A selection of jottings from our original poet-in-residence, Jill Laikin and our Ladies Choir orator, Stella Bowman, as well as Michael Grinter and other members who have taken the time to write them down.

Jill Laikin joined Elmbridge Choir on its inception night in September 2005 and since then has been entertaining our members with her unique brand of writing after every concert and event that we perform at or stage. Jilly tends to use words from our songs to write a review of the particular event so it may be that at first you won't understand the jottings, but if you take a careful look at the songs performed, and think about the lyrics of those songs, it will suddenly make sense.

Stella joined Elmbridge Ladies Choir at inception in March 2009 and quickly made her mark in the choir. Stella has written several reviews and we hope to hear much more from her in future!

Michael Grinter is a celebrated actor, singer and radio presenter. He joined Elmbridge Choir in 2006 as a tenor and seven years on he is a highly regarded member of the choir. Michael writes articles for newspapers and national magazines from time to time and his writing style is factual, but witty and informative.

After our "Christmas Capers" concert - 7th December 2013

Saturday 7 December 2013 7.30 p.m - "Christmas Capers" - Epsom Playhouse: Now was certainly the time of the year for carolling and holiday cheer as, hot on the heels of Cobham at Christmas where, although it was cold outside, we sang with great delight, and only a week later here we were putting on some more seasonal sparkle and festive frolics but this time the welcome was so nice and warm inside the Epsom Playhouse.

It was an ambitious venture to feature the Elmbridge Young Musicians, the Ladies Choir, the Big Band and the Elmbridge Mixed Choir in two separate concerts on the same day – what a logistical nightmare it must have been for those hard-working invisible people behind the scenes to organise it – and not only that, now was not the time to diet as it was decided that feasting their ears with heavenly music was not enough for our audiences - so we provided them with cheese and wine and they grabbed their forks and dived right in – there was enough to feed the Navy!

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To the Veneto (how do you pronounce it?) Canta.

Michael's Memoirs Feeling rather foolish, we are standing in front of a very young security officer at Gatwick Airport. Who would have thought that 2 small WeightWatcher yogurts were a security risk? So we stand there and eat them in front of him. Well, we are not going to waste them. We just hoped that the rest of our group couldn’t see us.

Our small group, members of Surrey Music, was one of the first to leave the UK to sing in the Veneto (how does one pronounce it?) Canta to represent the UK in their first Corale Internationale. We are members of the Elmbridge Mixed Choir which, along with the Elmbridge Ladies Choir, were due to sing in four concerts in four days culminating in a very special, final sing-along in St Mark’s Square.

I do have to say that we are a very large group. With hangers-on, groupies and the inevitable partners we total around 175 or so. That is really why we are travelling separately in a number of small groups on different airlines, at different times, from different airports and on different days. It also explains why little glitches happen.

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After our Picnic in the Park Concert 28 July 2013

Elmbridge Big Band were in demand this month – providing swing, jazz standards and sultry vocal numbers in “All That Jazz” on the Riverbank at Hurst Park to entertain the crowds at the Molesey Amateur Regatta on Saturday, 20 July 2013.

Then they were joined by Elmbridge Mixed Choir on Sunday, 28 July at Homewood Park, Chertsey for The Rotary Club of Chertsey in conjunction with Runnymede Council and Samsung ’s “Picnic in the Park”where they werebothbilled as the headline acts. In the absence of the Mayor of Runnymede as well as her Deputy, the President of Chertsey Rotary Club, Paul Greenwood, did a stalwart job introducing this fund raising event and welcoming the picnickers and performers. When they designed their publicity poster earlier in the year, I wonder - did they have some insight as to what the weather might be doing on that day?

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2012 - "Light The Flame"

Jilly Due to overwhelming popular demand, Jilly’s Jottings are back with a review of what has happened since my last jotting on 17 January 2012 – well, actually, Cliff twisted my arm and gave me a hug so how could I possibly refuse!

First of all our long awaited ‘Sing It Swing It’ CD was released – I am a bit out of touch but I haven’t heard that it has quite reached Number One in the Charts yet!

Then Twinings invited us to the Woodlands Park Hotel for a fun afternoon of life coaching and relaxation and a sumptuous high tea - but definitely no singing!

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Singing for the Hairy Bikers and Meals on Wheels

Tuesday 5 April 2011 Cobham Day Centre and Saturday 9 April 2011 1230 Brooklands College, Weybridge (Mixed Choir and Ladies Choir)

This week saw us take two more momentous steps on the slippery stairway to stardom with two encounters with the BBC no less – albeit both at very short notice – but that’s show biz!

The first was on Tuesday evening when Reporter, Tom Bateman, came to our rehearsal and interviewed some members of the Mixed Choir – not, as you would expect, about our views on singing with such a prestigious and popular choir – but about the rather unlikely and somewhat unpopular subject of the recent tax changes!

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