Afo News Blog
Ceilidh for Siya
After learning the very sad news that one of the wonderful people the orchestra met in Hout Bay during the tour of South Africa passed away, many members of the orchestra wanted to help his family at this time. Four of our senior girls organised a ceilidh in his honour
Prestwick Promenade Celebrations
One of my favourite AFO gigs of the year is the Prestwick Promenade Celebration as this was the first gig I played as a new member of the orchestra – AFO the Christmas and Summer Concert in my first year of course.
Day Seventeen – We’re Coming Home
This morning was our final day on tour. We woke up in Ayr, but note quite the one in Scotland. Many of the players were attending and playing in church services this morning, both AFO tunes and some hymns too.
Day Sixteen – Party, Party, Party
Last night most of us finally got more than 8 hours sleep. However, others made it to a Karaoke Bar last night and I think got home quite a bit later than others.
Day Fifteen – Between London and Paris
This morning was one of the most difficult mornings to wake up, after a very exciting Tour Awards. Buses were loaded and ready to leave by 10 for a short drive to Niagara Falls. We arrived at 12 and dispersed for lunch before the boat trip around the falls.
Day Fourteen – Tour Awards
Today was a great day. We started for with a bit of a lie in which was much needed after the tough drive and concert yesterday. The plan for the day was for everyone to go to CN Tower however, as some people needed some extra sleep this excursion became optional.
Day Thirteen – Hot and Humid
As are well practised now at getting up and packing the buses for another travel day. This morning we left Montréal for Toronto a little later than planned after getting back quite late last night we had to push the leaving time a little and once we pack the busses one of them wouldn’t start so that caused another 45-minute delay to the day.
Day Twelve – Wet, Wild and Wonderful
A slight schedule change for today as we were supposed to go to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa, but with an extremely tired orchestra with yet another concert tonight it was thought best to have a lie in and head straight to the water park Calypso. This orchestra was very much in favour of this idea as it gave us a little more time in the water park.
Day Eleven – Think to yourself, have I seen the penguins?
Montréal day two was first spent at the BioDome, a huge building originally build for the Olympics has since turned into a home for wildlife. There were many different animals that stay in varying kinds of habitats and environments. The highlight of the BioDome for many were the penguins and the otters, swimming about in their enclosures.
Tour Dates
To our friends in America and Canada, here are our tour dates for our North American Tour in July. Don’t forget to put it in your diaries!...
Day Ten – Party in the Park
After a long day on the busses it was nice to have a good nights sleep in comfy beds and recharge for our first day in Montréal. Breakfast was at 8 and at half 9 we boarded the buses for guided tours around Montréal and a walk at Mount Royal to see the amazing view of the city.
Day Nine – Birthdays and Freeways
One of the latest nights of tour was followed by the earliest morning of tour, meeting at 6am at the buses to pack up and head out. It was very hard to leave behind the new friends we had made and we all wanted to stay and spend more time in their beautiful town.
Day Eight – Electric Concert
Today was finally some free time with hosts and a bit of a lie in. Some of the activities of the day included go karting, shopping, shooting. It was a great opportunity to spend the last of the dollars before we head off to Canada and change currency.
Day Seven – Screaming and streaming
Today was one of my favourite days of tour, the theme park Kings Island. It is no secret that I and many other members of the orchestra love rollercoaster and other thrill rides so today was a big treat, for other not so much. But Kings Island has lots of other attractions too to occupy the non-thrill seekers among us.
Day Six – To Infinity and Beyond
Today was our first proper day in Ohio. After a wonder breakfast of pancakes and scrambled eggs we meet in the car park and drove about 20 minutes down the road to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Day Five – Hit the Road Jack
We were still recovering from the crazy night last night when we got up this morning but it was suitcase packing and bus loading time. We were on board and ready to leave just after 8 for a long day on the buses.
Day Four – AFO without the Shackles
This has been the best AFO day ever according to Musical Director David Moore.
The morning was another early start, but most days seem to be. We were on the buses by 8am, our subway days are thankfully over, and drove down to the United Nations building for guided tours.
Day Three – You’re In The Band
After a monster of a day yesterday we took today a bit more slowly and relaxed. We started the day with breakfast at 8, and I know a lot of people were happy to see pancakes and Nutella at the buffet.
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