A message from Ian regarding the Society's website

I've received a message from Ian about how to access the Society's website:

'In order to make accessing the HG&S website members' area easier for members, the login requirement has been removed. You will still require a login to view the picture galleries and to download any of the documents (other than the rehearsal schedule).

Please see http://www.herefordgandssociety.org.uk/blog1.php as there are a number of announcements for members now posted there.'

'Dame' Hannah

Happy Halloween

Thank you to everyone who came along to the Halloween Quiz on Thursday night. It seemed to be a really popular event and it looked like people had a lot of fun. So many people made the effort to dress up - they looked fab and I've added some photos here for you to enjoy. I think I have some new candidates for the next photo competition.....! The rest of the photos will be up on the new website later in the week.

Enjoy....












Deanne in need of a manicure...

















Daphne and Jean compare outfits











The hardworking ladies of the Tombola stall - Margaret, Daphne and Deanne.











The Roper family looking a littler scarier than usual...

Extra special congratulations to Jean and her team for the decorating of the hall and to everyone who helped in any way from donating prizes, helping with clearing up and of course, those that turned up!

So, watch out for anything that goes bump in the night and if you spot anything tonight, remember who to call - GHOSTBUSTERS!!!

Yours 'spookily',

'Dame' Hannah

Our new website!

We have a brand, shiny and new website for you all to admire and visit and it is all thanks to the hard work of Ian! Follow the link www.herefordgandssociety.org.uk and see the beautiful transformation that has taken place. You can see photos from past shows, check out what's in the news and look at the Society calendar so you know where you need to be and when. This blog will stay here and the Facebook page will also be ongoing but make sure you book mark the website so you can visit again and again and keep up to date with the world of Hereford Gilbert and Sullivan Operatic Society.

Yours in great excitement,
'Dame' Hannah

Spooky goings on...

Hopefully, all you blog followers will already know about this but for the occasional visitor this is an announcement for you!

Thursday 28th October is the important date to remember for our Halloween Themed quiz. Taking place at the Hereford Welsh Social Club in Hinton Road, Hereford, this is an evening to test your brain cells, have a drink and have some fun! It's £1.00 per person to enter with quiz teams being a maximum of 6 people. There is also optional fancy dress! So, come along, have a drink and a giggle and maybe even win a cash prize!

Drop me an email at herefordgands@gmail.com for any further information.

See you on the 28th!

Yours spookily,

'Dame' Hannah

And the winner is....

Many apologies for the late announcement of the winner of our second Caption Competition - sadly work has got in my way recently!

So, without further ado; the winner of September's competition is Dr Ian Roper with "Gordon - I know carrots help you see in the dark but there's no way this parsnip will improve your hearing!"

Second place goes to Mrs Alison Auty with "Sex bomb, sex bomb, you're my sex bomb!" and Mr John Hyde comes in third with "You'll have to speak much louder, this thing is full of ice-cream!"

Chocolatey prizes will be available at Tuesday's rehearsal.

So, the next picture to test your thinking skills is this one: (I'm running out of comedy pics - I might have to bring my camera to rehearsals... :-)

Any ideas for a witty caption, either add them as a comment or email herefordgands@gmail.com and I'll upload them.

You have until the end of October, so good luck,

'Dame' Hannah

A New Chairperson

Last Tuesday night, the first rehearsal for Ruddygore and Trial by Jury, saw the hand-over of power from Peter Dooley, the outgoing Chairman, to Mary Benson, our incoming Chairwoman.

I think I speak for all of us when I wish Mary all the best for the coming year!

Sky Arts and Gilbert and Sullivan

For all you G & S fans with Sky TV, next week sees the start of a new series called Gilbert and Sullivan: A Motley Pair. This series explores the success behind the operas and is presented by Simon Butteriss, a singer and actor who has performed many of the comic roles written by G & S.



The link below will take you to the official Sky TV page with further information.



http://www.skyarts.co.uk/opera/article/gilbert-and-sullivan-a-motley-pair/?DCMP=EMC-Sky-ArtsEmail_BI



Tune in on Wednesday 8th September at 8pm on Sky Arts 2.



TTFN

'Dame' Hannah

We have a winner!

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the first ever Caption Competition is none other than our very own Musical Director, Mr Alan Durman with a winning entry of 'Three Little MADS from school.' He wins a chocolatey prize which he will receive next week at the FIRST REHEARSAL (Tuesday 7th September, 7.30 - bring a friend!!), well done! Mr Cliff Spooner receives a 'Highly Commended' for "...with cat-like tread...grrr...". He wins a slightly smaller chocolatey prize! Mr Graham Jones was runner-up with "give us back our cauldron, or else..." (Sorry, Graham, I only saw your email after I published this post - oops!)

There were, sadly, no other entries so August's competition can be counted as a warm up.

Take a look at September's Caption Competition and add your caption as a comment below the post (or email it to me if the comment box is playing up!!).

Best of luck (and apologies to Wendy and Gordon this time...)

'Dame Hannah

A lovely review from the Hereford Times

I wasn't aware of this review of our last production, The Sorcerer, until Alan emailed me the link to the website. Follow the link below to see what lovely things the Hereford Times had to say about us - http://www.herefordtimes.com/leisure/reviews/8101695.The_Sorcerer_at_The_Courtyard/

More soon,

'Dame' Hannah

Competition time!

