Notes from the forest: Our Thorpe Woodlands Adventure

By Alex

For a few weeks already at Sing! we could feel an extra ripple of excitement in the air as we all knew this year’s weekend away was just around the corner. As laptops shut and office doors closed on Friday afternoon, Thetford forest felt tantalisingly close.

This year we returned to Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Centre, which for some felt like an old friend, whilst for newer choir members such as myself it was an exciting unknown. As we approached on the tranquil roads, we could already feel the restorative effects of the forest descending.

Friday evening was a time to spend as we pleased, to find our bunk rooms (or for some of us, our peaceful pods amongst the trees), eat together and play board games in the spacious common area. Some of the earlier birds amongst us eagerly signed up to set up breakfast the following morning (but there were plenty of jobs more suited to the night owls too!)

On Saturday morning we were treated to bright sunshine. Some keen runners headed out early to take part in Thetford Parkrun a 10 minute drive away. Others soaked up the morning rays in an impromptu shady reading corner under the canopy of the trees.

The day’s activities then started. Several talented choir members had organised workshops to share their enjoyment of their hobby with others:

Marie got the day off to an energetic start with a session of Rabble!
Naomi ran 2 sessions of her ever-popular glass fusing activity. This year the theme was birds – we scrabbled for the perfect beaks and branches to bring our colourful bird creations to life from fragments of glass, which would later be fused in the kiln.
Daniele oversaw a team of intrepid bakers who made tiramisu for the whole choir to enjoy after dinner.
Sian demonstrated how to make prints from leaves collected from the forest that morning onto fabric to make interesting textile art.
Emily ran a mindful drawing workshop, resulting in the creation of many colourful patterns across a huge scroll of paper.
Rebecca taught the art of fermenting vegetables (and also brought in some delicious jars that she’d prepared earlier for us all to sample at dinner).
Eva passed on her enjoyment of cross-stich, as participants created geometric patterns in a curve stitching workshop.
Vicky led a popular nature walk through the forest, pointing out the many bird songs which can be heard and identified.

Thanks to all the dedicated workshop organisers for their hard work and enthusiasm!

As well as the workshops, a number of activities were led by the dedicated staff at Thorpe Woodlands (many thanks to Luke and Isis for running these activities for us). A raft-building competition saw two teams build rafts and launch them on the River Thet. Testament to the engineering skills of the teams, everyone stayed dry (until they all jumped into the river to cool off from the heat of the day, that is!)

The tree trekking activity took place in the forest and included navigating two different high-ropes courses between the trees and also climbing trees using handholds and an auto belay system. Jumping from a platform metres above the ground, relying on a harness to slow our fall, certainly got the adrenaline going! A special mention has to go to Becca who chose to climb barefoot, much to the initial bemusement and then awe of the instructors.

The third venue-led activity was focused on team building, with such games as trying to fill a bucket with water as quickly as possible using water carried in a pipe filled with holes (resulting in quite a few somewhat damp choir members!) and a blindfolded trust trail through the forest.

Of course, no day on a Sing! weekend away could pass without… singing! As the light faded in the evening, we all gathered around the campfire and sang choir repertoire past and present.

Sunday came just as bright and warm as Saturday, and we were all looking forward to taking part in a choir workshop run by Stuart, a professional choir leader who had travelled all the way from Manchester to join us. He started out by teaching us two gospel songs which were great fun to sing, and encouraged us to sing with our whole bodies, and our facial expressions, not just our voices, coaxing out the meaning and emotions in the words we were singing.

A particular highlight was the culmination of the workshop, standing round in a massive circle in the forest clearing singing our hearts out. Stuart also gave very insightful feedback on a couple of the songs we had been learning this term, bringing out our inner backing singers for “You Make My Dreams” and having us rising passionately from our chairs for the bridge in “Already Home”. Thanks so much to Stuart for teaching and inspiring us – we’ll all be drawing on what we learned in our singing over the coming weeks of rehearsals.

All too soon, the weekend came to an end. I speak on behalf of the whole choir when I say that the weekend away brings us closer together through not just singing but our shared enjoyment of other activities and being amongst nature. A very special mention must go to Jon who organised us all to make the weekend away the success it was.

