Norwich 27, 28, 29 September

After Bradford we took a break from the dancing tour and spent three lovely nights in Norwich.

 

 

Bill, Jenny and David looking very cheery considering we are off to Norwich Prison.

 

The Victorian era prison.

 

 

We were there for a nice morning tea provided by the inmates.

Enjoying the lovely view across from the prison.

Looking in the direction of Norwich Cathedral.

The Royal Arcade in the city.

A flight of dragons. 82 of these magnificent creatures were all over Norwich. They are now gathered together in the city ready to be auctioned for charity. 

They were all painted by different artists.

Jenny's favourite was painted by the Maddermarket Theatre with Shakespearian characters.

This one is cute.

A typical Norwich flint church, Saint Stephens.

Statue in the gardens outside the old hospital. 

That night we saw Tom starring brilliantly in a play, Deep Blue Sea, at the Maddermarket Theatre.

Night time dragons in front of Saint Peter Mancroft (1430).

 

Next day we went to Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk, almost 400 years old. The National Trust has developed it further since we lived in Norwich. It was very busy indeed, for a week day. 

The service wing and the cafe/shop.

Some of the stain glass windows in the great hall of the house.

The morning room. 

This is a previous owner William Frederick 'Mad' Windham, (1840-1866). He had a thing for dressing up in uniform and causing chaos. He posed as a London policeman, rounding up dubious women after closing hours and as a train guard whose unauthorised whistle blasts caused confusion on the platforms. 

The dining room table is laid for an 1860s dinner party.

Jenny looking bookish in the library, which has more than 5000 books.

This small box of books was for the servants. Super generous!

Yew tree berries. The gardens and extensive grounds are beautiful. 

Inside the walled garden with the dovecote in the background. This garden was always a favourite with the family when we lived in Norwich.

Very healthy looking free range chooks and pigeons from the dovecote. 

Inside the dovecote, which can house 1,000 birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morley and Bradford 26 September

Saturday was a big day for the touring GOLD’s. We left Liverpool, stopping over at Morley, on the edge of Leeds, and then on to Bradford.

At the Morley Town Hall we were guests at the launch of their of their new initiative for older adults, Young at Arts

Inside the Morley Town Hall.

Our page in the program for the Morley Arts Festival.

Carol and Jane at our table. There were about a hundred people at the event.  Our Jane Healey GOLD film was screened.

After the film we were all lined up for a question and answer session.

Then it was time to pose for the local press. 

Mary lines up the lunch.

Later in the day we went to Kalasangam, the centre for south Asian and Intercultural Arts in Bradford where we had sole billing that evening.

Our page in their advertising leaflet. That photo again! It’s famous across England.

We commenced with Indian Light.

Silvie, from Kathrada, in action.

Fuzzy but colourful, the Click Dance.

Our last dance was Pop Art and finishing the evening was the GOLD film. We danced to a small, but appreciative audience.

Liverpool September 23, 24, 25

Next stop on the GOLD's tour was Liverpool. We are in a very central location with our hotel overlooking the Albert Dock

Anne in front of Bluecoat, an arts centre, the venue for both our rehearsals and our performance. It is the oldest building in Liverpool city centre, dating from the early 18th century.

Outside the centre and ready for our first rehearsal.

We were thrilled to see they had a glossy brochure advertising our concert.

Aspect ratio not right, but you get the idea. The concert was called Vital and we had several other groups performing with us.

In between rehearsing we had a little time to look around. Some of us went on a nostalgic trip to The Beatles Story. Of course The Beatles are the pride of Liverpool. This is the Caven where they started.

The Beatles at the Albert Docks, pre gentrification.

Bill on the Dock in front of the Tate Liverpool.

A sunken boat in front of the Tate Gallery. Some people thought it was supposed to be a work of art. Maybe it is

Liked this Italian Futurit painting, Abstract Speed-The Car has Passed, Giacomo Balla's, 1913.

Also this bicycle built for five.

Here on Albert Dock we also discovered The Yellow Submarine.

Afternoon tea with a couple of the Liverpudlian dancers. Can you believe it, they are named the GODs, which stands for Growing Older (Dis) Gracefully. Hummmm!!!!

At last the concert. Air Kiss. The good, the bad. Actually we thought we were the brilliant!

Pop Art was a huge success. The audience loved it. We really had them rocking when we premiered Liz's new version of I Wish I Was a Punk Rock Girl.

Our counterparts, the GODs, did an interesting dance about the suffragettes. No men in this group. They are now keen to visit us in Canberra, which would be great if they can pull it off.

Spotted in a shop!