News and videos from the Wokingham Living Advent Calendar, a Wokingham Town Council / More Arts production.
24 performances over 24 days in December. Performances start at 6pm weekdays, 4pm weekends and last for approx 20 mins at a venue in the Town Centre.
It was a beautiful end to our 24 days
of festivities, at 6:15pm precisely the doors to All Saints Church
opened to the awaiting crowds and they entered to the strains of
“Away in a Manger”.
Candlelight carols under the
Christmas Tree with the Choir of All Saints Wokingham
The Choir of All Saints, Wokingham,
is one of the finest in the region. In addition to its regular
duties at the church on Sundays and at important civic and church
events, it sings at major cathedrals across the country and churches
all over Berkshire. They will be opening the final door of the
Wokingham Living Advent Calendar with a traditional Nine Lessons and
Carols – in miniature!
Around 100 people enjoyed a series of
traditional carols sung with great skill and a number of readings
retelling the birth of Christ. There was a magical air inside the
church with candles and the Christmas tree aglow which only added to
the spirit of the occasion.
The performance ended with the always
fun “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” and a short speech by
Wokingham Town Mayor Cllr Peter Lucey.
Please enjoy the video below, covering
the last two carols a stirring rendition of “O Come all Ye
Faithful” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
Elms
Field was packed last night with parents and children eagerly
awaiting a recreation of the first Christmas complete with a donkey
for the Virgin Mother and sheep for the shepherds.
Happily
the rain held off and JAC helped warm the crowd by serving hot
drinks. As well as the actors there was a choir and musicians leading
carols throughout the performance.
In
case you missed it or in case you'd like to experience it all other
again there are a couple of clips below from the Live Nativity.
A
welcoming speech by Cllr Dale Green and Rev Mark Huddlestone along
with the entrance of Mary and Joseph to the inn and the first carol.
The
meeting of the wise men and the baby Jesus
Can
you see yourselves in this one?
Final
speeches and carol
A
wonderful time was had by all, please join me in thanking the Church
at the White House School for putting it on in such style along with
some help from very familiar faces.
The
local Gamesmakers from this years Olympic Games were on hand
collecting for our four charities.
We hope
that you can join us tonight at All
Saints Church at the normal
time of 6:15pm for the finale. Don't worry about the rain, we will be
inside for the performance.
We
welcomed The
Uncertainty of Passion
to
Waitrose last
night for our penultimate usual time performance of the Living Advent
Calender.
They
played a number of of their own compositions including their
Christmas favourite “My Very Own Roly Poly Father Christmas”
which the audience, braving the rain and swelled by intrigued
shoppers from Waitrose, joined in with.
There
was a great Christmas spirit in the air despite the foul weather, the
band dressing for the occasion including a tinsel covered Santa.
Deputy
Mayor Cllr Martin Bishop introduced the act and we were also honoured
to be joined by MP for Wokingham, the Rt Hon John Redwood.
The
Uncertainty of Passion
is a local band, performing original songs and instrumentals,
composed by Jackie Doe. "My Very Own Roly Poly Father
Christmas" was first performed at The Retreat Pub, St John's
Street, Reading in November 2011. A video of the song was filmed at
the pub, the landlord, Bernie Whiten, bravely taking the part of Fr
Christmas. You can enjoy the original and re-issued versions on
YouTube.
Tonight:
It’s the one you have been waiting for!
The
Live Nativity on Elms Field
(Remember 4:15 start for this one)
And
Christmas Eve:
Join us at All Saints Church
at the normal time of 6:15pm for the finale.
Wokingham
Choral Society were our performers last night creating musical
harmony and a traditional Christmas spirit outside Waitrose.
The
20 strong group led by Robert Grindley performed a selection of
carols to a welcoming a crowd and capturing the passing shoppers, who
couldn’t help singing along.
Enjoy
some of our favourite Christmas Carols, sung unaccompanied in perfect
4-part harmony by the Chamber Choir section of Wokingham Choral
Society. The full choir will perform its very popular Christmas
Concert this year in St Paul's Church, Wokingham on December 22nd.
