After all the excitement of the launch party, we've had to get down to the business of selling the singles.

We've been taking every opportunity, and the photos here were taken at a CHSW coffee morning and a TG coffee morning when a few of the fairies made a personal appearance and sold CDs. We've persuaded shops in Bath and Bristol to take some records to sell, Claire

has got the single on to the jukebox at her local club, and the Combe Grove Manor Country Club has taken a box of singles too. So we're hoping people will spot them and buy.

Mum and I are going to Radio Bristol on Tuesday to talk about the record, and I'm still pursuing the Western Daily Press and Points West. We're doing all we can to get the news out there and persuade people to buy. The money is coming in nicely, but it will never be enough, so we'll keep at it!

We had a fantastic launch party on Saturday. Some of the photos are on the website, but not this one, which is of Tess our brilliant video producer and website organiser. She thought because she is now in charge of the website that she could leave out her photograph, but she forgot that this is my blog! She worked really hard on the video , the website and everything, and took lots of photos on Saturday, so I think she deserves to be included. I don't know how we could have done all this without her.
We also couldn't have done anything at all without Pete Young, who wrote the song, and he is on the website hding behind a big white beard and a keyboard. Thanks Pete! And the cheeky elf is one of the record producers, Alan Maskell, who did a great job both on the record and with some live music for the party. the fairies, you see, are so shy they can't perform in public!
They weren't so shy with the Mayor though, as you can see from the photos if you check them out on the website. I don't think the Mayor knew quite what to make of it all but he was a really great sport and made the evening quite special.

So now the record is out there, and we have to work hard to sell lots of copies, so that we can raise money for the Children's Hospice. We're off to a good start after Saturday though.

Xmas Factor Viral on You Tube

So, just a few days to go until the launch party. The record is done, and the CDs should arrive any day. The video is done, and will be on You Tube for the launch. An X-factor style trailer should be on You Tube tomorrow.

I've sent out press releases to the local papers, radio and TV. I've managed to get a local shop to agree to stock the record and put a poster in their window. The Children's Hospice people are also putting out press releases.

So now we can look forward to partying!

Here is the second cover image - well done Josie! This one will appear on Amazon and i-tunes for the download generation. At last the single is finished - there was a last minute panic but now it's done and , considering we aren't all singers , Alan and Andy have worked miracles and it sounds great - not slick like the WI but sounds as though we're having a lot more fun! Tess has also finished the video , with some great special effects, and put the two together, and it's really fantastic. Now we juts need to cultivate lots of fans and buyers!

This is my first attempt at the CD cover. I think the stars will eventually be a bit paler, so that the lettering stands out, ( and Christmas will have a capital C!) but I suppose people aren't really going to worry about what it looks like, as long as it shows what it is. I was hoping to get all the fairies on it but it just didn't work, and was getting rather complex. We will have a different, more modern , cover to show on the download sites, and my niece Josie has been working on that. She brought me a folder full of fantastic spray paint designs today, really clever, based on a stencil of our fairy logo. It's hard to decide which one to use. It's tempting to use just one design for both, but I think the CD needs to have information on it, whereas her designs for the download sites will have accompanying information so can stand on their own. And maybe our market for the physical CD is a bit more traditional. Just as long as there is a market!

80 days to go!

80 days until we launch the single! Can't believe how the time is flying. It's been a bit of a lull while Tess is editing the video and Alan and Andy editing the record, so I'd not really taken note of how the time is going by. ( Also Santa and I have been just a little distracted by finding a new house and putting ours on the market. But we've found somewhere with a fantastic parking place for the sleigh so really have to take the opportunity to snap it up!)
I've seen the very first video shot with special effects from Tess today and it looks great. On Friday I'm going over to see the first cut of the whole thing - can't wait!
We've set up a Friends group - Treetoppers Friends of the Children's Hospice South West, and a bank account, ready for when the money starts pouring in - we hope!
My fairies don't seem to need the winter weather to get up to mischief - I caught a couple having a sneaky glass of wine in the garden last week when they should have been sorting a pile of teeth - the children seem to have far too many toffees in the school holidays and the tooth fairy needs a lot of help.
A fairy's lot is not an easy one!