Cake by the Ocean

Or cake at break will do just as well. For the uninitiated the first Wednesday of the month is cake at break (which is a phrase that means exactly what it says). At break we have cake. Of course this leads to an extended break (because you can’t hurry cake consumption) while we all get our social on. We’re a pretty friendly bunch at the worst of times (e.g. 5am in the cold and dark while the wind dashes about, 35 degree days where there is no shade but an abundance of flies) so with a slice of cake in one hand and a cup of tea in the other, you’ve got no chance of bumping into someone unfriendly (plus you try being uncivil with a piece of delicately baked goodness smothered in butter cream. It’s impossible).

Yet despite the great distraction we didn’t spend the whole evening chomping away (tempting though it was). There was something else (or rather someone else) present which made this cake at break extra special. A special guest! Joining us for part of the evening was Tony Buti, the member for Armadale. And he didn’t come alone. While he might not have brought along a cake to share he did bring along a very lovely cheque from the Community Improvement Fund. As a non-profit community group, extra funds are always very welcome and we’ll be sure to put it to good use.

After all the excitement it was a little tricky to settle down (which by saying that does imply that we ever do – we don’t. It’s entirely possible the school teachers among us go back to school for a break) so we didn’t. It was high spirits all the way to the end of the rehearsal.

And don’t worry, all the leftovers went to a good home. But not by the ocean.

Young at Heart

Sometimes all it takes is one song and you’re whizzing back a couple of decades to where you were when you first heard it. Sometimes it’s not even a particular moment or event that it recalls but rather a feeling. Sometimes it’s happy, sometimes it’s sad but more often than not it’s a youthful feeling. That feeling of being young, carefree, with the possibility than anything can happen and will. That only good things lie ahead.

Now not having that many years on the clock, I can’t really talk but it’s still possible to get that feeling. And all it takes is one song from twenty years ago that you haven’t really heard since then. You’ve probably experienced the same thing yourself. So you can imagine what it’s like when you’re a t a seventieth birthday party, with a whole group of people that haven’t been in the same place in a long time. All the chatter from the catching up! And the perfect soundtrack? A carefully crafted playlist with all the classics and favourites. As you look around, every now and then small groups will start singing along, swaying to the music, faces glowing. And then that prompts some memory, some shared experience, that leads to peals of laughter. If you’re lucky enough, they might just share the joke with you.

What has this got to do with us? At the moment we are rehearsal a few popular pieces that will probably invoke feelings of nostalgia. And if we play them right, hopefully our audience will get a snatch of that youthful feeling too. I guess there is only one way to find that out – join us! And for audience members who bring along a few younger generations of their family, we could be sowing the seeds for youthful feelings in the future. Who knows! Years down the track they could catch the melody and be transported back to the feeling of a summer evening, running around, having an absolute ball. Again, only one way to find out!

We might get older but we can still have moments where we feel young at heart.