Sixth concert proves such a success

PICNICS, folding chairs, rugs, ball- oons, flags and lanterns all helped create the party mood at the sixth Concert on the Hill at the YMCA Rugby Union Club's Laund Hill ground on Saturday.

Blustery winds kept the rain away from Salendine Nook - and made reading music a nightmare for at least one cornet player.

Hundreds of people enjoyed this year's outdoor concert, which has become a musical must for many families.

And there were hundreds of families, from tots to grandparents, all determined to have a seriously good night out - and they did.

Three choirs -one had travelled 12,000 miles from New Zealand to join in the fun - kept the music flowing, along with soprano Elizabeth Boyle, her accompanist, Keith Swallow, and Lindley Brass Band.

John Pashley's New Orleans Parade Band greeted what organisers felt was one of their biggest ever crowds.

Gazebos crowded the field's perimeter to provide shelter and that extra comfort for those aiming to dine in style.

And many did, with picnic hampers, garden chairs and loungers and more than a glass or two being unloaded from virtually every car.

No Concert on the Hill would be complete without master of ceremonies David Roebuck, who couldn't resist mentioning the England-Australia cricket draw to his Southern Hemisphere guests, the National Male Voice Choir of New Zealand.

But he kept fairly clear of the All Black rout of the Lions!

The choirs got the music off to a stirring start with that great hymn Cwm Rhonda. Honley Male Voice Choir followed swiftly with what we all sensed, There's Music In The Air, plus a medley of other familiar songs.

Lindley Band's Disney Fantasy is always a crowd-pleaser and soloist Elizabeth Boyle impressed with her Rusalka; Song To The Moon by Dvorak.

A clutch of songs and items with Second World War connections got the audience on their feet to sing and wave their Union Flags as they commemorated VE Day with a Keep Smiling Through singalong.

This crowd was happy to do that as the New Zealand choir sang beautiful traditional Maori songs and Colne Valley Male Voice Choir opted for some lyrical pieces from local composer Alan Simmons.

And that feel-good factor could scarcely have been measured better than in the closing moments, as the crowd sang Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory with a fireworks finale.