On Thursday, August 17, Tenby Male Choir held a concert to support St. John Ambulance. The choir and MD looked dapper in their DJs and daffodils and Jill looked as lovely as she usually does. Our president Roy Noble drove through a series of localised storms to attend this event, and luckily when he arrived at Tenby, he was greeted by much kinder weather.

The choir were in good voice yet again. Obviously their rehearsals with Ian and Jill (no relation) are paying off as it was a very polished performance. Even the instrument soloists in My Grandfather’s Clock all ‘sounded’ at the right time.

We had visitors from Wales, England, Germany, France and Australia. Several of the Australians came to shake hands with choir members to thank them for an excellent night’s entertainment. I was sitting next to two visitors from St. Malo in Brittany. Luckily, the lady spoke very good English as my O-Level French from the 1960s did not prepare me to converse confidently. Even though I holiday in France nearly every year, my French gets worse instead of better. They had been informed of the choir’s standing in our community and had visited our website to hear some of the recordings. They were not disappointed with their decision to attend the concert and enjoyed their first experience of a live male choir performance.

St. John Ambulance do a tremendous job at so many events and are also going to help train first aid volunteers in India. In 1877, the St. John Ambulance association was set-up in large railway centres and mining districts to teach workers first aid. In 1887, they began to provide support at public events. Our MD Wilbur surprised us mid concert by telling us that when he had delivered his mother’s shopping to her he had mentioned the concert. She revealed that his grandfather had been a member of St. John Ambulance for a number of years. His grandfather Samuel Gorbett, member number 5953, had served from 1926 until 1962, 36 years in all. Ian also produced a chain of yearly medals which his grandfather had received and Ian’s mother had kept in a drawer.

Roy Noble, OBE, DL, K, St. John, is a much-treasured president. He has supported the choir for many years and we always look forward to his visits. Roy became an officer of St. John in 2000, was promoted to Commander, then trustee and finally knight. Those who have heard Roy speak will know that he is a competent and eloquent speaker. He gave us all a history of the movement and also explained that under St. Mary’s Church there are medieval tunnels where a young Henry Tudor hid before escaping with his uncle Jasper from Tenby harbour to Brittany. Roy also mentioned the plaque in the church that commemorates Robert Recorde who gave the equals sign to the world.

Paul Varallo was our soloist for the evening. His first piece was a very moving song about a soldier in the American Civil War. The opening lines are ‘Tell my father that his son didn’t run, or surrender That I bore his name with pride as I tried to remember’ and ends with ‘Tell my father not to cry then say goodbye.’ Paul’s rendition was very moving and he quickly and expertly lightened the mood by singing Love Changes Everything. His second solo spot was equally entertaining with a beautiful Welsh love song Ar Lan Y Mor. This song was once performed at Guildhall in London by the Welsh squad at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Paul then gave a rousing performance of The Holy City.

The choir opened their final set with the second of their coal mining songs Take Me Home. This was well-received and was followed by the fast and furious Rhythm Of Life before the choir was joined by a visiting chorister to sing An American Trilogy. Once again, a stunned audience looked upwards as Dr. John Harrison added the church organ to the mixture.

There were ample favourable comments from the audience as they left.

‘A variety of songs performed at an excellent standard’ to quote one person. Roy proved his worth again by happily posing for photographs with delighted members of the departing audience.

Before we retired to the County Club, there was a very important task to perform. Eddie Stapleton has been a member of the choir for 38 years. On Thursday evening, Eddie and his lovely wife Barbara were celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary at The Baytree with their family. The choir had bought a bouquet for them and Roy Noble, who has known the couple for many years, presented this to them. It was a treat to see their delighted faces as Roy appeared!

Back then to the club to get their ‘score on the door’ from Ian. His verdict was 8.9 and a comment of plenty of room for improvement. A tad harsh I think, but then I admit to being biased in their favour. Who could not warm to such a generous and supportive group of men and better halves?

Many thanks to our audience for your applause, for requesting an encore and your favourable comments. Please feel free to leave comments on our website which is www.tenbymalechoir.org where you can also listen to some of our recordings.

Our next concert is on Thursday, August 31, at St. Mary’s Church when we will be raising money for Bloodwise. This charity was set-up in the UK to fund research into all kinds of blood cancers and to provide support and information to sufferers. This is a charity very close to many hearts and well deserves support.

Di Mumford