We are absolutely thrilled, delighted and very proud to have achieved our

13th national championship in Harrogate

this year. What a fantastic convention: a great competition, fabulous shows, super singing in the afterglow and so much enjoyment had by all. Thank you to LABBS for a superb event, and to everyone in LABBS for your overwhelming support and such a warm reception. We’d like to give a massive round of applause to every quartet and chorus competing and performing this year, and, of course, huge congratulations to Cheshire Chord Company and to Crystal Chords.

We love competing in Harrogate, our “home ground” and this is the fourth time we have won the title here. As our MD Sally McLean says: “Harrogate is the best place for us to compete - it feels like the audience have come to my house! Not only that, the stage and the auditorium are well-designed and comfortable, and the venue encourages social networking. At Harrogate, it’s easy to see and talk to all of the friends we have from other choruses and from the Association itself, which makes the experience even better.”

We really hope you enjoyed our com-petition package as much as we enjoyed

performing it. Our competition songs were Once Upon a Time, from the musical ‘All American’ and recorded by, amongst others,

Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, and The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, a 1963 hit made famous by Bobby Vee. They are both incred-ibly challenging songs, specifically picked by our Music Team to ensure that we con-tinue to up our game from both a technical and presentational perspective. We were, as always, keen to thrill and engage the

audience from start to finish. It’s been great to get feedback from

LABBS members and we are particularly proud when we hear that members of the audience felt moved and emotionally en-gaged in our delivery. The ballad Once Upon a Time is very powerful and we tried hard to do musical justice to the beauti-ful lyrics and poignant message. Many a time in rehearsals our members have been moved to tears, but it’s not good to be sobbing when you are meant to be ringing a chord! So we have worked hard at harnessing that emotion for the stage. The up tempo The Night Has A Thousand Eyes is a phenomenal arrangement requir-ing lots of stamina and with countless opportunities to deliver some of the best features that barbershop has to offer. We hope you enjoyed our fun choreo courtesy of our fabulous Choreographer Jane Ford.

So with our 2011 gold medals proudly pinned to our lapels, we have a very busy time ahead. Our key aim is to excel at be-ing ambassadors for LABBS. By the time Voice Box goes to press we will have held our second Masterclass and will also have sung on a Christmas concert with Spirit of Harmony and the Great British Barbershop Boys.

We would like to make a special men-tion of our longest-serving member Janet Tordoff, who has won all 13 of the cho-rus’ gold medals, and during Convention weekend Janet also received recognition of 30 years’ membership of LABBS. Janet is always quick to say that whilst she loves singing barbershop, it’s also about the friendship and says it’s like being part of a giant extended family. We’re very happy to be part of your family, Janet, and very proud of your 30-year award!

At the other end of the spectrum of Convention experiences, we had seven White Rosettes competing with us for the first time. They were the ones with wibbly

wobbly knees cunningly hidden under the swishy dresses! Well done, newbies, and welcome to the wonderful world of barber-shop competition! Alys GallowayWhite Rosettes

13 – Lucky for Some!Winter 2011

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The Magazine of the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singerswww.labbs.org.uk

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What a wonderful weekend of Barber-shop singing we have just had in

Harrogate.Thank you to all the teams who worked

hard to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible. Well done to all the competitors who took part. Congratulations to The White Rosettes and Fortuity and to all who won awards. Thank you to all the guests from home and abroad who enter-tained us in the shows and afterglows to an extremely high standard.

The generosity of our members was evident throughout the weekend. The presents under the tree grew daily and the Mayor of the Borough of Harrogate arranged to store them until they could

be distributed to the women’s refuges. Collections for Cancer Care and Yorkshire Air Ambulance were also very much appreci-ated. It is a great thing to spread Harmony to others by doing something that we love. It is now time to get back to our choruses to prepare for Christmas and other planned

events. But for a short time I felt the true meaning of Christmas, without the hassle of shopping, preparation and hectic days, touched us all. It was particularly uplift-ing to see Santa, the angels, the trees and elves around Harrogate on Saturday evening.

I was very proud to represent LABBS at our convention. Our guests from BABS, SABS, Sweet Adeline’s Region 31, Holland Harmony BIH and Making Music all said they enjoyed their experience.

I hope that you all had a good time and I look forward to convention 2012 in Telford.Yours in harmony Teresa Phillips, LABBS Chairman.

Notes from the Chairman

Here in Exeter we have had this year out of competition to concentrate on

having fun, building up our repertoire and doing lots of sing-outs. This has been an enjoyable time for us, gaining us lots of local attention, singing at the Sidmouth Folk Festival and culminating in our singing

workshop on 24th September. Our ladies had all run out of friends

to bring, but with local advertising and a bit of arm twisting a group of new ladies (and daughters of chorus members) arrived for an afternoon of singing, tea and cake. Our inspiring musical director, Valerie Harvey, organised a wonderful programme of fun warm-ups, and introduced our new ladies to 4-part singing. The afternoon ended with our guests and the chorus performing ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ which was a great achievement after only 3 hours. Before leaving a number of ladies said that they would be coming to our next practice as they had enjoyed it so much. A great success and fun for us all.

