Ahhhhhhhhh.

Rose: “I’m in the South West doing a concert, would you like to come?”

Linda (after checking with David): “Sure.”

I’m not entirely sure I realised at that juncture that Rose’s instrument was a recorder or that the concert was entirely recorders.

The day came, we set off in filthy weather to go to the concert, arriving in the nearby town centre in time to get a pizza before heading into the woolly wilds of nowhere to the concert venue. It was chucking down. We got soaked. We turned up looking like a pair of drowned rats to have the lady on the door say “oh it’s a filthy night to turn out for a recorder concert”. We agreed but were very glad to be in a really lovely Tudor building, all full of oak panels and carved wooden friezes. A truly splendid location.

It was a great shame that the musicians outnumbered the audience. It was clear that the musicians were a highly talented bunch and all seemed to slip easily through the different sizes of recorder during the course of the concert. Rose played three instruments, a tenor, this beautiful bass and a huge thing that I’m probably showing my total ignorance by describing as a double bass.

In truth, this shot was posed in a quiet moment in the interval while the other members of the troop were all in the main hall drinking coffee. She says she hates having her picture taken so I hope she doesn’t mind me posting it because I wanted to show pbase what a talented and special lady she is. A glorious and lovely Rose.

I never thought you’d hear me saying I enjoyed a recorder concert but it’s true to say I did. DM loved it and spent the entire journey home chuckling away and “pom pom pom-ing” along to the tunes he’d heard. I’m jolly glad we went. It made a nice change to be “taken out of myself” for a few hours. All I had to do was get into the car, get out at the other end, eat a meal and receive a few hugs from my friend. DM, Rose and Recorders Incorporated did the rest.

Dead toys were last year's subject.