Friday 23 December

Subapon 5 School in Phuket Town

Huge Cheers - a good start

 

San, the man with the van, arrives at 8.00 to help us load all the costumes and props into the van (which is air conditioned and a palace of luxury compared to the vans we travelled in in Sri Lanka). We set off at 8.30 and arrive at the school at 9.15. Joy of joys, the English teacher we had asked for is there to greet us, and we are taken up to a huge hall on the 3rd floor (a long way to carry the props, but some of the children help us) where Christmas carols are blaring out on a rather wonky PA as some children are carrying out final preparations for their show.

 

Chaotic

 

A RATHER DISORGANISED PARACHUTE GAME IN THE HUGE 4TH FLOOR HALL OF OUR FIRST THAI SCHOOL

 

The first 60 children arrive and Steve and I run parachute games while the performers set up the show. The games are chaotic, but are very much enjoyed.

 

We start the first show at 10.00 am, but from the very start it is clear that there are serious problems with the school's PA. Poor Jess, who is meant to be running the sound equipment, is having a horrible time - sometimes the CD's we have the different show pieces on won't play at all, at other times there is horrendous feedback and fuzziness - the performers plough on heroically, and somehow we get through it - luckily the audience of about 450 children really loved the show - they seemed amazed by the juggling particularly - and didn't seem to "phased" by our sound problems.

 

Spinning Plates

 

JO LEADS THE PLATE-SPINNING WORKSHOP IN ONE OF THE ONLY SHADY PATCHES IN THE SCHOOL YARD

 

From 11 to 12 we run workshops in shaded (fairly shaded!) spaces in the big playground - Hags runs ball games and juggling, Jo and Jake teach spinning plates and diabolo, Steve plays with the boomsticks and Jess and I do the badge making. The children are fascinated by the badge machine!

 

Our very own PA system

We are given lunch with the staff in the cool library - delicious Thai food - rice, hot curries, soup and lots of fruit. We would normally run the next workshops from 1 till 2, and then run the second show 2.15 to 3.00, but as the children are doing their own show this afternoon, we have to skip the second workshop and run the second half of the show from 2.30. We decide that rather than rely on using the school's PA's, we really need to get one of our own, and Haggis rushes out in in our extended lunch hour, with Somchai, to a nearby sound shop. For the equivalent of £180 he gets a really superb PA wtih amp, CD player, huge speakers and 2 radio microphones - it would have cost at least £1,000 in England! We didn't expect this expenditure, but hopefully the budget will stand it - we will find some needy school or community centre in Khao Lak that would benefit from a PA, and make sure that Linda takes it to them once we have finished the Tour.

 

A lot safer

We all feel a lot safer now we have our own PA - it will be a pain lugging it around, as it is big, cumbersome and heavy, but that is a small price to pay for feeling confident that we will have good sound to accompany the shows. The second show for 650 children goes really well, and the children (and school staff!) really enjoy it. Huge cheers at the end, and we are all presented with Christmas gifts (which tun out to be towels - I think all the children get given them at Christmas - tremendously useful, as the performers get vey hot and wet during the shows and it will stop the already established arguments of "Where's MY towel?").

 

A very good start to the Tour, and we feel pleased and relieved that the shows were well received - they will get better and better as time goes on.

 

Back to our villa, dinner on the beach and bed.

 

24 December