Two decades on and show is still as wonderful as ever


by Vivien Meath


TWENTY years have passed, but the enduring quality of “Yanomamo”, acclaimed as the world's first "green" musical, is as strong as ever. In a school hall converted


into a jungle, hundreds of par­ ents, relatives and friends attended one of St Augustine's RC High School's three evening performances of the musical outlining the destruc­ tion of nature in the Amazon rain forest. • The production was both pounding and passionate, stir­ ring feelings and evoking memo­ ries of the 1980s, when “Yanomamo” resulted in per­ formances in London, Washing­ ton and Rome, as well as televi­ sion appearances. For headteacher Mr Antho­


Augustine's, other than it was the school my wife's family went to," he now recalls. It was then beyond his wildest dreams to consider that, two decades later, he would be not only working in the school, but leading it for­ ward with two of his own three children, soloist Siobhan and


evening drew to a close, it was Mr McNamara who leapt to his feet to lead a standing ovation, thoroughly deserved. The musical was the first of several to be co-written by the


Niamh, on stage taking part in the musical. And, as an inspirational


ny McNamara, Thursday's opening night was an emotional occasion. He was in the audi­ ence at King George’s Hall in 1983 when “Yanomamo” was first performed. He had returned from four years in Angola and watched and lis­ tened spellbound. "I knew little about St


Clitheroe family's cycle marathon will help boost the work of Christie’s


A CLITHEROE family is join­ ing thousands of other fund-rais­ ers on a 56-mile bicycle ride to raise money for the Christie’s for Cancer charity. Bernadette, Paul and Adam


Worden, who live at Hawthorne Place, Clitheroe, will also be joined by Adam’s friend, Liam Calvert, on the sponsored cycle. The organised ride, which will


take place on Sunday, will take the four fund-raisers from Man­ chester to Blackpool. Afterwards, there will also be a


huge picnic and fair at Stanley Park in Blackpool to celebrate finishing the journey. Adam, who has recently


School Sixth Form in September. Liam (17) is already a t the


Sixth Form and will sit his A- Levels next summer.


Any sponsorship or donations


would be welcome. Please contact Bernadette on 01200 427345. • Mr Paul Worden recently


attended a reception at Bucking­ ham Palace with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh as one of three employees of TDS Promethean, Blackburn, Win­ ners of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Tomorrow, Mrs Worden, a pri­


turned 16, has just finished his GCSEs a t St Augustine’s RC High School, and hopes to go to ' the Clitheroe Royal Grammar


mary school teacher, will go to Bridgewater Hall in Manchester for an awards ceremony, where she will receive a Certificate in Professional Studies - Early Years Specialism from Manches­ ter Metropolitan University.


school's head of music, Peter Rose, and SS John Fisher and Thomas More High School, Colne, teacher Anne Conlon. When the production, com­


missioned by the World Wildlife Fund, was taken to Washington in 1988, rock star Sting was the narrator. The Washington Times


music critic reported: "The St Augustine boys and girls sang with angelic voices, pure in tonation and exemplary diction . . . the soloists were superb." Had the critic been at Thurs­


day evening's performance 20 years later, I doubt he or she would have written anything any different. Simply memoris­ ing the words to the songs dur­


Jungle Garden/Yanomamo," by Francesca Holt, to James Keane's "Bum them Trees," the soloists performed with a matu­ rity beyond their years. They were matched by a 100-plus strong choir, resplendent in smart school uniforms, and a magnificent school band. Pianist was Mr Rose - there could have been none better,


and Thursday's narrator was Toni Hudson. She sang one of the solos in


the 1988 performances in Blackburn, New York and Washington and, two years later, played the lead part in


ing the two-hour performance was a feat on its own! From the opening solo "The


Ocean World. Now teaching music at Thornleigh Salesian College, Bolton, she was one of three guest narrators, the other two being Jane Flynn and Ivan Hattingh. At the end of a perfect


evening, Mr Rose invited any members of the audience who had previously taken part in “Yanomamo” to join the choir. Fifteen stepped forward and will undoubtedly remember the occasion for the rest of their lives. On Saturday, almost 40 for­


mer pupils joined the choristers for the finale.


Anne Conlon was in the first-


night audience and must have felt immensely proud of her


continuing involvement in the production. The words had been re-writ­


ten, and she revealed how, 20 years earlier, the Brazilian Embassy had checked the details given in the original per­ formance to ensure that CAFOD’s statistics were cor­ rect. With Mr Rose, she has been


responsible for productions including "The Conversion Job - the life of St Augustine", "African Jigsaw", "Ocean World", "Arrabica", "Song of Creation", and "Daughters of Pendle".


performed hundreds of thou­ sands of times by schools


“Yanomamo” has now been


worldwide. With Mr Rose, she is currently working on anoth­ er commission with a view to a performance by a group of Lon­ don children. This week, St Augustine's


school hall will be returning to normal, the netting and camou­ flage donated by the Army and special effects produced by the school's a r t and technology departments, taken down. However, memories of


“Yanomamo” 2003 will certain­ ly ive on for some time to come. Pictured are just a few of the


choristers who took part in the show. (B100703/5b) • More pictures will be appearing in the Valley.


