We’d been in our new house just 3 days after 9 weeks of living in our van. We were surrounded by boxes, no idea where anything was and living in chaos but it was the date of the Stratford rally and we weren’t going to miss it this time. So we threw some clothes in a bag, emptied whatever we had in the
fridge and set off for the M6. Five hours later, after a fairly easy run we pulled into Stratford racecourse to see John (Colin) bustling towards the grandstand with his ukulele in his hand. Ah nice to see familiar
faces! And a friendly welcome from - I think that’s Bill. Thank goodness they give us a list so we can work
out who’s who! We were reminded of last time we came to the AGM. It was our very first rally, ever. Two years ago, it was chucking it down; we hadn’t any food, we’d no idea how anything worked and it seemed miles to walk to the shop in the rain. And so many new names and faces to learn. At least we know a few now. It was lovely to get together again and do some singing. Brian resurrected some really good songs we’d done two years ago with Pam and he seemed pleased with how well they’d been remembered. The altos (my section) provided some strong harmonies and the sopranos benefited from having a few more women able to make the rally but the men especially were in fine voice.
Friday evening was the usual get together with wine and nibbles and then on Saturday evening, Sue and
John kept us all on our toes with Singo Bingo which I’d never come across before. It brought back memories of songs my dad used to sing, and many oldies that we rarely hear anymore. Then we had the
raffle which seemed to go on for hours with many many lovely prizes and a few rather odd ones- I wonder how many will be recycled in another raffle?
On Sunday morning after another really good rehearsal we did a mini performance for our guests which
included Brian and Alison Ley who gave us some very encouraging feedback. In particular Alison advised us to all stand tall, sternum up, shoulders down and to pay more attention to our breathing.
The AGM followed and Viv guided us through all the usual business with warmth and humour and John
very efficiently kept us on task. By the end I’d been appointed Treasurer and Nick had joined the committee. A short committee meeting after the AGM affirmed that we were joining a great group, a
committee that took their tasks seriously, but had fun and clearly enjoyed each other’s company.
When we came out of the AGM we were greeted by the smell of pies cooking for the race meeting next
day and the rally field was all roped in. It was clearly time to go. Thank you to everyone who contributed to an excellent rally.
Carole H.