Post by grant on Dec 16, 2014 12:50:49 GMT
Juliette and nose wheels
My Saturday morning began at silly o’clock and nearly ended in disaster as I was half way to the bus stop before I realised I’d left my camera at home! Once retrieved the rest of the day went smoothly and I arrived in London on time to meet Juliette at 8.30 for the next stage of our journey to Stanstead airport. The airport is already very busy as we joined the queue for the inevitable security checks before arriving airside in search of refreshment and a late breakfast. John H. arrived whilst we were eating and Martin soon after.
Then began the seemingly endless wait for the gate to open. Our flight is at 12.25 and I’m very glad that we pre-booked our seats and priority boarding, both of which cost extra with Ryanair, as it looks as though the flight is fully booked. Initially we are allowed down the stairs but not outside. When we are let out onto the very chilly apron, we are asked to wait again. About now, three white vans appear in quick succession and unloaded a couple of wheels – seems they are for the nose landing gear. Juliette and I exchanged nervous glances. As we board the aircraft the process of changing the wheels is underway. Hope they fit!
The rest of our journey is uneventful and, after an early dinner, we made the short journey from the hotel to the very impressive City Hall.
It is just after 6pm and, in traditional style, HWI have taken control of the main entrance. It is cold but bearable but with the conversation inevitably turning to Hayley and tonight’s concert and reminiscences of previous Hayley gatherings, the time passes quickly. A little after ten past seven, and with quite a queue now formed behind us, the sound of bolts being drawn can be heard, the doors swing inwards and we are bathed in the warmth from the interior. I think I must go into auto pilot mode at this point because I’m now sitting in a front row isle seat with a programme in my hand and Juliette sat next to me and no clear idea of how I got here!!
And so to concert time. The Cork Youth Orchestra opened up the proceedings with two pieces, the first from Romeo and Juliette and a second a piece I wasn’t familiar with but it didn’t matter, the sheer beauty of the music was evident the moment they begin playing. The compare for the evening gave us a bit of background to the CYO which I’d like to share with you. They are the oldest youth orchestra in Ireland having been formed in 1958 and during that time they have had only three conductors. They are mostly between 14 to 18 years old although I gather there are a few younger ones, there are 130 of them and they rehearse every Saturday! Very impressive and well worth checking out if you’re ever in Ireland.
Now it is Hayley's turn to take to the stage and, thanks to JohnH’s excellent pictures, I don’t need to go into detail about what Hayley was wearing. I’ll go into more detail about Hayley's actual performance in the next part of my report so as not to repeat myself. Needless to say though, Hayley was wonderful and clearly enjoying having the young people of the orchestra supporting her as well as Tim and the other band members.
All too soon it is the interval during which an interesting chain of events began to unfold. It began with a lady coming to look for HWI! Possibly because Eugene had managed to get a number of seats behind us reserved for “H. W. Group”. Anyway, we were all there at the front and eager to explain to her what we were all about. She was very interested to hear that we were a very diverse group an that there were members at the concerts from several different countries with England, France, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as Ireland being represented. The significance of the Westenra Tartan ties was explained and, of course, I had to mention that it was the 78th time I had seen Hayley perform! I’m guessing that this lady was something to do with CYO management because, as well as being impressed by the support we give Hayley, she was seeing this also as great exposure for the orchestra. We left her in no doubt that we were enjoying their playing too.
The story doesn’t end there (it doesn’t actually end until Sunday night but more about that later) because as the concert resumed the compare returned to the stage and promptly reported to everyone, in great detail, what we had discussed with this lady during the interval. A little embarrassing but hey, if it spreads the word a little that can’t be a bad thing can it?
The concert resumed by an orchestral backing by CYO of “The Snowman” although it was rather difficult to see from our position on the front row. It also included a stunningly beautiful rendition of “Walking In The Air” by a young lady from the CYO. Pity we could only hear and not see her but that was possibly because it would have been almost impossible for her to extricate herself from the middle of the orchestra.
Hayley closed the concert with another six songs. But a very enthusiastic audience wouldn’t let her go and she came back for two encores – fortunately before my arms fell off! And so the first of two wonderful evenings came to a close. We did wait to see if Hayley would appear but with the concert sponsors a number of dignitaries, including the mayors of both Cork city and Cork county in the audience, Hayley was whisked off to a reception with them. Perhaps we’ll have better luck tomorrow night?
