Rehearsal Weekend
Friday evening was all about meeting and catching up, eating – our fine dining planner works a treat and the meals are amazing – and then a general orchestral rehearsal. Normally we would use this time for sectional practice, but with Liz being on a sabbatical and Ruth unable to attend we were very short in the 3rd and 4th section, so Kate was drafted in to fill the gap and she amazed us all with her brilliant sight reading. Jane had also sent us the parts for 3 new pieces which we hope to be performing at our concerts this year, one of which has been arranged specifically for our orchestra by our very own Karen, so we played through these as well. It is absolutely beautiful and we hope that you will all love it as much as we do! Special thanks to Debbie for making it there too as she had had an operation on her knee and had to play with her leg up on a chair for the duration – that’s dedication for you!!!
Saturday we went through the whole repertoire to get us back into the groove – it had been 4 months since we last met up so it was lovely to blow the cobwebs away and feel it all beginning to gel again. A number of us went for a walk in the sun after lunch but the technically able amongst us sorted out the technology to get everyone on to the new No1 Ladies Accordion Orchestra website which Gill has spent hours and weeks creating. It is fabulous and such an improvement on the old one so we are all very excited about that. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening working really hard on the new pieces and they were all beginning to come together really well.
Sunday morning we recorded a number of the repertoire pieces so that we can put them up on the website and make them available to members to use as a practice aid. Then the remainder of the day we concentrated on the 3 new pieces and are really excited about them. Huge thankyou to Jane as always for her hard work and patience, especially as she was just getting over a nasty cold and not feeling at her best but she was, as always, amazing. Yet another thoroughly enjoyable weekend – we really do love coming together and being able to play music like this.
This year will see us with concerts in Newmarket in April and Cornwall in May. Details of all these concerts will be on our website and Facebook page so, if you are in the area, please do come and join us. And if you want to receive advance notice of our concerts then please join our mailing list which you can do through the new website or on a sign up sheet at our concerts. Looking forward to meeting both old and new faces.
Concerts in Lewes and Shoreham
Well, another really fabulous weekend, with two concerts, to round off the year!
Friday evening saw us all meeting up at the St. Mary’s Social Centre in Lewes. Some of us had been lucky enough to travel the day before and so we had a lovely day in brilliant sunshine exploring Lewes. A very quaint old town with some beautiful buildings, an amazing ruined castle and lots of really lovely charity shops! After a lovely meal we settled down to an evening of rehearsal which actually went really well!
Saturday morning we were all gathered again to run through the second half of the repertoire and do some more detailed work on the newer pieces. A very nice lunch at a nearby pub was the order of the day, with a lot of fun and hilarity, and then back to more rehearsal. Most of us just had a few nibbles before getting the hall ready for the evening’s concert, putting out all the tables and chairs, hanging up Hannah’s lovely bunting and Kate’s endless stock of scarlet material to dress the stage, and setting up the tea and cake and merchandise tables! Then we were ready to go!! At first we began to think that no-one was going to come but people did slowly begin to drift through the door, not in large numbers it has to be said, but they more than made up for that with their enthusiasm and appreciation. It gave us the chance to talk to everyone during the interval, and even to have a cup of coffee ourselves – a great treat! And to round off the evening we all settled down to have a glass of wine and something to eat, followed by a game of “Guess that song” which involved us each in turn putting on the headphones and trying to mime the song we were hearing! Absolutely hilarious and a great way to round off the evening and relax.
Sunday morning we were allowed off rehearsal so we had a later start and cleared all our stuff from the hall and transported it over to the Methodist Church in Shoreham-by-Sea, which was wonderfully warm! A very quick sound check then all hands on deck to put out all the tables and chairs in the small hall for the refreshments. By 2.30pm the church was practically full and there was a lovely air of excitement. The concert went down really well, with a great response from the audience and very enthusiastic participation! Everyone was very complimentary again with a lot of positive feedback, a lot of the merchandise sold and a lot of people signed up to our mailing list too.
So a huge thank you to Ruth for doing such a magnificent job of organising and publicising the event single handedly – what a success! So that is it for 2023. Next year will see us with concerts in Cambridge in April and Cornwall in May. Details of all these concerts will be on our website and Facebook page so, if you are in the area, please do come and join us. And if you want to receive advance notice of our concerts then please join our mailing list. Looking forward to meeting both old and new faces in 2024.
