"Rum and coke, gin without ice."
"Go and shut the door. There's an alligator and he bites."
"What do you want for your tea?"
"Want chips."
No not some strange reaction to fast diets or poncey veg in the supermarket, just what you need to say in your head to help keep the rhythm going when you're doing samba drumming.
I suppose eventually it must become subconscious but, at first, remembering what bing, bang or bong you're meant to be doing and at what time while everyone else does theirs takes just about every ounce of concentration.
Seriously. One mental amble off in the direction of "what are we really having for tea?" and you're sunk. Unable to slot your bam, bam into the alligators and alcohol.
However, when it comes together - which happens more often than you might think - it's extraordinarily satisfying. As my pal Hilary said when she went last week: "The most fun you can have standing up."
The workshop was run by Helen of Big Groove Promotions who manages not to either fall about laughing or get cross at the occasionally shambolic attempts to follow her very straightforward instructions. Instead she offered kind and enthusiastic encouragement, clearly passionate and knowledgeable.
I think the Saturday workshops are a new thing for her, I hope she keeps going with them because I'll certainly be back. An afternoon has just given me a taste for it. Or maybe it was all that talk of gin and chips...
Helen (with drum) and my fellow drummers
