Martyna Wren - An afternoon of Vintage Tea and Sultry Songs

Some days are just destined to be great aren't they?  Take Saturday for example.  An afternoon consisting of some of my favourite things - my lovely friend Becky from Bentley's Vintage; a decadent afternoon tea of delicate sandwiches; cakes and scones; gin; prosecco and the gorgeous voice of Martyna Wren.  It was bound to be an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.

We pootled up to Kettering on the train - not somewhere I'd ever been before, but we were lured by the promise of an intimate gig accompanied by cake so who were we to say no?

Meandering through the frankly quite quaint streets of Kettering, with the obligatory stops in various charity shops en route, we came to Vintage Fleur, a delight of a tea shop decorated with copious amounts of floral paper lampshades and fine bone china.

Martyna was setting up, suitably attired it film star garb so we settled at our table and ordered one of the teapot cocktails.  I'm probably more used to drinking gin from teacups than I really should be, but having it poured from a teapot took it to a whole new level.

The colossal cake stand was delivered groaning under the weight of tea time treats, and we sat back and enjoyed the silky smooth voice of Martyna as she performed tracks of her album The World Can Wait.

We were actively encouraged to relax, chat and eat while the performance went on around us, and sitting there with the gentle hum of chatter, the clink of silver teaspoons and cake forks against plates with Martyna singing her sultry vintage jazz in the background was just perfect.

It felt like we were part of an exclusive private party, some kind of members club, as shoppers and workers made their way home past the window, stopping for a little nose.

Martyna Wren has been a lover of jazz ever since she was 12.  As someone who didn't follow the crowd as far as chart music was concerned, I warmed to her straight away.  Our musical tastes may have been different back then and sadly, I didn't develop the same musical talents, but I respect her for following her own path, and it's certainly paid off.  Gaining a scholarship to hone her talents, receiving accolades from within the industry and last year touring schools to speak to 6,000 children about exploring music outside of the mainstream.

I could listen to her voice all day long - in fact I treated myself to a copy of her albums so I can do exactly that.  Here's my favourite song, Al Capone's Girl.

After the music, we were invited to explore the vintage and craft booths upstairs.  Vintage Fleur is housed over 3 floors and it's a proper treasure trove of delights.  I don't need to tell you I was in my element.

I'd definitely recommend popping in to Vintage Fleur in Kettering.  You can catch Martyna Wren on the rest of her tour.  She'll be appearing at:

• Sat 25th October - Rufflets St. Andrews - Tickets £30 2pm. Bookings 01334 462226
• Fri 14th Nov - Bea's Of Bloomsbury £30 Champagne and Tea 7pm-9pm 0207 2428330
• Sun 23^rd November - Metro Deco, Brighton - 4.30pm - Tickets £19 - Bookings: 01273 677243

And I hear rumours she'll be back on my turf early next year performing at Woburn.  I think I might have to go again!