‘It’s Christmas!’ Slade comes to Beeston

 

Christmas arrived early in Beeston on Saturday. A packed room singing and swinging to Wham, Shakin Stevens, Slade and The Pogues, amongst others. There were lots of singers and we had an augmented band for the occasion; Tim, Mike, Martin, Doug and Paul joined Simon for an amazing sound. And Simon was allowed to play the guitar (not a lot!). I should also mention Stuart on the ‘clicker’. How did he do that and manage to video as well? Respect, Stuart!

 

 

The warm ups got us into the spirit with a wonderful calypso rhythm for ‘Mary’s Boy Child’. I think Mike and Paul had chosen a Christmas version of a Caribbean shirt and were wearing their shirts with easy, laid back style – just like Boney M! We also sang ‘Little Drummer Boy’ (my favourite is Josh Groban’s version – but then, anything Josh Groban does is OK by me!). It’s a lovely song and there are some nice easy harmonies, which Simon and Tim gave us to sing, which added depth and emotion to the song. And Winter Wonderland is a lovely sway-along experience.

I should mention that the room was awash with tinsel, glitter and Christmas hats and even Simon had a Christmas jumper and hat – mind you, the jumper didn’t last long, with all his cavorting around!). The school hall looked very Christmassy too, so we were very quickly into the mood. I think the promise of mince pies at the break helped too.

Our four main songs were Christmas classics – Shakin’ Stevens, The Pogues, Wham and Slade – it was like Top of the Pops Christmas Special. Hmm! Perhaps it’s only me who remembers them! We even had George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the room, swaying along on a bench at the back. Nice of them to make an appearance.

I was interested to watch again on You Tube, the video of ‘Last Christmas’ and even though you may cringe at the 1980s hairstyles and the ‘mushy’ story line, it’s easy to see George Michael’s talent shining through, at a relatively early stage in his career.

We spent quite a lot of time on the melody and words of ‘Last Christmas’ because it isn’t straightforward. Tim was meticulous is taking us through the changes in rhythm and notes and it was really good to be able to sing the song ‘properly’ rather than just a karaoke pastiche. Anyway, we were warned that Hardip knows every George Michael song by heart, so there was no margin for error. I know I keep saying this every time I write a blog, but I am clearly the sort of person who grasps a chorus pretty quickly and then assumes I know the rest of the words. What Everyone Can Sing workshops have taught me is that it is worth looking at the words carefully, because that way, you get the true meaning and emotion. What a geek I am!

No matter how much we enjoyed singing ‘It’s Christmas’, ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ (by our local hero) and ‘Last Christmas’, the clear favourite of the afternoon was The Pogues ‘Fairytale of New York’. Apparently, this is still often quoted as the most popular Christmas song in UK and Ireland and if you read the history of the song in Wikipedia, it was a long time being written. The title came from J.P Donleavy’s 1973 novel ‘A Fairy Tale of New York’ but there are also influences from film scores – particularly Ennio Morricone’s music for ‘Once upon a time in America’ with a bit of ceilidh in there as well. Which was an ideal opportunity for Tim to whip out his penny whistle (no – he really did!). I love to hear the penny whistle – how can you not dance? And did the NYPD choir really sing ‘Galway Bay’? Apparently not – but the Fire Service did! Phew!

 

 

We also heard about the collection for Autism East Midlands, which has reached over £1000 this year. Well done everyone!

So we all went home full of good cheer and mince pies to face the final preparations for Christmas. I wonder how many of you will be playing ‘Fairy Tale of New York’ on Christmas Day? Me me!

Have a lovely Christmas and see you in January

 

Rocking down Memory Lane

Early afternoon at Greasley Parish Hall in Eastwood and the Memory Café was in full swing. Literally! We had clapping; we had singing; we had jiving; we had whistling; and we had some great playing from Mike, Ian and Doug, led by Simon. What a joyful afternoon.

