Grove Singers at W.I

Audlem WI & The Grove Singers Musical Soiree

The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off and our WI ladies all have several aims still on our bucket lists, one of which is to carry on living well above our means solely to enrage those who are expecting to benefit from our demise!

None of us are early birds or night owls, we are more like some form of permanently exhausted pigeons – born to be wild but only until 10.00 pm!

We also hold the opinion that just because we are grown up – allegedly – doesn't mean that we should stop having fun, and apart from the sight of Ross Poldark emerging shirtless from the canal, nothing much distracts us from our aim of living life to the full.

Which leads me onto one of the most traumatic aspects of the current heat wave. Why is it that the people most inclined to strip off aren't always those who would please the masses?

The number of bare chested men – I haven't yet spotted any ladies – with bodies that are unsuitable for public display who I keep bumping into in the Co-op – not deliberately of course – are no doubt huge supporters of England's World Cup team but seem unaware that they could take on board the sartorial elegance of Gareth Southgate and his waistcoats and become adonis's in our cataract free eyes?

Fortunately most of our ladies are wise beyond their years and during this heat wave they remember to dress for the body they have, not the body they wished they had! We are also acutely aware that if we wear make up we could look like a Picasso painting, for some of us, and I include myself in this category, this could be a benefit.

This month's meeting was a 'Musical Soiree with the Grove Singers'.

Due to the threat of a CO2 crisis, our faithful committee had hastily headed in the direction of the nearest M&S to panic buy enough stock of Prosecco to keep us supplied for the next few years......it was a close thing, but it'll be worth it next year when we celebrate our Centenary!

The meeting opened with our sun tanned President Lin Nicholas, fresh from her latest canal boat holiday, welcoming our members and their guests before June Perry leapt into action on our newly tuned piano to play a rousing version of 'Jerusalem', with the talented Grove Singers in support.

Now if everyone started off the day singing, just think how happy we would all be? After all singing in the shower is all fun and games until that moment when you drop the soap and get shampoo in your mouth – then it just becomes a soap opera!

I used to think choir singing was only for nerds and church people and, since I was neither, I never considered singing in a group. However after last night's performance by The Grove Singers some of us may have changed our minds?

Here is a short biography of the group – they started life rehearsing at the Kingsgrove School in Crewe, hence the name 'The Grove Singers', twenty two years ago. They rehearse every Monday in term time and their Musical Director is Jon Henderson who doesn't need to waive a stick at them (sorry, baton) as he carries a tuning fork and appears to do some amazing things with his fingers and hands that only the choir can interpret!

As we ladies relaxed with our chosen refreshments, the group marched proudly to the front attired in black with multicoloured scarves for the ladies and dark trousers for the men. I wouldn't say Christian Dior dresses them, but Zandra Rhodes springs to mind as one of the choir members had the most vibrant pink hair which totally matched her personality! She was definitely one of us!

The wide variety of musical pieces sung was eclectic and we never knew what was coming next! Songs ranging from 'Blue Moon' and 'Catch a Falling Star' which we could all sway along to, then switching to African and Blue Grass pieces with apparent ease. It was a delightful and amazing evening.

It was also appropriate that we all sang 'Happy Birthday' in celebration of the NHS service's 70th, and to the great surprise of their Musical Director an extra verse was added for him to celebrate a 'significant' birthday! He didn't look a day over 50.

However first and foremost there was an atmosphere of relaxed fun with the Grove Singers. Their ethos was one of encouragement that everyone can sing. At the same time there was no compromise on musicality. The standard set was high and we were left vibrating with a wondrous sense of musical rapport.
It was a magical musical experience, showing you can harmonise and blend as an ensemble and have fun at the same time.

Singing must be our most perfect drug, the ultimate mood regulator, lowering rates of anxiety, depression and loneliness, while at the same time amplifying happiness and joy, with no discernible, unpleasant side effects.

Thank you Grove Singers for an uplifting evening's entertainment, I can only say the nerds and the church people may have got it right!

Finally the time came to draw the raffle. Margaret Wells won the top prize which was an amazing arrangement of sunflowers donated by Anne Watson.

The winner of the competition 'A title of your Favourite piece of Music and why' was Jackie Creber, our talented secretary and flower lady who presented our July birthday ladies with beautiful selections of flowers.

It only remained for our President to thank the Grove Singers and wish us all a safe journey home – at least it was still light!

Footnote! Life's journey is very hard to follow when you have a broken leg, however Pat Jones, one of our dedicated members, who doesn't fall often but when she does breaks her leg in two places, is not a lady who is afraid to take the next step! Beware residents of Audlem, she now has borrowed an electric scooter. Seriously though, we are glad to see her back and looking so well.
You just can't keep a good woman down.

This month's Top Tip ladies;

Go without a bra, it helps to pull the wrinkles out of your face!

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