I have tackled Reception at Meltham Moor

Well, Debs,

I forgot to tell you about working in your old neck of the woods:

A62

Like yourself, I teach secondary, and like yourself for a reason. So when Meltham Moor [Primary School] contacted me to do a workshop and mentioned Yrs 6, 5,4, and then 3,2,1 and Reception, and then Nursery, I was thinking no. Then I remembered work is work, and besides that, my pride was possibly surfacing. Reader, I took the gig.

And then decided to take the steelpans over in my little blue van the Friday before. This turned out to be the day an accident closed the M62, and consequently choked up the A62. I spent four hours on the A62 befrore conceding defeat and turned right towards Bradford. Put my feet up in Mughal's, Leeds Road, Bradford, charged my phone, told home where I was. [Also, obviously some pechoras changed hands]

Left Leeds at 3pm, got back at 8pm, having not even got anywhere near Meltham Moor. Hmm.

On Monday and Tuesday I took on comers, and I like to think I rocked [Louise W may be the judge of that!], and Debs, I even enjoyed teaching a Reception class. Don't tell anyone. Give me raging hormones anytime. Here's picture of traffic on and around the !62

Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows play Breeze on Briggate,

Breeze on Briggate. What it says on the tin.



Rick and I delivered the pans to the backstage nearly-marquee at 9.30 [before half the band were awake, I'll wager!]. Stacked them neatly, and left the gazebo/marquee to be built around them.



Sunny. Crowded. Dancing gran. Found Theo and Jo busking pan and kit just down from the stage. So pans very much alive and well in Leeds.

Met the Sparrows backstage from 2.15 on. In the end we were Naomi, Georgia E, Danielle L, Danii, Peter, Claudia, George, Ciara, Danielle H. Because we were missing some holiday-makers we were joined by Varshika, Amy and Katie. [Katie tried to [point out that she had only come to watch!]. Leaders were myself, Natalie, Bex and Tim. Joining us mostly on percussion: Theo, Jo and Cameron [who, like Katie weren't quite expecting it!]. And not forgetting the Queen of all forms, all cameras, all stuff like that: Vicky.

Backstage crew knew their stuff, stage manager offered us a medal for our efficient settingupness. Well, it's not just about the 30 minutes of rubber on steel!







The "dancing gran" earlier mentioned features on an eponymous youtube clip of herself dancing to us playing Is Heat on Briggate three years ago. See also the Facebook Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows page for video clips and more pics.

Leeds Silver Steel Sparrows, SILC Unleashed, Allerton All Stars, Leeds Steel United play Wharfedale Festival May 2013

Allerton All Stars

Well, I arranged for us all to meet at Leeds Station in plenty of time for us to be desperately early for the King's Hall. Just as well.

I brought the first half over on the 4.32 and Natalie and Tim brought up the rear on the 5.02. Vicky had already met Rick with the van, and most pans were on the stage. And, let's face it, it was easier setting up with half the players than with all.

SILC Unleashed

Xanthe appeared with her wonderful SILC Unleashed at about the same time.

Allerton All Stars didn't like their name, but that's it till they come up with a better one [they didn't like Grangettes either]. They played One More River, Sledging and El Condor Pasa. They were Polly, Claudia, Sophie, Josie, Ciara, Eva, Rameice. I played the melody with Josie. I was rubbish. Sorry, Josie. [Have since found out that Ciara knew the melody. That makes me double rubbish].

SILC Unleashed [now that is a good name] played Unnatural Selection by Muse. They were Xanthe, Jake and Dan. And they brought their fan club! Yo!



Sparrows

Sparrows played their Festival 2013 set. Which they have called,  Dreamed a Bridge Over Always Hearts. Actually sometimes it's I Dreamed a Bridge over Loving Jars.




Leeds Steel United

Then all of us together as Leeds Steel United played Next to Me. Ace.

We had chips [they had fish and . . ] and then caught the 8.21 back to Leeds. To say that Lawnswood and Allerton Grange bonded even more would be an understatement! What a racket!
{thanks as ever to Vicky for loading and pics beyond the call of duty.]

The Russian meal, and Ray, Jane and Rosie say goodbye

If it's Monday, it must be partytime!

First off, I jump onto the Bradford train 5 minutes before it leaves, apparently beating Joanna and pal to it by 2 minutes!  Good grief! How can I be fashionably late if two others are later?




We get off at Bradford Forster Square, walk up to the Russian Restuarant, sit down and meet all the others who have come from other places by other means. Bob's bought a bottle of vodka. We all make variable attempts to order in Russian. Galina is really "fashionably"!

I now have to rush down to Interchange [not "just down the road"!], and jump on the 8.21.

At Leeds I take a taxi to Queenswood Social Club, and arrive as the speeches are ending.




I do get to see Ray's wonderful percussionists do some tunes. And two of them, now in the UK Youth Orchestra, were not even born when I worked with their dads: Eric at John Smeaton, and Dave at Corpus Christi.


Get a lift home from Joe M. Ace. Got to prepare for Wharfedale tomorrow. Stress.