In addition to the Memory Café ‘members’ and their friends, there were around 15 singers from the Everyone Can Sing choir so it was a pretty packed event. I was incredibly lucky to be sitting next to Pat and her companion for the afternoon. Lucky because Pat is an amazing dancer. Now some of you will know that I have a penchant for a bit of a dance, but it was difficult to keep up with Pat. She told me that she used to do all sorts of dancing – jive as well as ballroom – and her energy was boundless. She and I did a bit of a routine to ‘Rave On’ and I know who was most jiggered at the end. And as for twisting – she got nearer the floor than I did! My excuse is long legs!
Pat is just one example of the people who attend the Memory Café and who enjoy the companionship and activity that it provides. We have probably all heard how singing is good for you – both physically and emotionally. You only had to see the smiles on the faces that afternoon to know that this is true. We sang songs which brought back memories and linked to happy days.

Obviously, there is a lot of chatter at these events as well. How lovely to meet up with friends and talk about old times and new times. We spent a short time talking with our companions about the good and positive changes we see in present times. It’s very easy to dwell on the negative – and when Simon suggested (jokingly) that we talk about Brexit – you could hear the communal sigh! Our real topic though, encouraged us to talk about positive changes in our lifetimes and the feedback was really encouraging. People spoke of the increased awareness amongst young people of environmental issues and also an increased understanding of mental health. We also commented on social changes such as sharing parental responsibilities so that men and women could contribute equally to home and work.
One of the members, Nigel, spoke very passionately about the power of music to lift the spirit and to bring people together. And I believe that is what happened during this afternoon. We sang joyful songs, we moved to the rhythm, we forgot our troubles and we did it all together. Also, we had a bluebird in the room! Whilst singing ‘Daydream Believer’, many of us became aware of a bluebird twittering in the room. Illusion or reality?   Well, obviously not reality, but pretty close as one of the members (whose name I have forgotten – apologies – I obviously need to go the Memory Café more often!) demonstrated a wonderful skill in bird warbling. He is also a ukulele player – so you will all know who I mean.
Every singing event involves cake and this occasion was no exception. We ate cake in the break (that rhymes!) to celebrate Sue’s birthday. Sue is a member of ECS and came along on her special day to sing with us. Thank you Sue!

 

So all in all, it was a wonderful afternoon and everyone went away happy and with some new memories and some new friends. Roll on Christmas!

Singing on a Sunday

 

Not our usual day in Beeston, but 40 of us turned up for the T20 anthem ECS Juke box. Anthems chosen by the ECS singers – some for a special reason and some just to blast out! The songs ranged across several decades from the 60s to the 00s, thus causing great angst to my wardrobe! Should I go mini-skirt 60s or hippy 70s or maybe even soulful 00s? The compromise was to wear as many decades as possible – 60s hair, 70s heavy metal T shirt, 80s white jeans and then a cowboy hat for Country Roads. Please don’t do this to me again, Simon; my wardrobe will be exhausted!

But how great was the selection? We loved them all; and the singing was really good. Of course, in good choir tradition, we had to warm up before starting the programme.

This month’s warm up was a cross between hand jive, Morris dancing and an Austrian lederhosen routine! First we learned the tune – and how easy was that? We were complimented by our leader on the speed with which we picked up the notes. Smugness abounded in the room! Then he started putting in arm movements and clapping – which challenged some people’s co-ordination – with arms being flung in gay abandon dangerously close to neighbours. Then he started the knee slapping. Not just your own knees. Oh no! We had to slap the knees of our next door neighbour as well! Two of us got called to the front to demonstrate. This is the first (and probably the last!) time I will be required to touch Simon’s naked knees – but at least, we were all feeling very relaxed afterwards and ready to move on to some brilliant anthems.

Starting with ‘Hey Jude’ and progressing to ‘The Boxer’ with Tim and Simon doing their Simon and Carbuncle routine.  I often comment in these blogs about the delight in discovering the real words to songs. It is so easy to think you know a song because you can remember the chorus, but often the verses are a blur. That was certainly the case for me with ‘The Boxer’ – so familiar, and yet seeing the words on screen and actually singing them, makes the story of the song so much clearer. Simon’s punctuation of the phrasing in the last verse made the lyrics powerful in their description of the boxer (ooh, I’ve gone all philosophical – apologies!). Then we all sang ‘Lie la lie’ and felt much better. Then we finished our first half with ‘Sweet Caroline’ – always a joy to sing (especially since it gives altos a chance to show off their low note skills) and an opportunity to don the cowboy hat! Also one of my favourite introductions, powerfully rendered by our awesome musicians.

