Day 9: The Thanksgiving Service

First thing’s first, we had a wonderful lie in, and met for breakfast at about 9.30am. Then we rehearsed and went to have a wonderful lunch at the brilliant papaya. After that, we packed into a very warm and wonderful van in very warm and not so wonderful concert blacks. Once we arrived at the fantastically beautiful church, we waited for a long time before starting sound checks, but it was not dreadful because there were some amazing fans. Then, without any warning, the concert began and in the blink of an eye it was our time to shine. I played trumpet and it didn’t disappoint- i hope. We then sang and played incredibly with various different groups, and although it wasn’t all totally in tune, it was still wonderful. At the end, we all got given food, but gave it all to Musa. He was extremely happy. Musa loves chicken. We then made our way back to the hotel, one of the buses broke down which was not so spectacular. But this was made up for by the fact that we had a splendid dip in the pool, we met Elijah, Christian and Ibrahim, who I shared a pizza with and was therefore not hungry for dinner. Written by Milo Our day started off with a luxurious and well deserved lie in after our busy week of teaching and performing, before we had our usual buffet breakfast at 9:30. We then had some free time before a relatively rushed singing rehearsal at 11 for an hour to prepare ourselves for the 30th anniversary church service. We then headed over for (yet another) meal out at Papaya (which Mr Brink was late to as he was crying after our shocking singing practice) before heading straight off to Church for the Balanta 30th anniversary celebrations. The service was filled with music and Alvin falling asleep on my shoulder (again) but it was really nice to do one last performance and finish on a high as a group. We then returned to our hotel for a quick dip in the pool before our usual dinner at Papaya, ready to rest up before our final full day out here. Written by Harry.

Day 8: The football match and the Big Market

We started the day with a delicious breakfast and then got ready to go to JTR. At JTR we had a lovely welcome from all the children: they were all coming up to us and clinging onto our arms and legs, beaming up at us. We then went on to have a football match against the JTR team - the boys played incredibly well and managed to end the match with a whopping 5-5, leaving everyone feeling satisfied. We generously got served a tasty, but rather spice filled lunch and then went on to say our final goodbyes to the adorable children. Next, we headed back to the resort for a bit of rest and rejuvenation before preparing to get ready for the market. At the market, we were greeted with lots of smiling faces and eager sellers. Feeling rather hot and conflicted about which sellers to buy from when they were all selling the exact same thing, many of us bought Sierra Leone football shirts in various colours. Some of us also bought bracelets, hand carved wooden ornaments and instruments. Milo made an epic purchase of a rather large but beautifully hand-carved walking stick that doesn’t fit in anyone’s suitcase except Harry’s. After our mooching around the market, we hopped back on the nice air-conditioned mini busses and headed back to base for a scrummy dinner. We’re now off to rest up for another busy day of music and fun. Written by Lydia

Today was the highly anticipated annual JTR Vs Wells Cathedral School football match. And boy did it not disappoint. The uneven concrete playground pitch was the venue and the whole school lined the pitch with boisterous support for both sides. Wells took some time to get used to the occasion and JTR took a deserved 2-0 lead within minutes of the kick off. Wells woke up and a Reuben penalty and an Alvin wall-bounce got us back in the game. It was all to play for in the second half at 2-2. The game was competitive and tight but the JTR nifty striker gave the home side a two goal advantage once again. However, they hadn’t bargained for the WCS X factor, Orlando Edwards, who ‘turned the game on its head in 5 minutes” (Orlando in his post match interview) with a well taken penalty and shortly afterwards, a goal scored by charging down an attempted clearance from the goalkeeper. With 5 minutes to go we were looking to park the bus for a well fought point. But there were twists in the tale to delight the excited crowd . First, the JTR striker once again was too quick for our defence to score what looked likely to be the winning goal. Yet with two minutes on the clock Reuben fired an unstoppable volley past the goalkeeper to make the honour’s even by the final whistle. The game was played in 30 degree heat and both teams took well deserved applause for their efforts. Reuben was awarded man of the match and respect was earned all round. We were all treated to a lovely, sit-down lunch at JTR and this gave us an opportunity to thank the staff for their hospitality and warm welcome all week. The JTR pupils gave us a wonderful send off, lining our route to the exit as we walked to our vehicles. The afternoon took us to the Freetown market. Our haggling skills were severely tested and we returned to the hotel armed with colourful clothes, jewellery, gifts for family members and beautifully carved animals amongst other things. Another thoroughly enjoyable day In Freetown! written by Reuben

