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Post by postscript on Mar 17, 2006 19:15:50 GMT
Well done Steve. Thank you for that extract from the Huddersfield Examiner(?). I've got my ticket. All I have to do is plan my trip. I'm thinking of spending a few days in the Pennines and then travelling through Wales to Cardiff, probably taking the route through the mountains except there will be holiday traffic and meeting it coming in the opposite direction on twisting mountain roads with sheer drops on one side is a rather disconcerting prospect. But then, there is the coast route. Further inland there's the M5, from which I suppose I can make little detours!
Moving eastwards from the M5 would take me into Shropshire, the Great Mynd and of course, who remembers, Malcolm Saville country--Lone Pine Five, The Master of Maryknoll etc. Am I awaking nostalgia in anyone?
Peter
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Steve H
Global Moderator
HWI Management Team / Official Site Photographer & Videographer
Posts: 1,756
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Post by Steve H on Mar 17, 2006 20:26:45 GMT
Hi Peter, Thats OK glad to be of assistance. P.S I am keeping this one short, scared to deviate too much, I fear Richard is on my case! P.S.S I am off to the pub, out of my close. second left, first right, left at the tee, 2nd at the roundabout, over the Level crossing...... or should I go via Church Lane Steve H
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Post by tony6aqv on Apr 26, 2006 11:54:18 GMT
Booked my ticket to-day. It is anexcellent venue ,anywhere on the balcony gives a good view of the stage. I shall drive up and stay overnight at the Premier Home which is alongside the motterway. Tony.
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Post by postscript on Apr 26, 2006 13:16:24 GMT
Hi Tony, I will look out for you. I'm down in the stalls 4 or 6 rows back. I did think of being up in the gallery but chose the stalls.Denis and Brid will be there also.
Last time, Hayley took around half-an-hour backstage inundated with everyone wanting her signature or to say 'hi' etc and then she came out to the side foyer where there were around a dozen of us plebs waiting patiently.
Peter
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Post by roger on May 19, 2006 16:36:05 GMT
From icHuddersfield.com today... Even band smitten with Hayley fever! May 19 2006 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner THE clock is ticking towards what is undoubtedly the biggest date in the calendar for Innovate Skelmanthorpe Band. After recent years, when the band has hosted top-line Welsh singers such as Aled Jones and Katherine Jenkins, sharing a platform with another headline singer should be something that the band takes in its stride. But there is excitement at the prospect of sharing the Huddersrfield Town Hall stage with New Zealand sensation Hayley Westenra on June 10. No surprise that tickets are selling well, since Hayley is one of the most talked about young sopranos. Her stunning natural voice captivated millions when as a 15-year-old, she launched her debut album Pure. That album sold millions and achieved a remarkable double - topping the UK classical charts and hitting the pop Top Ten . And it changed the life of a teenager who was still a schoolgirl used to living at home in Christchurch with mum and dad Jill and Gerald Westenra, sister Sophie and brother Isaac. Huddersfield audiences got a taste of the Hayley's remarkable talent when she appeared in the Town Hall just before Christmas alongside Huddersfield Methodist Choir. Skelmanthorpe were already negotiating to bring her here when Hayley agreed to appear with the Methodists. They had no fears about bringing her back so soon. Audiences were captivated by her bubbly personality as well as her voice. Now based in London, Hayley seems to spend a lot of her time on tour, buzzing around Britain, Europe and the US plus Japan where she's got superstar status. Doubtless she'll get a warm welcome back to Yorkshire next week, not just from the band but from a Town Hall audience used to hearing big name singers. Those who should have seen Jos? Carreras at the Galpharm Stadium on June 9 could do worse than shrug off the disappointment and buy a ticket to see instead this rising young singing star. Tickets at £10-£18 are available from Kirklees Booking Offices. Roger
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Post by postscript on May 19, 2006 16:50:00 GMT
Hi Roger. What extraordinaruy coincidence. Your post on Hayley's promotion in Huddersfield was the next post I came to after referring to her performance last Christmas in another reply to another and quite separate post
It panicked me, though. It said it was next week when it meant next month--I hope!
