News
March 2025
I apologise that the MM news of late has been slow but the start to my year has been difficult so it has been difficult to concentrate on anything new.
In December, while having my boiler serviced, I was told I would need a new one soon as there was a slow leak they couldn’t find and foolishly I thought I would hold out until warmer weather in Spring. The first week of January saw a call out at 1.00am as the boiler was out of control with the pressure building to the point that they thought it could burst the pipes which are above my bedroom. £400 later the guys managed to get the pressure down but didn’t know how long it would last. An appointment was made with British Gas and they came within days but I then had to wait three weeks until it was fitted
Here’s the thing the boiler is I the attic so being disabled I have no access to it so I wanted it relocated to a utility cupboard in the kitchen The sales guy said it wouldn’t work as the flue would have too far to travel!!!
At last, on 12 February British Gas came to fit it, they sent one guy!!! So, there I was without heating and hot water for two days as well as the fact that the front door had to be open the whole time. I have never seen any tradesman go back and forth as much and when I queried him about it, he told me it was company policy not to bring in all the tools on a job. Thank goodness for friends as I was lent several upright heaters so my bedroom was at least warm.
He fitted the boiler but the Hive App wasn’t working, it kept going off line which was confusing the thermostat. I won’t bore you to death but here I am after several more visit from the company and still it isn’t working. The fitter also told me that the boiler that was there before was put in without a condensation pipe and the leak was coming from a pipe that came out of the roof. You know where I’m heading here …. It could have been fixed easily. Then the bombshell that there was no reason it couldn’t have been moved down to the cupboard in the kitchen. Honestly you could spit.
Here’s the thing, the MS has caused an internal heating problem in my system so that I am always cold and if I get too cold, I get spinal spasms. The heaters that I borrowed were blowing dry air over my bed for two nights and the open front door was letting in the bitter cold. Result a fully blown cold.
In between all this I have had a relapse and am confined to my wheelchair as I have lost my mobility as well as a few other symptom escalations. The last release I had was nine years ago but it only lasted three days. Having had the condition for thirty odd years I know the wheelchair will become a permanent feature in my life but this so doesn’t suit me at the minute.
Don’t think that was all of it, I got a very nasty tax bill, followed by a VAT and accountant’s bill all within the first few days of the year, the lounge sliding doors suddenly won’t lock so I have to get someone in and in the last few days my Facebook account has been hacked twice despite changing my password and money has been taken out of my PayPal account to pay for ‘ads’ that I didn’t place. The 25th February saw mum’s anniversary come round again which always brings me down but I thank everyone for all the wonderful messages you sent. Some of these things might be considered molehills but when they all hit at once it becomes a great big unmovable mountain.
What puts all the negativity into prospective is that I became a nona on 15th of last month and my gorgeous little grandson is well, healthy and thriving.
Having said that we are putting together another audio compilation which will be available on dad’s YouTube channel in the near future. The working title at the moment is “Matt at the BBC Volume 2’ so watch this space.
To mark dad’s anniversary last month Richard and I uploaded a podcast on dad’s YouTube channel. We launched ‘Matt’s Kind of Podcast’ on dad’s birthday last year and we aim to do one a month. So, make sure you pop by in the next day or two to catch the newest edition. If you have a topic or question you would like to see covered then please email either Richard of myself and we’ll do out best to cover it.
The channel frequently features a rare television performance of dad and the channel still has all the ones you may have missed by not visiting yet. It’s all totally free and if you register, the site will send you a reminder every time something new is added.
Don’t forget to visit dad’s very own YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/MattMonroOfficial
There have been many great innovations over the decades that have enabled me to promote dad’s music to a much wider audience but with every positive there are negatives. Now we are in the era of AI and although
it has the potential in the future to improve music royalties systems for artists and predict future payments saving hundreds of manpower hours there are also real concerns.
In April, Eilish was among 200+ artists and songwriters to sign an open letter calling on AI developers, tech companies, platforms and digital music services to stop using AI “to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists”. Other famous signatories included Aerosmith, Nicki Minaj, Elvis Costello, Katy Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, Jess Glynne and the estates of Bob Marley and Frank Sinatra.
While acknowledging that AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity, the letter attacked some platforms and developers for irresponsibly posing a threat to artists’ ability to protect their privacy, identity, music and livelihood. A specific concern was the “predatory” use of AI models to create sounds and images, including deepfakes, that would harm musicians and songwriters by substantially diluting the royalties paid out to them. “Unchecked, AI will set in motion a race to the bottom that will degrade the value of our work and prevent us from being fairly compensated for it,” argued the artists. (Odgers Interim).
The main news channels and newspapers have been all over these issues so we will have to see what happens over the next few years.
Excitedly I am boarding Ambassador’s Ambience on 5 May (Treasures of the Mediterranean) and then staying on for a back-to-back working cruise which starts on 7 June (Midnight Sun Marvels). I would love to see some of you onboard and if you take the plunge do come up and say hello.
Apologies to everyone that came and asked me for one of my books on my last cruise but I was actually on holiday and only stepped in when someone went ill so I didn’t have any merchandise on me, but I promise I will take some merchandise this year. If you aren’t cruising on those dates but would still like one of the books then click below.
I know you’ve all heard this before but in light of a new Argentina interview dad did which has only just landed on our desks, please, please let us know if you have any rare footage, (even if you taped it illegally, lol), jingles or photos of dad. I ranted on for years on every radio interview I did trying to trace dad’s original Camay jingle and 18 years later a fan sent it in. Asking why she had held it back for so long, she replied “I thought you would already have it”.
