Wednesday, 23 December 2015
Sunday, 29 November 2015
1999-2009 The first ten years
Here is a small collection of some of the UK newspaper and magazine features on Lisa-Lee during her first 10 years in the spotlight. Naturally this doesn't include any of the reviews in other international publications, or her hundreds of radio interviews or the handful of TV interviews she's done.
In the very beginning Lisa-Lee wanted to show and prove to people that you don't have to look 'perfect' to get a recording deal and release records; Lisa-Lee also wanted people to see how she genuinely looked after being given the wrong treatment in the early days.
Lisa-Lee is now trying to lose weight to get healthy, and show people her true self, how she genuinely looks.
In the very beginning Lisa-Lee wanted to show and prove to people that you don't have to look 'perfect' to get a recording deal and release records; Lisa-Lee also wanted people to see how she genuinely looked after being given the wrong treatment in the early days.
Lisa-Lee is now trying to lose weight to get healthy, and show people her true self, how she genuinely looks.
Thursday, 15 October 2015
His eyes came alive
The poor boy spent his life locked away in a cage
He felt like a bird that's had his wings clipped
Unable to fly high in the great sky
The boy walked back and fore in his cage, each and every day
Looking out of his cage wondering what beauties lie outside
Each night when the sun had set the boy would cry
Praying to be let out of his unkempt cage
The dust and dirt from inside the cage would poison the air
And each night the boy would be kept awake by the monsters
That lie underneath his bed, with their snores and nightly roars
Then early one morning, the boy arose as the sun began to wake
And he saw the cage door was open!
The boys heart jumped out of his chest, at first for joy
But then out of fear! What if this was just a dream?
The boy rushed to the edge of the open cage door
But slowly and cautiously he stepped outside
Oh how his eyes came alive when he knew he was free
At first he took a deep breath in, of the sweet fresh air
Then he ran for the first time in his life
His smile grew, as he ran and played outside of his cage
Oh how his eyes came alive
Then his wings returned and he flew
He flew so very high; right to the top of the sky
He smiled, laughed, played, ran and flew so very high
And oh how his eyes came alive
Then, without warning, he woke up in his cage
It was just a dream after all
And the sadness returned to his heart
He is stuck in his cage with no hope, no joy, no freedom, no rights
No life, no happiness; his cage is full of nothingness and injustice
Oh how he longed for the days to return, when his eyes came alive!
Tuesday, 6 October 2015
Voice of Gaza
One of the international projects that Lisa-Lee is giving her support to is a new, non profit, tuition free, educational centre in Gaza - Palestine. This project is called, 'Voice of Gaza' (VOG), and one of its many aims is to 'give a voice' to the young people living in Gaza.
Sadly in Gaza due to the living conditions and many problems people face living in Gaza (physical, emotional and psychological) there is a very high number of people who suffer from undiagnosed depression, and sadly in Gaza there is a high number of people who attempt suicide, and it is usually the youth who suffer the most, in silence; and resort to such desperate measures as suicide.
This is one of the many reasons why 'Voice of Gaza' was set up, to help the youth; but what makes VOG more unique, is that it focuses on young Gazan students who are gifted in the English language, and they spend two years working with them, helping them become more familiar with the English language, so they're able to reach a wider audience.
During the two year programme VOG aims to help the students become better and more effective writers and public speakers, by teaching and encouraging them and building up their knowledge, confidence and self belief. The hopes of VOG is to help build up the characters of each of their students, so they can express themselves and have the confidence and ability to become future leaders, who are able to speak eloquently for themselves and their causes; hopefully helping to create peace in Palestine.
Additionally, what makes VOG more unique is that it doesn't just focus on the students education and English language skills, the course also focuses on the students over all well being (physical and emotional); included in the two year course, the programme tries to help the students enhance their spiritual side by helping them with different stress release exercises, to help them cope with the traumas of the war and occupation.
