Aberglasney Gardens - 27th June 2008

[Paddy]

Bye, Hayley!

[gra7890]

Hi Stephany and Mark,
Yes they are good quality photo's . I can see the competition you were up against now Mark i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif
I guess Andy had a very good camera

Best Wishes,

Graham

[gra7890]

Jul 1, 2008 13:57:20 GMT Mark said:

..... just before Hayley got into the car to go. Suddenly, a gentleman who was amongst the handful of us who had waited to see Hayley, burst into song. I am guessing that he was a welshman, who had a supurb tenor voice. Within seconds, Hayley joined in and we were treated to a wonderful private mini concert How many international singing stars would do that

Hi Mark,
I doubt many other performers would have done that. Another example of why Hayley is SPECIAL

Graham

[pjrcorreia]

Jul 1, 2008 13:57:20 GMT Mark said:

Anyway, Andy mentions in his report something which happend totally unexpectedly, just before Hayley got into the car to go. Suddenly, a gentleman who was amongst the handful of us who had waited to see Hayley, burst into song. I am guessing that he was a welshman, who had a supurb tenor voice. Within seconds, Hayley joined in and we were treated to a wonderful private mini concert How many international singing stars would do that

Well, there is a reason that I haven't mentioned it before now and thats because I wanted to check that everything was in order Alright, so a managed to video the last 20 seconds for you all to see........ enjoy

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the video, and nice story, Hayley is indeed Unique and very Special.

Best wishes,
Paulo correia

[pjrcorreia]

Thank you Andy & Jo, Mark and Eugene, for sharing these great photos

Best wishes,
Paulo Correia

[thomas]

Hi Mark!

Thank you for your report and pictures! Eugene and you must have had a great time!
I like your gift you've had for Hayley. That's very special and I'm sure she liked it a lot.

It's sad to hear that Fiona won't go on tour with Hayley anymore. She was another highlight with her performance.

Thomas

[martindn]

Thanks for the wonderful pictures and reports Mark and Paddy, and Andy and Jo on the official forum too.
The thought of Hayley queueing for the toilets with her audience in the interval made me smile!
Hayley's tiredness shows I think on a couple of Andy's pictures. On one she is yawning, and on another looks dead beat. I'll bet she was glad to get to bed afterwards, but she didn't let it stop her spending some time with her fans. What a lady!

Martin

[grant]

Jul 1, 2008 22:09:50 GMT martindn said:

The thought of Hayley queueing for the toilets with her audience in the interval made me smile!

Hi Martin

Hayley will be getting used to this now as it happened last year at her concert at Telford St Georges. On that ocassion she was escorted to the Social club next door by the vicar.

Apparently, Hayley is reported to have commented to a lady in the queue "I bet you didn't expect to be queueing with the star of the show" or something like that ( I don't think she referred to herself as "the star" but can't remember the words she used.)

I can't imagine many artists of her calibre would put up with that but then they're not Hayley are they?

Best wishes
Grant

[Dori]

Hi everyone.

Lovely photos. Don't hesitate to post more! Hayley certainly didn't look as tired as I would imagine!

I'm assuming she's heading to America at the meantime. What a 'tough chick' she is, really! :2fun:

Dori

[Mark]

Jul 1, 2008 23:18:41 GMT grant said:

Jul 1, 2008 22:09:50 GMT martindn said:

The thought of Hayley queueing for the toilets with her audience in the interval made me smile!

Hi Martin

Hayley will be getting used to this now as it happened last year at her concert at Telford St Georges. On that ocassion she was escorted to the Social club next door by the vicar.

Apparently, Hayley is reported to have commented to a lady in the queue "I bet you didn't expect to be queueing with the star of the show" or something like that ( I don't think she referred to herself as "the star" but can't remember the words she used.)

I can't imagine many artists of her calibre would put up with that but then they're not Hayley are they?

Best wishes
Grant

Hi Martin & Grant

You are quite right about what happend at Telford last year Grant. It was me that actually overheard that comment. I was on my way to the toilets and was just opening the door into the building where the toilets were situated and bumped into Hayley on her way out, closely followed by the vicar, who was obviously escorting her. "Oh, Hi Guys" she said, with that unique little giggle of hers A few seconds later, two ladies walked past me and I overheard one of them say to the other " you don't expect to be standing in the toilet queue with the star of the show do you " haha.

