Home on the Range - North Country Theatre December 2009

Last night Sat Nav, Amy and I went to see North Country Theatre www.northcountrytheatre.com perform Home on the Range in Hunton Village Hall, North Yorkshire.

The play, written and directed by Nobby Dimon, tells the tale of three strong women:
Annis Hawker played by Fiona Paul,
her sister May Buxton played by Vivienne Garnett,
and Annis's daughter Hope played by Amelia Newbould.
The likeness between the girls was uncanny.
This family have their roots here in North Yorkshire, England. They originated from Wensleydale, but emigrated to America because Annis's husband Sam saw a better life for them there.

Although they settled Sam uprooted them again to hit the Oregon Trail. Sadly Sam drowned shortly after they began their arduous journey and the women were left to struggle.
The audience were swept along with the women's emotions and we were all rooting for their success and happiness.
A truly brilliant performance.

The stage and props were incredibly creative; another huge success for North Country Theatre. Congratulations.

Thoughtless Driver

This is similar to what happened to Sat Nav and I yesterday on our way to Ripon; except it was a four-track that came towards us way too fast generating a tidal wave that hit us really hard.
Thoughtless drivers!

Masham Music Society Annual Concert December 5th 2009

On Saturday 5th December Masham Sound Hall rang with the sound of music when Masham Musical Society performed their annual concert of Victorian songs and traditional carols to a full house. The conductor Jonathan Heitler invited members of the audience to join in with the carols, and many did.

Jonathan Heitler conducted the choir for the second year, and together they produced another superb concert. The choir has grown in size this year, and they sang beautifully.

There were several excellent individual performances, and Jonathan himself performed a solo from Patience. Caroline Heard played two pieces on the violin, accompanied on the piano by her mother - an outstanding performance. What a talent this twelve year old has. No wonder she has been selected for the Under 13's National Children's Orchestra for the fifth time.

I have heard that the choir will be performing at a fundraising event in June 2010. Saturday's audience were asking where and when they could buy tickets! This reflects the quality of the performance - first class.

Congratulations to my niece Amy on her first major singing performance with the Music Society. And, of course Sat Nav who sang with the choir for the second year. You sang like angels. I'm proud of you both!

The Backbeat Beatles - Masham Town Hall

You'll love this video of The Backbeat Beatles www.backbeatbeatles.com singing Hey Jude! Sat Nav, myself and Amy went with friends to see them last Saturday night at Masham Town Hall.

We set off for Masham and it was a case of HELP because it was raining so hard we had to travel in a YELLOW SUBMARINE.

SERGEANT PEPPER was waiting at the door to greet us and he said they were going to sing PAPERBACK WRITER especially for me; wasn't that sweet!

The band was formed in 1994 by musician/actor Chris O'Neill after he played George Harrison in the Bafta Award winning film Backbeat which chronicles the early days of The Beatles in Hamburg. And, what a coincidence: the band hail from Liverpool.

The band lineup is:
Chris O'Neill - Paul McCartney
Paul McDonough - John Lennon (an uncanny resemblance!)
David Reilly - Ringo Starr
Gary Harmon - George Harrison

This brilliant band has performed around the world, from Masham to Monaco . . . No kidding!

When I interviewed the band (video to follow later) I asked them how they found Masham. Chris said, 'Sat Nav.' I thought, that's funny, she didn't tell me she'd led the band into Masham :-)