Jane's Requiem.....:o))

Loved your verses, Janey, as someone who is completely tone deaf and just can't sing at all. I do appreciate music, however, and enjoy listening to all sorts from country to classical and all the variations in between! Can I suggest you try short mat bowls, line dancing or even poetry reading instead ? :)

oh don't stop singing Janey there are other choirs not so formal and local operatic societies always looking for members ---give it a go!--- think of all those seeds that we plant in hope......

Janey I belong to our local choral society and although have been singing in choirs for forty years I cannot read music at all, I learn each piece by ear and I really love it. We have done most of the requiems around and the music is so uplifting, I sing in the 'sops' because I can only learn the tune, if I were an alto, I would be hopeless. Give it another go, you will learn to love it!

lol janey def uplifted me hun ,made me smile

Lol Gee...short mat bowls...how short are the mats???
Pamg and Grandmage...thanks for your encouragement.....written tongue in cheek....I was stunned Grandmage, but apparently the requiem is a difficult piece to learn, so no not for me I'm afraid....:o(
Tee hee Cristina....:o)

Had a chuckle at the mental picture of you trying to mime in german Janey, I have to say good of you for trying and I do like Jane`s Requiem .......

The mats are 45 foot long, Janey, so they fit into most village halls. I bet there is a club near you! It's a variant of lawn bowls with a block of wood stuck in the middle to bowl round just to make things more difficult - great fun :)

brilliant janey and cheered me up no end, so amusing lol, and thanx for your kindness on my poetry ;o)) i can just see you in church its tickling me lol ;o)))

I'm not in any choir now but when I sang in the church choir I couldn't read the music...thankfully we didn't sing in latin/german or what-have-you. It was as much for the singing as the friendship that I enjoyed it. Janey, you gave it a fair trial...so are you going to try the bowls next?

I've been reading today there is a new fitness rage going...similar to Salsa but now I can't find the link or remember the name of the dancing!! lol It's these senior moments I keep having! lol

I think the poem is great, btw.

Ha..ha thanks for all the great and interesting comments! I love singing and all music, and when at school our choir travelled to Llangollen where we came third in the national Eisteddford, and I remember we also made a record at a studio in Chatsworth, I loved the choir and the rehearsals, and our singing mistress Mrs. Jones. I've been wanting to join a choir for a few years now but this one I tried is a town choir not church and was just too highbrow for me, and everyone was so friendly, that'll I'll miss that...the last evening it tickled me and I nearly had a fit of giggles, though the performance the choir gave was breathtaking.

I might follow the bowls up, thanks Gee, but it was singing I really wanted to have a go at.....I'll have to put more feelers out for a more informal one to join.....:o))

Which Requiem was it Janey? I love them all and we sing in Latin too, remember I cannot read music but it has been a big part of my life and a very enjoyable one. Maybe join your local church choir they always need singers and as you say will not be too highbrow, we invite all singers/friends once a year to sing a requiem for charity and that is great fun for a good cause.

OH sang in a choir for more years than I care to remember and he loved it, he could read music, I played my part by turning up and selling the programs, not my type of music, and I am tone deaf as well, please do not give up, find another choir with your sort of music, we had a good social life and went to some fantastic concerts, and Christmas was always special, even our girls came for the carols on Christmas Eve....loved your poem, clever thing.

I'm one of those people who stand in front of the mirror with an old-fashioned hairbrush. I'm a TERRIBLE singer - truly awful - but I prefer it to miming so I make sure no-one's around before I start ;o)

Being totally tuneless myself, and having never even considered the damage I could do if I sang in public, I think you deserve all kinds of praise for at least trying.

Me too, totally tone deaf and a voice that comes out like a grunt! but do enjoy listening to all kinds of music, at least you tried Janey and write very inspiring verse;0))

I used to sing in a choir lol I sang base :o) We did things like Verdi's requiem and the Messiah, Judas Macabeus etc. In the Brangwyn hall in Swansea.
I remember when we did Motzart's Requiem I was siting next to the big bass drums lol it was deafening when they came to one part called Dies Irae (Spelling ? lol)
I'm sure I would have loved to listen to Jane's Requiem :o)))

So funny Janey, loved your blog. I'd feel the same in your place. Most choirs now seem to do 'show songs' from what I saw of the choir competition on tele once, so if you keep looking I'm sure you'll find one you'd like to join. You must be a good singer to do so well at the Eisteddfod, I used to love going there, not as a performer I must add:-)

I have just come in from our choir practise and we were singing 'Bridge over troubled waters' tonight !! It's usually a requiem or something like, so this was a refreshing change. Hywel, I know that Dies Irae well, you need lots of basses to sing that one! Wonderful stuff.

I really admire you Grandmage....managing without reading the music, it was Brahms, a German requiem, really, I just thought the ode to it that I thought up at work was funny...it hasn't put me off, though that was about the only local one there is to join....the rest are junior or male voice choirs.....
Thanks Dd...., yes I shall see them perform at Xmas, it will be spectacular! I love Xmas carols don't you....and we all gather round the tree just down from us for a good sing song.
Lol Pip! That takes me back a few tears when we first had our Bush record player and first LP....With the Beatles....:o))
Ha...ha Ian and Carole,.....!
Hywel...I can imagine you having a deep dark voice, I felt quite in awe of them all and mine came out like a mouse's squeak!
Pleased you enjoyed it Ba....think I would prefer the show songs to be honest! Yes we loved going to the Eisteddfod, and such a long way away, to see Llangollen with the river and waterfalls, was amazing for us northern schoolkids...:o)

Oh, wow lucky you Grandmage....I bet you love singing that!

