Wellington School Autumn Weekend
18th-20th October 2024
There were big changes for our Autumn Residential weekend in 2024 as we relocated to Wellington School, near Taunton. It was a considerable move with lots to organise but the weekend went well in its new venue.
Wellington School has a very different ambiance from the faded grandeur of Quantock Lodge but everyone embraced the change and a good time was had by all. The weekend hosted around eighty attendees, including new members who were made very welcome.
The weekend took place in the modern prep school, the teaching was in actual classrooms and there was a good-sized modern school hall for the Band to practice in during the day and plenty of room for everyone to congregate for the evening playing sessions. Fewer people stayed onsite this year but as the school is in a small town there was plenty of accommodation options within walking distance. Whether staying onsite or nearby, we were well looked after, with plenty of tea/coffee breaks and lots of good food.
Friday evening was taken up with introductions and a relaxed playing session. On Saturday and Sunday, the day started early with tuition and guidance delivered throughout the day in small groups for beginners and improvers on Anglo, Duet (Crane, McCann and Hayden) and English concertinas. The Band offered more complex music for those who wanted a challenge. Between teaching sessions there were opportunities to participate in Circle Dance and Playford tunes, Rounds, and Slow tunes.
On Saturday evening, after dinner, there was an enjoyable and relaxed social gathering in the hall. We played along with tunes, sang along with some fun songs and were treated to some excellent performances by our tutors.
Steve Dickinson of Wheatstone was available over the weekend to repair concertinas (he also gave an interesting talk about concertina maintenance). Barleycorn Concertinas were also there on the Saturday with a good selection of quality instruments – very tempting!
On Sunday afternoon, there was a showcase where each tutor group showed what they had learned over the weekend – it was impressive to see the progress people had made. There was a presentation and a big thank you to Claire Wren, who is taking some time out from the Autumn Weekend for a while. Claire has been an inspiring and committed member of our tutor team over the years and we will all miss her. After playing the last tune of our weekend together, ‘Farewell Old Friends', we were treated to a delicious cream tea before reluctantly heading home.
The WCCP Autumn Weekend is very friendly, welcoming and encouraging, participants will not only have made progress with their concertina playing but will also go home having made new friends.
