AV News 182 - November 2010
Blackburn Diva
Sheila Davies DPAGB
I grew up in Blackburn, as did our Diva. When she sang on the radio when I
was tiny, my mother used to tell me that this wonderful singer came from
Blackburn. I rather think she hoped I would perform just as well, but sadly, I
had little talent for music! We both had piano lessons and entered Blackburn
Music Festival, although she won far more than I did. We both attended the
same Girls' High School, and sang in the school choir.
One of us was said to be the most famous woman in England after Queen
Elizabeth in 1953. It wasn't me!!!!
Her name was Kathleen Mary Ferrier and to a certain generation she is
unforgettable, yet few born since 1960 would ever have heard of her. I hope
that my AV sequence may bring her name to the attention of a few more. She
died at the young age of 41, from breast cancer. We have that diagnosis in
common, too, but I was far luckier than she, being able to receive twenty-first
century treatment.
I visited the house where
she lived for many years in
Blackburn. Although it has a
blue plaque, it now has
modern windows, blinds
and front door. I was
seeking historical accuracy,
so drove up and down the
street and adjoining ones,
looking for original doors
and windows. The house
shown in the sequence is a
combination of three or four
in the area.
The extensive Ferrier Archive is at Blackburn Museum, about an hour's
drive from my home and I was given access to anything I wanted to see;
letters, diaries, music scores, although everything had to be photographed
hand-held in poor light, whilst wearing white gloves. Over several visits I
experimented with and without flash and invariably the RAW image with no