Church Concert 2008
The annual Limekilns Church Concert was held on Wednesday June 11th and was an evening of varied entertainment wich covered several different styles. We are still trying to get an MC who can whip the crowd into a frenzy without luck, so, once again, we had Dougie again!
A brief review of the acts, in no particular order, follows.
The first half of the program was started by the choir singing 'Try to remember'; a song I seem to remember being sung by Irish songster Val Doonican. They were going to do their Westlife bit and all stand up when the key change came but they're getting on a bit and the effort was obviously too much.
They also started the second half and, later, finished the evening off with 'Wonderful world' and 'The Lord bless you and keep you' respectively.
A nice way to get things started and probably a good way to finish as well!
John Fotheringham's performances are never dull and tonight's was no different.
This year he went for a Lonnie Donegan song - 'Putting on the style' and he certainly did put on a bit of style with a waist-coat which should have carried a government health warning.
Once we got used to that, we managed to enjoy his performance for what it was, a bit of fun delivered in John's inimitable style.
I think what he is doing in this photograph is asking the audience if they can hear him over the waist-coat! (Boy! Was it loud - The Webmaster)
Fiona Stoddart sang 'Songbird' and 'Apres un Reve' - which was in French.
These songs were different styles to each other which demonstrated Fiona's versatility; last year she played 'the Marimba'
Clearly a girl of many talents and once again demonstrated this by these wonderful pieces.
One of the biggest surprises of the evening was the announcement that the next act was Charlie Stoddart!
How many people in the church knew Charlie Stoddart could sing? (How many still think it? - The Webmaster)
Charlie sang 'MacPherson's Rant' and 'The road and the miles to Dundee' without any accompaniment and only a note given to him by Janet to get him started, and, to be fair, he was in the vicinity of that note when he did start.
Once he got going, it was a good turn by someone who decided to get up and do something, which epitomises the spirit of the concert.
Mary Donnelly gave us a couple of songs on her own this year.
She started with 'Moonglow' and then did 'Georgia on my mind'
Unfortunately, this picture makes it look as though she is eating the mike (I really must move around a bit more when taking these - The Webmaster)
That didn't detract from the quality of her singing though and both songs were done brilliantly.
David Blane didn't give us words for his usual sing-a-long this year. (I like his sing-a-longs - The Webmaster)
Instead, he sang two songs on his own but still with the opportunity for people to join in if they knew the words. The first was 'Pennies from heaven', which was sung by Bing, in the film of the same name, and the second was a Jim Reeves number called 'He'll have to go'.
David's relaxed style really suits this type of song and he delivers them in just the right way - nice one!
Al Terris brought along some mates this year in the shape of a couple of Stompers.
The fact that these guys have played for many years is obvious when you see them perform.
They started with 'Who's sorry now' and went on into 'The lady is a tramp' sharing the lead throughout the set. While piano and clarinet are nice and were played expertly, there's something about a guy playing a double bass!
In the second half, they came back and did 'The Sheik of Araby' and 'Blue moon', both of which were done with style.
Barry McDougall sang his usual 'James Taylor' song which was 'Sweet baby James' this year - this song was apparently written as a lullaby for James' nephew.
Then he fulfilled a life-long ambition by changing guitars for the second song. This was necessary, apparently, because the second guitar had a capo at the fourth fret! Well! That, and it was tuned to C, G, C, G, C, E instead of E, A, D, G, B, E. (I think it was just a futile attempt to convince Marcia that he needs all these guitars! - The Webmaster)
Anyway, after this extravagance, he did the Dougie MacLean song, 'Caledonia'.
Wonder what Barry will do when he runs out of James taylor songs?
Marcia McDougall is the classical part of the McDougall family.
This year Marcia started with 'Doun in yon bank' and then did a song which was written by an old minister friend of hers and has never been published, so Marcia is the only one who has ever performed this song.
It was called 'Twas on a May Day Fair' and was a really nice little song.
Marcia's talent always shines through at these concerts, and can be heard again in this year's Edinburgh Fringe.
Dougie played piano for her and did his usual sterling job.
Janet Stoddart and Mary Donnelly, ably assissted by Pat Caudrey at the piano, sang Panis Angelicus.
I have no idea what Panis Angelicus means but it sounds classy so I suppose it must be.
Janet and Mary usually sound well together and tonight was no exception with some really nice harmonies.
They, amongst others, add a touch of the classical to these evenings with their choice of songs. It's a god job we have others like the webmaster to drag the concert back to the level to which it should be accustomed.
Morag Angus sang the Andrew Lloyd Webber song 'I don't know how to, love him', which is from Jesus Christ Superstar.
This was accompanied by John Fotheringham on guitar and was really nice version of this song.
Unlike a few versions I have heard, you could actually make out the words; which is never a bad thing with any song.
Ian Humphris sang 'Come to the fair' and then 'O The Kerry Dancing'.
Ian's delivery is always dramatic and it is obvious he has done this sort of thing for many years. He acts out every part of the performance which adds to the theatre of it all.
He also did a bit of poetry by reciting 'Gus, the Theatre Cat'. Once again, his delivery was impeccable, five stars and a big tick!
I can't wait for next year's concert!
Once again, this was an evening of varied acts.
There were no children involved this year which I think is a bad thing so hopefully next year we will see them return. I still think that everyone who had the courage to get up and do something deserves an enormous amount of credit. Anyone who has never performed in public should give it a try.
It wasn't a great night weather-wise but there was still a good number there to see it all and we always appreciate the people who come out. Although we may have had more had there been a bit more notice of the concert date?