After reading posts and been moving around in this forum for some while I have come up with a question. I know that some of you have met Loreena (I read in some post that someone has met her four times (weow )etc), so;
- Did you bring Loreena something, a gift, like a drawing or flowers, or anything?
And those of you who haven't got the chance to meet her yet; if you feel you'd like to give her something, what would you give?
Thousands of thanks and hugs are automatically included, so you need not write it if you don't absolutely wants to
As for my answer, I brought her a portrait that I had made in charcoal (I got a very sweet mail from Robin at QR with thanks from Loreena some week ago). The painting was far from perfect, but I can still remember how happy I was when I made it. That's the spirit of LMK's music.
God natt / Good night - Malin
Posts: 125 | Location: Föllinge, Sweden | Registered: August 19, 2007
This is an interesting topic. on the one hand(be warned, this may be a little extreme of me, considering the fact that Loreena is not that enthusiastic about the celebrity thing), it's great to have lots of people liking you because of your profession, they scream at you, make posters with your name on it, swamp you for your autograph, and give you free gifts now don't get me wrong, freebies are AWESOME, but on the other hand, you have to think about how many Loreena would recieve. you've had quite a few replies to this discussion already, and there may be many more QR "forum folks" who may have missed this post, and plenty of LM fans who are not registered on the message board at all who would love to give Loreena a nice prezzie. what I'm trying to say is: are we swamping our favourite singer with freebies that are just going to take up space? of course - as I said before - this may be a little extremeof me, and I can see that many of you have really thought about what you have/would give(n) to Loreena, and some of you have even got a thankyou note from Quinlan Road which is fantastic; I cetainly wouldn't want to dicourage any of you, but I thought I'd mention that it might possibly (but only possibly) be an issue. (if someone knows it's definitely not, please let me know...)
By the way, Malin, I see you're from Sweden! I'd LOVE to go there . Do you enjoy living there?
Posts: 263 | Location: Latrobe, Australia | Registered: July 15, 2008
There's a saying that: The best gift is something you'd like to keep for yourself.
I'm mighty glad I gave that necklace to Loreena. In a way it's a noble & worthy gift...but still only small in comparison to all she's given me. I listen to her more than my 2 fav ROCK bands!!
Posts: 45 | Location: The Golden State | Registered: May 15, 2007
Beautiful gifts, Malin & Bart. ...& some of your ideas are beautiful too, Loreenya. Like Bart, I've told my tale before, but here it is again:
I saw her thrice last year & was sad about not meeting her in my homeland at the first show in the City of Angels. I was very pleased to meet her after the 2nd show, which was in Oakland (You should have seen her there, Bart. heh) where she signed posters for me & a friend. The next night was my 3rd show, & it was in Marin. So I spent the afternoon shopping in Haight/Ashbury (SF) & bought many spiritual items including a gorgeous silver necklace of large turqouise beads & a silver pendant to match with turqouise & red coral. The shopkeeper in the Tibetan store where I bought it said the Celtic knot symbol is one of the 8 chief symbols of Tibetan Buddhism meaning Love of Harmony for Eternity. I thot I was buying this fine necklace for myself, with a large silver bracelet with the same symbol to match....but when I got to meet Loreena again after the show that night, I decided to give the necklace to dear Loreena & gave it to her as I explained, "You have inspired me SO much with her lovely songs & music & because you've shown me that Celtic culture can be traced to the Far East, I'd like you to have this." I explained that the Celtic knot symbol is one of the 8 chief symbols of Tibetan Buddhism but I neglected to tell her the important meaning of it--"Love of Harmony for Eternity"!!! Loreena~ I hope you see this so you'll know the meaning. I love you! Soon I'll paint you, & perhaps give you a nice photo of your portrait next time we meet....
Posts: 45 | Location: The Golden State | Registered: May 15, 2007
What a wonderful idea Malin. I will put my mind on ice to figure out what I might give her sometime when I get to meet her.
I feel like freesoul, that it is hard to find a special gift for a specific person if you don't know him/her in person. I also think Malin has made a good choice by giving a self made gift.
Maybe flowers are a nice gift because they will remind her of me for a moment, and when they are gone, she doesn't have to think further on me. I am after all one of many fans, and I don't expect ms. McK to remember me in preference to all ye others. Just to see the smile on someones face as I give them something is enogh for me. Then I know they have noticed the giving.
Just a moment...
Had to catch my mind in the freezer... Joke apart.
I my self have thought of drawing a sketch of her, and give it on occasion. Ms. McK doesn't necessarily have to remember me specificaly. But she probably remembers that she is appriciated everytime she finds my drawing form whereever she might hide it. If of course she'll get it. I haven't quite made up my mind yet. And then again I might not meet her anyway.
I will put my mind back on ice...