Day 7: Final day of Teaching and the anniversary concert

Today was our final day of teaching at balanta. I think I can speak for everyone that by this point we were quite tired and Orlando sadly couldn't teach drums today. Nevertheless me and Barnaby had the ambition to jam out "waiting in vain" by Bob Marley with our students. Unfortunately we couldn't because of the lack of amps in the building which were being used for the gig later this evening. This week has been full of these set backs but I think that this has helped me and our group of musicians to be very good at making decisions quickly and be very flexible. This paired with our extremely kind and attentive students made for an unforgettable week of teaching. I was so happy to see my students enjoy the songs I loved (yellow sounded sick). I know Milo wasn't pleased when all his students hit a top C and broke his ears. Later in the evening we headed to the opening night of the 30 years of balanta. It was a beautiful venue with a beautiful sunset and some beautiful music. Groovy colours performed another killer set to end our night. Tomorrow we head to our game of football at JTR. weitten by Lucas

My day started bright and early at the time of 1:30 to the sound of Orlando throwing up in the next room. After waking up for the second time and being reunited by the rest of our group who had just about recovered from the previous night we headed off for the last time to our respective places at either JTR or Ballanta for our final day of teaching. At JTR I taught the years 2’s the story of the 3 little pigs before myself and Alvin took them outside to introduce them to the game Duck Duck Goose which they absolutely loved. Oli and Linsey at this time told the older pupils the story of Hansel and greattle. During our lunchtime we went upstairs to the office to break before our after-lunch activities. However this was quickly cut short when we were bombarded by the kids who wanted to play with us, especially “Aunty Linsey”! After lunch Mr Ashton, Harry and Chris were asked to be interviewed on the radio about their time in Sierra Leone and what memories they would take back with them from Sierra Leone and working at JTR. The rest of us ran group activities with the children from reception all the way through to year 5. This consisted of the most popular songs and dances we had taught them throughout our week being: the wiggly worm song, heads, shoulders, knees and toes and particularly popular Macarena. After we said goodbye to the kids at JTR we travelled to Ballanta for lunch and saw how the few days of teaching had too made an impact on everyone there. We then returned to the hotel to relax by the pool and air conditioning for a few hours before we headed out once again to perform at the start of the 30th year celebrations. The venue was absolutely stunning at a Chinese hotel overlooking the sea. It was lovely to see not only us perform well but also other musicians and dancers perform. We are now resting up for the football match at JTR tomorrow! written by Noah

Day 6: The High Commission Concert

Please excuse the lack of photos. There is not currently enough wifi to upload them however, we will be sure to share them with you as soon as possible. On our third day of teaching at Ballanta, we were a bit tired but still excited. Today I ended up teaching bass in the drum room with Orlando which turned into an hour long jam session, and one of Sasha’s students taught me twinkle twinkle little star on the violin. After a quick trip to the supermarket to buy essentials (ice cream, crisps + sweets) and a pit stop at Crown Bakery we went back to Family Kingdom for a surprise 17th birthday party for Sasha which included a nearly life size piano cake. In the evening we were treated to a trip to the British High Commissioner’s house where we performed a concert (with special guests Ruben Ashton and Noah JB on vocals) and were followed by our guide Moussa’s excellent band Groovy Colours. They got everyone dancing with some reggae and highlife. Noah wins the award for sweatiest dancer on the trip (grim). Tomorrow we go for our last day at Ballanta, and then a 30th anniversary performance in the evening! Written by Barnaby.

