Start of Season Party
This year's
party was held on Saturday 18 March. It was organised by Rodger and the
entertainment was supplied by Le Sextet de I'Hot Club d'Aquarius. Dress
was optional but French attire was encouraged to add a little
appropriate atmosphere. The Italian decorations from the Venetian
evening had been retained, somewhat confusing for a French themed
evening … but what the heck! It certainly was very continental.
The sextet was amazing and was comprised of Pat Halling
on violin, Mike Leigh on keyboards, Dave Richmond on bass, Judd Proctor
on guitar and Tony Kinsey on drums. Additionally Mandy Leigh was the
vocalist. This was the largest musical ensemble ever put together at
the club and I have to say probably the best. The first set began at
approximately 8:30pm and it soon became obvious that this was going to
be a very laid back affair with a lot of friendly banter between the
musicians and the audience. Each member of the sextet, as well as
contributing to the 'whole' had featured solo's which gave them the
opportunity to put a personal spin on the piece being played.
Mandy's numbers were a great addition and she's sure to be asked to
sing at the club again.
Midway
through the evening Diana, Janet and Linda served supper and I have to
say I have never seen soup go so far; mostly down people's fronts,
which was novel? This was a followed by a great selection of cheese,
cold meats, breads etc. To finish there were a variety of deserts and
Pete's excellent coffee.
The second set got underway but amusingly became a
bit chaotic as the musical scores either got out of order or were lost.
It actually made little difference because those guys could have played
without sheet music. The musical part of the evening ended with a vote
of thanks to the sextet by both Pat and Nigel.
Janet and Bob then organised the raffle which helped
to offset the cost of the musicians. Thanks to everybody who
contributed the raffle prizes, much appreciated. All-in-all a very
enjoyable evening and a unique opportunity to be so close to some very
talented musicians led by our own Pat (Grapelli) Halling.
Mike (Tone Deaf) Baker