End of Term

I don't want to wish the term away but, following the mood, we're going to spend the final two weeks recapping some bits and bobs, rather than learning a new song.

As I type this, I'm enjoying a trip down memory lane with some Beach Boys and it occurs to me that it might be nice to reintroduce our Hot Hopefuls. I'll publish a list of a couple of things we can have a sing through for fun in the Calendar. And of course, if you end up loving them, I can always flesh out a full arrangment for the future. I'll also let you know what I'm planning on recapping. It won't necessarily be the same for all four locations so, as always, do come along to any session you like, whether it's your regular choir or not.

Lots of you Bury St Edmunds folks come to Thetford and vice versa and we've enjoyed some visits from the Ipswich contingent on a Monday evening in Bury. No need to let me know you're coming – you're free to bowl up to any location any time.

Giant

I've absolutely loved teaching Giant to you all these past few weeks. I think it's also true to say that one or two of you who weren't fans at the beginning are now starting to enjoy it. Above all, it's been really nice that, those of you who perhaps don't love it, have very much taken the attitude, "I'm not going to love them all," and have just cracked on with it. Thank you.

We will of course be running through Giant a few times in the remaining rehearsals and, if necessary tidying up any bits you're not sure of.

However, the video recap lesson is up (see below in the Videos section) so if you get ten minutes or so, please do give it a watch, particularly if you've missed any of the teaching. I'd love to sing this at a gig this summer so you may well find it sneaking in to the set list for one of the gigs coming up.

Don't forget, if you printed the score or lyrics out when I first published it, you'll find the line numbers don't quite match up. Tthe font size was a wee bit small on Version 1 so I re-did it. So either download the version on the website or adjust the line numbers on your copy by hand.

Summer

I hope to see plenty of you across our summer break. I'll be organising a workshop (or maybe two) in August where I'll be teaching you a brand new arrangement. The plan at the moment is perhaps to aim for a Saturday morning somewhere midway between all locations (if such a thing is possible) such as Stowmarket.

We also have plenty of gigs going on so, if your holiday plans permit, do sign up for those! There's a flurry of stuff for the rest of June and the beginning of July. I'm then away for a few weeks in July.

Website

While the website is under-development, you may find you need to empty your cache. You can find out how to do this for your device by googling, "How do I delete the cache for [insert name of your device here]?"

I expect there will come a time when the website is finished but to paraphrase Peter Gabriel, you never really know when a website is finish, just when to abandon it!

Lots of behind the scenes work is going on, to bring new feature and mend some bugs. At present I'm working on the "Keep Me Logged In" functionality which some of you have reported is not working as expected, and one or two other bugs that you've let me know about.

As always, if you have any suggestions or problems with the website, particularly while I'm making a lot changes, just let me know.

Photos and New Members

It's been great to welcome lots of new members this term. As I've said many times, I've absolutely no intention of Pop Club Choir growing much bigger. I certainly won't be taking on any other Choir Directors. So, if you're just hanging on until I find someone who can actually sing all the soprano parts at pitch, I'm afraid you'll have a long wait. If however you enjoy my strangled squark, then this could be good news for you.

We've certainly got capacity to grown a little, within the current choirs and I'm really grateful to those of you who have brought along your friends, families and random strangers you've met, and those who share my social media posts. However, aside from a possible day-time choir, this will be it in terms of locations. I certainly never want to grow so much that I can't get to know you all.

On that note, a little reminder to either upload a photo (below) or just email me a picture and I'll upload it for you. No one sees it but me so don't worry about making it a masterpiece. It is however really, really useful to have a picture, even if I know you quite well.

And if you don't have one, do order a badge in the popclubchoir.uk/shop. Nothing to pay at the time of ordering, but if you don't mind paying paying 50p in cash when you collect your badge, I'll pass that straight over to Sandra, who kindly sorts the badges out for us all.

Summer Social

Don't forget to get your tickets for the summer picnic on Sunday 29th June – the Sunday after the end of term – from 2pm to 5pm.

We'll be guests of our Thetford Choir at Croxton Village Hall IP24 1LN and tickets are available now at popclubchoir.uk/shop, priced at £5 each.

There'll be games, karaoke, singing (of course) and above all, an opportunity to mingle with members of choirs other than your own.

Bring your picnic and your picnic chairs, or get there early and bag a picnic table!

If you have any questions then do get in touch. You can email me at ed@popclubchoir.uk, or WhatsApp, call or text on 07973 110075.

Ed X