Peter
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Post by roger on May 19, 2006 17:21:18 GMT
Hi Peter, Don't panic, it is next month. In Richard's temporary absense, it falls to me to say it is in 22 days from now! Red and bold. That okay, Richard? Roger
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Post by Richard on May 20, 2006 7:45:20 GMT
Hello Roger and Peter! I must have missed this discussion by a whisker, if you'll pardon the expression! I normally do the countdown like this:- 21 days to go! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gifI'm not going to Huddersfield, but I'll see you at Cadogan Hall and Wisley, in 17 and 19 days time respectively. Best Wishes, Richard
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Post by roger on May 20, 2006 9:31:29 GMT
Sorry Richard - I'll get the hang of it one day! Roger
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Post by roger on Jun 9, 2006 16:53:16 GMT
From icHuddersfield... Hayley lights up town hall Jun 9 2006 By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner NEW Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra will be centre stage in Huddersfield tomorrow when she appears in concert as the guest of Innovate Skelmanthorpe Band. The young singer is the latest in a line of star guests who have featured in concerts alongside the band at Huddersfield Town Hall in recent years. Tomorrow's concert looks set to pack in music fans to hear both band and a singer whose purity of voice has excited many. Hayley has fast become one of the biggest names in music. Her stunning natural voice captivated millions and made a massive hit out of her her debut album, Pure which was released when she was just 15. The album sold millions and achieved a remarkable double - topping the UK classical charts and hitting the pop charts Top Ten. Tomorrow's concert begins at 7.15pm. Contact Kirklees Booking Offices or by phone on 01484-223200 __________ Hmph! I wish I was going now. Roger
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Post by postscript on Jun 11, 2006 13:43:57 GMT
This is a long piece and when I come back from enjoying the sun i shall make it more manageable. For now, I have given some bold headings to help the too easily bored reader to scroll quickly.
Whether or not I can do bookmarks in text I will explore later this evening and see what further presentation i can do to ease the body of text..
To avoid repetition I’ll link readers to my ‘Hayley Westenra in a Christmas Concert with Pennine Brass and at the invitation of Huddersfield Methodist Choir’ post which is also on the main board.
That post gives a background to Huddersfield and its glorious Concert Hall. Introduction Who else was There? The Show Itself About the printed Programme About Brass Bands The Compère The Concert Itself
Introduction The only difference this time is for the reader to imagine full summer but retaining spring’s diversity of greens in the hedgerows and woodlands, further daubed with shades of white. Easter’s colours are yellow: yellow chicks, daffodils, broom, crocuses and a weak winter sun. The months of May and June are green and white, hence the costume of many May Day celebrants: blackthorn (May), daisies, cow parsley and elder being the main contributors.
It is also in a summer’s heat one appreciates the winds that blow on the heights. On this Saturday 10th June it was a glorious drive up a fairly easy M1. Once past Loughborough one is mostly in farmland which has changed little in shape and land detail over the past several centuries. It is hard to imagine that much of this beautiful wooded hill area has been mined for coal and in various pockets harbours major industry, both present and past, although mostly past now.
Briefly, there may be pictures of the hall posted later as I used up an old 800 film I found (a year out of date but it may be okay) during the interval and after the show. I was in a glorious position for two lovely pictures of Hayley in two superb dresses but this is a hall sporting large notices about ‘no photography’ and ‘no recording’ and ‘reserving the right to search at random’. I was in far too conspicuous a position to be inconspicuous and while I wouldn’t let any association come out, there is no way I would risk embarrassing Hayley were someone to take exception. Oh, all right, I just didn’t possess the required spherical objects!
Who else was There? However, this is obviously a busy lady. Denis and Brid were there and Brid persisted in her opinion Hayley seemed tired. I didn’t agree but may be it takes a woman to see through into another woman. In any case it did not affect her performance if she was tired or suffering jet-lag as I think she had crossed at least one time zone twice in twenty-four hours and was about to do so again. I gather she flew in that after-noon and was flying out that night—or was desperate for a decent night’s kip before flying out on Sunday.
I believe she has said she doesn’t find sleeping in daylight easy. As a consequence we missed seeing her. I was disappointed for Brid and Denis as they rarely get the opportunity but as far as I was concerned, I hadn’t expected to see her for the reasons quoted. This board has previously debated how rushed she was going to be on fitting in some of these additional German concerts. What signings she did had been pure signings in the corridor outside her dressing room door. She clearly would not have had the time we often have with her to chat, which is what Brid and Denis had been hoping for.
