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We have a monthly meeting, on the 4th Monday of the month. These meetings are held at the Arreton Community Hall, Main Road, Arreton, 7.30 for 8.00 p.m. The usual format of the evening is that we listen to a speaker on some relevant topic, view videos, or have some form of quiz, as well as having a general 'noggin and natter'. Visitors to the Island are welcome to come along.
NOVEMBER MEETING
This was a first for the Club. It was at one of our summer picnics that I discovered that we had at least four very talented musicians within the Club. With their co-operation we were able to put on a ‘Musical Soiree’ for the November meeting. This has to be one of the most successful Monthly Meetings that we have ever had, with 38 members present. It was an evening of varied music, audience participation, and much laughter.
Of course there is some music associated with Austins, in particular, 'My Little Austin Seven' and 'The Austin Unity Song'.
David Yates kindly acted as the compere for the evening.
The first act was Bob Wilson playing his Theatre Organ. Due to the many problems posed by moving it to the Arreton Community Centre, Bob videoed his performance and this was projected onto a screen. As he demonstrated, he is a very competent organist. He started with ‘It’s nice to be beside the seaside’, very relevant, and from then on the tunes just flowed from one to another. In fact, Bob cannot read music but just has it all in his head. He enjoys playing and has three organs, a piano and accordion at home! A real milestone for him was the opportunity to play the Theatre Organ in the Blackpool Tower ballroom.
The next item was a slide show that I had put together featuring some of our Austin Sevens, past and present. This was accompanied by Norman Long, singing ‘My little Austin Seven’.
Then followed Suzy Yates with her sister and friend, who are collectively known as 'Cantobelle'. They perform at a number of events on the Island and certainly gave us a performance to remember.
To follow was Steve Love. Steve writes and performs chirpy up-beat songs about the ups, downs and quirks of Island life. He performed three of these, including the 'Pothole Man'. We all helped out with the Chorus for that one.
Tony Dymott had brought along his Ukulele and sang a number of thoughtful songs. Plus an hilarious one about ‘Sister Josephine’.
The final act was David Lee, (really David Woodfull). David is a seasoned entertainer and appears at various venues on the Island. Well, what a lot of variety he produced for us - jokes, singing and playing his guitar. He got us all involved, particularly the ladies, and used Mike Hutton as a stooge for one number! That’s not the first time that Mike has been caught out!
The hall had been laid out very informally with snacks and drinks being provided by the ladies. Those not able to attend missed a real treat. I have never heard so much laughter, a real tonic for us all at this time. What started out as something of an unknown quantity turned out to be a great success. A big thank you to all the members involved, we certainly do have some great talent in the Club. The evening raised £102 for our Charity Fund. | |
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