24th December 2013 - Wokingham Baptist

Welcome one and all to the final performance for Wokingham's 2013 Living Advent Calendar. At least 100 people joined us inside Wokingham Baptist Church to listen to a retelling of parts of the original Christmas Story, poems and joined in with a number of well known carols.

The Baptist Church put on a selection of engaging acts depicting Mary on the donkey and Shepherds who had learnt by heart their original scripts. They also led the audience in an enthusiastic round of carols including “Away in a Manger” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”.

The hall was bedecked with lights and an obvious amount of effort had gone into the simple but effective staging. The Baptist Church also put on hot drinks and nibbles to keep us going on a slightly longer than 15 minute performance.

We were also very pleased to have Town Mayor Cllr Martin Bishop to open and close this the final performance of 2013.

In the spirit of giving please find below, in three parts, the full performance from tonight.

Merry Christmas and Thanks from Wokingham Living Advent Calendar

So we are almost at the end of this years Living Advent Calendar.

I say almost, as we still have our Christmas Eve event to go at Wokingham Baptist Church.  

This is the second year of the Wokingham Living Advent Calendar and I think I can speak for all who were involved in the production of this event that it has gone wonderfully and grown since last years inaugural one. We learnt a lot from last years event and will I suspect learn a lot from this years but for now I wanted to thank everyone who has made this years event so wonderful.

I cannot name everyone individually, there are so many who help to put on this event and that is before we get to all the venues, performers and audience members that support it.

Again it is the volunteers who make this event work. Many thanks to Wokingham Rotary for the technical support for the set up of an evening and many thanks to our charities; JAC, Wokingham and District Cancer Care Trust, Wokingham Foodbank and Wokingham Scouts and Guides for supplying people to assist with collecting money, marshalling events and helping to distribute publicity. Many thanks to all who have also helped in other ways like photgraphing and filming the events and a myriad of other small ways.

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. Also thanks to ChristChurch Wokingham for another wonderful Live Nativity.

Thanks again to all the venues, who have given over electricity, space and occasionally shelter from some very inclement weather for this years performances. Staying open later than they usually would do to give something back to the community they serve.  A particular thanks to Wokingham Methodist Church who sheltered us on some very unpleasant and wet evenings.  

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.

And a big thanks is to More Arts who help to organise this event through the year. There are no words to adequately describe the level of work that they put into this event to make it go as smooth as it does.

But the biggest thanks is reserved for all of you who came to the performances. I even hear that there is at least one individual who has been to every Living Advent Calendar performance since we began last year.  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.

Enjoy the final performance and we expect the blog entry to be up this evening. 

I will leave you in the immortal words of Father Christmas or in this years case, Kermit the frog…..

“Merry Christmas to All and to all a goodnight!”

23rd December 2013 - St Paul's Church Choir at Martin and Pole

Merry Christmas Eve to you all,

Last nights performance at Martin and Pole was really magical. St Paul's Church Choir treated us to a selection of carols both well known and maybe not so well known.

An audience of around 50 braved the storm outside to listen to the carols including "Ding Dong Merrily on High", "Up! Good Christen Folk", "Past Three O'Clock" and "The truth sent from above". But a real highlight was the children of the choir singing "Away in a Manger".

Here is a little background for St Paul's Church Choir:
St. Paul's Choir are the resident parish choir for St Paul's Church on Reading Road. They are 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 this year they sang at Bath Abbey and also joined forces with All Saints choir to form the highly successful Pentecost Two Choirs Festival in Wokingham.  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.

The below video shows a selection of clips from the songs including full length versions of "Away in a Manger" and "Once in Royal David's City"



 
Martin and Pole offered us a very warm welcome with refreshments including mince pies, sausage rolls and sweets for the children and most importantly shelter during yesterdays storm. Many thanks to them.
http://www.martinpole.co.uk/

Tonight we hope you will all join us at Wokingham Baptist Church on Milton Road for the final Living Advent Calendar performance of 2013. It looks like it should be dry, but if not we will be inside.

Bonus Video: Hands On Company at Brown Bag Cafe, 20th December 2013

Here is the video from Friday nights performance at Brown Bag Café. The Hands On Company presented “Where is Rudolph?”.

Beware the video contains spoilers, but also jokes and some really wonderful children and puppets.

For the full blog entry click here: http://wokylivingadvent.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/20th-december-2013-hands-on-company-at.html

Otherwise enjoy!

