We had two “concert” nights at Pitcairn again at the public square, one with each watch. For weeks before our arrival, crew had been practicing their acts. On both nights, this variety/talent show was opened by the school children singing together. From there, the Picton Castle crew presented their acts. The port watch opened with Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and closed with the choreographed dance from Michael Jackson’s Thriller video (with the narrated moves including “booty bounce” and “roar turn” – it wasn’t the same without Jimmy, who was the master choreographer, instructing us on the movements). In between, Meredith amazed everyone with a powerful opera aria which filled the very sky and Fred and Liam got a chuckle with the story of Roger the trainee. The starboard watch concert was opened and closed by the Picton Castle All Star Gypsy Band (Michael, Siri, Nadja, Alex, Katelinn and Paula) playing Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan tunes, Katelinn played a violin solo and the comedy duo of Jehle and Caselli emceed the evening with jokes to
make you groan. Both nights ended with the islanders on stage singing “In the Sweet Bye and Bye” and “The Goodbye Song” in beautiful harmony. Dave Brown made the Captain go up to the front and sing with islanders on both concert nights.
We had warned the crew before we arrived at Pitcairn that they could maybe expect to be teased a little, good way to make friends quickly. There’s no predicting what you’ll be teased for – maybe your ears stick out or you have short hair, maybe you are vegetarian or wear a certain item of clothing. This teasing, all in the spirit of familiarity and jest, dished out and taken in equal measure, often leads to surprisingly thoughtful and appropriate nicknames. In our crew, we now have the following folks: Shortbus, Noshorts, Acorn, Boilerhead,
Wingnut, Dork, Phantom, The Cardinal, Brainy, Lumberjack and Goldilocks. But we are not going to say who is who, oh no…