Unfortunately our dear friend Noah fell ill this morning which meant we headed to JTR with a team of 6. I was teaching a class of Prep 6 students with Mr Ashton and Chris, where we were teaching an assortment of different languages - German by Chris, French by Mr Ashton and Korean by myself. After the lunch break, we all gathered to teach the children in reception. Harry taught them the wiggly worm song, which we all joined in on doing actions on words, and the kids especially loved when they had to show us their best wiggle when singing 'his name is wiggly woo!'. We then went to Ballanta academy to meet up with everyone and have (yet another) delicious rice dish for lunch. Feeling perfectly satisfied from rice, we headed off straight to a well known bakery in Freetown which had lots of fresh delicacies. Feeling properly satisfied now, we went back to family kingdom resort to have a Birthday party for Sasha and we were treated to mini pizzas and a massive piano cake. After all of this food we needed a little nap so we had about 30 minutes before we headed off to the High Commissioners for our concert. After our bands had finished performing there was an incredible Sierra Leonian band, where we truly got drunk off of the Sierra Leone spirit and got incredibly sweaty dancing to some more amazing music! Written by Alvin

Day 5: Milton Margai and more teaching and learning

Today was an incredible day and an amazing experience for us all. We started the day off with our lovely cooked breakfast at the Family Kingdom Resort. This followed by us loading into the helpfully air conditioned minibuses, and headed on our way to Ballanta. Once we arrived at Ballanta we greeted our enthusiastic students, and begun teaching. Milo, Reuben and I were teaching all of the brass, who we soon realised learnt very quickly, and by the end, we had put together a whole quintet with multiple people on a part. The sound was so rich and full and it felt so rewarding listening to how far everyone had come, only in just two days. Everyone was so thankful for our help and support, which was lovely to see. While we were eating our lunch, Mr Brink entertained us with some unreal magic tricks, leaving Amelie’s jaw on the floor. After this, even though slightly bamboozled from the magic, we travelled to the Milton Margai which was a school for the blind. Walking into this school was hard hitting in itself, I think a part of all of us realised how privileged we are for everything in our lives. We engaged with all of the children, chatting to them, getting to know them, and gradually understanding what life was like for them. We played some music to them, including some duets, a solo from Lydia, and Luca, and the band finishing it off, with some fun tunes that everyone seemed to enjoy. One of the pupils at the Ballanta academy of music joined in for one of our songs on the drums, who was also blind. He astounded us all with his talent, passion, and perseverance, and at this point I think everyone was feeling pretty emotional. Then, some of the students from Milton Margai sung us a few songs, including ‘it’s a long way to tipperary and their school motto song. Everyone was so completely grateful for the music, the atmosphere, and the eye opening experience. One man came up to me and said ‘we don’t have much here, but your music makes a big difference and makes us very happy.’ We said a tearful goodbye to everyone, and departed back off on our way for a relaxing evening at our hotel. I think this experience has been very rewarding, changing our lives forever and allowing us to remember to never take anything for granted. written by Ellie May

We started the day by continuing our teaching at JTR. Harry and Noah got stuck in, teaching the wiggly woo song and dance to the children, whilst Linsey played head, shoulders, knees and toes with the youngest ones. All the while, me (oli) and Alvin, where left chaperoning an intense game of whats the time mr wolf. The children loved taking selfies with the us and found the snapchat filters hilarious. We left JTR and, after our usual lunch at balanta, headed to Milton Margai School for the Blind to perform. Joseph, a former student of the school who is currently at balanta, played alongside our band. The experience was simultaneously sobering, and joyful due to the admirable positivity of the children. This sentiment of perceverance and positivity from the children resonated with the lyrics they sang to us.It was an incredibly eye-opening experience. We will remember it forever. written by Oli.

Day 4: The Teaching Begins

Today was our first day teaching at Ballanta and it was incredible! We started the day by dropping off half of us at JTR and had a lovely welcome song from the children. We then got on the bus to Ballanta and met all of the musicians that we would be teaching and introduced ourselves. We gave lessons to groups of students, of which some were beginners and some were more advanced. It was so amazing to meet everyone and get to know each other through singing and music. Their musicality and sense of friendship really showed as they sung along. After teaching, we had a lovely dish of rice for lunch and made our way to Merrydeen school for our first outreach concert! We arrived and had a bit of a wait as the power went out and we had to source a generator- however, as soon as we started playing, the children loved the music and got up to dance and sing along with our band. It was incredible to see them bursting with energy and enthusiasm and at the end of the concert they all swarmed us asking for our autographs! We then made our way back to Ballanta for a brass rehearsal, which included some of the famous ‘Shine Jesus shine’, and a singing rehearsal for our church service on Saturday. It was so lovely to join together with everyone and sing pieces which are different to what we are used to. On returning back after a long day of performing and rehearsals, everyone was shattered and was ready for another great meal out at Papaya restaurant! Written by Amelie Thrale