Having seen her myself four days previously and chosen to not see her two days before, in order to catch the broadcast of her BBC Southern Counties Radio interview, I certainly didn’t have cause to be disappointed! Otherwise, I had nothing new to add to what I had told her when Stuart/Steve/Dave(?) [I’m offline at present] took that photograph of ‘Postscript Waxing Lyrically at Her’. In situations like these it is important for those with a single opportunity to see her are given that chance and in her usual accommodating way she probably did more than she should have done under the circumstances. Perhaps Roger and I will be able to see her for a chat at Cardiff. I shall also have opportunities to see her at Llandudno, Newmarket and Gawsworth Hall, assuming she is available.
The Show Itself So, to the meat of the matter. Hayley herself commented on what a marvellous hall this is and how much she enjoyed a return visit. An idea of the pressure she is under is that there were several songs where she had electronic backing due to lack of rehearsal time and the need to arrange the music, that last probably being the key element. Arranging orchestral work for a brass band is no mean feat and I suspect Hayley wanted full participation. There is also the time factor of gaining clearance from the original composer, presumably. I assume the tracks were the ones from the recording studio taken at the time before mixing-in her voice for the final master. These questions and the definitive colour of her first dress are questions I would have liked to have asked had the opportunity been there.
With regard to the audience, it is difficult to assess who was there for the band and who was there for Hayley. The hall was packed. What was clear was that last time the audience were there for the Methodist Choir, their regular performers and Hayley by repute. This time, they welcomed Hayley for herself and the local reputation she had acquired previously.
When she came on stage the applause was a warm one for her as the person, not simple appreciation of a celebrated artist of distant reputation. A warmth of applause that increased as the evening progressed—and she gave us eight songs!
The problem with provincial theatre is that provincial towns, especially ones without their own theatres as such, are not geared to a theatre-dining public. By the time I had driven myself here, a most enjoyable drive, I needed time to recuperate. I also needed some kind of meal prior to theatre—knowing I wouldn‘t get anything worthwhile afterwards. Not that I had anything worthwhile beforehand! I made do with a Pizza Hut, which actually was quite presentable. So I was unable to do a ‘Richard on sentry duty’ to pre-warn her of Denis, Brid’s and my presence, or be pre-warned of what a tight schedule she was on. But I had guessed that anyway. In any case I wanted to write up my notes so I could upload on the web cost-effectively from my hotel room first thing on Sunday morning, which is where I am currently typing this—in my hotel room, not the Sunday morning! However, the hour is 11:30pm. I still need to pace the stress I place on myself. For me, a drive of 170 miles and then a concert, even a Hayley concert, which always raises the energy levels, is for me quite a heavy day. I just hope I can decipher my notes at around 6:00a.m. Sunday morning.
It is now 5:00a.m. Sunday morning and I’m back on duty having just boiled a Typhoo tea bag! I turn to my notes of last night. ‘Superb. Black chiffon. Pokarekare Ana. Euphonium’. What all that means is that I only made notes regarding Hayley and left the programme to prompt me about the band! First things first.
About the printed Programme Itself The £2 programme was a straight forward 8pp full colour job on good quality art paper approximately 120gsm. There was a time when, as a printer, I could hold a sheet of paper between finger and thumb and tell its weight, composition and quite probably which mill manufactured it! Not these days, I’m too out of touch. The key four lines of the heading went in the following degree of emphasis: 2,3,4,1. INNOVATE Skelmanthorpe Band In Concert with Special Guest Hayley Westenra.
Then details of date and venue A partial showing of a euphonium next to a prominent head and neck shot of Hayley in the current promotional pose of three-quarter face on, her eyes looking extreme left and wearing (though barely in the picture) that red dress. All this was white letter` out of a three-quarter weight red to orange colour. At the bottom, interestingly was the official web address, standing out quite promonently under which was ‘by arrangement with Solo’.
The theme is carried through at the top of each double-page spread with different heads of Hayley, going back over the last four or five years. They are pictures with which we are all familiar but interestingly the youngest of them I think is taken from the Russell Watson open-air concert in NZ.