Posts: 402 | Location: Denmark | Registered: January 25, 2008
Interesting question, Malin. So many times I wonder what I’d like to give Loreena as a gift. It’s not an easy choice, as at bottom I don’t know her personally. A present at random is not really a good choice, I’d like to be able to give her something which has a real, deep link with her. It’s like when you find the same keepsakes on any shelves of any shops in any countries of any continents, clear?, and then even in shops of your town. A real bargain! I could never purchase them, since they will never remind me that particular country I travelled to and where I bought them. They say nothing about that country. The same with a present. What I give Loreena should be something special, which reminds me Loreena herself. Long introduction to say then that I don’t have any idea, even if I may reject something from a likely list. I guess that Loreena doesn’t like anything fashionable, I mean trendy, which is too dependent to current times and tastes. In fact I noticed that for at least ten years she has had the same watch with the black strap at her wrist (am I wrong?), and as many of you may know she still drives her Civic bought in 1985; so it means that Loreena doesn’t like the extra, that is everything which is needless, I think. So no brand new watches and anything which is too up-to-date, but something which is closer to her. Some exotic instruments, the oddest ones I could find that she doesn’t yet have; a little cat, or even a tree for her immense property, such as a lime-tree, a horse-chestnut or one fir-tree. Then a bunch of flowers, a special Italian dish, why not?, cooked by me with no guarantee however, and it includes a longer meet-up with her, just the time to eat together (I’m dreaming of course) . About your choice, Malin, I enjoy it, because the gift was made by yourself, with heart and just for her. Isn’t this maybe the real meaning of a gift? freesoul
Posts: 236 | Location: italy | Registered: November 01, 2007
I have to agree with Annabelle. What gift could approach what Loreena has already given us? KISS is the rule. . Keep It Simple, Silly. Give of the heart, of your talent, of your time. If it were me, I'd give her some of the things I have written, poetry, short stories, musings of the world, lyrics. Perhaps she would find it entertaining. . perhaps inspirational, perhaps humorous.
What do you give to someone who has most of all they could ask for? The simplest words of gratitude go a long way, in that regard.
Well, I didn't bring a gift when I got to meet her, but I had sent one well ahead of time. Before I even had a notion I would ever get to meet her, in fact. I've told this story here before but as it relates directly to the topic of this thread, I'll recap.
I am, as I've said several times before, an avid speaker builder. Well, I found myself building some speakers for friends around the '06 holiday season, and as I have been using LM's music to test and demo my speakers for about 15 years, I figured I would build a set specially for her.
Now I first encountered her music while sitting in an Oak tree (which is no longer standing) at about 3 o'clock one morning. Ironically, someone else showed up at a neighboring tree shortly after my arrival, and started playing Bonny Portmore.
So anyway, when I was building these speakers, I was also starting to experiment with finishing them in various exotic wood veneers, which look a lot nicer then the typical vinyl laminates, but are much harder to work with, being brittle, and only 1/42" thick. Well, one of the veneers with which I was working was an English Oak Burl, and in light of the circumstances surrounding my discovery of LM's music, (and despite it being English Oak), I decided to give that pair to her. Here's a [U]picture[/U] of one.
As it happened, she was on the European leg of the tour at the time they arrived, but I did also get a very nice email from the QR staff. She had seen the speakers, but not had a chance to listen to them when I got to meet her, but it was quite interesting to see her reaction when she put the pieces together, and realized who I was. She was rather more animated and excited than I had expected!
Perhaps if I am lucky, someday soon she will slow down enough to get a chance to listen to them, and I may even get a review. There are precisely 4 pair of them in existence, and I dare say neither my brother, my best friend, or the winner of the charity auction to which I donated the other pair are as qualified a reviewer!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bart,
Greetings, Malin. I thought of this gift thing myself before you brought this subject up. As a pious (or should I say a good Catholic) fan of Ms. McKennitt's music, I propose that her gifts would be of a religious nature and containing Christian symbolism, while Ms. McKennitt isn't a Catholic herself. The gift presentation process would consist of twelve presents, symbolizing the twelve apostles, and with a whole lot of pagentry, presented to our beloved Canadian musician in a fashion similar to when the Three Wise Men brought gifts to the infant Christ. They are as follows: 1.a white dove in a cage (which represents the Holy Spirit, Dispenser of Gifts, from Whom Loreena received her ability to sing and write her music) 2. a deep red velvet robe or cloak (reminder of what Jesus wore at time of His Crucifixion and of His blood) 3. a bouquet of Madonna lilies 4. a small hand-held golden spear 5. three white taper candles 6. a bottle of the reddest and most bitter wine (blood of Christ) 7. a loaf of bread (representing the body of Christ and Jesus as the "Bread of Life") 8. a holy card bearing the image of St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians/singers, and a decent prayer on the back of the card 9. a traditional brilliantly coloured picture of the Virgin Mary (perhaps holding the child Jesus) 10. a perfumed oil for anointing 11. a six inch tall statue of Archangel Michael (or simply, an angel) 12. and of course, a cross/crucifix either to be worn around the neck or hung on a nail on a wall
Oh, Ms. McKennitt would be so happy when I bring in those gifts! . He, he. --Loreenya
Posts: 269 | Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan | Registered: December 04, 2007
Hello Malin! This is very kind of you to think of a gift for Loreena. I think you've pretty much answered your question yourself. The "best" gift to give in my opinion is the one that comes from the heart. Your painting was coming from your heart, i'm sure you put all your passion for Loreena's music into your creation and that's the best gift you could give. Personally i'm no good at creating/making things, so if i had to give Loreena a present it would be something that comes from a "special" place for me, that has a deep and strong meaning to me and that i would like to share with her...in the hope it would arise her interest LOL!
Have a good week Malin! Annabelle
Posts: 14 | Location: France | Registered: April 17, 2008
)etc), so;
