The Santa’s Singers at The British Embassy 2013

A week after my debut with the Santa’s Singers, we were at it again, but this time at the British Embassy Xmas party, on Saturday 7th December 2013. 

The British Embassy in Buenos Aires

This time around we sang the following:

 . let all creation celebrate

 

 

traditional christmas carols medley I

 

 

 

 

 

 

. I wish you Christmas

 

 

. el nacimiento

 

 

. the jingle jolliest season

 

 

traditional christmas carols medley II

 

 

Notice the Ambassador himself has joined the choir here to sing a few songs with us! 

 

 

 

. star of the east

 

And for the finale we’re joined by the children for some fave xmas ditties…

 

 

Once again as always thanks to Mike and partner for the filming, Ian for the choir mastering, and the Santa’s Singers for making xmas more xmasy this year.  Many thanks to the ABCC and the Embassy for having us as well. 

Merry Xmas everybody! 

The Santa’s Singers at Belgrano Athletic Club 2013

My singing of songs took on a whole new plane last year when I joined the Santa’s Singers.  Unfortunately ( 🙂 ) I spent the whole of December 2012 in Peru and so couldn’t join the singers at any of their yearly carolling events.  But this year, after two hard months of weekly rehearsals, I made my Santa’s Singers’ debut at the Belgrano Athletic Club.  

Belgrano Athletic Club

Unfortunately, since I’m a tall bass and so stand at the end of the line, I spent most of the gig behind a lampshade, but you can enjoy my left ear at times.  And if you know my voice you might be able to distinguish my dulcet tones at certain more confident moments, although I was rather quiet tonight as it’s been a long time since my singing voice has been on stage, even among such supportive companions.  

The song list for the evening went as follows:

. come share this night of joy

 

 

. away in a manger

 

 

. el nacimiento

. the joy of christmas

. star of the east

 

Many thanks to Mike and his wife for organising the filming of the singing.  And congratulations to my companeros for being such a great choir and welcoming me with open arms.  And a special mention to our choir master, Ian, for leading us to heights undreamed of.

Enjoy!

Keep on waiting

Somebody

Somewhere

Wants me too

Somebody

Somewhere

I love you

So where are you?

When’s it gonna be?

You and me.

You and me. 

 

Is it gonna be here?

Is it gonna be there?

You know I don’t care

I just…

…keep on waiting

Keep on waiting…

 

Keep on dancing all the night

Keep on laughing through the fight

Keep on singing the words aren’t right

Waiting

Waiting

Waiting

I keep on waiting…

Glastonbury Song

43 years later than needed

Even though we just met yesterday

You’ve got more about you to live for

Than all the things I sing I say

So young, so beautiful so alive so a-love

So young, so beautiful so alive so a-love

 

So many weeks later than heeded

Even though I realised yesterday

You’ve got lots about you to fight for

More than all the things I bring today

So young, so beautiful so alive so a-love

So young, so beautiful so alive so a-love

 

So many days later than tweeted

Responding immediately to what you say

You’ve got what I wanted to die for

More then anything I can say

So young, so beautiful so alive so a-love

So young, so beautiful so alive so a-love

Comeback #87 Conference #3

Easy by mcneilmahon at Garmin Connect – Details.

Seems like I spend more time injured than I do as a runner.  After two months nursing a torn calf – it still feels torn and lumpy but I felt it might hold up to some light running – and inspired by the wife and friends running the half marathon of Buenos Aires on Sunday (while I was giving my online workshop), I finally managed to trot out for 3km last Friday and 4km this evening (unaccompanied by the wife whose quads are still suffering :). 

As always with my numerous comebacks, early thoughts are always on trying to keep form and not overstress any muscles and I’m consciously trying to lift my quads a little higher and so have a longer bouncier stride this time round.  The softer style new shoes I got from Run&Become back in June help with this and seem to give me better protection that the previous harder ones I used to use. 

But I was also thinking about IHTOC3 and the call for papers that I have to get out by the end of the week.  It’s an exciting time of year as we start organising a new conference, especially since this one is going to be open to all and not just limited to IH teachers.  Let’s hope we can do some solid marketing over the next two months and pull the EFL crowds in on the 2nd and 3rd of November.  

So many things to think about – the rooms, the speakers, the sessions, the moderators, my own contribution, exciting times ahead.  Let’s hope I can keep injury free for these two months so some fresh air and lively muscles can help me to organise the conference even better than the previous two.  Let’s get it on!

Materials for Surviving Through Song – IHWO LOW September 2012

Here are all the materials you need to enjoy ‘Surviving through Song – words of wisdom for EFL teachers’ which I’m presenting as an IHWO Live Online Workshop this September – Enjoy!

I’m hoping to post blogs about each of the songs used in the workshop, but having done a couple of them, I can see it might take me a while to do them all, but hopefully we’ll get there eventually.  

