Masham Musical Society 2008 Annual Concert

On Saturday night I had the pleasure of attending Masham Musical Society's Annual Concert. The concert was billed as Now and Then.


This year they had a new conductor Mr. Jonathon Heitler and a new accompanist Mr. Anthony Rudd. Not only that, but they also had four new members. One was Sat Nav (Gloria) who had been practicing not only at rehearsals, but also at home for weeks. Of course she had me singing along too. We Gathered Lilacs in the kitchen, Ruled Britannia regularly. Razzle Dazzled Katie (our horse) in the stable, and were sure our neighbours were wondering Why Must The Show Go On? But they must have been relieved to hear that Christmas is Coming.


But seriously . . . that should give you some idea of the content of the night.

I wish I had taken my Union flag to wave when they sang Rule Britannia, but never daunted Brian and I waved our programmes ;-)

Their performance was absolutely fabulous! If you were in the audience you should Consider Yourself very lucky indeed.
And I'm not just saying that because Sat Nav made her debut with the society - it's true!

Congratulations and well done to everyone.

The Last Night of the Proms

Last night Sat Nav and I went to Darlington Civic Theatre www.darlingtonarts.co.uk to see The British Philharmonic Orchestra perform The Last Night of the Proms. Conducted by Alistair Lilley (now... I have something very important - and impressive - to share with you.... I am proud to tell you that my great-uncle used to conduct this very Orchestra - see, I knew you'd be impressed!) and lead by Alison White.
They were absolutely brilliant. Jeni Bern and Andrew Forbes Lane were the Soloists, and Mark Langley the Presenter. So with this line up you can guess that we were in for a special treat.

The theatre was full to the brim, but alas unlike some, we had forgotten to take our flags with us!
This meant that we couldn't join in :-(
But the clever theatre staff were prepared and during the interval Sat Nav discovered that suitable flags were on sale at the sweetie kiosk. Naturally she rushed off to buy a couple so we could join in and wave to our hearts content. Which we did, and Sat Nav usually very conservative waved her flag with the best of them!

Now, let me tell you about the fabulous music....well, where to start?.... we enjoyed selections from The Sound of Music, Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, and Grease - with the soloists dressed in 70's gear for Grease.
Sat Nav was in raptures with the medley from My Fair Lady - her absolute favourite film.

We were soothed with gentle tones, totally relaxed, but then they played the Dr Who theme with terrific verve and what came next was a bit of a shock.
We were sitting at the end of the front row of the dress circle next to the right hand box, (yes, you do need to know this) when I was deafened by a scary familiar voice booming out from said box...it was a dalek... and it was shouting as plain as day 'exterminate!!!....exterminate!!!'
I couldn't believe it, - what a ploy and what a shock. The entire audience re-acted....It was brilliant.
Recovered, I told myself - don't be silly there can't possibly be daleks in here - can there? lol!!!

We enjoyed the company of two lovely ladies throughout the concert, Mave and her friend Marjorie from Northallerton. Mave is something of a celebrity - although retired she taught theatrical makeup and her students have gone on to great things. Thanks Mave for giving me your programme :-)

And thanks to the British Philharmonic for giving us such a treat...I know that I've said this before, but I'm going to say this again, IF YOU GET THE CHANCE - GO AND SEE THEM!
Whoops! Nearly forgot...Sat Nav and I are now officailly Promenarders ;-)