Our paths crossed there ! Yes it was a really nice evening for a change, one to enjoy and not get worried about.
I love your ode Janey, perhaps you should set it to music, might make a fortune !

I wish Grandmage!!....:o))

It takes you back a few tears? That's not good is it... am I really that bad? LOL. I know what you meant ;o))))))))))))

Ha...even typing skills are rubbish, Pip.....now let me get back to the Lost in Somerset blog and that nice secure room....:o)))

Good idea - I'm sure they've kept it reserved for you - I expect you can catch a late carpet :o))))))

Lol......what a good idea.....as long as its not made of Coir.....:o)))))

You can always reserve a non-Coir I suppose- what's Coir?

Its like coconut matting...Coir (Choir)????? Got my ticket bought with Magic Mats....really looking forward to a long stay..:o)))))

Excellent! Enjoy your time. I'll probabl pop in and visit as soon as I can BAT myself over - and I'm sure Flori and her minions will be only too happy to come come right up close to the grate in your door and waggle their fingers just to get you riled up, and make funny faces to see if you'll laugh.

Ha..ha oh Pip I daren't even look at Flori's blog any more,,,, I think I would really fall off the edge, ......still its good to go berserk now and again...it gives me quite a buzz being normal? then.....:o))

I was so pleased to read this Janey and loved your verse, I am completely tone deaf and can't sing a note , it cheered me up no end to see that there are other people like me out there :o)) I lived with my Aunt when I was young and was forced to go to piano lessons so can read music , my cousin loved it , I hated it , Ballet classes to , she was always the star I was the one hiding in the corner LOL...
You must be good Janey to get into the school choir ! I'm sure you will find somewhere to enjoy singing , Do you have a local theatre ? I have a friend who loves singing she belongs to our local theatre they have a production of some kind going on most of the time ...
If you ever get the chance to visit Thursford Christmas show in Norfolk ,Do go ! it's the most amazing show ever , they have the kings college choir singing carols plus a host of others only the very best are allowed ,it's described as 'The ultimate Christmas Musical Experience ' people come from all over the world , dozens of coaches arrive to this place in the middle of fields in the country side . but it would be almost impossible to get in for this year you have to book the year before you want to , we booked for a group of Germans who were coming over to do business with the company Tony was doing some work with , we all stayed at the Blakeney Hotel , which you know very well .. don't you Janey ? we got the coach driver to drive round the pretty decorated villages for the Germans to see ......
Google it ... Thursford Christmas Spectacular .....
Loved your whole blog BTW ....

Lol Amy....I can just picture you learning the piano.....Bunty or Jackie hidden amongst the music....:o)) I wouldn't have liked it either when I was little, it would be great now though to tinkle the ivories!

Sounds a wonderful Xmas show, Amy....I've a feeling Ian's Mum went last year and it sounded amazing...must remember it next year, it would be fabulous to go!
I bet the German's loved it and pretty Blakeney.

That reminds me Amy, you know there has been a catastrophe with the Norfolk seals? Did you see that program the other week, where the same thing was happening off the east coast of America and Norway? It seems it is the Greenland Shark that is the culprit, normally it is a scavenger shark, but as it's food supplies dwindle it is adapting to eat live mammals, mainly seals. Its teeth are more like sharp plates and it uses a sawing action when attacking it's prey. Apparently the skin of the seal is formed in such a way that it unravels like a corkscrew! Ughh...poor creatures....:o((

Janey, goodness, you have no idea how many memories you have just jogged for me.....particularly one involving the timpanist, who shall remain nameless, in the Brahms Requiem!! lol! what a numpty he was!! Some of the things we do when young eh? lol....I feel you have two options. You can either learn to learn the music by ear, and get a recording and learn it at home...(.hard work but rewarding) and as you do you will pick up how to read the 'dots'; or you can find a more informal choir...I hope there is one near you. I know the Brahms Requiem very well, infact I have sung the Soprano solo part (I used to be a Soprano). I think nowadays I would be joining the altos, but that makes it harder if you are not very musical and experienced in singing harmonies. However, the important thing is that being in a choir is great for your lungs, brain, heart and soul! If you can bear to give it another go, I would highly recommend it!

Ha..ha... Karen, pleased you found it entertaining, I was hoping to do the same, but no..no.....:o)) Timpanist....don't leave us in suspense....now come on! You clever girl to sing the soprano SOLO gulp! You are right of course...I have cds of the alto section and gave it 3 weeks....I knew then I was crap, so thats that!
I'm always singing at home and get told off, now I know why....Lol!

LOL... poor Janey I'm sure you're not that bad or you wouldn't have gone in the first place ...
I did see the article in our local newspaper about the Greenland Shark Janey , for some time it was thought the injuries were being caused by the propellers on the jet boats which are used to service the wind turbines off the coast , the seals are very unlucky either with catching diseases or something equally bad like the sharks , the seal rescue centre is always full ! .... I must remember not to go into the water to deep for a paddle ~~~ :o))

Ha, nothing clever about it Janey.....a lot of hard work and a bit of talent! Timpanist....a brief and unhappy liaison, and not one I like to dwell on!! ;))

.....:o(((

.................got a lovely husband now Janey so no worries!! :))))))

....:o)))))

Loved the poem, I can't read music so wouldn't be any good in a choir but I do sing carols in the town at Christmas with a group from church. I don't always sing in tune either! LOL