The powers that be have made it easy to close streets and have parties on the second weekend of June…   …so we thought we’d make the most of their largess and have arranged to close off Whitehall Rd on Sunday the 12^th of June and invite all of Highfields to come out and play.

We’ll be having games, dressing-up, eating, meeting neighbours, and generally having fun.

We’re keeping it simple.

• If you want to eat…   …bring food.
• If you want to sit down…   …bring a chair.
• If you want to make it colourful…   …bring decorations.I

If you have any suggestions as to how it can all go off with a bang then please get involved.  We need people to make/get bunting (any colour you like), lend gazebos (in case it’s a little damp), talk to neighbours, plan games, think about food (in a good way) and generally be enthusiastic.

Please pass on the word to your friends and neighbours in the Highfields area and make sure we all turn out for some fun.  There will be further planning meetings in the Heathcock (watch out for emails) Please let us know by the 10^th if you can (or can’t) come so we can plan accordingly

We’ve done it often enough for everyone to know the score by now (if in doubt look at the postings from previous years).  The songbooks are the same and can be found here along with other musical resources.

Adrienne (located down at the end of Highfields) has volunteered to host the after singing get together.  She hasn’t been to one of our little soirées before so doesn’t really know what to expect.

😆

I’ll circulate the address by email later, but in the meantime please plan to bring (or drop off beforehand) a plate or two of food and some bottles).

More to follow anon.

Yes it’s on!  This year we’re going around the houses on the 20^th of December.  More info to follow soon.

This years carol singing extravaganza is tomorrow – Sunday the 21st . Once again, weather permitting, a bunch of us (old and young) are planning to go singing and playing instruments around Highfields on the evening  (just for the hell of it—no extortion involved). At the moment the plan is to meet at Matthews (see separate email or stop me in the street for details) @ 6:30. Everyone should dress warmly and bring a print-out of the carols—see below—along with some form of light (torch, lamp, lantern on a stick, etc). Target singing time is between 1 and 2 hours (little ones won’t last any longer than that).

In previous years knocking on doors and singing to several houses together each time we stopped worked quite well so we’ll probably do the same thing again.

Please warn elderly neighbours in advance. I know that many hide at this time of year to avoid confrontation with the dreaded carol singers. On the other hand, some of our neighbours have come to look forward to hearing some real singing and like to know when to expect us.

WE WILL NOT BE COLLECTING MONEY!

If a householder wishes to ply us with mince pies and brandy that’s up to them, but it’s unlikely we’ll have time to stop… …for long  In addition, if you think someone would particularly like a good singing to then let me know in advance so we can plan our stops accordingly.

The carols can be accessed from this web page.

Carols

The page allows people to download the words and music (as PDFs) and mp3 files is case anyone isn’t familiar with the tunes. Last year we were adventurous and sung some of them in Welsh/German/Latin (the relevant lyrics are in the Words book.  This year we’re having a go at some modern(ish) stuff as well.  The book is the same, with a few additional pages at the back so if you’ve kept a copy, all you nee to do is print the last few pages.

After singing we’ll be descending upon Lynda (see separate email or stop me in the street for details—thanks Linda). If everyone also brings a bottle of Glu vine (or something stronger) and some mince pies (etc., etc.) than an instant post singing mini party will be possible.

Hope to see you (all—young and old) on Sunday.

PaulS

 

Once more it’s that time of year (it’s definitely a habit now. If we’re not careful it will become a tradition). Matthew and I have got our heads together and come up with a date and format for this years carol singing extravaganza. Once again, weather permitting, a bunch of us (old and young) are planning to go singing and playing instruments around Highfields on the evening of Sunday the 22^nd December (just for the hell of it—no extortion involved) and we wondered if you and yours would like to join in? At the moment the plan is to meet at Matthews (see separate email or stop me in the street for details) @ 6:00. Everyone should dress warmly and bring a print-out of the carols—see below—along with some form of light (torch, lamp, lantern on a stick, etc). Target singing time is between 1 and 2 hours (little ones won’t last any longer than that).

In previous years knocking on doors and singing to several houses together each time we stopped worked quite well so we’ll probably do the same thing again.

Please warn elderly neighbours in advance. I know that many hide at this time of year to avoid confrontation with the dreaded carol singers who turn up, sing one verse of “We wish you a merry Christmas”, and demand payment (it wouldn’t be so bad if they knew anything else, but ask them to sing something different and all you get is blank looks). On the other hand, some of our neighbours have come to look forward to hearing some real singing and like to know when to expect us.

WE WILL NOT BE COLLECTING MONEY!

If a householder wishes to ply us with mince pies and brandy that’s up to them, but it’s unlikely we’ll have time to stop… …for long (in past years Baileys and mince pies at the end of Highfields—thanks Huw and Sara—were most welcome and singing with a mouth fill of mince pie crumbs, although not a pretty sight, works quite well). If you think someone would particularly like a good singing to then let me know in advance so we can plan our stops accordingly.

The carols can be accessed from this web page.

Carols

The page allows people to download the words and music (as PDFs) and mp3 files is case anyone isn’t familiar with the tunes. Last year we were adventurous and sung some of them in Welsh/German/Latin (the relevant lyrics are in the Words book and there are some practice mp3s on the web site at the bottom of the page*). This year we may even try… …Harmony! (I know I said that last year, but I really mean it this time).