Wokingham Choral Society was formed in 1951 and has over 100
members. It performs three classical concerts and a Christmas
concert each year. For details see
www.wokingham-choral-society.org.uk
If you
missed it why not join us tonight at Waitrose at 6:15pm for tonight's
surprise performance and then join the Choral Society at St Pauls for
7:30pm for their Christmas Concert.
Here to
remind you is a run down of where we will be each night until
Christmas!
Saturday:
We are back to Waitrose
for a modern and amusing performance.
Sunday:
It’s the Live Nativity on
Elms Field (Remember 4:15
start for this one)
And
Christmas Eve:
Join us at All Saints Church
for the finale.
So we are almost at the end of this years Living Advent Calendar.
I say almost as we still have the magnificent and hotly anticipated Live
Nativity to go and of course our Christmas Eve event.
Here’s a hint: it will be beautiful and traditional.
However I did want to take a moment to reflect. As frankly while I will
endeavour to report on the next few days events I won’t be spending much time
on this, as like many of you I will be with my family.
I’ve very much enjoyed this event, we have had what could almost be
called a little party every night, and it has been a pleasure to be part of it.
Everyone I have met has enjoyed themselves and enjoyed being part of it, there
are not a lot of people who can say they have put on a production every night
for 24 nights in a row, in a cold dark December.
It is the many volunteers who have given their time I would like to
especially thank, they have been the backbone of the event and have helped set
up the equipment, even learning new skills in order to do so. Many of these
have come from the four charities WADE, JAC, More Arts and Wokingham Rotary who
have also supported us in other ways, for example providing photographs and
films from some evenings events, distributing publicity materials and so many
other ways I have not processed or I am sure realised as of yet.
Thanks are due to the many performers who have taken the time to entertain
you all for no fee, giving the gift of song, dance, magic, etc in these dark
December nights.
Thanks to all the venues who have been very supportive of what might
have seen at first a bit of an off the wall idea. We hope you will want us back
next year.
Thanks to the members of the Steering group who have seen this through
from conception to delivery and have been involved in many ways, including a
few already mentioned.
There should also be thanks for all the Town Councillors, especially
those who have acted as dignitaries throughout the month. A few of those
councillors have also been part of the stage set up crew or have come night
after night just to support us all. One particular councillor deserves special
thanks as while he has not acted as dignitary for us, he has been to, as far as
I am aware, almost every night’s performance helping to set up and organise.
Finally there is a very special thanks for a particular lady who would
most likely kill me if I mention her by name. Nevertheless many of you will
know who I am talking about and she has been instrumental in coordinating and
producing everything we needed to deliver these performances. As someone who
has seen just the surface of that piece of work, she has done an amazing job in
a very short period of time.
So thank you to you all and thank you to the audiences who have come
over these last 24 nights. We have very much enjoyed sharing our local talent,
charities and businesses with you and hope you will support us again next year.
We were outside Barbara Easton
last night for the last Thursday evening performance of the Living Advent
Calendar and late night shopping courtesy of the shops in Bush Walk.
Cloudglider singer Carolyn
Hill stepped up with a Funky and Festive Rock and Roll Jukebox. Numbers
included: Merry Christmas Everyone and Rocking around the Christmas Tree, which
got the crowd singing and dancing.
Barbara Easton is an independent woman’s fashion and shoe shop located
in Bush Walk off the Market Place.
Cloudglider are a group of solo singers who train with Elisa
Ghoebriel and then take their new found skills to perform in the community to
raise money for various charities.Our
performers range in age from 9+.If you
would like us to come and perform for you then please contacts us via
www.cloudglider.com.
We very much enjoyed the
performance and are really looking forward to the next few evenings.
Here to remind you is a run
down of where we will be each night until Christmas!
Friday:
Something classically Christmas will be happening at Waitrose.
Saturday:
We are back to Waitrose for a modern
and amusing performance.
Sunday:
It’s the Live Nativity on Elms Field
(Remember 4:15 start for this one)
And Christmas Eve: Join us at All
Saints Church for the finale.
