Pupils get gala off to flying start (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Pupils get gala off to flying start

1:25pm Thursday 31st July 2008

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WOMAD festival got off to a glittering start on Thursday night as children from schools in Malmesbury lit up the stage with the opening performance.

The festival, which ran until Sunday in the grounds of Lord Suffolk's 4,500-acre Charlton Park estate, welcomed the main acts from Friday but the pupils from primary schools in and around Malmesbury got the gala off to a flying start.

The festival was blessed with glorious sunshine and it attracted more than 30,000 music fans.

The line up included Finlay Quaye, Squeeze, Eddy Grant, Martha Wainwright and Shane MacGowan.

Last year was the first time the festival was held in Charlton Park and it earned the nickname WOMUD after torrential rain turned the site into a mud bath. The event was also dogged by traffic problems.

This year, however, there was a new look site covering an even bigger area and no traffic problems were reported. Festival director Chris Smith hailed the event a success.

He said: "2008 was an important year as we had to win back the trust of our audience and the local community after the mud bath of 2007.

"I am delighted that the success of this year has achieved both of these things and so much more, a fantastic festival with a great vibe in a beautiful place."

The Malmesbury pupils appeared alongside the Zimbabwean band Siyaya and sang out to a crowd of nearly 10,000 people.

They performed three songs and dressed in eco friendly costumes made from carrier bags to reflect the grass skirts worn by Siyaya.

Two songs were a collaboration of the primary schools and one was sung alongside a group of older children from Malmesbury secondary school. There was not a dry eye among the parents and school staff watching as the children sang into the sunset.

Chair of governors at Malmesbury Primary School Tristan Cork, whose daughter was among the singers, described their performance as emotional. "It was absolutely amazing. Just fantastic," he said. "They certainly did wow the crowds and it was very emotional.

"Siyaya and the kids had become very close and there was a real bond there. It was really a privilege working with them."

Music teacher Angelique Martin, who had been rehearsing with the youngsters for the past month, said: "When they saw the crowds their little faces just dropped.

"It was more excitement than nerves that they were feeling but they have made us all very proud. I feel that we are very privileged to have worked with such a talented African band."

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