We will now be working towards a per-formance at Exeter Cathedral in December and we are waiting to hear if we have been picked to perform on the stage as the Ol-ympic Torch arrives in Exeter in May 2012.Jenny Reeves, River City Chorus

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

We went to Amsterdam in September as part of a tour. There was plenty

of opportunity to sing. The organis-ers had arranged for us to sing in two churches on the Friday afternoon and this meant we had a tour of Amsterdam in

between performances as the streets were so narrow they couldn’t get the coach down them. We felt like a school party as we walked in a crocodile behind our MD, Dyrck Lamble. We were well received in both venues and the acoustics in the churches were amazing!

We were very privileged to be asked to appear as special guests at the Zandvoort Choir Festival in Holland on the Saturday and to our surprise we were given a stand-ing ovation, which several of us found very emotional. It was the Festival’s fifth year and the first time a choir from England had

taken part. The Festival ran from 10.00 in the morning until 10.00 at night and we were on the lunch-time spot. The audience were very enthusiastic and supportive and it was pleasure to sing for them.

During the day we heard choirs from the region with a variety of styles of singing, wall in all a most enjoyable event. The day was rounded off with a meal with De Ladies Choir, plenty of chat and new friends were made as well as, of course, some singing in the restaurant. We even sang in the airport as we waited for the check-in to open.

It was truly a fantastic and memorable weekend and one I am sure we will talk about for years to come. Carol Head, PRO, Wessex Harmony

Avon Harmony was delighted to be able to give one of our newest members

a rather special wedding gift, by singing at her wedding, both in the church and at the reception. Ruth sings in our bass sec-

tion, and joined the chorus last year.When Ruth married Ed on the 10th of

September, at Holy Cross Church in Bristol, we sang a version of The Lord’s Prayer, spe-cially arranged for us by our Musical Direc-tor, David Proud, during the signing of the register, followed by Irish Blessing and Let the River Run. We then entertained guests as they arrived at the reception with some of our more usual repertoire, and Ruth was able to sing two of her new husband’s favourites with us, before the speeches and toasts. It was lovely for the chorus to be able to take part in such a special celebra-tion with one of our members.

We have recently moved our rehearsal venue to the Bristol Centre for Arts and

Music, in Southmead, Bristol, and are looking forward to working hard to make

the best use of the space and different acoustics we now have to work with, as well as hoping to welcome new members from the area. Jackie Boffin, Avon Harmony

Wessex Harmony Wow the Dutch

The Wedding Singers

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Our six-week Harmony Singing Course got off to a good start in September

and all of our newbie’s sing really well and many of them have a good musical background.

After some very interesting warm-ups with Rosamunde, Marilyn, our MD opened

week 1 with the start of Consider Yourself. This arrangement was originally introduced

after Jean Sutton and Marilyn Penketh received a request from the then Chairman of LABBS, Jean Olman, for a new “welcome to new clubs” song.

By week 2, the majority of the chorus was already confident enough to sing without music and so we started on song

2, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun that Pitch-pipers had learned at a previous Education

Day. Panic by week 3, as everyone had progressed phenomenally and it was obvi-ous that 2 songs wouldn’t be enough. So, our gallant MD introduced a third song and taught the first page by rote.

Week 4 and the promised choreogra-phy! Actually it was surprising to see how well everyone coped with it. It certainly helped to remember where we were in the song if you follow my meaning.

Week 5 and the first half of week 6 were spent polishing our 3 songs before opening the doors to our invited Friends & Family Graduation Show, where each new-bie was presented with their certificate.

The Christmas season started the following week and we are thrilled to say that the majority of the girls on the course have signed up for this as well. Fifteen carols to learn in 6 weeks now, in preparation for our usual Christmas Charity performances. There’s no time for it to be anything but FUN!Marilyn Penketh, The Pitchpipers, Havant LBHC

Evesham’s award winning Vale Connection Ladies Chorus is thriving under the lead-

ership of its musical director, Eddie Howell. Their enthusiasm for singing was amply dem-onstrated in their recent charity perform-ances over two nights at No. 8 Arts Centre in Pershore, Worcestershire. Vale Connec-tion managed to raise over £5018.87 for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital ‘Heart Appeal’. Their varied repertoire ranged from the rousing ’Girls want to have fun’ to the more serene ‘I only want to be with you’. The enthusiasm of the chorus was only matched

by that of the comments from the audience which were overwhelming, from ‘your best yet’ to ‘extremely professional’ leaving us all on a high and wanting for more.Annie Poyner, Vale Connection Ladies Chorus

An email was sent to the LABBS Chair-man, Teresa Phillips, in August from

Chris McMahon, Directorate Information Analyst, Imperial College NHS Trust, who works at St Mary’s Hospital in Padding-ton, London. Chris was asked to take on a project to bring in individuals or groups of people to entertain elderly patients. Some of the patients do not have visitors throughout their stay, so entertainment is their only escape from the day-to-day routine of looking at the same surround-ings, hoping that a nurse might have a few spare minutes to have a quick chat. Chris asked if any members of LABBS could spare 1 hour between 3-4 pm on a Tuesday or Thursday afternoon to entertain on a voluntary basis.