22nd December 2013 - Pauly Zarb at The Dukes Head

Australian one man band Pauly Zarb entertained a packed bar at the Duke's Head with some favourite Christmas songs, including Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree, Frosty The Snowman, Jingle Bell Rock, O Holy Night and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

Pauly was joined by his talented daughters, with 9-year old Chloë  playing Jingle Bells on the violin and 6-year old Ella singing Away In A Manger.

There is a short video on the calendar and can be found here but for a longer version including Pauly’s daughters watch below.    

Pauly Zarb, "The One Man Band".  From the Australian music scene to the USA music scene to the Great Britain and European music scene, Pauly has been giving great performances as a multi instrument musician.  His unique style of performance pulls together full band sound, playing keyboard split bass, guitar, flute, tin whistle, kickdrum, high hat/tambourine, congas/symbol, and singing his heart out.  He covers many styles of music, from Irish, to pop, from yesterday's hits, to classsical.  Most of all Pauly entertains people with his confident style of musicianship.  He leaves a great impression and good feeling with his audience which is evident when the crowd is singing along or shouting Encore! Encore!

Many thanks to Pauly and also to the Dukes Head who provided a warm and comforting venue for our 22^nd Living Advent Calendar performance.

We hope you will join us tonight at Martin and Pole on Broad Street for another surprise and the penultimate Living Advent Calendar performance for 2013.

Bonus: Austentation at Antique Rose Video

Good Afternoon all Wokingham Living Advent Calendar fans,

On Thursday 19th December 2013 Austentation the costumed Regency trio performed at Antique Rose.  We are please to be able to bring this video from the evening which shows them in full costumed glory, performing a number of songs including "The Irishman" "The Lass of Richmond Hill" and the somewhat weather appropriate "Over the Mountains and Over the Waves".

We jest but they really were great performers. The rain came down unexpectedly just as they were due to start and they performed wonderfully despite the sudden downpour. 

So please enjoy this video.



Plus for the original blog entry from the event click here: http://wokylivingadvent.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/19th-december-2013-austentation-at.html

Austentation are a costumed Regency Musical Trio, with Frank Underwood and Angela Mayorga on romantic guitar and Gillie Tunley on vocals and percussion. They perform popular tunes and airs from the time of Jane Austen, including “The Irishman”, a witty and incisive song written by Jane Austen herself.  They have performed in the splendid domed Prince Regent’s Music Room at the Royal Pavilion, Jane Austen’s house at Chawton, the Jane Austen Centre and the Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath.
http://www.austentation.org/home.shtml

21st December 2013 - ChristChurch Wokingham Live Nativity

Yesterday afternoon we were treated to a beautiful and colourful celebration, retelling the Nativity Story.

ChristChurch Wokingham for the second year put on their Live Nativity, outdoors and as part of Wokingham's Living Advent Calendar, and again it was a roaring success. An audience of at least 350 (that's about where we lost count) braved the elements and joined us in this festive treat. Children and adults alike were bundled up in wet weather gear and refreshments by JAC were on hand to warm up the crowd.

The actors, adult, child and animal did very well considering the wind and rain and produced the heartwarming, informative and funny performance we have come to expect.

No video this year, but courtesy of Jon White, here are is a slideshow of images
http://www.flickr.com//photos/evendons/sets/72157638887341846/show/with/11483645803/

We hope you will join us tonight a the Dukes Head at the normal time of 6:15pm for a surprise performance from a Wokingham resident who once might have associated Christmas with a red hot beach.

Plus don't worry about the weather, we expect or can be inside for the remaining performances.

20th December 2013 - The Hands on Company at Brown Bag

Wasn't last night spectacular! A great audience of all ages came to see the Hands on Company, a local educational organisation who work primarily through storytelling using puppets, present
'Where is Rudolph?'.

'Where is Rudolph?' is a puppetry and drama show with dancing and singing where everyone can be involved.  The elves can't find Rudolph and Christmas Eve is drawing near.  Please help us find him before Santa arrives!

You'd think he'd be hard to lose with a nose like a hot coal.

It is one of their new Autumn/Winter shows and was great fun, especially when the audience joined in. If you would like to find out more about the Hands On Company read here http://www.thehands-oncompany.co.uk/ They also have puppet making classes and are not just for children.

The Brown Bag cafe, just off Denmark Street was our venue for the evening and they really welcomed us with open arms.  Wokingham has so many welcoming shops and businesses both chain and independent, like the Brown Bag, alike.

