Youth Onstage do HSM!

Back in January 'A' joined a group called YouthOnstage in Birmingham.  The group had been recommended by a lady called Jude Petty who just happened to be attending one of the courses we deliver.  'P' mentioned to her that 'A' loved singing, dancing and acting and she thought she might like to give it a try.  At first, although she enjoyed rehearsals, I think she found it a little hard joining a group where she didn't know a soul and we were extremely proud of her for giving it a try and continuing to attend each week.  What probably didn't help was our holiday back in February that took her away from rehearsals for 3 weeks, but unfortunately this had been booked and paid for long before 'A' had ever decided to join Youth Onstage.  However, a few weeks into her return and we could see her confidence was beginning to blossom and she slowly started to speak of new friends and good times.

Last week Youth Onstage performed High School Musical at the Old Rep theatre in Birmingham and what a superb performance it was.  We'd already seen the group perform their pantomime back in December so we knew what they were capable of but it was great to see even more talented youngsters taking the lead the parts.

It never ceases to amaze me that a group of youngsters aged 9 to 21 can have such power when they sing and I know many adult societies who could take a leaf from their book.  The whole cast has such an enthusiasm for what they do and you can see their enjoyment as they perform.  Music for the show was directed by Andy Johnson and the trickier numbers such as Stick to the Status Quo were handled with ease.  Suzy Petty was in charge of choreography and as with the pantomime it was great to see the whole cast taking part in many of the dances along with the more challenging routines that the cheerleaders and basketball players had to learn.  Direction was by Deb Brook and was fabulous, nothing was over played, the actors and actresses reactions were timed to perfection.  Our only fault with the show would be that in some of the songs the backing music was a little loud which meant that it was difficult to hear the soloist at times.  On many occasions however, the soloist was then joined by chorus which meant the track volume was required to be louder to compete with their fantastic volume :).

There were far too many talented individuals to mention them all but we were really impressed with Alick Draper and Georgia Towler who played Ryan and Sharpay.  Their comic interpretation of the characters was superb, especially with Alick 'camping' it up whenever he possibly could.  Hannah Brook and Adam Brown did the roles of Gabriella and Troy justice and were careful not to overplay the parts - their voices combined wonderfully.  Hannah Thomas playing 'Kelsie' was also a hit with us - we also couldn't believe how much she looked like the actual 'Kelsie' from the film!

It was a tiring week for 'A' with dress rehearsals on both bank holiday Monday and also Tuesday evening and then the show itself began on Wednesday evening and ran till Saturday.  But however tired she was her enthusiasm didn't wane and we could tell she'd thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience of being on stage and the atmosphere that goes with being part of a cast and show such as this.  She's made some great friends and is always keen to tell us how pleasant and friendly everyone is - she can't wait to return in September when rehearsals start for 'Hairspray'.  She actually asked me this morning, "Is it YOS tonight?".........I think she has the bug!

My apologetic return to blogging.........

What is it about taking a break from the blog?  A week off over Christmas, turned into a chilled fortnight, which before I knew it turned into a neglectful month!  The trouble was, the prospect of getting back into blogging became like that 'thank you' phone call you should have made a month ago that you know you still need to make but now somehow seems somewhat embarrassing as it's taken so long! (Does that makes sense?)

So, before I unleash my first post of 2011 upon you all, please accept the above ramble as my sincere apology and rest assured I am now back to full posting health!

Where to start? Well, Christmas was quiet but lovely (as always!) with Christmas Eve spent with family, Christmas Day at home and New Year at Steph and Dave's.

[caption id="attachment_494" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Hydrotherapy Pool - Lion Quays"][/caption]

P and I also had a lovely night away at Lion Quays in Chirk, Oswestry just after Christmas.  This was our first visit to Lion Quays and we were very impressed.  Our room booking included use of the main pool and gym but for an extra £15 each we were also able to use the Lion Quays Spa.  I have to say this is the nicest spa I've ever visited and our afternoon there was complete heaven.  The spa included a hydrotherapy pool, steam room, sauna, warm room, experience showers, snow cave (yes, I was brave enough to give this a try) and sun meadow.  There were also many treatment rooms, a bistro and relaxation room with complimentary herbal drinks etc.



[caption id="attachment_497" align="alignright" width="137" caption="Lion Quays"][/caption]

We ate in the main restaurant on the evening and once again we were impressed with the service and quality of the food.  Lion Quays is definitely one for the hot list and we will definitely be visiting again, hopefully in the not too distant future.  Rest assured the seed has also been planted with 'the girls' ;).