We started off with a delicious breakfast of African omelette, chocolate croissants, and fresh local fruits such as watermelon, papaya, and oranges. After breakfast, we hopped onto the minibuses and made our way to JTR, the school we’ll be working with for the coming week. We were greeted with a beautiful welcome song performed by the entire school, making us feel instantly at home. Next, we were given a tour of the school, meeting many of the pupils and teachers who welcomed us so warmly. Afterwards, we split into our teaching groups: myself (Linsey), Oli, and Chris taught English; Noah and Alvin also taught English; while Harry, Reuben, and Mr. Ashton taught French. My group focused on adjectives, using the gruffolo story to help the children recognize them in sentences and they absolutely loved it! During their lunch break, we spent time chatting and playing with the pupils. They were all so friendly, and I can’t wait to get to know them even better as the week goes on. Later, we travelled to Balanta, where other pupils were teaching their instruments to members of the local music academy. We enjoyed a lovely lunch of rice and mixed vegetables, accompanied by some acappella performances. My personal favourite was Orlando’s rendition of Babra En. In the afternoon, we visited a local school to perform our first outreach concert. The specialist musicians played beautifully, and I loved meeting all the children in the audience. Finally, we headed back to Balanta academy where we practiced our song for the high commission on Saturday which as I write I can hear some of the boys reciting in their rooms! Today was extremely fulfilling my highlight being meeting such amazing children and having the privilege to gain an insight into their lives. Written by Linsey

Day 3: Church and rehearsals

After a delicious buffet breakfast, we hopped in the lovely air conditioned minibuses and headed to St. Augustine church for an amazing service, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the women’s volunteer. The singing and the spirit of the service was incredible, and although the service was long, we all had a great time experiencing the passion of Sierra Leonean culture. We then went to Papaya for lunch, where we had Jollof rice and vegetables. We had a relaxed afternoon, with individual and band rehearsals in preparation for the teaching and outreach concerts tomorrow. Before we went back to Papaya for dinner, we all gathered in the dining room for some sing-alongs, including practising for an arrangement which we would later sing for the 30th anniversary of Ballanta. We then ended the day with some card games before heading to sleep, ready for the first day of teaching tomorrow at Ballanta and JTR. written by Sasha

Day 2: The Cultural Village and a football match!

Our first morning in Freetown began with a local dish of chocolate croissants and crêpes. African omelette was also a popular option, alongside fruits such as oranges and pineapple. A trip to the cultural village ensued where we treated to a performance of music and dance and an insight into Sierra Leone culture. Orlando and Barnaby joined in on the drums while we were taught to dance by one of the locals. After he had finished playing, Orlando conned one of the locals into selling him some maracas and Reuben got rejected by a 7 year old girl who was more interested in Mr Brink. Amelie, Linsey and Ellie-May were very popular with the little girls and so was Noah, with none of the children wanting them to leave. Back to the hotel and a quick dip in the swimming pool before going to Papaya for another regional dish (pizza and chips). After lunch, the afternoon involved a trip to a local shop, where some of us bought jewellery or a shirt, before going down to the beach with a football. As a group, we played for a reasonable amount of time before heading back to the hotel. A group of us decided to stay on the beach however, and asked a group of locals for a match. We decided to mix the teams and Barnaby scored quickly. The game was fast-paced a rough, but for Orlando, his toughest opponent was not a member of the other team, but instead the sea, which wiped him out on numerous occasions. Orlando dived at one point in the match, but instead of winning a free-kick, he was fully submerged under an incoming wave and got sand in his eyes. Barnaby, Reuben and Luca were on the winning side and the football was donated by Orlando to the locals so they could continue playing. Dinner in Papaya was a local dish of Jollof rice and chicken, which was lovely. Overall, a great day with many highlights and a perfect first day to our fortnight in Sierra Leone. written by Chris

Day 1: Arrival

Our first day has come to an end! It's been a very smooth and uneventful journey to Freetown this year. Much to everyone's relief, apart from Mrs Nash who was looking forward to another stormy boat ride! 

We've seen upgrades to transportation and were warmly welcomed by all at the hotel. 

