Weymouth Festival of Remembrance

Dorset for Singing met in the room of the ocean to practice getting into a nice line in order to go onstage. Some of us were already dressed and wearing poppies, others waiting until later to pull on their bright tops and black bottoms. In this picture I look like the one who smells bad. Truthfully though, no one ever wants to come forward straight away! Ed told us all to make 4 rows and smile, and we had a bit of a run through. 

The run through was probably steeped with nerves. As we felt the lights upon us some members came in too early, and some too late. But despite this hiccup, we all came back at 7.30pm determined to keep our collective eyes on Ed. Just before we went on, we were given this wonderful certificate of appreciation. How we laughed because we hadn’t done our bit yet! 

I’m delighted to share the following photos of us with permission of Weymouth Festival of Remembrance, with all credit to Graham Hunt Photography. Don’t we look cheerful in our veritable rainbow of coloured tops? We did one million times better on stage, and even remembered our cheekbones. I’d forgotten how hard it is to see the audience from beneath those bright lights! 

And Ed was so proud. He gave us an intimate double thumbs up in front of his chest where the audience didn’t see, and was grinning like the choir master who was getting a kebab for tea. Looking at the awesome photo below you can see pure love, of choir, of singing and of community spirit. 

It was a real honour to be part of this festival, and a great blessing to perform in a concert, our first since Christmas 2019. Well done DFS, You were amazing. But that’s not why I love you! Xxx 

21 October 2021

A reminder today that there will be no intimate Christmas concerts this year, but after half term we will have a new set of songs. 

We chose to warm up with Make You Feel My Love because it was very, very cold. And for seconds, with no feedback at all we went into If You could Read My Mind and Ed requested VOLUME and HAPPY FACES. Twice. 

We sang Happy Birthday to Carol then went back to Make You Feel My Love but this time with feedback and pointers. I’m afraid that I concentrated more and blogged yes, but you should also find good pointers on last weeks and the other blogs too. 

Wartime Medley came next. Topical perhaps, but we will leave that there. I thought this sounded brilliant DFS. I’ve not asked if I can bring Ben yet. 

Next the wonderful I Still Have Faith In You prefixed with a little warning in the shape of a tale from Dorchester. 

Just before running through our concert set we sang California Dreamin’ but we didn’t have our kazoos for the instrumental bit which was a dreadful shame. 

We stood. And Ed said it was good. 

1.45 for rehearsal 

7.30 in the room of the ocean. 

Be there and bring your cheekbones!

God Only Knows what we did with the last 8 minutes. Well. Ed talked for one. 

Well done DFS, keep singing and definitely keep smiling. Until we meet. Cat xxx

14 October 2021

Jack forgot his bag for life …

Details about our concert follow - 

1.45 dress rehearsal. Which is actually not about what you are wearing but where you will be standing and practicing getting on and off stage. Wear a coloured but not patterned top and black on the bottom 

In the evening we meet in the ocean room at 7.30pm. 

And we dived into Make You Feel Love and Ed said lovely, lovely. But harmonies need to be louder please. Ed demonstrated the syncopation requirements and didn’t do it wrong at all. We will never sing of it again. 

It’s still a little too bouncy, apply a little more smooth, but support with good diction. Don’t forget this is our first song on the night. So be ready to come in strongly, powerfully accurately and what ever else Ed said. 

We stood to perform. Perfect, said Ed. 

It was Wartime Medley time so the place was filled rats, cats and bats all getting packed into old kit bags … after a first run through it was sounding pretty good. We just worked on the harmony parts, higher and lower. 

After a pitch transpose we sang I Still Have Faith In You. We are doing so well with this and stood to perform with a backing track too. 

Then for a treat we had some Coke. We didn’t. We attempted First Time and I was a teenager again. Watch out for the nuns. It’s a nun charted sea. And a nun opened door? Maybe not. 

Bodyform advert next, said Ed. I smell an eighties Advert medley. Hope it comes with free merch. 

A little California Dreaming and God Only Knows to wind down our evening. Or wind up Ed maybe. We stood to perform the latter! 

Wow super smashing DFS. Don’t stop singing. See you next time xxx

7 October 2021

Beaking news - Jack is getting a hair cut tomorrow! 

Concert is still going ahead and getting closer. The backing tracks are ready and waiting in Dropbox 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j5xtil6hd6eeocq/AABJRU4ApiOsnKImZgsZeTvAa?dl=0&fbclid=IwAR36wSRpMwYkdY0v-QV50qeR9e6XqKUP_MPuCBsuxX9Fb3XdfmivxL8SonE

We started tonight with California Dreamin’ and I hope Dorch don’t read this. He said we were worded, but we decided to count that as a warm up. Off we went again, from the top. It was better. 

With a brand new backing track and Ed out from behind the keyboard we sang I Have Still Faith In You. After a run through we broke it down because it does have interesting gaps and beats. This song needs us all to be soloists, in effect. Make like divas DFS. We do have in it us, we do. Have Faith! 

Don’t forget that wonderful overlap, and come in gentley with the ‘I still have …” And we stood to perform, and Ed was happy with the way that’s progressing. 

Make You Feel My Love will be out opening song. The start of verse two either needs some work or the audience will think, oh what a dynamic overlap. So there’s that. Do sing it a lot smoother. 

The War Time Medley has a backing track too. And wow what a lovely thing it was. Apart from our key change. And our ‘so’ … 

We had a sing of First Time and I really wanted a fizzy drink for some reason. And just for fun God Only Knows which was nice. 