While I can understand that in the old days recording shows by the public was difficult, I cannot believe that there is no recording of dad’s Barbican concert from 1985, one of the last he did. There are also dozens of jingles still to be found although they are hard to find as the artist is not accredited to the product. Richard and I have spent months and months listening to product jingles that we know that dad was involved in and we, well to be honest Richard, has found several over the years so come on all you diehard fans, take a look in your attics, even if you have reel tapes we have the equipment to listen to it. Fingers crossed.
Since Covid when so many companies went out of business, including cruise lines you would think that certain brands would be doing their utmost to build their customer base instead of alienating them. I booked a holiday on P&O’s Arcadia on 1 April 2024 for this coming April as a birthday present to myself. I booked a cabin on Deck 8. I requested a mobility-on-board needs questionnaire, filled it in with the dimensions of the 3-wheeler scooter and the battery details. You will see from the picture that is folds flat and can go under the bed. Failing that the queen size bed cold be changed to two single beds and it could have been laid on top of one of the berths. I paid the deposit and everything was confirmed …. That is until they changed the goalposts.
In September of last year, I received an email from the company stating “Our updated policy requires any guest who brings a powered mobility device on board to be booked into a fully accessible cabin or selected Suite or Mini-suite. This is to make sure the powered mobility device can be stored in a place the crew can easily reach in the unlikely event of an emergency. Manual wheelchairs will still be accepted in all cabin types if they can fold into one piece that doesn’t exceed the following measurements: 50 cm in width, 100 cm in length and 23 kg in weight.”
I then received a phone call a couple of days later stating that they didn’t have any accessible cabins left but I could upgrade at a much higher cost or cancel without penalty. Here’s the rub. A solo passenger is not allowed an accessible cabin anyway. I sent a letter to Paul Ludlow, President at Carnival UK and P&O Cruises, which was immediately passed onto a customer services representative. I won’t bore you with all the details of the correspondence that went back and forth, but my main point that they had changed the goalposts and should honour my original booking as my scooter conformed to the rules of folding down into one piece. I have cruised for more than 40 years and have worked on ships for 16. I am constantly irked that large mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs are left in the hallways at night, which is against policy because of safety concerns, and rightly so, but nothing has ever been done about it. Not one passenger has been told to put their mobility aid in the cabin. But my booking didn’t encroach on that policy.
I was on Ambassador at the time of the emails and the customer service representative said she’s tried to ring me. I explained I was at sea and if she gave me her number, I would ring from one of the ports. No reply. I set a further three emails, no response. Nearly two months later, after being offered an upgrade to DECK ONE as a ‘gesture of goodwill’, I told the company to cancel my booking and refund my deposit. It was refused until I pointed out that on the original phone call in September, which is taped, I was offered a refund if I cancelled. I finally received a refund. I cannot understand that in this day and age, any company discriminates against a disabled traveller as well as solo ones but we are constantly getting a raw deal. Of course, they aplogised in their letter and stated “I have extended the Future Cruise Credit on your account for another year and I do hope you will be able to find something suitable, as it would be a pleasure to welcome you back on board again in the future.” I don’t know what planet they live on but I will never step foot on any P&O or Cunard ship again.
The same discrimination is taken against smokers. Whether you hate those passengers or not, they have paid the same fare if not considerably more to enjoy a cruise, whereas on some ships there isn’t a seated social area, and in some cases no cover. I’m sorry no passenger should have to stand outside, sometimes in unpleasant conditions, and be shunned on. I personally hate people who drink too much and suffer from bodily odour but they have the same rights as everyone else, except for smokers. I really don’t know why certain ships don’t ban it completely then there is no misunderstanding of what you will get when boarding a vessel. Certain ships that had a nice social space at the back of the ship board and find out it’s been taken away completely and they have been relegated to deck 15 or 16, with no tables, chairs or under-cover area. That at least should be pointed out at the time of the booking so people can make an informed decision. If you ask when inquiring about a cruise you are simply told there is ‘a designated space’. Not good enough. While I accept smokers are the lepers of our society, they have less than 5% of the ship. As I already mentioned any company has the right to make new rules but not after a booking has been made in good faith. If you don’t want to cater for smokers, disabled cruisers of solo travellers then don’t accept the booking.
Excitedly I am boarding Ambassador’s Ambience on 5 May (Treasures of the Mediterranean) and then staying on for a back-to-back working cruise which starts on 7 June (Midnight Sun Marvels). I would love to see some of you onboard and if you take the plunge do come up and say hello.
At the moment there are no plans for a new album, although we have put some new compilations up to download on our YouTube channel. If you missed out on dad’s last album releases Stranger in Paradise: The Lost New York Sessions or The Complete EMI recordings 1971 – 1984, click on the link below. Stranger in Paradise went straight to the No 8 spot in the official album charts and stayed in the charts for six months. The first CD is brand new material recorded with just a five-piece band, which I have to say is now among my favourite albums. There is also a second disc with all of dad’s more familiar titles remastered of course by the fabulous Richard Moore, for any new fans of dad’s music.
Once again, I hope you have a happy and healthy year and I look forward to touching base with you all in April. In the meantime, stay safe and keep spreading the MM legacy.
Much love
Michele xx
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