 Changing Places Week 140 W/C 26th October 2008
The Storm came as promised and our road became the usual raging torrent. Cellars in neighbour's houses became flooded and the pumping gear was put in place to drain them out. It doesn't rain like this very often but when it does it takes our little area back in time. My neighbours have been telling me of what this area of Soller was like when it used to make its money and reputation from the famous Soller oranges. Our road is in a double dip in the land marking the way down to the sea from town. Years ago the land grew oranges in abundance and when the rains came it made the area a lake. They tell stories of every house having its own rowing boat to get around until the water dispersed. In normal weather you can't imagine that was ever the case but on nights like tonight it all seems more than possible. We have a few rubber rings and a blow up dinghy - I suppose we could use if it really came to it.
It's great to get the locals in story telling mode because the gossip comes thick and fast. How many houses in Soller are owned by the local church - having been left them by grateful parishioners? Apparently the answer is forty-five and all of them empty gathering dust. That story led to the one about the obscene number of empty houses in town owned by locals who enjoy having their portfolio of properties and who are not interested in the effort of letting them. This causes great concern among the Soller chattering classes when they see properties that their children or grandchildren could rent sitting there waiting for what? This conversation could equally have happened in the North London we relocated from - affordable housing is a universal problem and includes Majorca.
Trev is into week two of the intensive rehearsals for The Messiah to be performed in the Cathedral on Friday 12th December. The memory of the ordeal of the audition is fading and now its just sheer concentration. Saturday rehearsals are for four and a half hours and Sunday a mere four. His brain is full of the Messiah choruses and the pleasure of singing with such a large choir. Time is understandably spent on the English pronunciation which for the majority has to be learned. For Trev this is the easy part - he can at least understand that bit and not feel too inadequate even if his pronunciation has a northern twang! The already large choir is joined by other excellent choirs nearer the time and the performance will be on a grand scale with a huge choir and a `sold out' audience. A great experience all round.
Meanwhile back at the rehearsals of the ladies of The Georgie Insull Singers we are in excellent Christmas voice. The Christmas Concert (also on Friday 12th December) is being perfected twice a week and the list of other engagements for the Choir leading up to Christmas grows longer. Is the whole world singing or is it just my world. Our friends in the choir we used to sing at in North London tell of a huge serge in numbers since The Last Choir Standing programme was on television. The numbers of the North Camden Chorus used to stand at around 50 but this term the number has grown to 120. This is playing havoc with the coffee making rota but doing wonders for the sound!
Web site design is occupying our leaders mind together with the full concert schedule. Soon, on a great new site, designed by Tracey Ivell of `cnwebsitedesign' you will be able to see and hear us. The wedding singers of Majorca are heard in living rooms all over the UK via the internet as brides plan their weddings for next year and book us in good time. An interesting repertoire of music is represented there but please don't think that's all we sing. The choices of wedding songs this year has been to say the least eclectic and Georgie Insull definitely has a `can do' mentality.
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