Voice of Gaza is a brilliant and worthwhile project that needs as much support as possible to keep the project running and help keep it free for the students. If you are able to donate anything to this cause, then please do so. Help the youth of Gaza have a voice and hope for
the future! Here is the VOG link :
https://www.gofundme.com/vs8h2k
Sadly in Gaza due to the living conditions and many problems people face living in Gaza (physical, emotional and psychological) there is a very high number of people who suffer from undiagnosed depression, and sadly in Gaza there is a high number of people who attempt suicide, and it is usually the youth who suffer the most, in silence; and resort to such desperate measures as suicide.
This is one of the many reasons why 'Voice of Gaza' was set up, to help the youth; but what makes VOG more unique, is that it focuses on young Gazan students who are gifted in the English language, and they spend two years working with them, helping them become more familiar with the English language, so they're able to reach a wider audience.
During the two year programme VOG aims to help the students become better and more effective writers and public speakers, by teaching and encouraging them and building up their knowledge, confidence and self belief. The hopes of VOG is to help build up the characters of each of their students, so they can express themselves and have the confidence and ability to become future leaders, who are able to speak eloquently for themselves and their causes; hopefully helping to create peace in Palestine.
Additionally, what makes VOG more unique is that it doesn't just focus on the students education and English language skills, the course also focuses on the students over all well being (physical and emotional); included in the two year course, the programme tries to help the students enhance their spiritual side by helping them with different stress release exercises, to help them cope with the traumas of the war and occupation.
Voice of Gaza is a brilliant and worthwhile project that needs as much support as possible to keep the project running and help keep it free for the students. If you are able to donate anything to this cause, then please do so. Help the youth of Gaza have a voice and hope for
the future! Here is the VOG link :
https://www.gofundme.com/vs8h2k
Friday, 2 October 2015
Fragile album cover design
Finally, in 2015, Lisa-Lee will release her 2005 album, 'Fragile'. This album is only 10 years late, it was scheduled for release in 2005, but it got put on hold, the day before release. Lisa-Lee is now busy re-recording some of the tracks from the album. Here is the official design of the album cover..... More news on the album follows soon!
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
Refugee lives matter!
These are the saddest pictures that I have seen in a long time; when I saw these I cried, and the second and third time I saw them, I cried! These are young children, they're someone's babies, and they've ended up dead on a beach, like driftwood, or worse, like rubbish!
Where is humanity? Where are our hearts? These refugees are running for their lives, to try to have a life. If they stay where they are, they will die! But if they flee and try to get to safety, they might have a life, and a fresh new start, but in order to get a life, they must risk their lives; but sadly all too often they drown and die, like these beautiful angels! These parents wouldn't risk the lives of their own children unless they were completely desperate! Remember they're fleeing to save their children!
It's totally wrong of people to say 'We don't want them' and 'There's too many of them', but this is the consequences of the illegal wars and destabilising of the area. The greed of the West is now coming back to haunt them; but sadly it's babies bodies being washed up on the beaches. We all need to be doing something about this, if everyone (every country) did something, this wouldn't be a problem. These refugees need a safe haven. Our governments partly caused this problem, now they need to do something to fix it. The greed and these wars have to end. NO MORE WARS!
Governments and people keep talking about looking for a way to stop the human trafficers, but that would be easy to do; what the EU should be doing is picking up the refugees at certain areas and transporting them to where they'd like to go, this would keep them safe, and stop the trafficers making money out of other people's misery. We are all human beings; when someone is suffering we have a moral duty to help them. With all the hate in the world what we need is more compassion and love.
I truly hate having to use these images. These images break my heart and it shouldn't be happening in 2015. I wish I never had to share them, but sadly we have to shock and even upset most people to get them to acknowledge there's a problem, and get them to start speaking out. Lots of people are talking about countries and borders; but I don't care about countries, I care about people and I won't stop saying, "Refugee lives matter".