The email from Chris was circulated to LABBS Clubs in the hope that some might be able to help. Although it was not pos-sible to send anyone to St Mary’s Hospital, I did receive emails from Clubs confirming that they sing in their local Hospitals, as well as in Residential and Nursing Homes. Elaine Mobsby from Second City Sound, Birmingham, confirmed that two of their quartets ‘Sugarbeat’ and ‘Jiggle’ went to Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham to entertain the stroke and heart patients to

help stimulate them to recovery through music, and they have been asked to return again soon. Also, Anne Storey from Humber

Belles, Great Grimsby, informed me that they sing at Residential and Nursing Homes on a regular basis, and have done so for many years. Their Singout Co-ordinator has contacted the local Homes again to remind them of their availability for Christmas entertainment.

I know other Choruses sing in their lo-cal Hospitals and Homes, and I just want to say a big thank you! June Wright, LABBS Secretary

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Pitchpipers singing Course

Charity Fundraisers Extraordinaire

Hospital, Residential and Nursing Home Entertainment

As we all prepare for sing outs and com-petitions we know how important it is

to look our best. Costumes, make-up and hair need to be just right, including those all important final preparations. When we’re all gathered together, Cheshire Chord has a way of protecting chorus members’ throats and singing voices by saying “do not use hairspray in the changing rooms”. Our resident cartoon artist Pippa Farina has once again let her imagination flow as she’s interpreted this “rule from the risers” in her own imaginative way.

Pippa’s cartoons have become so popular that she has taken the 25 most popular sketches and produced a series of postcards. A complete set can be bought for £10 or individually at 50 pence; Pippa is hoping to raise funds for the chorus through the postcards. She’s also in the process of producing a calendar for 2012, which will be available very soon. If you’d like to know more then please take a look at our website www.cheshirechord.co.ukAlison Linfield & Pippa Farina Cheshire Chord Company

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Cheshire Chord Company is thrilled to be your LABBS Silver Medallist Chorus

for 2011. Since January, our Music Team & Committee has worked hard to bring every-thing in to place, which culminated in our success in Harrogate.

When we arrived on Friday evening we were so excited about once again being in Harrogate and having the opportunity to share our performance and the weekend with friends, family and association mem-bers. We gathered in our rehearsal room on Saturday morning and were overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and best wishes we received. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for all their kindness and words of encouragement both before and after the competition.

As we stepped onto the convention stage our excitement could hardly be contained and when “Contestant number 17, from Warrington, under the direction of Jo Braham” was announced it was thrill-ing to hear the audience response. It was even more exhilarating listening to the roar of the crowd as the last chords of our up tempo song rang out and to receive a standing ovation from so many people.

It was such a brilliant moment when it was announced that we’d won the silver

medal. The hard work of the last 10 months had paid off and we were thrilled with the result. We’d like to extend our con-gratulations to The White Rosettes on their amazing achievement of 13 gold medals

and to Crystal Chords on receiving their first bronze medal with LABBS. Well done ladies you truly gave fabulous performances. Our thanks and congratulations also go to the quartet contestants’ for a great competi-tion, particularly to Fortuity, Temptation, and Northern Vibe for their medal winning performances.

Our thanks though would not be com-plete if we didn’t mention the wonderful coaches who have supported us over the last 10 months. They all brought many dif-

ferent qualities & dynamics to our prepa-ration this year. Thank you to Rhiannon Owens-Hall, Stuart Sides, Peter Kennedy and Kelly Shepard. Your advice and input has been so valuable and your words of wisdom

have helped us to grow and develop as a chorus. And not forgetting our loved ones for letting us out of the house every week to spend time on this amazing hobby of ours! Cheshire Chord Company has returned home exhausted but happy and are excited about the coming months and what the future may hold.Alison Linfield, PRO:Cheshire Chord Company www.cheshirechord.co.uk

Keep Calm and Sparkle

Hairspray

Wow! What a weekend! Harrogate was JaZZmine’s first big outing as a

quartet and we had a ball. We were thrilled to be placed in the top six and can’t wait to better that next year.

It was Becky’s birthday on the Thursday so our rehearsal was “helped” by liberal helpings of chocolate cake, but we were very good and didn’t open the wine until after the contest on Friday. That was prob-ably a very good idea as a trail of minor mishaps occurred without any alcoholic influence! Paula dropped a glass table on her foot, and Cathy fell up the stairs on the way to the warm up room. Note to selves: practice walking in heels more.