[Sing! Rehearsals] Xmas Social Time

Hi Sing!ers,
Our end-of-term social (with talent show!) is on Thursday 19th December and we hope to see lots of you there 🙂

ACTION REQUIRED

👉 Complete the food spreadsheet
👉 Let Jon know if you’d like to perform!

WHEN AND WHERE

🗓️ Thursday December 19th

📍 The Cass Centre, Shaftesbury Rd, Cambridge, CB2 8BS https://maps.app.goo.gl/6hRHB3XPU125YSGw9
⏰ 7pm to 10pm: Please arrive on time to share food and be ready to raise the roof for Sing!’s Got Talent 2024! There will be time to socialise either side of the show.
🚗 There is plenty of car parking space at the venue.
TALENT ACTS
🎤 Thank you to the brave and brilliant folk who have already volunteered to perform!
⭐️ If you would like to ’show us what ya got’ then please let Jon know. In the past we’ve had comedy skits, Rubik’s Cube solving, solo singing, group singing, playing an instrument, telling jokes, and more. If you want to try something out in a really safe and friendly environment then this is the night to do it! (Each act should be no more than approx 5 mins.)
FOOD AND DRINK

🍕 Last year we all brought food to share and it worked pretty well … so let’s do that again. Please update the spreadsheet below with what you’re bringing. See what others have put and use your common sense so we get a good selection. We probably want more savoury/mains than sweets/desserts, and having some duplicates is fine!

🍽️ We will provide disposable plates and cutlery.
✅ There are limited options for heating food, so either stick with cold food, or bring it straight from the oven.
✅ Avoid liquid/sloppy food and bring whatever utensils are needed to serve / cut it up.
✅ If it’s home cooked, please label it with your name so those with allergies/intolerances can ask. If it’s bought, please bring the packaging with it so people can check ingredients.
✅ With everyone bringing something you don’t need to bring huge portions! Feel free to bring something a bit bigger between two or more.
🍹 Please buy your drinks from the staffed bar (prices are reasonable).

Any questions please contact Jon at hello@jonwilson.coach or WhatsApp 07950 434645.
Cheers,
Jon

[Sing! Rehearsals] Longer Rehearsal – Learn Your Words!

Dear Sing!ers, 

Longer Rehearsal

This week we will be having a longer rehearsal than usual: from 7 – 9:30 on Thursday 5th December, meeting in the Recital room at Hills Rd 6th Form College. Please work hard to learn the following songs this week as there will be no lyrics allowed in the rehearsal:  Harbour, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/Joy to the World, Winter Song, Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake, Let it Snow & Livin' on a Prayer.

This week it will be Tenors/Basses turn to bring snacks please. 
Mill Rd Winter Fair
We will be performing at Mill Road Winter Fair this Saturday 6th December, from 2pm so if you're available, please come to St Philip's Church (indoors) by 1:45 pm in order to warm-up and prepare. Be sure to invite all your family and friends who might happen to be strolling down Mill Road as it is a really fun family-friendly event. Please see below for our set-list: we are expecting everyone to have learnt the words to our 'choir only' songs but lyrics will be provided for the other carols.

Let It Snow Choir
Hark the Herald Sing-along
Harbour Choir
We Three Kings Sing-along
Joy to the World Choir
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Choir
Away In A Manger Sing-along
Winter Song Choir
Jingle Bells Sing-along
Livin' On A Prayer Choir
O Come All Ye Faithful Sing-along
Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake Choir
We Wish You A Merry Xmas Sing-along

Last Chance to Sign Up with your Name for Programme
If you've not already done so, please sign up here by Thursday at the absolute latest to put your name on the programme and don't forget to check the tab to sign up to various jobs. In particular, we still need lots of people to help with unloading please. Please also keep inviting people to come to the concert and buy tickets in advance

Christmas Social
Look out for the email to follow from Jon about our Christmas Social this year on Thursday 19th!

Love, the Sing! Team. 

[Sing! Rehearsals] FINAL CALL FOR NAMES FOR CONCERT!