Where is humanity? Where are our hearts? These refugees are running for their lives, to try to have a life. If they stay where they are, they will die! But if they flee and try to get to safety, they might have a life, and a fresh new start, but in order to get a life, they must risk their lives; but sadly all too often they drown and die, like these beautiful angels! These parents wouldn't risk the lives of their own children unless they were completely desperate! Remember they're fleeing to save their children!
It's totally wrong of people to say 'We don't want them' and 'There's too many of them', but this is the consequences of the illegal wars and destabilising of the area. The greed of the West is now coming back to haunt them; but sadly it's babies bodies being washed up on the beaches. We all need to be doing something about this, if everyone (every country) did something, this wouldn't be a problem. These refugees need a safe haven. Our governments partly caused this problem, now they need to do something to fix it. The greed and these wars have to end. NO MORE WARS!
Governments and people keep talking about looking for a way to stop the human trafficers, but that would be easy to do; what the EU should be doing is picking up the refugees at certain areas and transporting them to where they'd like to go, this would keep them safe, and stop the trafficers making money out of other people's misery. We are all human beings; when someone is suffering we have a moral duty to help them. With all the hate in the world what we need is more compassion and love.
I truly hate having to use these images. These images break my heart and it shouldn't be happening in 2015. I wish I never had to share them, but sadly we have to shock and even upset most people to get them to acknowledge there's a problem, and get them to start speaking out. Lots of people are talking about countries and borders; but I don't care about countries, I care about people and I won't stop saying, "Refugee lives matter".
Thursday, 3 September 2015
He had a name / They all have names!
This post is in memory of Aylan Alkurdi (Al-Kurdi), the three year old refugee that drowned. He drowned along with his five year old brother Ghalib and their mother! Refugee lives matter! R.I.P all the victims!
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
Mohammad Arafat biography
Mohammad Salah Arafat was born on 10th August, 1992; he was born in the Al-Zaytoon suburb, which is in the east of Gaza. Mohammad is one of eight children; he has four sisters and three brothers. Mohammad’s siblings in chronological order are; (1) Samah. (2) Sahar. (3) Mohammad. (4) Ala`. (5) Yousef. (6) Asma. (7) Yasser. (8) Fares.
Growing up in Gaza has been tough for Mohammad and his family; partly because of the troubles with Israel, and also because they’re a poor family; although Mohammad points out that, his family might of been poor, but none of them went without love and care, their lives have been filled with love because of his amazing parents, who he loves more than anything in the world.
As a child Mohammad liked his own company and he tended to play by himself; although he wanted to have friends he found it difficult to mix with children his own age, so, at times during his childhood he felt lonely as he had no friends to play with. All he had was his family, whom he considers his best friends, as they’ve always been there for each other; quite simply, ‘Mohammad’s family is his life’.
Mohammad began his education in 1997 in Al-Safad school, although he found school life hard to begin with because he wasn’t very successful, and because he had low marks he was mostly ignored by his teachers. Then his parents moved him to another school, but because he was still getting low grades with his school work he decided to leave school and look for a job; as he wanted to bring in an income to try to help his parents by taking away some of the financial hardships and help create a better quality of life for his family.
It was Mohammad’s parents who encouraged him to go back to school and keep trying to get past his difficulties; the love, support and encouragement his parents gave him made him take more of an interest in his school work; and gradually over time it was his English language school teachers who noticed that he had a gift for this subject; and finally the teachers started to take an interest in him, and they began to encourage and motivate him. Slowly and gradually Mohammad’s grades began to improve. In 2008 he reached the eleventh grade in Shohada ‘Al-Zaytoon secondary school; by the end of this school year his work had improved so much he had the third highest marks in the school that year!
In 2009 Mohammad took the secondary general examination where he got 83.7%; this high grade helped him join the Islamic university of Gaza to study English; despite his families’ difficult financial situation, his parents encouraged him to continue his studies. Mohammad worked hard during his time at university, and finally in 2014 he graduated from the Islamic university of Gaza with a degree in English language.
