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Alan Leech teaches me how to sing from right down in your belly! Part 2 of Opera for Carlow

Last night, the Opera for Carlow group met in a big favourite of real Carlovians-The Seven Oaks Hotel.
The room was packed full of people I didn’t know or recognise from the last workshop, which I love!
Alan Leech was our tutor for this workshop, he was a big energy ball of professional and highly talented music! Speaking to others afterwards, we all thoroughly enjoyed the session and would love to have him back to Carlow. But, he is a busy tenor!
Alan Leech gave us an energetic workshop and covered things like posture, breathing, pronunciation and emphasis on words. He taught us a new song, which was a good idea. It always nice to go away with a product of some so to work in your own time.
There was a great mix of people from all ages and backgrounds and we are back with a different tutor next week to some more ensemble training.
I’m wondering when we meet the Aspiro choir or what part they will take in it. Also, I think a bit more about the auditioning and the main roles needs to be discussed. The people I was chatting with last night seem to be under the illusion that they will all get a shot at singing solo if they like. I’m sure it doesn’t work like this. I presume you have to be pretty good, experienced and trained to sing solo at an opera! At the minute, I’m happy to be part of something new that’s helping me build my non existent skills in music!

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Opera for Carlow

Oh, it’s all very exciting, honest! There is going to be an Opera in Carlow, for Carlow! We must be very important down here!

Visual, in association with the very artistic people in the Carlow authorities thought about this very idea 3 years ago. The Opera will be written by Brian Irvine and Peter Morgan Barnes, these 2 men happen to be extremely talented songwriters. Fergus Sheil will be conducting it all, Fergus has worked with loads of orchestras like the Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and the RTE Concert Orchestra, just to name a few.

The project is going to take just under a year and last month, an advertisement went out, searching for local people to lend their voices for this massive event.

I thought it sounded amazing so I trekked along to Visual, expecting to be overwhelmed by experienced singers. There were few obviously experienced and trained singers but a lot of people who are just like me-have an okay voice that needs a lot of work!

The project is to made into a 7-part series for Lyric FM and the National Symphony Orchestra are going to be playing alongside the group. I’ve heard that Aspiro are involved too, which makes sense. I did think it was a huge gamble to take just relying on local people.I would say that Aspiro will make up the biggest part of the group as I cannot imagine that it works on the premise “If you want to be in it, you can!” Perhaps, we will see!

The “audition” consisted of a 2 hour workshop, which was energetic and fun. I have the opportunity to volunteer for a worthwhile, community event while gaining musical, singing and performance skills. At the end, we took part in a solo-type circle singing activity, which took the pressure away from nervous people.

The next workshop is tonight and I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’s really going to push me in a dramatic way that I’ve never experienced before.

I’ll keep you posted!

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The mad hatter cafe in Castledermot

I’ve heard the Mad Hatter Cafe mentioned loads of times, on tv or in the paper and I always meant to visit and sample it. It’s ten minutes drive outside of Carlow in the very small town of Casteldermot. It is very much needed as there are no coffee shops in the town.
So, when I met the owner, Alice at a Pilates class and she was telling me about all the yummy home baked produce that she made, I had to schedule a visit!
Unfortunately, when I did visit, I was full, had a rather large breakfast in the Ritz Carlton, Powerscourt (get me, I know! Simon was at a conference there) and was still full by the time I met my friend for lunch.
Camilla went for the Caesar Salad, I just had coffee and a very good coffee it was. A big mug of it. Alice and her husband make everything on the premises-beautiful multi-grain bread, carrot cake cupcakes, granola bars and lots of chocolate produce!
I bought lots of treats for Simon but I will have to bring him there at some point. We need a good, non franchised, local run and owned cafe in Carlow with homemade produce with a smile. But, at least, I only have to go a few minutes down the road if I get a craving for some nice home made food!
If you’re passing through Castledermot, it’s worth a visit. Just off the main street, opposite Londis, plenty of free parking too.

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The station

Someone, who shall remain nameless gave me this story today.