The inside opening spread is all about Hayley: her discovery and rapid progress. The centre spread is the programme. The last spread devotes one page to the band and the other to an ad to which half the back page is devoted, the other half devoted to Acknowledgements of sponsors. Regrettably, there is not any break-down of the band which I would have found very useful.
About Brass Bands Having interrupted myself for breakfast (a few paragraphs further on, in fact) I shared a breakfast table with Denis and Bridget. He told me he had been a cornet player and said that there was unusually included a fugal horn and a single soprano cornet [E flat as opposed to B flat] as well as tenor trumpets. [Denis, please correct me if I have got that the wrong way round!].
I am not familiar with the composition of brass bands. In my December report I said I was not particularly enamoured of them. I have changed my mind since hearing these two excellent bands. Both, I suspect are regularly competition entrants and the music is carefully chosen to reflect their instrumental balance. Too often, I suspect, one mostly hears brass bands ‘playing music’, rather than music specifically arranged for them. A point I shall mention later.
The Compère The compère was an established local raconteur of (to me) original jokes, several of which (most unusually) remain with me. At least the ones I understood. The broad well, let’s say ‘local’ accent as I’m not too sure which side of the Pennines I’m in (or he was from!), meant that I was often still deciphering the joke while the rest of the audience were already laughing at it. In one or two instances I simply never got it at all. Unfortunately, the ones I remember are of the more risqué type and being sensitive to the diverse range of our readers (some quite young) I cannot share them here. I could, however, imagine Hayley in her dressing room hearing them over the tannoy and emitting that lovely infectious giggle of hers—for the jokes’ value as jokes, not necessarily because they were risqué!
However, I guess I have digressed too far and kept you, dear reader, far too long from the purpose of this report, namely the concert!
The Concert Itself The band opened with Strauss’ (arranged by Banks) Fest Musik Der Stadt Wien. This was followed by a rarely heard Suppé overture Tantalusqualen. It reminded me I have an LP of several Suppé overtures which I have not played for some time. This overture is one of them. For me, it showed what a brass band can do when orchestral music is properly arranged for the changed composition of players.
Then Hayley, beautifully introduced by the compère and greeted by a warm, spontaneous and affectionate applause. In both parts she was described in the programme as giving us ‘A selection of songs from her albums ‘Odyssey’ and ‘Pure’’.
First, ‘that dress’. I think there is a specific couturier’s name for the colour. I can best describe it in car colours as a ‘steely’ blue. It was a pale blue with perhaps some violet in it but of course only natural light can define precisely. The dress itself was essentially a satin under-slip with simple shoulder straps over which was a midnight blue chiffon over dress, hence the difficulty in defining the colour of the underskirt.
She opened with Pokarekara Ana. Initially there was no difference to what we know. The clear, bell-like tones of her soaring voice open that expectation of her pure musical beauty. Then the orchestra comes in gently behind her… but there wasn’t an orchestra. Lacking strings and woodwind what came in, almost sotto voce but with wonderful depth of tone was the euphonium section. That was the moment, later confirmed by Hayley almost apologetically for using recorded backing later on (due to lack of time for rehearsal and arrangement) that one realises just how hardworking this girl really is.
It is not just a question of jetting here and there—look at this past week: Sunday in Germany; Tuesday Sloane Square; Thursday Wisley, a pre-show radio interview, rehearsal and performance; Saturday Germany then Harrogate; Sunday Germany. It is the behind-the-scenes work of continually selecting and balancing not just varying programmes but programmes with varying musical support: piano and violin, string only and orchestras of different sizes. This past week: Tuesday with a sextet or octet, we couldn’t recall; Thursday a full-scale orchestra, Saturday a brass band. Not just song changes but different instruments and numbers of instrumental players.
What I would love to hear, or read, would be an interview with Hayley conducted by someone with the appropriate technical knowledge, to discuss with her just what goes on behind-the-scenes We know she looks at tunes with particularly appealing lilt or words that are meaningful. In short, that which musically or lyrically has depth, nothing trite. Clearly, there is another dimension, the complexity of arranging for different instrumental combinations. How does she go about this? How does she indicate the interpretation she wants with the specialists, as with an orchestral or band conductor? What are the complications with the relevant composers or their estates for copyright clearances? It seems composers may need, or should appreciate, arrangers in the same way that writers need editors. Where and how does Hayley interact in this diversity of juxtapositions? When one thinks of all this background one really begins to understand just how much work this girl puts in behind-the-scenes in every public appearance she makes.