Many congratulations to all competi-tors, especially top-notch Northern Vibe, terrific Temptation and the fabulous Fortu-ity. Lady G (aka Georgina) enjoyed her very first LABBS convention (of many) at the tender (but it seems rapidly advancing) age of 5 months, and would like to say thank you for the many lovely comments from her countless “aunties”. The view from the barber-tots box was jolly good and she was

able to get her beauty sleep in between the unmissable performances, and hanging out with her mate Harry (13 months).

Over the time we have been together, we have been through two pregnancies and the arrivals of two wonderful babies. We’ve

really bonded as friends, and JaZZmine has become an extended family for each of us. What a wonderful hobby! See you all next year! JaZZminePaula Becky Karen and Cathy

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JaZZmine – first time out and we loved every minute

What a Christmas bonus! We were well prepared by our music team to look

at our points and not the positions this year as we knew with returning and im-proving choruses it would be a hard task to

hold on to our top ten position. Increasing our points was a great result and we get to hold on to our publicity mantra ‘TOP TEN CHORUS!’

The chorus entered into the spirit of the weekend in style with presents for the tree that challenged the space on the

coach and more Mrs Santa’s than we could shake a pitch pipe at! C’mon Sara let’s re-learn Santa Baby for next year please - we’ve certainly got the Christmas Spirit! Another great convention, more fancy dress than ever and our 4 virgins had a whale of a time too! Thank you LABBS and all our friends for making it such a success once again Judith Medlock (PRO), Silver Lining

Silver Lining retain TOP TEN position!Have You Got The Signature Factor?

Signature A Cappella singers need a musical director to provide inspiration, guidance and leadership to a group of

ambitious and talented women.We would be interested to hear

from anyone with one or more of the following skills:

A Cappella and barbershop knowledge and experience

Extensive musical skills Stagecraft or visual

presentation experience

In return we will continue to improve, work hard and support the musical

director in achieving our shared aspirations whilst having fun and

enjoying our hobby.

For further information contact:

Sue Burgis: soobie@btinternet.com

07861651658

Harrogate 2011

Fortuity GOLD

Temptation SILVER

Northern Vibe BRONZE

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The White RosettesGOLD

Cheshire Chord Company SILVER

Crystal Chords BRONZE

Gem Connection Belles of Three Spires

Green Street Blues Fascinating Rhythm

Second City Sound Capital Connection

Bristol Fashion Silver Lining9

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Red Rosettes Norwich Harmony

The Tudor Roses Mountain Harmony

Welwyn Harmony Guildford Harmony

The Barberettes Avon Harmony

What a journey this has been for Crys-tal Chords. What an exciting com-

petition. Convention 2011 brought us our first ever LABBS medal and how proud we are to be your Bronze Medalists. Our sincere

congratulations to all this years’ trophy winners, especially our ‘neighbours’ the Cheshire Chord Company on their wonderful Silver medal achievement, and to the White Rosettes on their tremendous 13th champi-onship Gold winning performance.

Previous results show just how close this years’ contest was likely to be. We were placed 7th last year but while our prelim score hinted that a medal was practically in sight, it was clear that the same applied for a number of other very good choruses. So, could we dare to dream? Yes we could! It felt too risky to ‘go for a medal’. Instead we took another path. We challenged ourselves to improve our score and aim for a more consistent performance.

Since taking on the role of Musical Director in 2010, Monica’s goal has been to take the chorus forward. It’s been said that if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve got - so we knew we had to look at things a bit differently. Initially, Monica focused on improving singing while making sure learning was fun. Another big part of our approach was to gain self-awareness with members recognising their own skills and opportunities to improve. Ongoing develop-ment was to maintain a positive approach - another key to our progress.

This year has been simply wonderful: to have first achieved a step up in our score at prelims, followed by enjoying fun in the sun at SABS convention, before firmly plac-ing our focus on the Harrogate contest was

more than we could have imagined.As well as chorus teamwork, our journey

continued as we enjoyed fabulous coach-ing sessions with Madeline Jeory and Sally McLean - we thank them sincerely for their motivation and passion for excellence.

Convention finally arrived, and it was an absolute joy to bring new music to the stage by talented UK arrangers, David King and Liz Garnett with whom we also enjoyed

wonderful coaching. We are also proud to have had six first-timer ‘Crystals’ on stage. Gaynor, one of our newest baritones said: “I never dreamt when I went to my first rehearsal that just five months later I would be on stage. The experience has been fantas-tic and I feel lucky to be part of it (not that luck really had anything to do with it – it

was about hard work, focus, dedication and determination to enjoy ourselves). It was also my first time seeing live barbershop and I was totally blown away by the talent.”

Thank you for the many wonderful com-ments received about our performance. We know we still have a lot to learn, but for now Crystal Chords also have a lot to cel-ebrate - we hope this ‘high’ will stay with us for a while.