Well done DFS, I still have faith in you. Aaaaah doooooo. So! Keep singing xxx

30 September 2021

Ed and Jack did a thorough sound check and someone told me I got the month late. So I edited that. It’s a little cold in the hall so we might be in need of a more physical warm-up as winter approaches, with all the ventilation requirements. 

But we did do some vocal-sizes and no star jumps. 

Ed gave is a recap of Jack’s life since lockdown started (nice) and reminded us about our concert (read last week if you didn’t come) and announced that the new ABBA song will have to go up a pitch or two to suit our young fresh voices. 

First song of the night is an old friend California Dreamin’ but it rather lacked the melody and the brightness of higher cheek bones! Do sing winner and not winter otherwise it sounds a bit jam and Jerusalem. 

Christmas Concerts are not on the radar yet. But we could do an outdoor thing. We slipped into Make You Feel My Love don’t forget your aaaaaahs in the second verse. We agreed that the key was comfortable for Ed to make a backing track or two, and that Jack will get some links on the website on Saturday because the weather will be pants. Blowing in your face. Best stay home and sing then. 

Time for a Wartime Medley with rats, cats and bats to sing about. What fun we had in the olden days! Oh we did have fun packing up our travels and smiling those cheeks higher! 

ABBA song time, but first and anecdote. ABBA recently made a comeback but they are going to come back all holographically so we might go to said hologram concert on a coach together. Won’t that be fabulous. 

I Still Have Faith In You lead to a two man tinkering on the piano, and we were off, in a new key. I don’t mean we were off key. (Plus 2) (transpose is function and f sharpe and f in case Ed forgets). 

We decided to top and tail If You Could Read My Mind which I still don’t know oops, mind you I had members sitting nearer so my own mistakes as loud this week, hooray! We stood to perform. Well, when I said we I was bending the truth a bit. This song is my homework, what’s yours? 

Wow well done DFS. It’s so good to be back isn’t it? Keep singing but only where it’s safe to do so. 

23 September 2021

Back! Back we were. Even if no one sat near me, it was so good to be back. The piano was a little wobbly and we had to do a quick google to find out how to transpose. Perhaps Ed was a little wobbly too. 

Ed welcomed everyone and reminded everyone that we already have a concert booked on the 31 October which will feature a brand new wartime medley. It will be for the festival of remembrance. 

We were going to be singing old songs and new songs again tonight marking the end of the odd ‘nearly two years’ and kicked off with a Dum Dum Diddle together. Yes! 

The first song in our concert will be Make You Feel My Love and we were off singing a real propper song! Considering we had not sung for a long time, well together, it sounded pretty nice and Ed just had to revise timings with us. It was so lovely singing that I was tempted to forget to blog. But then where would we be? Dorchester probably read this to see if we were as good as them, for starters. 

This will be our opening number … we stood to perform. And Ed said that it was good. 

Wartime Medley was our next piece of fun, for me it was the rats but for some of the guys it might have been the marvellous harmony part. And Ed said it could have been worse. We stood to perform!

Homework may have been to listen to I Still Have Faith In You but it was very new to many so Jack looked out a lyric video for us. 

We had a stab at the beginning with Ed at the piano, held back by Jenny’s handbag. The piano I mean, not Ed. 

Next up was If You Could Read My Mind familiar to many of DFS. We ran through that and the first verse of First Time and ran out of time. 

Wow DFS, didn’t we do well? I loved it. Keep singing and definitely keep smiling, Love, The Blogger x 

Lockdown parte duet ....

From our dear Choir Master - 

"It is with sadness, yet again, that I have to announce the suspension of rehearsals for Dorset for Singing. I will, of course, resume the live sessions through Facebook on Thursdays at 6pm and hope that we will be able to get together and sing before Christmas. Although the 2nd lockdown doesn’t become law until Thursday, 5th November, due to rising rates, there will be no rehearsal this Wednesday for Dorchester. I really don’t want to put anyone at risk so hope you understand. It has been so good to get back recently, and we WILL return! Much love to you all, Ed and family x."

15 October 2020

Well, well, well. We are back. Masked, Brave and ready to sing! Peter helped us to set up, and perhaps we may enjoy more space next week. 

Ed removed his mask and welcomed us warmly, saddened us with the news of no Christmas medley, and the news that Jack has passed his driving test we cheered. We cheered at everything apart from the sad discovery that our DFS website had been taken away by the webbly hosts. But there will always be a blog. I’ll pop any updates Ed requires on here. 

Ed announced a warm up then tried to hit us with an ABBA number, but Jack put him right. Thanks Jack. Singing seated so separately made some of us feel shy. I sang into a sock and Jenny had her head in a bucket. Can’t wait to look back on this in a few years time! 

On to SOS and encouragements to sing louder! We even tried some harmony parts. 

Born Free is a very good singing exercise. It starts relaxed but builds tension. It is a little low for the men but there was only one male member tonight. Of course Ed sang with him. Be careful how you sing grass, it can come out a bit too Dorset. Free fall harmonies in ‘Ahhhs’ seemed a little too daunting for our very spaced out reduced choir. There sure is safety in numbers. The word ‘free’ must be sang with a big cheesy grin.

Life On Mars started just as I hit a power surge. And a power surge is not the thing to have while singing into a hot, moist sock! Ed and Jack found the right key on the piano and there were just a few little bits of harmony to try. 

Ed thumbed through the song book and plucked out Whistle Down The Wind. Next was homework being set - at home, Sing Very Loudly. 

We revisited One Day Like This one that choir has done a lovely job of in the past. Cue hilarious run through and 4 times faster and in the style of George Formby. Nice. Now lead off from the back like at school. Chin wags in the car park only! 

Wow. Well done all. Keep singing! And louder! 

Love from Cat the rusty blogger x