The new year routine has now kicked back into action with our first choir rehearsal for both the school and ladies choir last Tuesday.  Both went really well, especially the school choir where we now have quite a few new members.  We've introduced some new choir rules where the children compete against us as leaders to win chocolate at the end of the term.  Week one saw excellent behaviour from the children and concluded in a point to the them but I remain confident that the choir leaders, ie, us, will reign triumphant and the chocolate will be ours :).  The ladies choir went well on the whole but 'Somebody to Love' was a little rusty after the Christmas break.  A little work on this over the next couple of weeks should have it polished and ready for April's concert.

Work is steady but mainly spending our time tying up loose ends before our trip to................wait for it..................Florida! Yes, Florida!  This requires a separate post of its own, but our much awaited holiday to Florida is now only 4 weeks away and I'm so excited I could vomit!  Florida preparations to follow shortly.

An 'A' update

Couple of good bits of news for 'A'.  The dancing exam she took before Christmas saw her achieving a distinction with 82 marks overall and Friday also saw her receiving the achievement certificate at school.  Her teacher comments were that she's "an all round ray of sunshine".......awww, if only she could see her when she's screaming at her brother or unable to get out of bed each morning.  Seriously though, I am very proud of her and pleased that she's settled back in at school after a rough term before Christmas.

After being introduced to the group through one of our course delegates, she's now also joined the group Youth On Stage who put on shows twice a year in the Birmingham area.  We went to see their pantomime before Christmas and they truly were superb, especially considering they range in age from only 9 to 21.  She's loving every minute of the twice weekly rehearsals although she is struggling with the late nights.  None the less, the prospect of performing 'High School Musical' at the Old Rep in May is motivation enough to keep her going.

An 'S' update

Not much going on for 'S' at the moment although he is coming close to the crucial options choices at school.  He's decided he would like to be a sports teacher as his main love has always been sport.  He's now in the process of speaking to various teachers to assess what subjects he needs and which teachers will accept him for their subject.

So there you have it, first post of the year.  Ok, so it wasn't so painful (for me anyway) and now I've broken the blogging 'seal' I should be ok to spout off a bit more frequently.

Now for piccies..........bye for now!

[slideshow]

Pre December Update!

There's a lot going on recently but nothing that particularly warranted a full on 'post' all of it's own, therefore I thought I'd blog a little 'update'.

Can you believe it's only 30 days until Christmas? It only seems 5 minutes since I was lying on a beach in Majorca - browning nicely and now here I am, hat, scarf and gloves at the ready and precariously plodding my way to school as the dog nearly pulls me over on the icy pavements!  Say what you like though about the hype, but I do love this time of year with the anticipation of Christmas.  Cold, frosty mornings are wonder and especially so when walking a dog - why didn't anyone ever tell me?  We'd have had him much sooner :)

My Christmas pressy buying is not going too badly (for once) although I always seem to make a good start and then my enthusiasm dwindles, leaving me with 26 presents still to buy come Christmas eve!  How are you all getting on?  You're all going to tell me now that you started in July and they're already wrapped aren't you?

Got a busy week this week.  Monday started off with Dancing and Guides for 'A' as normal with an extra rehearsal thrown in ready for her Preliminary Modern exam this coming Sunday.  Yesterday (Tuesday) was our very last school choir rehearsal for the 'Young Voices' concert taking place tomorrow at the NEC in Birmingham.  The kids are really hyped (as am I!) about the whole thing although I think some of the younger members are a little nervous.  They're really in for a great day though if last year was anything to go by.

Tonight I'm off to see my lovely friend Jo playing 'Edith' in 'Allo 'Allo which is being performed by Mayhem Theatre Group.  From the little tit-bits I've heard so far, I can't wait! (More to come on this tomorrow :) )

As I've already mentioned tomorrow I'll be off to the NEC with the school choir.  It's going to be a long but very enjoyable day.  We leave school around 1pm and won't be returning till around half ten.  As much as I love the snow and frosty weather, let's hope it at least holds off to allow us a safe and swift journey there and back.

Friday is a quieter day, although it is the School's Christmas fayre which I no doubt will be attending to test my luck on the old tombola :).  'S' also has a friend sleeping over Friday night as a treat for his 14th Birthday.  Gone are the days of keeping them entertained though, luckily they'll be quite happy with a pizza and an evening of Xbox!

After such a busy week I'm relieved to say the weekend is a quiet one.  'A' has her dance exam Sunday morning but other than that I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing time with a morsel of Christmas cooking and cardmaking thrown in for good measure.