As day follows night, so cake follows singing and vice versa, so we returned, full of home made biscuits, to ‘Will you still love me tomorrow?’ It’s interesting that the original title of this song was ‘Will you love me tomorrow’. The word ‘still’, which is in the second verse, seems to have crept into the title in later versions. Whatever – it’s a cracking song! John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’, which is apparently an official state anthem of West Virginia, is a wonderful anthem, but on this occasion was enlivened by Simon’s anecdote about Barry from Scunthorpe (was it Scunthorpe?). Anyway you’ll have to ask Simon about that!

And so to our last song, chosen by Stuart, ‘Don’t you want me baby?’ Apparently the song was fixed permanently in Stuart’s head during a holiday in Menorca, when it was played almost continuously in the bar. A Balearic delight!

 

I secretly think Stuart chose it because it gives the men a chance to shine! After all, it’s not often they get a whole verse to themselves. The price for this, though, is to be lined up at the side of the room – as if for a firing squad – to be stared at by the overwhelming number of women. Male solidarity rules – they produced a great sound for 8 individuals. The women, however, were not outdone and if you watch the video on FB, you will see one particular singer totally drawn into the emotion of the chorus. Go girl!

Great songs, great singing and as usual, great musicians. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon. And we finished virtually on time so hopefully nobody’s dinner was spoiled.

Hot! Hot! Hot! End of term bash

And it was hot! Even if you weren’t wearing a wig! But what a glorious end to our year of workshops. As Simon commented on the day – this was one for the band! Such great songs to show off our talented musicians. I have been listening to the clips and watching the videos and there are moments of pure magic from the boys in the band. Guitar riffs and drum solos a-gogo. I really liked the gunshot drums, Robert – thank you for that!

Having warmed up to a slightly emotional ‘Football’s coming home’ (did you pick this before the semi-final, Simon?), we had 4 great songs from the 80s. Actually, I enjoyed singing ‘Football’s coming home’ because it was trickier than I thought. You tend to think of Skinner and Baddiel and a raucous anthem, but the rhythm and the pattern of the words is quite sophisticated, so even as a warm up, it gave us a bit of challenge.

‘Don’t you want me baby?’ was a triumph for the men – only 5 plus Simon – but you gave it some welly. It’s not always comfortable being pulled out to sing on your own, but clearly, the ethos of togetherness, which is so important to an ECS workshop, allowed you 5 brave souls to feel completely supported in the room. It was tuneful; it was relaxed; and it was strong. What more can you want from a man!

And the male quintet set the tone for all of us as we joyfully joined in the chorus and the rest of the song. Mind you, Simon did alter the underlying meaning of the song by persisting is singing ‘turned you into something new’ on each occasion. Reminds me of that TV programme where they turn a piece of junk into something fashionable and saleable. Mind you – that can happen to people as well, so maybe, Simon was giving us a subliminal message about the nature of mankind!

I don’t know whether I have mentioned before in these blogs, but I really never liked Ray Davies. At the height of the popularity of The Kinks, I thought he came across as arrogant and pretentious BUT that does not detract from his talent as a musician. ‘Waterloo sunset’ is a beautiful song full of emotion and brilliant to sing. So forgive my prejudice against the man – it is of no consequence when I am blown away by the music.

‘Radio Gaga’ was wonderful. We learnt that Tim had studied it for GCSE and got an A, so we knew we were in good hands. Most importantly for the clapping. Tim took the lead to make sure that we clapped and pointed at the right time; because this is what you wait for, throughout the song! Lovely words; very meaningful; yes OK, but let me just get to the clapping and the chorus. We also had a spirited discussion about the correct words. Was it ‘gaga,googoo or blah, blah’ on the final line and how many did we sing? This is crucial to the true spirit of the song and we eventually solved it – I suspect with help from Google – and agreed that the last line was ‘radio gaga, radio blah blah’ with not a googoo in sight! Phew – integrity! I am really looking forward to singing ‘We will rock you’ at some point, so that we can learn to stamp and clap to the right rhythm!

