Our annual Open Mic Night was held as always on the Monday before Easter, this year on Monday 15th April 2019, and as usual Simon acted as M.C., introducing the Club members who had accepted the invitation to call in the Main Hall.
First up was Jacqui who delivered her patter to "Hazel Mae" followed by the singing call "Walking in Memphis". Although quite nervous at the time, Jacqui later confessed on Facebook that it "was an awesome night and actually enjoyed calling".
Next to the stage was Penny who used "Cappuccino" as the accompaniment to her patter which she had written all by herself. Simon completed the tip with one of his own singing calls.
Our final Open Mic lady caller for the evening was Cherie who after a short patter call to "Rock Isle Ride" launched into "Running Bear". Simon later revealed to the members that "Running Bear" had been one of his own first singing calls when he started out as a caller.
After the break, when we enjoyed Hot Cross Buns with our teas and coffees, Simon invited David S to take to the stage. Since he started taking part in the Club's Open Mic Nights David has brought something different every year. He first appeared in 2016 wearing a "Rock God" t-shirt complete with wig, in 2017 had fashioned his own balloon cowboy hat and guitar and in 2018 had transformed into the "Dodgy Bopper". This year after a patter call of moves to "Music Box Dancer" David picked up his ukulele and accompanied himself for his favourite singing call "Chantilly Lace". He was roundly applauded for this amazing feat which is rarely, if ever, attempted by even more established callers. What can we expect next year to surpass this, David?
Our final volunteer for the evening was our Treasurer, David H. and, as he has done previously, he had worked out his patter call moves at home with the help of Taminations and his "dollies". These were delivered to "Rock Isle Ride" and he followed this up with his first public performance of the singing call "Busted".
Our evening was completed with Trudy and Simon taking to the stage to perform the singing call duet "House at Pooh Corner" followed by "Don't it Make You Want to Go Home" and after wishing each other a "Happy Easter" we all went home.
Jacqui Penny Cherie
David S David H
David S, Cherie, Jacqui, Penny and David H
Trudy, David S, Cherie, Penny, Jacqui, David H and Simon