A Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Evening!

On Friday 31 August 2007, an evening of sharing a love of singing was held in the MacFarlane Hall, with the local Peebles Old Parish Church Choir welcoming the ladies' choir, Otsailan from Hendaye in south-west France.

Throughout the evening, the 2 choirs sang in a kind of "musical ping-pong" with the choirs singing several songs to each other and an audience of friends and families of the Old Parish Choir.

During the interval, the vistors mixed with the audience and chatted over a glass of wine, with everyone practising their linguistic skills.  The interval also provided an opportunity to view the excellent display of photographs brought over by the visiting choir which illustrated the many and varied aspects of the culture of the Basque area around Hendaye.

The evening was completed with the 2 choirs singing together - firstly, a Basque song "Hegoak"
(Click here to listen to it), the most popular Basque song used as a symbol of resistance against the Franco regime - secondly, "Highland Cathedral", the ever-popular patriotic Scottish song. (Listen to it in the Eastgate report below).

An appreciative audience heartily applauded the joint choirs.  The evening ended with the Peebles-Hendaye Twinning Association Chairman, Bruce Macalister, giving a warm vote of thanks.

As the audience dispersed, there were whispers of the possibility of the Old Parish Choir making a return visit to Hendaye!

MORE PICTURES BELOW - CLICK ON EACH TO ENLARGE