Brilliant end to the season. Can’t wait for September – Lazy Sunday afternoon (Small Faces)?

Hope the concert goes well for all you Thursday singers. I shall be in Devon unfortunately so won’t be able to blog you. But I shall look forward to the videos online.

Have a great summer everyone!

 

Flying the flag for Sally and Save the Children

 

On a sultry Bastille Day in Nottingham, over 90 singers arrived at West Bridgford Methodist Church for a very special workshop. We celebrated the life of Sally Nicholson-Cole and her contribution to Save the Children by singing highlights from Les Miserables.
There were singers from Simon’s choirs – notably ECS, WBSS, Friday Choir – and there were also people who just wanted to sing the songs. West Bridgford Methodist Church is a very welcoming church and gives us a flexible space, which we certainly needed last Saturday. Fitting in 100 chairs, a lectern, and space for the musicians was a logistical challenge – plus accommodating an audience – all on a very hot day. We did squeeze everyone in, but decided to re-arrange the chairs at break time, as some singers were suffering from oxygen deprivation at the back! Everyone survived to give a wonderful performance in the late afternoon for family and friends.

The Church also has great AV equipment, which allowed us to have multiple screens to project the words and images for the singers, audience and musicians. Of course, the smooth operation of the visual presentation depended on a certain nameless person (moi!) who sometimes was so engrossed in the moment that the screen change only happened in the nick of time! Never mind, it seemed to go fine and it did allow the singers to sing out rather than to fix their eyes on their music.
Everyone joined in the spirit of the event – many wearing red, white and blue – Robin even made his own ‘bonnet rouge’ out of an old sweater! And he had made felt rosettes as well! Such a multi-talented man!

We rehearsed 7 songs in the afternoon – and for many of us, it was the first time we had actually sung them properly. As we know, singing in the shower or in the car allows for all manner of leniency over words and notes! Simon kept us disciplined and even though we had little time in the afternoon, the result was very pleasing – a choir rather than a singalong of random voices.
I guess most people have favourite songs from Les Mis. Up until Saturday, mine was ‘Bring him home’; but I now have a new favourite, thanks to the amazing work that the men did on ‘Stars’. It is perhaps one of the less well remembered songs from the show, but it is so poignant and deep. And hard to sing! So the rendition we had on Saturday afternoon was amazing, given the time restraints – and when they sang it again as a reprise at the point of Javert’s suicide, it was so emotional and so beautifully delivered. Ooh, very shiverful! (I just invented a word!)
Of course, we ladies did a brilliant job on ‘I dreamed a dream’ as well. Again a very challenging song, especially when we have all heard such superb versions of it over the years. It’s a bit like ‘Memory’ from Cats – once you’ve heard Elaine Paige, the standard is set very high! (Short diversion here – talking of Cats, I have a great wig! Just saying!) Anyway, back to Saturday – this song brought tears to my eyes.

Given the subject matter of Les Mis, it is no surprise that the majority of the songs are either anthems or sad, mainly both, so what a contrast for us was the wonderful duet of Simon and Fiona singing ‘Master of the House’. I thought Simon’s combination of cockney and Yorkshire was unique – not only the voice, but also the combination of flat cap and revolutionary apron!

I did notice, however, throughout the afternoon, a certain fixation with ‘sleeping with the mirror’. Even when the actual words were on the screen, ‘sleeping with the mirror’ was obviously fixed in his brain. None of my business! He was a superb M. Thenardier and I would not have trusted him an inch. But what about the Madame? Feisty or what? Such a great performance – the voice and the hand gestures. We had changed some of the naughty words in deference to the audience and the venue, but Fiona got so carried away that she forgot! Nobody mentioned it afterwards, so I think you got away with it, Fiona. Anyway, the pair of you brought the house down.