I’ve said it before but we are privileged to have some amazing charities
working with us to help create the Living Advent Calendar. While they are each
collecting for their charities on a nightly basis they are also volunteering
their time to assist with the set up and delivery of many nights of
performance. For the last 6 days it is the turn of More Arts to act as main
assistance, helping to put up sound systems and lights and making sure our
performances go with a bang!
We hope you will give generously, bucket collectors will be out each
evening for you to make any donations. The bucket collectors are collecting for
all four Charities (WADE, JAC, More Arts and Wokingham Rotary) at the end of
the 24 days the final total will be split evenly between the Charities.
The
Cultural Partnership : More Arts is an
independent arts development charity that champions all arts forms, and was
created to enable and deliver more arts cultural activities and experiences at
the local level.
More Arts offers extensive expertise and local
links with the creative sector and practising artists. More Arts is lean,
flexible and provides services to engage and involve communities by using
creativity and the arts.
More Arts is an essential and supportive partner
that can help provide education and transformation, contributing to people
living healthier and happier lifestyles. Make culture and the arts a part of
everyday life, for everyone. http://www.morearts.org.uk/index.html
More Arts as a charity with extensive knowledge and experience of
putting on arts events has also been working in partnership with the Town
Council to help organise this whole event.
It was a
wet and windy evening in the Town Centre last night so thank goodness we had
some cover under the archway by the entrance to Herrington and Carmichael.
Performing
last night was the dance troupe All That Jazz.
All That Jazz are a talented group of young
dancers comprising three girls and one boy and are currently studying
Performance at Reading College. They
have an eclectic dance style which includes jazz, street, contemporary and
ballet and bring a youthful energy to their performance – enjoy!
It
certainly was an energetic performance including a number of group performances
and some solo performances. Take a look at the video below for a short clip of
one of their numbers.
Herrington
& Carmichael are a leading local law firm.
http://www.herrington-carmichael.com/
We very much enjoyed the
performance and are really looking forward to the next few evenings.
Here to remind you is a run
down of where we will be each night until Christmas!
Tonight:
Another dose of late night shopping and fine entertainment at Barbara Easton in Bush Walk.
Friday:
Something classically Christmas will be happening at Waitrose.
Saturday:
We are back to Waitrose for a modern
and amusing performance.
Sunday:
It’s the Live Nativity on Elms Field
(Remember 4:15 start for this one)
And Christmas Eve: Join us at All
Saints Church for the finale.
Official Press Release from The Church at the White House School
The Church at the White House School is pleased to announce
that its Outdoor Live Nativity has a new venue this year. It will take place at
4.15pm on Sunday 23rd December at Elms Field in Wokingham Town
Centre (RG40 2LD).
Everyone is welcome and entrance is free.
This year’s Outdoor Live Nativity is being held in
conjunction with Wokingham Town Council as part of the Wokingham Living Advent
Calendar - a series of events with a Christmas or winter focus to them that run
from the 1st to the 24th December.
The move to Elms Field means that more people than ever can
enjoy the opportunity to start the festive period in a relaxed and family
friendly environment that puts the focus on what Christmas is really all about…
So why not join us? As well as watching a re-creation of the
very first Christmas complete with a donkey and some sheep, you can join in
with, or just listen to, some traditional and not so traditional songs.
The event concludes with a short talk about the significance
of that first Christmas more than 2,000 years ago. What better way to start
your Christmas season of peace and goodwill to all?
The fun starts at 4:15pm on Sunday 23rd December at
Elms Field in Wokingham Town Centre, RG40 2LD. Entrance is free and everyone is
welcome to contribute to a collection to raise funds on behalf of local
charities.
The action is all outside so wrap up warm and don’t forget
to bring a torch if you want to join in the singing.
_____________________________
About the Church at
the White House School.
The Church at the White House School is part of the Arborfield
and Barkham group of churches within the Church of England. We meet every
Sunday at 10.30am in the former White House School on Finchampstead Road, Wokingham,
RG40 3HD, for worship and to learn from the God’s word in the bible. We would
love you to join us at one of our services over the Christmas period (or any
other time).
Dec 25th
Christmas Day 10.30 – 11.30
Christmas Day All Age Celebration – a time for everyone to
come and celebrate the birth of Christ.