So are you in a chorus wondering if you could ever win a medal? Then dare to dream, be open to change – and we hope our achievement will spur you on!

“Achieving this medal is a real first for us. I feel very proud because everyone has worked so hard this year. I am particularly pleased for our longer standing members who’ve been in the chorus for over 30 years, I know just how special this must be for

them. It has been a great team effort for the whole chorus, and a fabulous start for our 6 newest members, for whom this was their first competi-tion. We have exceeded our expectations this year, and I am ever grate-ful to have a talented and committed Music & Performance Team, who bring energy and creativity to the group week in week out. Their motivating sup-port means a great deal to me personally. Having previously performed with other winning choruses, I’m privileged to know what it feels like to win a chorus gold, but now as

the director of Crystal Chords, this bronze medal achievement is very special, and something I will treasure for long time!” Monica Funnell, MD

Kathy Szeputi, Crystal Chords PRO

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Dare to Dream?

I can’t even begin to describe how over-whelmed and honoured I was to win the

coveted Gillian Depledge Lowe award at LABBS Convention this year.

By Saturday afternoon it had already been a great convention weekend for me,

having sung in the quartet contest on Friday, even though three weeks ago we still weren’t sure we could compete, being part of the outgoing gold medallist chorus on Friday evening and then mic’ cooling with Amersham A Cappella and Ivy League on Saturday. On Friday I had heard my own arrangement of “To Make You Feel My Love” sung by my chorus Amersham A Cappella – WOW, what an honour!

So, standing on stage representing the IVY League, among barbershop greats and people who I aspire to be like was the culmination of events. We were waiting for the chorus results… then Eve began to read out the description of the win-ner of the Gillian Depledge Lowe award… ‘Choreographer and music team member of her chorus, Asst. Lead Section Leader, Co-ordinator, Chorus Assistant Director, MD, an arranger and a member of a quartet’. After this, the mention that there were nomina-tions from people of all ages, ‘young and not so young’ I suddenly realised that other people were looking at me and then the tears started!

I would have loved to have said a public thank you on stage, but I was blub-bing so much I couldn’t speak. Thank you for the nominations, for the award, for the millions of hugs and congratulations I received afterwards and for the support I

have received from across the country and further, from members of all choruses.

In the award description, it mentioned I had been fighting a serious illness. In November 2010, a week after the best moment of my life, winning Gold with

Amersham A Cappella, I was diagnosed with a brain tumour. After a few months on chemotherapy drugs, I had reacted so badly, that those of you at the LABBS & Sweet Ads quartet weekend in Jan 2011 will have seen me ‘rocking the bald look’. My next and only other option was surgery. So 6 weeks (yes that does say 6 weeks) before this year’s LABBS convention 2011, I had surgery. I have a day of evaluation and assessment in November but am now;

fingers crossed on the right road to recov-ery and should be able to return to work, at least part-time soon.

This year has been a whirlwind but there are some certain people who I couldn’t have got through it without. Firstly an amazing fellow chorus and quartet member …and mum! She’s the one to blame for introducing me to this hobby and has been there for me every second of every day. Then my chorus, Amersham A Cappella. They are the most loving and supportive and, as you are probably aware, fun group of women to be around, another 60 mums and sisters! Their concern, care, love, prayers and support have absolutely carried me through this year and have been a huge much valued support to mum too. Post op’ I have really valued their home visits – even if they do come armed with choreo questions!!

I must also thank the IVY League for their support and friendship. It is an absolute privilege to be their Director. Their enthusiasm, dedication and talent are just the most fantastic thing to witness. It has been a difficult year for this chorus, but with limited rehearsal time the girls never ever cease to amaze and impress me. They were so impressive on stage again this year and we’re coming back fighting next year!

Cheesy as it sounds, being a part of these two incredible choruses, and being a part of the barbershop world has been the best therapy I could ever have received. What a wonderful hobby, what amazing choruses and what a great organisation to be part of. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.Hari Birtles

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The Gillian Depledge Lowe Award 2011

Competing in Convention this year has been a brilliant experience for us. We’ve

only been singing together in this forma-tion since January this year when Nicky our new baritone joined The Signets. We have had a fantastic weekend with lots of laughs and singing. Although our chorus Signature decided not to compete this year, we were delighted to have some fab-ulous support from a number of the chorus members including the Enigma girls. Nerve wracking, fun, team spirit, learning and achievement are just some of the thoughts

and emotions that come to mind. We were delighted to get into the final (and yes, the new dresses got an airing!) but even more to come 5th on our first competition together. We even managed to fit in some massage between the semis and the finals!

