West End Waiters 29th June, 2019

On Saturday, Hubby, myself, and family popped across to Wymondham for a spot of musical entertainment. The group we had gone to see as part of the Wymondham Music Festival were certainly no rockers! Neither were they a music ensemble set to play the classics. These chaps call themselves The West End Waiters and turn out nattily dressed in black trousers, white shirts and aprons, red bow ties and braces, but they'd be hard-pressed to flash around carrying heavy dishes since the youngest of them is eighty years old!

Accompanied by a lady pianist and a commere, the chaps set about singing light opera, Gilbert and Sullivan and a number of slightly risqué turn-of-the-century songs such as, what to do with Uncle Joe's Mint Balls? There was a saucy sailor song and a medley of well-known tunes but with altered words, as performed by The Two Ronnies in their heyday that had the audience giggling. A touching ballad from the film Gigi, 'I Remember it Well' performed by husband and wife Ken and Brenda, reminded us all of the vagaries of getting old and losing our accurate recall.

One of our family's major musical influences was Uncle Ken who started the group, and who was always prone to bursting into song at the drop of a hat to illustrate some point he was making at the time. He performed solo 'Delany's Donkey', always good for a laugh and one of the first songs we learned from him.

We had a wonderful, laughter-filled hour and the retiring collection (since there was no charge for the concert), will have swelled the astonishing amount of money the group has already raised towards Motor Neurone Disease research, to close on £24,000 a fitting memorial to one of their original members claimed by this horrible disease.

We left the hall with spirits high and marvelling at the power music has to entertain and sustain us all well into old age.

P.S. Uncle Joe's Mint Balls that 'keep you all aglow' are still manufactured at The Toffee Works in Wigan by William Santus and Co. Ltd., and were handed round at the concert.

A Walk on the Wild Side!

Granny's old mum would have been 107 today if she had lived this long. As it is she was just six months short of her centenary so supposing I follow in her footsteps (as I surely will one way or another), I have another quarter of a century to look forward to.

With that in mind, I set off for a bracing walk to try and ensure that I maintain my current good health, and boy was I in for a shock! Nothing to do with the walking, all to do with the temperature and velocity of the wind. It was blowing fiercely as I left the house and I rapidly changed my proposed route which would have set me in the path of the spitting south-westerly that predominates hereabouts but it was still very cold.

I couldn't help but contrast it to last week when we basked in temperatures in the mid 20's and Granny took to a skirt for the first time this year. Having been distracted on that walk by the glaring white pendulum movements of my little leggies, I treated them when I got back home to some self-bronzing cream which left me in a happier state of mind.

Today though they are hidden once again from view as it's back to skinny-jeans, fleeces, hat and gloves and I may just have to keep them on indoors as Hubby forgot to order heating oil so we have no central heating or hot water until sometime next week.

Have you ever tried a combined hair-wash/shower by juggling saucepans and bowls whilst standing in the bath in the cold? It's certainly a lot nippier (pardon the pun) than wallowing lazily in gallons of hot, sudsy water!

My Idea of Heaven

Hubby and I have been leaving our holiday home early each morning for a walk round the valley that to me resembles one of the places I think Heaven must look like. Elterwater in the

Lake District.

On a clear, windless day it is place of outstanding beauty with calm waters reflecting mountainous surrounds in perfect upside-down symmetry.

Over the years it has acquired a beautifully-laid path for easy walking and is a very popular place that can get quite busy,but well before 10 a.m., we have had the place almost entirely to ourselves. My first sight this year of its familiar, loved contours lit by soft morning light was of dew-laden grasses and mist-softened mountains in silence so profound, it brought me to tears.

The next day was entirely different. Still and windless once more, peerless blue sky mirrored the sharp-edged Langdale Pikes to perfection until a gathering of Brent geese noisily disputing ownership, stirred the waters into sparkling eddies.

Each day we visited in homage and each time the surrounds brought a different aspect to our bliss.

After each of our leisurely walks we returned to where those same tranquil waters flare in foaming crests over Skelwith Force, its and our movements directed down towards the vegetarian restaurant that graces the edge of the river at Brathay Bridge. A lovely friendly place where we sat outside on the terrace overlooking glinting waters threading through downstream rocks.

Another type of heaven altogether, freshly-brewed tea and home-made scones!