North Steel and Steelettes at North Leeds Music Centre Concert

Saturday 24 March, over to Allerton CE Primary School, host to North Leeds Music Centre. We have lessons, rehearsals, then set up in the hall and our Easter/Spring concert.

We now have two beginners classes, and we put them together for the concert, starting with that old classic:

 Largo in F [all 8 bars played with variations][from the Easy Classical book], then
Whole World in his Hand [all 16 bars with variations][from the Gospel Collection], then,
 and this was awesome: I Got Shoes [also from The Gospel Collection]

Beginners and Beginner beginners were Julie, Harvey, Lola, Lucy, Debbie, Patrica, Ziggy, Charlotte, Theo, Nyal, Ginny, Darcy, with Eddie on kit.

North Steel itself was Satinder, Sylvia, Kurum, Julia, Theo again, Luke, Isha, and me, and Eddie on kit. We played Can't Smile Without You [originally by Barry Manilow, but we like our version better!], Can't Help Loving Dat Man [which was incredible, if we do say so ourselves!] and then El Condor Pasa. This was a bird, however which really fly. Well, you can't win them all.

Here's some screen shots of the video of the concert, which is so lovely [apart from the Passing Condor] that I must learn how to upload these little videos so that the players can see themselves, as they were in March 2018, because, at this rate of progress they will be some miles forward by March 2019.

Also can I mention trolleys. By this time were two - mine and Julia's. Soon they were to expand!

Finally thanks to Eddie for his drum-kit-playing, tea-bringing, cake-making, child-minding and being butt of jokes support this year. Also to his dad for the video.

East Steel, Oulton Bands, Sparrows at Rothwell Festival

It's Friday evening, March 23rd, and we are on the road to Rothwell, to the Blackburn Hall to be precise. Wanda has organised for the steelband section to take its place for the first time ever at Rothwell Festival, and here we are in this lovely Victorian concert hall.



The Federation of Festivals doesn't allow photography at its festivals. This doesn't usually deter our parents but it does stop us getting some good action shots. We got special permission for this posed joint band picture at the end, and we invited this lovely adjudicator to join us.

At the end of the Friday school day it seemed a massive effort to get to Rothwell, but really it is only what the Oulton parents do every Tuesday to get their Sparrows to Sparrows, if you see what I mean.

In the event, the event was totally worth it. All the bands sounded great and Wanda's effort to arrange this totally paid off. Here are some pictures of the bands in rehearsal or gigging elsewhere.