Here are the first few:

It’s my party – for students

It’s my party – for teachers

The slides:

The Songs:

Lesley Gore – It’s my party

The Boomtown Rats – I don’t like Mondays

The Smiths – Ask

Oasis – Wonderwall

Dead or Alive – You spin me round

The Cure – Just like heaven

The Handouts

IHTOC50 NM HO Lesley Gore – It’s My Party Handout 1

IHTOC50 NM HO Lesley Gore – It’s My Party Handout 2

IHTOC50 NM HO Lesley Gore – It’s My Party Handout 3

IHTOC50 NM HO The Boomtown Rats – Tell me why I don’t like Mondays

IHTOC50 NM HO The Smiths – Ask

IHTOC50 NM HO Oasis – Wonderwall

IHTOC50 NM HO Dead or alive – you spin me round

IHTOC50 NM HO The Cure – Just Like Heaven

The Observation Tasks

The Sixties – For Observation IHTOC50 NM TO Errors & Correction

The Seventies – For Observation IHTOC50 NM TO Critical Moments

The Eighties – For Observation IHTOC50 NM TO On The Podium

The Nineties – For Observation IHTOC50 NM TO Successful Stages

The Noughties – For Observation IHTOC50 NM TO Going Round In Circles

I hope you enjoy the workshop – if so, please do leave a comment and tell a colleague about it!

Easy Wedding Preparations in Madrid

Easy Madrid by mcneilmahon at Garmin Connect – Details.

Having returned to England from Italy, we didn’t get around to running again – too much shopping and family lunches to do.  So once we were in Spain, we did a preemptive run around Retiro before that night’s wedding – the reason we went to Europe at this time of year.  

 

Buen Retiro Park

It was very hot and so we ran around the park trying to stay in the shade as much as possible.  Thoughts were focused on the wedding and how a Spanish wedding would differ from an Argentine one and then already about returning to Buenos Aires, since we were leaving the next evening.  Once back home it was time to start training for the half marathon and if all goes well the marathon in October.  But they’ll both need lots of luck and controlled training if I’m not to get injured again and miss them both.  Even as I was having these thoughts my long-standing calf injury came back to tweak me.

Loving Lake Garda

Easy Lake Garda by mcneilmahon at Garmin Connect – Details.

On the way back from Venice to Milan for our flight back to England, we stopped off on the coast of Lake Garda, near Lazise, for a few hours on the beach and in the lake.  We swam, we read, we ate carpaccio and hamburgers, and then just before the sun started to set we had a little 5km-ish run up and down the side of the lake.  We didn’t go too far, since the lakeside path seemed to stop on us at one point, but we enjoyed an easy run alongside a beautiful lake with fabulous views of blue.

Lazise, Lake Garda

Mer was running her new webbed shoes for the run, I’m going to let mine wait until back home in buenos Aires so that I can wear them in properly.  If I have lots of injuries with normal running shoes, imagine the problems I might have completely changing my form to a front of the foot running style.  At the same time, by wearing them in and getting used to them slowly, I’m hoping that eventually they’ll help me to run light and stay injury free.

My bare footing running shoes

Hitting The Hills, Hitting The Beach! in Venice

Hills Venice by mcneilmahon at Garmin Connect – Details.

From England we headed to Italy to watch Operas at La Scala (Manon), the Arena in Verona (Aida) and La Fenice in Venice (Carmen), which were all brilliant in their own way.  The day we arrived in Venice, Mer couldn’t stand the heat (39 degrees) and so insisted on going to the beach.  The beach! I was expecting museums, churches, canals and gondolas and found myself on The Beach!  We had fun though and saw great views of Venice from the vaporetto on the way out to the Lido, I might even recommend it.  

But when we got back to Venice proper in the evening, it was time to take a look around and what better way to do it than to go for a run (very Woody Allen in Everyone says I love you I found out afterwards!)

It was lovely to meet Venice again by running up and down it’s bridges and getting cut off by canals.  I’d been once about 15 years ago for a day and it had rained and I hand;t thought much of the place.  But now, returning in a couple and enjoying The Beach and then a run, the magic of the place really came out.  It was also excellent hills training with all those steps to deal with and the breathtaking architecture meant we had run three or four kilometers without even realizing it.  We also got quite a lot of odd looks as we walked back through St Mark’s Square on the way back.  It seems Woody and Julia haven’t made running through the streets of Venice all that popular! 

Brighton beach – running abroad

Easy Brighton by mcneilmahon at Garmin Connect – Details.

There’s always incredibly rewarding things about running on holiday.  First of all the sheer goodness you feel about enjoying running enough to take the time to do it when you’re allowed to be doing nothing.  Secondly, the freshness and curiosity of running in a completely new environment, enjoying the reaction of differently cultured passers-by, the differing weather and taking in the new views and paths and landscapes.

And so even though I’ve run in Brighton before (my little sister lives there), I was filled with enthusiasm and energy as the wife and I set off down the seafront.  Especially since I was in my new shoes, purchased in Run and Become a few days before.  I was also nursing a calf injury, so was a bit worried it might not hold up and I would;t be able to run again on the holiday – we were in England, Italy and Spain for three weeks in total, visiting family, watching operas and going to a wedding in each respective country.

But the calf held up, the sea breeze invigorated and the shoes felt very comfy.  I’d gone for springier ones from Mizuno rather than the rather rigid Sauconys I’d had before.  I was worried they might not give me enough support, but so far so very good, I felt I was bouncing more and hopefully this means my knees will benefit from more bend and I might even lessen the injuries.  Time will tell!