Virginia, Irish dancing and 108F

I don’t know why it takes so long for me to update this blog. Perhaps it’s the fact that I’m a bit of a technophobe and don’t really know how to use my computer to navigate the technological maze that is behind a website. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m lazy! I think it’s the latter unfortunately. Or maybe it’s the fact that these things are supposed to be witty and interesting. That’s a very tough ask! And so in the spirit of breaking the mould, I have decided to bite the bullet and tell you about my recent trip to Williamsburg, Virginia.

It started quite unexpectedly with a phone call from a gentleman who was in need of a replacement “Irish Tenor” for a concert he was staging. Details were sketchy but I was asked to be in Williamsburg for 10am the next morning. After discovering that New York to that part of Virginia was a nine hour train ride, I decided to fly. So I was picked up the next morning by a lovely gentleman who was running the show and he brought me straight to the theatre for rehearsal.

When I went into the foyer of the theatre I could hear an interesting clacking sound and it turned out to be a troupe of 20 Irish dancers warming up for tonights show, “Celtic Revolution”. I, along with two other tenors from Ireland, were part of a show based around Irish dancing, and would be the musical break in each half. I had not been in a show environment for 6 years so, despite the initial shock, I was delighted to be involved. And, as is usually the case, everyone involved with the show was lovely and I had an absolute ball. The first performance went well until there was a slight problem with the backing tracks for one piece and I had to go out on stage to explain the minor hitch and to try to keep people relaxed. Somehow I managed to ramble on about something and, after the longest 90 seconds of my life, I was given the all clear that the show was back in business.

The one thing that struck me about Colonial Williamsburg, despite the beautiful historic surroundings and great people, was the heat!! For most of our time there it was over 100 and very humid. On one of the days it hit 108. How do people cope with that??? I made the mistake of thinking it was easy and between shows one day I went for a run. It proved to be a very bad decision and I had the big red sunburned face to prove it!! A lesson learned though; if the locals say it’s hot, then it’s really hot and you should stay indoors!

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