Hospital Radio: A week in the life

I have previously written for the Torbay Weekly about the joy of having music in my life and how important it is for my wife, Catherine, and me. So, I thought I would treat you to a little journey through a recent week, which offered us so much fun.

Monday afternoon:

Torbay Hospital Radio with Paul Harding. I spent a very enjoyable afternoon with Paul Harding and Andy broadcasting A Bucketful of Raccoons. Lots of good music and chat. I am always amazed at how fast the two hours pass and how much we pack in. We are always trying to find new ways to entertain the patients in the hospital.

Monday evening:

Off to Choir 86 practice session in Kingsteignton. We are learning Mozart’s Requiem, a beautiful but demanding piece. I never thought I’d do Mozart! My fellow basses and I are determined that the bass section will not let the choir down. We are definitely making progress, despite the fact that Derek and I finished one movement four bars after everyone else.

Tuesday afternoon:

Big Noise Chorus practice at St Matthias Church in Torquay. Only three basses in a choir of about sixty, so we have to work pretty hard. Fortunately for us, Rob Chadwick really knows his stuff and puts in the hard yards, so we acquitted ourselves well. We are singing an ABBA medley, among other things. Our conductor Colin Rea said nice things about us, which gave us a nice warm fuzzy feeling.

Tuesday evening:

Torbay Folk Choir, at the Windmill Centre in Torquay. This is run by Wren Music, with our leader Paul Wilson in charge. Full of energy and enthusiasm as always. I made chocolate brownies for the choir, which were universally admired, so I had a nice warm fuzzy feeling again. Only partly because I ate most of them.

Wednesday morning:

Band practice in Galmpton. Our folk band is called Hedgehog’s Brawl, for reasons that are far too complicated to explain here. We tried out some new songs, one all about Kitty Jay, whose grave you can see near Hound Tor. This song was written by Jacqui Gardner, one of the band. Work in progress, really. Then in the evening, to see Fairport Convention at the Corn Exchange in Exeter. Those guys are SO GOOD!

Thursday:

Choir 86 basses’ practice at our house. This is where the hard work is done. Derek has a long solo to sing, so he worked on that while Tony and I offered constructive observation.

Friday:

Down to Brixham to Mark’s house to practice with Raise The Rafters: three of us who run sing-along sessions. John McKenzie played mean mandolin. Nice coffee.

Saturday morning:

To Okehampton for a session with Wren Music’s Mixed Folk Orchestra. Catherine plays fiddle, while I pluck vainly at my mandolin trying to coax a few correct notes from it. I have been playing stringed instruments and singing for longer than I care to remember. I have a principle that if I cannot get the chords right, then just sing louder and no one will notice!

Saturday evening:

I have a gig calling for a ceilidh at Churston Grammar School for a 25th wedding anniversary. A noisy occasion, with some very enthusiastic dancers. Music from Stargazy Pie, a local ceilidh band. This is a fairly exhausting activity, so I'm always glad to get home to my bed.

Sunday evening:

To the Church House Inn at Marldon for a singalong session with Raise the Rafters. We run this session every three months. A couple of hours of well-known songs. We have a regular following, and it is always really lively.

And so, a busy week comes to an end. Catherine and I have had a great time playing and singing with some lovely people. What an absolute joy.