Swadlincote Based Folk Group "5 In Harmony" 

The Group : Terry Bourne, John Worker and GMVC's own Terry Jones, Keith Mitchell and Phil Lunn went "viral" with their song " Swad Song" in the social media from their latest CD "5 In Harmony"

They presented a cheque for £600 to the St Giles Hospice 13th February 2019

Gerald Rodger's 90th Birthday Celebrated

With the 

Gresley Male Voice Choir

Swadlincote Post 19th January 2018

Reverend Kim Thomas of St Mary's Church, Stretton, is emigrating to Australia where she will take up a new post at a church near Perth.

A beloved reverend from Stretton has decided to set sail for sunnier pastures over the other side of the world after being offered a job at a parish in Australia.

Reverend Kim Thomas, 57, has been the vicar at St Mary's Church in Stretton for nine years, but will be emigrating to become rector of Mundaring near Perth in Australia next month.

She said that she has loved her time in Stretton and will be sad to leave her family behind in the UK, but is looking forward to taking on a new challenge in a much warmer climate.

Reverend Thomas said that Stretton has been a special place to work and she is very sad to go but that it is an opportunity she could not turn down. 

She said: "I'm sad because I love Stretton and I have really enjoyed my time here. "It's a wonderful place to live and the people are smashing. 

I could not have been more supported or loved by the people of the church.

Reverend Thomas explained that her move to Australia has been many years in the making and actually began 14 years ago when she visited friends in Australia. 

She said: "I met up with a bishop there and he offered me a job in Australia. My mum wouldn't come with me and I wouldn't leave her so I shelved the idea.

 "I kept going back to Australia and visiting friends, and in February when I was over there I had a chance meeting with a bishop who asked me if I had ever thought about working in Australia. 

"I had two interviews - one for a job in Perth, one for a job in Mundaring. I was offered both in April, but I chose Mundaring which is in the Perth hills and is the job I really wanted.

It is lovely and ticked all the boxes for me. "I will be able to work with the whole community, young people, and will be able to do lots of reaching out.

Reverend Thomas will be leaving behind her son, daughter in law and two grandsons aged three and one so she said that she hopes to visit the UK regularly and will keep in touch by Skype and Facetime. 

Reverend Thomas will be flying out to Australia at the end of September and will take up her new position in October. 

Her final service will be held at 10am on September 11 at St Mary's Church, Stretton. The new reverend for Stretton has not yet been announced.

BADAC

Burton And District Arts Council. 

GMVC Concert – Review by Bill Pritchard

Posted on February 28, 2016 by admin

"Gresley Male Voice Choir presents Grimethorpe Colliery Band", Burton Town Hall

Sometimes it’s easy to forget the treasures we have right on the doorstep.

Take the Town Hall. Now I’ve been there for functions, beer festivals, concerts and gigs but because it’s the Town Hall I’ve not really paid attention to my surroundings.

My lack of attention was brought home to me at the "Gresley Male Voice Choir presents Grimethorpe Colliery Band" concert on Saturday, February 27th.

Both the Grimethorpe band and members of the audience I spoke to thought the acoustics were wonderful and the hall itself a magnificent piece of Victorian architecture.

One gentleman summed it up as ‘a simply marvellous night out.’

The choir and the brass band were born out of mining communities that have long since been destroyed, but the power those communities had, lives on in the social heritage represented by both band and choir.

The soul of the mining communities was kept alive by the selection of music at the concert with one of the highlights for me being the juxtaposition of Rita MacNeil’s Working Man, from the choir, a tribute to the lives that have been lost underground and the joint rendition of March of the Peers from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe containing the lines: ‘Bow, bow, ye lower middle classes! Bow, bow, ye tradesmen, bow, ye masses.’

The evening was compered by Tim Cox of Gresley Male Voice Choir who, along with the conductors – Dr Robert (Bob) Childs for Grimethorpe and Karl Harper for Gresley – brought a very human and humorous touch to proceedings.

One exchange was particularly memorable with Tim introducing the first set by Grimethorpe as: “Grimethorpe are going to sing,” swiftly corrected to: “Grimethorpe are going to play, sing or something.”

Which was picked up by the Grimethorpe conductor who said: “You really wouldn’t want to hear us sing.”

There were many, many highlights, among my favourites was Grimethorpe’s Carnival of Venice which conjured up village fetes and park bandstands on summer evenings. Gresley’s The Mansions of The Lord was spine-tingling as was Danny Boy.

Grimethorpe swung into the second half with Let’s Face the Music and Dance which Gresley matched with the Rhythm of Life, Grimethorpe pulled out the classic – the finale from William Tell and the march Death or Glory both of which had feet tapping and heads bobbing.

The finale brought the audience into play with a rousing, roof-raising Jerusalem, at which we were so good they let us do it twice.

At times moving, at times barnstorming. Always wonderful. Quite simply a great night out that showed me that although the mines have gone. The spirit of the pits is alive and well.