Colwall Concert in the Malverns
Friday evening we had sectional rehearsals which are always very useful and then we all dispersed to our respective abodes for the night. Kate and Beryl had done a fantastic job ensuring that we all had beds in either their houses or at their friends houses and some of us were lucky enough to be within walking distance of the hall.
Saturday we spent much of the time working in detail on the new pieces which would be performed at the concert for the first time the next day, and also those which had been introduced at the beginning of the year. Jane’s attention to detail, not just the notes but the way to play each of those notes, is brilliant and we all feel that each time we meet she asks that little bit more from us and we are all so pleased if we actually manage to achieve it! The weather picked up a bit in the afternoon so some of us went for a walk up on the Malvern hills under the guidance of Kate’s husband, and the rest of us wandered down the lanes to the local Church where a Craft Fair was being held. The quality of the goods on sale was remarkable and I think everyone who went returned with lighter pockets and lots of beautiful gifts. We decided that where we had set up wasn’t ideal for the concert and general public entering, loo position etc, so we moved everything round and rehearsed again early and late evening, with another delicious meal between, and then staggered back home to bed.
Rehearsal again in the morning, broken only by a photographer friend of Kate’s coming in because he wanted to take some photographs of people’s hands as they played the accordion! And another move around as we decided that we were still in the wrong place for the audience! And it was just as well that we did. Because we set out tables and chairs for approximately 40 or so people, which is what we thought would probably be the maximum who would come. But as soon as the doors opened at 2pm there was a continuous stream of people through the door. We were rushing round like headless chickens trying to squash in as many chairs as we could and ended up using every single chair we could find. All in all over 80 people came through the door!! A fantastic turnout. During the interval and after the concert we had so much positive feedback, everyone was talking about how great they thought it was and how much they had enjoyed it.
So a huge thank you to Kate and Beryl for doing such a magnificent job of organising and publicising the event – what a success! So off to Sussex next – no pressure Ruth! – where we will be appearing at St. Mary’s Social Centre, Christie Road, Lewes on Saturday 25th November at 7.30pm and again on Sunday 26th November in the Methodist Church, Brunswick Road, Shoreham-by-Sea at 2.30pm. Details of all these concerts are on our website and Facebook so, if you are in the area, please do come and join us. And if you want to receive advance notice of our concerts then please join our mailing list. Looking forward to meeting both old and new faces.
Lovely sketch of the Ladies by a member of audience
Edinburgh Concert
Another brilliant weekend and fabulous concert. The weather was very kind to us and Liz excelled herself with her organisational skills – everything worked perfectly. Some of us drove up on the Thursday which made for very stress free travelling, and gave us a day free to explore Edinburgh. A walk into town via some of the many fabulous charity shops, time out for coffee, a walk over to the Dovecote Gallery for lunch and an afternoon spent at the wonderful Kaffe Fassett exhibition of textiles and wall hangings – a fabulous relaxing day, followed by a lovely meal with Liz and Andrew. Unlike those who were unfortunately trying to travel by train on the Friday. There was a fatality on the line and many of trains travelling north had to be cancelled. But No1 Ladies are resourceful!! Several amended their journeys and detoured to the west side, others managed to stick it out and eventually get through and two aborted their train journey completely, went back home and came up by car – not the most relaxing start to the weekend!
The Morningside United Church was lovely, situated on one of the corners of Holy Corner – a wonderful intersection with a church on each of the corners. We were in the hall for rehearsal on the Friday evening which went well. There was a concert on in the main church so we were slightly worried about our volume but it all worked out just fine. We were spread around the city for overnight accommodation and three of us were offered fabulous accommodation in Stockbridge which involved a 20 minute bus ride, at the front on the top deck of course – what an amazing bus service Edinburgh has!! – and then a short walk through parts of Edinburgh we had never seen before. It was fascinating, particularly the old tenement buildings which are not only several stories high, there are a further two stories below ground level with another walkway below the city pavement and wonderful stone and metal staircases down to each level. And seeing Edinburgh at night with the Castle and other prominent buildings all floodlit was spectacular.