More this afternoon
Best wishes
Grant
My Saturday morning began at silly o’clock and nearly ended in disaster as I was half way to the bus stop before I realised I’d left my camera at home! Once retrieved the rest of the day went smoothly and I arrived in London on time to meet Juliette at 8.30 for the next stage of our journey to Stanstead airport. The airport is already very busy as we joined the queue for the inevitable security checks before arriving airside in search of refreshment and a late breakfast. John H. arrived whilst we were eating and Martin soon after.
Then began the seemingly endless wait for the gate to open. Our flight is at 12.25 and I’m very glad that we pre-booked our seats and priority boarding, both of which cost extra with Ryanair, as it looks as though the flight is fully booked. Initially we are allowed down the stairs but not outside. When we are let out onto the very chilly apron, we are asked to wait again. About now, three white vans appear in quick succession and unloaded a couple of wheels – seems they are for the nose landing gear. Juliette and I exchanged nervous glances. As we board the aircraft the process of changing the wheels is underway. Hope they fit!
The rest of our journey is uneventful and, after an early dinner, we made the short journey from the hotel to the very impressive City Hall.
It is just after 6pm and, in traditional style, HWI have taken control of the main entrance. It is cold but bearable but with the conversation inevitably turning to Hayley and tonight’s concert and reminiscences of previous Hayley gatherings, the time passes quickly. A little after ten past seven, and with quite a queue now formed behind us, the sound of bolts being drawn can be heard, the doors swing inwards and we are bathed in the warmth from the interior. I think I must go into auto pilot mode at this point because I’m now sitting in a front row isle seat with a programme in my hand and Juliette sat next to me and no clear idea of how I got here!!
And so to concert time. The Cork Youth Orchestra opened up the proceedings with two pieces, the first from Romeo and Juliette and a second a piece I wasn’t familiar with but it didn’t matter, the sheer beauty of the music was evident the moment they begin playing. The compare for the evening gave us a bit of background to the CYO which I’d like to share with you. They are the oldest youth orchestra in Ireland having been formed in 1958 and during that time they have had only three conductors. They are mostly between 14 to 18 years old although I gather there are a few younger ones, there are 130 of them and they rehearse every Saturday! Very impressive and well worth checking out if you’re ever in Ireland.
Now it is Hayley's turn to take to the stage and, thanks to JohnH’s excellent pictures, I don’t need to go into detail about what Hayley was wearing. I’ll go into more detail about Hayley's actual performance in the next part of my report so as not to repeat myself. Needless to say though, Hayley was wonderful and clearly enjoying having the young people of the orchestra supporting her as well as Tim and the other band members.
All too soon it is the interval during which an interesting chain of events began to unfold. It began with a lady coming to look for HWI! Possibly because Eugene had managed to get a number of seats behind us reserved for “H. W. Group”. Anyway, we were all there at the front and eager to explain to her what we were all about. She was very interested to hear that we were a very diverse group an that there were members at the concerts from several different countries with England, France, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as Ireland being represented. The significance of the Westenra Tartan ties was explained and, of course, I had to mention that it was the 78th time I had seen Hayley perform! I’m guessing that this lady was something to do with CYO management because, as well as being impressed by the support we give Hayley, she was seeing this also as great exposure for the orchestra. We left her in no doubt that we were enjoying their playing too.
The story doesn’t end there (it doesn’t actually end until Sunday night but more about that later) because as the concert resumed the compare returned to the stage and promptly reported to everyone, in great detail, what we had discussed with this lady during the interval. A little embarrassing but hey, if it spreads the word a little that can’t be a bad thing can it?
The concert resumed by an orchestral backing by CYO of “The Snowman” although it was rather difficult to see from our position on the front row. It also included a stunningly beautiful rendition of “Walking In The Air” by a young lady from the CYO. Pity we could only hear and not see her but that was possibly because it would have been almost impossible for her to extricate herself from the middle of the orchestra.
Hayley closed the concert with another six songs. But a very enthusiastic audience wouldn’t let her go and she came back for two encores – fortunately before my arms fell off! And so the first of two wonderful evenings came to a close. We did wait to see if Hayley would appear but with the concert sponsors a number of dignitaries, including the mayors of both Cork city and Cork county in the audience, Hayley was whisked off to a reception with them. Perhaps we’ll have better luck tomorrow night?
More this afternoon
Best wishes
Grant