19th December 2013 - Austentation at Antique Rose

The weather continues to be unkind to the Living Advent Calendar this week. However the faithful audience braved the elements to watch Austentation perform at Antique Rose last night.

Austentation are a costumed Regency Musical Trio, with Frank Underwood and Angela Mayorga on romantic guitar and Gillie Tunley on vocals and percussion. They perform popular tunes and airs from the time of Jane Austen, including “The Irishman”, a witty and incisive song written by Jane Austen herself.  They have performed in the splendid domed Prince Regent’s Music Room at the Royal Pavilion, Jane Austen’s house at Chawton, the Jane Austen Centre and the Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath.

Antique Rose spoilt us with refreshments and chocolate biscuits and proved a warm refuge for some late night shopping before and after the performance.

I am expecting a video from last night but before that please enjoy this photo on the Town Team's Facebook Page.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=492831547501082&set=a.467791003338470.1073741834.337835373000701&type=1&relevant_count=1 

Small update: I hope to have the video on Monday to upload for all who've asked, but if you can't wait did you see last years Living Advent Calendar performance blog post? We very much enjoyed last year so we were thrilled when Austentation, some of whom come from Oxford for us, agreed to take part again. I was also remiss to forget to add their website http://www.austentation.org/home.shtml

Tonight’s performance is at Brown Bag Café just off Denmark Street and should be great fun for all the family especially the little ones.

On Saturday we hope you will join us and ChristChurch Wokingham on Elms Field at 4:15pm for the Live Nativity. We are sure that if we get enough people there, the rain will hold off for a glorious event.

Supporting our Charities for 2013

At this point we wanted to thank the very generous people of Wokingham for their continued support. Audiences have been on average twice what was achieved last year and while final figures are due to come in we are estimating that we will raise substantially more for the charities this year compared to last year.

We wanted to take the opportunity to write a little more about this year’s charities.

Wokingham Foodbank

Wokingham Foodbank serves the RG40, RG41 and RG2 areas and provides emergency food to people who have been identified by industry professionals (Doctors, Welfare workers, police etc) as having a need. It is run by Churches Together in Wokingham from 10 Rose Street, Wokingham, full details of opening hours and donations http://wokingham.foodbank.org.uk

Wokingham and District Cancer Care Trust

The Wokingham District Cancer Care Trust provides grants for people in the Wokingham District who are suffering from cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. The kinds of things that we can help pay for include, for example,  transport to hospital, holiday costs, equipment hire, help with utility bill payments, child nursery fees, home nursing costs and many other similar things. For further information http://wdcct.org

 JAC (Just Around the Corner)

Just Around the Corner (JAC) Ltd is a Woodley and Wokingham based charity which was set up in 1998 to give hope to young people in the community, enabling them to make positive choices, by demonstrating love and acceptance according to Christian principles.

 

We provide a first point of contact to the youth living within the Berkshire area to raise the awareness of alcohol, drug, substance misuse and general wellbeing and to challenge their social attitudes based on Christian values and ethics.

http://www.the-network.info/Groups/79204/The_Network/Young_People/Youth_Work/JAC/JAC.aspx

Wokingham Scouts and Guides

Wokingham Scouts and Wokingham Guides are the Wokingham Town Mayors Charity for 2013/14.

Both organisations cover the area of Wokingham town alongside some outlying areas such as Winnersh, Barkham and Finchampstead and both work to empower young people of around 5-25 to develop and grow by learning how to plan activities, work together, develop cultural and world awareness, help others and make a positive difference to their lives and communities.
http://wokinghamscouts.org.uk www.girlguidingwokingham.btck.co.uk

 

All of the charities work to support the Living Advent Calendar through volunteer assistance with the distribution of publicity, marshalling and technical help at the performances, as well as collecting for themselves and their partner charities. 

Please continue to give, and we look forward to see you at another Living Advent Calendar performance.  

18th December 2013 - Wargrave Theatre Workshop Juniors

It was another wild, wet and windy night, so wild it was decided to move it from Ruby Rose into the comforting warmth of the Methodist Church for a second time this week.

The evenings performance was by Wargrave Theatre Workshop Juniors who presented, 'Twas the Fright before Christmas', a tale of ungrateful children who get taught a lesson at the hands of a reformed Scrooge. As promised the performance proved to be both heartwarming and funny, with the young people really digging deep to give a fabulous 15 minutes of entertainment.