Now, like many Gazan’s, Mohammad has a love of learning and his aims are to continue with his studies, and eventually get his Masters degree. He would love to get out of Gaza and study in another country to obtain his Masters degree, but unfortunately the cost is so high, but Mohammad is not letting that put him off as he is determined to try his hardest to achieve his dreams. Mohammad would love to be able to work and pay for his education himself, but unfortunately the situation in Gaza is so extreme and there are no real jobs or money; the only jobs that are available are unpaid voluntary jobs, and Mohammad has taken one of these, so he can get experience and hopefully this experience will help him get a paid job. Mohammad is also hoping that this book project can become successful, because it could open more doors for him and other people in the same situation in Gaza.
Mohammad has already begun trying to get his voice heard and educate people about the true situation in Gaza; he self published his first book, which is a novel about the 1948 Palestinian catastrophe and about the last war on Gaza. At the beginning of the book, Mohammad writes about a true story he witnessed with his family during the last war, whilst they were fleeing their home and running for their lives. This book is currently available on Amazon.
Mohammad is just like any other man in Gaza, all they want is peace and to be able to live freely, not be locked away liked caged animals. Mohammad’s dreams are to get his masters, have a paid job, a nice home with a wife and family of his own. Will he be able to achieve these basic simple things, or will Israel prevent this from happening? One day soon, Palestine will be free.
Growing up in Gaza has been tough for Mohammad and his family; partly because of the troubles with Israel, and also because they’re a poor family; although Mohammad points out that, his family might of been poor, but none of them went without love and care, their lives have been filled with love because of his amazing parents, who he loves more than anything in the world.
As a child Mohammad liked his own company and he tended to play by himself; although he wanted to have friends he found it difficult to mix with children his own age, so, at times during his childhood he felt lonely as he had no friends to play with. All he had was his family, whom he considers his best friends, as they’ve always been there for each other; quite simply, ‘Mohammad’s family is his life’.
Mohammad began his education in 1997 in Al-Safad school, although he found school life hard to begin with because he wasn’t very successful, and because he had low marks he was mostly ignored by his teachers. Then his parents moved him to another school, but because he was still getting low grades with his school work he decided to leave school and look for a job; as he wanted to bring in an income to try to help his parents by taking away some of the financial hardships and help create a better quality of life for his family.
It was Mohammad’s parents who encouraged him to go back to school and keep trying to get past his difficulties; the love, support and encouragement his parents gave him made him take more of an interest in his school work; and gradually over time it was his English language school teachers who noticed that he had a gift for this subject; and finally the teachers started to take an interest in him, and they began to encourage and motivate him. Slowly and gradually Mohammad’s grades began to improve. In 2008 he reached the eleventh grade in Shohada ‘Al-Zaytoon secondary school; by the end of this school year his work had improved so much he had the third highest marks in the school that year!
In 2009 Mohammad took the secondary general examination where he got 83.7%; this high grade helped him join the Islamic university of Gaza to study English; despite his families’ difficult financial situation, his parents encouraged him to continue his studies. Mohammad worked hard during his time at university, and finally in 2014 he graduated from the Islamic university of Gaza with a degree in English language.
Now, like many Gazan’s, Mohammad has a love of learning and his aims are to continue with his studies, and eventually get his Masters degree. He would love to get out of Gaza and study in another country to obtain his Masters degree, but unfortunately the cost is so high, but Mohammad is not letting that put him off as he is determined to try his hardest to achieve his dreams. Mohammad would love to be able to work and pay for his education himself, but unfortunately the situation in Gaza is so extreme and there are no real jobs or money; the only jobs that are available are unpaid voluntary jobs, and Mohammad has taken one of these, so he can get experience and hopefully this experience will help him get a paid job. Mohammad is also hoping that this book project can become successful, because it could open more doors for him and other people in the same situation in Gaza.
