
What a way to celebrate 40 years of singing, fellowship and camaraderie.
The choir’s 40th anniversary dinner was held on 16th November 2024 and with over a hundred current
and past choristers and their partners present, was a memorable and heart-warming occasion.
From the opening welcome – “Pen-blwydd hapus yn ddeugain oed” which
translated says “Happy 40th anniversary”, sung on video by our choir
patron Alwyn Humphreys, (dressed in black tie for the occasion, from his
home in Cardiff, Wales), to the video of highlights of the choir’s
performances and trips over the last forty years, this was an evening to
enjoy.
Former secretary Cyril Jones’ moving verbal presentation of his own
memories of the start of the choir and in particular the extraordinary
events which occurred during our trip to South Africa in 1997 (just after
Nelson Mandela had come into power), continued the experience.
After an excellent repast, three of our previous music directors David Ashton-Smith, Lucas de Jong
(complete with a moon boot for his broken ankle) and Doug Heywood, plus deputy conductor Ray Kitto
were invited, by vice president – Richard Bolt, to recall their favourite occasions with the choir during
their tenure.
This turned out to be an illuminating and, at times, emotional look back at important events in the life
of the choir.
Following the awarding of certificates for years of service, recognition of existing life members and, of
course, the traditional raffle for the baskets of Christmas goodies, the current choir members assembled,
under the baton of our new conductor – Mitch Meyer, to bring the formal proceedings to an appropriate end by performing three acapella numbers – Nant y mynydd, My Lord what a morning and Eli Jenkins
prayer.
However, the singing for the evening was not over as Lucas de Jong led the call and response of one of
the songs which has been closely identified with our choir – Senzenina. With all the current and past
choristers joining in, the sound just about raised the roof.
It was a great way to end a wonderful evening. Here’s to the next 40 years.