In my usual way, I have digressed appallingly! But, Roger et al please note, still on topic: Hayley at Huddersfield!
The result was what we are accustomed to: a fantastically enthusiastic response from the hall. She explained the background to Pokarakare Ana as the conductor stepped aside and disappeared. I had thought she was about to sing a cappella but she then apologised for the use of backing tracks and introduced ‘The Water is Wide’. She then explained her interest in, and admiration for, Joni Mitchell’s work, saying that every time she sang her songs, the following one in particular, she seemed to find different meanings in each line. The song was ‘Both Sides Now’.
During her time on stage there were two different lighting approaches to which she responded in the classic Hayley manner, adapting to the different opportunities each gave her. During this and the following song Lascia Ch’io Panga she was on a darkened stage with a follow spot. This sense of isolation gave her stage presence a sense of exquisite vulnerability, adding more feeling by inference to her singing. Later, with house lights partially up she used the technique I noted in my Christmas report, ‘playing to the gallery’, except this time she was ‘playing to the whole audience as individuals’.
I am sure she made that whole audience believe she was singing straight to each of them, whether or not she could actually see them. I am sure I caught a flicker of recognition as her eye caught mine, by this time having moved forward four rows to join Denis and Bridget in the front row, where there happened to be some empty seats. Perhaps it was only a flicker of the lights reflecting I her eyes. She has said ‘The stage is my space. I feel at home there’. Without doubt she was aware of everything around her, every aspect of the whole and the whole was a part of her. For those moments we felt we had been invited into her home and she was totally in command without seeming to be so.
Thunderous applause as Hayley left the stage, which led to the band’s final two pieces for Part 1. ‘Fugue from Graduation Day’ by Philip Sparke and a rendition of ‘Somewhere’ from Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’. An interesting arrangement that was clearly challenging but the orchestral version is so well known I felt this rendition a pale imitation. Nonetheless, one could admire the artistry with which the arranger had tried to evoke the mood of the orchestral version.
Part 2 started with three pieces with which I was totally unfamiliar and about which I can only say gave the opportunity for the various soloists and instrumental sections to ‘strut their stuff’. They were ‘Start of Something Big’ arranged by D Roberts but otherwise without authorship. ‘Vitae Lux’ by Frode Alnaes arranged by T Aagaard-Nilsen and a very jazzy piece in which the band really let go called ‘Sparkling Diamonds’ arranged by Sandy Smith.
Then Hayley reappeared. This time she wore a royal blue to light navy silk dress, again with a chiffon or tulle over dress. I gained the impression she had commissioned a basic pattern upon which she rings the changes regarding colour and presentation. The dress is what I would describe as a Jane Austen style, high waisted and flowing straight down, except in this case it ended at her knees in a deliberately ‘haphazard’ fashion. It is a very fetching design and I wonder if the implied economy is monetary (not that she needs that economy but simply she is an economically-minded girl) or economy of time to make, her schedule being so demanding. Maybe it is simply a fashion statement, with Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen generally being much in vogue.
She started with ‘Quanta Qualia’, followed by ‘Prayer’ the background to which she explained fully. Then she sang ‘Across the Universe of Time’. She completed this section with a fulsome rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’. Then she left the stage to rapturous applause and an unquestioned demand, through calls and determined continuation of clapping, for an encore. She declined and I thought she had made a mistake not to heed that audience response. Of course she hadn’t!
‘Nightmare and Victory’ from ‘Cry of the Celts’ arranged by Graham announced the band’s closing section followed by the Finale from Stravinsky’s ‘The Firebird’. This was a very interesting piece. It is music with which I am personally very familiar, not only because I like it as music but because it has been used as mood music for one or two Shakespeare productions in which I have been involved. It is an orchestral piece and showed the limitations of transmuting music from one set of instruments to another. I could admire the ingenuity with which the play of instruments and their registers mimicked the missing strings and woodwind but in that mimicking they emphasised their absence. Disappointed in the rendition I could nonetheless, perhaps perversely because of the disappointment, admire the extraordinary skills that an arranger requires in adapting music from one intended presentation to another. This piece also helped to bring home to me the hard work that lies behind Hayley’s so often, seemingly ‘throw away’ remark of ‘arranging’ something.