Dear all,

This is a final call for adding your name to our list here (second tab) if you intend to sing in the Christmas concert on 14th December. We are fairly sure there are several names missing so please double check that you're on there! This will help us with organising staging, as well as meaning that you will be credited in the programme.
Please do this by THURSDAY'S REHEARSAL at the very latest!
Thanks all,
Naomi & the Sing Team x

[Sing! Rehearsals] Concert Info!

This Week

Dear Sing!ers This week, we will meet in the Hall and not the Recital Room at Hills Rd 6th Form College, from 7:30 – 9:15 on Thursday 28th November. We will be recapping Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake, Living on a Prayer, Don't Stop Me Now and Never Gonna Not Dance again, as well as finishing off learning our split songs: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Joy to the World. This week it will be Sopranos' turn to bring treats. There is a lot to learn and some of these we haven't practised for a while so do refresh your memories please. 

Important concert info!

Concert info document: Everything you need to know about our Christmas concert is here! Please read carefully! 

Dress codePlease wear block shades of red and black (no logos or patterns in other colours) and aim for smart rather than casual (e.g. dress shoes rather than trainers, a collared shirt & tie rather than a polo shirt etc). For example:

  • Plain red top or shirt, with black trousers/skirt and black shoes
  • Black dress, tights and shoes, with red accessories
  • Red dress with black accessories, tights and shoes
  • Black shirt and trousers with red tie

Concert sign-up sheet: The sign up sheet is here. Please sign-up by this Friday 29th November to make sure your name is in the programme and to volunteer for jobs that need doing to make the concert happen. 

Spread the word about the concert:

Mill Road Winter Fair

As you know, we are performing as part of Mill Road Winter Fair on Saturday 7th December. A reminder of the key details:

For those who haven't been to this event before, Mill Road is closed and the fair lasts all day. It's good fun to look around, there are lots of small performances, food and craft stalls etc, but please note that the road gets very busy and you can't drive or cycle down it, so leave enough time to get to the venue!

  • Time and place: 2pm at St Philip's Church, Mill Road
  • Setlist: A mix of our own repertoire and some sing along carols
  • Dresscode: Wear whatever you like, the Christmassier the better! 
That's all for now! 
Lots of love, the Sing! Team. 

[Sing! Rehearsals] Please help spread the word about our Christmas concert: “Let it Snow”

Hello lovely Sing!ers!
Tickets for our concert are now available, and we need your help to publicise it!

WhatsApp Image 2024-11-10 at 16.11.38_23863569.jpg

There are three things you can do to help:

1. Encourage friends and family to come along!
Send them a link to https://singcommunitychoir.co.uk/event/christmas-concert-2024 where they can find out more and buy tickets. 
2. Share leaflets / posters at workplaces / schools / etc.
At the rehearsals, I will have printed A5 leaflets and A4 posters for you to share with friends and colleagues. Start thinking about where you could display them for maximum effect!
(You can also print your own leaflets and posters: Find the PDF files in Google Drive)
3. Share our social media posts (or create your own)
Please use your Facebook, Instagram or X accounts to share the social media posts that have been posted about about the concert
(We also have a JPEG image version of our poster for your own social media posts.)
Much Sing! love!

[Sing! Rehearsals] All tracks are online – please practise!