Mohammad has already begun trying to get his voice heard and educate people about the true situation in Gaza; he self published his first book, which is a novel about the 1948 Palestinian catastrophe and about the last war on Gaza. At the beginning of the book, Mohammad writes about a true story he witnessed with his family during the last war, whilst they were fleeing their home and running for their lives. This book is currently available on Amazon.
Mohammad is just like any other man in Gaza, all they want is peace and to be able to live freely, not be locked away liked caged animals. Mohammad’s dreams are to get his masters, have a paid job, a nice home with a wife and family of his own. Will he be able to achieve these basic simple things, or will Israel prevent this from happening? One day soon, Palestine will be free.
Friday, 24 July 2015
Hope - A journey with many ups and downs
I am pleased to announce the launch of my first poetry book, co-written with the up and coming Gazan (Palestinian) writer Mohammad Arafat. The book is called, 'Hope - a journey of many ups and downs'. One half of the poems are written by Mohammad, and the second half are written by me (Lisa-Lee).
Most of the poems written by me that are included in this book, I wrote as a teenager, there are some newer poems to, but a lot of the poems I wrote during the darkest most difficult times in my life; as a child I found writing poems very therapeutic; it helped me a lot, and I hope my words are able to touch other people and help them to.
Mohammad's poems are about his difficulties to, living in Gaza / Palestine, and all the things he's had to survive during his short life. The reason why myself and Mohammad decided to do the poetry book together, was because Mohammad knew how personal my poems were to me, and I didn't feel comfortable or confident enough to release such personal and painful past memories by myself; but Mohammad understood how important it is to let go of the past, so he offered to help me let go of my past, by holding my hand and sharing our work together; he didn't want me to feel or be alone.
The book 'Hope' isn't just a book, we are hoping to turn it into a project and a series of books. This first edition is being sold exclusively through Amazon, and there will be a second edition released next year; but the second edition won't just feature work by myself and Mohammad, it will also feature lots of other Gazan / Palestinian writers, and hopefully it will become an annual poetry book, featuring work by Mohammad and other Palestinian writers only. I am only involved in the early stages to help launch the project.
Myself and Mohammad are also trying to see if we can find businesses and people to bring investment into Gaza, and help some of the good projects that are already running in Gaza, that help improve the lives of the people living in Gaza. We believe that the best way to help Gaza, is to help the Gazan's help themselves. Nobody knows how to help Gaza better than the Gazan's.
Most of the poems written by me that are included in this book, I wrote as a teenager, there are some newer poems to, but a lot of the poems I wrote during the darkest most difficult times in my life; as a child I found writing poems very therapeutic; it helped me a lot, and I hope my words are able to touch other people and help them to.
Mohammad's poems are about his difficulties to, living in Gaza / Palestine, and all the things he's had to survive during his short life. The reason why myself and Mohammad decided to do the poetry book together, was because Mohammad knew how personal my poems were to me, and I didn't feel comfortable or confident enough to release such personal and painful past memories by myself; but Mohammad understood how important it is to let go of the past, so he offered to help me let go of my past, by holding my hand and sharing our work together; he didn't want me to feel or be alone.
The book 'Hope' isn't just a book, we are hoping to turn it into a project and a series of books. This first edition is being sold exclusively through Amazon, and there will be a second edition released next year; but the second edition won't just feature work by myself and Mohammad, it will also feature lots of other Gazan / Palestinian writers, and hopefully it will become an annual poetry book, featuring work by Mohammad and other Palestinian writers only. I am only involved in the early stages to help launch the project.
Myself and Mohammad are also trying to see if we can find businesses and people to bring investment into Gaza, and help some of the good projects that are already running in Gaza, that help improve the lives of the people living in Gaza. We believe that the best way to help Gaza, is to help the Gazan's help themselves. Nobody knows how to help Gaza better than the Gazan's.