The audience of around 50 people very much enjoyed themselves and not just because they unexpectedly had seats and a warm inside space.

We hope you will enjoy the full performance in this 15 minute video.



Again thanks to the Methodist Church for being able to accommodate us at short notice and thanks to Ruby Rose for agreeing to be a venue even thought at the end they weren't used.

I hope you will join us tonight at Antique Rose for another surprise performance in the Wokingham Living Advent Calendar. There are only 5 left to go.

Plus don't forget Saturday is the Live Nativity at 4:15pm on Elms Field.

17th December 2013 - Saskia at Kaanaanmaa

We were joined on Tuesday night by local lass Saskia Lorrison.

"Saskia is a local singer songwriter who has just completed her first term at Canterbury Christchurch University.  She is always happy to perform back in her hometown."

Saskia performed a range of music including some popular Christmas songs, accompanied on guitar to an audience of around 40. Kaanaanmaa the Jewellers was our venue for this evening and although their shop cannot be seen in any image taken last night they very much made us welcome and provided the much needed power.

Please enjoy this selection of photos from the evening.



There was also a short video taken by a friend of Saskia's who has graciously allowed us to share here. It is on facebook so not everyone may be able to view it.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10153636583355301&notif_t=like

Bonus Video: Secret Chords at Dollshouse Boutique

Last Friday Secret Chords performed at Dollshouse Boutique.

It was a wonderful performance as the blog entry for that night reflected although Friday the 13 did rear it's head once as you will see.

Enjoy.

Live Nativity - Saturday 21st December

Good Morning followers of Wokingham Living Advent Calendar.

Before yesterdays performance goes live here later today I just wanted to remind you all about Saturdays performance.

For the second year The Live Nativity will be part of the Living Advent Calendar.

Join Christchurch Wokingham (Formerly Church at the White House) on Elms Field at 4:15pm for a short festive interlude that puts the focus on what Christmas is really all about…in a relaxed and family friendly environment.

So why not join the fun? 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 Saturday 21st December at Elms Field in Wokingham Town Centre, RG40 2LD. Entrance is FREE.

 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. We expect the whole event to last just under an hour.

Wokingham Town Council are supporting the event as part of the Wokingham Living Advent Calendar

Cllr Peter Lucey (Wokingham Town Council Mayor 2011-12 and 2012 -13):
“I was delighted to attend the 2012 Live Nativity: a real climax to our Christmas festivities and to the Living Advent Calendar. The Christmas message was delivered with sincerity and humour, and supported by a true menagerie of living animals: the stable came alive!

I look forward to seeing you all this year at the various Living Advent Calendar events and of course at The Live Nativity.”

Rev Mark Huddleston (Christ Church Wokingham):
"It was really encouraging to see such a large crowd at last years Live Nativity on Elms Field. This special event has grown in attendance every year and we are    hoping that this year is no exception so that we can share the Christmas message with even more people. Even if you don't attend a local church you are very welcome to come and be part of this celebration of the birth of Jesus. It's a really good way to start exploring, or re-exploring Christianity, and if you decide you would like to learn more about the life and work of Jesus then we can point you in the right direction."

Christ Church Wokingham (formerly known as The Church at the White House School) is part of the Arborfield and Barkham group of churches within the Church of England. Whilst the White House School is closed for re-development we are currently meeting every Sunday at 10.30am at St. Crispin’s School on London Road, Wokingham, RG40 1SS, for worship and to learn from 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 25^th Christmas Day 10.30 – 11.30

Christmas Day All Age Celebration – a time for everyone to come and celebrate the birth of Christ.

Dec 29^th 10.30 – 11.30

Jan 5^th 10.30 – 11.30

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.

www.christchurchwokingham.org.uk

16th December 2013 - Thames Valley Chorus at the Methodist Church

It was a cold and wet evening last night. A weather warning had been put in place about forecast heavy rain, and while the rain held off mostly until later in the evening the decision was made earlier in the day to move the performance that should have taken place outside Clifton Ingram to inside the Methodist Church.

It was a beautiful performance by Thames Valley Chorus who sung unaccompanied and without amplification in male 4-part close harmony to an audience of around 30. Songs included "White Christmas" and "I Want a Hippopotomus for Christmas" and this haunting rendition of "O Holy Night".



Many thanks to Ian Severn of the Methodist Church who was able to accomodate us including a festive backdrop of a projection of Christmas trees. Many thanks also to Clifton Ingram Solicitors on Broad Street  who I know would have hosted us just as well had the weather been a little kinder.