So we had a great sing and we produced a great sound. I truly believe that our enthusiasm and the quality of the singing was due to the amazing musical accompaniment from Tim, Mike and Lou. Such professional sound motivated me to sing my best, to match the music. And I hope, like me, those of you present, also felt valued through the time and effort put into the music by this talented trio. Personally, I feel that it took the whole workshop and performance to another level.
And didn’t the narrators do well. The format worked and I hope that the narration helped to stitch the songs together. Lynne and Fiona were clear and emotive in their narration, which was great, because I just swanned around looking like a revolutionary foot soldier and ad-libbing a bit! I had a few people who asked me afterwards about the history, as Les Mis is often branded as a French Revolution story – which it is but in a much broader historical context – but it is not about guillotines and aristocrats. So we learnt something, as well as having a good sing. I expect many of you will, by now, have started reading the book as well – in the original French, of course.

As we ended with ‘Do you hear the people sing?’ joined by our extremely strong flag waver, you could feel the energy in the room. This was such a great event and in such a great cause. Jane gave her thanks at the end and to know that we raised over £600 for SCF whilst having such a good time is proof that the format works and we should do it again. I didn’t know Sally personally, but I have friends who did, and I am glad and proud to have been involved in this tribute to her and to a cause she believed in so passionately.
Jane and Simon (and multiple others) thank you for the opportunity.

ECS – Here we go again!

Abba came to Beeston on Saturday 5th May. I know because I was there along with a whole bunch of singing enthusiasts at John Clifford School. I also know because I saw Agnetha coming towards me – but then I realised it was a mirror (you know – one of those mirrors that distorts and ages!).

Consultation between singers and the band resulted in a full-on blast of Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, The Winner Takes it All, Thank You for the Music and Supertrouper. I know I bang on a lot in these blogs about the privilege of singing with such a talented bunch of musicians, well, the Abba experience was enhanced a trillion-million times by the guys, with lots of opportunities for keyboard and guitar brilliance. And also some weird photo opportunities.

Have I gone a bit hyper? Maybe it’s the sun and too many iced Americanos. But no! It is true!! And you can always tell how enthusiastic Simon is by the number and  height of his leaps into the air in the loud bits!
I was talking to a fellow singer about ‘The Winner Takes it All’ and the raw emotion in the words. When you hear it on the radio or when you do a singalong, you don’t always get a chance to take in the words. This is such an emotional song and when you watch the You Tube video of Agnetha singing, you appreciate some of the intensity. At ECS workshops, we get a chance to break down the song and perhaps, gain more understanding of what lies behind a cracking tune. The light and dark, quiet and loud, which Simon introduces into the singing is such a great way of feeling the mood of a song.
Supertrouper is always a favourite because of its chorus, but again, the words are quite anguished. I will tell you an anecdote which I have already told to West Bridgford Social Singers, as we sing this song as well. Until I sang the song with the words in front of me, I have always thought that they were singing ‘When I rang you last night from Tesco’. It came as quite a surprise to me to see that it is actually Glasgow. Makes much more sense. I don’t suppose Bjorn and Benny spend a lot of time in Tesco as a rule. Of course, now, I can’t sing it without inwardly saying Tesco and if you see me smirking at that point, you know why!

Abba songs are also so great for dancing. It’s funny that when you watch the videos of Abba singing in the 80s, they don’t actually move a lot. The girls have a kind of routine of shuffles, pointing and turning and the boys, of course, are attached to their instruments. But when you have a room full of people singing Dancing Queen, nobody can keep still. You are impelled to wave your arms, grab your spoon microphone, clap your hands and do wild (and often weird) body movements. The rhythm of life! And some people in the room, including our own special couple, turned into Abba at some point in the afternoon!