I am not into all this love lovie types of poems and stories. I hated the book The Secret and find books like the Last Lecture self centred and pointless, they teach me nothing about me. This short musing made me think, life really is too short (cliched, I know) but rushing around trying to do things that lead you to a nameless goal is not what I want to be about. Trying to live and think in the present is a simple wisdom. Hope you enjoy this.

The station

Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves traveling on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at the crossings, row upon row of corn and wheat, flatlands and valleys, mountains and rolling hillside, city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. Once we get there all our dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. How we restlessly pace the aisles, waiting, waiting for the station.

“When we reach the station that will be it!”
“When I’m 18!”
“When I’ve paid off the mortgage!”
”When I’ve put the last kid through college!”

Sooner of later we realize there is no station, no one place to arrive once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

“Relish the moment” is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets of yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, walk barefoot more often, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less.
Life must be lived as we go along.

The station will come soon enough.

JR Hastings

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Roadworks in carlow part 231

It’s beoming like game to me.
How many roadworks can I spot in one day in the town of Carlow?
Here’s another one in the Dinn Ri car park.
I asked them what they were doing.
“just scitting” they replied immediately.
Or maybe, I made that last bit up.

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The Ploughing Championships begin with the town in a mess!

The Ploughing Championships have returned to Athy for the 2nd year in a row. They cause great excitement for farmers indeed. The traffic is chaotic and all accommodation is booked out.

Carlow Town is being dug up at the minute. Everywhere you look, there’s a roadwork, builder scratching his head or a JCB. I hate the way they dig the road up, do what they have to do and leave the road in a general bad state of repair.The area by the Bus stops is being pulled apart to make way for some sort of mezzanine. The old Town Hall at the bottom of Dublin street is being demolished. The Green Road has a big pit going right through it. The River Barrow is being moved to prevent future flooding though the papers reckon it won’t help at all.

The council should have left all this roadworks until after the Ploughing. I wonder how long Carlow is going to look a mess for.

Here’s a photo of the Blackbog Road yesterday, there is usually never any traffic on this road.

It’s faster walking!

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Fixx coffeehouse-Dawson Streer

I can’t keep up with the amount of new coffee shops in Dublin.
This place is on Dawson Street with bright orange and warm brown surroundings, it is a very relaxing place to spend a few hours.
The coffee is excellent. The Barista knew his stuff. I observed him for a while. Very efficient. The coffee house has a huge library at the back, where you are invited to borrow a book if you make a small donation to Irish Cancer research, a charity that we support.
It’s got free wifi which is ultra easy to hook up to. A basic, coffee shops,listen up!
They’ve got some really good looking cupcakes, rocky roads and scone here too with an espresso for €1.80 and a small americano at €2, it’s brilliant value. Some places in Carlow charge €3 for an espresso!
I shall name and shame them very soon!
The one suggestion I have is small. Don’t play Michael Bolton songs in your coffee house.
Ever.

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Coventry City-my home town

Spent the weekend in Coventry. A family funeral so it wasn’t the best time to visit. My cousin took me around to my old memories. My first home in Fennell House and then before I came to Ireland in Matterson Road.
Coventry is a city that suffered from the world war. Everything in the centre was bombed and someone decided to rebuild the centre as a complete outdoor shopping precinct.
Fine then but now, not so. Spon street is an old and typically English looking street and this should have been the inspiration instead of more high street shops.
The Cathedral in Coventey is very impressive, the new area outside the theatre Belgrade(where I auditioned for Annie!) and the Transport Museum are all worth a visit if you’re here for the day.
My first school, St. Osburg’s is looking great. Brand new playgrounds, living garden and nice statue of St Osburg.
A lovely trip full of memories but a sad occasion to visit.
Uncle “friggit” John- can’t believe you’re gone. We will miss you.

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Tivoli-a brand new day and enjoying Tagliacozzo again!