Some of the singing we’ve heard this weekend from both quartets and choruses have been truly inspiring. Many congratu-lations to the winning chorus and quartet, The White Rosettes and Fortuity and well done to all the other competitors as well. We’ve had a ball and now need to catch

up on lost sleep but we’re fired up too. Looking forward to seeing you all again next time! Sue, Leigh, Liz and Nicky. The Signets

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The Signets

Green Street Blues never seem to make things easy for themselves. Having lost

one MD in March this year and then bor-rowing another MD to get us through pre-lims (who just happened to be the cutest Dalmatian puppy dog ever!), GSB almost decided to not compete at Convention this year. This ceased to be an option when we were rewarded with the talent and passion of Michael Potts. We are absolutely de-lighted that he has now decided to be our

permanent Musical Director, but with just over two months to go he would have to inspire us to work some special magic.

However, half way through our six hour journey we started to wonder if we would get to Harrogate at all when something on the coach let out an almighty woosh, Unfortunately this was nothing to do with anyone’s digestive system after wolfing dozens of chocolates en route. Part of the engine had blown and we had to limp into a service station to await a replacement coach. Unperturbed we got the pitch pipe out and passed the delay entertaining the other coach and lorry drivers in the car park. (Isn’t that a condition of being a

LABBS chorus – Sing wherever you can!) We had promised our quartet that we would do our best to come and see them in the semi-finals. So luckily when we arrived at our hotel with twenty minutes to spare, we just threw all our luggage into the hotel forecourt – turning it into what closely resembled a bootsale – and legged it to the convention centre just in time to make very loud and ridiculous frog noises to cheer on our lovely ladies

of Bein’ Green. Well done girls – great first time effort and we are looking forward to next year.

Winning the ‘Small Chorus Award’ at this year’s LABBS with a new director who has only been with us for about 10 weeks was a proud moment in Green Street Blues history and allows us a FABULOUS start to build upon. Michael already has some great ideas and plans for taking us forward. GSB would like to congratulate all those who won medals this weekend. The passion and energy and excitement of the weekend was amazing and we loved every minute of it. Enjoy your year of representing LABBS one and all. We thank all of LABBS and other

Barbershop associations for their support both this weekend and moving forward. Our new chapter starts here, we are really looking forward to it. Catharine Finch PRO, Green Street Blues

Dorset Ladies BHC ‘The Quaysiders’ were very sad to learn of the death of Lilian

Clewes, 2 weeks before Convention. Lilian was a staunch member of our chorus and was PRO and Council Rep for a number of years. Lilian, together with her husband Harry, was also LABBS Raffle Organiser for 6 years and will, no doubt be a famil-iar face to many LABBS members even though they may not know her name.

Her funeral was on the opening day of Convention and Kath Good, Immediate Past Chairman attended to represent the Association, together with Anne Withnall representing The Quaysiders. She will be sadly missed by all who knew her .Anne Withnall

Green Street Blues

Lilian Clewes

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It has been such an honour to be your ambassadors for LABBS over the last year.

Having had a very busy year it all culminat-ed in two hugely exciting performances at this year’s Harrogate convention. We hope you enjoyed hearing us as much as we en-joyed singing for you. There were so many special moments for us but here are just two. First was singing with many of you on the Sunday morning, Ali did a great job of warming our voices up (even with our sore heads!) and then Helen in teaching us those great tags. We all learned them so quickly and they sounded fabulous.

The second being our rendition of Swing Low on Friday’s show and Helen being picked up and taken off stage by two burly chaps in rugby shirts. If you have been wondering why we did this it’s because we

had recorded a video with a local rugby team as a tribute to the Rugby World Cup that was taking place in New Zealand and wanted to add a bit of zest to the event. Please have a look at our video, you can ei-ther get there via our website http://www.amershamacappella.com or via this link bit.ly/amersham. Congratulations to the wonderful White Rosettes, Cheshire Chord Company, Crystal Chords and the gorgeously talented quartets, Fortuity, Temptation and Northern Vibe. What an exciting competi-tion it was this year! Thank you again for all your support over the last year and can’t wait to see you all again very soon. Merry Christmas! Suzie Moutrie, PRO Amersham A Cappella

Fantastic Weekend

What a wonderful Convention we had this year in Harrogate. We

are delighted to have reached the dizzy heights of 7th place, but to be awarded the Most Improved Chorus and for Jo Dean, our amazing Director, to be given

Most Improved Director was the icing on our cake! It was the culmination of a very

hard working year, and one in which the whole chorus was taken to some new and very exacting limits! We were privileged to have had some superb training over the past year from Liz Garnett, Cindy Hansen and Martin Ford but essentially our pro-

gression is down to Jo and our committed music team, who ensured that we took on

board all the ‘building blocks’ of singing, whilst still having fun and enjoying the sound we made! We are a rapidly expand-ing chorus with a passion for song and an ambition for a medal. This is one step further forward for us!

