Not being very clever myself, I have managed to join a few ladies, who are very clever & do a weekly quiz. They don't mind me sitting with them & throwing in the odd correct answer to make it look like I know something. Imagine my surprise when I discover that four of the ladies with whom I entered the quiz are part of a barbershop harmony group known as the Pilarmonics.
Pilarmonics ladies choir.
One day during the quiz, Donna, a member of the Pilarmonics & one of the ladies I do the quiz with, told me about the first concert the Pilarmonics would be doing. I tried to make an excuse not to go but Donna physically held me down whilst other members of the Pilarmonics went through my wallet & extracted three euros from my wallet so that I could purchase a ticket. I soon found out that it was in fact the first ticket they had sold but they had soon sold two more tickets to quiz team member Debbie. Debbie & her husband Keith would now have to go to see the show as well so we joined together to form an escape committee.
Unable to sell my ticket on eBay, Facebook or at the local market I met with Keith & Debbie the afternoon of the show in a local bar, La Vid de Ojeda. I arrived early to have a drink to steel myself against the upcoming entertainment. The six nations rugby was on the television in the corner so I hid in the corner of the bar watching the rugby hoping that Keith & Debbie would not see me when they arrived & would leave without me. My luck looked to be holding as they walked past me & sat at another table, unfortunately, Keith was a rugby fan & whilst glancing to see the score he noticed me cowering in the corner. Debbie soon dragged me away from the television telling me that if she & Keith had to go then so did I. We finished our drinks & prepared ourselves for what was to come, we climbed into the car to make the short trip to Pilar de la Horadada.
We soon arrived at the Church hall where the show would be. I followed Keith & Debbie into the hall & thought I might get away without getting in when I at first couldn't find my ticket. Unfortunately, the very large bouncer/ticket collector at the door lifted me off the floor, hung me upside down by my ankles & shook me until my ticket fell out from where I had hidden it away. I straightened my clothing & walked into the hall where Donna was waiting to show me to my seat.
The show started with Donna giving us a brief description of the Pilarmonics & some background information on Barbershop harmonics. I have to say it was very interesting & I thought I may hang around for the first few songs. Keith was sitting next to me & although he didn't say anything I think he was preparing to make a bolt for the door, sadly for him I was in the way & Debbie wouldn't let him out without her. Two songs in & I realised that I actually quite liked the singing, the Pilarmonics were great & that I had been tapping my feet all the way through. Two songs later & Keith, I believe, had also given up on his escape plans.
We were then introduced to the group & the different sections by Dawn (another quiz team member) & shown how the different sections fitted together to produce the great-sounding music that we were listening to. The ladies in the Pilarmonics were even brave enough to get the audience to participate in the singing, although Keith sang more than I did, I believe my feet tapped more. After this, there was a small break where tea, soft drinks & cakes were sold. A raffle was held & as expected, she always wins, Debbie won the first prize a nice hamper of mixed food & drink. This was followed up by every prize but one being won by someone sitting either directly next to us or in the row in front of us. I honestly didn't see anything underhand going on but wished I'd bought a ticket.
The second half followed with a few more songs before the group split & we heard a few songs from a quartet from within the group that will be singing separately in competitions as well as with the other ladies of the Pilarmonics. They then all rejoined to form the group & sang the songs that they would be singing at Belamadena in April in competition. The quartet was great & the whole group were great, I think they will all do well. I did not have any idea how much I would like this type of music but the ladies opened my eyes & I can honestly say that I really enjoyed it & will go to hear them again. Well done to the ladies of Pilarmonics whether you wanted one or not, you now have another fan.