AT LAST! There is something to write about. Not very much, but it is a hopeful sign that things may be getting better. It seems a very long time since I had something of any relevance to say, and there isn’t much now, but at last we have managed to start rehearsals again. We hope that there will be no more lockdowns, however we are still in the grip of the ‘Govt. advisors’ and they seem to be doom-mongers and are reluctant to give up their powers!

We have been meeting at the Methodist Church, which has allowed us to sing again, but under strict anti-Covid measures. This means lots of open windows, doors and social distancing, and we have to disinfect everything in sight, however it’s worth it. We have had a lot of news (general chat) to catch-up on and there were a couple of new songs to learn. We have now started to rehearse Christmas Carols which is lovely after two years of shut-down. Unfortunately, we are not able to do our usual Christmas performances this year which is a great disappointment to us all, but we have got a slot at St. Thomas’ Christmas tree festival on December 4thin the afternoon. We hope to have a tea party in the Spring. Our Quartet has been to Club Friday to entertain the members with some old favourites.

Most of our singers have retuned [sic] now and it was interesting to see the differences in appearance that nearly two years has made. The exciting news is that we have welcomed three new members Nicky, Helen and Suzannah. There is still room for more! We meet clad in a variety of scarves, gloves, blankets, woolly bonnets etc. in a very cold Methodist Church on Wednesday evenings at 7 pm. The room may be chill, but the spirit is warm and welcoming. The church needs preparing for our rehearsals, a task willingly undertaken by Isa and Karen, and Anne spends a lot of time arranging our music. These things are willingly undertaken by the ‘foot soldiers’, without whom so many things would not happen. We are all very grateful to them for this and to all the others in the village who work so hard to make things happen. We live in hope that we may soon get back to pre-pandemic levels of co-operation and activity in our village.

If this interests you please contact Anne French (07960 020150) or Isa Gauld (07976436101) for more information.

Glenys Hollingdale-Smith