 

I guess we also are now influenced by the musical and the film, so when Mamma Mia or Dancing Queen comes on the radio, we can imagine Meryl, Julie and Christine throwing themselves around on a Greek island. Well I can, anyway – I’m always Donna, because she wears cool dungarees. Can’t wait for ‘Mamma Mia Here We Go Again’ (choir outing for the summer?) Apparently it is released at end of July and three of the songs are ‘Angel Eyes’, ‘I Wonder’ and ‘When I Kissed the Teacher’.
So all in all, a wonderful afternoon to see us into the summer and to give us happy memories until we meet again in July.

 

Thank you for 2 years of music

Apologies for the delaying in blogging our 2^nd year birthday workshop last Saturday, I seem to have spent this week contemplating whether it is worth the effort to clear the snow off the car since our road is pretty impassable anyway. My conclusion was ‘no’, so I have been walking when necessary and chasing buses, which are either late or very early, since no-one else is stupid enough to come out. (Please note, I think NCT have done a brilliant job keeping them running and responding to enquiries)

 

Anyway, what a joyous occasion we had. A really great turnout and a brilliant choice of songs. I turned up in an Abba costume, only to be told that Abba wasn’t happening until the second half! Never mind. Nobody seemed to mind that Agnetha was singing with the Monkees and Pulp – I’m sure she would have got on really well with Jarvis Cocker.

We started with The Foundations ‘Baby, now that I’ve found you’ which gave Tim a wonderful saxophone part and all the other musicians a great ‘boom boom’ introduction. What a way to get warmed up. Warmed up, of course for the Monkees and ‘Daydream Believer’. Now apparently, according to Simon, this song was requested by or dedicated to Jean from ECS Singers, because of the refrain ‘Cheer up sleepy Jean’. I have to say that Jean looked very cheerful and very wide awake to me on Saturday afternoon, but that didn’t stop us singing the refrain very loudly just in case she needed it! When you watch the video, you will see that she is thoroughly enjoying the moment.

What I love about watching the videos after the event is to see the joy on people’s faces – and occasionally, the sheer concentration. We have some very serious part singers in the workshops, (usually altos, but I may be biased!) who really relish learning the alternative notes and when you watch the clips, you can actually see them leaning together to share the pitch. So great that people who attend ECS workshops can sing joyfully, jig around and still challenge themselves with a harmony.

Talking of ‘jigging’, we have some very funky moves on the front row. Not everyone wants to be as demonstrative as the resident hippy, but just watch the front row bodies moving in ‘Glad all Over’ – even a bit of frug and swim in there. These tunes obviously bring out the disco diva moves. Brilliant for those who don’t get regular access to boogie opportunities (usually weddings and conferences, after a few drinks!). And thank you to Simon for introducing me as the resident mascot! I’ve never been a mascot before! Did you know that the word mascot comes from the Provencal word ‘mascoto’ meaning a charm so is used to designate a person, animal, or object supposed to bring good luck or used as the symbol of an organization, such as a sports team. There is a 19C French opera called ‘La Mascotte’ which centres around a female character who brings luck to a community; (there is also a sub-plot around virginity, but we won’t go there!). So I am very proud to epitomise the eccentric charm of ECS Saturday workshops! You can make your own mind up about what that says about you!!

There were some tricky songs on Saturday as well. ‘Love of the Common People’ is not straightforward and I was very grateful particularly to Tim for demonstrating the phrasing and the rhythm. And for the very high notes! I hope he didn’t permanently damage his voice; he was certainly rather red in the face at the end!

 

Listening to the clips and watching the videos, you realise what a great bunch of musicians we have. Every single song is enhanced – with classy introductions and brilliant interludes – and Common People is a great example of this. I could listen to it over and over. But you, the singers, are brilliant too. Watch the faces; see the drama and the emotion. It’s like storytelling in song – so much, much more than just singing words off a screen. You really ‘lived’ this song.

‘Thank you for the music’ is quite tricky too – not your usual bouncy Abba. So it was good to slow things down and add a little drama again to the words. And Mike’s piano playing was amazing – how can you not respond to that introduction and to the accompaniment. It was a joy to sing with Mike. I think 3 of the band really appreciated the break too! And as a bonus, Simon and I had a bit of a competition over who had the best golden hair (no contest really, was it?).

