After the memorable experience
at the Cultural Village yesterday, we were all very excited to wake up to a
brand new day of wonderful sights and memories. We arrived at Ballanta at 9:30
and after hearing the spectacular sounds of the various musicians whilst
walking up the stairs, I knew it was going to be a great morning of teaching.
However I realised fairly quickly that most of the men and women I was teaching
couldn't read music, so after a short warm up, (an essential and often chaotic
part of the session) I attempted a crash course in Grade 5 theory, some of
which I hope sunk in!
At 12:00 the singers in the
group along with Angharad and Millie, made our way up to the famous band room.
We were to have a rehearsal for a joint piece between musicians from both Wells
and Ballanta and I think it's fair to say we were quite surprised at just how
well the Ballanta band played together. We were thrown into the world of West
African music, and after a joint Reggae rendition of the classic "I Will
Always Love You", the band entertained us while we danced around the tiny
attic room. After this we ate our beautifully prepared wraps which we are just
about getting used to now, and then we met up with the JT group to travel back
to the Comfort Zone.
As normal, the afternoon was
reasonably relaxed with a few last minute rehearsals before dinner at 4:00.
Dinner today was no normal meal, but in fact the much talked about
deconstructed tuna pasta that James had been banging on about before we even
left for SL! At 4:45 we left in the bus to go to the British High
Commissioner's Residence and had enough time to explore the beautiful gardens
before a group photo and some rehearsals. The concert started at 6:45 and
everyone played wonderfully despite the heat and regular forks of lightning!
The audience were extremely appreciative and over some delicious canapés
afterwards, we got to talk to the High Commissioner and his guests who were
very complimentary of our singing and playing. To end the evening the band were
in full swing and the whole group ended up dancing, including Mr and Mrs Meally
who took little persuading to show off their moves!
I can't believe we are already
at the end of Day 5, but I am sure tomorrow will be just as rewarding as today
was.
Kirsty
