A while back I read a book called ‘State of Fear’. You can shout me down if you want – this is not my opinion and I’m merely putting forward the hypothesis of the book – but the book intimated that Global Warming was a farce. The author felt that it was significant that the great threat to humanity ‘Global Warming’ appeared in our vocabulary at about the same time the fear of nuclear war between the super powers was negated by the fall of communism and the Berlin wall. That Global warming was nothing more than another tool by people in power to keep us lessor mortals living in a state of fear.
Heading towards our annual Sunset Carols at St Peter’s College, a fantastic outdoor celebration of the festive season, this concept crossed my mind again and again, as day after day of rain pelted down on the Highveld. I can’t help but question – is the weather really getting hotter and drier? With hourly internet searches of numerous weather websites, we approached the day of the event with great trepidation. Bravely the technical crews moved forward, wrapping hugely expensive gear in tarpaulins nightly as protection from the wet weather. Generators were booked, under the threat of yet more Eskom Power cuts, and yet more weather sites trolled in the belief that if at least one out of the six or seven visited scheduled a clear day with no scattered thundershowers, we were in the clear for our show. The musical director and choir directors continued to rehearse the material, all in the absolute certainty that the show would go on. Emergency tents were erected to provide some shelter for the masses should the heavens open, and so we plodded on, squelching through the muddy cricket field – hopefully not irreparably damaged (but post the event I plan on avoiding the grounds man and the sports coaches) building the stage, and rigging the lighting and sound for the show.
The day of the event dawned, clear and fine. Sadly the numerous weather sites offered no respite, all predicting scattered thundershowers. In full sun, and gorgeously hot summer weather we rehearsed the show, positively beaming. All seemed good. Until we spotted that lone Cumulus Nimbus cloud on the horizon, with its tell-tale cotton wool top, and dark flat bottom. With increasing apprehension, we watched the clouds build and the winds increase. And then there was no sun anymore. The audience started arriving, placing their picnic blankets and chairs, with umbrellas placed alongside their chairs, and we collectively held our breaths.
As the afternoon progressed, the ‘Piet my vrou’ started calling from the oak tree alongside the field, and the muttering of ‘rain bird’ was heard amongst the show organisers. The clouds were ever heavier, the cotton wool obliterated by the endless stretch of dark blue black bottoms, the winds pushing the clouds around us and over us.
Suddenly someone noticed a tiny triangle of blue on the western horizon, and said with confidence, we’re clear, the rain is going to miss us. And with hardly two hours to show time, we watched the wind gently coax the clouds north, pulling behind it clear blue skies. We watched in nothing less than awe, as the darkness skirted around us and finally disappeared entirely.
As the show started we were treated to a fantastic sunset behind the stage, and the family were treated to an enchanting evening of carols by the young choristers. This, the third year of carols, reached a technical brilliance, with the support of MGG and Audio Logic, coordinated by JAM Events. The music items were brilliantly hosted by Greg Melville-Smith, and the soloist for the evening was the breath taking Monde Msutwane. The evening closed with a performance by Gangs of Ballet. Without doubt the highlight of the evening for me was the Choirs singing a number called ‘I Do Believe’ – written by Christa Steyn and Liza Beekman, this Anthemic numbers lyrics were based on speeches Nelson Mandela made in parliament during his presidency, a tribute to this great leader who believed that our children are our future.
I do believe that the collective positive thoughts from the St Peter’s Foundation committee, the performers, the crew and the parents, who despite the ominous clouds arrived in their thousands to see the show, went along way to chasing away the rain. We had no option, the show had to happen, come rain or shine, and the collective belief was that it would be better in clear weather.
Driving home after the show, I noticed that the widespread power cuts promised by Eskom, were indeed in effect. I had recently listened to an interview, where Eskom had sited not only the now not working power station as a reason for their struggle to maintain our power grid system, but also our increased consumption due to the inclement weather, and the tired old wet coal problem. I couldn’t help but wonder if we should perhaps supply them with the numerous weather sites we found to help them plan better.
Today, as I write this, it’s bucketing down, complete with rolling thunder and lightning.
Sam