Finishing with ‘Glad all over’ really says it all. A great opportunity for tambourine, clapping and stamping – just what you need to carry you home. A wonderful afternoon and it was good to have Tim back after his absence in January – both for his musical talent – but mainly for the Simon/Tim banter. We missed it!

 

So ‘thank you for the music’ everyone. Hope you all went away singing and full of cake. I’m not here in March (off to the Scilly Isles) but looking at the suggested songs, I’m sure it will be a blast.

It’s Saturday! It’s ECS! And it’s Mike’s birthday!

It was Mike’s birthday on Saturday. Yay! And he chose to spend part of it with us at ECS accompanying some amazing tunes and doing some wonderful riffs on the piano. I was very grateful for his presence, especially since he brought cakes with him! The band did us proud this month, with brilliant guitar playing and great drumming in addition to Mike’s piano. You could close your eyes and imagine Eric Clapton and James were in the room with us. Mind you, I’m quite glad they weren’t, otherwise the entrance fee might have been a bit higher! Of course, we got Dusty Springfield on the cheap! She only lives in West Bridgford, you know.
It was a great crowd for our first blast of 2018 – a full room and representatives from several choirs – ECS and the Thursday Singers, WB Friday Choir, WB Social Singers and Beeston Voices – may be others I have forgotten – apologies if I have. We missed Tim and Amanda, but I’m sure they will both be with us for the Birthday gig in February. Imagine – ECS 2 years old already! Same age as my granddaughter and just as naughty!

We worked through a varied programme of songs – some bouncy and good for jigging and others more slow and emotional. I loved singing ‘Somewhere Only We Know’; the words are so beautiful and it felt as if everyone rose to the ‘Aah aah’ refrain. Straight from the heart! Simon did a great job in helping us to get the rhythm right especially in ‘so why don’t we go’ – for me, it made a big difference. Suddenly the lyrics flowed and we were all singing at the same pace and with the same emphasis. I often find that I sing along to songs on the radio in a very haphazard way – a few words here and then a bit of a mumble – so it’s a joy to ‘conquer’ the lyrics and the rhythm.
Our other anthem was ‘You look wonderful tonight’ with the brilliant guitar work. If you watch the video on Facebook, you can see how wrapped up people are in the song. Lots of gentle swaying and smiling. I was taking a couple of photos around the room and even though people were obviously thoroughly immersed in singing the songs, I could hear really strong harmony parts from the back of the room – I’m sure you know who you are, so well done!
Jigging, dancing, clapping and just gawping at a cavorting Dusty were all part of the fun of singing ‘I only Want to Be with You’ and ‘Sit Down’. There were some very 60s dance moves and armography from the ladies on the front row – in particular, the ‘swim’. Now next time, ladies, I would like to see the ‘swim’ combined with the ‘frug’ (yes, I have written ‘frug’, not a typo for frog. Look it up) or the ‘twist’ to get the full range of movement! You might as well get a full workout for your £5!

We also learnt from Simon and the band about the usefulness of sniffing. Sniffing helps you to count pauses to avoid coming in too soon. We had a very good demonstration from Simon and quite a few of us tried it out. It only works, though, if you are not standing next to someone with a cold. Otherwise, chaos, early entries and scathing looks will ensue!

 

So, all in all, a brilliant afternoon. I went home singing ‘Sit Down’, which is a strange thing for Dusty to do. As an aside, everyone should try driving through West Bridgford in a strange wig. You get a combination of swivelling heads, braking and, most frequently for Bridgford, a disbelieving stare which turns rapidly into a polite distant smile (humour the mad lady). This doesn’t seem to worry Beestonians – they grin, point and give me a thumbs up. Cultural difference, eh!
Onwards to the birthday party in February. Got my Abba outfit, but will I need a quick change mid-workshop? Can’t wait for the final programme. Wardrobe rummage imminent. And will there be more cake than usual? Note to self – roomy trousers! And please could Mark sing again!!
Just to set the standard (!), here is my granddaughter’s 2nd birthday cake (you can tell I made it – wobbly!)