Here at last
by Sarah Stack, Evening Gazette
ic Teesside.co.uk, UK
Aug 12 2005
An Armenian folklore dance troupe travelled for six days by coach to
attend a Teesside festival.
The 31 members of Mush-Gyumri, who are performing in the Billingham
International Folklore Festival, were held up at every border they
passed.
The group, due to arrive in Billingham last Tuesday, did not get here
until Friday but were still as excited as ever about taking part.
Neither their gruelling trip or rainfall during yesterday’s outdoor
performance in Billingham dampened their spirits.
“They love it here but we hope their journey back won’t be as bad,”
said Kathryn O’Donnell, the group’s guide.
“They left Armenia on July 30 and at first were stuck at the Georgia
and Russia border for over a day.
“When they got to Ukraine their bus broke down and then at every
border they met they had to take all their luggage off the bus to be
scanned and load the bus again.
“Finally, when they reached Calais, their driver did not have the
correct visa to enter the UK and they all had to travel over as
foot passengers.”
A coach was driven down from Billingham to get them.
Also entertaining the crowd yesterday were troupes from Greece,
Cyprus, Indonesia and Ecuador.
For an archive of stories on this subject click on to
icTeesside.co.uk/teespride