Vanessa-Mae's upcoming 31st bday: what will we do for her?

[Xanthippe]

Vanessa-Mae upcoming 31st bday is now rapidly approaching. I plan to send her some attentions again this year.

Everyone is more than welcome to join me. I have no idea what to give her this year yet, so any suggestions are welcome.

In any case, we will send her a nice letter with some interesting and challenging questions for her to give us her answers to. So far in previous years, Vanessa-Mae always provided us with valuable feedback and interesting inside information.

Anyone joining can send me by email an electronic bday card (jpeg format suitable resolution.

If yopu have any questions for Vanessa-Mae, then please submit them by email or private message (pm).

If you want to join, or have any questions, or suggestions, please drop me a pm.

[eva03]

For a change, maybe a gift certificate from her favorite (music/department) store?

[Xanthippe]

Well, I want to keep it simple this year. I am thinking about an idea but am not sure yet. Will tell more later.

Eva, do you join this years project?

[eva03]

Yes I will join Xanthippe. I can give monetary donation for the project. I can send it to you via Paypal.

[Xanthippe]

Hi eva, thanks for your willingness to contribute financially as well. I have send you a pm with my email address that you can use for paypal.

[zeta]

I would like to contribute to one of the questions in the letter if it was possible, so i have wanted to do it many years ago and i think it is important to the world in general. Thank you!

[Xanthippe]

hello erzeta,

Sure that is OK!

Please send your question to me by pm.

Thanks.

[Raytac]

Maybe,but don't know how to join.....Xanthippe,what means- send by pm?

[Xanthippe]

Raytac,

A pm is a private message. Below each post you can see a button [profile] and a button [pm]. If you click [pm] below someone's post, then you can send this person a private message.

How you can join? We send Vanessa-Mae a small gift and personal birthday cards, and a list with questions each year.

You can design your own birthday card for Vanessa-Mae in any design program like powerpoint, and then send it to me in jpeg format. You can request my email address for that in a private message.

If you have any question for Vanessa-Mae, you can send it to me as well via pm.

Questions should be respectful towards Vanessa-Mae, and should not be too personal in nature, and not contain any inappropriate language. I'll be the judge for that.

I'll take care that everything is send to Vanessa-Mae. I'll post her reaction here in this forum, as soon as I hear from her.

So, let me know if you want to join the project.

[Xanthippe]

I shipped a parcel with our birthday cards, presents, letter and a very interesting list of 10 questions to Vanessa-Mae today. I hope it will be there on Tuesday, that day of her birthday. I will post the letter, questions and a list of contributors in this forum then.

Of course, I will post Vanessa-Mae's answers to our questions in this forum as soon as I receive them from her.

[Rashida]

Cool I hope she likes my card and has a great day Tuesday

[Raytac]

Thank you Rijko!Will be interesting to read her answers!

[Xanthippe]

Here are the texts of our letter, the list of questions, and names of contributors. Also, photos of the presents and cards are below. I will post Vanessa-Mae's reaction and answers as soon as I have them.

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Dearest Vanessa-Mae,

A VERY HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!! WE ALL LOVE YOU AND WE WISH YOU A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

We all, your best and most loyal fans of ‘The Vanessa-Mae Fans Forum’ (http://forum.vanessamae.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) wish you all the best on the occasion of your 31st birthday. We hope that you enjoy a fantastic day with Lionel, of course Gaspard, family and close friends - make this day, your day!!

Each year on the occasion of your birthday, we try to express our sincere love and affection for you by sending you some kind of presents. The problem for us each time again is to find something that is appropriate that it shows our feelings, but at the same time is not too obtrusive and personal because we do not belong to circles of family relatives and close friends.

Therefore, this year, we decided to come up with a couple of simple crystals that can serve as tokens to symbolise our feelings towards you as musician and as person. We hope that you will accept them as keepsakes from your loving fans.

You’ll find the crystals in the wooden box that comes with our sending.

One of the crystals, the large white one, is selenite. Selenite is a spiritual stone that protects, serves as earth link, and it stimulates the mind. For us as your fans, selenite will stimulate your creativity, and its layered structure represents the diversity of your musical talents and personality.

The small black crystals are hematite. These stones are slightly magnetic, protect the body and mind, and bring harmony to the soul. For us as your fans, these stones are our symbolic means to protect you, wherever you are.

You can find more about these crystals via the link below:

http://www.bestcrystals.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dearest Vanessa-Mae, we hope that you will keep these crystals as symbols for our love and affection for you, and perhaps they can serve as decoration somehow for you.

In our parcel, together with the crystals, you will find ‘happy birthday’ greeting cards, a list with all the names of the contributors, some small personal presents from fans, and our traditional list with questions. We hope, of course, that you will be so kind again this year to provide us with your feedback on our questions that relate to issues of our interest and concern.

As always, you have our unconditioned love and support forever. We all love you very much!!

With kindest regards from all of us,

Rijko Ebens
(On behalf of all contributors listed below)

List of contributors:

Rijko Ebens

Daisy Hill

Rashida Carter

Simon Fletcher (Lord Arioch)

Gerrit H. Bijsterbosch

Kirsty Watkinson

Fred Fender

Arup Schuurman

Erzeta

Joëlle Sutany Chanapa

DH

Rokas Vizbaras

LIST WITH QUESTIONS AND ISSUES SUBMITTED BY FANS

Dearest Vanessa-Mae, we have the following 10 questions for you and we would welcome your comments to these very much. Please send your answers to my attention at rijkoebens@home.nl :

1 First of all, how are you doing? Are you in good health, physically and mentally feeling well?

2 Can give us an update on your new album? We have read on the website of your management Merlin Music Company (http://www.merlinmusiccompany.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) that it will be out in 2010?

3 This summer you played at the Westonbirt Arboretum with The All Angels as support act. We have also read that you will join Il Divo on stage in a series of 2 special Christmas concerts, coming December. Do you have any plans to play with either The All Angels or Il Divo on a cd recording? Or perhaps do you want to record with someone else? If so, then with who would you like to play on a cd? Can you tell us anything?

4 Your music brought you virtually all over the world. Which country that you have never visited would you like to go to do a concert, and why?

5 How you recover from hard and exhausting tours and concerts? Do you do Chinese exercises like Tai-Chi, or other practices like meditation?

6 Among your fans is interest in knowing something about your position on a few social issues. We would like you to comment on the following:

- What is your opinion on gay marriage, and rights for gay people in general?
- Do you use make-up products that have not been tested on animals? Do you shop for such?
- Do you believe that there is life outside our solar system?

7 We know that you started on the piano at a young before you played the violin. Can you imagine an equally successful career for you as pianist, if you had not switch to the violin? What other instrument besides violin and piano would you like to excel in? Is there a third instrument that you can play well?

8 We were really shocked when you told us last time that your acoustic violin was seized last year by Russian customs. How is that possible, and why did they do it? Did you ever get any explanation or an apology?

9 How is Gaspard? Is he still ugly and slobbery? You recently said in the Daily Telegraph (January 18, 2009) that you love dogs that are traditionally considered to be ugly, you said: ‘I love the ugly slobbery ones!’

10 The final questions like last year: what did Lionel prepare for you as present for your birthday? We understand that Lionel is guarding his privacy and we respect that of course. Please say hi to him from us all, and let him take very good care of you!
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[Rashida]

Hi Rijko,
You did a great job, I like you're card

Great job with the questions everyone