The day finished with an almighty storm which saw Mr Ashton, Mr Brink, Mrs Nash and Mrs Ralls get absolutely soaked while they did the final bedtime rounds. 

We can't wait to see what's next.  

Day 10: A long way home

Our final day in Sierra leone started with a quick three hour packing session. Then after that we went for one final meal at Papaya where mostly everyone had about half a pizza. When we had finished, our travelling began and in a spectacularly stressful way we quickly found out that the boat tickets we had bought were the wrong ones. After roughly an hour of solid arguing, threatening and pleading, Mr Bowen, Mrs Nash and Mrs Ralls finally managed to convince the seamen that we had actually bought tickets and we were allowed on the ferry. Special mentions go to Mrs Ralls and Mrs Nash who both later told me they were ready to throw hands. During this aggressive confrontation, Mrs Nash's face changed colour from white to burgundy and visible signs of frustration were seen as she almost vibrated with anger. However, everything was slowly sorted and the boat ride to the next bus calmed everyone down as we were given spectacular views of Freetown. The bus journey from the boat to the airport felt like we were in a kiln whilst being in a severe earthquake at the same time. Nevertheless we all made it in one piece and got through airport security fairly quickly. The downside to this speedy process was the ‘random security checks’ in which most of us felt the uncomfortable gloves of security pat us down at least a couple of times. After coming through this traumatic event we patiently waited the many hours it took for the plane to arrive and set off feeling confident we'd not have to have rice again for several months. This dream was quickly squandered as we found out that dinner that night would be chicken curry, but in true Sierra Leone form we pushed through and made it out of the other side of that long 9 hour flight with most of us getting about a quarter of the sleep we wanted. We arrived in Brussels very early and with four hours to kill before we needed to board the plane, most of us got some food and well needed rest. Boarding was on time and we were all finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. That is until the Pilot became ill and we had to wait another hour before we took off for a new one to come. The flight was nice and short however and when we finally entered Heathrow we all felt cheerful if not a bit tired. Mr Bowen didn't snore once (which was good as I was somehow sat next to him for all of the flights). Mrs Nash's and Mrs Ralls’ pet chimpanzees made it through the journey with no scrapes or stains and Mrs Deans was one of the only people who looked like she had fully slept. Finally, I just want to say a big thank you to Mrs Nash, Mr Bowen, Mrs Deans, Mrs Ralls and Mrs Williams for making this trip so amazing and for being with us when we weren't all feeling amazing. This trip really couldn't of functioned without them and we all grateful for the amount of hard work and support they have all given us throughout this once in a lifetime opportunity. Thank you. Written by Gabriel

Day 9: Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Today we started off with the 18th birthday of Will! He had a special treat today as we went to the chimpansee sanctuary. The sanctuary was a little away as we had to go to the rainforest. Going up the mountain was interesting as the road was very bumpy and steep. The last bit was so steep that we had to walk up until we arrived at the sanctuary. We did the tour through the sanctuary and we were taught all about the individual chimpanzees and how the sanctuary works. We first passed the babies, they were all enclosed and were getting used to life at the sanctuary. Then the older ones, they were 4-8 years old. We saw them get fed potatoes and they were pretty good at catching! They were all huddling together hugging each other and picking flees. Then we got to the teenage chimpanzees and they were a lot bigger and stronger. Their sanctuary was more like the wild and they got fed less times a day than the smaller ones. We also saw them get fed, and the leader got the most potatoes. There was one with a baby! We then moved on to the biggest sanctuary with the oldest chimpanzees and you couldn’t really see all of them so well as they were up in the trees and they had a sanctuary that was 7 acres big. We were lucky though as they were also almost being fed so we got to see a few of them quite well. Written by Hannah

After lunch, we had a short break and then, unbeknownst to him, we had a surprise in the form of a birthday cake for Will. After this, it was back to the minibus for a quick trip to our final concert of the trip. This concert featured a few local choirs, and some solo organ pieces, aswell as Hannah singing with Adelaide accompanying and Revekka, Gabe, Myself and Morgan playing some hymns. Before we left, we received a gift of some jewellery each from Ballanta and then it was back to Papaya for dinner. We ended the night with another cake from the owner of the hotel to wrap up the final full day here. Written by Guy