Earlier this year, 19 members of the Middle Wallop Military Wives Choir boarded a plane to Toronto to take part in the 24th annual Canadian International Military Tattoo. Choir member Sophie Huthwaite told Army&You all about it…
TO help us finance our flights to Canada, we undertook fundraisers including a friends’ and families’ event, a 10km run and a Virgin Justgiving page which received an extremely generous donation from the parents of one of our ladies.
International singing
We came together with a sister group, The Canadian Military Wives Choir, and for four days we were hosted by a wonderful team of volunteers, who ensured we made the most of our time in Canada.
We also had the added bonus of seeing a dear friend, who had been part of the Middle Wallop MWC from its conception, but who had emigrated two years previously.
Rehearsals gave us all the opportunity to watch the Tattoo’s other performers, which included a collection of bands, dancers, military re-enactments and singers.
Among the artists was Gary Chilton from the band The Soldiers and we supported him in two of his pieces.
We gave two performances – an evening and a matinee. The atmosphere and the audience appreciation was wonderful.
On a high, we were transported to the after party and there were many weary faces the next morning when we took a yellow school bus to Niagara Falls.
Building friendships
For those of us lucky enough to be able to organise childcare and time away from work, it was a truly memorable experience that saw us make many new friends among the group of fabulous Canadian ladies.
We shared laughter, stories and songs and both choirs went away full of ideas for our future performances.
Choir cohesion
The trip was a wonderful opportunity for us to really get to know each other.
So often with our busy lives, we rush into choir, sing together and then dash home to sort out family life.
It gave us the time to chat and laugh and brought a feeling of togetherness and real cohesion to the choir.
We are also very fortunate that the ladies who were unable to come to Canada were incredibly supportive of our preparations and fundraising.
To join your local choir, visit www.militarywiveschoirs.org