Over the weekend of Saturday, October 25, Tenby Male Choir, wives and friends visited Wiltshire to sing at the church of St. John the Evangelist, Sutton Veny, near Warminster.

The choir were based in a very nice hotel in Swindon, and were able to visit many interesting places whilst there.

On the Saturday, most of the party journeyed by coach from Tenby to the hotel, arriving mid-afternoon. After settling in, the choristers got dressed in their choir uniforms and headed for the church, some 40-plus miles away. It had been a lovely, sunny day, but the light was fading as they reached Sutton Veny and it had begun to get very cold.

The village itself is most picturesque, with very old houses and narrow winding streets, but the church, though it looked ancient, was in fact mid-Victorian in build.

The whole area is dotted with evidence of ancient settlements and Sutton Veny is no exception. There are barrows in the parish and an Iron Age earthwork site, as well as Roman villa sites.

The 'parish' of Sutton Veny was settled very early and noted in the Doomsday Book, recording that in 1086 the Manor of Little Sutton was held by William de Mohun who owned one horse and 300 sheep. The old church of St. Leonard's dates back as far as 1200, but became 'beyond repair' in 1865, so a new church, St. John the Evangelist, was begun in 1868. Built by a widow as a memorial to her wealthy husband, it is in French Gothic style, and took only two years to build.

There was a warm welcome awaiting the choir when they arrived and though the church was cold, there was wine available and after the concert, an excellent supper welcomed by Sheila McCormack, who has Tenby connections.

The choir sang from its repertoire of last year and this, and soloists, Dave Llewelyn, Paul Varalla and Eric Mullins, performed well.

Guest soloist was Rhian Morgan, who sang most beautifully. In the first half of the concert, Rhian sang two Irish melodies, 'Danny Boy' and 'How are things in Glocca Morra?', and made a real impression on the audience. In her second slot, she sang two Ivor Novello pieces which added lightness and sweetness to the mood of the evening.

The musical director chose to include two Welsh pieces in the concert which the audience really enjoyed, and indeed Christine was rather 'bombarded' with requests during the interval (when more red wine was made available). But Christine, in apologising for not being able to 'do requests', did respond to the loud shouts of 'encore' at the end of the concert, when she asked the choir to sing 'Morte Christe' as an extra piece.

By the end of the concert, it had become very cold, especially for Jill on the piano. She had had no respite from playing, except in the interval, and her 'tiny hands were frozen'. But her performance, as always, was excellent.

Everyone soon warmed up at the delicious supper that was provided; salads and bread, beef casserole and rice, then trifle and cheese - all with as much red wine as one wanted!

A return to the hotel for midnight did not mean straight-to-bed for some hardy souls though!

On Sunday, the coach took the party to visit several places of interest, including Avebury with its fascinating stones and beautiful little thatched cottages. Visiting the local church, one chorister had a bit of a shock to see his name on the tombstone nearest the gate! Not a common name either!

After supper on Sunday, the whole party met up again in a reception room at the hotel to enjoy a concert when several volunteers performed various 'acts'.

The musical director made several appearances in different guises, the ladies of the Friends association sang pieces from their June concert, resident artist Stan did an excellent art workshop when he sketched a scene and asked his audience to 'name the hymn', Betty did a comic turn, and John M. did a very fair imitation of Max Boyce which was much enjoyed. It was good to hear Dave Flan sing solo again, too. Later, in the bar, there was some lovely communal singing accompanied by Terry on guitar, and later, Annie, also on guitar.

Monday morning came all too soon, and after breakfast the choir headed off into Swindon for a visit to the GWR Museum or 'retail therapy'. Calling in for an evening meal on the Welsh side of the bridge, the choir returned home to Tenby and district happy, tired, but a bit poorer (in the pocket, not in spirit).

The next event for the Friends is a wine evening this (Friday) evening and the choir's next public performance is the Town Christmas Concert on December 10.