Trips to Birmingham have become an annual custom for the UK WAIT Team. On the 25^th of June, the WAIT Team travelled to Birmingham for the Bourneville Festival. 12 of us, including two parents, left on Friday evening in two cars. Uncle Marshall and Uncle Ashley drove us to the Earle’s house, where we were warmly welcomed by the Earle family. After a nice meal, we got some rest and prepared ourselves for a busy day.

On Saturday, the 26^th of June, we started the day off by welcoming everyone, including the Birmingham WAIT members. Then, we were off to a dance hall nearby to start our training. We got the Birmingham members involved by teaching them parts of the Red and White and Break dance routines. After training, we went back to the Earle’s house for some lovely lunch prepared by Aunty Imogen. We then headed back to the hall for another hour of practice. Uncle Tom Pritty was very kind to provide us with early dinner, before we left for our performance.

 The Bourneville Festival took place in a park which was 10 minutes away from Uncle Tom’s house, so we decided to walk there. The festival seemed much busier and more crowded than it was last year. Seeing as we arrived early and had some spare time, the WAIT Team took a spot by the tents to sit down and practice some of our songs. After that, some of the WAIT Members decided to hand out leaflets to let people know about WAIT and our performance.

The WAIT Team performed the Rose Dance, Hero, Break Dance, Save Yourself and Red and White. Overall, I think that the performances went well as we got a good response from the crowd. Some people even approached us to find out more about WAIT and how to get involved.  After our performance, we had time to wander around until the fireworks display. Some of our lads even had a game of football in one of the empty tents. At 10.30pm, the fireworks display begun. It was stunning!

The WAIT Team were really tired after a long day so we decided to call it a day and head back to the Earle’s house. After a light supper, the boys headed back to London in Uncle Ashley’s car. The girls managed to have a reflective session about the trip and WAIT in general, with Uncle Marshall. We were able to express our thoughts and feelings about WAIT; how far we have come; and how much we can improve. We left early in the morning the next day and reached home around 12noon.

Wriiten by Priya Loganathan