New Pooles Lodge, Bristol

Yesterday we travelled to Fishponds in Bristol to entertain the residents of the New Pooles Lodge – one of the newer Churchill built residential homes,

In fact, the home is so new that it has been allocated a brand new postcode all of its own, and that led to a few problems for us travellers. As we live some distance from Bristol we are not too familiar with the road systems of the city, and most of us were relying on our Satnavs to guide us to the venue. However, we quickly realised as we set off for our journeys that postcode navigation would not be an option. But somehow we managed to all arrive at the home – although some only just made the start time.

We performed in the large lounge area – having been allocated one end of the room well away from the residents as a COVID precaution. They were treated to refreshments served from the bar area of the lounge. The audience consisted of around 25 people and included a few who had been invited into the home to see the facilities.

We performed for an hour and our programme is listed below. Included in the programme was ‘Lovers Of The World Unite’ which is a Roger Cook & Roger Greenway composition. Both songwriters were born in Fishponds and we thought it would be a fitting tribute to perform their song in their home town.

Some technical difficulties were experienced with our backing machine – it seemed to want to change the tempo of songs mid-stream – and it had to be re-booted to clear the issue. We were without singers Phil Dyke and Chris Scott.

1. All My Loving                      

2. When My Little Girl Is Smiling    

3. What Have They Done To The Rain  

4. Ginny Come Lately                           

5. Rhinestone Cowboy              

6. Let Your Love Flow            

7. Love Me Tender                         

8. Saturday Night At The Movies      

9. Hey Baby                       

10. You Got It                           

11. Tequila Sunrise                      

12. Lovers Of The World Unite       

13. Always On My Mind           

14. Do You Love Me            

15. Amarillo                                                

Melksham & District Historical Association

Last night we travelled to our neighbour town of Melksham to perform at the Assembly Hall. It was the venue for the AGM of the Melksham and District Historical Association, and we had been invited to provide the entertainment following the meeting. It was the group’s first performance at the Assembly Hall – although some members had previously sung in the hall with the Chippenham Male Voice Choir.

The AGM was timed to run between 7:00 and 7:30pm. We were asked to wait in the reception area of the hall whilst the meeting was conducted inside the main body of the hall. On cue, we were led into the hall to prepare and then perform our music. There was an audience of around 60, and it soon became clear that the wine being consumed around the tables would help create a good atmosphere for the evening.

We wore our maroon polo shirts for the occasion, and lined-up in front of the stage. Our host introduced us and complimented us on our very professional appearance – something we don’t hear very often!

The Assembly Hall is a vast space compared to the usual venues where we sing, and has hosted many popular music concerts over the decades. So here was our opportunity to encapture an audience like the bands of old. Looking around the audience during our performance we could see many smiling faces, with a lot of people singing along with us.

The whole group were present for the performance. Our programme is shown below. COVID restrictions meant we could not stay on afterwards to join in with the buffet.

1. All My Loving          

2. When My Little Girl Is Smiling  

3. Rhinestone Cowboy               

4. Let Your Love Flow             

5. Love Me Tender                      

6. Saturday Night At The Movies        

7. Fields Of Gold                      

8. Hey Baby                                  

9. Do Wah Diddy Diddy                    

10. Tequila Sunrise                          

11. Lovers Of The World Unite             

12. Do You Love Me                        

13. Amarillo                            

14. Hey Jude                                  

Sutton Benger Over 60s

This afternoon we had a fantastic time entertaining this club – some 10 years since our previous performance for them.

There was an excellent turn-out of club members for our 2:15pm start. There were one or two members who volunteered that they had seen our previous performance in 2011. Everyone was encouraged to join in with any songs that they knew, and they certainly showed they were familiar with most of the programme.

We sang for 45 minutes and received enthusiastic applause at the end. Many members came up to us to express their thanks – with some saying it was the best entertainment they had seen at the club. We received several personal donations to our supported charity as well as many CD sales, and we would like to thank them for their kindness.

Every singer was present for this concert, and for one singer (Jack) it was significant in two ways: he lives in the neighbouring village of Christian Malford and he moved house only yesterday. He is still finding his feet amongst all the packaging – and yet he still managed to perform his solo vocals in ‘Fields Of Gold’. Well done Jack!

Our programme today was:-

1. All My Loving                

2. When My Little Girl Is Smiling     

3. Rhinestone Cowboy              

4. Let Your Love Flow           

5. Love Me Tender                

6. Saturday Night At The Movies      

7. Fields Of Gold                  

8. Hey Baby                                    

9. Do Wah Diddy Diddy                  

10. Tequila Sunrise                 

11. Do You Love Me                       

12. Hey Jude                     

Chippenham Daycentre

Yesterday we performed for the Chippenham Daycentre at the King Alfred Hall in Chippenham.

We regularly perform for this group who previously used the Riverhouse home as their base. There are still a few members who we recognise from our first visit in 2013. The COVID pandemic has had an effect on their membership numbers, but yesterday’s audience indicated an increased membership.

We last sang for this group in August – our very first public engagement following the easing of COVID lockdown restrictions in 2021. Yesterday’s performance involved a fresh programme of songs and a change of costume for the singers – we wore our maroon polo shirts. Arrangements are being organised to return in February 2022 to see the group once more.

The programme is shown below. We had an almost complete turn-out of singers: only Chris Scott was missing through ill health.

1. All My Loving                                        

2. What Have They Done To The Rain    

3. Ginny Come Lately                  

4. Rhinestone Cowboy                 

5. Silence Is Golden                           

6. Let Your Love Flow                   

7. Do Wah Diddy Diddy                     

8. Wonderful World             

9. The Rose                           

10. Hey Baby                          

11. You Got It                             

12. Lucille                                   

13. Lovers Of The World Unite        

14. Always On My Mind               

15. It’s So Easy                                 

16. Here It Comes Again                    

17. Hey Jude