Saturday saw us setting everything up in the church itself with rehearsals all day until about 4 pm. The acoustics were quite challenging at first as the sound was very echoey but we knew it would improve in the evening with lots of people in the audience. And lots of people there were too – about 100 in the audience so well done Edinburgh! The atmosphere was amazing, Liz obviously has a lot of friends, and it was lovey to see Ian Lowthian and his family there supporting us too. We thought the applause at the end was never going to stop! And there was huge audience participation in the encore and a standing ovation at the end, which, we were told afterwards, never or hardly ever happens in Edinburgh! Altogether a brilliant night.
We will be performing next in Colwall on Sunday 5th November, in Lewes on Saturday 25th November and in Shoreham on Sunday 26th November. Details of all these concerts will be on our website and Facebook so, if you are in any if those areas, please do come and join us. And if you want to receive advance notice of our concerts then please join our mailing list. Looking forward to meeting both old and new faces.
Merchandise Table at Edinburgh
Liverpool Concert
Saturday morning we went through all the second half of the repertoire. We were introducing two new pieces this time so we spent quite a lot of time fine tuning those. After a substantial lunch we made our way over to Ullet Road Church where we would be performing that evening. The church hall was beautiful, timber trussed roof, complete with a very large wood burning stove set in a large inglenook with seats on either side. We went through a few of the pieces to get a feel for the acoustics, which were lovely – very clear and easy to hear what everyone was playing. Then we set all the tables and chairs out cabaret style with lovely red tablecloths and a few candles, plus all the areas for tickets, merchandise, serving drinks and cake. We had decided to sell drinks and cake before the concert as well as during the interval and this proved to be a very popular decision which we may well continue at future concerts.
When the doors opened we were amazed at how many people had come – the room was full and we had to put out more chairs! The concert went extremely well and was very warmly received by an enthusiastic audience. Not only did they join in with clapping in the encore, they sang along with us too! Such a lovely evening and one we will remember for a long time. Complimentary tickets had been given to some Ukranian families living in the area, and they were so enthusiastic about the accordions – one of their little girls was already learning to play!
Sunday was a lovely crisp sunny day and some of us went for a quick walk before we started rehearsing again. I was particularly happy with a walk around Sefton park as I had spent many happy years there when I was at college and it was a real trip down memory lane.
The morning was spent on the two new pieces which will be introduced into the repertoire in the autumn, with the afternoon just playing some old favourites, plus a couple we hadn’t seen before.
We all packed up at 3pm with short journeys ahead for some and extremely long ones for a few. A huge thanks to Elspeth for organising it all for us, Martin for all his work in the background, and, as ever, to Jane, who continues to be a total inspiration to us all.
We will be performing next in Edinburgh in the Morningside United Church, 15 Chamberlain Road, Edinburgh, EH10 4DH at 7.30pm on Saturday 22nd April, our last concert before the summer break. So if you are in that area please do come and join us – it’s just not the same without a nice big audience! All the details will be on our website and Facebook page and if you want to receive advance notice of our concerts then please join our mailing list. Lookingorward to meeting both old and new faces.
Rushton Rehearsal Weekend
A cold, sunny weekend in February saw the No1 Ladies convening in the village hall in Rushton for our first rehearsal only weekend of 2023. We were very pleased to welcome two new members who were joining us for the first time. After a wonderful meal – Friday night was curry night plus two magnificent fruit crumbles – we settled down to an evening of sectional rehearsals. This was a real baptism of fire for Melanie and Tina as we worked our way steadily through the entire repertoire! So quite a late finish for us all. The indoor campers then had a nice gentle session whilst the rest of us repaired to the local premier Inn and indulged in a little wine and a lot of nibbles – or maybe it was the other way round……..!
Saturday dawned cold and sunny and Jane joined us at breakfast time for a full morning of repertoire rehearsal. The weather was so lovely that most went out for a walk in the afternoon – the hard path group and the cross country group – but we met up eventually at Rushworth Hall. The snowdrops and winter aconites were in full bloom and had put on a splendid show for us. Another rehearsal session before tea and then in the evening some very detailed practice of the new pieces, two of which will be in the repertoire at our next concert. More session playing and wine consumption to round off the day!