Tonight we will be at Kaanaanmaa Jewellers on Denmark Street for another surprise Living Advent Calendar Performance.

15th December 2013 - Paris Moon at Cafe Rouge

We were transported last night to mid 20^th Century Paris with the musical stylings of Paris Moon.

Café Rouge was the perfect venue for this evening of French chanson, including Padam Padam, Vie en Rose and Plaisir d’Amour. The venue was packed with people, both those there to enjoy a meal and those who came for the music, and many who stayed for both.

Paris Moon comprises Jackie Doe (accordion) and  Keith Allen (guitar) play their own interpretation of Musette (French Cafe Music), with Gillie Tunley on vocals.  Their repertoire of waltzes, tangos, polkas and paso-dobles along with popular songs of stars such as Edith Piaf is evocative of a by-gone era yet captures the timeless charm and romance of Paris.

Please enjoy the below video and watch out for the Café Rouge staff singing along.

Tonight there has been a venue change due to the forecast very heavy rain.

Many thanks to Clifton Ingram for agreeing to host us however tonight we will be in the Bradbury Centre. So if you were thinking twice due to the rain, don’t worry we are inside tonight.

14th December 2013 - All Saints Choir at All Saints Church

Last night saw us at All Saints Church for a magical evening listening to the Church choir perform a selection of plainsong from the 8th, 16th and 20th Centuries.

In their own words, "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." 

An audience of around 70 people enjoyed the performance. The church was bedecked with candlelight just adding to the atmospheric evening.

Tonight we hope you will join us at Cafe Rouge for another surprise performance.

13th December 2013 - Secret Chords at Dollshouse Boutique

Friday saw us at Dollshouse Boutique for another surprise Living Advent Calendar performance.

The audience really seemed to enjoy the performance by Secret Chords, and Dollshouse Boutique gave us a really warm welcome.

"Secret Chords is a vocal harmony group, comprising 6-8 singers, accompanied by ukulele, keyboard, and somethimes fiddle.  We bring harmonised carols to this year's Living Advent Calendar, plus a few of our other popular numbers."


Alas Friday the 13th also seems to have struck on the photography front. We hope to bring images to this performance soon.

Dollshouse Boutique is a unique shop in the centre of the Market Town of Wokingham. The shop is a Queen Anne five story house which looks like a giant dollshouse, hence the name. It is filled with beautiful clothes and accessories with hundreds of handbags in store. To our beautiful fashion collection we have added a bespoke hat and fascinator service so why not have one made to match your outfit. For a warm welcome and to see what the Dollshouse Boutique has to offer please visit us at Rose Street, Wokingham.
www.dollshouse-boutique.co.uk

Tonight join us at All Saints Church for another surprise performance.

12th December 2013 - Carolyn Hill at The Electric Tattoo Company

Thursday saw us at the Electric Tattoo Company for a fabulous performance by Cloudglider singer Carolyn Hill.

Carolyn treated us to a number of covers including favourite from last year “Crazy Horses”, where a pair of young breakdancers from the audience joined in to dance to the song, and the season appropriate “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”.

Take a look at the videos below, and many thanks to Carolyn for allowing us to show these videos from her YouTube Channel.

Cloudglider are a group of solo singers from 9+ who train with Elisa Ghoebriel and then take their new found skills to perform in the community to raise money for various charities.

The Electric Tattoo Company were on hand to offer us power and a very warm welcome.

Tonight we hope you will join us at Dollshouse Boutique where you will be treated to another surprise Living Advent Calendar performance.

11th December - Christopher James Estate Agents, Denmark Street performs.

It was a cold misty evening at Christopher James Estate Agents last night, a perfect setting for a retelling of the ghost filled “A Christmas Carol”.

Christopher James, a family run estate agents new to the area proved they could not only offer a service selling houses but were also dramatists, not only providing the venue but the entertainment as well. We were treated to a version of Dickens Classic “A Christmas Carol” complete with Bah Humbugs and a certain panto air.

Below there is short video of a few scenes from the event. 




Hot drinks and sweets were on hand to keep the audience warm, gratefully supplied by Christopher James and as a last performance of the evening there was also an acted version of the “Twelve Days of Christmas”.



Tonight I hope you will join us at the Electric Tattoo Company at Montague House on Broad Street. For another surprise performance and the halfway point of this seasons celebrations.