check that the currency is selected as GBP (Great Britain Pounds). Please DO NOT tick the box “paying for goods or a service”. This is in effect an insurance when you’re buying something to be delivered and PayPal take a cut of the money you pay me for this.
Alternatively please pay via Bacs into my account:

Mr O J Little
Sort Code 56 00 23
Account no. 46974156
Natwest