Sunday was rehearsal again but working mainly on the new pieces and particularly technique. Jane is a brilliant teacher and has improved our playing technique enormously, but now we are being pushed even harder! As we have slowly learnt over the years, the key to all accordion playing is bellows control. So we were concentrating on stressing and fading particular notes in a phrase and also learning how to do bellow shakes, a technique most of us know about but haven’t yet mastered successfully! One of our new pieces for the autumn concerts requires all of us to be able to do this together at the same time……………???
We all packed up at 3pm with short journeys ahead for some and extremely long ones for a few. A huge thanks to Frances for organising it all for us and, as ever, to Jane, who continues to be a total inspiration to us all.
We will be performing in Liverpool in the Unitarian Church, Ullet Road, Liverpool, L17 2AA on Saturday March 11th at 7.30pm and in Edinburgh in the Morningside United Church, 15 Chamberlain Road, Edinburgh, EH10 4DH also at 7.30pm on Saturday 22nd April. If you are in either of those areas on those dates please do come and join us – it’s just not the same without a nice big audience! All the details will be on our website and Facebook page and if you want to receive advance notice of our concerts then please join our mailing list. Looking forward to meeting both old and new faces.
Bridport Concert
A cold, sunny weekend in the middle of November saw the No1 Ladies on the move again, this time down to Bridport in Dorset. The Unitarian Church, where we would be performing on the Saturday night, had very kindly offered indoor camping accommodation as well as our venue, together with 5 parking spaces outside, so that made life much easier for all of us. As ever, a cup of tea followed by a very tasty dinner was the order of the day, and it has to be noted that – very unusually - no wine was consumed as alcohol was not allowed on the Church premises! Friday evening was as usual our first rehearsal session and indeed it did go much better than it usually does, so maybe, just maybe, the absence of alcohol may have made a difference! The jury is out on that one!!
Saturday dawned cold and sunny and we had another good rehearsal in the morning. It was lovely to be able to rehearse in the space we would be doing the concert in, as it gives us the chance to get used to the acoustics and the feel of the space. We had a long lunch break which gave us all the opportunity to see a little of Bridport itself. The Saturday market was very lively with some fabulous stalls and several of us took advantage of them!
More rehearsal in the afternoon and then it was time to set everything up for the concert and the interval tea and cakes stall. We never ever know how many people we are likely to get in the audience as most people seem to prefer to pay on the door rather than booking beforehand. So you can imagine our delight when we had about 40 in the audience, and what a lovely enthusiastic audience they were too. Not only did they join in with the audience participation bit, they carried on……. and on……. and Jane had to stop them in time for the change of tempo! But the applause at the end was fabulous, several people on their feet and so many lovely comments afterwards.
Sunday was rehearsal again but working on the new pieces for next years repertoire. The Welsh contingent left at lunch time but the others continued until early afternoon. What a fabulous way to finish 2022. A huge thanks to Sue for all her hard work and organisation and, as ever, to Jane, who continues to be a total inspiration to us all.
We are taking a break now but we will be in Liverpool in March and Edinburgh in April 2023. All the details will be on our website and Facebook page and if you want to receive advance notice of our concerts then please join our mailing list. Looking forward to meeting both old and new faces in the new year.
Bicester Concert
Perhaps the weekend at the end of the half term week wasn’t the best choice for our concert weekend in Bicester!! For those who had a fair distance to travel and who had to navigate their way through major traffic hold ups around the Birmingham area the journey was somewhat of a nightmare and very long! However, a delicious meal and a glass or two of wine helped to restore our sanity. Friday evening was rehearsal time and then a much needed sleep.