Dear Sing! choir, 

This week we will be meeting in the Recital Room at Hills Rd 6th Form College on Thursday 21st November from 7:30-9:15 as usual. We will be recapping Winter Song and finishing off learning Let It Snow and Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake. The part tracks for Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake are now on the drive so please listen to them and practise. This means that all tracks for all songs are now available and with less than a month to go before our concert on 14th December, we would urge you to start refreshing your memories with all songs so that we don't leave all the learning to the last minute. 
This week, it will be the Altos turn to bring snacks. 
Concert Sign Up Sheet
There are 2 tabs on the sheet. Please look at both! We need everybody to put their name down for the programme please. But we also need lots of volunteers for a range of jobs on the day and afterwards, for example serving refreshments (non-choir members) and helping with staging, as well as things like video editing. 
Message from Emma: Gift for Bethany and her baby
As I mentioned at rehearsal last week, I’ve started a collection pot for any choir members who would like to contribute to a gift for Bethany, who has just had her baby!
There's absolutely no expectation to take part, but if you would like to, please click the link below. It will be a cash gift from us to her with the idea being that the money can be spent on whatever she needs. Of course, if you would rather give her something separate that’s absolutely fine too. (I know some choir members have already given her gifts so please don't feel you have to contribute again!)
Any money is very welcome so please click the link to give what you can. You can leave a message there as well.
NB Just to let you know collection pot.com will ask you to top up your donation as an admin fee but you only need to do this by about 40p for every £10 so don’t be tricked into giving more than that with their tricksy suggested donations. I can always top up the donations as extra for the admin fee if needed. 
I thought this would be easier than using private bank accounts, and when the collection closes on the **last day of November**, the money will be transferred over.
If the idea of navigating this website is too unwieldy, you’re very welcome to give cash in person as an alternative, which I’ll transfer over. 
Thank you, everybody!
Emma Hatton
That's all for this week, see you on Thursday!
Love, the Sing! team. 

[Sing! Rehearsals] Concert Name and Charity – The Results are In!

Dear Sing!ers, 

This week we will be meeting in the Recital Room at Hills Rd 6th Form College from 7:30 – 9:15 on Thursday 14th November. We will be recapping Hallelujah for Today, then we will learn some more of the Winter Song and finally our Split Songs: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Joy to the World. If you weren't at the rehearsal last week, please check the list here to see which mini choir you will be singing in. 
There is no need to bring snacks this week as we have another large backlog! 
Concert Charity Poll: Results

Our concert will be called 'Let It Snow' and the charity supported will be 'It Takes a City'.

Longer Rehearsal Dates

In the run-up to the concert, we have 2 longer rehearsals in order to run through all of our songs, so please put Thursday 5th and 12th December into your diaries as we will be rehearsing from 7 – 9:30.

That's all for this week! 

All the best, Sing! Team. 

Sing! Christmas Concert 2024 – “Let it Snow”

Our Christmas concert is just around the corner – join us on Saturday, 14 December from 7.30pm at Netherhall School in Cambridge for an uplifting evening of music and songs to enjoy some Christmas cheer.!

Our concert is in support of local charity It Takes a City Cambridge. Their vision is to end rough sleeping in Cambridge due to homelessness, making sure everyone has somewhere to call home, with the support they need.

Tickets are £10 (£5 for concessions) – under tens go free.

Book now

[Sing! Rehearsals] Split Songs and Concert Poll

Dear Sing!ers, 

Welcome back this week after our half term break. There are lots of links in this email – please check them all out!
This Week's Rehearsal
We will be meeting at Hills Rd 6th Form college in the Recital Room this Thursday 7th November from 7:30-9:15. We will start by recapping Let It Snow. We are learning some more of Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake, which has some challenging lyrics and rhythms, so please make sure you listen to the new track here and practise before you come. 
Split Songs
Finally, we have some new split songs to learn: Joy to the World and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. This is where we split the choir into 2 groups to experience singing in a smaller group. Previously we've split ourselves into Sop/Alto and Tenor/Bass, but this time we'll be splitting into two equal choirs each made up of SATB. So please check this list here to find out which song you are going to be singing before the rehearsal on Thursday. 

This week it will be Tenors' and Basses' turn to bring snacks. 

Concert Charity Poll
Please vote on both your preferred concert name (as suggested by choir members) and the charity which we will support. This year, the committee has come up with 2 suggestions for you to choose from. Use the link to a poll here by Friday 8th November to vote for your favourites!

Solo Opportunity
There is still a chance to sing a solo in Mrs Fogarty's Christmas Cake. There are 2 solos, which would suit either a Tenor or Soprano voice. Please reply to this email if you would like to have the opportunity. 

That's all for this week – we look forward to seeing you all again on Thursday!

All the best, the Sing! Team

[Sing! Rehearsals] No Rehearsal today

Dear Singers, 

Please remember that we are currently taking a break this week for half term and we will be back at Hills Rd as normal next week, Thursday 7th November.
All the best, 
the Sing! Team.