Last Lap at Tropical World

Foxwood

Debs, I spent last night/the night before refiling all the Christmas Songsheets, determined to move less stressfully from on tune to the next. Three hours well worth it, I'd say.





First, middle and last: Foxwood: you, me, Sarah,  Bex, Natalie, Sophie,  and Ashley and Karen [guests]

Foxwood with Sparrows

Next up: Sparrows: Claudia, Ashley, Ciara

Foxwood

Foxwood again

with John the Drummer

Really nice - John [always known as John the Drummer] turned up. We made him pose for  photo with us.


Steel Rising Foxwood Doves: really just all the same players in reverse order.


Went for a walk round Tropical World and pursued this lovely little bird until she agreed to pose for me.

It's not all steel bands. Here's some Spanish . .

Dear Debs,

I finally managed to fit Spanish lessons into my life this term. Blessed already with French and Latin, am finding it reasonably easy.

Teacher great; rest of class great; we had a little party at the end of term, and we were each given a recipe in Spanish to follow a make a dish for said. Eventually Rick took pity on me, and "my" Russian salad was a success.



Here we are in December at Beckett Park Leeds Met in Whichever Building, celebrating a term well spent.

Thursday at Tropical World - Foxwood Steel, East Steel, South Steel

East Steel

Gig, JJ, Diz, Goddess

If it's Thursday we're still here: tonight we are Foxwood Steel [me, Bex, Gig, Katie, Debs, Vicky, then Charlotte], then East Steel [Cathy, Joyce, Wendy, Jeanette, Adele, Trish, Anne, Lynn, Becky, Cheryl]. After that it's South Steel [Charlotte, Debs, Caroline, Neil, Holly], and then we let them play on till the end. On account of the fact that we had run out of reperoire, dry songsheets and energy.

South Steel

East Steel

Foxwood Steel, Allerton Grangettes, Sparrows and Steel Risingat Tropical World Wednesday

It's that time of year again: standing on an artifiical beach on the other side of the wall from the meerkats, and just along from the crocs at Tropical World Roundhay park [Leeds, of course].

As we play each evening for three hours, and we are the same band, and the Tropical World staff are the same staff, it's my mission that we vary the repertoire and the style of play and the visuals as much as possible.

So this evening it's Foxwood [me, Bex, Sarah, Katie, Gig. Sophie, Tim, Vicky],

Foxwood Steel

 then the wonderful Allerton Grangettes [Sophie, Leila, Josie, Claudia, Ciara,  then it's Foxwood again, then Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows [Claudia, Ciara, Georgia E, Peter, Millie], then Foxwood again, then after I left early to go to City of Leeds School for the City Vibe Show, it was Steel Rising [Alli, Karen, Vicky plus].

Me, Gig and Maya got to City; Rick took them [G and M] off in the car, but the bit where I would have played for City Vibe hadn't happened before I had to leave . . .  Such is life. Thankfully Sophie was able to stand in.

Foxwood and Sparrows

Foxwood n Sparrows

Grangettes and some Foxwood

Foxwood at Touchstone

Like buses, this set of gigs came in threes, and now finishing the trio off is Foxwood Steel at Touchstone. We are me, Bex, Nat, Tim, Gig and Katie. We are at the White Rose Banqueting Suite, Tong Road, playing between 10 and 10.30. I knew it was an AGM. I thought that meant a committee of 20 or so around a table, and I thought that a steel band was a bit of a luxury. Debs, it was about 200!

And this is the best load in in Leeds. Van - loading entrance - stage. 2 mintes. We are ace. Acoustics - ace. I was so buzzing that I bought too any samosas at the best vegetarian Asian food shop in town [Anands on Harehills Road], ran Nat to Seacroft, Tim to Burley, then came home and passed out!

In time I may have better pics. In the meantime, here we are, and also Stephanie from Touchstone. [I first worked with Stephanie eight years ago when I took the Sparrows across to the Roscoe Luncheon Club just off Chapeltown Road [Francis Street, I think].]

If it's Thursday, it must be Allerton Grange

On Wednesdays I usually go in to teach my little Allerton Grangers; this Wednesday it was a staff training staff, so I didn't.

On Thursday Mr M and I fixed up an extra little rehearsal for the pannistes. We had a choice: practise in the pan-room, then take the pans through and set them up in the hall, or set up first. We set up first; it started to rain [outside]; they set up the table tennis tables in the hall. They played table tennis; we played tunes, dodging the tennis balls. Some table tennis players tried helping me count to 4. Ace. Such is life.

I went home at tea time but didn't have time for tea; picked up an extra single second and soprano pan; went to Scholes to pick up some cello pans for Rick to take to Manchester the next day; stopped in Harehills to buy a carry-out [regretted it]; and back to A Grange for the show.

Now these little ones have been with me for a year or so now; some were even with me at Moor Allerton Primary School; they played Sledging [Russian Folk Song], Words [our tribute to Robin Gibb from the BeeGees], Brown Girl in the Ring [West Indian folk song] and Someone I used to Know [my concession to contemporary]; Alex played kit as we needed Claudia on pans [ - next time, Claudia!].

Our players this evening were Leila, Claudia, Ciara, Grace, Polly, Dezire, Isobel, Josie and Sophie. Annette was in the audience with her camera so we do have a couple of snaps. They are invited to do a guest slot at Tropical World next Wednesday at 5.30.

East Steel at YAMSEN:SpeciallyMusic Christmas Concert at Leeds Town Hall, and the Declines at the Viaduct

Dear Debs,

Tiz the season to play almost no Christmas tunes at all. East Steel's fetaured tunes for the Town Hall Concert are Magic Moments, Scarborough Fair, My Grandfather's Clock and Jar of Hearts. Over the prize giving we play [in honour of the West Park Centre, recently and pointlessly closed] We Shall Not be Moved and The Red Flag [aka O Christmas Tree]. Here's some sound check pics before the choirs and other bands take to the stage.  

This year we are  me, Bex, Joyce, Karen, Anne, Lynn, Cathy, Peter, Jeanette, Trish, Wendy, Becky, Cheryl, Katie, Vicky and Bart.

 Both my schools today were closed to me [Allerton Grange  has a training day, and Quarry Mount is replacing its windows], so I can spend all day packing the little blue Transit and wondering why I agreed to lend Nat the Foxwood drum kit today [durr!]. Anyway we nearly have two kits these days, and in the end, Bart plays for us with no hihat, and the snare balanced on a metal strip balanced on top of the cymbals inside their bag. Rock and roll, hey! Bart sounded great hihat-less, Anyway think all drummers should play thus; metal only give them ideas.

Now, Debs, it has taken me ten or even more years of playing Leeds Town Hall to discover that band leaders etc can park at the front. So, it's unload, van round to front, play gig, take pans to loading bay again, bring van back round, load back up. Got the edge on coming back the next day with one other person! Also, it really is so much nicer setting up at leisure and not bewteen schools.

After that some of us leg it down to the Viaduct to see Nat play with the Declines. Nice drum kit! Shame about the photo. [But I think you get the idea.]