What a wonderful evening we enjoyed on Saturday, 9th October, when we were once again treated to performances by some of the finest talent on the Isle of Man. The evening was a great success thanks to the high standard and variety of performers, who played to a packed church. Michael provided an innovative introduction which had everyone involved from the start. In his inimitable style, as Master of Ceremonies, John Kennaugh made the evening flow and stressed the delights of living on and celebrating this beautiful island as ours. He also performed with the other members of the Farmers’ Quartet (David Brew, Noel Cringle and Peter Quayle) and recited an excerpt from T E Brown’s ‘In the Coach’ about a preacher, for Michael’s benefit. Our other performers were Terry & Sarah and John & Una Qualtrough (our own version of the Von Trapp family), the Abbey and Malew Parish Players (Barry, Bobba, Phil & Marc), The Harmony Sisters (Helen, her daughter, Sarah & Rachel Hall), Jane Mayne and Ruth Crossley on flute. Ruth’s haunting accompaniment to Terry’s singing of ‘My heart will go on’ was especially moving. Mary Cringle, Alex Williams and Roy provided accompaniments on the piano / organ, while Derek skilfully twiddled the knobs as our sound engineer. Jo designed and published the lovely posters, tickets and programmes and, for those who failed to identify the view, the photograph was taken at the summit of South Barrule, looking north.
The concert was followed by wine and an array of delicious canapés made by church members. The event concluded with a raffle, with splendid prizes, such as a deluxe suite for two, including dinner, wine and breakfast at the Sefton Hotel and dinner for two plus champagne at The Atlantis Restaurant (where Peter Hughes is the chef – although not at the moment due to his hip replacement!). Other prizes were: a Fortnum and Mason’s hamper (thanks to Margaret Dyson), the contents of which (beautifully arranged by Val), plus a case of wine, were donated by people from the congregation and village; a lovely bouquet from Beautiful Blooms; and a half box of Merlot (from Bob Pilling). As a result of such tempting prizes the raffle alone raised £428, lifting the overall profit to £1,443. We were delighted that members of the church won the star prizes - Peter and Katy Hughes (the night at the Sefton) and Andrea and Michael (the meal at the Atlantis).
Looking back, we began fundraising only two years ago. Thanks to all the generous support we have received through the two musical evenings; two very enjoyable and lively auction suppers; and the generous special birthday donations from Jean Clifton, Helen Kinvig and Donald Whittaker, we have raised sufficient monies to pay off the PCC loan of £6500 completely. Indeed we have made an excess, some of which will buy two additional speakers for the audio system, enabling us to have sound outside the church for events such as the Crib Service, and some high quality percussion instruments for the Sunday School.
Because of the success of the two Evenings of Manx Music and Verse and numerous requests for a repeat, we plan to hold a similar evening on Friday, 7th October, 2011 and have already booked John Kennaugh’s services. So put the date in your diary.
Thank you all again for your support in helping us provide such a fine, state-of-the-art audio system.
Roy and Jo