Inspired by the old show photos that Laura has put on the group Facebook page and a chance comment by Cliff, I would like to introduce you to the first ever Society Caption Competition!

There will be an exciting prize for the best entry (can't tell you what it is yet as I haven't bought it!) and you have until the end of the month to come up with something fabulous. Add your entry to the comment space or email it to herefordgands@gmail.com

So, without further ado, thinking caps on and off you go! (Apologies to Chloe and Debs, for the choice of photo!!!)

'Dame' Hannah

More exciting cyber news

While the revamp of the new website is still a work in progress, I'm pleased to announce we now have a Facebook group dedicated to raising our Society's profile online. If you have a Facebook account search for Hereford Gilbert and Sullivan Operatic Society, or follow the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=136408563059027&v=app_2344061033&ref=ts#!/group.php?gid=136408563059027&v=wall

Sign up as a member (there are 8 members already - good work, guys!!) and keep your eyes peeled for news and events.

As always, please tell your friends about the page as the more people that know about us, the higher our profile will be.

Yours in CyberSpace,
'Dame' Hannah

60 Year Award

Roy Pearce was at the AGM to collect his Long Service Medal, for a massive 60 years. In this photo he's seen receiving his medal and certificate to commemorate his achievement.

25 years with the Society

Janet Mitchum receiving her 25 year medal from President Geoff Rawcliffe.












Margaret Meiklejohn receiving her medal for 25 years from President Geoff Rawcliffe.

President Geoff Rawcliffe awarding a 25 year award to Jean Stiff.









Jonathan Sayce was also awarded his medal for 35 years but wasn't there to collect it. His daughter Chloe collected the medal on his behalf but was so shy she couldn't stand still long enough for a photo!!!

Congratulations are in order!

At our recent AGM at Breinton Village Hall, we had the chance to congratulate some members who've been with the Society for a few years. In fact, add the years together and you get a whopping 170 years of musical service - how impressive is that?

I apologise in advance for the quality of the photos. This has nothing at all to do with John Hyde who kindly took the photos, and everything to do with my scanner having a tantrum! Hitting it with a shoe has not remedied the problem, surprisingly...

Anyway, without further ado, here are the pictures.

TTFN
'Dame' Hannah

Fabulous publicity from some super people!

In this week's edition of the Hereford Times the Society received not one, but TWO fabulous letters complimenting the small concert group who performed a Friday Night is Music Night show at the Town Hall on Friday 18th June. In case you don't get your own copy of the Times (or like me you hadn't noticed...!), I've copied both letters here.

Gilbert and Sullivan Society's top show

Through friends, my wife and I purchased tickets from the local Gilbert & Sullivan Society for its Friday Night is Music Night show held in Hereford Town Hall.

We had little idea in advance what we were in for, but having attended some of their performances of the annual shows over the years we looked forward to it with much anticipation.

We were treated to an exceptional show consisting of songs from some of the West End shows of past years, some G & S favourites, etc, all performed by a group of members with such high quality, very tuneful, and with such verve. All provided for a modest fee, which included light refreshments and a glass of wine as well.

It certainly made for a lively and rewarding evening, better than suffering TV watching England's drab draw in the World Cup.

All credit goes to the society for providing such excellent entertainment and giving the audience so much pleasure. Thank you.

Mr and Mrs A Rowe
Quarry Road, Hereford.

More entertaining than the World Cup

Most people know of the disappointment of those who watched England's poor game in the World Cup on June 18.

Not so those lucky people who attended Friday Night is Music Night by Hereford Gilbert and Sullivan Society. I feel that we are very lucky to have such gifted people in Hereford who are willing to share their time and talents with others.

The society is to be congratulated on a widely varied programme of music and song, a warm and friendly atmosphere between the entertainers and their audience, plus a tasty supper!

All of this for only £10. Well done, G and S - more please.

Mr and Mrs LJ Probert
Aylestone Hill, Hereford

Well done to everyone who performed and helped to make this show such a success, particularly bearing in mind what short notice there was to get everything together.

Many thanks also go to Mr and Mrs Rowe and Mr and Mrs Probert who not only provided part of our valuable audience, but enjoyed it enough to put pen to paper and get us some publicity
- we salute you!!!!

Here's to more positive publicity in future times!
'Dame' Hannah

The Society

The whole gang (well, those present for the photo shoot anyway!) We don't scrub up too badly ;-)

Welcome to the first ever Hereford G and S Blog!

Well, the Hereford Gilbert and Sullivan Operatic Society has entered the 21st Century, courtesy of a shiny new blog page! This is the Society's first attempt at a blog (and my own!) so all help gratefully received...!

A little bit about our Society: once a year we perform a Gilbert and Sullivan show at our local theatre, The Courtyard in Hereford. We also perform in concerts around the county, singing a variety of songs from the traditional G and S tunes to the more modern melodies from shows that are currently at the West End, including favourites such as Wicked and Les Miserables.

We are always looking for new members to join us to take part in singing and performing, and we try to be a bit sociable too! If anyone is interested in coming along, drop us a line at herefordgands@gmail.com We'd love to meet you!

This blog will publish the news, events, musings and witterings of the Hereford Gilbert and Sullivan Operatic Society, hopefully keeping our members, friends and followers up to date with all the exciting goings on that take place, so follow us to make sure you don't miss out. It would also be nice to know I'm not talking to myself :-)

Now, as soon as I work out how to put photos on here, look out!!!

TTFN,
'Dame' Hannah