Just one picture for now.
But a picture tells a thousand words, and we've got some fantastic photos of last night's audience having a whale of a time at our very first Pop Up Proms concert. When I have the relevant permissions I'll set up a photo gallery.
But until then, I will attempt to illustrate the concert myself.
It went very well indeed. About thirty residents attended, which was, apparently, an excellent turnout. Some residents' family members also came, and of course, the staff and carers popped in and out as well. Brooklands staff helped decorate the room with red, white and blue bunting and flags- it looked a proper Proms treat.
We were in the residents' lounge, a largish, low-ceilinged room, with comfy chairs and sofas arranged in a circle around the edge - and a huge pillar in the centre. We worked around it!
As we waited to begin our show, Christina set to work capturing those all important reminiscences from some of our elderly audience.
After a short introduction from me, Martyn kicked off the show with 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning'. Any fears we may have had about people not joining in with the singing were instantly allayed. EVERYONE joined in! It was brilliant.
They continued to join in (in some cases even when we didn't ask!) throughout the whole show. All the performers did wonderfully. Highlights for us all were the lady who danced to every song and the lady who loved the Matt Munroe medley. And how could we ever forget Joanie's rendition of Big Spender - sung from the laps of various surprised and delighted elderly gentlemen?!
The timings went according to plan and the last 15 minutes, set aside for our special 'Proms Finale', arrived in a flash. Armed with lyrics sheets to sing from and Union Jack flags to wave, our audience enthusiastically participated throughout 'Land of Hope and Glory' and 'Jerusalem', and our final number, 'Rule Britannia'!
Christina managed to capture some more recordings as we tidied our things away. The staff were thrilled with the hour's entertainment and commented on what an extremely positive experience the visit from the Pop Up Proms Project had been for all concerned.
All in all, a good evening's work. And home by 8.30!
