Goodness Gracious
Glee
'Jolly Totz Arty Party' - July 2012
'Do You Think You Can Sing?' Competition - Feb 2012
Our first event was the result our application to Neath Port Talbot Council's Art project for new and established choirs. As part of the project we were given a vocal coach in the form of the talented Shoshana Pavett, and a choreographer. On the night of the competition we presented our very first song to the world in the form of Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance'. We went down a storm, and though we didn't win, we had a brilliant time and got a taste of what we could do with the talent we have.
Following the 'Do You Think You Can Sing?' competition, NPT arts gave us the opportunity to participate in other local events. The Jolly Totz Arty Party took place that July, and gave us the opportunity to extend our repertoire. We sang among many other local performers in the beautiful Margam Park. The event was not well attended due to rather unfortunate bad weather, but regardless we took the advantage of our being there by enjoying a cuppa and a chat in the food marquee!
Christmas Events - Nov/Dec 2012
Winter 2012 brought us two opportunities to perform. We sang at the church fayre, which was great fun. We also held a games stall to raise a little money for our funds. Even better than singing for the public at the fayre, though, was going carol singing to a local nursing home, Brynsiriol. We sang to two seperate rooms of residents, and seeing the happiness in the eyes of the ladies and gents we sang to when we started singing their favourite carols was absolutely heart warming. We left after nearly an hour of singing with hoarse voices but full hearts.
St Mary's Flower Festival - June 2012
As several of our members are involved in the local church, GGG offered our services to the church while its' doors were open to the public during a flower festival in June 2012. While the festival was being held the ladies of the church sold cakes and made coffee for members of the public and we provided a little light entertainment. The acoustics of the church served to amplify our voices beautifully and we certainly enjoyed the experience...and hopefully our audience enjoyed it too!
'Cawl a Chan' evening - March 2013
The group's confidence grew from strength to strength through 2012, and so by early 2013 we had decided to take on our biggest project yet - a whole evening hosted by us! We decided that St. David's day would be a good time to do this as there is little going on in the community at that time of year. We put together a song list of welsh songs and songs made famous by welsh artists and got practicing and by mid January we saw the beginnings of an evening of entertainment coming together. We also decided to cater for our audience to celebrate all things Welsh by serving a traditional lamb or veg cawl, home baked bread, welsh cakes and bara brith. The evening was also to include a raffle and a welsh themed quiz.
We were all a little apprehensive - it was a big project to take on for such a small group. Thankfully we had a lot of help from several family members (you know who you are!) and the whole thing was a hit. We sold around 75 tickets and made £300!
'Rich Man Poor Man' Evening - March 2013
Briton Ferry Talent Show - April 2013
Briton Ferry Mayor's Annual Dinner - May 2013
The Wedding of Joanne and Lee Bowden - June 2013
A little over a week after the 'Cawl a Chan', we were called upon again by the local community to help entertain at a fundraiser - this time in aid of Christian Aid. We enjoyed singing a variety of songs and the fundraiser was a big success, raising in excess of £300.
We took a few of our firm favourites to this local talent show, including 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and 'Don't Stop Believing.'
We were proud to have been invited to sing at the B. Ferry mayor's annual dinner in May of this year. We put together a new programme of songs to sing, including 'Top of the World' and a new favourite 'Since You've Been Gone'. We had a fab time, a free dinner, and to top it all, a captive audience - perfect!
On June 8th, one of our own members got married, and GGG celebrated another first - the first time we've sung at a wedding! The ceremony was perfect, the bride was beautiful and the groom was dashing. We sang a selection of songs chosen by Joanne herself, and were thrilled to have such a wonderfully unique opportunity to sing in such a setting. It also gave us a chance to put our glad rags on!
We also had a little sing at the evening do - on the bride's request, and with her joining us, of course! Overall, a wonderful and most memorable day - thank you to everyone involved and a big congrats to Jo and Lee :)
Charity Avon Night, B. Ferry Workingman's Club - 15th Aug, 2013
Pennybrick Celebration Evening - 8th Oct, 2013
In Concert with Briton Ferry Silver Band - 25th Oct, 2013
When a good friend and loyal supporter mentioned that she was in the process of organising a Charity Avon Night, we just had to offer our services! We sang a variety of up tempo numbers, bought a few lovely bits and pieces, joined in the fun and games and helped make a little money along with it!
As a result of our Cawl a Chan evening in March, word about our choir spread quite quickly, and as result we had a number of requests for us to sing at local events. The event at Pennybrick gave us a lovely opportunity to air a few new numbers we had been rehearsing, and our audience couldn't have been more welcoming!
Another opportunity we couldn't resist - this time, in the form of a collaboration, something we had not attempted before. In order for St. Michael's church in Cwmafan to raise some of the funds required for it's Spire Appeal, a concert was organised to feature both Goodness Gracious Glee and the Briton Ferry Silver Band, a long established and very well respected local brass band. It was quite daunting for us to play alongside such old hands, but in the event we were pleased with how the evening went. We played to a good audience and, thankfully, weren't singing any numbers the band were playing! Our aim for any future collaborations with any other local talent will be to actually collaborate on a musical number, as this was something we weren't able to achieve for this event.