Foxwood Steel play Half Marathon, Leeds

Well, it's a sunny Sunday morning, and not everyone in Foxwood Steel is awake. But those of us who are have just parked up in the Vesper Gate Abbey/Kirkstall Road, and are just finding out that our new gazebos are pink, and not red. So hoping it doesn't rain, we set up our little seven-piece at the side of the road.


We are me, Bex, Varshika, Amy, Danielle, Tim, Alan, Lizzie, and [the ever-patient] Vicky.

Cutting out all our subtle tunes, we set about a set of soca and rock, and discover that once the two front runners have come past, it's is relentless. Bex and I swop melody for bass until we discover that Alan and Tim can learn a bass line in 4 bars flat. Yo.



So who's looking after Mikey and James?

Vicky is in the traffic behind the runners, and has abandoned all hope of playing by the time she gets here. Now, who's looking after Mikey and James!

Half-marathon - relentless, hard-work and ace. But just how many people does it take to pack the last stands into a van?

By the time it did start raining, we just used the pub's parasols, and Alan just got wet.


[PS, Varshika has just called in to say, in their defence, that both she and Danielle had one working hand each and Amy had a bad back!]

Jet Lag, from Workers' Memorial Day to Samba Workshop to TUC Rally to Council Deputation

Now then Debs
You only do 3,000 miles each time you flip off to work, so obviously you won't undestand my suffering [flying all the way to Singapore!].


Astrid explained earnestly to me that as I was going backwards i.e. westwards, the jet lag would be imperceptible, compared to the four days spent in Singapore in a haze.

Not so. I spent the next two two weeks in a daze! During this daze, Margaret Thatcher's funeral put an end to the council meeting that I was due to speak at. Debs, that was probably just as well!



On April 27 it was Workers' Memorial Day. Not so well attended as the day and its all star cast speakers deserved. They included the city council leader,  a Leeds MP,  the leader of the unions: CWU, UCATT and chair and secretary of Yorkshire and Humberside TUC, and Bishop of Leeds and Ripon.

a packed Leeds Town Hall from the risers

By contrast the following day found me squashed on the risers at Leeds town Hall as part of the adoring crowd for Nigel Kennedy. Really too squashed for meaningful viewing. Anyway, glad I saw him in the flesh.

Nigel on right

On Wednesday Ray did a great, and I mean great samba and djembe workshop for the YAMSEN:SpeciallyMusic AGM. As we have now been without a base, a place to rehearse, or to store our instruments for six months now we were rather demob happy - as you can tell from the pic of Gail and Diane. Of course, where once we could nip down the corridor for the djembes, which belonged to another organisation, now Ray had to drive three ten miles there and back in order to collect them. A bit of of a drag.

But the workshop was inspiring, and me and Tim went to the Brudenell for the second time in a week, which probably equals the amount of times I went last year!











Mayday weekend: TUC rally on Saturday, and almost all of Sunday on the allotment. It'll be beans, beans, carrots in a couple of months' time.

On Wednesday I finally took my deputation to the Council meeting. Good thing I was over the jet leg

Richard from NUT and banner

I asked Astrid what was the date

Debs, I am always checking my tickets. The time; the date; the time the date; over and over, as I did all this week since I woke up from jet lag and general end-of-term overwhelmingness. I went on checking every day in Singapore then today I said to Astrid, "What's the date today?" There was a reply and then I said, "My plane left this morning."

This solved the problem of what to do on the last day. When I finally got the flight to Dubai sorted, the lovely lady from the Emirates said, "Are You a frequent flier?" I told her that actually I was a plane phobic, terrified flier.

Online I booked my other planes from Dubai to Paris, and onto Manchester. And seeing that I had the night in Paris [well, not exactly in Paris], I booked an airport hostel at Charles de Gaulle.

Had a final splash in the family pool.

The Tropical storm started late afternoon. In Singapore you are advised to stay in for storms. Now Astrid was going to drive me to Chengi Airport, and along the big roads. My fear of everything returned. The storm abated a bit; we left at 8.30 ish. I made her come into Chengi with me while I checked in. Astrid tried on some specs. I watchd a calming instalation thing.





We bought some Merlion Snowstorms and a cup of tea.

I wanted to get back home, but I hated leaving.



Turbulence. Terrible. Pit stop in Colombo. Dubai at early hour. Left my suitcase with Left Luggage, took Dubai metro to Jebel Ali. Thought someone had recommended it. Possibly not. Half port, half building site.

Debs, I would have only a few miles away from you! I crossed over to the line back to town, got off at a random stop, walked around for half an hour in unbearable heat, went back to the airport, joined the queues for Flight Whatever to France.

Nice monoglot French lady next me talked me down the descent when I was convinced the engines had stalled [and gave me a chance to speak my favourite foreign language].




At the airport, I somehow or other I blundered onto the shuttle bus, and thanks to helpful fellow travellers found the airport hotel.  Had four and a quarter hours sleep, and headed back for the last lap to Manchester, and the only plane flight that didn't terrify me.

At last, back in the UK, settled down on the train to Barrow-in-Furness. Sadly I live in Leeds, so I got straight off at Manchester Picadilly.