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Feb. 27th, 2009
Last Wednesday I joined the choir at work. I hadn't sung in a choir since 1997 (my last year of secondary school) and that was a very different type of group. The school choir involved singing from sheet music and taking pitch from a piano. Our work choir is more like a gospel choir which is much more relaxed. The choir mistress is fab. She's really enthusiastic and encouraging and gives each part their starting note orally (i.e. not using a piano or tuning fork etc.) The choir is divided up into three parts - top, middle and bottom. She asked me where my voice lay and I told her I used to sing alto thinking that I'd end up in the bottom part as alto was the lowest part for girls at school. However, she put me in the middle which was just right for my pitch. Most of the people singing the top part were experienced and/or trained singers so they were very, very loud. Our group was bigger but we were struggling to be heard. There weren't very many people at all in the bottom part and they really had a tough job. We sang a gospel song about getting shoes in heaven (sounds crazy but actually made perfect sense when you have all the lyrics which I now can't remember) and the harmonies we made created an impressive sound really quickly. It was parents evening so it was really busy outside the room and lots of people were stopping and watching us through the window. Singing in a gospel style is quite difficult for someone as uptight as me. When I took music lessons I always preferred very strictly notated pieces. My mum had dreams of me becoming a jazz clarinetist but I couldn't cope with the risk of improvisation. Gospel seems to be different. A lot of it is about the way you sing words to give them meaning. I also struggled a bit without sheet music. I guess I'd been used to using it as a safety net over the years. Anyway, it was good fun. I will definitely be going back for the next session.
There's bad news too though. It sounds like our Brownie Unit will fold after all. The woman who was going to take it over now thinks that she can't cope. I'm sad for the girls as they really are lovely and deserve to have the kind of fun that I had when I was a kid. Sadly, people just don't have time to do Brownies now. Also, people seem to think that it's a bit of a sad and outdated thing to want to do. A couple of people have said to me lately something along the lines of 'I don't understand why children would like to join something like Brownies these days'. It's such a big mistake to think that all 7-10 year olds are growing up much quicker than we did 20 years ago. Some probably are, but others still like doing craft activities and playing games and learning the sort of life skills they don't get taught at home. OK, so they're in to High School Musical and have all seem to have a Nintendo DS but I was in to Kylie Minogue and Neighbours when I was their age. I don't think they're much different to how I was at all. It's a shame. At least I'll be able to go to yoga at work on Tuesday nights though.
Tomorrow I'm attending a magical mystery birthday celebration. It's a magical mystery because the birthday girl hasn't told me (a) what we're doing (b) where we're going or (c) what time it starts. She texted me on Wednesday to tell me she'd be sending further info Wednesday or Thursday but nothing has turned up yet. This is causing havoc with my wardrobe planning. I have no idea what I should wear.
I've realised that I've being sewing my Dougal incorrectly. I should have been using 3 strands of silk for the cross stitches but I've only been using two. Bother! I think I did the same thing last time I did a pattern. I should really read the instructions properly before I start. It's beginning to look quite good but I've got to a boring bit where I've got to do a bit block of one colour so I've temporarily lost interest.
There's bad news too though. It sounds like our Brownie Unit will fold after all. The woman who was going to take it over now thinks that she can't cope. I'm sad for the girls as they really are lovely and deserve to have the kind of fun that I had when I was a kid. Sadly, people just don't have time to do Brownies now. Also, people seem to think that it's a bit of a sad and outdated thing to want to do. A couple of people have said to me lately something along the lines of 'I don't understand why children would like to join something like Brownies these days'. It's such a big mistake to think that all 7-10 year olds are growing up much quicker than we did 20 years ago. Some probably are, but others still like doing craft activities and playing games and learning the sort of life skills they don't get taught at home. OK, so they're in to High School Musical and have all seem to have a Nintendo DS but I was in to Kylie Minogue and Neighbours when I was their age. I don't think they're much different to how I was at all. It's a shame. At least I'll be able to go to yoga at work on Tuesday nights though.
Tomorrow I'm attending a magical mystery birthday celebration. It's a magical mystery because the birthday girl hasn't told me (a) what we're doing (b) where we're going or (c) what time it starts. She texted me on Wednesday to tell me she'd be sending further info Wednesday or Thursday but nothing has turned up yet. This is causing havoc with my wardrobe planning. I have no idea what I should wear.
I've realised that I've being sewing my Dougal incorrectly. I should have been using 3 strands of silk for the cross stitches but I've only been using two. Bother! I think I did the same thing last time I did a pattern. I should really read the instructions properly before I start. It's beginning to look quite good but I've got to a boring bit where I've got to do a bit block of one colour so I've temporarily lost interest.
