It was entirely appropriate that the final week of the Milton Margai Choir’s “Sing Freetown” tour should begin in Hull, the city in the east of England which is twinned with Freetown. When the Hull/Freetown Society, under Hon Alderman Patrick Doyle, had heard that the Sierra Leone choir would be visiting in 2007 on their UK Freedom tour they immediately invited the renowned choir to take part in some of the various celebrations to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.

The 30 strong group from Sierra Leone were received as special guests of honour by the Lord Mayor of Hull, Mrs Sheila Bush, in the impressive Guildhall. Wearing her 400 year old chain of office, the Lord Mayor gave an address praising the link between Hull and Freetown. She much enjoyed talking to members of the choir, especially Osman Kamara and Joanna Davies, whom she remarked “were surely future Councillors”, and she later broke off her engagements to attend the choir’s concert in Hull. The choir sang “Sing Freedom”, the beautiful song especially composed by Dr Kitty Fadlu-Deen, Director of the Balanta Music Academy in Freetown, to commemorate the 200th anniversary. “Auntie Kitty” had helped the choir prepare for the tour and was accompanying the group throughout the UK tour.

The choir had come straight from visiting the home of William Wilberforce, the Hull MP who had tabled the motion in the Houses of Parliament bringing an end to the slave trade in the UK 200 years ago and it was in Hull’s Trinity Church, the largest Anglican church in Britain, where the choir gave their evening concert in front of an audience numbering over 500. It was in this famous church that William Wilberforce had been baptised and where he regularly attended. He must have been smiling down from heaven to see this group of talented and courageous young people from Sierra Leone celebrating the freedom to which he had made such an important contribution, especially when they were joined on the purpose built stage by a group of youths from Hull, “Freedom Road”, whose own song “Song for Wilberforce” had helped raise funds for the Milton Margai school.

Previously the choir had performed in the Queen Victoria Square in front of shoppers and visitors which was relayed over a giant TV screen in the heart of the city centre. The performance literally stopped the news as people preferred to listen to the choir than watch the daily BBC news on the massive screen as they snapped up copies of the DVD which were on sale to mark the tour. Appearing in front of large crowds did not phase the choir as only 3 days previously they had performed in front of 15,000 people in the newly built KC stadium at the Hull v Warrington rugby league match. When the choir sang the local team’s song “Old Faithful”, which they had only learned the day before, it brought tears to the eyes of these hardened rugby enthusiasts.

After this historic and poignant visit to Hull it was time to head south again down the M1 motorway for the choir’s final concert at the Methodist Central Hall in London, across from the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, organised by the dear friends of the school, Liz and Ron Fennell. 2,000 people crammed into this magnificent building. Nine London Borough Mayors and many other dignatories, some from far afield as Scotland, Wales and even Gibraltar, joined over 1,000 members of the Sierra Leone community in London as they all gave rapturous applause to every item of the concert’s programme tracing the Sierra Leone journey from slavery to peace and democracy. This included tributes to the former headmaster, Sam Campbell, to neighbouring Ghana for leading the way to independence in Africa and to Nelson Mandela for his struggle for peace and justice. The spellbound audience was amazed at the singing and dancing and when the choir performed “Tutu Party” as a special gift to their Sierra Leone brothers and sisters in the UK, it brought the house down with everyone joining in clapping, singing and dancing. It was a rousing finale to a series of memorable concerts.

The final weekend was spent back at Dorton House, the Milton Margai’s twinned sister school in Sevenoaks, doing some last minute shopping and packing and even giving an impromptu performance at a local wedding where they sang the Krio wedding song, “Fayn Boy, Fayn Girl”, then joining a church service in Sutton on the Sunday, before it was time early on the Monday morning to board the Astraeus flight from Gatwick Airport to head for home. The choir was still singing in the airport terminal to the delight of the thousands of travellers waiting to board their flights.

PC Komrabai Peter Penfold, former British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, who had coordinated the tour, thanked all those both in the UK, Sierra Leone and Gibraltar, who had given assistance in ensuring the tour took place. He noted that under the guidance and leadership of headmaster Albert Sandy, with the able assistance of people like Rev Samuels, Barbara Davidson, Hawa Kargbo and Kitty Fadlu-Deen, the Milton Margai School, along with the Blind School in Bo, under the leadership of Mohammed Conteh, will undoubtedly continue to flourish if they get the support they deserve from the Sierra Leone Government. “Up until now the modern image of Sierra Leone had been established by the film made by the noted Sierra Leone film maker, Sorious Samura, “Cry Freetown”, depicting the brutality and atrocities of the rebel war. This has now changed”, he said. “The Milton Margai Choir’s tour “Sing Freetown” marked the new vibrant, hopeful and positive image of Sierra Leone as she embarks upon a new stage in her long history under a new government.”