Broughton Choir at IOM 2018

DAY 6 Today (surprisingly) did not follow the trend set by previous days and wasn’t particularly wet or dull, which set us up for what was a successful day. As usual we had breakfast followed by room check and bank. Next we journeyed to St Thomas’ to sing and lead Morning Eucharist. During the service all of the boys sang spectacularly, with lots of less senior boys involved in solo groups (and singing with much confidence). Once the service ended we returned to the hotel to have a delicious Sunday roast with a variety of food to choose from such as chicken, beef or a nut roast. Ready to go and refuelled the boys prepared to make the voyage to Ramsay. First of all we got onto a tram where the 25 minute tram ride transported us to Laxey. Here we briefly stopped to take in the marvellous sight of the Laxey Wheel turning. The next leg of the journey was completed by car due to the fact we had to arrive early to indulge in the banquet provided by the volunteers of the Parish of St ...

DAY 5 Saturday: This morning we were greeted by stereotypical British weather: wet and dreary!  Nevertheless, the lack of sunshine did not stop us from celebrating joyfully with Jake Hindle as today was his birthday.  The morning began with a rendition of Happy Birthday and Jake received cards from his family and friends in the Choir.  Having been fuelled by our usual cooked breakfast, cereal and other delicious food, we hastily hopped into our mode of transport and journeyed to St Thomas’s to rehearse.  However, unlike every other morning, today we were visited by Manx Radio who came to speak to our Choristers and record some of our singing.  Daniel Harper, Ben Hodson, Shaun Tallentire, Finlay Walsh, Lachlan Walsh, Thomas Whalley and Thomas Wren were all interviewed individually about life in the Choir.  This will be aired on the Sunday morning Praise programme with Judith Ley.   Once we had returned to the hotel, we enjoyed chicken nuggets, c...

DAY 4 As we awoke this morning, we were greeted by the, yet again, dull, dreary Preston-like weather.  However, the early morning walkers were still raring to go.  After another delicious and filling breakfast, as well as the routine room checks and bank, we headed out to our first rehearsal of the day at St Thomas’s whilst looking forward to what the rest of the day had it store. Once the first half of the rehearsal, which had been successful, was complete, the wonderful volunteers from St Thomas’s Church yet again ran a tuck shop for the boys to buy yet more sweets!  When the second half was over, the boys ventured into town for free time. Lunch followed and we Choristers were then swiftly transported to St George’s Church to complete our afternoon rehearsal. Unfortunately, due to the poor weather we mentioned, we were unable to go ahead with our scheduled visit to Peel Beach.  Fortunately, to the delight of us all, we returned to the swimming baths....

DAY 3 The Day started with a walk along the glorious promenade. The boys that went on the walk thoroughly enjoyed it. We then went to breakfast which filled us up for the busy day. The morning practice was very successful. Oliver Turberfield, Lachlan Walsh, Thomas Wren, Daniel Harper and Jacob Egan practiced their solo group for the evensong which was very impressive. After the practice, some of the older boys went into town to do some shopping, whilst some of the younger boys went on the horse tram. New boys Matthew, Jake, Jacob and Shaun were really looking forward to experiencing this rare and unique mode of transport. This was particularly good as the promenade looked stunning due to the magnificent sun. We then returned to the hotel for some lunch, and immediately after finishing we went to St Matthew’s Church to run through the service. Once we had finished the practice, we jetted off to Port Erin for a fun afternoon of football and, if you’re Finlay Lawrenson, Jak...

DAY 2 The day began at 7.30am. With the weather being dull, dreary and wet it meant there was no early morning walk. Therefore, after a very filling breakfast, room inspection and bank, we set off down to St Thomas’ Church for our practice. Halfway through the practice (due to Pickwick's closing) the kind ladies of St Thomas’ put on a tuck shop for all the boys. During the practice, ‘first-timers’ Jake Hindle, Matthew Hickey, Jacob Mason, Oliver Turberfield and Shaun Tallentire all proved that they are very capable of contributing to the music that we sing. After this free time followed, when the boys went into town or relaxed back at the hotel. Next was lunch, after which we travelled to Ballasalla to rehearse processing and finish practising for the day. Due to the weather the timetable was altered and we journeyed to the swimming centre instead of Port Erin. After using up lots energy at the pool we returned to change into church clothes and eat dinner, where the ...

CHOIR SCHEDULE 4/04 - Abbey Church, Ballasalla (evensong) 5/04 - St Matthew's Church, Douglas (evensong) 6/04 - St George's Church, Douglas (evensong) 7/04 - St Thomas' Church, Douglas (evensong) - Please click read more for more dates  8/04 - St Thomas' Church, Douglas (Eucharist) 8/04 - St Paul's Church, Ramsey (evensong)

DAY 1 After a smooth boarding which followed a couple of frantic phone calls enquiring about boarding passes carelessly forgotten by Mr Ranson, the Treble section were on their way to the Isle of Man and a hard week of fun and interesting choral singing began. Once the 2½ hour journey of sweet-eating and movie-watching was over, we were on Manx soil, where we were greeted by the familiar sights of Douglas promenade and the Hydro Hotel. Sometime later we were all unpacked and we headed down for a pre-tour meeting. Then we took our first and certainly not last walk around the island. Next came our history lesson for the day, given by Mr Catterall. Today’s topic was the TT races. We were all hungry after this, so we were delighted when the time for dinner came - the most favoured dish was cod. Next, we prepared ourselves for the first of many practices at St Thomas’ Church, after which we returned tired to the hotel and headed to bed to end the first day.