We also run a 7 week course called Christianity Explored
where anyone can ask any question about the Christian faith as we read through
Mark’s gospel. Visit the website for more details.
It was magical evening last
night at The Dukes Head.
The busy public house played
host to two magicians The Great Dandini
and Steven Woods.
Recently returned from an expedition to the foothills of Himalayas, The Great Dandini is back, in one piece, and
demonstrating ancient mysteries of mind and matter at the Wokingham living
advent calendar. http://www.beautifulcreatures.org.uk/page6.html
A young man who is going to walk amongst you performing card
tricks.Steve has taught himself these tricks during the frequent school
detentions he has had. He hopes you enjoy them!!
Both magicians wowed the
crowd with card and sleight of hand tricks. Steven was particularly impressive
as he is only 14 years old!
Here is a short clip of one of The Great Dandini's illusions.
But if you have time take a look at a video of a
few more tricks below.
For anyone who was in the town during the day yesterday and on Sunday
you might have heard these chaps play already. But that didn’t stop them from
providing excellent entertainment in their first performance for the Living
Advent Calendar last night inside the offices of Martin & Pole.
Over 50 people watched and sung along to a series of carols performed by
“No Strings Attached” a brass
quartet of alumni Berkshire Maestros.
They may be familiar faces around the Town for they
have been busking around the Town Hall every year for the last 5 at Christmas,
bringing festive spirit to our Town Centre.
Playing for in excess of 10 years together from the
beginner bands, they are now active Alumni members of the Berkshire Maestros,
one of the UK’s
leading Youth Music Organisations. At their peak in 2009 they were on average
playing over 12 hours a week with brass, jazz and wind bands and in full
orchestra, Major highlights included playing at the Royal Albert Hall for the
Music for Youth Proms and tours to Strasbourg and Poland.
Chris (Trumpet) is studying Trumpet at Trinity College
of Music London
and has been fortunate enough to become the Principal Trumpet of the World
Youth Orchestra.
Dom (Tenor Horn / Euphonium) is in his final year
reading Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Oxford University.
Matt (Flugelhorn / Cornet) is in his final year
studying IT Management for Business at the University of Greenwich.
Nick (Trombone) is studying Engineering at the University of Cambridge .
Tonight’s performance will showcase a classic brass
rendition of Christmas carols for a good old sing along and of course shout out
any of your favourites!
And there were certainly
some requests last night, including “Once in Royal David’s City”, “We Wish you
a Merry Christmas” and “It Came upon a Midnight Clear” played expertly by the
lads of No Strings Attached along
with a few other festive favourites.
Martin & Pole, our gracious hosts transformed their office into a most warm and welcoming
venue for the evening providing mince pies, mulled wine, sausage rolls and nibbles
for the audience. There was a distinct feeling of Christmas cheer.
David Auger of Martin and
Pole said -
“Congratulations to The Cultural Partnership and all
the performers for bringing something different to Wokingham. Those who have
ventured out to witness the many talents of local people will have been royally
impressed.
The group No Strings Attached who performed in our
offices and will be seen busking around the town over Christmas are four very
talented young men.
If you haven’t got out to see a performance so
far I strongly recommend you do – I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
Martin & Pole are your local estate agents and Chartered Surveyors. Martin & Pole
have been offering a full range of property related advice and services for
over 160 years. They are Chartered Surveyors and believe that their first
duty is to their Client.
________________________
We very much enjoyed the
performance and are really looking forward to the next few evenings.
Here to remind you is a run
down of where we will be each night until Christmas!
Tonight: Join us at The
Dukes Head on Denmark Street
for a magical evening.
Wednesday: We will be at
Herrington and Carmichael on Broad
Street staving off the cold.
Thursday: Another does of
late night shopping and fine entertainment at Barbara Easton in Bush Walk.
Friday: Something
classically Christmas will be happening at Waitrose.
Saturday: We are back to
Waitrose for a modern and amusing performance. Sunday: It's the Live Nativity on Elms Field (4:15pm and dress warm) and finally Christmas Eve: Come to All Saints Church for the finale!
