Made it to Cromer, phew!

Our plans to spend the afternoon by the sea in Cromer were somewhat scuppered with the broken down mini-bus.  Eventually, a mechanic arrived (who had driven all the way from loughborough) bringing with him a new starter motor.  Would've been great if it was the right one!  Eventually, the mini-bus was jump started and we drove all the way to Cromer, praying that we wouldn't stall and with the recovery truck following us all the way!  A new starter motor was located in Norwich and the plan was that it was to be fitted while we were enjoying the hospitality of Cromer.  Thankfully, it all went according to plan!

We were warmly welcomed by Sharon Willimott, minister at Cromer, who provided us with much needed cups of tea. We then spent an hour or so exploring Cromer which, for most, meant locating the one and only fish and chip shop before heading back for the warm up.

Our concert was being given to help to celebrate a wedding anniversary so everyone arrived for pre-concert tea at 6:30pm.  Even though most of us had not long eaten, we still managed to find room for cake!

Once again the girls were on top form and Chris, too, provided top-notch entertainment with his ivory tinkling talents. Almost everyone came up to the girls at some point afterwards to say how fantastic they were.  Sharon very kindly gave Enchanted all the donations that she had received that evening which amounted to over £87! That will certainly come in useful for buying music, thank you. 

Photos and video clips to follow over the course of the next week - uploading is proving problematic due to poor mobile signal.

Thanks to Sharon, Kevin and all the folk at Cromer for having us and giving us such a lovely time - and all the leftover sandwiches!

This morning we're off to Church to sing in the morning service at London Rd Methodist, Kings Lynn and then we're giving an afternoon concert there combined with their own choir.

More later ...

Wonderful Wimblington / Problems with the Bus

Day two!

We are still coming down from such a great night in Wimblington - one of the best audiences we've ever had!

So, what I didn't mention was that we all piled onto the mini-bus for the drive back to Kings Lynn ... and it wouldn't start. Oops! After a few calls and a bit of a wait we were tow started and managed to get all the way to the hotel - phew! This morning Charles is onto the case as the bus still won't start - we may need replacement bus / alternative transport ...

That aside - LITTLE CHEF - has gone down very well with some of us this morning and we're looking forward to getting to Cromer ... sometime ... somehow ...

More later folks - breakfast to eat!

Full House at Wimblington!

Wow!  What a fabulously warm welcome we received in Wimblington this evening - we sang to a full Church and all seemed to more than apreciate the entertainment!  We received a beautiful hamper at the end of the evening which we're already tucking into, thanks!

Wimblington Methodist Church

Enchanted warming up

Warming up

'Matron' keeping an eye on everyone!

Livvy practising her solo

Anna paracticing her solo

Waiting for the show to begin

Audience arriving and Alyn getting ready to film

Audience anticipation!

Girls showing off their new dresses

Just in case anyone is in any doubt - my new T-shirt from Chris!

Checked in at Kings Lynn!

Well, we made it thus far!

This morning was a flurry of activity at Ruth's house as we all assembled about 10am for the final dress fitting - Holly has done a great job and just has one or two more tweaks to make before the first concert this evening.  Rest assured pictures will be posted later!

We all set off in the mini-bus ably driven by Charles and arrived in Stamford for a leisurely lunch before setting off again for an hour's drive to Kings Lynn where we're all currently settling.  At 4:30 we'll make the short-ish journey into Cambridgeshire for our first concert at Wimblington.

So, for now, how about you meet the tour team!

 

The Alto Chicks

Crazy Maisie, No-Malice Alice and Livvy Livster - great bottoms!

As the brains of Enchanted these girls keep the rest of the group grounded. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil – you can decide who’s who.   Livvy is the choir’s very own tuning fork with perfect pitch and Alice is renowned for tutoring  Caroline in how to send text messages which cannot be replied to with a question because Maisie has the uncanny knack of answering every text message with a question?!

The Soprano Chicks

Anna banaNNa, Jolly Holly and Tippy-Toes Rose - doing it best on top!

You have to have your wits about you with these girls. If they’re not eyeing up the best man at weddings, they’re taking bets on what the bride and bridesmaids will be wearing and scoring them out of 10.  See these girls for all your hair, make-up and styling advice.  Holly will have you in stitches, Rose can do amazing things with wild hair and Anna has more dresses than  she’s had hot dinners.

Big Chief Caroline - Tour Director, M.D, She who MUST be Obeyed

Caroline Sharpe (aka Caroline King, Marjorie King, Caz, Caz-mo the Great, Cazbags and Chopper).  Caroline was singing before she was born - or so we heard.  Caroline, the youngest of four siblings, was inadvertently dropped on her head as a baby and has never recovered but her family remain hopeful.   Her first principal role in the theatre was that of Mary in the Nativity, a role she reprieved on a number of occasions due to her youthful demeanour, angelic looks and cute lisp.  A foray into the world of brunettism saw her undergo a gender transition for the trouser-role of Nero in which her resemblance to her father scarred the whole family for life. 

King Pin Charles -Driver, Crew, Floor-manager,

Charles trained at the School of Life and graduated with Distinction.  Charles enjoys the outdoors, indoors and revolving doors although the latter caused him to suffer a nasty case of whiplash when exiting Boots in 1989.  Charles can be found running up and down Beacon Hill in all weathers but Caroline usually manages to guide him back home again. He’s been known to partake in the odd half-marathon and even a full Snickers on a good day.

