Twist & Shout
On Sunday 6th November a coachload from the Vall del Pop U3A ‘swinging sixties’ era descended on Benidorm Palace for an evening of remembrance of our youth for a one-off performance entitled ‘Twist & Shout’ and what an evening it was. For two hours the group, six singers and their four piece backing group, sang and danced us through the sounds we had all grown up with and without a break for breath they took us effortlessly through all of the expected hits and many more.
Their first set was of songs from the British 60’s era, including those from Herman & The Hermits, Cilla Black, Gerry & The Pacemakers and of course the Beatles. Whilst we immediately recognised the tune, and the words came flooding back to our lips, it was not always as easy to remember the artist, some of whom had less well known names, such as Manfred Mann & The Manfreds. In the second set their introduced songs from the US scene and the flower power and free-love era of the late 60’s, when long hair, psychedelic clothes and short miniskirts became the rage and we all went to San Francisco with the Beach Boys.
The sounds and costumes were exquisite and we all easily slipped back into those memories of our youth – so much so that many people were up and dancing in the aisle, although perhaps a little more restrained 60 years on from those wonderful nights in the 60s. Our thanks to the group for a wonderful extravaganza of non-stop music and costume. I cant wait for next year when hopefully they will be back.
Then on Tuesday, 8th November, 30 U3A ladies attended a make-up demonstration at Casa Claudia in Jalon. Here Dee Wilkes gave a fabulous demonstration of make-up techniques. Dee is a highly experienced make-up artist with a long career in the cosmetic industry working with several high-end brands and having made up many models and brides. Using Lesley, her selected model, she explained skin care and make-up techniques, whilst making Lesley even more beautiful than usual. The ladies all learnt a lot about the new trends in make-up and colours and, interestingly, that the best products do not have to be the most expensive. Many ladies agreed this demonstration meant they must review and restoke their make-up bags – boys sounds like an excuse for a day’s shopping!!
Maria Julienne gave a presentation on holistic health and well-being naturopath, and reiki, which left many ladies wanting to know more.
Claudia then delivered an amazing afternoon tea with English tea to complete a wonderful afternoon.