The angelic St Pauls Church Choir
performed outside the Roebuck in the Market Place on Sunday evening.
The 24 strong choir performed carols including “Up Good Christian Folk”, “It came upon the midnight
clear” and “Past 3 o'clock” to an audience of around 40 people.
St. Paul's Choir are the resident
parish choir for St Paul's
Church on Reading Road.
They are normally a robed Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass choir who sing for Parish
Mass, Choral Evensong on the first and third Sundays of each month and also for
all special services.In recent years
they have also sung evensong at Southwark and Canterbury Cathedrals and last
summer they hosted a very popular "Come and Sing" Faure's Requiem.The choir enjoy the reputation of being a
very friendly and welcoming choir and are always pleased to chat to possible
newcomers, adults and children alike.They sing repertoire which covers a huge range of sacred music from
plainsong chant through to some of the best 21st century composers and rehearse
once a week on a Wednesday evening.
Thanks to The Roebuck for hosting last nights event.
Tonight you will find us outside Martin and Pole in Broad Street, although if the weather is
particularly unpleasant we might be inside. Come join us, tonight you decide the music!
I’ve said it before but we are privileged to have some amazing charities
working with us to help create the Living Advent Calendar. While they are each
collecting for their charities on a nightly basis they are also volunteering
their time to assist us in many different ways. Currently WADE are doing their bit
to make sure each evening goes smoothly.
We hope you will give generously. Bucket collectors will be out each
evening for you to make any donations. The bucket collectors, no matter which
Charity they are from, are collecting for all four Charities (WADE, JAC, More
Arts and Wokingham Rotary) and at the end of the 24 days the final total will
be split evenly between the Charities.
WADE (Wokingham & District
Association for the Elderly) is a registered charity whose aim is to promote the
welfare of the elderly in the Wokingham Borough area. The Charity was founded
by the late Jean Davy, a former Mayor of Wokingham, and the Day Centre at 40 Reading Road,
Wokingham was opened in 1974.
The WADE
Day Centre is a unique period property providing a pleasant location near the
centre of Wokingham for the use of the over 60s. It is a friendly, caring
and stimulating environment.
There is a large
conservatory, patio area and sweeping gardens with lawns where members and
their guests can enjoy the atmosphere or play outdoor games.
A substantial freshly
cooked midday meal is provided as well as morning and afternoon refreshments.
Activities include; music
therapy, outings, crochet, quizzes, bridge, entertainment, flower
arranging, bingo and exercise. Hairdressing, chiropody and shower facilities
are also available.
WADE also runs a charity shop on Rose Street and is the Wokingham Town
Mayor's Charity for 2012.
To find out more about these services please contact steviehorton@btinternet.com
“We are delighted to be
included in the Living Calendar – a great idea with great potential to raise
awareness for WADE”
Paris Moon have
performed together, in various guises, for many years. The most
curious booking undertaken by Gill, Jackie & Keith was 3/4 hr in
Beirut for Valentine's Day! Most events are slightly more local and
Paris Moon aims to take you back to your favourite memories and
delights of a holiday in France.
What more suited to
a french resturant than traditional french cafe music?
Paris
Moon did an excellent job last night in reproducing the atmosphere of a
Paris street cafe, I have to say I've never been to France but it
certainly echoed the way I thought it would feel like.
An audience of
around 50 were happily ensconced in the warm venue, listening to songs
including “Non, je ne regrette rien” and
“Milord”, both made famous by Edith Piaf.
Cafe Rouge is a
group of French restaurants, with outlets all around the country.
Tonight you will
find us only across the Market Place outside The Roebuck. Hope you've
not got too fond of these single performers and small groups over
recent days....
Last night it was the first of three
performances at Waitrose.
We were entertained by the operatic
stylings of Louise Herrington in A Musical Interlude.
Louise Herrington is a professional
opera singer based in Bracknell, performing a few theatre classics
with maybe the odd Christmas song or two. Don't worry, no Wagner
tonight! Louise is available for all sorts of singing work, and runs
her own accounting practice.
