Around and about Christmas
on Kate in Guyana (Guyana), 28/Dec/2009 13:27, 34 days ago
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Had a good concert with the choir last night. The rather ambitious piece we were doing went off with great spirit although we got a mix up in the last song - the narration was a bit slow so we missed our cue to come in. We were singing against an backing tape, so if you miss it you' ve had it, we just had to try to leap back in when we recognised where we were. The rest of the concert was various smaller pieces and quite a few soloists, small groups and a steel band.Christmas passed quietly, I enjoyed staying over a couple of nights with a friend so we could have lots of good talks and some long walks, despite the rain. It was also good to be able to communicate with home via email by borrowing her laptop. We went to midnight service at the anglican cathedral. We were expecting the place to be packed out but in fact it was quite a subdued affair. It was the streets on the way that were packed out. All the street vendors selling drinks, food, clothing, gifts and general tat were still there, and people standing around enjoying the atmosphere both at midnight and when we were on the way back. I think that the vendors are desperate to make any money they can so are hoping to pick up a sale at any time of the day or night. Or maybe it is easier to stay set up all through the night so you don't have to pack it all away. I was expecting Christmas here to be a quiet time as people here are so religious, but in fact it seemed to be just a massive opportunity to party party party. Also last evening there was a big Lime - which means a chance to hang around in the street drinking and listening to music. Main Street was closed and there were bands and stalls. I didn't go as I came out of the concert at 8.30 and it would have been too much.Back to work today - and on the table is a form to fill in detailing our work programme for the next four months. It will go into the budget to go to the chief planning officer. At least it will provide a basis for discussion about our next step.