Then the compère again, this time giving the usual ‘winding down’ tributes. A joke or two and then, ‘Do you want any more?’ There was a slightly puzzled response. After all, we hadn’t indicated we wanted an encore. So we said, ‘yes’, seemingly out of politeness, ‘Pardon?’ ‘YES!’ we shouted back in the spirit of the music hall. ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, Hayley Westenra’! Now we knew why Hayley had declined the audience’s previous and very obvious desire that she should return earlier. The thunderous, rapturous applause that greeted her return to the stage let her know quite clearly what was the audience’s opinion. The applause kept her waiting for some little while until she hushed it in order to move on.
I am not going to give the title of the song simply because I cannot remember how to spell it. I am not on line to check and the only CDs I have with me are Odyssey Special Edition (now I think called ‘official’ as I’m sure I heard announced once somewhere (Classical fm?)) and the Watson DVD which is still in its packaging because I have no yet had a chance to play it!
I will describe it as Hayley used to describe it. As a Maori lullaby to which theme NZ TV used to close down as a little kiwi climbed up into the satellite dish and tucked himself in bed. But this was a rendition to which I was unfamiliar. This was a lullaby to waken, not put to sleep but the waking would surely have been to sing joyously with it and not to cry. This was after all the finale to a splendid evening of music. Crescendo rose upon crescendo to finally die with the fading notes of the band only to rise again, this time with the crescendo of an appreciative audience expressing their thanks to a young girl who had given them so much pleasure that evening. A young girl, whose natural generosity of spirit insisted on sharing that applause with all the other players.
They presented her with a bouquet. A young man came on stage, handed her the bouquet and seemingly unsure, or not wishing to presume upon the traditional kiss on each cheek, nodded his head. It was she who leaned right forward and kissed him, I think fully on the lips but my angle may have mistaken and it was to the side of the mouth. Which ever, the audience approved. It is without doubt that the young man, turning towards the audience to leave, wore an enormous grin and left the stage somewhat pinker of cheek than when he came on. I think she had just made his year.
Peter
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Post by Stuart H on Jun 11, 2006 14:25:54 GMT
Hi Peter
Thanks for the very thorough review - I almost imagined being there myself! Hope you're not too tired today. Were any forum members taking pictures?
Re Hayley's tiredness - I'm not surprised. On Thursday she seemed exhausted when we met her at the end. She asked her manager to get her home as she wanted some sleep before her friends at her flat arose to practice the drums!
You must be exhausted too - three concerts in a week!
Stuart
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Post by postscript on Jun 11, 2006 21:55:55 GMT
Thanks Stuart H. Took a relaxing day today, although I enjoyed topping and tailing the main word doc before posting, it still needs a little readability tweaking.
Thank you for your appreciative comments.
Just took a wander in the car around Holmsworth. [actually Holmfirth, corrected 07:00 12th June]. Meaning nothing to you? The village used in 'Last of the Summer Wine' and just sat up on top of the heights enjoying the cool breeze and further down enjoying the views of some reservoirs.
Switch out day was much enjoyed. Thank you.
Peter
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Post by graemek on Jun 12, 2006 1:49:05 GMT
Thanks heaps Peter, You're a very compelling writer!! By that I mean that the reader makes sure he reads everything, whether it be Hayley specific or not. Your review has been printed out now for my wife's Hayley folder.
I enjoyed the way you described Hayley's battle with almost insurmountable difficulties to her eventual & inevitable TRIUMPH!!!!
Graemek
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Joe
Administrator
Supporting Hayley since 2003!
Posts: 6,701
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Post by Joe on Jun 12, 2006 2:54:40 GMT
Hello Peter,
Many thanks for your compelling and vivid account of the concert at the Huddersfield Town Hall. Hayley sounded on form as usual!
I trust you enjoyed your drive up there. I also love that beautiful Yorkshire scenery as seen in 'Last Of the Summer Wine'.
Thanks again and regards, Joe
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