Saturday we were all refreshed and had a really good rehearsal. Elspeth was able to join us for the day on zoom as she had unfortunately gone down with Covid the week before, and it should be noted that all her playing was absolutely note perfect! We managed to finish with some time to spare which gave us a chance to go out and get some fresh air and exercise, or just lounge about drinking tea. We made our way over to St. Edburgh’s Church to set up and have a sound check. The church was beautiful, perfect amount of space for us, good lighting and a sense of happy anticipation. We had all taken a picnic to eat and then a warm up with Debbie and we were ready for the off. There were a pleasing number of people in the audience, including several old friends who have supported us many times over the years – lovely to see them again. And some friends of Elspeth’s, who came all the way down from Liverpool to hear us, even though she wasn’t able to be there – a special thanks to them for their dedicated support. A smaller group of the Ladies then went on to one of the local pubs to entertain all the punters with a very lively session which was extremely well received. There was also a little improvisation of the words to some of the songs to them mire relevant to the No1 Ladies!!
Sunday was rehearsal again, this time working on some fabulous new pieces for next years repertoire. A friend of Debi’s joined us in the morning to play along with us and we are hoping that she may join us in the orchestra next year. The Scottish and Welsh contingent left after lunch as they all had long journeys ahead of them, but the rest of us continued playing until 4pm – our enthusiasm knows no bounds!!
All in all another fabulous weekend. A huge thanks to Debi and Mark for all their help and organisation and indeed to Jane for finding us so many lovely new pieces to play. If you want to feel a part of it come and join us at the United Church in Bridport on Saturday 19th November at 7.30. You will find all the details on our website and Facebook and if you are on our mailing list you will be automatically reminded! Hope to see some of you there.
Cornwall Rehearsal Only Weekend
Saturday was rehearsals all morning and into the afternoon but then, because it was such a glorious day and we had been so good(!), we had time out to enjoy the sunshine. One group went for a walk up on the moor, another group went back to the beach for a swim, and some just chilled out and enjoyed the sunshine. More rehearsing in the evening.
Sunday was rehearsal again in the morning and then we gave a very informal short concert to some of Karen’s friends, which was greatly enjoyed, as was the Cornish cream tea afterwards – best ever scones!!! We all then relaxed in the sunshine or went for a walk before another lovely meal, a lot of wine and then some challenging sight reading with possible new pieces for the future!
All in all a fabulous weekend in beautiful scenery, gorgeous sunshine and wonderful company. A huge thanks to Karen and Matt for their amazing hospitality and organisation and to each and every one of the Ladies – we have created something truly remarkable – so much more than just an accordion orchestra. If you want to feel a part of it come and join us at one of our upcoming concerts. We will be performing in St. Edburgh’s Church in Bicester on Saturday 29th October at 7.30 and the United Church in Bridport on Saturday 19th November also at 7.30. You will find all the details on our website and Facebook and if you are on our mailing list you will be automatically reminded! Hope to see some of you there.
Lunch at the Linhay - rehearsal weekends are great social events
Caernarfon Concert
Finally recovered from a full on extended weekend in Wales! We had two concerts, the first on the Saturday night after a day of rehearsal. The hall was huge!! But the staff there very kindly arranged it as cabaret seating and we eschewed the stage in favour of setting up on the floor of the hall too. The audience may not have been huge, but they were so enthusiastic and appreciative – lots of positive feedback and an invitation to return – it was a pleasure to play for them all. We had a sweepstake prior to the doors opening on how many would come – won by Karen!! Big thank you to Jayne and her staff for all their help.
Sunday we went to the Old Court House in Caernarfon in the morning and set up on the stage so that we could have a short rehearsal. And what a beautiful space it was! A smallish area of cabaret seating on the ground floor, then not just one, but two, balconies above with small tables and seating. We had several dressing rooms available for our use – predictably Karen and Debi commandeered the artistes dressing room – and the venue laid on a lovely luncheon for us. Another fabulously receptive audience and again lots of positive feedback. We will definitely be back at both venues in the future. A big thank you to Moira and her staff for looking after us so well.
We had to say goodbye to a few of the ladies after the concert, but a group of us had a lovely stroll round Caernarfon in the sunshine, then back to the hostel for an evening of, yes you’ve guessed it, more playing!! Possible future repertoire this time although, after imbibing a certain amount of wine during the course of the evening, our playing maybe wasn’t always of the highest standard!
We will be on a break now over Summer with our next rehearsal weekend scheduled for Cornwall in September. Two more concert weekends to come later in the year and there will be details of these on our website in due course.
Thank you everyone for all your support and encouragement. We love what we do and it is even nicer when you all seem to love it too!
