Mediaeval pageant news

We sang, we processed!

Newcastle under Lyme borough began in 1173 and this year is it’s 850th anniversary. They hold an Artisans market on the “stones” in Newcastle and we had been invited to take part.

Not all the members of Loud Mouth Women like their images being published so I have adjusted this.

Loud Mouth Women performed, we did a lovely set of songs for the 850th anniversary of Newcastle under Lyme. We were singing at the market cross and sang Greensleeves, Scarborough fair, Cockles and Mussels, La Para Deux, Fair and Tender Ladies among other songs, then we processed around the town centre with a children’s recorder group called the knights templars, a mediaeval minstrel band, freemen of the town and at the head Nello as the King.

Luckily the rain kept off until about half an hour after we finished x

Today at Middlewich

Just back from singing at Middlewich with the Loud Mouth Women choir. It was a bit of a competition with a band playing over the road! There were performers all afternoon at the White Bear in Middlewich. But there was a restaurant over the road which also had a band on and they were over amplified so that a lot of the time they were drowning out people at the White Bear.

I enjoyed our performance although it was hard to tell if people could hear us. We sang along with Kate Barfield and Esther Brennan from the Boat Band so it was a bit of a change for all of us as we had never done anything like that before. I couldn’t take photos while we were performing but I got photos of the Raj circus act that followed us…. They did various tumbling, acrobatic and juggling tricks and really got the crowd going with their drumming. I’m tired out now! Fell asleep when I got home x

Music festival

Singing at Audlem Music Festival today with Loud Mouth Women choir.

I have filtered it through Photodirector to make the participants blurred out. We enjoy singing, but not everyone wants to be identified across the whole world. Data should be protected if that’s what people want.

We sang about 15 songs including: Cockles and Mussels, Da do Ron Ron, Melizway, Summer is icumen in, Song of the Sea and a lot more. Some of them were in different languages, like Maori and Zulu. We learn by repetition and don’t use sheet music.

Everyone seemed to enjoy it and they even joined in some of the songs that our choir mistress helped teach them. It went so well that we have been invited back to do a concert!

It was a lovely day out, my only qualm was that I haven’t driven very far in two years and I think I was holding up the traffic as I gingerly negotiated lots of narrow bends, when we got to the village itself there is a warning system to let you know if there is anything coming the other way. I was very alarmed when a massive tanker truck was round the corner! We squeezed through, thankful I had been driving slowly!

Preparing

We are singing at Audlem music festival in a few weeks. Loud Mouth Women are learning some new songs, and last night we were a bit short on numbers. In one particular song I was the only person to sing one of the parts! I was a bit nervous and forgot the tune on at least one of the lines. When you sing in a choir you try and tune in with other singers. So much depends on memory, pitching the right notes, getting the beat right and knowing if you have to do a movement or a clap…. In some of our songs that are international we do a Maori wiri-wiri. Next week is the last rehearsal and then we have an hour long performance. Wish us luck!

Audlem Festival

In small writing. Loud Mouth Women choir will be performing at Audlem Music and Arts Festival on 28th May 2023. We will be singing for an hour at the Methodist Chapel there. Audlem is a small village on the road between Woore and Whitchurch in Cheshire. We have sung at many of the festivals there during the late May bank holiday. I think we are trying to actually teach the audience some of our songs during the performance. Not long to go. I’ll find out the time of the music set later.

Singing and yoga

Two of my favourite pastimes,

First chair yoga. I can’t get down (or up) off the floor, but I’m trying to do the yoga positions as well as I can to improve my mobility. I can’t lift both my arms above my head, and I do go very wobbly if I try to do a balance, but I do my best. Yoga gradually helps you stretch and move and I hope will build my core strength. I would never do ‘hot’ yoga, I’m trying to find a bit of enlightenment not strong exercise.

After a break I joined in singing with Loud Mouth Women choir. We are learning music from the 1950’s, a sea shanty, a Samoan call and response and a new song for the coronation, so it was very varied. Good also to see three new choir members, I hope they enjoyed it. We may be doing a gig soon, watch this space. X

Singing today

Screenshot, it doesn’t play

Loud mouth women singing at a local supermarket today, we sang on the car park then inside the foyer of the store. After a long hiatus of performance it was great to be out singing with my friends again. Some of the ladies are a little camera shy so I have blurred their photos. We had a lovely time, and it was good to get applause and smiles from customers.

Keep calm

Nine years ago we had a party at Loud Mouth Women singing group. I can’t remember exactly what it was for but this just came up on my Facebook page. I’m sure we will have sung many songs in different languages. It’s fun to sing, the group doesn’t need you to be able to read music. If you decide to join in we try and help people decide if they sing high, middle or low parts, but people can move around. You don’t have to perform, you can if you want to though, we have a few gigs a year. I didn’t go for a few weeks but I’m so glad to be back! If you have a local choir think of joining?

Singing!

I went to sing with Loud Mouth Women tonight. It felt like I’d never been away. Numbers of attendees were down. I think a lot of people have got the cold that is going round. I’m glad I went. We are starting to learn Christmas songs that we will sing at a small performance in a few weeks. Old songs just come back into my head. You don’t know how they go, and then suddenly the music and words pop into your head! We sang a combination song of English, Hindi, French, Hebrew and Latin tonight! It was 2019 when I last sang it but I still sort of remember it. I was listening to a science programme on the radio on the way home and it said that people can still recall the languages they learnt at school even if decades have passed. It’s because those memories are in a stable area of the brain. It was on a show called All In The Mind on BBC radio 4. It might be on BBC Sounds.

Singing again

Music stand with fairy lights.

For the first time in months I went to sing with the Loud Mouth Women choir. Covid fears and a pulled calf muscle has stopped me. I had to admit I’ve been scared of mixing. But I went, and I felt a bit better in myself afterwards. You don’t realise how depressed you are getting until you force yourself to do things, but I did it. It’s cheered me up. It was the last choir practice this year and we sang some Christmas songs. Glad I went.