Saturday
Hi, my name is Saba and I am a Ranger from Somerset. Apart from Girlguiding I have one other passion and that is music. To be precise, I play the French Horn, which is the circle-shaped brass instrument in the orchestra.
Last year, my leader told me about an orchestra run by Girlguiding and Scouts – so after doing a bit of research and checking my calendar, I applied to the National Scouts and Guides Symphony Orchestra (NSGSO). I should also mention that there is another ensemble called the National Scouts and Guides Concert Band (NSGCB) which runs at the same time, this may come up in this next week so I might as well let you know.
Just before New Year, I got an email to say that I had been accepted to play for NSGSO! “I am going to Birmingham for a week of music making” I thought, “I can’t wait”.
Fast forward to today: my bags are packed, the 3 hour car journey has been planned and to say I’m excited would be an understatement!
Sunday
Good evening!
First reactions: wow what a day! I had an early start and was in the car by 9am, the drive was rainy and grim but the destination made up for the bad weather.
I arrived for registration at 1pm and unpacked my bags ready for the week. We are staying at the Old Swinford Hospital School, the boarding houses are providing the accommodation and we are rehearsing in two of the large spaces in the school. It is a very nice atmosphere and the hall where we are rehearsing is great.
After the usual information from the leaders we had some ice breaker activities in our dorm blocks, all the girls are so nice. The majority of us are first-timers, however the girls who have been to NSGCB and NSGSO have been really helpful with settling us in.
We then were taken around the school to show us where all of the key places are and then everyone congregated in the main hall for a full ice breaker session.
We attempted to take some large group photos, but the weather had other plans so we are taking them tomorrow.
We were shown to our sectional rooms (this is when each section/instrument of the orchestra meets up to practice together with a leader – here it was all the brass together) by the more experienced players and then it was off to dinner. The food is very nice and I had a lovely chat to another French Horn player who is part of Scouts about what I do in Girlguiding and he was more than happy to answer all my questions about Scouts!
After dinner we had some full rehearsals, we went through the Tchaikovsky (Symphony 2) with the whole orchestra. The rest of my section are really supportive and encouraging. I am playing 2nd horn and I admire the girl on 1st horn, her playing is beautiful! Something to look up to.
I’ve had my shower and I am now looking forward to my bed, good night!
Monday
First comments: I’m exhausted. Today has been amazing, and amazingly busy too.
I started the day with a wonderful Full English Breakfast and then it was quickly onto photos. First major rehearsals happened this morning – we worked on Elgar’s In the South, it’s a challenging piece but definitely a fun one. After a break we had sectionals.
We all had lunch followed by the uniform check and free time. Once my uniform was checked I chose to go to the badge swap where I have gained multiple new badges and given away my unwanted ones. I then did some craft and attended the mindfulness session which was a welcome break in the hectic day.
More sectionals were followed by dinner.
And then a few joint rehearsals of both the NSGSO and NSGCB, we had tuti (where the whole orchestra/ensemble meets to rehearse) and joint sectionals.
The evening activity tonight was the Ceilidh (a Scottish dance). It was a lot of fun – uncoordinated as I am. After the dances we finished with Auld Lang Syne and then everyone went to their dorms for bed, where I am now. Good night!
Tuesday
Today has been exhausting, so I’ll give you a few highlights of the day to make this a little shorter today.
In the morning we had a sectional rehearsal, our sectional tutor has very high standards for all of us and makes sure that we are all confident and secure in our parts before moving on, this can be a challenge but will definitely improve me as a player.
I thought it would be too cold to do the water fight today, so I decided to do some crafts and the mindfulness session again. I made a keyring with Hama beads which I need to pick up tomorrow.
After all of our rehearsals this evening, I went to the Trading Post, which is a game which involves completing mini tasks to earn fictional money and the team with the most money at the end wins. Tasks included: put someone in the recovery position, recite the Guide Promise, tie a reef knot, name the 8 points of a compass, write down the phonetic alphabet, make a makeshift hat and make a drinkable cup of tea. This was very fun and our team came 3rd!
I’ve just planned out my day for tomorrow as it is even busier than today! Good night.
Wednesday
I have thoroughly enjoyed my day today, the most exciting thing I did was the activity session. Before the start of the course we were given the opportunity to choose from a variety of different activities to take place today – I choose the Bell Ringing option. Some of the other options were Wall Climbing, Kayaking, and Paddle boarding. I really enjoyed my session, we were taken to a local church, and shown the ropes of bell ringing. It was great to get an understanding of all the mechanics that are involved and to get a chance to do some ringing too.
I have decided on an early night tonight so I am ready for tomorrow.
I have been entrusted with tinky-winky tonight – hope he sleeps well.
Thursday
We had lots of rehearsals today so I am very tired.
Today we said goodbye to our sectional tutors, the brass section put together a gift bag of funny things that all related to what Mathew, our Tutor, has said over the week. It was hilarious watching him pull the different items out of the bag and for us to explain their meanings.
It was also our presentation evening, where we collected our certificates and most importantly our badges!
Friday
This morning we left for rehearsals at the concert venue, The Ruddock Hall, Birmingham.
It’s a wonderful concert hall with 350 tiered seats, I’ve not played somewhere like it before so it was definitely a fun experience.
I’ve just come back from our first concert! It was amazing and I am buzzing with adrenaline despite how late it is. Everyone played so well, I’m really pleased with how it went.
Sorry for such a short entry today.
Saturday
Today was very similar to yesterday but with a few fun extras. We had a full house at tonight’s concert and in the audience was the Chief Guide and The Scouts – UK Commissioner for Programme!
The Concert Band had a separate concert this afternoon and we got a chance to watch them perform, it was nice to be on the receiving end of a concert for once!
We then changed into our concert dress and went onto stage. I think that yesterday’s concert went better but I still really enjoyed it.
Back on the coach to the school for the all important NSGSO & NSGCB Got Talent! I have to say, watching a person dressed as a platypus playing the recorder will have to be one of my highlights of the week.
Sunday
Good afternoon, I am on my way home now.
I’ve had a tiring and enjoyable week, met some amazing people and played some phenomenal music.
If you know anyone or you are a musician in Guiding or Scouting and are ready for a challenge. Then I’d definitely recommend NSGSO or NSGCB! Look at https://nsgso-nsgcb.com for more information if you are interested.
Girlguiding Somerset county 