We have been frantically fundraising over the last few months and so far have raised well over £2500! Out of all the bub-bling, humming and various other effec-tive warm-ups that we do, came the idea to create a Warm-Up and Craft CD which has been created by 4 of our members. It’s a fantastic tool for anyone who wants to keep their voice in top condition and to learn voice matching and blending, as well as other skills. It is available from pm-carthy@kingswood.gloucs.sch.uk at only £10 including p&p. You can also preview tracks on our website www.fascinating-rhythm.co.uk . We would like to thank the Convention Team for giving us a great weekend. Diane Henry,Fascinating Rhythm

Fundraising Help Needed

Just a little note to say thank you all so much for your support, encouragement

and kind words following our performance and success in the QC’s Competition at LABBS 2011. So many people said it was great to see you ‘up there’ or ‘back again’. We haven’t actually been anywhere as such, just not in the Competition environ-ment of course. We thoroughly enjoyed putting the package of two new songs together, even with our tougher logistics nowadays. Alison (tenor) lives in France and of course Jo is with Cheshire Chord Company so doesn’t see Jane & Julie on a week to week basis, but we managed to schedule in rehearsals when Ali was in

the UK and really knuckled down in that concentrated time.

We continue to have a very busy time really, not only with our relevant choruses but as a quartet too. This year we have spent weekends as the coaching faculty of Tyneside Ladies and of Bristol Fashion, both; of whom treated us like royalty & made us cry with their love, friendship &

appreciation of our time. Not forgetting the hard work and super end results we got with both groups. Thank you ladies, we have very special memories of more fun After Hours weekends. We have a limited number of ‘Cheers’ CD’s left if anyone is interested. Now reduced to £6 including P&P. Send details to jobraham@blueyon-der.co.uk if you would like to purchase one. Payment can be made via PayPal or by cheque to Jo. Track listing can be located on our website www.afterhoursquartet.co.uk So thanks again. We’ve far from gone away so please, bear us in mind for any event you may have coming up and give us a call! Jo, Alison, Jane & Julie, AFTER HOURS, LABBS 2006 Quartet Champions & 2011 QC’s Champions

After Hours

The Red Rosettes had a great time at Convention, and as ever loved catch-

ing up with old friends, and making new ones for next year! We are thrilled to be the proud owners of the organisation’s

Madam Chair, Teresa Phillips! Teresa (Mum!) works tirelessly for our club year on year, and it was such an honour for us to see her on the convention stage as the LABBS chairman. She will be an amazing

ambassador for LABBS and we are incred-ibly proud of her.

A huge congratulation to our two competing quartets this year – TECHnique, who won the Most Improved Quartet Tro-

phy – a fantastically shiny plate to add to their growing collection of awards! Teresa, Elaine, Chris and Helen did a great job, and it’s lovely that this was recognised by the Judges. We can’t wait to see how much

they improve next year!And Northern Vibe, who didn’t win

anything...no wait... who came third and won a BRONZE medal – eeeeek! The chorus is fit to burst with excitement for Theresa, Katy, Susan and Emma! We have watched them come on in leaps and bounds and are so pleased for them. Well done girls!

On a personal note, I nearly needed St John’s Ambulance throughout the Quartet Competition, as the sister of two of North-ern Vibe, and daughter of one of TECHnique – my nerves watching them are far worse than theirs are competing!

The Red Rosettes had a great time per-forming ‘Runnin Wild’ on the Saturday and definitely worked the rock chick look – false eyelashes all round every week I think! A massive well done to our First Timers – Louise, Diane, Elaine, Jacqueline, Sarah and Lilia – you all did an amazing job, and here’s hoping it’s the first of many Conven-tions for you all. As ever Convention was a great end to a year of hard work and many happy memories. Well, back to work......Roll on 2012 Laura Phillips, Red Rosettes

15

What A Weekend

By any standards, Bristol Fashion’s dress rehearsal for Convention was pretty special! Two weeks before Convention, 51 members of the chorus stepped out on to the stage of the Colston Hall, Bristol’s pre-mier concert venue - endearingly referred to by Bristolians as the Col Snall! We had been invited to perform as the headline act for the Rotary Club of Bristol’s 49th charity concert and the timing couldn’t have been

better for a full Convention run-through. Dressed in our red and black Convention finery, we entertained a packed audito-rium of 1,500 people with a selection of songs from our repertoire. We opened and closed each half of the concert, remain-ing on stage while the other musical and

instrumental acts performed. Gosh, those stage lights were bright and very hot.we all glowed beautifully!

As the second half of the concert drew to a close, the MC John Bedford explained to the audience that we would soon be off to Convention in Harrogate and would like to perform our contest package. He’d been suitably briefed and gave the traditional introduction of ‘Stewards, can we have the

doors closed and the house lights down. Con-testant number 18 from Bristol, under the direction of Craig Kehoe, Bristol Fashion!” Our wonderful supporters whooped loudly through the applause, giving the rest of the audience a taste of our wonderful crazy world of barber-shop! After weeks of rehearsals and weekend coaching, we were more than up for it! We

launched into our ballad. Craig signalled that it sounded great, an encouraging start! Then our up-tempo, complete with well-practised moves. And suddenly it was over, we’d done it and stood there beaming and lapping up the applause and cheers from the audience. We all felt elated as

we came off stage, agreeing that if we can perform our package like that on the Convention stage, then we’ll be very happy Bristol Fashionistas. Afterwards, John Bed-ford said: “Bristol Fashion Chorus is amaz-ing and we are all tremendously grateful to you for giving us such a wonderful show. There were lots of very appreciative com-ments from the audience and if the Chorus enjoyed it half as much as the audience, then it was a great afternoon all round.

