Moor Harmony and a Vocal Sex Change!

After a long spell of ennuii I really had to get off my bottom and do something. Some new pills have made me feel a bit better of late so I spent a few weeks thinking about what I wanted to do. The answer came to me in the form of a programme called The Choir. Gareth Malone, he of the serious glasses, terrific musical talent and the looks of a 12 year old got me all fired up when he formed a Choir at RMB Chivenor in Devon. The Choir was the story of a group of military wives who find solace and cheer in music whilst their husbands are away on a tour of Afghanistan. The programme held me rapt. I cried, laughed and cheered along with them. Our Gareth triumphed and all was well in Forces Land. The men came home safe and as I write this The Military Wives Choir are are tipped for a Christmas number one slot with their single 'Wherever You Are'.

In my experience, almost all of us can sing in one form or another but most of us left singing behind along with our O levels. I certainly did. Apart from the odd wedding/funeral it has been 30 years since I sang a song. I have tried in the car but The Git (who has of course been blessed with perfect pitch) shouts at me to shut up so I honestly thought I was a bit crap!

I rang a choir called Moor Harmony, at least I thought they were a choir but I was quickly corrected. They are a Ladies Barbershop Chorus. 'Really' said I 'Blimey, I thought that stuff was for blokes and extremely hard to sing'. I was encouraged by Mel to come and have a go so it was with trepidation that I arrived in Wadebridge to do just that. I was shaking like a leaf and after saying a quick hello I spent the next 15 mins on the loo!

Sian, the Musical Director took me into another room to see what my range was. I always sang Soprano back in the 'olden days' but as I opened my mouth to follow her notes a deep rumbling Bass wandered out. I clapped my hand over my mouth in complete shock. Bugger, was that actually me? Sian laughed at my confusion and placed me firmly in the Bass section. Oh the shame....I was going to sound like a Bloke, or so I thought...

Okay, so just consider this, I haven't sung for 30 years, I have just been told I have had a vocal sex change and now they are asking me to do warm up exercises. This involved jigging about the hall like a disjointed giraffe. I was the giraffe the others were all swans to my stumbles. Actually I had to sit some of that out after nearly falling over a few times. I thought it might be best to try and get to the singing part in one piece.

Now came the hard bit. After warming up our vocal chords with me rumbling along in entirely the wrong places, I was given a piece of sheet music and asked to join in. Now I may not be a soloist but I have a good ear and am a natural mimic. These dubious talents ensured that I could Blag it for the first half of proceedings. This involved identifying the clearest singer among the Basses and attatching myself firmly to her side.

All I can say is what a blast this evening has been. Once I had found a smidgen of confidence, I lost myself in the music and started to learn how to sing in parts. At one point I carried on singing when all had stopped, swiftly clapped my hand over my mouth and blushed a deep shade of crimson which was tempered with a slight amazement at the sound coming out of my mouth. So I am renewed and feeling happy and exhausted. It's not easy, it's hard work. You constantly have to rehydrate and I have to admit I got extremely tired. A lot of laughter was shared among us and I can't wait for next week. Thanks to all the girls in Moor Harmony for making me feel so welcome.

I just want to end this Blog by saying that most of us left singing behind with religion as the 'Great God Supermarket' seems to be our only form of religion today. Some of us will sing at the Carol Service in the next couple of weeks or hum along at the Nativity Play but that will be it for another year. I would encourage anyone to join a Choir/Barbershop Group because the rush you experience whilst revisiting your vocal chords is better than any Dirty Martini you could ever mix!

The Ladies of 'Moor Harmony' are performing live at The Callywith Pub tonight. So if you live in Bodmin then go along and support them. I shall be there to provide a bit of moral support but I have a long way to go before I get up there with them.

In The Shadow of Donut Child.

Here I am again. I have to admit that I have failed miserably to create a new Blog. I cannot shake Donut Child off however hard I try. I wanted to create something that was a bit less personal. I yearned to be more professional, casting a cool arched eyebrow over the various news stories of the day. I aspired to the likes of Suzanne Moore, Caitlin Moran and Deborah Orr. All of whom I follow avidly on Twitter.

I also had a number of emails asking me why I had tried to kill off Donut Child and a lot friends told me they missed it, particularly the very busy side bar. Thanks to all of you for your generous comments. Then a famous publisher sent me a book to review and the writer of this book also encouraged me (review coming soon!) I had to admit deafeat. I just needed to realise that I wasn't Caitlin Moran, I was Donut Child with my own style of writing and should stick with that because despite not writing for three months 400 people read this Blog last month. Well I say 'read' they probably had a cursory glance and thought where the heck is she?

So to cut a long story short, I have had a 3 month break and am raring to go again. So be gentle with me won't you!