On Saturday evening last, 27th November, we held the first Norwich concert at St Thomas’ Church Hall on Earlham Rd.We were very nervous about attendance as only a few people bought tickets in advance, and the forecast was freezing weather with snow and ice....
The snow and ice caused delays all round, and it took us a while to figure out how to work the hi-tech switches to turn off the hall lights! When we eventually started the concert we had only about 20 people, but they just kept coming, and in the end we had 60-70 in all.
We heard great music from Teleri & Kiama, Jimmy & the Magic Shoe, Vic Salter, Ruth Gordon & Friends, Tom Foxe and Andrea.
A single bicycle generator provided power for two lighting strings and a sound system, with just a brief hiccup when the load proved a little too much, so we turned our lights off and asked our cyclist to pedal a bit harder! After we took a few bulbs out we switched our lights back on and had no more trouble. Having only a few lights made a really nice intimate atmosphere which added to the enjoyment of the evening.
Icy roads meant some bus services were suspended, forcing some people to use cars and taxis. Hall lighting had to be used some of the time, and power was needed to heat the soup – cold soup doesn’t really hit the spot! So we didn’t quite achieve zero carbon. But we all felt the concert had been a great success, and a good springboard from which to launch successful Zero Carbon events in the future.
Many thanks to Chris Keene – Zero Carbon World Concerts were his idea and he worked hard to help make them happen – see Zero Carbon World Concert. Thanks also to: Musicians, who gave their time freely, Tom Foxe: For sound, light and music, Teleri Lea: For posters, music and recruitment of other musicians, Lesley Grahame: For much-appreciated hot soup and fruit juice, St Thomas’ vicar Philip Young and Claire Everson for their help and support (Tom Foxe).
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