Farmland beauty will be captured for ever on film


BUDDING photographers in the Ribble Val­ ley are being urged to capture the area’s most picturesque farmland on film in a nationwide contest to highlight the stunning beauty of the countryside. Would-be David Baileys who best represent


Britain’s world-famous patchwork landscapes have the chance to win a major cash prize and show off their work.


The photographic competition is part of the


NFU’s c/o British Farming campaign to high­ light the importance of agriculture and horti­ culture to the rest of society. The North-West regional winner will scoop


£500 with £250 for the under-18 winner and both will go into the national final. The overall national winner of the over-18s category will receive £1,000 and the under-18s winner £500. Judging will take place in October and winners will be notified by post.


Speaking on behalf of the c/o British Farm­


ing campaign partners, Mr Steve Ellwood, of HSBC Agriculture, said: “The picturesque patchwork of the British countryside is famous throughout the world and is part of what makes Britain Britain. “I t is the efforts of farmers and growers


which make it look so stunning. This competi­ tion to find the most scenic farmed landscape aims to highlight that beauty that we all take for granted.” Competition entry forms and conditions are


available on the c/o British Farming website www.cobritishfarming.org.uk and from NFU roadshows throughout the region over the summer. The deadline for entries is September 16th. The winning shots will appear on the c/o


British Farming campaign website, campaign newsletter and future promotional material.


Help for those in greatest need


determine what needs there are in the Ribble Valley community, as well as the sporting inter­ ests and the support available for disabled peo­ ple in the borough. Mr Peter Fletcher, disability sports officer for


ough a network of contacts who can impart their knowledge, as well as enabling the council to pass


Ribble Valley Borough Council, said: “In order to know how best to provide leisure opportuni­ ties for disabled people in the Ribble Valley, we need to identify them, and ask them, this new database give us an opportunity to do this.” He added that the database will give the bor­


A NEW database to gather information about the needs of people with disabilities who want to access sport and leisure opportunities is being set up in the Rib­ ble Valley. Details from the database will be used to


on information about forthcoming events. Details for the database will be recorded on an


entry form which can be obtained form Mr Fletcher or via leisure centres, swimming pools, Ribble Valley social services, the youth and com­ munity service, the Trinity Community Part­ nership, secondary schools’ SEN co-ordinators and the reception at Ribble Valley Borough Council. Aggregated information, which does not iden­


tify individuals, will be used for session planning and proposed events. Inclusion in this new database is of impor­


tance to people with learning difficulties, physi­ cal disabilities, sensory impairments and mental health problems.


Anyone who wants more information about


the database can contact Mr Fletcher by tele­ phone on 01200 414435.


ROSCOES Solicitors


THE clock was turned back almost 2,000 years at Ribchester Playing Fields at the weekend. Members of the Legio Secunda Augusta,


an award-winning Roman re-enactment society based in Portsmouth, staged a dra­ matic and exciting weekend of Roman mili­ tary, domestic and gladiatorial activities.' They gave an accurate portrayal of what


life would have been like when the Romans occupied Britain.


Former pupil back in class


DELIGHTED Mrs May Milligan (80), of Abbott Brow, Mellor, returned to her former school on Monday -but this time not for lessons! Mrs Milligan had been


specially invited as a former pupil of Balderstone School to present the prize to the winner of the logo design competition for the 500-year- old celebrations next year of St Leonard’s Church, Balderstone. The winner is nine-year-


old Robert Wright of Bos- burn Drive, Mellor Brook who attends Balderstone


School. Said Mrs Milligan: “I was


thrilled to be invited. I went to Balderstone School when I was five and left at 15.1 can add up and I don’t need a calculator!”


There were displays of Roman weaponry,


including artillery, and parades of infantry and cavalry. Members also staged demonstrations of


Roman crafts and industry as well as blood­ curdling gladiatorial confrontations. Young visitors, like Jonathan


Landless(nine), were able to try on Roman armour under the watchful eye of centurion Messorios Rusticus (Les Alloman). (K120703/3)


Valley audience taken on a


fascinating trip back in time VALLEY expert Miss Mary Bridge took the Ribble Valley branch of Lancashire Family History and Heraldry Society on a tour of Waddington as it was in 1801. This was based on the first


census taken in that year which only gave statistics on the pop­ ulation. The total number was 481,240 males and 241 females, of these almost a third were farmers or agricultural labour­ ers.


There were 142 houses and 26 farms in the village. The


A MAN from Barrow has pleaded not guilty to making a threat to kill his wife. Mohammed Khalid Nawaz (28), of Trafford Gardens, was


speaker started the tour at Waddow Hall which was the home of Mrs Clarke, the Lord of the Manor, and with the help of photographs continued all round the village. Miss Bridge has published


two books on the history of Waddington, “Village life in the 19th Century” and ‘“Wadding­ ton village life 1901 to 1951.” At the next meeting on the


August 12th, the speaker will be Christine Thistlewaite on “Life on the Land”, a t Clitheroe Cricket Club at 7-30.


Husband denies threat to kill


remanded on bail until August 31st by Blackburn magistrates after also pleading not guilty to assault­ ing his wife on two separate occa-


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