A day enjoying Tagliacozzo again and a brand new city-Tivoli
Yesterday, we had spent most of the day sitting around Tagliacozzo and sampling various beverages. We found another nice wine bar outside of the Piazza area. It seems to me that the older humans frequent this space and the younger humans socialise inside of the Piazza. This wine bar gave us heaps of snacks-biscuits, cheese, ham etc. We were actually still quite full but Simon was determined to investigate this German like pizza establishment we had noticed a few night before, right beside the train station. The Restaurant is outside in a real beer garden with real leaves full of things that like to bite and make lumps on your body.
The menu was mainly pizza with the odd hotdog thrown in for the German theme. Terry was delighted to see that they served beer by the litre and promptly ordered a litre glass of beer the size of his head. It caused a massive transformation. Terry was no longer the sullen and moody boy. The beer uplifted him and he primped and preened for the paparazzi. I have the photo to prove it
We all ordered pizza, which was fine and just lovely. They served real chips there too and I acted like I hadn’t eaten chip in years, savaging a full bowl with Marion.
The walk back up the hill was okay this time. We invented a game for Marion and Terry. The game was called “Can you find the way back up the mad hill with no directions?” Marion started off well but Terry gained an edge by remaining calm. Terry won 2-1. Yay for him! The game was over and we had succeeded in getting home.
We decided to have a bit of a sleep in and catch the train a bit later to Tivoli at 11:45 approximately.
The train journey from Tagliacozzo to Tivoli is just under an hour. We got off the train and walked towards where we thought the centre might be. We were right! Along the way, we saw the entrance to the Villa Gregoriana, an very old garden type ancient park. It starts right up on the top of the hill and used to be a big dumping ground. One of those Popes in 19th century decided to do it up and he did a pretty good job. It is well laid out with lots of signage. It costed €5 to enter and it helps the upkeep. We weaved our way down the steps to blue lagoon type pools, cooling views of waterfalls in the “Valley of hell” and ending up at the top exit where the 2 temples are. The temple of Vesta is in pretty good condition but only because some Christians turned it into their place of worships years ago. Good for them.
The whole site is covered with cute and very wild cats scavving bits of bread from the cafe at the top. They are much friendlier in Rome.
When we had finished the humid walk, we were sweating and semi-wrecked. The sign at the entrance had admitted the walk could be uncomfortable in places. Nice of them to warn us.
We then took a saunter into the city of Tivoli, about a 15 minute walk. On first glance, Tivoli is an run down and characterless city but upon investigation, it opens up a bit. It has its own style but we all agreed that it needed “doing up”
(this is a complete joke, by the way. Years ago in a school I was teaching in, we were all chatting in the staffroom about Rome. I had said I loved it but one teacher who shall be nameless forever more piped up “hmm, I don’t really like Rome, it’s a bit rundown”)
Therefore, we spent the day looking for ways to improve the appearance of a wonderfully ancient city. Tivoli is also home to the most famous ancient site of Hadrian’s gardens. It involves a day trip and we just decided not to do it on this occasion. We strolled around and drank lots of cafe americanos. Bliss actually.
Tagliacozzo was busy again when we got back in. I got a nice, fresh cocktail and the lads had Belgian beer, which made them very drunk. Light weights. 9%? They stopped at one bottle sensibly. We then brought them to the last restaurant on their list. The usual place? It’s the only restaurant right on the Piazza. It was packed by 8 o clock. I think Simon’s meal won tonight. He got a pasta with pesto with a twist of lumps of potato and green beans mixed through. Yum. I got a highly salty carbonara. I ate half. Marion for a mushroom ravoli, which was lovely but full on and Terry got the ravoli ragu I had the other night. Nice as well. We treated ourselves to an ice-cream from the home made ice-cream shop just off the square. I had the almond and dark choc scoop. So good to just stroll around and think you’re Italian. Gonna miss you, gelato!
The walk up the hill was hard again tonight as we couldn’t think of any games to play. Everyone stayed up reading and chatting but I hit the bed again just so I could wake up refreshed.
2 more days to go and it’s hot out there!