The world renowned Treorchy Male Choir visited the county town of Haverfordwest on Saturday evening, September 15, as a major part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of Pembrokeshire Crossroads Caring for Carers. It was almost 27 years ago when the choir last performed in Haverfordwest. The visit was planned jointly by Henry Johnston, chairman of Pembrokeshire Crossroads, and his lifelong friend, Narberth born Brian Bates, who has the honour to be the president of the Treorchy Male Choir.

The venue for this milestone occasion for the local charity was the hall of Sir Thomas Picton School, where a near capacity audience were spellbound by the superb singing and interpretation of the varied programme. Treorchy Male Choir was conducted by its director of music, Andrew Badham, under whose direction the choir continues to live up to its reputation as one of the world's leading male choirs.

The stage was shared by internationally known mezzo-soprano Beverley Humphreys, who is known and admired by audiences throughout Wales, not only for her scintillating personal appearances at many venues throughout the Principality, but also through her regular programmes on BBC Wales.

Compering the evening's celebrations was Pembrokeshire's own Brian Harries. Brian linked the various programme items with his wonderful brand of locally grown humour and good fun.

The choir was introduced to the audience by the choir's president when Brian Bates said how delighted he was to be able to bring the Treorchy Male Choir back to his home county, and particularly to Haverfordwest after such a long lapse of time.

As a mark of respect for the recent horrific and tragic events in America, the concert commenced with the men from Treorchy singing the American national anthem with great feeling, followed by a two-minute silent tribute to those who have lost their lives.

The Treorchy Male Choir's programme was a wonderful mix of traditional Welsh items, sacred and gospel songs as well as some of the popular choruses from Gilbert and Sullivan.

The choir's talented accompanist, Rhiannon Williams, added great lustre to the performance. Rhiannon also saved the day for Beverley Humphreys, who only learned on Saturday morning that her own accompanist was unwell and would not be able to travel to Haverfordwest. Following a last minute joint rehearsal at lunch-time, Beverley gave the audience a wonderfully varied reportoire during the evening, ranging from operatic arias through to her superb interpretations of the late Joyce Grenfell.

The choir concluded their performance with a tribute to the late Mike Sammes who over the years had arranged many well known musical items especially for the choir. This final trilogy of Mike Sammes' arrangements demonstrated the mastery of expression and interpretation for which the choir is justly famous and brought the celebration concert to a very fitting climax.

At the conclusion of the concert, Pembrokeshire Crossroads chairman, Henry Johnston, spoke of the work of the charity which was established in 1991 to provide free respite care services to carers throughout Pembrokeshire, with the charity now providing well over 20,000 care hours across the county during the year.

He thanked the choir, Miss Humphreys and Brian Harries for making the evening so memorable, and he concluded by thanking the many organisations who have helped to fund Pembrokeshire Crossroads over the years, including Social Services, the Health Authority, the National Lottery, grant making trusts and other voluntary, community and business organisations and companies.

Mr. Johnston also paid tribute to fellow trustee Mrs. Helen Philpin who had undertaken so much of the planning and liaison arrangements for the concert.

Pembrokeshire Crossroads gratefully acknowledge the major sponsorship for the concert from Texaco Ltd. and Manpower Plc., and to Ocky White Travel for providing the Box Office facility.