Victorian Christmas Songs – General Meeting

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5 responses to “Victorian Christmas Songs – General Meeting”

1. Mandy

   19/12/2016

   Unfortunately I was not present at the December meeting, but having read the comments above I would like to put in a plea!
   Good speakers / entertainers are hard to find, so if you can recommend someone that you have enjoyed elsewhere PLEASE let your committee know.
   I also feel sure that there are members of our own association who could speak to us with knowledge and enthusiasm. Don’t hide your light, step forward and share your interest / passion. If a whole hour is daunting, I am confident that arrangements could be made for two or three members to share a ‘meeting’.
   A final thought.. why not have a meeting when three or four interest groups talk about their activities and share their photos? Comments welcomed.

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   1. westwolds

      19/12/2016

      What a terrific idea! We ought to dedicate one general meeting every year to the groups so more have time to tell us about what they get up to. At the general meeting we had more groups want to “perform” than time to accommodate them all. I’ll mention it at the General Meeting in January. Steve

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2. Shelley

   10/12/2016

   The Victorian Christmas did provide a great opportunity for our U3A singers to showcase their talents – and their costumes! As a lifelong learning organisation, I always hope to come away from any U3A meeting with some new nugget of knowledge, skill or understanding. So I would have liked to hear a little about the origins of some of the songs, or a general history of carol singing, to enhance the music itself.

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   1. Brian Ward

      13/12/2016

      I agree with Shelley, our singers looked and sounded great. I for one would never criticise the efforts of others, especially if they are part of the minute percentage of our membership which is prepared to appear before the others and give of their talents.

      I also felt the overall performance i.e. of the ‘paid help’ left me feeling I was sat in an old folks home, waiting for my bread and gruel at the end. Hopefully we have not yet reached that stage, which is why we offer our skills for the benefit of our fellow members. With regard to the singing of carols, it is Christmas and I am happy to sit alongside anyone and do my best to render the words and music justice.

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3. dawsonu3a

   08/12/2016

   I have to say I was somewhat disappointed with the presentation of a Victorian Christmas by Marlaina Rube. Frankly, I cannot understand why we needed to pay a professional entertainer to perform for us when we already have so many talented musicians and singers in our midst. We have been privy to their expertise in the past so, what better occasion for them to present a united performance at the final meeting of the year? I also empathise with those who quoted the secularity of U3A and likened it to ‘karaoke in an old people’s home’ so, on that basis, perhaps it is not something which should be repeated if community singing is so unpopular regardless of its heritage?
   I feel Marlaina’s performance lacked lustre because there was no atmosphere. As someone who usually performs at 1940s events, she will be appearing at an authentic if not original venue, and be surrounded by those who have a genuine interest in the era and are more than willing to enter into the spirit of the occasion. Unfortunately, a group of U3A members in Victorian costume singing carols on a drab stage is unlikely to inspire an audience to engage with them and, Marlaina did little to arouse our enthusiasm or encourage us; there were even occasions when she either forgot the words or misread them so no surprise that audience participation was apathetic.
   Despite my derision, I would like to praise the West Wolds U3A singers for their professionalism in following Marlaina’s not very good lead, covering up her mistakes and, putting so much effort into their costumes. It is a shame their talents were somewhat overshadowed and not appreciated by everyone, and Marlaina should stick to impersonating her namesake rather than trying to emulate a Victorian burlesque vocalist.

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