Run-around Ruth - Social media, Dresser, Page-turner

Star of stage and screen, with a face for radio, Ruth has enjoyed a varied career doing most things with gusto and earning the unfortunate handle ‘Clumsy Annie’ along the way.  Ruth is the under-credited composer and lyricist of that completely unknown ditty ‘diddly-oompy-shoo’ and writes limericks in her spare time.  You may notice that Ruth is carrying an extra holdall – it’s full of Crunchies and Curly Wurleys – she has been known to eat 534 in one sitting and may need to be physically restrained if found straying into the sweet aisle in Sainsbugs.

Nimble Fingers Chris - Pianist, Chief cake-taster

Keyboard skills are where this man’s talents lie.  This musician extraordinaire has been known to play and eat cake at the same time, although this has been found to be a health and safety hazard when playing the organ due to potential pipe blockage – though Ruth’s quick-acting Heimlich did the trick last time.  Chris also enjoys standing in front of groups of singers waving his hands around and sometimes the singers even take notice. He boasts his very own fan club, appreciation society and tribute song – a man never to be underestimated.

Bearded Tenor Alyn  -  Crew, Visual editor, First-aider, Ast. floor manager

Hirsute pursuits are the name of the game for our assistant floor-manager.  Having undergone a complete personality transplant at the hands of Caroline, Al is now a competent member of the LMVC – he’s the one with grey hair and glasses – and also Caroline Sharpe Singers where he holds the prestigious role of Paul-Poker.  Alyn sometimes thinks he’s Alfie Boe and it’s always best to humour him during these delusional episodes, they soon pass.

Keep Calm Kath - Chief wine-taster, Morale booster, Ast. whooper

Kath is a Latin scholar of note who turned the head of our pianist when they were both at University. Chris was clearly struck by her delectamentum corpus and whisked her down the aisle before she could change her mind.  Kath, a pillar of the LMVC wives and supporters club, can always be relied upon to lend a hand and can be found at concerts carrying all manner of items of clothing, leads, music bags and other such sundries.  Whilst practising her ‘whoops’ in preparation for this tour, Kath sustained a tonsil injury so may just resort to extra-loud clapping.

Matron Christine - Chief first-aider, Ast. whooper

Christine enjoys a rewarding career with the NHS, having first been drawn to nursing by her penchant for men wearing white coats and stethoscopes.   Christine also has a keen interest in particle physics or, more precisely, a keen interest in a particle physicist – her dream date would be with Prof Brian Cox.  This tour will be a busman’s holiday for Christine as she looks after all our medical / medicinal needs but men, please note, she has not packed her uniform so don’t get excited.

Musical Penguin Amy - Cool bag monitor, sweet–sharer, general duties

Amy is an expert, world famous sweet and chocolate sharer so it pays to be her friend.  Amy has an abundance of common sense and it’s a good job as she’s the only one in her family with any. If you need a philosophical question to ponder – ask Amy, she’s full of them.

Peculiar Julia - Dog-sitter, blog reader, tour telephone helpline

Strange by name and even stranger by nature, Julia is a stalwart of the Caroline Sharpe fraternity with a penchant for giggling at the most inappropriate moments.  This ‘condition’ has led to a lifetime ban from some local venues, including churches, and she is entering rehab in August as a last resort.  Julia is famous for her healing hands and indulges in massages for all occasions and, as a qualified complementary therapist, always has something nice to say.

24 hours to go ...

This time tomorrow we'll all be buzzing around doing our last minute packing and preparations for the tour - exciting times.

Our MD, Caroline, will be busier than most as she has a musical engagement at 8:12am at Loughborough Queens Park Carillon when she has to play the bells as fast and as loudly as possible for 3 minutes! Find out more from the link below:

http://festival.london2012.com/events/9000961496

The laptop is coming on tour, too, so the blog can be updated regularly with all the up to the minute photos and video clips - we know you'll want to see what we're up to!!  Over the next few days, then, we'll introduce you properly to everyone who's on tour, post the programmes we'll be singing and keep you up to date with all our adventures as Enchanted fever rocks Norfolk!

The weather looks set to cool down a little which some of us are not disappointed about as it will give us chance to wear the hoodies we all so lovingly purchased.

So, ladies and gents, don't forget your toothbrush and see you at the rendezvous tomorrow!

Tour Itinerary

Friday 27^th July

10:00  Meet Loughborough (Ruth's house)

11:30  Arrive in Stamford for a lunchtime stop. 

14:00  Depart Stamford

15:00  Check in at Long Sutton Travelodge. 

16:30  Depart Travelodge

17:00  Arrive at Wimblington Methodist Church for warm up

17:45  Pre-concert tea and dress for concert

19:30  Concert

Back to Travelodge for a good night's kip.

Saturday 28^th July

10:30  Depart Travelodge

(late start means opportunity for lie-in or to patronise Little Chef for breakfast)

12:00  Arrive in Cromer

Afternoon at leisure

17:15  Meet at Methodist Church for warm up

18:00  Pre-concert tea and dress for concert

19:30  Concert

Back to Travelodge and straight to bed!

Sunday 29^th July

09:30 Depart Travelodge

10:30 Morning worship at London Road Methodist Church

12:00 Lunch

14:30 Concert followed by post-concert tea

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