Thoroughly Modern Millie

Tonight we went to St Dominics College to watch their school production 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' as one of our favourite friends Grace was guest starring on the keyboard and percussion! OK so she wasn't on stage but that was OK, we just wanted to support her!

It was the first time I've ever been to the school so it was interesting to see what it was like! I was afraid we wouldn't get there on time as I finished work at 6pm and it started an hour later, but fortunately the motorway wasn't that clogged and we got home in under half an hour!

We managed to get a good seat near the front where we could get a clear view of the stage and also Grace.

The story goes...

"It's a comedic romp through the roaring 1920s in New York, where Millie and her flapper friends hang out in the Priscilla Hotel (a boarding house for young ladies) and unbeknownst to them, are in frequent danger of being sold into white slavery in Hong Kong by their house mother Mrs Meers! "

Because the school is all girls, the guys were played by girls as well. I have to say the girls played the guy parts very convincingly! At times I forgot they were actually girls!

Grace's friend Sophie was in the play, playing one of two Asian henchmen. They were pretty funny, speaking in Cantonese with English subtitles on the projector screen (although I'm sure I heard a little bit of Mandarin along the way!).

The singing was also quite good too! They sounded professional at such a young age!

 I'd have to say my favourite scene though was the elevator scene, when the two women jumped into the lift and two people standing on either side of the lift held signs saying

"First Floor", then
"Second Floor", then
"Third Floor" etc

as cheesy music played. It was pretty funny!

Another was the Speak Easy Dancers who did this really funny dance!

Oh and finally, I have to say the music was well done!

Overall I enjoyed the production. Well done to everyone who put it together!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2J_4XumQdA)

Our First Study Session

Tonight I met up with my pharmacy/intern friends Natalie and Kunsala at Natalie's flat for our first study session. I got there a little late as I had to catch a bus and well..fell asleep along the way!

Natalie was cooking dinner for us tonight and had attempted a courgette quiche. She put it in the oven, and as it cooked we did a bit of study and munched on some chocolate.

Quite a few times we had a look at the quiche in the oven but it was a little runny, so we left it in for a little longer as we studied. It was still a little runny after a while, so we just chucked it in the microwave before just deciding to eat it!

It actually tasted pretty good! I always knew Natalie was talented! We had some salad along with it. I have to say that was probably the healthiest dinner I've had in a while!

I soon had to leave with Kunsala but it was a good first night of study together! We might make this a regular Monday night thing right up to the exam!

Singing Birthday

 It was Shrikkanth's birthday today and he was having a 22nd birthday party to make up for not having a 21st birthday party last year. By golly he's young! Most of us have already turned 22 and he's only turning 22 now!

Anyway, I had to teach music in the morning so I couldn't make it till the afternoon. When I got there, his friends were all in the lounge playing Singstar. It's been a long time since I last went to his house. I think the last time was way back in year nine in 2002, when a group of us had to create a short film about something to do with Ancient China. I wish we still had a copy of that!

While I recognised a few people's faces, I only really knew Grainam (intermediate school friend) and Sarena (intermediate-high school friend). Apparently the other high school friends had been and gone already!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoQMiXLWqp0)

There was still some food left so I had a bit to eat while catching up with Grainam and watching the singing going on.

As it got later, people started to leave until there were just a few of us left. We went into Shrikkanth's room to watch a few funny Youtube videos before it was time for me to go too.

Happy Birthday Shrikkanth!

Teaching More

The End-of-Year Concert is only two weeks away and so today I used all my class-time to try prepare my students and finalise the programme. It's been a bit rushed this year with the concert at the end of Term 3/early October. It's usually at the beginning of December but because of the elections and renovations going on at the school it was decided that it would be brought forward. That means less preparation time!

Anyway, one of the parents approached me after class today, telling me that she had talked to some of the other parents and that they and their children all liked me. She said that recorder was sorta more of a beginner's instrument though, and was wondering if I taught any other instrument like flute etc. and that if I did, they would all follow me next year and learn from me! She had already talked to my supervisor who said she would discuss it with me.

The only problem is...the only other instruments I can play are the accordion and the string instruments, but there is already a violin teacher! I'm sure they wouldn't be interested in learning the piano accordion! 

I really don't want to lose them as students though, and it would be good to teach students at a more advanced level though. I'm going to have to think of something before its too late!

Rugby Reunion

Tonight all of us that participated in the Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony choir got back together for one last time to have a feed, perform and watch other groups perform, as well as just catch up with each other.

We arrived slightly late and so some performances had already started. Lucky we didn't miss the food though! We were all asked to bring some finger food initially, but then that got changed to bringing some 'food'!

The food though was quite good though, and there was plenty of it! The people sure are generous! There was deep-fried chicken, pizza, snack food, plenty of cake and other dessert!

After we got to the front of the line we decided to get two bowls of food, one with dinner and one with dessert just in case it took too long for us to get back to the front of the line again!

Once we got our food, the performances from different groups continued. Most of the different groups were from the various churches.

One of the church groups were really good, as they all sang quite passionately and in harmony. I can't quite remember which church they were from though!

There were a few speeches from our casting co-ordinator Desiree and Drew, one of the guys in charge of the whole opening ceremony. He made a few jokes about us not having to hear his voice in our ears again (we had to wear ear-pieces when we were out in the stadium on the night!).

For each of the choir leaders they would put on some music with the leader coming up to dance, and anyone else who wanted to could come up and dance with him. I'm not too sure if it's a traditional/cultural thing or not?

To finish off the night we all regrouped and sang our version of 'World in Union' for one last time, sounding as good as always!

It was a good way to end, and I'm sure going to miss our involvement in the Rugby World Cup!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b3CptNePB8)