Friday, 12 June 2015
Rohingya
Rivers in Rohingya run red with the blood of the dead
Only because they're Muslims who pray five times a day
Humiliated, beaten, raped, repressed, tortured and left to die
Incarcerated; denied basic human rights to life
No one comes to help them or save them from this evil
God only knows how they pray daily to be saved
Yesterday should be history; but each day is the same
Allah help the forgotten people of Rohingya!
Saturday, 16 May 2015
The song of the angels
I was dreaming of you as the moon left the sky
And dawns early sunlight broke through the morning dew
Awake, awake my beautiful little angel, I cried
Awake, awake my purest little treasure
But you are lost to me, you have been taken so far away.
In the land of the night, where dreams can come alive
There I can still reach out and touch your little hands
There my whispers echo the love that is in my soul
There you hear my voice calling
There you feel my kisses
Covering you all over, like feathers of snow.
I'll be waiting for you where the sun meets the sky
Waiting to hold you in my arms
And say, awake my love, my beautiful angel
I'll be waiting for the heavens call
Waiting to hear the song of the angels
And waiting to see the shadows of their wings
Come calling for me! To take me home to you.
I pray that I die in my sleep
So this dream never ends
And you wake up in my arms
Never to leave my embrace
This can only happen when I hear them calling
When I hear, 'the song of the angels'.
Thursday, 16 April 2015
Sunday, 12 April 2015
The Inner voice
Parents are the most powerful and influential people in a child's life, the words they use and their actions are the foundations of the life of their child!
A parent has been given such a precious gift, if only all parents could see this. A parents job is to love, nurture and care for their children, to teach them how to love, how to see true beauty, how to accept themselves and others; but it is also a parents job to teach their children how to be confident, strong and brave, and teach them to believe in themselves, and teach them life skills, so they can fly the nest and live a good and happy life, and they can help heal the world of all the bad, corruption and darkness.
Parents need to know that their child has the ability to change the world! To achieve the greatest of things! Fill them with love, respect, acceptance, hope, dreams, belief, goals and kindness! Never underestimate the power of kindness, a kind word has the ability to save a person's life!
Thursday, 26 February 2015
World rare disease day 2015.
Please show love and support for beautiful children like Kaiden. Support rare disease day, February 28th, by wearing jeans.
http://globalgenes.org/world-rare-disease-day/
Growing up I have always been bullied and attacked because I was different. It wasn't just in my childhood that I got attacked, when I finally started to live my life and try to have a singing career, my bullies all came back. They tried to ruin my career and reputation by spreading lies about me. I got so ill and depressed I ended up losing my voice, and I thought my career was over, but thankfully my voice is returning, and I will restart my career, but I am very worried because I expect to be attacked again. People will try to ruin me and my career all because I'm different. I expect the bullying will begin again when my career starts to do well. I will have to be strong to cope with all the different lies people will say. People always attack people who are different, but in my case with my career, they think they'll be able to make money from my ruin! Please be more supportive to people who are different, you don't understand their struggles.
Growing up I have always been bullied and attacked because I was different. It wasn't just in my childhood that I got attacked, when I finally started to live my life and try to have a singing career, my bullies all came back. They tried to ruin my career and reputation by spreading lies about me. I got so ill and depressed I ended up losing my voice, and I thought my career was over, but thankfully my voice is returning, and I will restart my career, but I am very worried because I expect to be attacked again. People will try to ruin me and my career all because I'm different. I expect the bullying will begin again when my career starts to do well. I will have to be strong to cope with all the different lies people will say. People always attack people who are different, but in my case with my career, they think they'll be able to make money from my ruin! Please be more supportive to people who are different, you don't understand their struggles.
Saturday, 31 January 2015
Children are like butterflies!
This is a message to all parents who have more than one child; each child is a gift, each one is unique, different and special, and you need to love them for who they are, and be grateful that they are unique and different!
This is something I wish my parents realised, but it is too late!
This is something I wish my parents realised, but it is too late!
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