Singing for the Friends of Buile Hill Park 17 December 2023

 

 

There’s something rather special about this park, particularly on a December afternoon when the sun is already quite low and the sky is mottled grey, white and pink with the hint that the sun is shining somewhere.

It’s not particularly cold but it’s not that warm either: cosy hats, Christmas jumpers, and knitted scarves are all justified. The hot tea and mince pies are very welcome.     

We have a good audience: the Friends and their friends, some of our friends, and passers-by in the park.      

“It wouldn’t be Christmas if we didn’t sing a few carols for you,” I say to one of the organisers. “We love coming here.”  We do.  Well, we have had this event on our books for most of the year but as soon as it was announced a good portion of the choir signed up for it, even though this can be a busy weekend for everyone, the one just before Christmas.

We sing some of our favourites: Coventry Carol, Carol of the Bells, Going to Bethlehem, White Christmas, Hail Smiling Morn alongside such traditional carols as Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Away in a Manger  Silent Night and .Oh Little Town of Bethlehem  It is good to see people joining in the those carols and another of our favourites A Holly Jolly Christmas.

Now then, if you’re one of those people who joined in …. Are you busy on Tuesday evenings? If not, why not come and join us. See details here.

We’re persuaded to do an encore and we’re surprised to present another old favourite but this time not a Christmas one…. .   Everything I do ….     

Just a note, though, here and excuse the pun. I’m talking about favourites but if I’m truthful I don’t really have them; once I know a song and feel comfortable with it, I love it. I suspect it’s true for most of us.  

From where we stand to sing we can see the contours of the park. After all, it is Buile Hill Park. That and

some well-established trees and shrubs make it very picturesque indeed. Just behind us are some pretty terraced houses. It is getting darker but isn’t quite time to draw the curtains yet. Lights shine on to the street.

 

We’ve had a lovely time. Thank you for having us again.

Carols at Buile Hill Park, Sunday 16 December 2018

Yes, that’s us! 

Greater Manchester has a lot of green spaces and Salford has its fair share. Many are in need of a little TLC and it has largely fallen to local residents to take on this task. The Friends of Buile Hill Park are certainly very active. Just look at their latest news. 

And what a cheery place the croquet pavilion was on a cold dark day before Christmas. Prettily decorated tables, warm drinks, mince pies, Christmas biscuits and Stollen.

Should we sing inside or out? 

“We thought we’d leave that open. It depends on the weather.”

“The rain’s not due until three.”

So, outside it was. 

We attracted a small but lovely audience. It was mixture of those folk had already been getting everything ready in the pavilion and footfall of dog-walkers, pram-pushers and families out for a Sunday afternoon stroll.    

We sang for half an hour, a mixture of well-known carols that everyone could join in with, some other Christmas songs and one or two items from our normal repertoire. 

Then we all went indoors for more tea and treats. We gave out song sheets so that everyone could join in with some old favourites like Frosty the Snow Man and Jingle Bell Rock. We were about to finish but weren’t quite allowed to.  

“We’ve had a request,” said Jeff. Of course. We just had to do it. The Twelve Days of Christmas. Actions and all. 

I noticed one young mum singing with gusto.  We chatted afterwards about the joy of singing. It’s a great pity she’s occupied with a cub pack on a Tuesday. 

“That was a lovely cup of tea,” I said to one of the Friends.  

“Would you like another?”

I declined but was persuaded to take another slice of the delicious Stollen.  

There was talk as we left of doing it again next year or maybe even having a picnic in the summer. Why wouldn’t we?  We love to sing and we love to support other local groups.