It was
another excellent Thursday night in the beautiful Bush Walk. We enjoyed a
rocking performance by Cloudglider member Carolyn Hill and then got to indulge
in a little late night shopping in the Aladdin’s cave of delights that is
Antique Rose.
A rousing
time was had by all, Carolyn started with the track originally sung by Nancy
Sinatra “These Boots are Made for Walkin’”, followed by “Crazy Horses”, and for
the second time this week the audience formed a dancing line, but it wasn’t the
conga this time but that Kylie Minogue classic “The Locomotion”.
Every song
had the audience singing and jiving along as you will see below in the opening
number “These Boots are Made for Walkin’”
Afterwards
our wonderful host Antique Rose (http://www.antiquerose.co.uk/) served
refreshments and their later closing times on Thursdays, in the run up to Christmas,
gave us ample opportunity to browse their beautiful wares and more importantly
warm up a little.
Next Thursday
we are back in Bush Walk, this time over the way at Barbara Easton.
Tonight
join us at Waitrose for another festive performance for the Living Advent
Calendar. Only 11 more to go!
Cloudglider are a group of solo singers who train with Elisa Ghoebriel and then take their new found skills to perform in the community to raise money for various charities.
On Wednesday night a crowd
of around 35 lined Peach Street
to enjoy some festive music by Tamara Abramson.
Tamara is a versatile
Russian Folk Singer who accompanies herself on acoustic guitar.She has a wide repertoire, from Russian
traditional folk to Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Chanson.
Among songs performed by Tamara
were a number of Russian ditties and a lovely version of "White Christmas".
Cold hands were warmed by coffees
served by our gracious hosts.
Every rule has its exception and for the Wokingham 2012 Living Advent
Calendar it is the Live Nativity.
It starts at 4:15pm (not 6:15pm like all the others)
It lasts about an hour (not 15 minutes)
and
We can talk about it prior to it happening!
Well it is such a big event there was no way we could keep it a secret
beforehand and it is such a nice event, one that has run for years prior to
being part of the Living Advent Calendar, that we felt we had to include it.
So book the time out in your diaries now because it will be worth it!
Put on for many years by The Church at the White House, it sadly lost its
venue this year when the White
House School
closed. But the show must go on and go on with even more style.
It was decided to move the event closer to the centre of Town, put it on
outside in a larger area and make it part of the Living Advent Calendar so that even more people can enjoy it.
So at 4:15pm on the 23rd December come to Elms Field to the
area where the Tennis Courts were to see what might be called the Greatest
Show… in Wokingham in December.
And when we say Live we mean Live! Expect to see performances by not
only adults and children, but donkeys, sheep and other four legged thespians. No
pantomime animal costumes, these are the real deal and will be available to
meet after the show.
This event like all the Living Advent Calendar performances is FREE and
there will be mince pies and other refreshments available. As with all the
Living Advent Calendar performances there will be Charity Collectors around
with buckets, if you can donate this festive season please do. The four named
charities do sterling work for the local community and appreciate whatever
support we can give them.
It was quite a show last
night, Me & Mrs Jones (the
indefatigable Elaine and Rob) displayed their dancing skills to an eager if
frozen crowd.
Dancing their version of the
modern jive Me & Mrs Smith
showed that you can do this dance to almost any kind of music and interpret it
in your own style.It's an energetic
partner dance which has evolved from the rock 'n' roll era of the 1960’s.All kinds of dancing have become increasingly
popular, especially since the TV series Strictly
Come Dancing, although I’m not sure how often they are performed outside on
a freezing and foggy evening in December.
After a few numbers the audience
was invited to give it a go and many were happy to get the blood pumping to
semi frozen limbs. There was a real party atmosphere with some of the audience
dancing alongside Me & Mrs Jones
plus check out the perennial party favourite dance at the end.
Do take a look at the video,
at approx 5 mins long it is longer than previous but well worth a viewing.
Thank you to Cllr Ryder for
acting as our Master of Ceremony’s last night and thank you to Linden from Dollshouse Boutique for letting us use
the shop as a venue.
Dollshouse Boutique is a ladies fashion shop in a beautiful 17th Century Queen
Anne style house. It sells clothes, handbags, hats, accessories and has a
bespoke hat service.