Best wishes
Mark

[grant]

Jul 2, 2008 7:49:10 GMT Mark said:

A few seconds later, two ladies walked past me and I overheard one of them say to the other " you don't expect to be standing in the toilet queue with the star of the show do you " haha.

Thanks Mark!

Yes, I remember now. So I did get the quote right but the context was wrong!

Best wishes
Grant

[Stephany]

Hi everybody!

There was a very interesting review of the Aberglasney concert in yesterday's Carmarthen Journal. It sounds like there's gonna be another one next year!

Star shines in the rain
2 July 2008
Carmarthen Journal

New Zealand singing sensation Hayley Westenra performed at Aberglasney Gardens at the weekend. Here's what CATHRYN INGS thoughts of the star's show . . .

Phone lines at Aberglasney Gardens were ringing red hot on Friday with people wanting to know if the open-air concert with world class singing sensation Hayley Westenra was going ahead.

The rain had been lashing down all day and there seemed to be no let up as evening approached.

But it takes a lot more than a bit of wind and driving rain for West Walians to bring a halt to a concert, particularly when the star is of the calibre of Miss Westenra.

New Zealander Hayley Westenra is more accustomed to singing at the world's most prestigious concert halls - she has performed in front of presidents and world leaders.

It was quite a coup by organisers Aberglasney Restoration Trust to bring her to sing at the gardens.

The feeling on the night was very much "the show must go on" with guests huddled up against the elements in all manner of rainproof clothing.

The show began with a set from The Keith Little Band who tried valiantly to get the crowd warmed up with a vibrant selection of jazz tunes.

But it was a tough crowd - and despite the talent and enthusiasm of the band it's hard to get the cold, wet audience tapping their feet and clapping their hands.

However, as the evening progressed, the rain died down to a drizzle, and when Hayley Westenra took to the stage the mood lifted.

Miss Westenra appeared on the terrace at Aberglasney in a bright pink dress which matched the fragrant, bobbing heads of the Sweet William and roses which lined the cloistered garden where the main part of the audience sat.

Hayley Westenra sang a selection of songs from Ave Maria to more modern classics such as Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now and traditional folk songs such as Scarborough Fair.

Miss Westenra's pride in New Zealand was reflected in her choice of songs including May It Be from Lord of the Rings (filmed in New Zealand) and a beautiful Maori lullaby Hine E Hine.

She had a wonderful rapport with the audience who she chatted to happily.

Miss Westenra was accompanied by delightful violinist Fiona Pears, also from New Zealand, who charmed the audience with renditions of her own compositions and familiar traditional songs. The audience at Aberglasney couldn't bear to part with Ms Westenra at the end of the evening, and she came back for two encores.

The evening was a huge success for the Aberglasney Restoriation Trust. They proved that when you have a performer as talented as Hayley Westenra and a venue as perfect as Aberglasney - the weather really doesn't matter.

Aberglasney director of operations Graham Rankin said: "It couldn't have been better. We had nearly 1,000 people there on the night and, as far as I know, there was not one complaint."

Mr Rankin said that plans were under way for a concert next year to celebrate the gardens' 10th anniversary.

Stephany

[gra7890]

Hi Stephany,

re .......
There was a very interesting review of the Aberglasney concert in yesterday's Carmarthen Journal. It sounds like there's gonna be another one next year!

And .........

Mr Rankin said that plans were under way for a concert next year to celebrate the gardens' 10th anniversary'

Yes there may well be another concert next year, but that does not necessarily mean a Hayley concert does it

Graham

[grant]

Hi Graham and Stephany

I agree, it does sound like there will be another concert next year and I don't think Stephany was inferring that it would feature Hayley. It's perhaps just natural that reading it here, could make one think so!

But it takes a lot more than a bit of wind and driving rain for West Walians to bring a halt to a concert, particularly when the star is of the calibre of Miss Westenra

Hooray for correctness too!!

Best wishes
Grant

[Mark]

Hi Stephany

Thanks for finding that report, very complimentary They just love her in Wales though. The owner of the guest house I stayed in remarked that Wales had adopted Hayley as one of their own

The report is right in that although the jazz band were very good, the audience applause was shall we say, a little subdued. Once Hayley came onto stage though, the whole mood lifted and we never looked back after that - the bad weather only added to the whole experience in my view.

Thanks again Stephany.

Lots of love
Mark