We wish everybody good luck for the big day in Harrogate and look forward to hearing how you get on.” We’ve 10 new members in the chorus this year and for some, this was their first sing-out and of course for many this was also their first Convention. So for them, and indeed the whole chorus, this was a fantastic op-portunity to perform in front of a large audience and get a feel for what to expect at Convention.

Having now returned from Harrogate, we can say that all the concerts, coaching and extra rehearsals helped us enjoy our Convention experience even more. High-lights for us were seeing Joy, Jan, Jill and Ruth from our in-house quartet Cameo mic-warming on Friday, our friends Fortuity winning the Quartet competition and of course achieving our objective of gaining a top 10 place! We’ll continue working hard in readiness for Telford next year. See you all then! Sarah King, Bristol Fashion

BF at the Col Snall

Diary DatesJan 7th LABBS/SAI Directors Education, BirminghamJan 14th LABBS Exec meeting LSEJan 28th LABBS Council meeting LSEFeb 25th LABBS Exec meeting LSEMar 9-11th LABBS/BABS Recertification Category SchoolMar 11th A Cappella/Choral Harmony Workshop Didcot OxonMar 24th LABBS Exec, AGM, Council meeting LSEApr TBC Regional Education Days—Watch this space!For more dates and information see our web site www.labbs.org.uk

Making British Barbershop History!

Photographs from Convention 2011 can be viewed and ordered from

http://www.sirastudio.com/client-galleries.htmlClick on the ‘LABBS Convention 2011’ line to see all the photos. You

need to make a note of the numbers so that you can go back to the previous page (as in the link above) and order – you need to include ‘LABBS Convention 2011’ as well as the number for each one that you

want. DVD’s are available for ordering by email from

andy.cam@talktalkbusiness.net – or phone Andy on 01522 533039

or mobile 0793281877.

Grand Draw 2011 winners1st Prize £500 Ticket No. 02610Neil Young

2nd Prize £250 Ticket No. 04860A. Hancocks

3rd Prize £125 Ticket No. 03541 Rachel Foster, Pennine Chimes

4th Prize £75 Ticket No. 04603C. Nash

5th Prize £50 ‘Ticket No. 00173Jill Oliver, Silver Lining

We would like to thank all those hardworking ladies who sold tickets. Very well done! And many thanks to everyone who supported the Draw and purchased tickets.We hope that we can rely on your con-tinuing support in Telford 2012.

David and Anne, LABBS Raffle Team.

Finesse were proud and delighted to make British barbershop history when,

on our second trip to Sweet Adelines’ International Convention, we became the first ever Region 31 quartet to make it to the finals. We had such a ball on stage and would like to say a huge thank you to so many wonderful people who took the time to watch us on the webcast and message us with such lovely comments and words of encouragement.

Although we were thousands of miles away from home we were touched by the support and warm wishes that kept flooding across the Atlantic from so many barbershop friends. It was a truly exciting and humbling experience to be back stage waiting for the results surrounded by such

fantastic current and previous competing quartets, many of whom we have followed for years on the webcast, whilst sitting in our PJ’s huddled around a laptop in the middle of the night. We still couldn’t believe our luck when we were presented with our 10th place ribbons. Suffice to say we were still on cloud nine on Sunday

and felt like we floated home across the Atlantic (which is just as well since Beth & Tan are terrified of flying!).

Despite all the excitement Finesse felt quite bereft at not being able to be at LABBS Convention (the first time in more years than we care to remember!) In this wonderful age of technology we were able to send congratulations to Fortuity and The White Rosettes all the way from Texas, but it would have been much nicer to do so in person! We are very much hoping to be able to spend Friday and Saturday at LABBS Convention next year before flying out to Denver on Sunday, what a week that will be! We still have to pinch ourselves to make sure it’s not a dream!Helen, Beth, Nicky & Tan

Deadline for Next IssueFriday

January 27th 2012Please supply photographs in the highest resolution possible, in colour, as separate Jpeg files not in a Word document. Expect the file to be bigger than 300Kb, probably more than 1Mb. If it’s not then it’s probably low resolution and won’t print well.

Brunel Ladies Harmony Chorus

Margaret Shannon has resigned as Chair of Brunel Ladies Harmony Chorus and Kate Ansell is caretaking until officer elections. Please could you forward any future mailings to kateansell@yahoo.co.uk.