You're never too old....

THE SINGER, NOT THE SONG

The years we spent driving frequently between Southport and Edinburgh taught me that the best way to make the two hundred plus miles pass more quickly was to listen to a decent audiobook. Something not too complex to follow when your attention also has to be elsewhere, but sufficiently well written to maintain the interest. Most times we were both able to enjoy what was coming through the speakers, but occasionally Barbara would decide it wasn't for her and she'd stick her earphones in to listen to music.

One such occasion never fails to make me laugh when I recall it. Barbara, as you do, started to sing along to the track she was listening to. In saying 'sing' I am being extremely generous. There were noises, a few of which resembled something like a tune. Which tune was impossible to say until I heard a fragment of lyric, words I recognised, and bust out laughing that what I was hearing was in any way connected to the song I knew so well.

Fast forward to the present. Back in April Barbara joined a local choir. No auditions, just find the vocal range that suits you best and away you go. Just for fun, have a good laugh, enjoy yourselves. Except. They sometimes get asked to give public performances, perhaps three or four times a year. And then it becomes more than just a bit of fun, when there's an actual audience going to be there.

The choir provides the lyrics and the music, broken down into the various voice types, for people to download and practice at home. So Barbara has got into the habit of taking her phone into the bathroom in the morning and singing along to the songs they are currently learning.

Guess what (part 1)? She loves it.

Guess what (part 2)? The noises coming out of that bathroom sound pretty good (albeit a bit odd, as there seem to be a lot of passages that are more ooooh, dum dum dum and aaaah than actual words). They sound like songs.

To date she's taken part in three live performances. The first two were outdoors, so the wind played a role, and the rehearsals didn't seem to have been taken all that seriously, so nerves were there in abundance. Last weekend the choir performed in the National Museum, and the preparation for this one was much more thorough. Even I could tell, just from listening to those toilet rehearsals, that it was going to be better for Xmas.

And so it proved. They might not get invited on to the BBC, but they entertained a sizeable crowd (even if most were friends and family!). More to the point, they looked like they were having fun. People singing with confidence sing better and look like they're having a good time. So everyone else might as well too.

Is there a moral to this tale? Well, sort of. There's an 'old dog, new tricks' vibe going on here, don't you think? Or is just to say that you should ignore the laughter of your life partner and go and do what you want to do anyway....

And just in case you don't want to take my word for it, here's some video footage of the event. (It's not very good quality, and there a few slightly odd audience noises at times, but you'll get some idea of what it was like.)

Do They Know It's Christmas 

Roar 

I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing 

Just The Way You Are

Angels 

All I Want For Christmas 

Merry Xmas everybody, and an excellent 2016.