Red nose day

This cartoon was shared on Facebook, and I think it's a wonderful motto to live by. It's what my blog is supposed to be about, Making life an adventure. Now that I've had cataract surgery and can read and use the computer, I've decided to take up writing again. The problem is, because it's been so long since I've done any writing, I'm not sure what I want to write about. So I've decided to just start writing and see what comes out. One of the reasons I started this blog was to find my 'writer's voice, so as part of this strategy I decided to look back at some of my older blogs and when doing so, I came across the draft for an unfinished one. Well I say unfinished, but in actual fact all I'd done was create a title and added a link to a You Tube video.

Recording video for Oxfam.

This blog is about my, 'adventures', i.e. anything that comes along that I can participate in that, in terms of day to day life seems, 'out of the ordinary'. Being part of the West Oxfordshire Academy of Arts, (WOAPA), Adult Singing group, has been a source of quite a few of my adventures, including doing a flashmob, making a comic video for Oxfam and it's also given me the opportunity to participate in the Big Chorus, Messiah, in the Royal Albert Hall, in London.

The unfinished draft, which I've now decided to finish, was to be about another WOAPA adventure. Brian and Lou, the couple who run WOAPA, had been approached by Radio Oxford who, as part of their Red Nose day celebrations, wanted to create the largest choir in Oxfordshire, to made up of several choirs in the area, and they wanted WOAPA to be part of it. Naturally they said yes.

So it was that myself, along with the rest of my fellow WOAPs, gathered at 7.30 am in the Corn 

Exchange in Witney. The hall was packed, as not only were the adult singers taking part, but the children from the WOAPA Saturday school, the Show choir and also the John Blandy choir, recently started by Brian and Lou, were participating.

There was a great buzz of excitement in the hall, plus a few yawns (mainly from me). Fleur Ostojak, a young journalist from Radio Oxford, was in charge of the proceedings. She explained that we would be recording three songs. The first one, Good Morning Baltimore, from the musical, Hairspray, would be played live on air. Then the other two songs would be recorded to be played later on that morning. The third song, the comedy hit, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, was chosen by the BBC as the one to be sung by all five choirs, and it would be played at the end of the show.

At last Fleur was given the signal that we were about to go live. She introduced us, then gave the signal for us to start. There must have been about two hundred children and adults singing and the sound was amazing. There were cheers all round after we'd finished singing and had been given the all clear. Fleur was very impressed with the sound me made, as was the presenter of the show because, instead of us recording our second song, a mash up of A Million Dreams,  and, From Now On, from The Greatest Showman, he decided that we should sing this one live on air too. Fleur also asked Lou if Radio Oxford could use us again in the future; and of course she said yes. So a few minutes later we sang live again, although it was also recorded to be played later in the day. After recording the final song, we went outside and sang the third one again to our proud family and friends, who had to wait outside while we were recording, and to people passing by on their way to work. A passing bus even tooted us in support.

Us on the local news.

£63,548,668 was raised for Comic Relief that day. It was a privilege to have been a part of it. The largest choir in Oxfordshire was featured on the local news that evening, and it is from this footage that I've sourced my photos. Brian, from WOAPA, has put together the You Tube video footage on the link below. A lovely reminder of a wonderful morning.




You Tube video of the morning. courtesy of WOAPA, https://youtu.be/WvzHnwAInwU

Photos Isabel's own, plus.

Snoopy cartoon, courtesy of: https://www.facebook.com/purpleclvr/photos/a.375609882543951/3006363792801867/?type=3&theater