Sing your sock off holiday 2012

A reminder that if you are stuck for interesting holiday plans for 2012 yourselves, and indeed your better halves, might be interested in the Sing Your Socks Off holiday.

The dream team - Chris, Dee, Fran and Elaine are at it again. They had such fun in the Czech Republic in 2010 that they've decided to go back in 2012.

This lovely country is accessible with convenient, cheap flights, great value food and drink and a real sense of adventure as we head eastwards into the Bohemia region.

They will be staying in Litomysl, a beautiful city about 150kms east of Prague, and the YMCA Europe Training Centre will house the workshop rooms. For 2012, they'll be offering a choice of accommodation, at both the YMCA and also the Aplaus Hotel - a gorgeous 4 star hotel in the town that they spent quite a lot of time in!

Have a look at the website www.singyoursocksoff.co.uk for all the holiday information and booking form - prices and flight information are detailed on the booking form.

January Notices

Well what an excellent first session of the year we had last Sunday. A truly magnificent collection of manhood gathered in the back room of The White Hart bolstered by the Swindon 2 (out of 3) and the Stroud 2 Many to count (half a dozen??).

Chris was on fine form, inspired by our latest performance at the Beer and Carols evening back before Christmas but was urging us all to blend our voices in ever improving tones. The sound we were making during Ah Robin was verily lyrical, really lovely, in our hairy, manly way. Mraval Jamier is also sounding pretty good, and Shosholoza will be quite a piece of performance art by the time we have finished with it (and no doubt found some spears and shields and other dressing up items!). And it was great to cap things off with a rousing Haul Away, Joe.

So, to draw your attention to new practice pieces on SoundCloud for Mraval Jamier and a Flying Solo session on Sunday 5th Feb to be lead by the wonderful Mr Phil Read. Carry on practicing.

Three more sleeps till we meet again

So, the New Year has started and how many resolutions have you managed to keep? There are so many good intentions at this time of year but how can you stay the distance and achieve that greatest of all things, gentlemanly bonhommie?

Well, we've made it easy for you to

1. Make new friends

2. Learn new skills

3. Sing like a bloke

all you have to do is join The Magnificent AK47!

New Members

Word on the street, in the pub and on the email is that a number of Blokes have let it be known that they might like to be invited to come along and join us at these sessions and many others. On behalf of the Inner Circle of The Magnificent AK47, we would like it to be known that the invitation to become a member is extended to all, dependent on the following criteria being achieved:

1. the prospective member can hold a tune and remember the words to a level appropriate for the rest of the group (ie reasonably well)
2. is a decent bloke and fits in with the rest of the Group and does not do anything untoward
3. pays any subscriptions as may be required

If you know of anyone likely to achieve these criteria who would like to come along, first session is free then pro rata for the rest of the term. Subscriptions are likely to be around the £30 mark for the first half of the year for the 4 planned Workshops. Please email themagnificentak47@gmail.com to let us know of any new prospective members just so we have an idea of how much beer we may need to blag from our Beer Sponsors.

As ever we are seeking to find that fine balancing line between being just a little too keen for some people and giving ourselves as many opportunities as possible to get together, have a darn good sing, and enjoy the extraordinary experience that is The Magnificent AK47.

Next Workshop
A reminder that we are due to re-convene again on Sunday 22nd January, 5 - 7 pm at The White Hart. Chris our Glorious Choirmeister has decreed that one and all should be revising the latest pieces, in particular Shosholosza, Ah Robin, Mravaljamier and And I love her. All are available on our SoundCloud. If anyone has difficulties using or downloading (click on the "Down Arrow" on the right by each track) use the above email address to let us know and we can probably help.

TMAK47 Movie Trailer

Not content with being the stars of stage and airwaves, the blokes continue to expand their video repertoire with their very first Movie Trailer.

The Village Cinema takes place on the first Wednesday of the month and usually puts on films more suited to the lady folk of the locality, however this month was a little different.

This video was prepared specially for Ashton Keynes' very own Village Cinema and was shown before this month's feature presentation, Senna. As commented by the Master of Ceremonies, the wonderful Mr David Shepherd, there were a lot more blokes in the audience than usual, most likely attracted by the topic of the film. Even for non-petrol heads it is a completely gripping story with some incredible footage of the behind the scenes of the power politics of Formula 1 Racing. A film well worth seeing for the human story let alone the footage of belting around a race track.

And here is a link to our YouTube channel.

Happy 2012

Hey, away, oo, ah, oo, oi, let, weopsi, haul, go . . . it must make some sort of sense, doesn't it?

Believe it or not, this a is a word picture known as a Wordle created by Brother Chris A (aka Crickladian or Cricky) of some of the lyrics to our songs. The more often a word appears, the bigger it is in the picture so you can quickly see how very erudite and complicated our material is by the words Go and Hey featuring as prominently as they do!

So 2011 was a fantastic year for The Magnificent AK47, we've performed all sorts of new material all over the place, as far away as Bristol, which is a long way when you come from North, North Wiltshire. Thanks to all the blokes who continue to make it all happen by turning up and singing their hearts out.

Here's to another great year in 2012 and see you all at our next Gathering on Sunday 22nd January 5-7pm - Workshop with Chris Samuel in The White Hart back room.

Till then, Wassail!!

New Year's Eve 2011

In case you have nothing better to do on this coming New Year's Eve you might be tempted out to The White Hart in Ashton Keynes to witness one or two or three of our brethern in another guise strutting their stuff as members of the renegade Party band, The Barking Chickens. They are due to deliver their steaming set of popular tunes from yesteryear mixed in with much tomfoolery and prizes for best dancing and heckles from 9pm onwards, so make sure you get there early to have plenty to drink before they get on.

As you can see, the date has already been highlighted as pretty much the only thing on the calendar in January (apart from our first Workshop on Sunday 22nd January from 5 - 7pm) which just shows how bleak January can be . . .

To liven things up we have the arrival of the vanguard order for the first TMAK47 Calendar. This has already received rave reviews by beholders of the first batch, despite the rather obvious comments from wives and assorted disparagers who snorted "it's a bit like the Calendar Girls except luckily they kept their clothes on"!

We should have the remainder of the main order by the time this post hits the e-streets and will have more information on pricing and availability.

Beer & Carols 2011

A little belatedly, but we received this email from the lovely Shirley Danby, Vicar of our Parish:

"a big thank you to you and the Magnificent AK 47 for coming and singing lustily tonight - it was a lovely community occasion and several people would like it next year and some interest in Beer and Hymns too (in "my place" with beer I heard from one person!!). Please pass my thanks to the guys and to Chris for coming a fair way and I hope they enjoyed it

Have a good Christmas and once again a big thankyou. Shirley"

Well, we think it was a great time had by all, from the daft headgear (can you spot "Chicken Head Stu" as he shall be known from now?), through to the very big smile on Chris Choirmeister's face, particularly during the Malpas Wassail.

Indeed, many thanks to all who took part and helped us end the year on a major high, great to see Nigel of Oxford and the Stroud Crowd, as well as the Swindon 3 and Cricklade 2 (a fair result!).

Wassail!!! Hah!