The more observant amongst you will see that there are more carols listed than we will (probably) be able to sing in the allotted time. There are also some time honoured favourites missing. I’ve put together ones I like (and could get the music for). If there are any of these you particularly like—and can sing well and loudly—then please let me know so I can endeavour to make sure they don’t get missed out. Similarly, if your absolute, must sing favourite is missing (that everyone will know and that you can provide words and music for as well) let me know—the earlier the better—and we’ll try and incorporate it. It has even been suggested that we try some “pop” songs (my retort that all these carols are popular fell on deaf ears). Any one got any ideas?

After singing we’ll be descending upon Linda (see separate email or stop me in the street for details—thanks Linda). If everyone also brings a bottle of Glu vine (or something stronger) and some mince pies (etc., etc.) than an instant post singing mini party will be possible.

Let me know if you’d like to join in and feel free to pass this on (and let me know if there are names you think should be added to the mailing list).

More details may be posted here closer to the time (especially if we have some new material) so keep checking back just in case.

Hope to see you (all—young and old) on Sunday.

PaulS

* These have been selected for clarity of diction rather than any particular musical merit.

It’s that time of year again (its turning into a bit of a habit isn’t it).  Matthew and I have got our heads together and come up with a date and format for this years carol singing extravaganza and it’s a doozy.  Once again, weather permitting, a bunch of us (old and young) are planning to go singing (and playing instruments) around Highfields on the evening of Friday the 21^st Dec (just for the hell of it—no extortion involved). Would you and yours like to join in? At the moment the plan is to meet at Matthews (see separate email for details) @ 6:30.  Everyone should dress warmly and bring a print-out of the carols—see below—along with some form of light (torch, lamp, lantern on a stick, etc). Target singing time is between 1 and 2 hours (little ones won’t last any longer than that).

Last year knocking on doors and singing to several houses together each time we stopped worked quite well so we’ll probably do the same thing again.

Please warn elderly neighbours. I know that many hide at this time of year to avoid confrontation with the dreaded carol singers who turn up, sing one verse of “We wish you a merry Christmas”, and demand payment (it wouldn’t be so bad if they knew anything else, but ask them to sing something different and all you get is blank looks).

WE WILL NOT BE COLLECTING MONEY!

If a householder wishes to ply us with mince pies and brandy that’s up to them, but it’s unlikely we’ll have time to stop…   …for long (last years Baileys and mince pies at the end of Highfields—thanks Huw and Sara—were most welcome and singing with a mouth fill of mince pie crumbs, although not a pretty sight, wasn’t as bad as I feared it might be. No one choked).  If you think someone would particularly like a good singing to then let me know in advance so we can plan our stops accordingly.

The carols can be accessed from this web page.

Carols

Last year we were adventurous and sung some of them in Welsh/German/Latin (the relevant lyrics are in the Words book).  This year we may even try…   …Harmony!

The more observant amongst you will see that there are more carols listed than we will (probably) be able to sing in the allotted time. There are also some time honoured favourites missing.  I’ve put together ones I like (and could get the music for).  If there are any of these you particularly like – and can sing well and loudly – then please let me know so I can endeavour to make sure they don’t get missed out.  Similarly, if your absolute must sing favourite is missing (that everyone will know and that you can provide words and music for as well) let me know – the earlier the better –  and we’ll try and incorporate it.

After singing we’ll be descending upon Caroline and myself. If everyone also brings a bottle of Glu vine (or something stronger) and some mince pies than an instant post singing mini party should be possible.

Let me know if you’d like to join in.

Hope to see you (all – young and old) on Friday.

That just about sums up the fantastic time we had on Tuesday. Inevitably the weather had an impact, (it rained, we got wet, we had fun, it stopped raining, we got dry, we had more fun) but we didn’t let it get in the way of our sitting in the middle of the road eating, drinking, singing and chatting to all and sundry (quite a large number of alls and sundries as well).

We finally got to bed after 11:30pm (having tided up of course) so it it can’t have been too bad.

Much fun was had by all!

What next?

We’re not going to let a little rain stop us so come on down!

The powers that be have made it easy to close streets and have parties on the first Tuesday of June…   …so we thought we’d make the most of their largess and have arranged to close off Whitehall Rd on the 5^th of June and invite all of Highfields to come out and play.

We’ll be having games, dressing-up, eating, meeting neighbours, and generally having fun.

We’re keeping it simple.

• If you want to eat…   …bring food.
• If you want to sit down…   …bring a chair.
• If you want to make it colourful…   …bring decorations.I

If you have any suggestions as to how it can all go off with a bang then please get involved.  We need people to make/get bunting (any colour you like), lend gazebos (in case it’s a little damp), talk to neighbours, plan games, think about food (in a good way) and generally be enthusiastic.

Please pass on the word to your friends and neighbours in the Highfields area and make sure we all turn out for some fun.  There will be a further planning meeting in the Heathcock at 8pm on Sunday evening so do come along.  Please let us know by the 29^th if you can (or can’t) come so we can plan accordingly