After working really hard since the beginning of the year the time had finally arrived for the Barbs to make their way over to St Raphael in Nice, France for the Choral Festival. Out of 38 ladies 7 were unable to attend the competition and we knew they would be sorely missed but would be routing for us and be with us in spirit. Here is a brief summary of what the remaining 31 ladies got up to.

Friday 4th July

The day had finally arrived for the first 14 ladies to head out. The first group of 5 were due to leave Heathrow at 8.45am but unfortunately found out on Thursday evening that their flight had been cancelled by British Airways due to the French Air Traffic Controllers strike.

Having informed MD Emma of their predicament they it went about looking for alternative ways to get to St Raphael in time for festivities to begin on Saturday but had to wait till Monday instead.

Options included: looking for other BA flights with spaces ; direct and indirect flights with other airlines from other UK airports such a Luton, Gatwick, Bristol, Bournemouth ; training it from St Pancras to Lille or Paris then hiring a car and driving down or getting another train from Lille or Paris.

Having looked at timings, prices and feeling completely dejected the sad thought that they might actually not make it to the competition at all started to hit home. Thankfully their perseverance paid off and 1 of the group managed to get on a BA flight leaving Saturday whilst the remaining 4 had to wait until Monday morning before they could fly to France and join up with the others.

To say those 4 spent the rest of the weekend in a form of limbo would be an understatement and Monday didn’t come soon enough! To cheer themselves up they met up for lunch on Friday and during the course of that lunch realised that their luggage would be a bit lighter. Monty Pythons ‘Always look on the bright side of life’ seemed to be the motto of the day!

Thankfully the remaining 9 ladies who were due to leave that day managed to get to France although their flights were delayed. This was a relief as it meant that MD Emma, PRO Jo, Section Leaders Claire (Lead), Marcia (Bass) and Melanie (Tenor) along with other members of the Barbs would be there to greet the remaining ladies as they arrived on Saturday.

Saturday 5th July

The day started with the arrival of the remaining 17 ladies including the first 1 from the group whose flight got cancelled the day before and much to Emma’s relief all arrived safe and well. Once they had all settled into their rooms and had a chance to get some lunch they walked to the auditorium in Palais de Congres for their stage test and a chance to warm up their voices before going back to the hotel and enjoying the rest of the day. After a well earned dinner they had an amazing time at the opening ceremony which took place at the Agora Stage were Emma (MD) and Marcia (Chair) proudly went on stage flying the flag for GB.

Sunday 6th July

After a good nights sleep and having started the day with a good breakfast the ladies had rehearsal time in the hotel. They spent time warming up their voices and going through the start of each of their songs and going through any moves and songs they felt a bit wobbly on.

The ladies arrived at the Palais de Congres and after getting into their outfit and sprucing their makeup they took to the risers for their first competition which was Equal Voices and their set consisted of: ‘Skyfall’, ‘Good Vibrations’, ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ and ‘It’s Raining Men’. They were up against Ladinia Women’s Choir (Italy,) Bella Canto(Canada), Women’s Choir Furiosa (Belgium) and Male Chamber Choir Permonik Karvina (Czech Republic) and were placed 5th with a total score of 61 points.

After lunch it was the chance for our senior group to showcase their hidden talents singing ‘One Voice’, ‘Good Vibrations’, a previous rep song ‘Happy/All About That Bass’ and ‘Holding Out For A Hero’. This time they were not only up against Ensemble Vocale de Meounes (France), Choeur d’hommes de Vannes (France) and Jeans Choir (Israel) but they also had the songs with the most moves. Those of the choir not in participating in this category were able to watch the competition which was being screened in an adjoining room. The Barbs came 2nd in this category with a total score of 63.17.

Once the competition side of the day was done the ladies had the chance to use the rest of the afternoon and evening to unwind, relax, have a well earned dinner and get themselves ready for more competition and singing on Monday.

Monday 7th July

This was the last day of the actual competition. The final 5 ladies, including the 4 who were stuck back home since Friday and Gemma (Baritone Section Leader) finally got to the hotel. They all made their way to the competition venue to warm up before making their way with the rest of the group to the Palais de Congres.

The only competition of the day in which the Barbs were competing was the Pop category where we sang ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, our newest song ‘Golden Years’, ‘Good Vibrations’ and ‘It’s Raining Men’. We were up against Jeans Choir (Israel) and Shu-te University Glee Club (Taiwan) who the previous day were joint winners with Chamber Choir Furiant (Belgium) in the Mixed Choir Category. In this category the Barbs came 2nd again with a total score of 68.33. 

We then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing before going to the Agora Stage where we would be performing in a short concert that evening for a quick warm up before dinner. The evening saw us head back to the Agora Stage were we had the privilege to watch other groups performing before it was our chance to take to the stage once again and entertain the audience with ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Golden Years’, ‘Skyfall’ and ‘It’s Raining Men’. Whilst the concert was a bit ‘breezy’ the audience really enjoyed hearing what the Barberettes had to offer. It was really enjoyable watching other choirs also perform their sets and how despite all our differences the love of music had managed to bring us all together. Then it was time to go back to the hotel and some well earned rest.

Tuesday 8th July

With the Barbs having sung their hearts out over the  weekend it was time for them all to completely relax and know we had given all we had to the three categories we had been entered into over the course of the previous two days. Whilst members were able to relax MD Emma had to meet the judges to get feedback of our performances and came back with lots of positive comments and ideas on how we can get even better.

After having spent the day relaxing in various ways, chilling by the hotel pool, having a lazy stroll along the promenade and beach, eating a leisurely lunch, and much much more 5pm saw us make our way to Place Aux Heroes et Aux Martys de Resistance for a friendly 5-minute concert where we entertained the audience with 'Happy/All About The Bass', our rendition of the Sea Shanty ‘What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor’ and our long time crowd pleaser 'It's Raining Men' before heading for dinner before then going back to the Agora Stage for the Closing Ceremony. It was then time to go back to our hotel, pack for our flights home the next day, and get some well earned rest.

Wednesday 9th July

After being part of such an amazing experience and competing with some amazing groups it was time for all of us to head home and back to reality. Our morning started with us all on a coach back to Nice where some of us managed to spend some time walking around the local area, having a relaxing lunch and then getting back to the airport for our various flights back to Heathrow.

With members of the chorus traveling home throughout the day with Emma and the 'Advanced Party' being the last to leave it was decided that we would forgo our regular Wednesday rehearsal and take a well earned rest before returning to rehearsal the following Wednesday where we needed to get ready for our visit to Bristol where we would be guests of ? and together celebrate both clubs 50th anniversary. More on that next time.